Nov 29: 2 Thessalonians

Warning about false prophecy.

It seems that the Thessalonian church were confused about whether Jesus had returned after his Resurrection or not. This of course is major question for a believer in Jesus. So Paul is reassuring them that it has not happened, gives them details of signs for the return of Jesus and warns them against false prophecy.

This reminded me of something that happened to me couple of months ago. On a sunny Sunday afternoon I was in a park waiting for a friend to arrive. A man and a woman approached me. From first sight I could tell they would preach something, but I was curious what exactly about. Long story short - they were part of a sect which used the Bible but made un-biblical claims. What the man was trying to convince me was so skewed from the Christian faith, I don’t even want to give you all the details. By the 2nd minute I knew I would never believe what this man is claiming, however I let him continue with his Yes/No questions. He was turning the pages of the Bible showing me underlined verses from different chapters. He claimed that these verses pointed to a prophecy of another Saviour other than Jesus and that that other Savior is alive today! That’s all I have to say about that! I felt defensive but the conversation staid peaceful. I started asking him questions back reminding him of certain verses which challenge his conclusions. And trust me I was referring to basics from the Bible, nothing difficult. The man was getting impatient with me. I told him that I disagree with him and that I still believe that Jesus is the one and only Saviour and could only promise him that I would keep reading the Bible.

There's always been false prophecy. The people I met that afternoon believed in one. It was a good reminder of the importance of knowing what God's message is in it's completeness, not just believing in few verses which when taken out of the full context of the Bible can be misinterpreted. Paul wrote the Thessalonians a letter to remind them of the truth about Jesus which was revealed to him and the apostles. We have this letter still today. We believe that the Bible is God's message revealed to us. We pray to God for wisdom and understanding. The Holy Spirit guides us to understand the truth written in the Bible. We share our faith with other believers.

So all this makes me ask: How is your faith being nourished?