Keeping the Faith!
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 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.
2 Thessalonians 2:6-12 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.
Intro: Last week we looked at the first 5 verses of 2 Thess. 2. We focused on the fact that God does not forget people. The Thessalonian Christians had not been forgotten by God and left to suffer alone to no avail. They had not been left behind. The Day of the Lord had not arrived b/c certain things had not yet happened, which apparently Paul had taught them about when he first brought the good news about Jesus to them.
In v.5 Paul says, “Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?” Well, we do not know exactly what Paul told them about the Man of Lawlessness, the great rebellion or apostasy, or the Day of the Lord, but he had given them some ongoing teaching for about 3 weeks, as he taught in the synagogue before he went on to Berea and then Athens. Most scholars point out that even though we cannot be sure what all these things meant that Paul wrote about, it appears that the Thessalonians knew exactly what he was talking about.
-Some teachers read these verses and say they all happened in the first century. The coming Day of the Lord was simply judgment against the Jews for breaking their covenant with God. They say this Day of the Lord was one of many in history when God poured out His judgment on various nations. In AD 70 Jerusalem was overthrown, the temple was destroyed, and that was the Day of the Lord referred to by Paul. The rebellion or apostasy was thought to be the Jewish Revolt against Rome (the restrainer), led by some Jewish political figure, who is the man of lawlessness. Others identify the Emperor Nero as the man of lawlessness, who figuratively sets himself up over God’s temple as God.
-It is not my purpose today to debunk these other theories. But I do feel compelled to offer a response to the false accusation that the idea of a pre-trib rapture was never taught or considered until the 1800’s. Some scholars identify various early church fathers teaching on this: Irenaeus (around 125 AD) -- And therefore, when in the end the Church shall be suddenly caught up from this, it is said, “There shall be tribulation such as has not been since the beginning, neither shall be ....” The most explicit of these came from Ephraem the Syrian in 373 AD: "For all the saints and Elect of God are gathered, prior to the tribulation that is to come, and are taken to the Lord lest they see the confusion that is to overwhelm the world because of our sins." There are a few more early church fathers who wrote of a pre-trib rapture or translating of believers (Clement, Polycarp, Shepherd of Hermes, and a few others).
-Now you might be wondering why I’m taking the time to defend the pre-tribulational rapture. What difference does it make when it happens? (That question is easy to ask from our comfort zones, but might sound different if we were actually facing intense suffering. All I can say is that I believe it is Biblical, and that it is our blessed hope! And I believe our passage today should be understood in light of it. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I do find plenty of evidence that gives me hope that Jesus could come for us at any second!
-But somebody had gotten to the believers at Thessalonica. Somebody tried to convince them that they were living in the distressing time of the Day of the Lord. God’s wrath would now be poured out upon the earth and they would face terror and judgment such as mankind had never seen before. This, in spite of words from Paul, who had assured them that they were not appointed to wrath, and that they were to wait for Jesus who would rescue them from the coming wrath (1 Thess. 1:10). Whoever this was who was troubling them had either spoken a prophecy or written a letter or told them that Paul had said they had entered the Day of the Lord. So Paul writes and says, “Here’s how you can know that the Day of the Lord has not come yet,” and he proceeds to give them several clear signs of things that would happen when the Day of the Lord came.
-First, the departing or rebellion would take place. Second, the man of lawlessness would be revealed. Third, from our text today, some force (also described as a “he”) was restraining or holding back lawlessness, and holding back the man of lawlessness from being revealed. That force would need to be taken out of the way.
-I’ve broken vv.6-12 down into 4 main thoughts. Let’s take a look at them.
1. Opposition to God’s word/truth is already rampant
2. One man will be revealed as the lawless leader
*Characteristics from vv.3-4: lawless, doomed to destruction, will oppose God, will exalt himself as God, will set himself up in God’s temple.
A. Aligned with Satan
B. Works false miracles
C. Works evil that deceives
D. Will be destroyed when Jesus returns in power
3. Characteristics of those who are perishing
A. Will be deceived
B. Will refuse to love the truth and be saved
C. Will receive a powerful delusion and believe the lie
D. Will be condemned b/c they delight in wickedness
4. Righteous resistance stems the tide of evil
A. Righteous restraint is holding back evil now (and since Paul wrote)
-I believe this restrainer is the HS in the lives of believers that is holding back the lawlessness on this earth and keeping the man of lawlessness from revealing himself and pushing his sinister agenda. That doesn’t mean that we are really something. It means that the HS in us is really something!
-How you live makes a difference in this world! Not just by trying to say and do the right things, but by allowing God to live in and through you by His HS! Who you are in Christ makes a difference in the world around you. Just imagine if there were no voices to speak out against injustice in this world. Imagine if nobody was around who cared about the value of a human life. Imagine a world where the divine attributes of mercy, forgiveness, charity, compassion, and righteousness are not being passed on to others or lived out. What a dark, scary place! Now, I believe the HS Himself will not be taken out of this world. He is the omnipresent Spirit of God. However, his influence in and through us will be removed. People will still be saved in the Day of the Lord, and the HS is needed for that to happen. But right now the righteous restraint of the HS in the lives of believers like you and me is making enough of a difference to hold back the wave of lawlessness that will be unleashed one of these days, and the man of lawlessness (whom I believe is the Antichrist) is biding his time.
-So, keep the faith! It is holding back the forces of evil in this world.
B. Righteous restraint will be removed (taken out of the way)
-This is exciting to me. This is when Jesus comes to get us and take us to be with Him forever! This is what we call the Rapture. It is like the thief in the night coming suddenly. It is like the ark of rescue and safety. It will be a huge surprise for those who are not ready for Him. Again, many will accuse pre-trib rapturists of being motivated by a sense of privilege and guilty of just wanting to escape hard times. While that may describe many of us at various times, it doesn’t change God’s agenda. None of us are worthy of His grace, and none of us deserve to escape His wrath. And yet He loves us and has not appointed those who have surrendered to Him now to suffer His wrath.
-Keep the faith! Jesus is coming back for those who are doing His Father’s will!
C. This removal will mark the arrival of the Day of the Lord
-This will mark the beginning of the Day of the Lord, the fulfillment of the judgments of God found in the book of Revelation. It will be an ugly time, and yet God will still be drawing people to Himself (esp. Israel), and giving people every chance to repent and surrender their lives to Him!
-We want to keep the faith now, b/c we don’t want to be here when plagues, famines, war, and lawlessness decimate what’s left of the earth. When 1/3 of the earth is scorched by the intense heat of the sun (1/3 of trees and grass burned up). When 100 pound hail stones fall and pulverize this place. When storms and earthquakes ravage the earth. There will be perpetual darkness over 1/3 of the earth, much of the water will turn bitter, freaky looking locusts that sting like scorpions will begin to attach all those who do not have the seal of God on them, 1/3 of the population of the earth will be wiped out! Am I trying to scare you? Is it working?
-The point is, God does not want anyone to perish or to be without Him. But even after showing His power over all the earth, the survivors who have not surrendered their lives to God, will still try to defy Him and continue to sin openly.
-Keep the faith now b/c The Day of the Lord is coming to this world! It seems so far away and unreal, but it could begin at any moment in time! There are 2 days we need to be aware of in the Bible. We’ve already been talking about one of them: The Day of the Lord, which lasts through the 7 years of Tribulation, and includes the physical return of Jesus to establish His kingdom on earth for 1000 years, and culminates at the end of the millennium when the Lord finally defeats all who are left who rise up against Him.
-The 2nd day we need to be aware of is going on right now: 2 Corinthians 6:2 For he says, "In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you." I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.
-If you have faith that Jesus is the Son of God and Lord of all and you want Him to be your Lord, your leader and forgiver, then you can make today your day of salvation – all b/c of what Jesus has done for you on the cross and through His resurrection. It is not complicated; neither is it easy! It is the single most important decision you will make in your life – to follow Jesus! But it’s the right decision. God wants you to know His peace in your heart. He wants you to be part of the righteous resistance that is holding back the tide of evil that will one day be unleashed. Will you make things right with God today?
