Monday, July 27, 2015
Chronological New Testament Study Day 58
2 Thessalonians 1; 2 Thessalonians 2; 2 Thessalonians 3; 1 Thessalonians
1; 1 Thessalonians 2; 1 Thessalonians 3; 1 Thessalonians 4; 1 Thessalonians 5
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the
Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace
and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We
ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith
is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is
increasing. 4 Therefore, among God's churches we boast about
your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are
enduring. 5 All this is evidence that God's judgment is right,
and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you
are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to
those who trouble you 7and give relief to you who are troubled, and
to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in
blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those
who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They
will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of
the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he
comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those
who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to
you. 11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that
our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may
fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We
pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you
in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our
being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to become
easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have
come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don't
let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the
rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to
destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over
everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in
God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Don't you
remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And
now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper
time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at
work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken
out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by
the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one
will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit
miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that
deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the
truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a
powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so
that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted
in wickedness. 13 But we ought always to thank God for you,
brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be
saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the
truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you
might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then,
brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by
word of mouth or by letter. 16 May our Lord Jesus Christ
himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal
encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and
strengthen you in every good deed and word.
1 Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the
Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And
pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has
faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and
protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the
Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5 May
the Lord direct your hearts into God's love and Christ's perseverance. 6 In
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from
every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you
received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to
follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor
did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked
night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of
you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to
such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. 10 For
even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not
work, he shall not eat." 11 We hear that some among you
are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such
people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the
bread they eat. 13 And as for you, brothers, never tire of
doing what is right. 14 If anyone does not obey our
instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with
him, in order that he may feel ashamed. 15 Yet do not regard
him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 16 Now may the
Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be
with all of you.17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand,
which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. 18 The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the
Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to
you. 2 We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in
our prayers. 3We continually remember before our God and Father
your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance
inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know,
brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our
gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy
Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your
sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite
of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy
Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in
Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord's message rang out from you
not only in Macedonia and Achaia--your faith in God has become known
everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9for
they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you
turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and
to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead--Jesus, who
rescues us from the coming wrath.
1 You know, brothers, that our visit to you was not a
failure. 2 We had previously suffered and been insulted in
Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his
gospel in spite of strong opposition. 3 For the appeal we make
does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick
you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be
entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests
our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put
on a mask to cover up greed--God is our witness. 6 We were not
looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ
we could have been a burden to you, 7 but we were gentle among
you, like a mother caring for her little children. 8 We loved
you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God
but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. 9 Surely
you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order
not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10You
are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were
among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with
each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12encouraging,
comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom
and glory. 13 And we also thank God continually because, when
you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as
the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in
you who believe. 14 For you, brothers, became imitators of
God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own
countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, 15 who
killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God
and are hostile to all men 16 in their effort to keep us from
speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way they always
heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at
last. 17 But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a
short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made
every effort to see you. 18 For we wanted to come to
you--certainly I, Paul, did, again and again--but Satan stopped us. 19 For
what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence
of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? 20Indeed, you are
our glory and joy.
1 So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to
be left by ourselves in Athens. 2 We sent Timothy, who is our
brother and God's fellow worker in spreading the gospel of Christ, to
strengthen and encourage you in your faith, 3 so that no one
would be unsettled by these trials. You know quite well that we were destined
for them. 4 In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling
you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well
know. 5 For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I
sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter
might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless. 6 But
Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your
faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and
that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 7 Therefore,
brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you
because of your faith. 8For now we really live, since you are
standing firm in the Lord. 9 How can we thank God enough for
you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of
you? 10 Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see
you again and supply what is lacking in your faith. 11 Now may
our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to
you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for
each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.13 May
he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the
presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy
ones.
1 Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order
to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the
Lord Jesus to do this more and more. 2 For you know what
instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3 It
is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual
immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own
body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate
lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this
matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will
punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For
God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore,
he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his
Holy Spirit. 9 Now about brotherly love we do not need to
write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each
other. 10 And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout
Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. 11 Make
it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work
with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily
life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on
anybody.13 Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those
who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We
believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring
with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According
to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left
till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen
asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,
with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call
of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17After that, we
who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the
clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord
forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to
write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the
Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are
saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly,
as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.4 But
you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a
thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We
do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let
us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and
self-controlled. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and
those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong
to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a
breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God
did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord
Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake
or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore
encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are
doing. 12 Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work
hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold
them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with
each other.14 And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle,
encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make
sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each
other and to everyone else. 16 Be joyful always; 17 pray
continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is
God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not put out the
Spirit's fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test
everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of
evil. 23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you
through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you
is faithful and he will do it. 25 Brothers, pray for us. 26 Greet
all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I charge you before the
Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers. 28 The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
Romans 9
Romans 9 (New International Version, ©2010)
Romans 9
Paul's Anguish Over Israel
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised![a] Amen.
God's Sovereign Choice
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."[b] 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."[c]
10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."[d] 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."[e]
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."[f]
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."[g] 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?" 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"[h] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,"[i]
26 and, "In the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'children of the living God.'"[j]
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality."[k]
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."[l]
Israel's Unbelief
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."
Romans 9
Paul's Anguish Over Israel
1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— 2 I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised![a] Amen.
God's Sovereign Choice
6 It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7 Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned."[b] 8 In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring. 9 For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."[c]
10 Not only that, but Rebekah's children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11 Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God's purpose in election might stand: 12 not by works but by him who calls—she was told, "The older will serve the younger."[d] 13 Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."[e]
14 What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15 For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."[f]
16 It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God's mercy. 17 For Scripture says to Pharaoh: "I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."[g] 18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.
19 One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?" 20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"[h] 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?
22 What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? 23 What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— 24 even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25 As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,"[i]
26 and, "In the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'children of the living God.'"[j]
27 Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved.
28 For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality."[k]
29 It is just as Isaiah said previously: "Unless the Lord Almighty had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."[l]
Israel's Unbelief
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32 Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33 As it is written:
"See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame."
Revelation 4
Revelation 4 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 4
The Throne in Heaven
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,'[b] who was, and is, and is to come."
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
Revelation 4
The Throne in Heaven
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this." 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it. 3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. 4 Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty-four elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits[a] of God. 6 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal.
In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like an ox, the third had a face like a man, the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,'[b] who was, and is, and is to come."
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
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