God’s timeless Word is relevant in every age. The two letters Paul wrote to the Thessalonians speak to us because they reveal the times we are living in today. Concerned for the church he established in that city, Paul lovingly advises the believers to “not be quickly shaken in mind or troubled.”
 
With so many contradictory reports bombarding us through the media, many don’t know what to think or how to feel. Who do we believe? What do we believe? It may come as a surprise to some but the Bible accurately predicted this craziness.
 
The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be save  (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
 
God the Father doesn’t leave us helpless in the midst of the chronos times we are living in and the kairos signs we are witnessing. Paul goes on to remind believers in this same chapter that the presence of the Spirit within and belief in the truth—God’s Word—sustains us. But on one condition.
 
Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle (2 Thess. 2:15).
 
Paul isn’t talking about manmade traditions or religious practices. The Greek word for traditions here simply means something handed down. In this case, the Gospel teachings. Paul is referring to what he preached to them when he was with them and the teachings in his letters.  In short, the Word of God we now have in written form.
 
How do we stand fast and hold onto the truths of God’s Word? By hearing it. By setting our mind on it. By keeping it before us in whatever form works for us.

​In order to stand fast we have to be more consumed with God’s Word than with the media. We’re not saying that we shouldn’t listen to the news in order to be informed. We’re saying don’t let it consume you—your time, thoughts, or emotions. Feed your spirit instead.

The Body of Christ recently celebrated a most unusual Resurrection Sunday. We were reminded that the commission our Lord gave us was not to go to church but to be the Church. We realized that no matter where we are, God’s Spirit is with us. Jesus has not forsaken us, even as we see the kairos signs intensifying as prophesied.
 
We rest assured because the Spirit has sealed us as His Body. He is our guarantee that the appointed time of our Lord’s return is a sure thing. 
 
Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.  2 Corinthians 1:21-22
 
For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. 2 Corinthians 5:4-5
 
We know that when He comes as the Day of the Lord dawns, we shall be raptured. Do you know the reason for the rapture?
 
The early Church knew it. They called it the gathering. Jesus returns to gather us to Him—the Head and the Body together as One New Man. It is when we finally experience being fully complete in Him—spirit, soul, and body (Colossians 2:10). 
 
Do you know the purpose of the rapture? We are gathered to reign with Him as joint-heirs. That’s why we are currently experiencing our boot-camp training, learning how to walk in His authority in the midst of our enemy.  Paul put it this way:
 
Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a Day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Acts 17:30-31
 
The proof of Christ’s ordination was His resurrection that we just celebrated. The proof that we shall rule and judge with Him will be our resurrection when we are gathered to Him. For we shall be completed conformed to His image (Romans 8:29).

​In the last blog we learned the importance of using the two-edged sword of God’s Word. We use our authority in Christ by speaking God’s anointed words. Then what happens? Here are some clues.
 
For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11
 
Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14
 
Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Psalm 103:20
 
Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.  Exodus 23:20
 
The Exodus passage goes on to explain that we need to be aware of the angels assigned to us. They hear every word we speak. They go to work to bring about God’s will when we speak God’s Word. They are “provoked” when we speak words of fear, doubt, and unbelief. It’s as if we put them in a straight-jacket.
 
Learning how to release God’s will on earth as it is in Heaven is part of our training for reigning. In 1 Corinthians 6:3 we are told that we shall judge angels. The word for “judge” here means to give rulings or assignments for them to carry out. That is part of our Heavenly Calling after the rapture. It is how we rule and reign with Christ over the cities or regions He assigns to us.
 
We escape the wrath of that Day—the first three and one half years of Christ’s 1,000-year reign—not because we can’t handle it, but because we have an integral part to play in releasing that judgment against evil.

Understanding the chronos times and the kairos signs together gives us a solid foundation of assurance even in difficult times. We understand what must take place and when. We know the appointed times. We know the specific signs that will signal the dawn of the Day of the Lord, the 7th great Day.
 
We know that Christ’s coming is at the Day of the Lord, which is also when the rapture happens and we are gathered to Him to complete our heavenly calling. Like Esther, we were born for such a time as this to take our place as joint-heirs with Christ to rule with Him over the earth for the 1,000 years.
 
We also know the appointed Day of judgment. Until then, what we see now are the consequences of our choices—as individuals, as a society, and as nations. So where does that leave us? Training for reigning.
 
Revelation 1 shows us the risen, glorified Christ. In doing so, we get of glimpse of how we will reign with Him, fully conformed to His image. Verse 16 says, “out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.”  What does that mean? We don’t have to guess. We simply go to the whole counsel of the Bible to find other passages that use the same phrasing to determine the meaning.
 
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 2 Thessalonians 2:8
 
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.  Ephesians 6:17-18
 
For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12
 
All of these describe the power of speaking God’s Word by the anointing. Right now we’re undergoing our “boot-camp training,” which we all know isn’t always pleasant in the natural. But it can give us training in how to use our weapons, particularly the two-edged sword. We get to choose the words we speak.
 
We can repeat what we hear in the news reports that must speak of pestilence and death. Or we can repeat what Christ the Head has already spoken over His Body. We need to take this time to linger in His presence and get the words from His Word to speak by the anointing of the Spirit. What comes out of our mouths will reveal where are thoughts are focused.
 
Speaking as the Spirit directs does not deny or ignore the facts on this earth. Instead, it acknowledges a higher truth that we have access to if we have renewed our minds according to His Word.