2nd Thessalonians 2:1-17

Today we are reading from the second chapter of 2nd Thessalonians. In both his first letter, and Chapter 1 of the second letter, Paul had written to the church to encourage them to continue their faith. He urged them to love each other more and more and reminded them of examples of their faith. He gave them evidence that their faith in God was true and they would persevere. He reminded them that their persecutions and hardships were actually evidence that God’s justice is right and that they will be counted as God’s elect, that they have been made worthy by the Blood of Jesus Christ, and have promises that they will spend eternal life together with God’s love and comfort. Those who believe and are clothed with the grace of Jesus Christ will be glorified in God’s presence , On the other hand, those who were persecuting the church and the evildoers who never repent will be opposed by God, and will face his Judgement. He mentions the coming of the Lord in the first letter, how it will be like a thief in the night, but those who believe and those who remain steadfast in their faith will be ready for the thief. Those who believe are prepared for that thief in the night, the coming of the Lord. When it happens, there is a voice of the archangel and a trumpet; the dead in Christ and the living in Christ will meet together in the clouds and see the Lords’ return. Those who are dead in sin and those who are still living unrepentent lives will experience punishment and wrath. From the context of 1st thessalonians, there seemed to be some confusion among the church members about whether people who had died would share a different resurrection than those who remained alive, and Paul tried to clarify that everyone would meet together. From his writing in 2nd thessalonians 2, it seems there remained questions and was some misguided thought due to incorrect teaching, so he continues to write to the church. Let’s read:

2 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.

Apparently the church had been given false teaching in the topic of end times, or the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Some letters, prophecies, or words of mouth falsely claimed to be from Paul’s teaching. According to NIV translation, the false instruction was that the Day of The Lord had already come. In KJV, the wording was that the day of the Lord was at hand, or imminent or already happening. Paul said don’t become easily unsettled or alarmed, so this false teaching was unsettling to the church, alarming to the church. This false teaching caused the church to be troubled and shaken in faith. What you believe directly influences how you act. What you believe about the end times will influence how you behave today. If I believed that the end was tomorrow, I wouldn’t plan for next week or next year. I have to admit, the idea of the Day of the Lord and that phrase “Day of the Lord” could mean a number of things, there is potential for misunderstanding. When you read the Old Testament prophecies, these prophecies describe both the first coming of Jesus Christ as the Day of the Lord or the Day of the Lord’s sacrifice. However they also describe the end times and second coming as the Day of the Lord. Listen to the words in Joel 2:28-32

28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. 30 I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
32 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the Lord has said,

In the Day of the Lord in the book of Joel, it describes a time where old and young, men and women dream dreams, prophecy, and the Spirit of the Lord is poured out on His people. The sun will be darkened and the moon turns to blood, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. On Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance. The description of Jesus’ crucifixion has an earthquake, a solar eclipse, a blood moon, and there is salvation for all whosoever believe. Jesus Christ himself had described his era as a time that was coming and has now come. If you read about the Day of the Lord or the Coming of the Lord in in Zephaniah 1, the prophet predicts judgement of the whole earth, descruction of mankind, – obviously the second coming, but in the middle of that ultimate end time prophecy, there’s mention of a Day of the Lord’s sacrifice, which some believe point toward’s the first coming of Jesus Christ and the crucifixion. But the Day of the Lord in Zephaniah doesn’t seem to describe any time where people will prophecy or dream dreams, like in the Day of the Lord in Joel. In the end of Zephaniah’s prophecy there are no people left. All this is to say, when we hear about the day of the Lord, we need to understand which Day of the Lord are people talking about. Do we mean the end times, the Days of Jesus’s Christ’s reign, the era when the offerings and festivals and sabbath celebrations have ended, or are we discussing the absolute end time? The church in Thessalonica seemed to have confusion about the second coming of Jesus Christ, and being gathered to him. They may have legitimately misunderstood fulfillment of some Day of the Lord prophecies that had referred to the First coming of Christ, but there also seemed to have also been some deliberate deception from false preachers, hoping to personally gain from that church’s naivite in the matter. Paul explains that the Day of the Lord that they were thinking about had not already occurred, and was not at hand. He continues to write.

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[a] 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.

Paul writes that the final day of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ has not happened and will not happen until after a time when a rebellion occurs. This section of the letter has been referenced throughout history, studied by scholars, and cited by various end times prophets as evidence that there will be a Great Apostasy, or a Mass Falling away among the church. The Man of Lawlessness. There’s a footnote, explaining that Some manuscripts say the man of Sin.. Verses 3 and 4 seem to give one of the most descriptive instances in Scripture that point readers toward evidence of a living, breathing, human Antichrist. But is it really saying that, or is the Man of Lawlessness a phrase describing a certain type or category of man? As an example I could describe the Man of Business; he wakes up early, he tries to expand his customer base, he likes numbers and figures, he tries to anticipate future trends in demand or competitive environment. I am not really describing one person, but a category of person that many different businesspeople fit in. I can’t say with certainty that Paul meant the Man of Lawlessness to mean one specific person or a type of people. And even if could somehow be convinced that he meant there is one person who is the Man of Lawlessness, I don’t think I can say with any conviction that I know who it is. There are plenty of historical figures who he could be referring to that fit this description. And what is the description exactly? Scripture here describes him as one who exalts himself over everything that is worshipped or is called Christ and God, He sets himself up in God’s temple and proclaims himself God. And this will happen at the very end of History. Right? Well, not necessarily. It just has to happen some time before the very end time. He definitely says a rebellion needs to happen before the end, but remember he didn’t say specifically that the rebellion and the end are simultaneous or contemporaneous, just that rebellion has to precede the coming of Christ and Gathering of the elect.. So thinking about it that way, his writing could just mean that After the End there will be no more rebellions or lawlessness.

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.

Paul reminds the church in his letter that he had taught the church about the end times and the revealing of the lawlessness one, and his teaching happened in person while he was with them. So the church in Thessalonica has a significant context advantage over us in the interpretation of the letter. The readers may have a better understanding of who or what Paul is writing about based on the prior verbal discussions. But what we DO know is Paul’s verbal teachings and the teachings found in his two letters are consistent with each other and the Gospel. And because he’s writing this instruction as a correction to their theology, Paul’s teachings must be unique, different, and distinct from the other teaching that the church had heard. The content of the other false teaching said that the day of the Lord had happened already, or was at hand. So Paul’s saying the rebellion hadn’t already happened at the writing of this letter. But the final day of the Lord must occur at the proper time, after the proper things have happened. In verse 7 Paul writes that secret, hidden or concealed powers of lawlessness are at work. There is one who is holding back the full power of lawlessness. Lawlessness is being held back and contained, but that restraint on lawlessness will be taken out of the way. Some think that if Paul is writing about something happening at the time of his letter, restraining force may have been the Roman Government, restraining the Jewish persecutors of the church. But If you think the restraining force is something spiritual like the Holy Spirit, how can the Holy Spirit depart or be taken out of the way? These are things to consider. Different interpretation about who or what the lawless one is, will lead to a different explanation about who or what is the one who holds it back, and then this restrainer is taken out of the way. Who or what is the restraining force? Keep those thoughts in mind as we read ahead.

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,

OK verse 8 helps us understand a bit more. In verse 7 there are secret powers of lawlessness. They are hidden concealed, mysterious to us, Many commentaries say mystery doesn’t necessarily mean incomprehensible, or unable to be understood, mystery just means hidden or secretive. But like verse 6 and now 8 say, there will be a revealing. Where there was confusion, there will be clarity. Where there was partial sight, we will see in full. Jesus will overthrow the lawless one with the breath of his mouth. This is helpful because we now know Paul is speaking with some degree of symbolism, he isn’t literally saying that Jesus breath was noxious, but the word of God and the Truth breathed out by Christ will overthrow the lawless one. The Lawless one, and all the false beauty and false displays of power will not withstand the splendor of Jesus when he comes in his glory. And the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. There will be Displays of power, signs and wonders, false promises that serve a lie. So let’s talk about this rebellion from verse 3 and the lawless one.

Catholics, Anglicans, and Eastern Orthodox churches have interpreted this Great Apostasy as a future falling away that happens during a reign of the Anti-christ or the Lawless one. Let’s say that were true. Who ends up falling away, if God’s elect are promised perseverance elsewhere in scripture? Certainly a falling away of believers or the true Church of Jesus Christ does not agree with other parts of scripture. Maybe this Great apostasy, or the falling away or rebellion describes an institution that falls away from the true doctrine? Not the true church or bride of Jesus Christ, but an institutional definition of church, like a denomination?

Original Protestants think this rebellion, or falling away was a corruption of church Doctrine and the Man of lawlessness or Anti Christ is the pope, or the institution of the papacy, and the lawlessness Paul writes about is referring to exchanging the commandments given by God, the Law, and replacing those God given commandments with Roman Catholic tradition. Erroneous doctrine that says salvation could be bought, or achieved by works, worshiping Mary, the ideas of purgatory and hell, integrating pagan festivals and rituals with Jewish and Christian calendars so people participate in pagan traditions. The reformers and protestants saw a church that had degraded so much from the times of Christ. This entire heirarchy or institutional structure in that church that establishes there is a human pope. A man who in some ways sets himself up as God, and is exclusive giver of the word of God and is infallible. It’s something to think about. But while there are many inconsistencies between Roman Catholicism and scripture, I don’t necessarily believe that sum total of the rebellion outlined here by Paul is exclusively and fully ascribed solely to Catholicism and Roman Catholic doctrine alone. There are so many other rebellions and other forces of lawlessness out there. Both on a grand scale and also on an individual scale.

I believe that before the end of time, there will be periods of great lawlessness. There might not be only one man of lawlessness. There is a human condition. People naturally want to proclaim themselves to be God, to be exalted above God. Humans have a desire to themselves be admired and worshipped instead of falling on their knees to worship the true God. We want our version of justice instead of God’s. We want mercy when we break commandments and wrong God, but we want justice when someone else wrongs us. In verse 9 Paul says that the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. The spirit of Antichrist is not a mysterious force though (it’s generally secret and hidden in its power, but when you understand scripture, it’s easy to find) The way Satan works and the spirit of Anti Christ is a very human. It mirrors Adam’s original sin. When the serpent tells Adam you can be like God. God is wrong, and you know what’s best. Any time the spirit of Satan can do so, he puts humanity in God’s place. Any time you see someone exalting themselves over God, beware. Any time we follow our own hearts or our own wisdom, ignoring the wisdom of scripture, beware. Any time humans try to achieve godliness without God, or work goodness without acknowledging the Giver of Good, beware. When we exalt ourselves and imagine ourselves to be approaching perfection, we set ourselves up in God’s temple, and we put humankind in the place of God. This could manifest itself by worshipping things that we create, idols, technology, or it could just be our denial that we are sinners and need salvation. Let’s continue reading.

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.

Wickedness deceives those who are perishing. People perish because they refuse to acknowledge the truth that they are sinners. That they need salvation from Christ Jesus. Verse 11 reminds us that God is sovereign. He allows for many people to turn away. Paul writes about this in Romans 1, where he describes this same thing differently. Because of mankind’s wickedness, the wrath of God is coming. Humans prefer created things over the glory of God. Humans exchange truth about God for a lie. Humans know about God, but neither glorify Him or Give thanks to him. God’s wrath is deserved, and here’s what it looks like. He gives them over to their sinful desires, their desires to create their own idols instead of worship God. He gives them over to their shameful lusts instead of dedicating them to purity and love. Since the wicked didn’t think it was worthwhile to retain knowledge of God, he gave them over to their own depraved minds. So God maintains his sovereignty, if the lawless one is unrepentant humanity, then the restrainer can be his Holy Spirit, and the one that takes away the restrainer could be God. All of this would be consistent to scripture in Romans. As paul writes here, the wicked will not believe the truth, and they will be condemned to delight in their wickedness. You should really read 2nd Peter 3 on your own, for enrichment about this message. I will read a few excerpts but listen to how Peter describes the day of the Lord in 2nd Peter 3. In the last days, scoffers will come and follow their own evil desires. They will doubt that God will come. They will say everything goes on as it always has since creation! But they will forget that same creation they reference. They will forget God’s Word brought the heavens and earth into being. They will forget that the same Word that created the present heaven and Earth will destroy the Earth by fire. We shouldn’t forget this and think the day of the Lord is coming slowly, Time works differently for God. God’s delay isn’t slowness but patience; and time is an allowance for repentance. The Lord’s patience means Salvation! Peter says to be on your guard so you aren’t carried away by the error of the lawless.

Of course as Christians, we are always on the lookout for such things. The lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. We study scripture to recognize what is right and what is wrong. To identify the human condition and humans relate to God. If there was one human anti-christ, like some man or woman who desires to sit in a physical throne or usurp an actual temple building, we Christians would certainly not fall for the deception. People like to try and predict a charismatic leader will rise up and end up being THE antichrist. To build a powerpoint presentation, I searched google images on “man of lawlessness” or “antichrist”, you see so many pictures of the most recent US president from each party. If I’d done this in 2015 you’d see pictures of George W Bush and Obama. Now it’s Trump and Obama pictures. You click on the pictures and read the website, and it says, “oh Barack Obama was the anti christ”. Well he’s certainly charismatic and grew the government. Or Donald Trump is the anti-christ; he certainly seems to feed off of people’s admiration and praise, and tends to circulate false information or alternative facts. World leaders make policies and wield power, but I don’t see true Christians worshiping any of them. And then there are these Bible network TV prophets love to make predictions. If this guy or that lady makes peace in the Middle east, then sets themselves up in a rebuilt Temple in Israel, or does something so disrespectful towards God that people call it an “abomination causing desolation”, well it follows all these predictions, and that person is THE ONE. He or she is the Antichrist. Look throughout history, Nero persecuted believers, and started a holy war that Vespasian completed. There was an abomination of desolation known as the destruction of the temple in AD70, many people were deceived. There were the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition. More recently, Hitler rose to power and deceived people, killing millions. Marx, Lenin, Mao, wanted to destroy religion and place themselves in the highest place. History presents plenty of potential candidates for Anti Christ. But you don’t need to see a dictator, ruling over a country. There are all sorts of people out there who place themselves over God, and wish to be worshipped. We as Christians need not worry about who is the Anti-christ. There are always going to be people out there trying to get us to worship them. Now, if a temple gets rebuilt in Jerusalem and there’s more abomination there, or the Pope or some major religious figure actually denies Christ places himself in the position of God and actually gains a huge following? I think those who have faith in Jesus Christ will all be ready; we won’t fall for the deception that a human can or should ever take the place of God. That scenario, if there is ever one anti-christ so much more anti-Christian than any of the dictators we’ve seen on this planet, it should be apparent that we all know who it is. But Something like that would be a bit too easy, though. People who truly love Jesus Christ, and trust in him alone for their salvation will never fall for an attempt by some charismatic personality to usurp God’s position. We shouldn’t see the need to worship any human besides Jesus Christ, the true Word of God who became flesh and dwelt among us. And biblical doctrines like Perseverance of the Saints and the promises of God outlined in scripture speak to the truth of the matter. This is kind of how Paul ends this particular letter.

13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits[b] 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.

Paul says we always thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. Remember if you believe, you are saved, and you are loved. You do not face God’s wrath. God Chose the elect as first-fruits to be saved. Not saved by our works, but saved by the sanctifying work of the Spirit. Not by our actions, but by belief in the truth. We didn’t achieve this, we were called to this salvation through the Gospel. The Gospel says we were sinners, but instead of being condemned to wrath, we are called to share in glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. This chapter doesn’t describe a falling away by believers, tribulations or testing we are doomed to fail; this chapter describes a perseverance which leads to us sharing the glory of Jesus Christ.

15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings[c] we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word

If you have a flawed understanding of how the end will occur, or what the Day of the Lord is like, or when it will happen, it will lead to erroneous beliefs, and that will lead to illogical or unprofitable or dangerous actions, or inactions. The way to combat false teaching is to hold fast to scripture, study the teaching that Paul has passed on. He mentions passing along teaching verbally and by letter. We don’t have Paul’s verbal instruction, but we still have Paul’s letters. We also have Peter’s letters. Again read 2nd Peter 3! It’s almost exactly the same lesson as this, but describes things in a different voice from a different perspective. Read John’s Revelation. Go to Bible studies, talk to pastors and believers. Think about and meditate on scripture. In Verses 16 and 17 Paul ends with a blessing that the Lord Jesus and God encourage the church’s hearts and strengthen them in every good deed and word. God loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope.