The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet #4612
My
highlighted verses:2 Thessalonians 1:5 Which is a manifest token
of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the
kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
6
Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them
that trouble you;
7
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10
When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in
all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in
that day.
11
Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy
of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and
the work of faith with power:
12
That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye
in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2
Thes. 1:5 Which is a manifest token of the
righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom
of God, for which ye also suffer:
Hey, if you suffer persecution
and tribulation for righteousness sake you should be happy, for
that in itself declares the righteous judgment of God.
In other words, by suffering at
the hands of the wicked you have proved yourself and your Father counts
you worthy of the kingdom while at the same time you have become a witness
against
those persecutors showing just cause for the punishment they shall receive
on the Day of Vengeance when the King of kings and Lord of lords returns.
As it is written, our Father is
no respecter of persons, which means He is completely fair, which means
His judgment is righteous, which means everyone will get exactly what they
have coming to them.
Meanwhile the wicked always seem
to prosper in their corruption, don't they?
But then, when it's all over at
the "shouting", that is all they will ever have had.
What a shame!
Here is what the apostle Peter who
loved the wisdom in Paul's writing (2 Pet. 3:15) has to say about suffering
for righteousness sake:
1 Peter 3:14
But
and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake,
happy are ye: and be
not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; [15]
But
sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer
to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness
and fear:
Be knowledgeable in His Word
and always be prepared to teach someone the truth using wisdom and common
sense.
Then too, never be afraid
to tell it like it is.
[16]
Having
a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers,
they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.
Their day is coming and they
will receive their just "rewards".
Meanwhile, let us do as Paul instructed
us in his first letter and always "follow after that which is good."
2 Thes. 1:6 Seeing
it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that
trouble you;
God takes care of His own.
Again, it is completely fair (a
righteous thing) that the wicked shall receive tribulation in return for
that which they "dished out".
You know the old saying, "If
you dish it out, you better be able to take it!"
You see, a person actually declares
his or her own judgment by his or her own actions whether it be persecution
or condemnation, etc.
That is one reason why you should
always "do unto to others as you would have others do unto you" because
that which you do unto others will be done unto you.
In other words, it's coming back
to you!
Matthew 7:1Judge
not, that ye be not judged. [2] For
with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure
ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
It doesn't get any fairer than
that!
2 Thes. 1:7 And
to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels,
Jesus Christ is our rest, which
is to say He is our sabbath, which means "rest".
We may suffer trials and tribulations
and persecutions for a time while we dwell in these flesh bodies while
at the same time the wicked may revel in their piles of gold and silver.
But know this: When the 7th Trump
sounds it will be Payday for some and Paybacks for others who will receive
the pouring out of His wrath.
[8]
In
flaming
fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
Yes, God is a "consuming
fire" (Heb. 12:29) and the Lord appeared in
a "flame of fire"
in a bush to Moses (Acts 7:30) and Christ's eyes are described as a "flame
of fire" in Rev. 1:14, but Paul is describing
exactly the same thing John describes in Revelation 14 concerning that
"hour of judgment" (vs. 7), that Day of Vengeance when the wrath of God
is poured out on the ungodly "and they shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the
Lamb:" (Rev. 14:10).
So you might say that flaming fire
will be "red hot" when He returns.
2 Thes. 1:9 Who
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the
Lord, and from the glory of his power;
Again, when the Lord Jesus
Christ comes at the last Trump, the 7th Trump, it will be both a day of
rejoicing for God's children and a day of just recompense for the wicked.
[10]
When
He shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them
that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
Do you, will you, believe the
clear and simple testimony of the apostle Paul in these last days concerning
the return of Jesus Christ or do you, will you, believe the popular "He-can-return-at-any-moment"
theories that men who claim to represent Christ teach before their congregations
instead of "reading this epistle unto all the holy brethren" (1 The. 5:27)?
We are going to read it!
Then you can decide for yourself!
2 Thes. 1:11 Wherefore
also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this
calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work
of faith with power:
Are you worthy of His calling?
You are if you are a doer of His
Word and not a hearer only.
You see, we MUST exercise the power
He has given us and work our faith, because as the apostle James said,
"faith without works is dead", like a dead battery, i.e. there is no power!
Stay plugged into His Word and
you will always be charged up.
And let us pray for one another
and edify one another and do His will.
That makes our Father so happy
and He blesses us.
[12]
That
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him,
according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us all bring glory to the
name of Jesus Christ according to the grace (which means "graciousness")
of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
In other words He is so good (gracious)
to us and He blesses us far beyond that which we even comprehend.
If you are one of His, just wait
until you see your "resting place" (mansion) which He has prepared for
you when He returns (vs. 7).
John 14:2 In
my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you.[3]
And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you
unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Well, Jesus did go and He is
coming again and as Paul said in the closing verses of his first epistle
(1 Thes. 5:24), "He will do it!"
That means He has prepared a mansion,
a resting place, for you!
Goodness Gracious!
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
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