What Paul was thinking....

...about the Thessalonians.

"Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness." 1 Thess 2:1-3

Is Paul laying out as eschatological principle for all time or is he writing a letter to the Thessalonians? Is the Bible written to us or for us? Reading Doug Wilson, I have taking his counsel to not immediately ask "How does this apply to me?" but what was Paul saying to the church? He was concerned about the church being shaken and alarmed by a certain teaching. He presents an argument to refute that teaching. He is actually reminding them of this argument which he presented in person (2 Thess 2:5), likely quoting Daniel to them. He is reminding them to be faithful to scripture and to wait for God to fulfill his promises, which include in this case, the Destruction of the (standing) temple.

What would they think?

So when Paul write the Thessalonians

"Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God."

and there is a standing temple, wouldn't they think that it is the existing temple of which Paul is speaking.

Futurist would say that we have not seen this yet, that it will take place in a temple yet to be built. So years later, did the Thessalonians, when they saw the destruction of the standing temple, release they hadn't seen this man of lawlessness. Did they reason "Well, we didn't see this guy so I guess God will build another temple at some point in the future. He did it in the past."

I doubt it. This was the temple that the Messiah was presented in, taught in, etc. I think this passage has application to the people to whom it was written.

"Tip of the iceberg"

This article explains exactly what the Sovereign Individual predicted.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/us/26expat.html

Granted, it is a small start.  But with the IRS swelling it ranks and the need for tax revenue getting greater and greater, it will only increase.  The federal government itself is "underwater,"  owing more than it is worth.  And, like Florida home owners, some citizens are choosing to walk away rather than keep dumping money down this hole.

Great article on a important topic

"For the the world is changing. I feel it in the water, I feel in the earth, and I smell it in the air." --Treebeard


...I read it in news.

If it was just one country, it would solve itself.  But it involves many countries.  Two of which (China and India) contain one third of the human population.

If it was something the free market or government could fix, it wouldn't be worth noting.  But it takes years to make a woman, and I doubt there are any peaceful solutions to this.

If this country didn't hold a large share of our debt, it wouldn't be our problem.

Gendercide: China's shameful massacre of unborn girls means there will soon be 30m more men than women

This is the best article I have read on the topic in some time.  It is current and chronicles the beginning rumblings of the coming storm.  Now the estimates are 30 million more males than females (up from 20).

"The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples."  Psalm 33:10

This "common sense" solution to the imaginary problem of overpopulation is causing an unprecedented consequence.  The Dominion Mandate is so simple and should be applied and considered personally.  This is a great example of governments/experts applying their clumsy top-down solutions.  China was never overpopulated.  In a system where the government supplies all services, it is limited in the number people it can service due to its inefficacy.

This "amazing breach" must have an amazing story:

Pan Ding De actually has six children, an amazing breach of the rules which he has got away with by living 'off the grid' and constantly moving from one city to another: a ruse used by many who want traditional big families. 

Flash Mobs in Philly

Read the story here

This seems to be what The Sovereign individual is talking about.  This quote hits the nail on the head.

Merchants, parents and police are scratching their heads trying to explain the explosion of violent flash mobs. The city's new district attorney, Seth Williams, says it comes down to the proliferation of computers and cell phones.

"Before, it was just you tell someone to meet you somewhere — if there was a fight you meet them at the school yard," Williams says. "Well now, instead of just 10 or 20 kids at most knowing about something, now you have 1,000 kids showing up at an intersection. And that's a problem that we as law enforcement have to try to deal with."

Computer/microprocessors  increase the capability of individuals, making it more difficult, that is expensive, for government to maintain control. "Police have created a special rapid response force." which they didn't need before.

I do love Mayor Nutter's comment

"Parents have a responsibility here, so we will do all that we can. I ran for mayor, I didn't run for mother," he announced. "I can't take care of everybody's child."

 If you provide education, food, and housing; you are acting like a parent.  Why not leave discipline to you as well?

Wine is wine...my concordance says so

My wife and I enjoyed watching the season 2 of 18 and Counting recently.  A little hum drum at times but we particular enjoyed the one featuring the wedding of their eldest son.  Several profound Kkingdom concepts were effectively communicated.  The biggest one being the benefits of total abstinence and the joy of Christian marriage.  Following them up to the door of their hotel room was more than I expected but it really is believers who ought to be bold in celebrating physical union.

I was disappointed by the pastor explaining why there was no alcohol served at the wedding.  The camera (at an attempt to make things more exciting but asking a very valid) asked why the strong stand on alcohol when Jesus miraculously made wine for a wedding.  The pastor tried to explain that the Greek word there meant grape juice.  A quick glance at a Strong's concordance would show that word 3631 used in John is also used in Eph 5:18

And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,

 If it is just grape juice.....then why the warning?

Never mind that if consumption of alcohol was a sin, a clearer command would have been "Do not drink wine."

The church has really been straining a gnat in focusing so much on drinking and smoking.  I getting back to the roots of reformed faith it is notable the lack of emphasis on these things.

Mark Driscoll has a great sermon on this topic. My next brewing goal is a Chocolate Stout.

I recently read the book the The Soveriegn Individual, and it has been influencing how I have been looking at the world.  Another lens I have been seeing the world through in that of population decline shown me by The Demographic Winter.  That was a jaw dropper even though I have followed that topic for over ten years.  My childrens world will be very different that the one I have known.

A sign of things to come-Mass school closures approved in Kansas City, Mo.



The key quote to me is:

Once the district had enough desegregation money to build such amenities as an Olympic-sized swimming pool. But the effort to use upscale facilities and programs to lure in students from the suburbs never worked quite as planned.

Covington has stressed that the district's buildings are only half-full as its population has plummeted amid political squabbling and chronically abysmal test scores. The district's enrollment of fewer than 18,000 students is about half of what the schools had a decade ago and just a quarter of its peak in the late 1960s.
Many students have left for publicly funded charter schools, private and parochial schools and the suburbs. The school district also isn't the only one serving students in Kansas City; several smaller ones operate in the city's boundaries.

This is the flight not of white people but wealth.  Why live in a city where laziness and irresponsibility is subsidized and achievers are punished?  Government burracracy will increasing fail in the competition to provide services, entitling it to less of the peoples money.  This hemorraging beast could get dangerous as it fights for survival.