Featured Study: 1&2 Thessalonians
Individual lessons & Bible Study Guide
This study is entitled: "Living for Christ in the Last Days". Biblically speaking the Last Days is the span of time from the Christ's sacrificial death on the cross until He comes again, but all that's happened over the past few months surely convinces us that we have never been closer to His return than we are now. In these two letters Paul focuses on how we can live for Christ in times of suffering and persecution and his words are as relevant to us as they were to the church in Thessalonica.
Following Jesus as King produces such counter-cultural way of life that conflict with our neighbors over our beliefs is sure to arise. However, our response to their hostility should always be that of love, grace and generosity motivated by the hope we have in the coming kingdom of Christ and, irrespective of their actions we are to live in a way that brings honor to the Lord.
In this study we focus especially on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 in which Paul speaks of the Rapture of the Church. The word Rapture doesn't appear in Scripture but it comes from this section of text where Paul speaks of living believers being "caught up" to meet Christ in the air at His return. That word in Latin for "caught up" is "rapio" and this Latin word is the root of our English word "rapture" which also means to be "caught up" or to be "snatched away"! We also discuss what happens when believers die as well as the resurrection of the righteous dead which also occurs at Christ's second coming!
This study covers the book of 2 Thessalonians in which Paul outlines what must happen in world events before the return of Christ. In this letter he also reveals the "man of lawlessness" also known as the Antichrist who will be the end-time leader of a one-world government. This is a study you won't want to miss!