2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. Let’s go!
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 (NIV)
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,
2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
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 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.
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.
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 the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,
10 and in every sort of evil that 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.
On verses 1-12: What is going on in this passage? Apparently Paul’s church in Thessalonica was troubled by some false teaching they had received. This false teaching concerned “the day of the Lord”, the time when Jesus the Messiah would return and dole out his final judgment on the world. The Thessalonian church had received false teaching — possibly in the form of a letter, prophecy or report — that the day of the Lord had already come. To complicate matters, the Thessalonian Christians were told that Paul was responsible for this teaching.
So Paul writes to clarify this matter. He confirms that he and his team did not send them any teaching that the day of the Lord had already come (v1-2). Then, in verses 3-12, Paul confirms that three events must occur before the day of the Lord — or judgment day — will take place:
First, a widescale rebellion against God would need to take place (v3).
Second, something or someone, who is currently holding the world back from full scale descent into lawlessness and rebellion against God, will be removed. As verse 7 says, “but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so until he is taken out of the way”. Scholars believe that the one holding the world back from full scale descent into lawlessness may be government and the rule of law (since governments and laws tend to keep people from sinning more), or the church (since God’s people can act as a good influence against sin and evil) or the Holy Spirit (who resides in every believer and who holds people back from sinning more). Whether the one holding back the world from complete lawlessness is government, the church, or the Holy Spirit, Paul says that it will be removed, thereby resulting in mankind’s full-scale descent into sin and lawlessness.
Third, the man of lawlessness (who is called elsewhere in Scripture the antichrist, or the beast) must first appear (v3). This man of lawlessness will replace the worship of God and any idols with the worship of himself, claiming that he himself is God (v4). This man of lawlessness will perform counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders with the help of Satan (v9). He will also approve of and engage in every sort of evil (v10). Those who follow him will delight in what this man of lawlessness does and says. They will be under a powerful delusion that will eventually lead to their perishing (v10-12).
Since none of the above events had yet taken place, Paul goes on in verses 13-17 to assure his church in Thessalonica that the day of the Lord has not yet come, but is on its way.
The appearing of this man of lawlessness would be part of an end time period often known as the Tribulation. You might be wondering, “Will Christians witness the appearing of this man of lawlessness, or would they by this point have already been raptured (that is, taken to heaven to be with Jesus)?” There are different schools of thought on this point. Generally speaking, the three main schools of thought are: pre-tribulationism (which teaches that the rapture will happen before the Tribulation begins); mid-tribulationism (which teaches that the rapture will happen in the middle of the Tribulation), and post-tribulationism (which teaches that the rapture will occur at the end of the Tribulation).
It is beyond the scope of this sharing to go into detail on the strengths and weaknesses of each of these schools of thought. But no matter where you land on this question, nearly all Christians agree that: (1) there will be a rapture; (2) a tribulation is also coming; (3) after that tribulation, Jesus will return to earth to establish His kingdom, and (4) as powerful as the man of lawlessness will be, he is no match for Jesus Christ. In verse 8 Paul confirms that with the breath of his mouth alone and the appearing of his splendour, Jesus will overthrow and destroy this anti-Christ. Jesus is the name above every name and king above every king.
Heavenly Father, while teaching on the end times is not always easy to understand, thank You that we can hang onto the truth that those who trust in Jesus your Son will be kept safe, and that Jesus Christ is far greater than any man of lawlessness, or anti-Christ, and any other agent of Satan. Thank You that Jesus Christ is our shield against Satan and our salvation from sin. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
Copyright © 2021 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.
