Though persecution from the enemies of the gospel had come against the Thessalonians with little negative effect apart from causing their faith to grow stronger, a greater danger that faced these believers was some false teaching concerning the second coming of Jesus. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 we find that this teaching stated that the return of Jesus had already taken place and the Thessalonians had missed it. To allay their fears and to remind these believers of what he had taught them, Paul then reminded his readers of the facts concerning the appearance of the ‘man of lawlessness’ (Antichrist) before the day of the Lord’s return. Much has been written about the identity of this man, but the Bible is far more concerned with our need to remain faithful to the Lord rather than wasting time speculating on identity.
Philip Burns
Rev Philip Burns is the minister of Bendigo Presbyterian Church.
‘It will all be different when Jesus returns’ (2 Thessalonians 1:1-12)
In Paul’s second letter to the believers at Thessalonica, the apostle has much to say about the return of Jesus. Not times and dates, which most people are concerned with, but how to live in the light of his return. In 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Paul commended the Thessalonians who had endured some bitter persecution from the enemies of the gospel. This persecution had only enhanced and intensified their faith in God, their love for each other and their hope in the return of Jesus. Paul also explained that while believers can look forward to the great Day of the Lord, that the return of Jesus will not be a great event for all. Those who refuse to bow the knee to Jesus will only face Him as Judge and not Saviour and the consequences of this will be played out for all eternity. It is vital to respond to Jesus and the gospel now before that glorious but terrible Day comes.
‘What does the virgin birth of Jesus have to do with you?’ (Luke 1:1-4, 26-38)
There’s no denying that Jesus born in Bethlehem has had a great impact upon the world. There is no-one like him nor has there ever been. So many things set Jesus apart from ordinary human beings, even aspects surrounding His birth. The gospel writer, Luke, set out to establish these things as fact and tells in Luke 1:26-38 that Jesus was born of a virgin. The virgin conception of Jesus has long been hotly disputed, but is so vital to so many aspects of the Christian faith which stands of falls on the test of truth. If it is true, then it is one of the most amazing events ever to happen and should cause us to view Jesus in a totally different light.
‘Ancestors and descendants: Lessons from Jesus’s family tree’ (Matthew 1:1-17, 12:46-50)
All of us fit somewhere into a family tree. None of us would be alive were in not for those who have gone before us. Just as many family trees make for interesting studies, so too the family tree of Jesus whioch is recorded in Matthew 1:1-17, one that even has one or two ‘black sheep’ who might be something of an embarrassment to the family. Old Testament characters such as Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba all feature. These women were either from the wrong side of the tracks or who had some shortcomings that the Bible notes. King David is included too and even though he was a great King, even then his own sin and failure are not hidden from the pages of the Bible. God graciously included such people to show that he receives sinners, something that Jesus did through all His life. And what of His descendants? Well there are no physical descendants of Jesus, but He has plenty of children whom He adopts as His own. They are those who come to Him in repentance and faith and trust Him to save them.
‘Blind and deaf to the glory and voice of God’ (Psalm 19:1-14)
There are three vioices in Psalm 19:1-14. The first voice is the voice of creation. Like other parts of the Bible, Psalm 19 teaches that all that we see in the created order testifies to the truth that God exists and that by all that He has made, He has spoken to all mankind about His existence. This is true for people all over the world. No-one can say they did not know that God existed. The second voice in the Psalm is the voice of God’s Word. While God’s voice through creation can be ignored or misinterpreted, He has also spoken to us through His Word, which, for the writer of the Psalm, were the books of God’s law which he treasured above everything. The third voice in the Psalm is the voice of God’s servant, who asked God to cleanse his heart from hidden sins and faults. The one who loves God over all things will want to be pure in order to serve Him and be ready to obey Him from the heart.
‘The sin of the unequally yoked’ (part 2) (Ezra 10:1-44)
After Ezra had wept and prayed about the sin of the people of God in taking themselves foreign wives, a deep sense of conviction followed and the leaders of the people urged Ezra to take action. In Ezra 10:1-44, we not only learn the names of the men who took foreign wives, but also the way in which this matter was to be dealt with as the wives, and in some cases their children, were sent away. While this sounds harsh to modern ears, Ezra’s goal had been to establish a sense of the need for personal and national holiness. The Messiah who was still to come, would not be born from a ‘mixed- marriage’. At the end of the book the reader will realise that the promised kingdom had still not arrived. And when the King in that kingdom did come (Jesus), he did not send people away because they were law-breakers but gathered them in because of grace.
‘The sin of the unequally yoked (part 1)’ (Ezra 9:1-15)
When Ezra finally returned to Jerusalem with the ‘second wave’ of returning exiles with him, he soon found that all was not well in the beloved capital. Ezra 9:1-15 tells us that news came to him from the mouths of the officials of the people that many of the returned exiles had married people of the surrounding nations. This was no small thing to have happened, but was serious. God had forbidden His people from the outset of being ‘unequally yoked’ with those who were not His people, and this act of the returned exiles was a breach of that directive. The news shocked Ezra and drove him to express great grief, but it also led him to pray and confess the sin of His people to God, pleading with God for forgiveness. The prayer recorded in Ezra 9 is one of the great prayers of the Bible and clearly reminds us that while the world ‘winks’ at sin, God sees things far differently! We are all guilty before Him on many counts and need His mercy and forgiveness, which He gives to those who ask because of His Son, Jesus.
‘Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem…and yours’ (Ezra 8:21-36)
When Ezra set out for Jerusalem with the ‘second wave’ of 5,000 or more returning exiles with him in Ezra 8:21-36, the journey itself was a test of faith. Before they left, Ezra had advised the Persian King that he would not need the king’s soldiers to accompany them (even though they had with them much gold and silver), because ‘God’s hand would be upon them’. This was a statement that Ezra could well have lived to regret, but he had no need to. Setting out with trust in God, and having that trust in God renewed by prayer and fasting, Ezra and the Jews arrived safely at their destination. All of God’s people are on a journey to the heavenly Jerusalem and this too is a test of faith. The destination is certain and so is the God who calls us home, but the journey itself is a trial that requires faith in the promises of a faithful God.
‘Missing and found! How God’s supply met His people’s need’ (Ezra 8:15-20)
When Ezra left Babylon at the request of King Artaxerxes, to return to Jerusalem from Babylon with those that accompanied him as a ‘second wave’ of returning exiles, the text of Ezra 8:15-20 tells us that he noted that there were no Levites among the people returning with him. The Levites worked in the Temple as servants to the priests, often completing many of the menial and lowly tasks enabling the priests to do their work. Knowing that this would be vital for the proper functioning of God’s people, Ezra sent word to Iddo with his need. Iddo responded by sending 38 Levites and an additional 220 temple servants, while Ezra acknowledged God’s ‘good hand’ upon him. The call for gospel workers remains. The work is hard and often without reward. Jesus told us to pray to God (the Lord of the harvest) to thrust workers out into His harvest field, but are there those who will answer the call?
‘More than just a list of hard-to-pronounce-names’ (Ezra 8:1-14)
When Ezra left Babylon at the request of King Artaxerxes to return to Jerusalem, he did not set out alone. Ezra 8:1-14 records the names and the genealogies of those who set out on the four month trek with him. While the text gives us little more than the names and numbers of these returnees, this information is useful. It tells us that Ezra was an eyewitness to the events that his book records, thus increasing our assurence that the Bible is historically accurate, and it also tells us that this return was part of the plan of God. One of the men returning with Ezra to Jerusalem, Hattush, was descended from KIng David abd was the great great grandson of Zerubbabel who appears in the genealogy of Jesus. God’s plan was to bring the Messiah into tyhe world through a family, and this family was now becoming known. God’s purposes are still being worked out for the whole world. His plan is to unite everything under the feet of that Messiah, Jesus and like they people of old, we wait for Him still.