Biblical Truth with Malcolm Hedding

In the verses now before us Paul turns his attention to the reality of spiritual conflict. This constitutes a clear reminder that we are up against dark spiritual powers of wickedness that are seeking to gain a foothold in our lives and thereby destroy our Christian testimony and impede our impact in the world. In his Ephesian letter Paul underlines this more dramatically when he writes:

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places."

And of course, in his first epistle, Peter reminds us that the Devil is constantly on the prowl seeking who he may devour (1 Peter 5:8).

Here then Paul reminds us that:

1.The Devil resists local church ministry designed to encourage God' children. V17-18

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Paul has thus far applauded the believers at Thessaloniki for their genuine faith in Christ Jesus that brought forth powerful transformation in their lives and that also impacted their region with the glorious Gospel of Jesus. It is also plunged them into persecution as the counter culture of Jesus was being embraced by more and more people and therefore collided with the world around them (Acts 17:6) . He is rightly proud of them and thus reaffirms his love for them and sets forth the true motivations that he has in his heart in terms of his ministry and calling to be a servant God among them. These are wonderful insights into the attitudes and principles that should guide and govern every person called into ministry and we should take note of them.

In the section now before us he gives us a concluding summary to all the things that he has just said. We should note the following:

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We have noted thus far that Paul’s ministry at Thessaloniki was not in vain as it brought forth the fruit of salvation in the lives of many in the city. He, and his apostolic band were sent out from the Church at Antioch with the blessing of the leaders there and that of the Holy Spirit. His missionary trip was therefore God inspired and therefore in a sense couldn’t fail. The Thessalonians turned from their idols and their sins to serve God by Jesus Christ and to await His second coming. Moreover, their testimony in this regard impacted the whole region. Paul was proud of them and gives them an overview of his commitment; to God, the preaching of the Word of God and to them. He is a genuine servant of Jesus seeking only to glorify Him through his life and ministry and therefore he seeks nothing from them save their growing love for Christ and His people.

Our insight then into Paul’s character and dedication to Christ is therefore a challenge to all those who would follow Christ in ministry and to those who already do. In the verses now before us he continues to express his feelings for them and commitment to them by reminding them of what he did do when he was with them and not of what he didn’t do, as in the previous passage. Here we see the heart of a true shepherd of God’s flock and this should serve as a template for all those who would also follow this calling. Actually every aspiring ministry candidate should be instructed by these passages as they reveal the true nature of our calling and it’s worth noting that this chapter is then a record of Paul’s legacy. This great servant of Jesus is worth following, just as he himself often encouraged us to do.

We should consequently take note of the manner in which he engaged the believers at Thessaloniki:

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In this passage we have reflected or modeled the type of interaction and relationship that should exist between Christian Ministers and the congregations that they serve. The wider context is that Paul was a part of an Apostolic Band that was initially called forth by the Holy Spirit and sent out into the world to plant churches by the leaders of the Church at Antioch:

“Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up Herod the tetrarch m and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them. Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”

Apostles are in fact “Sent Ones” and they emerge out the fivefold gift ministries mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 4:11-12:

“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

Apostles are then teachers, pastors, evangelists and prophets who once given to local church ministry have been set aside by the Holy Spirit for trans-local or itinerant ministry with an emphasis upon church planting. They therefore, as in Paul’s case, have a home base to which they are accountable. This is why Paul returned to Antioch after his missionary journeys. Note Acts 14:26. True preachers are not “loners” doing their own independent thing without reference to a governing oversight! It was in this light that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy came to Thessaloniki. We should then consider the following:

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Paul’s first letter to the Church at Thessaloniki – Study 2

Having opened the letter with a greeting and a statement of thanksgiving concerning the sincere commitment to Christ of the believers at Thessaloniki, Paul then turns his attention to the impact that the Word of God has upon people when it is faithfully preached. He therefore writes about:

A. The preaching of the Word of God. 1:5

We have already noted in our introduction to the letter that Paul travelled from Philippi to Thessaloniki. He was thus an itinerant preacher or more correctly an Apostle or Sent One. The bible teaches that the Word of God is carried to the world by preachers. These are raised up by God and without them the will and purpose of God cannot be fulfilled (Romans 10:14-17). However, a preacher has to have certain credentials because he is the custodian of the message of eternal salvation. That is, he must in every way reflect or embody the message that he brings. Paul understood this and therefore he reminds the believers at Thessaloniki of four things:

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The Glorious Second Coming of Jesus

At the beginning of this study series we noted that the Book of Revelation is all about the glorious unveiling or physical return of Jesus to the earth. The events described in this book are the steps that have to take place for this to happen. They are not random or haphazard because God remains sovereign over the affairs of men, and so they constitute the seven seals of the Title Deed to heaven and earth that Jesus purchased with His blood on the cross.

Great upheavals await the earth as we are now entering the birth pangs of the end time and these will intensify. They are, as Jesus put it, “the beginning of sorrows”, and so the follower of Jesus is to fortify and steady himself spiritually because a great tribulation awaits us as we plunge toward the glorious return of Christ. To help us the book gives us what we call “Great Signs” and these are:

The ministry of the Two Witnesses, Moses and Elijah.

The restoration of Israel, the woman clothed with the sun, moon and twelve stars

The rise of the Beast, a half devil, half man Demonoid, who has been here before

The fall of Babylon, that great world system, part religious and part commercial that is drunk with the blood of the saints

All of these are caught up in the events that will usher in the Revelation of Jesus. Given the wickedness of those living on the earth God will allow evil to overflow and spill over, and even appear to triumph, as it brings forth its global government undergirded by a satanic religion that will perform great supernatural signs and wonders. This will present the true believers in Jesus with a test to embrace truth, demonstrate patience and even welcome martyrdom as they face the Great Tribulation. They will overcome by the “blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives into death” (Revelation 12:11).

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The great sign chapters of the book of Revelation introduce us to the major players of the end time. It is crucial that we familiarize ourselves with these because they instruct us in truth and warn us of things to come. Some of the “things to come” are just around the corner or, more correctly, nearly on top of us. In this study we shall consider the subject of Babylon and surprisingly, John’s oracle devotes two whole chapters to this subject. This means that it holds great importance and significance and we should “wake up” to it. Shaun Willcock writes, “The black arts flourished; astrology, witchcraft and in fact all satanic occult practices were developed in Babylon.

Chapter seventeen deals with the spiritual roots of Babylon and chapter eighteen with its commercial and political roots. In both cases the child of God is to “Brexit” Babylon for entanglement in its intrigues will pollute and destroy one’s relationship with the God of heaven. The Bible warns that, “Friendship with the world is enmity with God” (James 4:4). The world is Babylon and those who love it are the enemies of God. John also warns of getting entangled with the world as its lust will destroy one’s spiritual life (1 John 2:15-17). He in fact tells us that the world is “passing away” and so God has no inclination then to rehabilitate it. Like the Titanic, it is severely broken and will sink! We are looking for a new heavens and a new earth wherein righteousness will dwell (2 Peter 3:16). There are far too many Christians involved with the world or seeking to repair it. Our ministry is to infiltrate and penetrate the world with the Gospel of Jesus and thereby call people out of it. In fact Christians in the New Testament are named as the “called out ones.” We are to be in it but not of it!

Mystical Babylon

This is the teaching of Revelation 17. John sees a Woman wearing purple and scarlet and she is called:

MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT,

This woman is sitting aside the Beast who rules the ten regions of the world. She is wealthy, has committed fornication with the rulers of this earth and, masquerading as Christian, has persecuted the Church and even murdered the saints. This is precisely why John marvels. Could it be that a pseudo form of Christianity will arise to resist the real Church of the Living God. The answer is, yes.

This woman, unlike the woman of Israel in Revelation 12, is a seductress and therefore deceives the whole earth with her mystical practices that come from Babylon, the source of all that is wicked and confusing. She is actually mentioned in Zechariah 5:5-11. Here a woman of great wickedness is seen in a basket that is taken to Babylon. Being sealed with a lead cover over the mouth of the basket she has mysteriously deceived the whole earth. That is, her true nature and identity has been hidden. Two angelic beings take her to Babylon and place the basket on an altar there. Meaning, that at the right time the lead seal will be removed and she will come forth for all to see and she will openly deceive the nations with her occultism and wickedness.

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Most certainly a major part John’s oracle is given over to the subject of the Antichrist or Beast. He is a dominant player in understanding end time truth and most certainly the world awaits his arrival but thankfully, he is finally overcome and destroyed by Christ at His revelation or second coming (2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:20). In fact scripture tells us that many antichrists have come and consequently the people of God through the centuries have had to stand up to the challenge that these represent (1 John 2:18). In many cases, as with the early Church of the first and second centuries, the only way to resist him was to lay down one’s life! (Revelation 12:11). Much of the western Church today is not ready or even capable of facing such a challenge and yet the book of Revelation warns that it is coming and may just be around the corner.

Indeed, we would do well to prepare ourselves by building a solid relationship with Jesus by prayer, the in depth study of God’s word, fellowship with God’s people and a willingness to serve the interests of the Kingdom of God in the world. Scripture clearly warns that the final Antichrist, who will step onto the stage of history, will be evil beyond anything we have seen before! He will achieve what no leader has ever done in that he will rule the world and thus, every nation will submit to his totalitarian regime. Great and mighty warriors of old attempted to achieve this goal and failed, but this soon to appear Beast will finally bring satanic governance to the world! We ignore the book of Revelation to our peril.

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