Tuesday 121024
Don’t let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.
So, our study consists of two ground rules:
1st we ONLY read and follow what is found in the Holy Bible.
2nd we ONLY learn from a study by what effort we put into that study.
The verses we are going to study tonight:
2 Peter 3:14-16; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.
So tonight, let’s read what Scripture is telling us, instead of just reading words that have been written on parchment paper.
In 2 Peter 3, the apostle has realized that Jesus is not going to be returning as ‘soon’ as the disciples (the remaining eleven) had believed He would be, immediately after the crucifixion.
Simon Peter is telling the followers about the apostle Paul’s writings.
2 Peter 3
vs14 ‘…Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless…’
vs15 ‘…And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you…’
vs16 ‘…As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction…’ KJV (King James Version)
The KJV is a very difficult version to read and comprehend, even when one knows beforehand, what has been written, and I don’t like changing the words, especially when reading the KJV, if I felt it was okay to just change the wording, I’d just read a different version altogether.
vs14 ‘… And so, my friends, as you wait for that Day, do your best to be pure and faultless in God’s sight and to be at peace with him…’
vs15 ‘…Look on our Lord’s patience as the opportunity he is giving you to be saved, just as our dear friend Paul wrote to you, using the wisdom that God gave him…’
vs16 ‘…This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction…’ GNT (Good News Translation)
The wording used by Peter must be astonishing to most readers. ‘…As you wait for that Day …’ Peter and the other apostles were remaining in Jerusalem, waiting on the return of Jesus. The remaining eleven disciples after the crucifixion, had no idea of the ‘church age’ described by Paul in his epistles. These eleven men truly believed Jesus would be returning immediately to begin setting up His Kingdom as He talked about in His earthly ministry. Jesus gave no mention of this ‘Age of Grace’ that was about to happen. Of course He knew, Jesus is God, but it wasn’t time for mankind to know yet what was about to happen.
vs14 ‘…So, my friends, live in a good way, because you are waiting for these things to happen. Try very much to do what makes God happy. Then, when you meet God, he will see that you are clean. He will see that there is no trouble in your minds…’
vs15 ‘…Remember that our Lord wants to save people from their sins. That is why he is now waiting patiently for people to turn to him before he will return. Paul has also written to you about these things. He is our friend that we love like a brother. God helped him to understand these things…’
vs16 ‘…He wrote about them in all his letters. Some things that he has written are difficult for people to understand. Some people have weak minds and they are not sure about what they believe. They explain Paul’s teaching in a way that deceives people. They also explain other things in the Bible wrongly. As a result, those people will destroy themselves and God will punish them…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
From vs15 ‘…That is why he is now waiting patiently for people to turn to him before he will return…’ this is speaking of the ‘Age of Grace.’ The end of ‘GRACE’ could come at any moment. This is one of the major ‘MYSTERIES’ the Bible forewarned us about. Don’t hide your heads in the sand because you don’t understand what has been written. Stand tall and firm until Jesus calls out your name; HAVE FAITH.
Also, from vs15 ‘…Paul has also written to you about these things. He is our friend that we love like a brother. God helped him to understand these things…’
Allow the apostle Paul to help you understand these things. Read the part of the Bible that has been written for us Gentiles.
As the Bible tells us in 2 Timothy 3
vs16 ‘…Everything that is written in the Bible comes from God’s Spirit. It helps us in many ways. The Bible teaches us what is true. It warns us when we are doing wrong things. It shows us what is right. It teaches us how to live good lives…’
vs17 ‘…As a result, people who want to serve God can know how to live properly. They will be people who are ready to do all kinds of good things…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
‘…Everything written in the Bible has come from God…’ but NOT everything is meant for us to follow as so many churches teach their congregations today.
Just read different parts found in the Old Testament and when you read of Jonah turning away from
God, the Bible isn’t telling us to run away and hide from God … you MUST use some COMMON SENSE here. We are being shown what NOT to do. The Old Testament is like a road map for us; It’s showing us WHAT NOT to do so we won’t fail like the Israelites.
In just 2 different books, written by 2 different apostles, the Word is so different.
This is maybe the clearest definition of the ‘MYSTERY.’
Ask yourself, could God had authored these two books similar even though they were written by two different men? Of course, He could have but they were NOT intended to be the same. This is maybe the largest complaint I have about churches today, in the 21st century.
They teach about God’s Love for us, they teach about how our love for one another must be similar. They teach how we should help one another from the struggles we will find in this life of ours … all this is true but, what they don’t teach is what is going to matter on that final day when the ‘TRUMP IS SOUNDED BY THE ARCHANGEL.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
1 Thessalonians 4
vs13 ‘…Our Christian friends, we want you to understand properly about your friends who have died. Then you will not continue to be sad about them. People who do not hope for any life after death are sad when their friends die. But you should not be upset like those other people…’
vs14 ‘…We believe that Jesus died and he rose again after death. So we also believe that people who have died as Christians will rise again. When God brings Jesus back, he will take the Christians to go with Jesus…’
vs15 ‘…We are telling you the message that the Lord has given to us. This is what will happen when the Lord returns. Those of us who are still alive will not go to meet the Lord first. We will not go before those people who have already died…’
vs16 ‘…On that day, the Lord himself will come down from heaven. He will shout with authority. People will hear the voice of the leader of God’s angels. They will hear the sound of God’s trumpet. Then those people who have died as Christians will become alive again. They will be the first people to rise up…’
vs17 ‘…After that, those of us who are still alive will join together with them. God will suddenly take us up into the clouds. In that way, we will all meet the Lord in the sky. So we will all be with the Lord for ever…’
vs18 ‘…Because this message is true, tell it to each other. Help one another to be strong, not sad…’ EASY (Easy English Bible)
This passage found in 1 Thessalonians 4 is our promise, the fulfillment of the Age of Grace. This is the ‘MYSTERY’ defined in the writings of Paul. Why would any of the other writings in the Bible know of this promise?
Our churches depend on a 10 percent ‘tithe’ that is not for us today. Why would they not teach us on ‘GIVING’ that is meant for us today.
What our churches should teach us today is how we should keep our Bibles open every day. We should begin our days, end our days and then throughout our days we should be in the Word.
Churches don’t want us in the Word because they don’t want us to know the truth; they’d rather lie to us instead of telling us the truth and if our Pastors don’t know the truth, there are too many churches out there today with their hands out to profit instead of having their hands out to help lift a person out of the hole they have been trapped in for their entire lives.
Tonight’s study has ONLY been on three passages found in the Bible. You need to ask yourself what else in buried in the Word that you don’t already know about.
The simple fact is, about 90 percent of the Bible has been written for the Jewish person. It is ONLY those words written by the apostle Paul that are for us Gentiles, the nation not spoken about in the Old Testament.
The nation referred to in the Gospels and by Jesus Himself, as dogs.
Read the Word for yourself and learn what God has in store for you.
I love y’all. Remember, Jesus loves each one of us more than any one of us can possibly comprehend what that love is. We don’t know but there is coming that day when each one of us will find out for sure.
Stay in His Word. Wear Jesus on your shoulder every minute of every day. Keep Him as near to you as you can. Relax in His arms and let Him protect you from the evil one.
Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen
InHIM. ><)))o>