A great book for these troubled times, Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians instructs us on how we should respond to fears around the world ending. In chapter 2, Paul makes it clear what Christians ought to do: stand firm. He says don’t be “shaken in mind or alarmed” (v. 2); don’t let end-of-the-world reports disturb your faith. God calls us to stand firm against those who are aiming to distract us and bring us down.

Have you been unsettled or alarmed by anything in the news recently? Hardly a day goes past when we don’t read or hear some disturbing report. The build-up of nuclear weapons, an economic meltdown, global warming… We cry “Come, Lord Jesus, come!”—but praying for Christ’s return is often portrayed by some as a cop-out, an excuse not to work for justice or care for the environment. And while scientists have come around to the biblical notion that the health of the earth has a connection to humanity’s actions, most are reluctant to go the next step and see that the heart of man is the core problem.

We need to be clear, with Christians and non-Christians alike, that God created our world good and gave humans the task of caring for it and each other, as well as enjoying his creation. In 2 Chronicles 36:20-21 he punishes Israel for not treating their land respectfully and gives it rest. The Bible isn’t to blame for the sinful way we have treated the earth, because it makes it clear that the degradation of the land and the exploitation of the vulnerable are symptoms of the underlying disease: a turning away from the one true God to serve self and man-made gods. 

A great book for these troubled times, Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians instructs us on how we should respond to fears around the world ending. In chapter 2, Paul makes it clear what Christians ought to do: stand firm. He says don’t be “shaken in mind or alarmed” (v. 2); don’t let end-of-the-world reports disturb your faith. God calls us to stand firm against those who are aiming to distract us and bring us down.

In verses 13 and 14 we are then reminded of seven truths about who we are in Christ—the basis on which we stand:

1. Brothers and sisters: We are not alone; we stand as a body, a family bound together in Christ: Let’s not imagine we stand on our own.
2. Loved by the Lord: We stand in the unfailing, eternal love of Jesus; we are surrounded, protected, led, supported.
3. Chosen by God as firstfruits: Firstfruits were set aside as holy to the Lord. He has lifted us out of the morass and set us apart as his own, for his purposes.
4. Saved: Set free, no longer enslaved to lawlessness and self, we are forgiven.

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