Epistles of Paul 11

Well, good evening, brethren. Yeah, we are starting on the second epistle to the Thessalonians.

And I just want to start by putting it into context. I usually like to start by putting different scriptures into context. So Paul did three missionary trips, as we know, according to the records in the book of Acts. And the three that are mentioned in the book of Acts, they all started from Antioch of Syria. So it is important for us to understand that there are two Antiochs. And I'm going to show you a screen here, which I've shown to you before. But his trip started here from Antioch of Syria. And his first missionary trip, after going through Cyprus, he went into the area of Galatia. And right there in the area of Galatia is Antioch of Syria. So we should not be confused with the two Antiochs. This was like his own base. And then when he traveled to Galatia on the first trip, then he went through Antioch. It's also interesting to know that Paul went always in all three trips, he went through Antioch of Syria in the words, in Galatia. So he always went through that area first. And his first trip, which was basically to central Turkey or to Galatia, was about 14 years after Christ's death. And the trip duration was about three years, from 45 to 48 AD. That trip starts in Acts 13. So if we turn briefly to Acts 13. Acts 13. We see the trip basically starts around about verse 4 of Acts 13. We can see in Acts 13, in the first few verses, you see that in verse 2 that Barnabas and Saul were separated for the work.

And then they fasted and prayed and laid hands on them. So it appears that at that time, Paul and them were ordained as ministers to go on this task. And so they left. You can see from verse 4, they left and they went to Cyprus. You also see in verse 7 that again it mentions Barnabas and Saul. So like in verse 2, talked about Barnabas and Saul. In verse 7, also talked about Barnabas and Saul. But then something happened in verse 8 that it was a sorcerer, Elemis, and he stood there seeking to turn the pro-counsel away from the faith. So Saul, who's also called Paul, full of God's Holy Spirit, says he stood up here in verse 10 and said, O, full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? And then he says, and now indeed the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time. And immediately he became blind. You can see that. And then in verse 13 is when they get into travel from Cyprus, from Bathos, to Perga, and from Perga to Antioch in Sidi. You see that in verse 14. But the point that I want to emphasize is that now the people here mentioned Paul and his party. So up to Yahu was Barnabas and Saul, and obviously does it with with him. And from this moment, we can see Paul took a position of leadership, and so it went on from there onwards. So that's very interesting. So this is how his missionary trip started. And that was, as I showed to you, into the area of Galatia during the first trip. He preached, Paul preached, the gospel of the kingdom of God, obviously, which is that God is going to come and rule through Christ. And also he preached the gospel that Jesus Christ was the Savior, was the Savior, or is the Savior. You can see that in chapter 13 of Acts. And if we read in verse 23, it says, it's talking about Christ being a descendant of David. And then it says, And from this man's seed according to the promise God raised up for Israel a Savior, a Messiah, a Savior, Jesus. So Yah is the Savior. So Paul spoke that the good news that now the gospel of the kingdom had basically taken a major step forward, because now we have a Savior. And furthermore, you can read in verse 38. And this is very important. Verse 38 and 39, it says, Therefore, there will be known to you, brethren, that through this man, that Jesus is preached to you the forgiveness of sin.

Through this man, you and I receive forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, because of what he has done for us. It's through him. So and then the verse 39 says, And by him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the Lord Moses. By him we are justified by Christ. So there's these three points that highlight the act in Acts 13, which Paul emphasized. First is that Jesus is our Savior. Secondly is that through him we can have forgiveness of sins, because he gave his life for us. And thirdly, it's by him that we are justified. By him. In other words, it's by Christ's act of faith that we are justified. You and I are not justified by our own acts. It's by what Christ did. And we are justified by him from all things which you could not be justified by the Lord Moses. So these are the three important points that Paul in his message emphasizes. And this becomes pervertible in the gospel, because the gospel of Jesus Christ is basically the good news that the Savior Christ has come. He has died for us. We can therefore give us those sins. And because of his act of faith, we are justified by him. This is very important. And because of that, there became an issue with the Jews. And we can see, starting in verse 42, so when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. And then we can see on the next Sabbath, verse 44, the whole city almost came together to hear the Word of God. And when the Jews saw the multitude, verse 45, they were filled with envy. And now we have a human emotion that triggers a lot of other problems. Envy. Desire for self, for self-importance and things like that. Envy. And as we know, the human heart, the human spirit, lusks to envy. And from that, a lot of sins come out. So that was the problem that we see that continuously developed because the Jews wanted to prove the point that people were justified by the physical acts of the law. And you and I are not made right with God by acts of the law. We're made right with God by what Christ has done for us. He has opened the door for us to be right with God.

And that became an issue in the early church. And that led to the Jerusalem Conference after the first missionary trip, which ended in, and our bigger partner, which ended in 48 AD, and one year later in 49 AD, they had what we call the Jerusalem Conference, which is Acts 15. And that was about 18 years after Christ's death. And we can see that became a big issue in the church because certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. In other words, they were saying that it was not just justification through Christ, but there were certain actions that were required to be justified and therefore ultimately being saved. And therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. And so we can see they went to the Jerusalem Conference. And we see also in verse five, but some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, so yeah, some people that believed, they were in the church, they believed in Christ, they believed, but rose up and said, it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the law of Moses.

So, and this being the circumcision, big opponent, the sacrificial law. So that became a big issue. We see at the end that at the end of the conference, they were given a letter to give to the churches. And from there, it started the second trip, the second missionary trip, which was from 50 AD to about 53. You know, it was for about four years. So first, Paul went back to to Galatia. And let me share your screen of the second missionary trip.

Right, yes. So he now went in a different route. Instead of going through Cyprus, he now went through inland, through this gate in the mountains, this mountain pass, and then he went all the way up to this area, which is Antioch of Sidya. You can see in this map, you might not be able to see, but you see it slightly shaded a different color. This section here, all the way around here, is highlighted in a separate different color.

And this, as you can see, is what is called Galatia. So that is the section of Galatia.

So he went through there first, and then, which is in central Turkey, and then God's Holy Spirit led him all the way west to go into Macedonia and Greece. He first went into Philippi. Right, so let's see if I can zoom this a little bit more.

See if I can zoom a little bit more so you can see a little bit better. Yeah.

So yeah, I think that's better. He first went into Philippi, and then he went to Thessalonica.

And then, yeah, in Thessalonica, then we take up the story. And they had persecution there, and then he left Tuberia. You know about the story about Tuberians. And then he sent Timothy back, and he went all the way down to Athens. You know the story about being Athens. And then he went to Corinth, and then from there in Corinth, and he was there for about a year and a half. And from there in Corinth, at the beginning, he wrote first Thessalonians, and later he wrote second Thessalonians. So that's basically why when we were covering the epistles of Paul, also at ABC, when we covered the epistles of Paul, the epistles to the Thessalonians are covered first, because you believe those are the first two epistles that were written by Paul.

All right, so in Acts chapter 17, in Acts 17, we see another important point about Paul's threefold structure of highlighted in Acts 13 that he showed that Jesus is our Savior. He also highlighted that through Jesus we are forgiveness of sins, and by Jesus Christ we are justified. But now here in Acts 17, starting in verse 1, you know, when they had passed through Amphipolis and Napolonia, they came to Thessalonic, as I showed you in the map a while ago, and there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that Christ had to suffer. So, Yah is the first point in his preaching about Christ, that he says that the Christ, it's important, it says that the Christ, in other words, that the Messiah had to suffer. So, the Messiah, because the Jews were expecting Messiah to come and rule. And so he was explaining the Messiah had to first come and suffer. So, he had to explain that the Messiah had to suffer. Then, obviously, he had to be killed, and then he says, rise, that was the second point. In other words, be resurrected, rise from the dead. So, that was the second point, again, from the dead, and saying, this Jesus whom I preached to you is the Christ. And so, the third point here, he identified that the Messiah is Jesus. So, we can see this three-folded structure in the message that the Messiah had to suffer. He had to rise from the dead, and that Jesus is the Messiah. And Jesus, therefore, is our Savior. And through Him we are forgiveness of sins, and by Him we justify. So, this is a good overview picture that we should keep in mind, because it helps us a lot in many situations when people get confused about the New Testament, and what was happening, and the letters of Paul. This is important for us to understand. And again, yeah, we can see in verse five that, you know, verse four, there was a great multitude of Greeks, and not a few leading women. And then in verse five, it says, but the Jews were not persuaded, becoming envious. So, we can see that point of envy, and therefore, they gathered a mob, and they created great trouble that Paul had to leave, then they went to Berea, and so on, and then to Corinth. So, Paul then was in Corinth, southern Greece near Athens, as we saw in the map a little while ago, for about a year and a half. And we can see that in chapter 18 of Acts. And it says in verse one, and it says, after these things, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth, and that's where he stayed. And look at in verse four, and he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

So, we can see that. And then in verse 11, and he continued there a year and six months, teaching the Word of God among them. So, this is where we get that that's from there, where he was. And then we also, when we went into 1 Thessalonians, we saw that he wrote from Corinth, and then he had Timothy coming back to him, and Silvanus, or Silas, and they gave good encouragement words to him about the well-being of the church in Thessalonians.

So, he wrote 1 Thessalonians to encourage the brethren, to encourage those living regarding some that had died, because it was a misunderstanding about Christ, and they wanted, you wanted to clarify that issue. And then it was also to encourage them in pure conduct, and to encourage them not to be spiritually lazy. We went through that carefully in the studies of 1 Thessalonians. So, once again, they misunderstood that Jesus Christ's coming was soon. Some, probably from what we gathered, they left the jobs, and said, oh well, seeing the Christ coming soon, I've got enough money, or whatever it is, I don't need to work, maybe, maybe that's what they did.

But it is also possible that a letter, a false letter, had circulated from Paul, saying that Jesus had already come, or from other ministers, false ministers. And therefore, because of that, because of, of what his letter said, and some of the impressions that we created, people were starting to think that Christ had to come pretty soon.

And this part often has happened in the church in the past. So, he then wrote 2 Thessalonians, about the year 52 AD, explaining that certain things had to happen first. So, he had to explain in more detail some misunderstandings about Jesus Christ's coming, and again, to keep encouraging the brethren. So, let's start reading now 2 Thessalonians, with that background, verse 1. Paul Silas, or Sylvanas, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians, in God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Again, no mention of the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit is not a person. And then, verse 2, grace to you, and peace from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, the second time, mentioning from God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's read verse 3. We are bound to thank God, always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other.

So, Yah is saying, in the encouragement, that it says, because their faith grows, our faith has to be growing, and the love of every one of you abounds towards each other. So, Yah is encouraged, because there's a lot of faith and love. We know one of the problems at the end time, in Matthew 24, verse 12, says, the love of many will wax cold.

So, we need to be careful that our love for one another is abounding all the time. Then, in verse 4, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure. So, Yah is saying, we boast, among the other congregations, of how you are patient, and how you have faith, even though you go through all these trials and difficulties, all these tests, all these pressures.

Basically, we're saying patience, which is perseverance, is that stick to it-iveness. In South Africa, we have a word similar that uses that, I quite often refer to it, which is phosphate, which is bite hard. It's that patient perseverance, stick to it-iveness, just keep going, just biting hard like a bulldog with tenacity. And faith, that's absolute trust in God. Besides whatever problems they have, they're just trusting God.

So, so, Yah, we have two different things, that patience and that faith. And it says, in all your persecutions and tribulations, persecutions against you, people may persecute you because they don't like your religion, they don't like your religion, they make your life difficult, whatever.

Or it may be tribulations, just trials and difficulties that we have, stresses, financial difficulties, pressures in life, different anxieties, health issues. So, all these are a compound to tribulations. So, they have persecutions and tribulations, which is in italics, but a manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God.

So, our patience and faith, you know, that He was boasting that we need to have, and they were having, as they went through persecutions and tribulations, which are a manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God. Now, that may be a puzzling statement. Why do persecutions and trials prove God's righteousness?

Because then it continues, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer. So, there is a righteous judgment of God.

Now, first place, persecution is something that has to happen, unfortunately, in this world. I know we don't like it. I know, because we have different practices, we don't do the things of the world, we don't keep their holy days and things like that, we may have persecutions, and therefore others may make our life difficult. We know there's going to be persecutions. That's for cost.

That is prophesied in the Bible. Turn with me to 2 Timothy chapter 3. 2 Timothy chapter 3.

2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 12 and 13. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

That evil man in impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. So, basically, it says we will suffer persecution. We will be persecuted because of what we believe, because this is not God's world. And so there's going to be a righteous judgment, because this is not God's world. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. 1 Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 14 through 16.

For you, brethren, become imitators of the churches of God, which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans, who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets and have persecuted us, and they do not please God and are contrary to all men. So there's going to be a judgment. But in the meantime, there's going to be persecution. That's what we read here. It's very evident here. Look in Philippians chapter 1 verse 27. Philippians chapter 1 verse 27. Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ so that whether I come and see you or whether I'm absent, I'm a year of your affairs, that you may stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. And not only in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. So our conduct needs to be worthy of the good news of Christ. In other words, that He's our Savior, that forgiveness comes through Him, that we are justified by Him, and we have been granted, it says, on behalf of Christ, we have been granted a favor, a gift of grace to suffer, that's what it says, to suffer for His sake. That's what it says in verse 29. Not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake. You see, brethren, our faith will be tested. In James chapter 1 verse 2 through 4, it says, our faith will be tested. Let's look at that.

My brethren, counter all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. So our faith will be tested.

And then let that patience, that perseverance, that stick-to-it-iveness, that bulldog tenacity have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. And if you wonder why is it so, if you ask, why does it have to be this way?

It says, if you lack that wisdom, ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to you. God will help you to understand why we have to go through this. Christ learned obedience by the things He suffered. We know that. Hebrews 5 verse 8.

We also learn obedience by the things we suffer. I'm sure you can look at yourself. I can look at myself and say, I am becoming a more caring person, a more loving person, one with more outgoing concern for others, because of things I've suffered.

I really have become a little bit more kinder. We all do. And so, like Christ learned obedience by what He suffered, did Christ have to learn in your Be-gips? Of course not, but He had to learn what was to feel the pain that we have to go through as human beings. He learned what it is to struggle as a human being with pain, because as a God being, He never had pain. So, He learned what it is to go through this process that we go through of learning obedience and suffering, because He had to suffer, too. And likewise, when we have children, we read in Hebrews 12, 6-8, when we have children, when they have little things to learn, we will correct them. Now, correction does not necessarily mean just a hiding. It may come in various forms. It could be withdrawal or denial of certain gifts or certain benefits, and therefore you are being corrected in a loving way. So, that's what we are going through. Why? Because we're all imperfect. We all have sins.

And I think the biggest sins are those hidden sins, are those that we can't see. You know, if you can see, well, I see I've got this problem and I need to work on it, but if you don't even know you've got this problem, if you don't even know that there is something wrong with my personality or your personality or our personality, the way we approach it, you can't see it. I just can't see it, but I can't see it. It's like a blind spot in my characteristics. Then it's hard. It's hard. So, God will test us.

Will test our faith, but it has a benefit to make us better people. Let's just look at a few verses here in Peter. We're going to start in 1 Peter. 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 7.

It says that the genuineness of your faith being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So, our faith, the genius of our faith, has to be tested even if it is by fire.

And the outcome is the final end result will be praise, honor, and glory when Christ returns. Praise, honor, and glory to you and I. Quite often, we don't think of that. We kind of say, no, it's not for me honoring glory. I just want to serve Christ, which is good. But it's in the Bible. It will be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ. So, praise first and foremost to God for what is achieved in us. Then look at it in chapter 2 verse 20 and 21. Chapter 2, still first be let, chapter 2 verse 20 and 21. For what credit is it if when you are beaten by your faults you take it patiently?

You know, what credit is it if you've got persecutions and trials because you've said something wrong, so you deserve it. I deserve it. But when you do good and suffer, when you've not said anything wrong, you've not reacted in any wrong way, and you suffered patiently, like it says, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. Why? Because that's what Christ has done for us too. Is there nothing wrong?

For to this you were called. What? You and I were called into the church for this purpose. You and I were called into the church for the purpose of suffering.

Because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example that you should follow his steps. Or quite often we just think, well, I've got to follow Christ's steps, so I've got to live like Christ.

But the other emphasis is we've got to suffer like Christ. Interesting, isn't it?

Keep your finger in Peter. I just want to quickly look at Colossians chapter one. Colossians chapter one verse 24.

Colossians chapter one verse 24.

Now I rejoice in my suffering, says Paul, for you. You know, I'm suffering for your sake. And fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. Christ's physical body took all the suffering that it could take. But as we look at a bigger body, the spiritual body of Christ, which is the church, we being the body of Christ, Christ is the head, we are part of that body. We have to suffer as well because we are being made, spiritually speaking, as the body of Christ, right? And so like the physical body of Christ had to suffer, why? Because Paul just finished explaining. Remember I said that the Messiah had to first suffer and to rise again.

And then we are now justified by him. So we, that's what Paul was saying, yeah, in his body he was filling up in his flesh, it says in verse 24, what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ for the sake of his body, spiritual body, which is the church. And so we, as part of the body of Christ, because the body of Christ has to suffer, we have to suffer because we are the body of Christ.

And the Messiah had to suffer first and rise again. So when we look at a bigger picture, the physical Jesus had to die and suffer and rise again. We, as the spiritual body of Jesus Christ, have to suffer and die for the rest of the world as well. For we are part of that, and that's what Paul was saying, the part that that he's fulfilling, what was lacking in the afflictions of Christ. So when we go back now to 1st Peter chapter 2 verse 20 and 21, he says, for you, for to this you were called. We are called for this purpose because Christ also suffered for us, leaving an example that we should follow his steps.

This is something very, very important here that we need to understand. Very significant, spiritually speaking, that God is working through us as the first fruits to be the bride of Christ, to be part of that body, ruling body in the kingdom of God. Very significant. Look at 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 9. 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 9.

Resisting, talking about as resisting the devil, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. So we all, as Christians, as God's people, suffer in the world. We're not unique.

Your specific sufferings may be different than somebody sitting next to you in church, but we all suffer. We all have different trials. And also reading in 2nd Peter chapter 3, 2nd Peter chapter 3, verses 4 through 9, it then says, people says, well, this is going to continue like this, and we okay, whatever, it's going to continue like this. And he says, no, no, it's not continue like this. Because it says in verse 9, the Lord is not slacking concerning his problem, a promise of some count slackness, but he's long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But why does he allow this? Because there's going to be a judgment. You see, people say, well, well, nothing's going to come. And then he says, yeah, where is the promise of his come? And then he says, don't, don't forget that the heavens and the earth, which are now, that says in verse 7 of 1st Peter chapter 3, which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly man. So, yes, there's going to be a judgment. There will be a judgment. And so we're reading in verse 5, this is a manifest evidence of the judgment of God. Right. So this persecution and tribulations is a manifest evidence of the righteous of God. Why? Verse 6 says, it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you. So there will be a judgment. So once again, reading verse 5, which is manifest evidence, the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, because we are going to be leaders with Christ.

So we're going to be of that same team. And so for us to be counted worthy of that, like Christ, had to suffer, we also have to suffer, for which you also suffer.

So it's a righteous thing with God that He will sort it out. He will repay.

So that will happen. As we read in Romans 12, it says, leave the vengeance to God. God will sort it out.

Leave it to God. And then we'll continue here in verse 7. And to give you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels. So God is going to sort it out. He's going to repay it. And He will give us rest when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven, when Christ returns with His mighty angels. So He's going to return with His angels. And what is He going to do?

In flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So there's going to be a vengeance.

Not that we rejoice when we see people that we may know that may have to be punished for any wrongdoing that they're doing towards us. We hope and pray that they will depend and change. But we do know that we all will be judged according to our works.

Right, so Yah in verse 8 says, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God.

Some people may ask, well, if they don't know God, then why take vengeance on them?

Well, let's read in Romans chapter 1. Romans chapter 1. We're going to read verse 21. Romans chapter 1 verse 21.

Because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God. Nowhere thankful, but came futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools. So it says, yeah, they knew God.

And then it reads here in verse 28. Verse 28.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting.

So those that don't know God, Yah is talking about, they know better. They know that God exists. Right? But they don't know God. They do not develop a relationship with God.

So when we read in verse 8 of 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, that there will be a vengeance on those who do not know God. It's because they could have known God, but they rejected it. They turned it against it.

And they did not develop a relationship with God. So as we read in Romans chapter 1, therefore, they don't know God. They don't know God because they don't have a relationship with God. And then it says, And those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

What do you mean, do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ? So we go back to Romans chapter 1 verse 16. It says, For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation. To everyone who believes for the Jew first and also to the Greek.

So the gospel of Jesus Christ is the power to salvation. What do you mean? Because Christ is the Messiah. He had to suffer for us. He died for us so that we could be forgiven. And he was resurrected. And he justified us. That is the gospel. That is the good news of Jesus Christ. And that is the power to salvation. That's the key, the road, the way, the path to salvation.

But if they don't obey that, that means they don't take that graciousness from God, that gift from God. And when God gives us a gift, expect something in return. When God gave his Son to us by his graciousness, he expects us to return by doing what?

By doing what's pleasing to any sight, obeying his commandments, so that it may be well with us, for our own good. So those who do not obey the gospel of Christ, they don't take that grace, that gift, and return the favor that is built into the whole principle of grace. In our booklet on grace, and if you haven't read it, I strongly recommend you to read the booklet on grace, because it explains there how grace requires a return.

Like you give somebody, and now you're obliged to return the favor. So it's a favor that God's given us, and we are obliged to return the favor. And what is our obligation to return the favor from God? It is that we then repent and become like God is. So that's why it says that we have to accept the gospel of Christ, which is the power of God to salvation. And then we're still reading in verse 18 of Romans chapter 1. So verse 18 of Romans chapter 1. We just finished reading 16. And verse 18 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppressed truth in unrighteousness. Because this truth of what Christ has done for us is so precious. But when people suppress it in unrighteousness, like we read about those Pharisees and those Jews in Thessalonika, because of envy, they suppress the truth. See, so the wrath of God is revealed against all that ungodliness, all that unrighteousness.

So continue now in Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 8. It says the righteous judgment of God is going to happen.

And He will execute that. He will give you rest. See that on verse 7.

When Christ is revealed from heaven. And in verse 8, and in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, in other words, did not develop a relationship with God, and on those who do not obey the Gospel of our Lord, in other words, they do not return the favor of this gracious act, this gracious good news of what Jesus Christ has done for us. They don't return that favor. And so there's going to be a vengeance, as it says, vengeance on those.

And then there are many scriptures that I could turn to, about when Christ comes with these angels in Revelation.

And maybe I'll just read them to you. And maybe you can do a little Bible study going through them. Revelation 14, verse 9 and 10, that it shows that the beast and the father, false prophet, the beast and the powers of that time will be destroyed in the presence of Jesus Christ. Also in Revelation 16, verse 8 and 9, that it shows that they'll be scorched with fire. That's during the period of the seven master plagues, which is the period immediately upon the return of Christ. Christ is the lost seventh trumpet, and then the seventh trumpet, that's return of Christ, and then it opens up with seven lost plagues. And so it shows that they will be scorched with fire. Then also in Revelation 19, verse 11 and verse 19 and 20, shows the beast and the false prophet being cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the millennium. And then in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 7 and 10, it shows that in the final, it has therefore also a double meaning. It's not just at the return of Christ, but during that whole period of Christ coming, at the end of that period, then there will be a final fire that will destroy everything, and there'll be a final destruction that will happen. So it will all obviously be in the presence of Jesus Christ. So when we read here in verse 9 and 10 of 2 Thessalonians, these shall be punished with ever-lasting destruction. The destruction is everlasting. In other words, it's destruction forever. From the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. So when Christ comes, those will be destroyed. And if you read intersections like in Zechariah 14, where it says how those people will be destroyed, that with the breath, the breath, as Christ looks at them, the eyes will melt and the tongues will melt in their mouths. It just shows that power of Christ when He comes, and it says these will be punished with ever-lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. The glorious power of Christ will just destroy them.

Verse 10, when He comes in that day to be glorified in His saints and to be admired amongst among all those who believe because of artestingly among you was believed. So it's just saying, hey, there's going to be a judgment.

And we just have to learn to, as it says, be patient and hold on in faith, in abstract trust. We have to fight hard, fast-bait, and just holding trust. Whatever comes, we just have to hold on tenaciously.

And then it says, therefore, in verse 11, we also pray always for you that God, that our God, may count you worthy of this calling.

How we counted worthy of this calling? By being patient and having faith as we are through these persecutions and trials which come.

And for full, all the good pleasure of His goodness. And we do our part. Do what He wants us to do. Say the right words before we speak. Think about it. How is that going to come across?

Is that going to be to the honor of God? Am I saying something in an outburst of emotion? Or am I really being careful with my mouth? And just doing whatever I do to the glory of God, ultimately. So we've got to be careful how we come across. And He says, therefore, He says, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power. Yeah, the work of actually trusting in God with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you. Maybe you're not only glorified in the future, but it may be glorified through your actions.

And you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

So once again, yeah, we have the grace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ again, only two. So with this introduction, it now sets up for the apostasy idea that we're going to explain in the next Bible study.