The Coming of That Day
Book of 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2
We must understand that the best approach to what the Bible says is, to take every passage as its literal meaning, compare Scripture to Scripture and refuse to make claims that the Bible does not make.
There are some things that the Bible says that cannot for certain be understood.
It is these places and all the rest of the Bible we are to accept by faith!
It is like the Holy Trinity; I cannot explain and the Bible does not try to, but I know it is real.
I know there is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, and they are all one person, one God.
I know a virgin named Mary found favor with God and had a child named Jesus.
Isa_7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
I cannot explain it but I know it is the truth.
I know that the Lord Jesus Christ is that One sent down from Heaven to save us. (Immanuel)
I know that eye witnesses saw the Lord Jesus ascend back to Heaven.
I cannot explain it but I know it is the truth.
I know when the Bible speaks of the "Day of the Lord" it does not mean one single day in history.
The "Day of the Lord" covers a long span of time and some significant events that will take place.
There is a terrible time of trouble coming to this world we live in!
There is a day when the wrath of God will fall upon all the wickedness, all the meanness, and all the filthiness of mankind.
This day is not that far off because we are seeing the signs, but as Christians we are not to fear the "Day of the Lord".
Our hopes are for the future and not in the present!
*****2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 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.
We know that the Lord Jesus Christ will return to this world.
1) To gather His Church.
2) To bring the wrath of God to all unbelievers.
But we are not to think of wild and unreasonable notions concerning His return.
We must not be troubled by the return of Jesus Christ. To the Church this is the best thing that can happen to us. We will be going home!
These saints of Thessalonica were being persecuted so badly that they thought the "Day of the Lord" was taking place at that time.
Many thought that the tribulation years had already begun.
There were some who claimed that some spirit or some angel had revealed to them that the "day of the Lord" had begun already.
They were listening to some false preacher calming to be the Messiah.
He claimed that he had received some special word that no one else had.
He claimed that that he had heard in a letter from Paul that the "Day of the Lord" was taking place.
Many believers became shaken in mind and troubled by all these things as they strived to believe in the Apostle Paul.
The important thing for all believers is, to look forward to the day the Lord gathers His Church and not to the judgment that comes later because the Church will not be a part of that judgment.
It is far more pleasant to focus on the day we go home to Heaven than the "day of judgment" that does not concern the Church.
Heaven is a beautiful place where we can rest from the persecutions of this world!
It is those who have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ who should be shaken in their minds and troubled.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
1Th 5:10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
We must be careful not to get caught up in false teaching, and anyone who says they have a special revelation from God, because God will never go against His Word that He has given to the Church.
There will not be any prophecy in the Church Age other than the Word of God that we now have!
We are not appointed to the wrath of God, but to the salvation that God has presented to us!
We must not be deceive by some false prophet or some false preacher at any time.
*****2Th 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;
There are two events listed here from the Apostle Paul.
1)The first event to launch the day of the Lord will be a great falling away of believers from God.
In fact that phrase "falling away" means "apostasy", "revolt" "rebellion".
Many from all over the world will be rebelling and revolting against God.
Before the Lord returns there will be a great day of apostasy, a great day of deception.
Just yesterday I read where the United Methodist Church were meeting to see if they could reconcile their differences as more than half of those had given in to the LBGTQ agenda, even having some leaders who were prophesied to be part of the gay movement and welcomed them all.
Now it is true that the Church is to welcome all who come but they are to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as the Messiah and "Repent" to become part of the Church.
This may not be what the Apostle Paul was referring to but it is involved in this thing somewhere.
We simply cannot fall away from the truth of God.
For some man to decide he was really a woman. He is saying that my God made a mistake which is impossible.
For woman to say that she is really a man. She is saying that my God made a mistake and that is impossible.
For groups to give in to this they are calling God a liar and my God cannot lie!
Before the Lord Jesus will return to this earth there will be a great apostasy and I believe we are beginning to see this now in our lifetime.
What did Jesus teach us? Mat_24:34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
2) The second event that will launch the "Day of the Lord" will be the revelation of that man of sin, the son of perdition, the Antichrist himself.
This means that the Antichrist is on our planet somewhere today.
This Antichrist is a man of sin though he may first seem to be the savior of this world from climate change, war, and politics.
This means that the Antichrist will be that "son of perdition". He will be so evil he will actually be that son of doom! Doomed to destruction.
This means that the Antichrist will not just be another evil world leader that we see so often, but the Antichrist that has been prophesied.
He will come out into the open after hiding for such a long time, working his way through the politics of this world.
The evil that such men from our past that have caused, will not compare to the evil the Antichrist will bring.
Men such as Hitler, Stalin, and other dictators who themselves slaughtered millions of innocent people will be nothing compared to the Antichrist.
Those days will be like the days of Noah before the flood came.
Those will be like the days of Lot when the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
Mar 13:14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:
What does this wicked man do?
*****2Th 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.
What are the traits of the Antichrist?
1) He is the "man of sin". All he knows is sin and lawlessness. He idealizes sin. He is the ideal sinner. He will fulfill the dreams of Satan.
He will lead a revolt against our Holy God and the world will follow him.
2) He is the "son of perdition". Perdition means doom and destruction.
He is the son of the most violent doom and destruction this world will ever see.
He is the son who deserves his own doom more than anyone who has ever lived.
He is the son of the Devil himself, the father of all doom and destruction.
3) He is the "opposer" of all that is called God.
He is the opponent of Jesus Christ and all believers.
He will show no love, no mercy, no grace, and no justice, but especially to those who profess the name of Christ.
4) He is the one who "exalts himself" above everything that God stands for.
He will lift himself above everybody that is alive in his day, in an antagonistic way.
All people will be his subjects or they will be killed or suffer severe consequences.
5) He will claim to be God.
He exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped.
He will attempt to sit in the rebuilt Temple as God to be worshipped as God.
Many people worship science and technology today and the Antichrist will use this to his advantage with some great miracle within his power.
He will lead the governments of this world into war with God.
There will be a one world religion based upon the rule of the Antichrist by the False Prophet.
There will be a one world government.
There will be a false peace for a season.
Remember Rome brought peace through destruction and fear, the Antichrist will do the same.
We must teach these things in the Church!
*****2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
When a false preacher gets into to any church his message will always confuse some in the pews because people just refuse to study the Bible.
The Church must understand the truth of the Antichrist and it must be taught in the Pulpit and the Sunday Schools.
Just as Paul had to be careful what he said because he was a Roman citizen and Rome would silence those who spoke against it, it will be the same with those who speak against the Antichrist in his day.
So today is the day we must teach these things about the Antichrist.
The Lord Jesus will certainly return to gather His Church to Him. There will be a "Rapture" of the Church.
The Lord Jesus will return to this earth and that great and terrible day will come and it is sooner than most people want to believe.
The Antichrist will arise upon the world scene maybe just before the "Rapture of the Church" but certainly after the Church has been removed.
After the Church is removed by the Rapture, this world will turn into the most evil and wicked place that ever existed and the Antichrist will use this chaos to his advantage to make a false peace.
Remember the Church will be gone but Israel will remain and Israel will realize how wrong they had been about the Scriptures.
Rom_10:19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.
Rom_11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.
*****2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 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.
2Th 2:8 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:
It should be clear that there will be a historical appearance of the Antichrist. His time is set and he will appear before all the world.
Right now there is some power that holds back the appearance of the Antichrist.
Once this power is taken out of the way then the Antichrist will be revealed.
Notice it says, "taken out of the way" and not "taken away" there is a significant difference in these two statements.
If this power of restraint is completely removed there would be no power of good left in this world.
So this power will only step aside enough to allow the Antichrist to present himself to this world.
This power is so strong that He can control events in this world.
In fact, this person is so strong that He knows the exact day to step aside to allow the Antichrist to appear.
So, just what is this restraining power? In the early Church, those people thought that Rome was this restraining power but this cannot be true simply because Rome's dominance is long gone.
It is not the power of the law because every nation has different laws.
The restraining power can be nothing but the power of God, through the Spirit of God, who came to this earth when the Lord went back to Heaven.
Joh_16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh_16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
That word mystery refers to the mystery of lawlessness that works secretly in our world but when the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way then this mystery of lawlessness will no longer be in secret.
Eph_6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Those principalities, those rulers of darkness and that spiritual wickedness will finally be seen by this entire world.
Why do we do so many rotten things as we live and grow older?
That "mystery of iniquity" is that unseen, unknown power which is in our world dedicated to evil working against the will of God.
This is the thing that corrupts everything it touches causing misery in God's creation.
When did it begin?
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Rom 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Who is this Antichrist?
Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Dan 11:37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
It is the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost) who is the power behind the Church!
There should be no doubt that there is an Antichrist that is in this world, he has not revealed himself because the Holy Spirit will not allow it yet to happen just yet, but the Holy Spirit will take Himself out of the way of this Wicked man when the time is just right.
In the last days, when the time is just right for the Antichrist to rise, God is going to remove much of His restraint upon lawlessness and lawlessness will run rampant over this earth.
Men again will be allowed to do their own thing and live as they desire.
Men will get their wish and live without the influence of God.
Mat 24:10 And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Mat 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
Mat 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
The Church will already be in Heaven, the Rapture having taken place, and the influence of the Church will be no more on this earth.
The Holy Spirit will still be within each believer in Heaven, but the Holy Spirit will begin another work here on earth.
The Lord will make quick work of the Antichrist!
The Lord will destroy the Antichrist with the brightness of His coming.
How will the Antichrist deceive so many?
*****2Th 2:9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
The Antichrist will carry on the activities of Satan upon this earth.
He will be the embodiment of Satan.
He will carry on all the lying power and signs and wonders of Satan.
He will carry out the activity and work of Satan on this earth.
Satan will energize him.
He will be totally surrendered to Satan.
All the unbelievers will think they have reached heaven upon this earth, but even the wicked do not approve of all wickedness.
He will bring a false peace to this earth for three-and one-half years.
He may make a way for all to have food and adequate provisions.
Rev_13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
He may solve the problems of health insurance, employment, homelessness, energy, and other problems, because Satan is the one who caused those problems to begin with.
He will then claim supernatural power for himself, his government, and his science and the last three-and one-half years will begin.
He will cause the world to worship him as god.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
No man can be god because that grave will make him to be a liar!
When the Antichrist insist that he is god many will rebel against him because they do not want any sort of god to worship.
This world will live in a lie for only a brief time because it has rejected the truth of God.
*****2Th 2:10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
We should understand that any follower of the Antichrist has rejected the truth already.
To receive is to welcome and no one at that time will welcome the truth, they will not want to hear any truth and we are almost there today.
This truth is the "Gospel of Jesus Christ".
They do not want a way to be saved.
They do not want a way to escape death.
They do not want a way to live forever and ever.
They do not want a way to live a victorious life.
They have chosen to suffer at the hands of the Antichrist and Satan the Deceiver.
Joh 8:23 And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.
Joh 8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
God will cause them to believe every lie of the Antichrist.
*****2Th 2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
We live today in a nation where there has been a persistent rejection of truth.
This behavior destroys the sense of the truth so much that it results in a fatal error.
The lies against the truth become the truth to those who reject the truth.
In other words they believe the lies are the truth.
This is the America we live in today!
Does this mean that God misleads unbelievers?
That God deceives people?
That answer is no and a thousand times no.
No person is deceived apart from their own will.
No person is deceived against his will.
A person is only deceived because he chooses to reject the truth of God.
We need only to look at the lies of evolution to see how lies have changed our world.
Unbelief is governed by the laws of sowing and reaping.
If a person sows’ unbelief and deception, he will reap unbelief and deception.
Gal 6:7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Gal 6:8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
It is because people reject the truth of the Gospel that they will suffer strong delusion because of their actions, and they will believe the lies of the Antichrist.
Those who reject the Word of God will go further and further astray as we see in our own nation today.
So, God will use Satan as the means to punish them!
The Lord Jesus said to just leave them alone: Mat 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
All the followers of the Antichrist will be those who are deceived about the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The tragedy of this situation is that a person cannot reject Jesus Christ and expect things to stay as they are.
The truth will always prevail in the end!
God loves His Son too much to see Him rejected because of what He has done for the salvation of this entire world.
The "judgment" of the unbeliever is also drawing closer each and every day!
*****2Th 2:12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
All the followers of the Antichrist will be damned to Hell.
All those without the love for the truth will naturally believe a lie when it comes because there is no other choice for them!
People love their sin so much that will hold on to it even if it means they will spend eternity in Hell.
Go back and look at the sin of Adam.
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
It is the instinct of sinful man to flee from God and His truth!
When the wickedness of sinners is known of God, they will attempt to hide from the truth.
The Lord Jesus came to this earth for this reason.
Joh_15:22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin.
This world cannot expect God to overlook its sin, especially those who take pleasure in unrighteousness.
Any person who rejects the work that our Savior has done for our salvation cannot expect God to overlook the dishonor done to His Son!
The world is full of sin!
1Jn_2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
These are the things that Satan has used since the time of Adam and Satan has never had to change his ways.
When the Antichrist shows up the world can expect for him to use these things to become its new world leader.
Man loves himself and himself alone and refuses to show true love to anything else but himself and this is the downfall of mankind.
Job 15:16 How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?
Psa 52:3 Thou lovest evil more than good; and lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah.
Psa 52:4 Thou lovest all devouring words, O thou deceitful tongue.
Psa 52:5 God shall likewise destroy thee for ever, he shall take thee away, and pluck thee out of thy dwelling place, and root thee out of the land of the living. Selah
These are the same ones who will cling to the Antichrist like he is some sort of god when he is nothing.
God will allow the Antichrist to lead this world for seven years and it will be a terrible time to live upon this earth, but Hell is even worse.
Amen
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