Day 44
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NIV
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The Coming King!
In today's passage Paul is addressing an apparent fear that Jesus has already come or might come and catch some unaware. There was apparently enough fear of being left behind that the Apostle felt the need to write a second letter and address this misconception. Paul begins today's reading with "now, bretheren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him" so Paul is addressing a concern of many of the people he continues in verse 2 with do not be shaken or troubled in mind "as though the day of Christ has come. Paul then begins to give some signs of His coming so they can have peace and not live in worry about being left. Growing up I can remember this being an issue for me. I can remember night where I had trouble going to sleep for fear that I might not be ready. While this isn't completely unhealthy my view of God was flawed just as these people. I was saved as these believers are and we are not told to live in fear but faith. The day of His coming shouldn't produce dread and fear but rather excitement and yearning. Sure we want time for many of our loved ones to be saved but there is no question that upon His coming we will experience great joy. Paul then begins to discuss the coming of the Anti-Christ, he refers to Him as the "son of perdition." This son of perdition will do everything in his power to mimic God and deceive people into thinking he is God. The Holy Spirit is mentioned here as the restrainer. The prayers of the church keep evil from being unleashed upon this earth, but when the church is taken out of the way a terrible day will ensue. Best before we get too carried away Paul says in verse 8 that "the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming" yes this evil one will come but Christ will come again in power and with little effort take back all that belongs to God. We as believers do not need to fear this enemy because we know our future! We know that there is a very real and eternal heaven and even if we happen to live til the end when Jesus returns we will indeed know the joy of His return. Rejoice today because the King is coming. We need to live like He is coming tomorrow and save as many as we can while there is time.
Blessings,
Pastor Larry
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