2 Thessalonians series - The Lawlessness Part 1

 

The Lawlessness: Part 1

2 Thessalonians 2:1-7

Jesus promised He will come back to take the church, all those who believe in him for salvation, to be where he is. We will be gathered out of this lawless world into the Kingdom of Heaven prepared for us. Unlike the parable of the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43) or the large net of fish (Matt. 13:47-50), where the angels do the harvesting and the sorting at the end of the age. This harvest will be “with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God.” (1 Thes. 4:16)

 For Paul had taught the Thessalonians  about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ will gather us to himself (catching up) (1 Thes. 4-15-5:11) to live with him forever. But there is another event (the rebellion, the apostasy, the falling away) that will happen before the catching up of the church. Jesus spoke of these in the Olivet Discourse (Matt.24, Luke 21) All of these lead to the revealing of the coming man of lawlessness. Let’s read the first portion of the text, “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 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. 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.”

Paul had heard that there had been a message or a teaching supposedly sent from him to the Thessalonians that the catching up of the church had already happened and asserting that the day of the Lord had come and gone. It shocked and worried the believers in Thessalonica so much that they were alarmed of being left in this evil and persecuting world, and had not received the promise from Jesus (John 14:1-3). A false prophecy or spoken or written word was deceiving the church into being unsettled. The truth was that Paul didn't send any letter nor had given a prophetic word to the Thessalonians that they had missed the gathering of the believers. So Paul encourages and comforts the believers and with a further revealing of what will take place when our Lord Jesus gathers his church. Paul knew of Jesus’ warning of deception (Matt. 24:4) was well into the workings of the world, and that the spirit of lawlessness was prevalent almost everywhere, deceiving many. Rebellion and evil in the world was nothing new, for the devil and his demons had been attacking and deceiving believers for millennia, for this is the plan of Satan, the thief, “to kill, steal, and destroy” all that belongs to God (Jn.10:10a). Paul revealed what was holding the man of lawlessness back. The rebellion had to escalate to its fulfillment in the world which Jesus had said would happen into the last days.  “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt. 24:10-13) 

Application - There are no fewer confrontational and cataclysmic events in the Bible than the man of lawlessness (the Antichrist) and the rebellion that will have escalated in the world, outside of the Tribulation of Revelation. The rebellion Paul refers to is a term that means to contradict and have opposition to authority, to overrule with deception, violence, or other means. Rebellion leads to division and departure from God’s truth by the justification of people gathering seemingly credible people to be in agreement with their opposition to His authority. We see this daily everywhere in our world today, even in the realm of the church. The apostasy in the church has risen to the point where the Truth of God’s Word is called into question, and replaced with the false doctrine, inclusion, tolerance terms of political correctness to a culture who is in rebellion against the authority of God. The church has become complacent and apathetic. When deception and rebellion have taken place in the church, the people are scattered much like sheep without a shepherd, and without truth to guide them. Paul spoke in 2 Timothy of the rebellious mindset of the world in these last days. “But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.” (2 tim. 3:1-5)

All of this must happen and then the man of lawlessness must be revealed. Comedian Flip Wilson used to joke around with saying “The Devil made me do it!” Well this is no joke from God’s Word, the enemy of God will enter a man, the man of lawlessness (an or the antichrist) and he will be revealed to the world. It is this man who will deceive many with powers and wonders, “The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with every kind of miracle, both signs and wonders serving the lie,” (2 Thes. 2:9)

Last, Paul continues to unveil the lawless one who will come to deceive the world. Let’s look at the next portion of the text, “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. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.  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 had taught the Thessalonians that the lawless one will stand on a worldwide stage, one where he will deceive and oppose God. He will be widely applauded by those who are in rebellion against God and all that is God’s. Paul refers to the temple worship in the world that the Thessalonians understood well, but also to the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Paul knew that the Jerusalem temple would be destroyed because of Jesus’ teachings. But sometime in the future another temple would stand, for Paul died about five years before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple that he knew. The man of lawlessness would exalt himself as God, and desire and demand to be worshiped by everyone. This act of defiance and rebellion will be in accordance with the workings of Satan, “For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work.” The Thessalonians now had a fixed reference point to know that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ’s gathering of the church hadn’t happened yet, and that they were to watch and pray for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.” (Luke 21:34-36)

Now Paul readdresses the issue of what is holding the lawless one back. He had taught them who this restrainer would be, and who was powerful enough to hold back the lawless one. They were to take comfort in that the revealing had not happened and that the coming of Christ to gather the believers was yet to happen in a future time, But they also were told that the secret power of lawlessness was already at work and the persecution that they had been experiencing and would experience more would increase and was in working in accordance to the workings of Satan.  

Application - For God has appointed the times for everything to happen concerning the last days of the rebellion and the revealing of the Lawless One. God’s Holy Spirit is always at work in the world to do the will and purpose of God the Father. It is believed that it is the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit filled church that is holding the revealing and coming of the Lawless One. Only the Father knows the appointed times he has set, and only God the Holy Spirit knows the mind and will of the God the Father. Paul refers to the male gender “he” when referring to the restrainer. We should give thanks for the workings of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For he knows the mind of God, “...these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us.” ( 1 Cor. 2:10-12)

The revealing of the thoughts of God are not contrary to the Word of God. For God is Truth and cannot contradict himself. “God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”; “So that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.” (Num. 23:19; Hebr. 6:18)

As Paul has stated, our Blessed Hope is in the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for his church. And we also know as Jesus has taught in the Olivet Discourse, Matt. 24 and Luke 21 that when we see these things come to pass, we know that the birth pangs have begun and will intensify and converge then God the Father will’s will be done and the Son will come for his bride, and take her to be with him in the kingdom he has prepared for the church. No one knows this day except the Father, but Jesus gave us the signs and season that lead up to that time, and he left us instructions, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” (Lk. 21:27-28)

Are you ready? I know that there are many thoughts and interpretations to his coming, but one thing is consistent, He is the Truth and He will do as he has said. It will come to fruition. The old hymn, “Oh I Want To See Him” keeps playing in my mind as I wait for the gathering by my Lord Jesus Christ. And I’m reminded of 1 John 3:2-3,  “But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” 

I’m again including the ABC’s of salvation (JD Farag). Please, Jesus, God the Son, came to this world to save all who would believe and trust in him. He desires to reveal himself to you, He is the Light that overcomes the darkness of this lawless world. He hears your prayers, and all authority in heaven and earth have been given to him. He will answer you if you will truly believe. If you haven’t asked him to be your Lord and Savior, today could be that day.

 First, A - Admit that you are a sinner. This is where that godly sorrow leads to genuine repentance for sinning against a righteous God and there is a change of heart, we change our mind and God changes our hearts and regenerates us from the inside out. Romans 3:10 - As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:23 - For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (We are all born sinners which is why we must be born spiritually in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven). Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The bad news is that the wages of sin is death, in other words our sin means that we have been given a death sentence, we have the death penalty hanging over our heads, that's the bad news. But here's the good news: The good news is that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 2:8-9 - For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith —and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Second,

 B - Believe in your heart that Jesus Christ died for your sins, was buried, and that God raised Jesus from the dead. This is trusting with all of your heart that Jesus Christ is who he said he was. Romans 10:9-10 - That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. Third, 

C - Call upon the name of the Lord. Every single person who ever lived since Adam will bend their knee and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Romans 14:11 - For it is written: "As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." Don't wait until later — do this now. Romans 10:13 - For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." "O God, I am a sinner. I'm sorry for my sin. I want to turn from my sin. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son; I believe that He died on the cross for my sin and that He was buried and You raised Him to life. I have decided to place my faith in Jesus Christ as my Savior, trusting only in His shed blood as sufficient to save my soul and to take me to heaven. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for saving me. Amen."

Please share this with someone this week, the Lord knows that we and they need it.

If you would like other lessons, please go to http://pmdinhisservice.blogspot.com 

Until next week, In His Service Mike Davis