Fully accepting the word of god and we also thank god continually because, when you received the word of god, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is. We ourselves glory in you in the churches of god we hold you up as an example of what the grace of god, can produce when communicated to honest and faithful hearts. The new testament gives two different accounts of what happened when paul and silas preached the gospel in thessalonica. As was his custom, paul goes first to the synagogue in the city. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of god. New living translation this letter is from paul, silas, and timothy.
By constraint of the spirit of god, after he had revisited the scenes of his first missionary journey, paul is led to go across to macedonia. Wooo on is an eon thessalonians aelo1 1 and 2 thessalonians writing with gratitude and affection to a church that he had visited only briefly, pauls first and second epistles to the thessalonians offer words of encouragement to a faithful but struggling church, and they focus particularly on the encouragement offered by the return of christ. Luke conspicuously leave out of acts he makes no mention of the massive roman fire, nor of the christian persecution of nero in 64 a. Also in the epistles the kingdom is the church life rom. The holy spirit in the book of acts essay 1715 words. Lukes narrative in acts demonstrated that paul did see jesus in his resurrection, spent years in personal study with christ before taking up the mantle of apostleship, and was accepted on an equal footing by the other apostles. Nine of these book are letters to local churches like the one in thessalonica. That jesus of nazareth was the very person foretold, as the lord of that kingdom. In other words, they say the kingdom was temporarily set aside and the church age began.
Historical allusions in the book fit pauls life as recounted in acts and in his own letters 2. D, but is familiar with most events that directly precede these. They brought him good tidings of the faith and charity of those who had accepted the truth during the first visit of the gospel messengers to thessalonica. The acts of the apostles chapter 25 the thessalonian. Paul knew that it was very unlikely that he would be coming back to asia, in any case. Interesting facts about 1 thessalonians bible charts. As such, it was a strategic center for the evangelization of its region cf. In my former book, theophilus, i wrote about all that jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through. They brought him good tidings of the faith and charity of those who had accepted the truth during the first.
They form a rhetorical syllogism, a pattern of persuasion familiar to any firstcentury schoolboy kurz 1980. Until now we still have the acts of the apostles with us. Acts 17 has a fairly brief report sandwiched in between the longer. The increase of christ in the continuation of the book of acts. Lukes account helps us all learn how to count the cost of citizenship in the kingdom of god. But the church herself is the reconstitution of the kingdom, and it is a. The second letter to the thessalonians is the fourteenth book in the new testament. Acts, chapter 1 united states conference of catholic bishops. The theory that the mission to the gentiles in acts supplements the mission to israel. Theology of acts of the apostles new testament theology. The meaning of parousia is particularly important in the letters to the thessalonians. For those who think they have read acts think again.
When the christian gospel invades such an environment, an authority struggle automatically arises. The acts of the apostles chapter 25 the thessalonian letters. Watch our overview video on the book of acts, which breaks down the. A third theme common to both lukes gospel and to acts is the inclusion of the gentiles in the new kingdom. In the face of such evidence, few have ever rejected authorship by paul. Paul to the thessalonians 1 concordant publishing concern. Thessalonica definition and meaning bible dictionary. The book of acts is obviously written for a gentile nonjewish congregation. What happened in thessalonica the scriptorium daily.
We are writing to the church in thessalonica, to you who belong to god the father and the lord jesus christ. Aug 31, 2015 thessalonica was the chief city and capital of macedonia, about 100 miles from philippi. They faced secular forces, internal strife, and hostile crowds, and despite all of this, they brought the kingdom of god to a broken world and the love of god to the hearts of men. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our lord jesus christ, in virtue of this, because of this and are gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of christ is already present 2 thessalonians 2. In acts, luke recorded that paul preached for three sabbath days to the jews in the local synagogue acts 17. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house. The evangelization of thessalonica and berea acts 17. Here you can find information about the history of ancient turkey, about biblical sites to visit in turkey and greece, major christian saints, missionary journeys of st. Different in purposenot to judge the world and set up the kingdom but to rapture the church. That the kingdom of the messiah was of a spiritual, not temporal nature. The kingdom of thessalonica was a shortlived crusader state founded after the fourth crusade over conquered byzantine lands in macedonia and thessaly. The arrival of silas and timothy from macedonia, during pauls sojourn in corinth, had greatly cheered the apostle. The lesson title is thessalonica in pauls day and theyre going to be covering a little kaleidoscope of verses but we have a memory verse and the memory verse is from corinthians 9, verse 19 corinthians 9.
Timothy and silas were, indeed, charged to come to him at athens ac. Adjacent to 1 thessalonians, it stands in the midst of the pauline corpus, the collection of letters attributed to the apostle paul the books of romans through philemon. The epistles tell us that the believers have been transferred into the kingdom col. I think they maintain that before this paul preached the gospel of the kingdom, not the gospel of the grace of god. Main teachings of the evangelistic sermons in acts. However, most scholars believe paul spent about three months, rather than three weeks, with the thessalonians because he would have had to have been there long enough to receive more than one offering from the philippian church philippians 4. Paul needed to address the three troubles the church in thessalonica faced. Thessalonica, biblical references greece, biblical references to places in greece, biblical tour guide is a web site where we share with you our knowledge and offer you our top services. We see in the book of acts how the gospel of jesus christ is spread not only to the hebrews, but to the. As stated in the mark powell book what are they saying about acts this is a minority view powell 71, and it should stay that way. The book of acts reveals how the kingdom of god was step by step taken away from. It soon grew to be a critical trading hub for the roman empire by facilitating the exchange of goods between europe and asia. Purposes of the book of acts reformed bible studies. Second thessalonians is the ninth of pauls letters.
Acts is the story of how a few christians empowered by the holy spirit were chosen to bring christ and the good news to the ends of the earth. As you meet together you could plan your own group birthday celebration. In the same book he taught the body of christ 1 cointhians 12. Actus apostolorum, often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth book of the new testament. Acts 2, new international version niv the bible app. The opening words of 1 thessalonians identify the authors as the coworkers paul, silvanus identified as silas in the book of acts, and timothy. To whom he expounded, testifying the kingdom of god, and persuading them concerning jesus these were his two grand topics, 1. According to lee, the book of acts refers to the formative history of the early church, while establishing luke as a charismatic theologian who demonstrates that baptism in the holy spirit is an experience of empowering to facilitate the mission of the church. And third, we will consider the theme of the church that the apostles established to ensure that the gospel and the kingdom would continue to spread throughout. Paul, silas and timothy, to the church of the thessalonians in god the father and the lord jesus christ.
Thessalonica in pauls day 1 and 2 thessalonians amazing. The book of acts pictures paul, at the virtual end of his career, boldly preaching the kingdom of god even while in house arrest at rome acts 28. The apostle paul appears to have been the principal writer, but it is noteworthy that the letter almost always speaks in the voice of multiple authors using pronouns such as we, us, and our. All youre youre ready and im doing it from the new king james version. Thessalonica eventually became the capital city of the roman district it was located in. The book of acts begins and ends with the kingdom of god. In 1204 thessalonica became the center of a latin kingdom under boniface, marquis of monferrat, and for over two centuries it passed from hand to hand, now ruled by latins now by greeks, until in 1430 it fell before the sultan amurath ii. The epistles of paul to the thessalonians audio and.
The spread of the gospel begins at jerusalem, spreads to judea and samaria, and then expands to the other nations of the world. One tells the external events, but the other gives the spiritual and theological meaning. Paul and silas travel on to thessalonica, the leading city of macedonia northern mainland greece and headquarters for the roman governor. The book starts with jesus appearing to the disciples to instruct them about the kingdom of god 1. For it is written in the book of psalms, let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein. Book of first thessalonians overview insight for living.
Pretribulationists thus have two distinct meanings for the lords parousia. On three consecutive sabbath days he interprets the scriptures, explaining and. Holy spirit is the cornerstone of the acts of the apostles, attributed to the apostle luke. In six of those references he calls it the parousia. Acts 28 bible commentary wesleys explanatory notes. Pentecost is the festival in celebration of the outpouring of the holy spirit. A vision of kingdom worship and sociorhetorical commentaries on mark, acts, romans, 1 and 2 corinthians, galatians, philemon, colossians, ephesians, and 1 and 2 thessalonians. Thessalonica, biblical references greece, biblical references. Some christians say that after the lord jesus was crucified and resurrected, he suspended the kingdom and that another dispensation, the dispensation of the church, began on the day of pentecost. They can see both of these meanings in a single passage, such as, 2 thessalonians 2. Clicking on a chapter will show you the text of that chapter of 2 thessalonians in the bible king james version.
An orienting vocation for the kingdom of god acts 1. The evangelist luke wrote both the gospel of luke and acts of the. Acts 1, new international version niv the bible app. Thessalonica was the chief city and capital of macedonia, about 100 miles from philippi. The epistles of paul to the thessalonians audio and written. With great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the lord jesus. This is clear from the many references to the kingdom in the book of acts. Paul to the thessalonians 1 the historical setting and occasion for this epistle is found in the book of acts 17. After the fall of constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, boniface of montferrat, the leader of the crusade, was expected by both the crusaders and the defeated byzantines to become the new. The acts of the apostles is the second book written by st. Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of god. Luke gives the historical background which describe the events that led to the formation of the church in the city of thessalonica. In the christogenea new testament, thessalonians is spelled thessalonikeans, as that is a transliteration of the way that it was spelled by the greeks, and in our translations we endeavored to maintain the greek forms of at least most of the names. The acts of the apostles often referred to simply as acts, or formally the book of acts, is the fifth.
The missionary team of paul, silas, timothy and luke went to thessalonica in response to gods leading and their deep sensitivity to the will of god. And it ends with the apostle paul in the heart of the capital city of the roman empire, proclaiming the kingdom of god and teaching about the lord jesus christ with all boldness and without hindrance 28. The holy spirit comes at pentecost when the day of pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Pentecost is often referred to as the birthday of the church. Witherington has twice won the christianity today best biblical studies book of the year award, and his many books include we have seen his glory. The book of acts begins with a postresurrection interaction between jesus and his disciples. Some teach pauls teachings do not apply to us until after the end of acts, i.
Thessalonica was an autonomous part of the kingdom of macedon until 168 b. Our story starts off where the gospel of luke left offjesus is back now that hes resurrected, jesus decides to hang out and chat with his disciples whom luke calls apostles for forty days. Jesus sends the holy spirit to empower his disciples as they carry the good news of his kingdom to the nations of the world. The book of acts tells how the multiethnic, international church grew. Thessalonica, biblical references greece, biblical. The ambition of the believers was to reveal the likeness of christs character and to labor for the enlargement of his kingdom. For the thessalonians, theophilus and his fellow seekers, the call to bow to king jesus in repentance directly challenged caesars absolute rule. During this time rome was the ultimate power and to oppose it was asking for huge problems. And he said unto them to his disciples, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons. Interesting facts about 1 thessalonians barnes bible charts author. In them paul refers to the lords future coming in every chapter but the last. The port city of thessalonica now called salonica or thessaloniki was founded by the macedonian general kassander in celebration of the successful campaigns against the persians 315 bce.
I prefer the bothand approach to the evangelistic nature of the book of acts. Paul met him there for the first time in the visit recorded in todays passage acts 14. Jesus teaches his disciples about the kingdom of god acts 1. We can see the book of acts developing in a way that follows the geographical sequence of acts 1.
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