Recent predictions concerning the end of our world have been show to be false. For many, this is all quite funny. For others, the disappointment has been devastating.
False and unsettling claims about the return of Jesus are nothing new. In Paul's day, there were some false teachers claiming that the day of the Lord had already come. And Paul is concerned about the effect such teaching might have.
Don't be deceived
Read 2 Thessalonians 2 v 1-3
- - What is Paul asking these Christians not to do?
- - How were people spreading these rumors trying to convince people they were true (v 2)?
- - Which do you think is worse: to be "unsettled or alarmed" (v 2), or "deceived" (v 3)? Why?
- - What must happen, and who must appear, before the day of the Lord (v 3)? (More on this in verses 4-12 tomorrow!)
If the day of the Lord has come, then we have all missed out. If there is nothing to look forward to, if there is no future day of vindication and restoration, if our pre- sent (or our past) is as good as it is going to get, then the Christian hope is destroyed. But Paul’s point is that the day of the Lord hasn’t come yet. And therefore we can have a great and certain hope for the future.
Do look forward
Read 1 Thessalonians 4 v 16-17
- - What do we learn here about the coming of the Lord Jesus?
- - Why will the day of the Lord be hard to miss?!
- - What particularly excites you about this future event?
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TIME OUT
- - Why is deception about Jesus' return dangerous?
- - How can Christians prevent themselves from "being deceived," do you think?
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Perhaps today we’re less likely to worry that the Lord has already come than to wonder if the Lord will ever come. But the outcome of both false beliefs is much the same—we will live as though this life and this world is all there is. Either we’ll indulge ourselves, or despair, or both.
Wonderfully, the Christian can look for- ward to Jesus’ return, and to a world which is like this one, and yet so much better. We can have hope for our future, and so have hope for today.
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PRAY
What excites you most about the return of the Lord Jesus? Spend time in prayer about that now.
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This devotional is taken from Explore—a daily Bible-reading devotional from The Good Book Company which enables you to engage with Scripture and which will encourage, equip and inspire you to live for Christ. Explore features contributions from pastors such as Dr Timothy Keller, Mike McKinley and Tim Chester.
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