Letters to the Church

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians was written in the months following his departure from the city. In his first epistle, he expressed his joy at the good news that the Assembly had remained faithful despite pressure and opposition from the local population. In the second, he declares how he now boasts of the perseverance of the Thessalonians in the faith through and despite multiple “ persecutions ” and “ tribulations .”

Jesus calls us to proclaim the Good News of his Kingdom to every nation and inhabited part of the Earth . The Message proclaimed by Jesus Christ is not about reforming civil society or governments. He summons all men to repent and join a radically new social order and a very different political reality, namely, the  Kingdom of God . His message is contrary to the political ideologies of this world. We must respond positively to his invitation since the end of the age is approaching when the existing order will disappear forever.

Jesus is the High Priest of the greater sanctuary “made without hands” foreshadowed by the Ancient Tabernacle . Jesus is the High Priest who serves in the “ True Tabernacle pitched by the Lord and not man ” and foreshadowed by the religious structures and rituals of Ancient Israel.  The Son of God has become our “ priest forever ” who ministers for us “ at the right hand of the Throne of the Majesty in the Heavens ” – (Hebrews 8:1-2).

Paul argued that adopting the rite of circumcision would constitute regression to something rudimentary, and an earlier stage in the redemptive history of God’s people. If Gentile believers did so, they would be obligated to keep the whole Law, and they could easily find themselves “ severed from Christ ” - (Galatians 5:1-4).

Jesus is the only true Light of the World, and his light shines all the brighter amidst the darkness that tyrannizes the present age. All competing claims are false . “ Life ” is found in the “ Word ” or ‘ Logos ’ (λογος), and this life is the “ Light of men .” The Light is “ shining in the darkness ,” and the darkness “ cannot seize ” or suppress it. This same “ Word ” has become the Living Word of God in Jesus of Nazareth, in whom the glory, salvation, and life of God are manifested for all men to see - (John 1:1).