Good Monday to you my “Walking with Jesus” friends,
Are you a person who keeps a detailed calendar? Are you one who carefully manages your time and adjusts your life to significant future events? Do you welcome or disdain unexpected surprises that affect your calendar?
Join me again please with the apostle Paul as he is writing his second letter to the Christians in Thessalonica, Macedonia in early 51ad. Word has come to Paul that the Thessalonians were deeply troubled, and confused, regarding some future events Paul had informed them about.
So, Paul wrote: “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you…not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teachings…asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.” (2 Thess. 2:1,2) Pause. Do you remember what Paul is talking about? What is this “day of the Lord”? What is this concept of ‘the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him.”? Can you explain it… to your friends or children and grandchildren?
In Paul’s first letter to these Thessalonian Christians, Paul had explained the next future return of our Lord Jesus Christ to planet earth, for the purpose of ‘gathering up to Him’, all those who have already been saved by God from their sin-condemnation, in response to their faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This ‘rapture’ experience will include all those redeemed by God, both alive and deceased, at that moment of Jesus’ return. According to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 which describes it clearly.
Evidently some false teachers had confused these Thessalonian Christians by claiming this even had already happened, and these Thessalonian Christians had been ‘left behind’. Naturally they were deeply troubled by that suggestion, for if true it would mean they were not genuinely saved and did not have the reconciled relationship with God through Jesus Christ, which Paul had taught them about. (2 Cor. 5:17-19; Romans 8:1) Pause. Has your faith in Jesus Christ; your understanding of God’s Biblical truth; your confidence of your salvation, been at all shaken by false teachings? If so, where do you go for clarification and re-gained confidence in God’s truth?
Sadly, I’m convinced that when this future 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 global ‘rapture’ really does happen, there will be millions, maybe hundreds of millions of people ‘left behind’ surprised because they thought they were genuine Christians. They will likely say they thought they were good enough, thought they attended church often enough… and yet suddenly they will realize the ‘rapture’ had just taken place and they were not included!
Can you imagine what mayhem will be happening in the hours and days after that ‘rapture’ event? A far more important question is this: are you absolutely confident you will be included and taken up to be with Jesus? Upon what are you basing your confidence? And what about your children, spouse, closest friends?
Paul was very clear in 51ad, and I am echoing Paul’s words in 2026… “Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction…” (2 Thess. 2:3) Oh my, now that could be very helpful…but only if we understood about this ‘rebellion’ and this ‘man of lawlessness’.
If this ‘rebellion’ Paul refers to is rebellion or opposition against God and His truth, His purposes and His people, well we must admit that type of rebellion has been taking place from the beginning of time, hasn’t it? But Paul here is speaking about a specific, global, focused rebellion against God, God’s truth, God’s purposes and God’s people that will have as its ultimate purpose the destruction of God’s people, the nation of Israel; the destruction of God’s Word the Bible; and the eradication of every Christian and Christian influence on this entire planet! That scope of rebellion has not yet taken place…but it will!
Do you see Paul added further clarification for this future ‘day of the Lord’ by the identification of a specific, very evil person: ‘the man of lawlessness… the man doomed to destruction…’ Paul continued: “He 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.“ (2 Thess. 2:3,4) Now, for the first time in Paul’s writings Paul introduces a future evil man who may be known by several titles or names, but the title the Bible attributes to this man is ‘the antichrist’. Paul’s description here is WHY that name is appropriate, for everything about this person is in full opposition to God, to the point that he wants to replace God in the eyes and minds of all humanity on planet earth! Pause. Did you get that?
Did you know the apostle John, in his little letters, proclaimed there will be many throughout history who may be thought to be this ‘antichrist‘? 2 John 7 says “…many deceivers who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist...” 1 John 2:18 says: “You have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come.” 1 John 4:3 says: “…every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” Now, what does that mean for you and me today, my friends?
It means the wickedness which opposes God, God’s Truth, God’s purposes and God’s people at all times in our world, is a spiritual opposition directly from Satan and his dark kingdom. It began in Satan’s rebellion in heaven, even before the creation of the world. (Is. 14:12-15 & Ez. 28:13-17) This spirit of opposition then was welcomed into the Garden of Eden by Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:1-8) and it has been embraced by every generation in our world ever since. This spirit of rebellion affects every person who has ever lived, finding a welcome in our sin nature with which we were born.
But Paul is describing here in 2 Thessalonians, and John describes in several places in Revelation an antichrist who is far beyond any man who has ever lived in the intensity of his opposition to God and his intimacy with Satan himself. Tomorrow we’ll look more closely at this powerful, wicked man, as we continue seeking to understand this second chapter Paul is writing to the Thessalonica Christians.
For today may I urge you to consider the certainty of your salvation and the strength of your relationship with Jesus Christ which will hold you firm in the fact of false teachings and troubling times.
The ‘lessons learned’ at the link below will be very helpful as will the worship song I’ve found for today, and let’s meet right here tomorrow with our Bible open, ready to continue this really important discussion.
Today’s Scripture: 2 Thess. 2:1-3.
Choose below to read or listen.
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Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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