June 27, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Living in the Days

Living in the Days

Daniel 12:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. 4 But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.”

Who is Michael (verse 1)?

What will the “time of distress” be like (verse 1)?

Who will “be delivered” (verse 1)?

What will the “multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth” do (verse 2)?

How will the “multitudes” be different (verse 2)?

Who will “shine like the brightness of the heavens” (verse 3)?

How long were the “words of the scroll” to be sealed (verse 4)?

In your opinion, is the statement that “many will go here and there to increase knowledge” a positive or a negative statement about the people (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 13:32-37 - New International Version (NIV)

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

Who is the only one who knows “that day or hour” (verse 32)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to “Be on guard!  Be alert!” (verse 33)?

What do we not know (verse 33)?

Who does the man who is going away tell to “keep watch” (verse 34)?

Why should we “keep watch” (verse 35)?

How should we not be found (verse 36)?

What does Jesus say to everyone (verse 37)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, why was Daniel to “roll up and seal the words of the scroll” in Daniel 12:1-4 but now Jesus is telling the disciples and everyone in Mark 13:32-37 to “watch”?      

Acts 2:14-24 – New International Version (NIV) 

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 “‘In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

    your young men will see visions,

    your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on my servants, both men and women,

    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

    and they will prophesy.

19 I will show wonders in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

    blood and fire and billows of smoke.

20 The sun will be turned to darkness

    and the moon to blood

    before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.

21 And everyone who calls

    on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 

What does Peter want the “fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem” to do (verse 14)?

In your opinion, why would people not be drunk at “nine in the morning” (verse 15)?

Who spoke about what is happening (verse 16)?

What does God say He will do “in the last days” (verses 17)?

Who will prophesy (verse 18)?

Where will God show signs (verse 19)?

What is coming after the sun is turned to darkness and the moon being turned to blood (verse 20)?

Who will be saved (verse 21)?

How was Jesus of Nazareth accredited by God (verse 22)?

Who put Jesus to death “by nailing him to the cross” (verse 23)?

What was impossible (verse 24)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, are the “last days” that Joel talked about and Peter quoted in Acts 2:14-24 the same as the time of deliverance that Daniel was looking forward to in Daniel 12:1-4?  Why or why not?

In your opinion, how do Peter’s actions in Acts 2:14-24 show his obedience to the command of Jesus to “watch” in Mark 13:32-37?  [see Ezekiel 33:1-6]  

Titus 2:11-14 – New International Version (NIV)

11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

What has appeared “that offers salvation to all people” (verse 11)?

What are we taught to “say no” to (verse 12)?

How are we to live “in this present age” (verse 12)?

What is the “blessed hope” that we wait for (verse 13)?

Why did Jesus give “himself for us” (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, is the time in Daniel 12:1-4 where Michael, the great prince arises, and the time that Titus 2:11-14 describes as “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” the same time?  Why or why not?

In your opinion, what does Mark 13:32-37 help us understand about the time that Paul says in Titus 2:11-14 is “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ”?  

In your opinion, what does the prophet Joel, through Peter in Acts 2:14-24, teach us about the salvation that Paul proclaims is offered to all people in Titus 2:11-14?  

In your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, Mark, Acts and Titus teach us about the difference between the last days and the “day or hour that no one knows”?  

In your opinion, how should we live in the days that we are in?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

July 4, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Successful Servants of God

Successful Servants of God

Exodus 12:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ² “This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year. ³ Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household. ⁴ If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. ⁵ The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. ⁶ Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. ⁷ Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. ⁸ That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. ⁹ Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs. ¹⁰ Do not leave any of it till morning; if some is left till morning, you must burn it. ¹¹ This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

¹² “On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. ¹³ The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.

Where were Moses and Aaron when the Lord spoke to them (verse 1)?

In your opinion, why would the Lord say “this month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year” (verse 2)?

What is each man to take on the “tenth day of this month” (verse 3)?

What are the criteria for “animals you choose” (verse 5)?

When are the animals to be slaughtered (verse 6)?

Where are they to put the blood (verse 7)?

How is the meat to be cooked (verse 9)?

How are they to eat the meat (verse 11)?

Who is the Lord bringing judgment on (verse 12)?

What will the blood be (verse 13)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 14:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. ² “But not during the festival,” they said, “or the people may riot.”

³ While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.

⁴ Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? ⁵ It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly.

⁶ “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. ⁷ The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. ⁸ She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. ⁹ Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

¹⁰ Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them. ¹¹ They were delighted to hear this and promised to give him money. So he watched for an opportunity to hand him over.

In your opinion, what does it reveal about the chief priests and the teachers of the law that two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread that they “were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him” (verse 1)?

Why did they not want to arrest Him during the festival (verse 2)?

What happened to Jesus when He was “reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper” (verse 3)?

Why was the woman rebuked (verses 4 and 5)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus say “she has done a beautiful thing to me” (verse 6)?

Who can be helped at any time (verse 7)?

What did the woman prepare for (verse 8)?

Where will what the woman has done be told (verse 9)?

How did Judas react (verse 10)?

Why were the chief priests delighted (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the care taken with the lambs in Exodus 12:1-13 and the preparation the woman did for Jesus in Mark 14:1-11 similar?      

Acts 14:21-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²¹ They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²² strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. ²³ Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. ²⁴ After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, ²⁵ and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

²⁶ From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. ²⁷ On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

What do Paul and Barnabas do in “in that city” (verse 21)?

How did they encourage the disciples in Lystra, Iconium and Antioch to “remain true to the faith” (verse 22)?

What did Paul and Barnabas do for the elders they appointed “with prayer and fasting” (verse 23)?

What had happened to Paul and Barnabas in Antioch (verses 26)?

What did they report to the church in Antioch (verse 27)?

Who did they stay with a long time (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the selection of the lambs in Exodus 12:1-13 and the committing of the appointed elders in Acts 14:21-28 similar?

In your opinion, what can we learn about commitment from the woman with the “alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard” from Mark 14:1-11 and Paul and Barnabas in Antioch committing “to the grace of God” for the work they left there to do? 

1 Peter 1:13-25 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For,

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

What should we do “with minds that are alert and fully sober” (verse 13)?

What should we not conform to (verse 14)?

Why should we “be holy” (verse 16)?

In your opinion, what is “reverent fear” (verse 17)?

How were we redeemed (verses 18 and 19)?

When was Christ chosen to be the lamb (verse 20)?

What are our faith and hope in (verse 21)?

How should we love each other (verse 22)?

How have we been born “of imperishable” seed (verse 23)?

What endures forever (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, is there anything that we who have been saved by the “precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect” according to 1 Peter 1:13-25 should learn from these instructions in Exodus 12:1-13, “This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.”?

In your opinion, what can the woman with the “alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard” in Mark 14:1-11 teach us about what it means to “set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” in 1 Peter 1:13-25?

In your opinion, what can we learn from 1 Peter 1:13-25 and from Paul, Barnabas and the elders they appointed in Acts 14:21-28 about what is needed to be focused on to be successful servants of God? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Exodus, Mark, Acts and 1 Peter teach us about living out our “time as foreigners here in reverent fear”? 

In your opinion, how should we respond to the grace of God today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 20, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Eternal Words

Eternal Words

Isaiah 40:3-11 - New International Version (NIV)

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
    the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
    and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.

What does the voice call for (verse 3)?

What will happen to “every mountain and hill” (verse 4)?

Who will see the “glory of the Lord” together (verse 5)?

What did Isaiah say when he heard the voice say, “cry out” (verse 6)?

Why does “the grass withers and the flowers fall” (verse 7)?

In your opinion, how can words, which seem much less substantial than grass or flowers, endure forever (verse 8)?

What is the good news that is to be shouted to Jerusalem (verse 9)?

How does “the Sovereign Lord” come (verse 10)?

How does He carry His lambs (verse 11)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 13:24-31 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’

²⁶ “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

²⁸ “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

What will “those days” be proceeded by (verse 24)?

How will the sun be affected (verse 24)?

What will be shaken (verse 25)?

How will people “see the Son of Man coming” (verse 26)?

What will He send His angels to do (verse 27)?

In your opinion, why do we know that summer is near when the fig trees “twigs get tender and its leaves come out” (verse 28)?

What can we know when we “see these things happening” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, who is “this generation” (verse 30)?

What will never pass away (verse 31)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, why is it significant that Isaiah in his prophecy about the “the glory of the Lord” being revealed to all people in Isaiah 40:3-11 states that the “word of our God endures forever” and Jesus as He describes people seeing the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” in Mark 13:24-31 says that “my words will never pass away”?      

Acts 2:29-35 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “Fellow Israelites, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰ But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹ Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. ³² God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of it. ³³ Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴ For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,

“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
³⁵ until I make your enemies
    a footstool for your feet.”’

What can Peter tell the Israelites “confidently” about David (verse 29)?

How did David know that God would place “one of his descendants on his throne” (verse 30)?

What did David say about “the resurrection of the Messiah” (verse 31)? [for more information see Psalm 16:10)

What did Peter say God has done (verses 32)?

Who did Peter say were witnesses (verse 32)?

What has Jesus poured out (verse 33)?

What did the Lord say to “my Lord” (verses 34 and 35)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are what Isaiah cried out in Isaiah 40:3-11 and what Peter confidently told in Acts 2:29-35 similar messages?

In your opinion, what does what Peter told the people of Jerusalem in Acts 2:29-35 help us understand if we remember the lesson from the fig tree that Jesus told the disciples in Mark 13:24-31? 

1 John 1:1-4 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. ² The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. ³ We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. ⁴ We write this to make our joy complete.

What does John say that he is proclaiming “concerning the Word of Life” (verse 1)?

Where was the “eternal life” that John is proclaiming (verse 2)?

Why does John proclaim “what we have seen and heard” (verse 3)?

Why does John write (verse 4)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how the message of John in 1 John 1:1-4 like what Isaiah commanded the messenger to “say to the towns of Judah” in Isaiah 40:3-11?

In your opinion, why, in a world where words are not highly valued, does Jesus end the Mark 13:24-31 message with the statement “my words will never pass away” and John say in 1 John 1:1-4 that he is proclaiming “concerning the Word of life”? 

In your opinion, why does Peter stress that he was a witness to God raising Jesus to life in Acts 2:29-35 and John proclaim “the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and 1 John teach us about what is fragile and what is permanent in the world? 

In your opinion, what can we do today to “make our joy complete”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

June 13, 2021 - Mark’s Good News about Jesus – Desolation Destroyed

Desolation Destroyed

Daniel 11:29-35 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁹ “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. ³⁰ Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

³¹ “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. ³² With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

³³ “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵ Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

When will “he . . . invade the South again” (verse 29)?

What will the invader do after losing heart and turning back (verse 30)?

Who will he “show favor to” (verse 30)?

In your opinion, what is the “abomination that causes desolation” (verse 31)?

How will he “corrupt those who have violated the covenant” (verse 32)?

What will “the people who know their God” do (verse 32)?

What will happen to the wise “for a time” (verse 33)?

How much help will they receive (verse 34)?

What will happen to the wise who stumble (verse 35)?

When will the “time of the end” come (verse 35)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

Mark 13:14-23 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁵ Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. ¹⁶ Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁷ How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! ¹⁸ Pray that this will not take place in winter, ¹⁹ because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now—and never to be equaled again.

²⁰ “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. ²¹ At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. ²² For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²³ So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

What are those who are in Judea supposed to do when “the abomination that causes desolation” stands where it does not belong (verse 14)?

In your opinion, what does it mean that they are not to “enter the house to take anything out” or to “go back to get their cloak” (verses 15 and 16)?

Who will it be dreadful for (verse 17)?

What is to be prayed for (verse 18)?

What will be unequaled (verse 19)?

Why will the Lord “cut short those days” (verse 20)?

In your opinion, why should anyone who says “’Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look, there he is!” not be believed (verse 21)?

What will false messiahs and false prophets do (verse 22)?

What has Jesus told the disciples (verse 23)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, why is the focus in Daniel 11:29-35 to “vent his fury against the holy covenant” and in Mark 13:14-23 “to deceive, if possible, even the elect”?      

Acts 21:27-29 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁷ When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, ²⁸ shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” ²⁹ (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)

Who did the “Jews from the province of Asia” see (verse 27)?

What did they do (verse 27)?

What did they accuse Paul of teaching against (verse 28)?

In your opinion, why would they accuse Paul of defiling the temple (verses 28)?

What did they assume (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how are the actions of the Jews from the province of Asia who accused Paul of defiling the temple in Acts 21:27-29 similar to the fury of the King of the North against the holy covenant and the desecration of the temple by the abomination of desolation in Daniel 11:29-35?

In your opinion, how might the Jews from the province of Asia who saw Paul in the temple in Acts 21:27-29 fit into the category of “false messiahs and false prophets” that Jesus warned about in Mark 13:14-23? 

2 Thessalonians 2:1-15 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. ³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, ¹⁰ and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

What were people saying that Paul had said about the “day of the Lord” (verses 1 and 2)?

What must happen to the “man of lawlessness” before that day will come (verse 3)?

Where will the “man of lawlessness” proclaim that he is God (verse 4)?

When will the “man of lawlessness” be revealed (verse 6)?

What is “already at work” (verse 7)?

How will the Lord Jesus overthrow and destroy the lawless one (verse 8)?

How will Satan work (verses 9 and 10)?

Who will be condemned (verse 12)?

How are “brothers and sisters loved by the Lord” saved (verse 13)?

What are “brothers and sisters” going to share in (verse 14)?

What should “brothers and sisters” do (verse 15)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, how can those who “know their God” in Daniel 11:29-35 and the “brothers and sisters” who stand firm in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-15 resist the power and lies of the ones who are opposed to the Lord?

In your opinion, what might the relationship be between the “abomination that causes desolation” that Jesus warns of in Mark 13:14-23 and the “man of lawlessness” of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-15? 

In your opinion, what is achieved by the “Jews from the province of Asia” lying when they saw Paul in the temple in Acts 21:27-29 and Satan using signs and wonders to build up the lies about the “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-15? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Daniel, Mark, Acts and 2 Thessalonians teach us about how the world responds to the truth about the Lord Jesus? 

In your opinion, how does knowing that the Lord Jesus will overcome the “man of lawlessness” with “the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming” help us deal with the challenges of today; hatred, distress, lies, signs and wonders?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)