1 and 2 Thessalonians
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Lesson OneOverview of 1 and 2 Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 1–3)20 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Thessalonians 1–3
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In | Workbook: 1 Thessalonians 1
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In | Workbook: Thessalonians and the Old Testament
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In | Idols, Immorality and Holy Living
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In | Blameless Consistency and Critics
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In | Workbook: Hope in the Face of Uncertainty
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In | Relational Language in Paul
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In | Relational Ministry: Cost and Context
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In | 1 Thessalonians and Romans
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Behind | Paul's Visits
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Behind | Missionary Journeys by Paul and His Companions
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Behind | Thessalonica
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Behind | Onsite: Thessalonica - Another King Named Jesus
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In Front | Stewarding Our Righteousness
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In Front | Stewarding Our Reputation
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In Front | Representing Something Bigger
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In Front | Workbook: Representing Something Bigger than Ourselves
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In Front | Workbook: Being a Representative and Being “Authentic”
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson TwoChrist's Return (1 Thessalonians 4–5)22 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 Thessalonians 4–5
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In | Workbook: Tasting Death
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In | Question 1: What About Those Who Are Asleep?
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In | Workbook: The Hope of Resurrection, Part 1
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In | Workbook: The Hope of Resurrection, Part 2
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In | Christ Will Come Again and Reign
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In | Encouragement, Hope and Readiness
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In | Question 2: When Will These Things Take Place?
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In | Workbook: Why Does Paul Use “Thief in the Night”?
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In | Sons of the Light
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Behind | Second Coming: Terms and Concepts
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Behind | Terms and Concepts of the Second Coming
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Behind | Onsite: Preparing for the True King's Arrival
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Behind | A Letter of Consolation
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Behind | Paul’s Response to Roman Wisdom
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Behind | Jewish and Christian Views
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In Front | Obsessive Predictions of the End
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In Front | The Apocalyptic Bandwagon
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In Front | The Facts and Focus of Our Faith
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In Front | Workbook: Caught Ready or Unready?
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson ThreeThe Man of Lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 1–2)19 Activities|1 Assessment
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 2 Thessalonians 1–2
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In | Workbook: Man of Lawlessness
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In | Daniel and Thessalonians, Part 1
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In | Confronting Bad Eschatology
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In | The Man of Lawlessness
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In | The Secret Power of Lawlessness
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In | 1 and 2 Thessalonians and the Teachings of Jesus
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In | The Singular, Ultimate Evil Ruler
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Behind | The Antichrist and the Devil
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Behind | Onsite: Paul and Lawlessness - View from Corinth's "Bema"
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Behind | The Man of Beliar
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In Front | Antichrist as a Force and Person
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In Front | Antichrist: Prototype and Epitome
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In Front | Antichrist in Culture
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In Front | Recognizing the Signs
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In Front | Attempts to Identify Antichrist
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In Front | Workbook: Readiness
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson FourWork (2 Thessalonians 3)17 Activities|2 Assessments
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 2 Thessalonians 3
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In | Workbook: Work as a Vocation
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In | Work as a Vocation
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In | Work and Reputation
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In | The Already and Not Yet, Part 1
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In | The Already and Not Yet, Part 3
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In | The Already and Not Yet, Part 5
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In | Workbook: Diversity and Layers in Paul’s Letters, Part 1
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In | Workbook: Diversity and Layers in Paul’s Letters, Part 2
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Behind | Various Views of Work
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Behind | Onsite: Paul's Work Ethic - View from Corinth's Marketplace
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In Front | Biblical Work
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In Front | We're All Servants
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In Front | Workbook: New Heavens and Earth
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In Front | New Heavens and Earth
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson FiveAuthor and Audience (Review 1 and 2 Thessalonians)17 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 and 2 Thessalonians Review
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In | Workbook: Why We Work
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In | Reputation and Idleness
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In | Workbook: Busy People and Busybodies
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Behind | Missionaries in Paul's Day
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In Front | Balance in Ministry
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In Front | Onsite: "Tent-making Missions" - Following Paul's Example Today
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In Front | Learning About Ministry from Paul
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In Front | Strategizing with the Spirit
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In Front | Workbook: The Spread of Early Christianity
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In Front | The Spread of Early Christianity
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In Front | Workbook: Post-Apostolic Christian Evangelism
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In Front | Post-Apostolic Christian Evangelism
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In Front | Workbook: False Prophets in the Early Church
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In Front | Workbook: Guiding Questions - 1 and 2 Thessalonians
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Course Wrap-UpCourse Completion1 Activity|1 Assessment
Participants 5
In Front | Workbook: False Prophets in the Early Church
Grab your Workbook Journal!
[Record your answers in the workbook provided at the beginning of this course.]
The problem of discerning the difference between the missions and ministries of true and false prophets continued into the post-apostolic age. The Didache, the earliest non-biblical church order or treatise, dating to the first century AD, provides a detailed guide for discerning true prophets from false ones.
11:1 Welcome the teacher when he comes to instruct you in all that has been said.
11:2 But if he turns and trains you in another tradition to the destruction of this teaching, do not listen. If he teaches so as to increase righteousness and the knowledge of the Lord, receive him as the Lord.
11:5 But he must not remain more than one day, or two, if there’s a need. If he stays three days, he is a false prophet.
11:6 And when the apostle goes away, let him take nothing but bread to last him until his next night of lodging. If he asks for money, he is a false prophet.
11:8 But not everyone who speaks in the Spirit is a prophet; only he is a prophet who has the ways of the Lord about him. By their ways will the false prophet and the prophet be known.
11:10 And any prophet who teaches the truth, but does not do what he teaches, is a false prophet.
11:12 But whoever says in the Spirit, “Give me money,” or something else like this, you must not listen to him. But if he tells you to give for the sake of others who are in need, let no one judge him.
Didache quoted from: Tony Jones, “The Didache,” Paracletepress.com, accessed May 13, 2018.
- How were early Christians instructed to discern true prophets from false ones? What signs were given as indicators of both true and false prophets?