...either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15, ESV). Key Thought: Even with all the grand and glorious promises for the future, we have to deal with daily challenges and struggles in the church. The Thessalonian church was no exception. hurches are a lot like plants. If a plant does not grow, it will die. In other words, change is wired into the way plants were designed by God. Similarly, a church that does not change and grow also will die. But not all change is good. Change can lead us away from who we are. It can cause us to lose touch with God’s purpose for us. The Seventh-day Adventist Church must be especially on guard because this present-truth message is being proclaimed by no one but us! That’s a heavy responsibility—one we all, whether laity or ministry, must never forget. Through revelation and Spirit-guided consensus, God has led the church to even more light. The light of the past helps the church to navigate its way through the treacherous waters of change. Paul’s final word to the Thessalonians gives us inspired guidance in this crucial area. *Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 29. C 149 S unday September 23 (page 105 of Standard Edition) Faithful by God’s Choice (2 Thess. 2:13–17) The language of this section recalls the prayer at the beginning of 1 Thessalonians. It is almost as if Paul is returning to the place where he began, creating a natural conclusion to this pair of letters. Paul here expresses his concern...
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...believe in Jesus. Paul tells them that they are in his prayers. Paul tells the Philippians that because of his imprisonment, the gospel has spread. He states that he is “in chains for Christ.” (1:13) Paul advises the people of Philippi to have the same attitudes of Jesus: humility, love, compassion. Paul talks about Timothy visiting Philippi. He then talks about Epaphroditus, the messenger. Paul states the Epaphroditus was ill and almost died, but feeling better will return to Philippi. Paul gives the Philippians a warning of men who do evil. He urges them to press on towards the gospel of Jesus Christ. Paul ends his letter with a thanks for the Philippians’ gifts and then his final greetings. Colossians The Book of Colossians is epistle genre. Paul opens his letter to the people of Colosse with a thanksgiving and prayer. Paul emphasizes the gospel of Christ. Paul relates his labors and struggles for the gospel. Paul advises the Colossians that through a life with Christ, they are filled with strength and thankfulness. Paul warns of deceptive human traditions, false humility, and worship of angels. Paul advises the people of Colosse to not set their minds on earthly things. He also advises against sexual immorality, greed and idolatry. Paul gives some commands for husbands, wives, children, fathers, slaves and masters. Paul then advises the Colossians to pray, to be thankful and watchful. Paul ends his letter with some final greetings. 1 Thessalonians The Book...
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...New Testament Context Chart Matthew Author: Matthew the apostle Intended Audience: Jews / Jewish Christians It was written to prove that Jesus was the Messiah, and that he was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. It tells the story of the life and works of Jesus. Mark Author: John Mark Intended Audience: The Romans It is believed to have been written to encourage Christians to persevere through persecution led by the Roman emperor, Nero. Also written to preserve Peter’s account of the life and teachings of Jesus Luke Author: Luke Intended Audience: Greek and Gentile Christians, also directly addressed a person named Theophilus. His importance is unknown, but believed to be a non-Christian and highly regarded Roman. Luke desired to give his audience a clear and coherent understanding of the teachings and works of Jesus through an organized account of Jesus life through eye-witness accounts. Luke often explained Jewish customs and sometimes substituted Greek words for Hebrew. John Author: John, the apostle Intended Audience: Non-Jewish believers and unbelievers who were struggling with the acceptance of Greek philosophies. John’s primary purpose for his writing is stated in chapter 20 verse 31, “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” It is most likely a compilation of the oral traditions and theology of the apostle John that became published by a companion after his death. Acts Author: Luke Intended Audience: Addressed...
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...In 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Paul's theme of biblical eschatology is "faith, love, and perseverance through persecution, which is the fruit of hope"(Antiquity pg. 287). The letters were written to the church at Thessalonica, to the brothers and sisters who had come to faith in Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 states, "Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace and peace to you." These letters reveal the truth to believers that they will experience the Tribulation or Day of the Lord. "For yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). In this scripture the words: Day of the Lord and thief in the night "stick out." This day will come suddenly, and inescapably taking men off guard because the world will be unprepared just like one would be if a thief entered their home during the night. The church questions Paul when the day of the Lord would return? Paul tells the church that the day will be unexpectedly, but "one can be prepared by living a moral life and wearing the armor of God: faith, love, and hope" (Antiquity pg. 286). "However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows" (Matt. 24:36)....
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...1. Know the things that Jews were looking for at the time of Jesus. Messiah/ Davids King Prophet like Moses New Exodus Coming of Elijah God to come to his temple God to pour out his spirit over all flesh All Nations to worship on God’s holy mountain God’s kingdom to fill the whole earth 2. Know the differences between the beliefs and practices of the people groups of Jesus’ day A. Sadducees Believed in the 1st 5 books of the OT Did not believe that God still preformed miracles or that man would rise from the dead Were influential because they had control of the Jewish temple Disbanded after the temple was destroyed B. Pharisees 1. Believed whole OT was authoritative 2. OT Law to changing circumstances of everday life 3. Believed God still preformed miracles C. Essenes 1. 4000 people 2. withdrew from society (communal living) 3. Thought Pharisies and sadducess were corrupt so they did not offer sacrifices at the temple 4. Helped to preserve scruipture by copying it. 3. Know the difference different approaches to Bible translations covered in Class (For example- Formal Equivalent, Functional Equivalent, etc.). Formal Equivalent- (literal)- keeping orginal words, word order, and grammar. The problem is different word order can make sentecnes awakward and slightly change...
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...The new testament has a number of thirteen letters dedicated to paul and his findings. Most scholars today agree that paul has forsure wrote 7 out of the 13. The six other letters credited to paul were probably not physically written by him. The scholars came to this conclusion by evaluating the different styles in the letters and the anachronisms described in the rejected batch of letters. The 7 authentic letters are the earliest christians documents to survive, which shows their importance. Another big importance is that we actually know that paul is the author of at least 7 of these letters, which is hard to say about any other scripture in the bible. The 6 “pseudepigraphical” letters also have an importance because it sheds light on the...
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...Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18 Historical Context Situated near the site of Therma on the Thermaic Gulf, Thessalonica was located near the northermost reaches of the Aegean Sea. “The ancient city was founded in Macedonia (a region that encompassed roughly the northern half of the Greek peninsula) about 315 b.c. by Cassander, who named it after his wife, Thessalonica, the daughter of Philip II and sister of Alexander the Great.” (Martin, 1995, p.21) Enjoying the status of a ‘free’, self-governing city (although still under Roman control), Thessalonica was the most influential city in Macaedonia. The city functioned as a very important trade city, as it was located on the Via Egnatia trade route (the major east-west highway from Asia Minor to Rome). On hearing the gospel, many Thessalonians were persuaded and the church grew quickly under the supervision of Paul. Many amongst the Jewish community, however, were not persuaded and instigated a riot in the city, hoping to trap Paul and his companions (Acts 17:1-9). Due to this, Paul was forced to leave the city of Thessalonica earlier than expected. As a result, two important factors were at play: * There was dissent amongst some of the Thessalonian believers, who queried whether Paul may have been motivated by money or power (hence his defense of his ministry in 1 Thessalonians 2). * The Thessalonian believers still had many lingering questions about the faith, that Paul had been unable to answer during his brief...
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...Daniel C. Dobson L24964692 BIBL 104 20120706 Summary of the book of Acts, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians and Revelations Acts The book of Acts is a narrative written by Luke describing the history and conversions that took place in the infancy stages of the Church. The key themes that are depicted in this book are the instructions left by Jesus to be followed, the building of the Church in Jerusalem, the expansion of the Church and the missionary work of Paul. The main focus in this book is how Luke was to spread gospel through the power of the Holy Spirit. The major events discussed here were how Saul was converted to Paul and the ministries of Peter in Judea. Luke describes three missionary journeys of Paul that concluded with Paul arriving in Rome and getting thrown in prison. Other events discussed were the persecution that continued to plague the Church as it was growing and expanding throughout the land. The influence of the Holy Spirit is infused through the book of Acts and Luke describes many of the events in exceptional detail. Philippians The genre of the book of Philippians is a gospel letter of thanks written by Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome. The key theme in this book is Paul writing about his wanting to serve as Christ served but also sends a warning about the unity of the Church against those who would bring about false teachings from certain converts. The major events discussed revolve around Paul and his circumstances while in prison...
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...A TENACIOUS CHURCH II THESSALONIANS 1:3-4 SUBJECT COMING FROM VERSE FOUR Paul, Silvanus and Timotheus, in his letter to the Thessalonians, saw it fitting to give thanks to God always for the brethren, at the church of the Thessalonians, because of how their faith had grown and the charity and love they had shown toward each other in troublesome times. In Paul‘s first letter to the Thessalonians, he preached and taught about three weeks, almost every major doctrine of the Christian faith. Although Paul’s visit to Thessalonica was short, his ministry was long enough to leave a solid foundation for a thriving church. After leaving and going to Athens, Paul leaves Timothy and Silvanus behind to help the new church by way of encouragement. The church was faced with persecution, however persecution can mean growth. God’s spirit strengthens and encourages suffering saints as they go through the difficulties of Christian life. Timothy rejoined Paul at Corinth and gave him the report on the new church. A short time afterward, Paul writes II Thessalonians and began to thank God for the tenacity of this church and it’s determination to grow in faith. Paul considered this church his friend. After hearing of the progress of this tenacious church and their growth and love toward each other, Paul couldn’t help but praise God for their accomplishment. So then, Paul realized first, a growing church is a faithful church, and that this church would go through much persecution. Therefore...
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...The Formation of the Canon, 5-6 page paper. Thus far we have come to a closing about the date and source of the individual books of the New Testament, but another questions remains unanswered. We can ask ourselves, how did the New Testament itself come into being? Who collected the writings and on what ideology? What conditions led to the creations of a canon, of trustworthy books? Throughout history Christian’s belief is that the Holy Spirit, who controlled the writing of the individual books, also controlled their selection and compilation, thus continuing to fulfill our Lord’s promise that He would guide his disciples into all reality. This however, is something that is to be discerned by spiritual insight, and not by historical research. The object is to find out what historical research reveals about the origin of the New Testament canon. We have people tell us that we receive the twenty seven books of the New Testament on the mandate of the Church; but even if we do, we have to look at how the Church came to recognize these twenty-seven books as worthy of being placed on a level of encouragement and authority with the Old Testament. It took over a century of the proliferation of numerous writings before anyone was even concerned. They started to pick and choose and it was largely a cumulative, individual and accidental event, guided by chance and prejudice more than objective and scholarly research, until priests and academics began declaring what was authoritative...
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...as Christians. Our purpose on Earth is to know God. We are taught this in the book of John (John 17:3). God didn’t create us so we would not look to Him, He created us to follow Him and look to Him for guidance in our everyday lives. Our purpose is also to teach others about Christ and bring non-believers to Him (Matthew 5:14-16). We are to be a light for God and shine our lights for others to see. As Christians the question of morality can be first answered by the teachings of Moses with the Ten Commandments as given to him by God (Exodus 20:1-17). With the birth of Christ came the fulfillment of the Old Testament thus making it necessary for a new set of laws governing morality to be handed down to the next generation of believers. Jesus taught many things that were parallel to the laws...
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...The Letters of Paul Apostle Paul is very unique with his writings to the people. Paul made his letters real as they could get and they dealt with life and death issues. The letter structure of was highly important part of the ancient letter, as compared to the Hellenistic letter with those in Paul’s letter to Philemon. The whole anatomy of Paul’s letters was special because they all had structure. Paul has several sections in his letters: salutation, thanksgiving, the body, the closing, and the conclusion. The salutation was the most stable elements during the ancient period. The form is rather precise unlike today were we use the sender and recipient, as well as a greeting in the letter. I saw how Paul molds us in his letter to Philemon. During the time of this letter, Paul was in prison, he was addressing the master of Onesimus, which was a runaway slave who has sought refuge with Paul. Meanwhile, Onesimus was converted this set the stage for this letter. In this letter, Paul reminded Philemon that his apostolic mission gave him a prior claim on Onesimus. Paul treated Onesimus as if he was his own brother. Earlier during the beginning of the salutation, Paul identifies himself as a “prisoner for Christ Jesus.” Thus, this condition keys around Paul’s plea for leniency to Onesimus surfaces in the beginning of the letter. In Romans, we see how Paul’s original version of the conservative letter opening. His writings were to the church, one that he never been to before nor...
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...DICTIONARIES New Testament 1st Romans This letter to the Christians of Rome was written by Paul around 57 or 58 A.D and happened when Paul was almost at the end of His 3rd missionary journey. In this letter, Paul addressed such things as the meaning of the gospel, the people who are in need of it, the importance of the gospel, the actual nature of God’s salvation, how salvation can be achieved by all individuals, the effects of salvation in a person’s life, and the impact of salvation in the whole community. Also in this epistle, Paul told the people that he would visit them once he gets time but he vested the town as a prisoner because he caused a riot in a temple that was located in Jerusalem. This book is the 6th New Testament book and out of all the letters that Paul wrote in his time, his letter to the Romans is the longest (New King James Version, 2008). Paul Paul was actually born as Saul, around 1-5 A.D in the city of Tarsus, Cilicia. He was from the ancestry of Hebrew lineage of Benjamin. Both of his parents were Pharisees who used to follow the commandments of Moses very strictly even to the point of warning their children from intermingling with the Gentiles. However, as Paul grew into a man, he developed hatred towards Christ and also his followers. During his thirties he used to go to Damascus to persecute Christ’s followers under the instructions of the high priest. One day during his many trips, Paul encountered Jesus Christ and his life was changed forever....
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...refusal of God’s call to be holy. The pagan Gentiles during the New Testament had a skewed picture of moral issues, including sexuality. F. F. Bruce provides a unique look into Greek culture and morality when he quotes Demosthenes who lived during this time period: “We keep mistresses for pleasure, concubines for our day-today bodily needs, but we have wives to produce legitimate children and serve as guardians of our homes.”1 Paul concentrates on these issues in regards to holiness in his first letter to the Thessalonians because believers needed to know how to instruct converts from paganism. The purpose of this paper is to cover these issues of sexual purity and holiness brought up by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8. Also, this paper will cover the significant grammatical, syntactical and theological aspects within 1 Thess 4:3-8. Finally, this paper will conclude with a modern day application of these verses written by Paul to the church in Thessalonica. 1 F. F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians,ed. David A. Hubbard, et. al., (WBC 45; Waco: Word Books, 1982), 87. 1 BACKGROUND AND HISTORICAL INFORMATION Thessalonica was located in a strategic location at “the northernmost point of the Thermaic Gulf, while sitting astraddle the Egnatian Way.”2 According to Luke in Acts 17:6, the government at Thessalonica was run by “politarchs” at the time of Paul. Thessalonica was also very cosmopolitan, like Corinth, and contained many different religions and immigrants; including Jews. The...
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...Impact! ... that is where my thoughts have been these past few days. The great impact of the tornadoes that have tore through and tore apart my beloved State and several other States along their paths! The great impact they had, the great impact there is and the great impact there will be in the many long days ahead! This impact is so very far-reaching and has just affected us all! We are mourning and grieving, and yet we are also celebrating life. ...lives actually .... of the many people we may never know - of those who survived and of those who have died - of those most affected by this horrific disaster. The testimony and lives of oh so many will surely scream in agony and defeat while others have already begun to lift up acts of kindness and compassion. Some may spew forth complete and disastrous havoc while others will show and continue to show mercy and love. We have seen and heard of unimaginable tragedies and loss, but we have also seen God's mercy and grace reflected through the many others who have given, contributed and helped and will continue to do so in such a time of need! My heart and my soul - my life - is and will be burdened, touched and impacted by all of these people - the victims and the heros. Life is influenced and impacted through many, many people and through many, many situations in our own lives every day, and we, in fact, acknowledge many of these people and many of these events through birthdays, graduations, achievements recognized...
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