Sermon
031421SS-Book of 2 Thessalonians.mp3
Basic Prophesy Chart Premillenial Thousand Generations
II THESSALONIANS
Phase 2 of the Second Coming
The Glorious Return of the Lord Jesus Christ
AUTHOR: Paul
THEME: The Second Coming of Jesus Christ – The second phase of Jesus’ Coming.
KEY WORD: COME, COMING Found 6 x REVEALED Found 4 x
KEY VERSE:
II Thessalonians 2:1‑4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
BACKGROUND READING: Acts 17:1-10
Written from Corinth while Paul was on his second Missionary Journey.
DATE: 53 A.D. (Spring — three months after I Thessalonians was written.)
INTRODUCTION:
CHRONOLOGY OF THE EPISTLES PENNED BY PAUL.
PROPHETIC
I and II Thessalonians
DOCTRINAL
Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians
PRISON EPISTLES
Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon
PASTORAL EPISTLES
I and II Timothy, Titus
Paul had been to Thessalonica and had started a wonderful church there. He had taught of the wonderful doctrine of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had told them that Jesus had gone away and was going to come again to receive them. The people became excited and enthused about this blessed truth, and they anticipated the caning of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Something happened, however. One of their company died. Because of this, they wrote the Apostle Paul a letter and asked him what would happen to the one who had died. They had not thought of one of their members passing away before the Lord came back, for they looked for the Lord to come imminently. Paul wrote the letter of I Thessalonians to tell them what would happen to the dead in Christ at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is summarized in I Thessalonians 4:13—17.
Paul had also told them that after the coming of Christ in the air for His own, a terrible time of persecution would came on the earth called the “tribulation period.” This time of war, bloodshed, heartache, famine, etc. would last for seven years.
Soon the people at Thessalonica began to be persecuted. They became shaken and troubled, supposing perhaps that the persecutions that they were suffering were those of the great and terrible “day of the Lord” or the “tribulation period.” They had been taught to expect deliverance from the tribulation by the rapture and by our gathering together unto Him. II Thessalonians 2:1. Now such an awful time was upon them that they thought the tribulation period had come! “How could the tribulation period come and the Christians still be here?” was their question. Hence, the book of II Thessalonians is written to tell them that the tribulation period has not started and that our Lord has not cone for His own, but that He will come for His own before the tribulation. This is outlined beautifully in II Thessalonians 2:2-12.
PAUL ADMONISHES THEM NOT TO BE TROUBLED OR SHAKEN BY PERSECUTION.
II Thessalonians 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
He told them that they were not in the tribulation period.
PAUL TELLS THEM THAT THE DAY OF CHRIST IS AT HAND. He meant that the day of Christ is imminent. He could come at any moment. We do not know when He is coming. We are to look for Him all the time.
PAUL REMINDS THEM THAT THE RAPTURE MUST COME FIRST.
II Thessalonians 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Notice the words, “for that day shall not cone, except there cone a falling away first.” The words, “falling away,” means “snatching away” or “calling away.” This has to do with the rapture. The first event on God’s timetable is the rapture. It is a signless event. It is the time when the dead in Christ shall rise. The Lord Jesus shall descend from Heaven with a shout and the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, and then the living in Christ shall rise with the dead to meet the Lord Jesus in the air. Paul reminds them that this event, the rapture, will transpire before the tribulation period.
PAUL TEACHES THEM THAT IMMEDIATELY UPON THE RAPTURE, ‘THE ANTICHRIST,” OR THE MAN OF SIN, WILL BE REVEALED.
II Thessalonians 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
The man of sin will exalt himself above God and will be the object of worship. He will be in charge during the tribulation period. The outstanding personality on earth during the tribulation period is this man of sin. He is called the “antichrist,” a “beast,” and the “son of perdition.” Basically, he is the Devil incarnate, or the Devil in a human body, who will play havoc with God’s people during the tribulation period. Bear in mind, the people the Devil will persecute are those who are saved during the tribulation period and also, God’s nation, the Jews. All Christians will be raptured before the tribulation period begins.
BEFORE THE RAPTURE THE HOLY SPIRIT HINDERS THE “MYSTERY OF INIQUITY.”
II Thessalonians 2:5‑7 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
The New Age is not one unified religion or doctrine. It is a religious philosophy that comes in a bewildering variety of forms. At its heart is the divinity of self, so the individual is free to build whatever individualized brand of New Age he pleases.
The New Age has been discredited time and again since its inception. Its channelers have often proven to be charlatans. Its prophecies have often been false. It has demonstrated a frightful level of gullibility and rampant quackery. It is filled with contradictions. Its gurus and organizations have failed by the thousands. It is faddish and has been highly commercialized and is often simply ridiculous. Its practitioners are hypocritical in the extreme, claiming that they are gods when they live like the devil, calling for world harmony when they can’t get along with their own neighbors, calling for global peace when they can’t maintain peace in their own marriages, saying that truth is not found in doctrine while publishing shelves upon shelves of New Age doctrine, calling for tolerance while they are viciously intolerant not only of dogmatic Bible truth but often even of competing New Age philosophies.
Yet the New Age keeps growing, and the reason is that it is one aspect of the “mystery of iniquity” that is prophesied in Scripture.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
The term “mystery” in the New Testament means something that was formerly hidden but is now revealed. The mystery of iniquity is the revelation that the spirit of antichrist would be at work throughout the church age. John said, “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:18).
We see that there will be one antichrist, singular, at the end of the age, but there are even now antichrists, plural, in the world.
2 Thessalonians chapter 2 calls these “antichrists” the “mystery of iniquity.” The coming of Christ will be preceded by the appearance of the antichrist, singular, a world ruler who is called many things in Scripture. In 2 Thessalonians he is called “that man of sin” and “the son of perdition.” He will announce that he is God and will sit in the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Elsewhere in Scripture, we are told that he will require that the whole world worship him on pain of death (Revelation 13).
Preceding the appearance of the antichrist, singular, is the “mystery of iniquity,” which was already at work in the apostle Paul’s day. This describes the devil’s activity in preparing the way for the antichrist.
The Bible says that this demonic activity–this mystery of iniquity, this resistance against the true Jesus Christ, this attack upon the gospel–will increase throughout the church age until it finally blossoms into the full-blown antichrist government described in Revelation 13.
2 Timothy 3:13 describes the course of the church age as the gradual growth of error. “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
On the one hand, Christ is at work in the church age through Bible-believing churches to call sinners to salvation before it is too late. By this means the body of Christ is being filled up with saved people from the ends of the earth. On the other hand, the devil is at work trying to hinder the gospel and preparing men’s minds for the rise of the antichrist.
Paul tells us that there is one who “letteth,” which is an old English word meaning to restrain. There is one that is in the world and that has the power to restrain the devil’s program until God is finished with His work for the church age and the body of Christ is complete. That one is none other than the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, who came down from heaven on the day of Pentecost 2,000 years ago to empower the work of world evangelism. After His resurrection Jesus said: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
We are now standing somewhere toward the end of the church age. Multitudes have been redeemed out of every nation on earth, out of every tribe and tongue. Soon the Lord Jesus Christ will begin to open the seals of the book that contains the title deed to the overthrow of the present world system and the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth (Revelation 4:1-5). And the 24 elders representing the church will sing the wonderful song of redemption before the throne of God in heaven.
“And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Revelation 4:9).
Before the Great Tribulation described in Revelation 6-19 occurs, Christ will catch away all living church age saints and will resurrect those who are dead (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
Until that glorious day the divine work of worldwide gospel preaching must continue and the demonic work of the mystery of iniquity will proceed apace.
Understand that the mystery of iniquity is far more than the New Age movement. It is anything that undermines the authority and sufficiency of the Bible, that downgrades Jesus Christ, and that promises a way of salvation different from Scripture.
The mystery of iniquity is theological modernism and universalism and evolution and atheistic communism and Hinduism and Islam and Buddhism and anything else that stands in contradiction to God’s Holy Word. All of this and much more is preparing men’s minds and hearts for the antichrist.
And part of this iniquitous business is the New Age in all of its illicit glory.
In her book The Aquarian Conspiracy New Ager Marilyn Ferguson describes the movement as “a leaderless but powerful network working to bring about radical change.”
That is somewhat true from a human standpoint but from a spiritual standpoint the New Age definitely has a leader, and his name is Satan.
HE THEN REMINDS THEM AGAIN THAT UPON THIS RAPTURE, THE WICKED ONE WILL BE REVEALED.
II Thessalonians 2:8‑9 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Notice the word “Wicked” is capitalized, which means “the wicked one”. This is talking about the Anti-Christ. People may speculate who the Anti-christ is but he will not be revealed until after the rapture. He is alive right now but no one knows who he is until the tribulation begins.
HE TEACHES THEM THAT AT THE END OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD JESUS CHRIST SHALL COME BACK TO EARTH AND PUT DOWN THE ANTICHRIST.
II Thessalonians 2:8, …. .whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.”
This is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ at the end of the tribulation period when He will destroy the antichrist, will set up a kingdom of peace on earth, and will be King of all the earth for 1000 years. God’s people shall rule and reign with Him. During that period wild animals will be tame. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. Righteousness will prevail, and there will be peace on the earth.
PAUL CLOSES THIS DISSERTATION BY REMINDING THEM THAT AFTER THE RAPTURE NO ONE CAN BE SAVED WHO HAS ALREADY HEARD THE GOSPEL.
II Thessalonians 2:9‑12 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
People who hear the Gospel and do not believe it before the rapture will not have opportunity to be saved during the tribulation period. There will be a great multitude saved during the tribulation period, as we find in Revelation 7. This multitude, however, will be people who have not heard the Gospel before the rapture. Once the rapture comes, everyone who has ever heard the Gospel will have his chance sealed and his door closed to the opportunity of being saved.
Here is an example of people who experience the wrath of God and they don’t repent but instead curse God.
Revelation 9:20‑21 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Revelation 16:8‑11 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
The best time to answer God is when He touches your heart the first time. You do not meet God on your conditions. You meet God on His conditions. It is a horrible thing to tell the Lord to wait until you are ready. You mean the Creator is supposed to wait on the created??
CONCLUSION: Hence, the Apostle is writing this letter to remind them that they have only until the rapture to win people to Jesus Christ. He is reminding them to stay busy about the matter of soul winning in view of the “soon—ness” and imminence of the coming of our Lord.
OUTLINE OF THE BOOK OF II THESSALONIANS
- Paul had traveled to Thessalonica and had only spent 3 weeks there, but saw many people saved and was able to start an amazing church. While there, he taught many of the great doctrines of the Christian faith, including the Second Coming of Christ.
- After his departure, the church began to experience severe persecution. Some false teachers had begun to say that the church had missed the rapture and were now going through the Tribulation. In order to correct the false teaching and to reassure the Christians, Paul wrote 2 letters to deal with the Second Coming of Christ.
- In I Thess. Paul discussed the first phase of the Second Coming, known as the rapture. In this letter, Paul explained how Christ would come from heaven to remove the church from the world.
- In II Thess. Paul discussed the second phase of the Second Coming, known as the revelation. In this letter, Paul reassures them that the tribulation had not yet arrived. Their suffering therefore, was due to other reasons.
- REASONS FOR THEIR SUFFERING.
(2 Thess. 1)
- Their faith would grow.
2 Thess. 1:3 – We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly.
Anytime and every time the church has experienced persecution, it has always resulted in God’s people being strengthened in their faith. The more the devil afflicts, the stronger God’s people become.
- Their love would grow.
2 Thess. 1:3 – and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
If accepted properly, suffering will cause a Christian’s heart to grow tender, and more capable of loving others.
- Their patience would grow.
2 Thess. 1:4 – So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure:
The more we suffer, the more Christ-like we become – and the more like Christ, the more patience we receive.
- Their suffering would glorify Christ.
2 Thess. 1:12 – That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Christ is able to reveal His glory and His sufficiency to a lost world through a suffering people. He speaks to them through us!
- REVELATION OF ANTI-CHRIST.
(2 Thess. 2)
- After assuring these Christians that their suffering was not due to missing the rapture, Paul then began to explain why the Tribulation had not and could not yet occur. Several conditions must first be met.
- Apostasy must first come.
2 Thess. 2:3 – Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
It had already begun to infiltrate this church through false teachings. In (2 Thes. 2:2), Paul expressly warns against listening to a false teacher who claimed to have received a revelation through a spirit (“by spirit”), through their false teachings (“by word”), or through a counterfeit letter (“nor by letter as from us.”)
Though apostasy is in existence, this in itself is not the sign of the Tribulation.
- The program leading up to the Second Coming of Christ is as follows:
- The Church will be raptured.
- Anti-christ will come to power through peace.
- He will unite Europe and make a 7 year covenant with Israel guaranteeing their protection from Russia.
- After 3½ years, he will break the treaty and invade Israel.
- He will abolish all religion and establish himself to be God.
- Christ will return at the end of the 7 years to destroy anti-christ and establish His Millennial Kingdom.
- Prior to the revelation of anti-christ, the Divine Restrainer will be removed.
2 Thess. 2:7 – For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
Who is this? The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit. How does He restrain evil in our day? By indwelling the church. The church is the tool of the Holy Spirit to restrain Satan from world-wide dominion.
III. FINAL WORDS OF WISDOM.
(2 Thess 3)
- Now that Paul has explained to the church that they were not experiencing the Tribulation, and after having further instructed them concerning anti-christ, Paul turns his attention to the problems in the church which have developed from the false teaching.
- Paul’s request.
2Thess. 3:1 – Pray for us.
He asks for prayer specifically for the spread of the gospel and for his protection from troublemakers who had continually “dogged” his ministry.
- Paul’s commands.
- That they withdraw themselves from the false teachers.
2 Thess. 3:6 – Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of us.
- That the lazy Christians go back to their jobs and quit sitting around waiting for Christ to return.
2 Thes. 3:12 – Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread.
- That the busy Christians keep on staying busy doing good works.
2 Thess. 3:13 – But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
- That the Christians withdraw their fellowship from any person who refuses to obey the inspired words of Paul.
2 Thess. 3:14 – And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
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