The Things to Come - Part 1: 2 Thess Lesson 5

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5

Things to Come – Part 1

 We saw in the first chapter of this second letter to the Thessalonians that Paul’s purpose was to encourage these faithful followers of Christ to continue to stand and persevere in the midst of persecution and afflictions. The purpose of the second chapter is to calm down disturbance that had been caused by some false teaching concerning the second coming of Jesus. This is clearly the focus of the second chapter. Please stand with me as we read this chapter together.

 I don’t remember a time when I have struggled with how to deal with a passage the way I have struggled with this one. I guess I am struggling with this passage because I am wrestling with my own eschatological framework. My point of view on the proper interpretation of end time events is being challenged. I’m learning new insight and hopefully growing. I’m not changing at this point but I am being challenged. I would hope that you appreciate that my goal is always the pursuit of truth. My position on a few things has changed over the years as I have studied more and more of God’s word. I’m not saying that my position on eschatology has changed, but I am appreciating the value of other points of view. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

 When it comes to interpreting the Scriptural teaching on end time events there are three general approaches. One approach is called “preterism.” This term comes from the Latin word “praeter” which means “past.” According to this approach, virtually all the prophecies made by Jesus and the apostles were fulfilled in the first century persecutions under Nero and culminated with the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This approach is not completely without merit because some of the prophecies of Jesus may have had a near fulfillment in that early time of tribulation. But the problem is that most of the prophecies don’t make sense if that is the only approach you apply to interpretation.

 A second approach to eschatology is the historicist approach. This approach takes the prophecies and signs as characterizing the entire period between Christ’s first and second coming. Paul’s warning to Timothy in 2 Tim. 3:1 that “in the last days difficult times will come” applied to Timothy’s church. The point could easily be made that the church in every age has endured difficult times. John said in 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.” The argument could be made that the spirit of antichrist has always been opposed to the gospel. The Protestant Reformers were virtually unanimous in declaring the Pope to be the Antichrist since the Roman Catholic Church seemed to be fulfilling the role of false teaching and government sponsored persecution. The problem with taking a historicist approach only is that if your emphasis is on general historical trends, you will overlook what the Scriptures say about the intensification of these things the closer we get to the return of Christ.

 The third general approach, and the approach that has most influenced my understanding, is the futurist approach. This approach sees virtually all New Testament prophecies only as future events that have not yet happened, but will immediately precede Christ’s return. I tend to believe that the vast majority of those prophecies are associated with Christ’s coming and the end of the age. But, the problem with taking the futurist approach only is that it extracts eschatology from its first century setting, and means that the first century apostles really had no reason to be concerned for the churches. I don’t think that Paul or Peter or John felt like end time prophecies had no relevance to themselves or the churches to whom they wrote. If you read your New Testament, including the passage we look at today, they felt very strongly that there was merit for the early church.

 Where I have been challenged as I have studied this passage is to consider the value of the contributions of these three approaches combined. Some of the prophecies likely had a fulfillment in the near future, when Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans. Not only were there some aspects fulfilled early, there were trends established that typify the whole church age. These prophecies and the subsequent trends will have a final fulfillment and a concentrated intensification in the time immediately prior to the Lord’s return.

 Let me give you another example. Jesus said, “This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:14) The preterist approach would say that this was fulfilled with the spread of the gospel through the missionary journeys of Paul and others as persecution scattered the followers of Christ throughout the Roman world. The historicist would say that this prophecy has continued to be fulfilled throughout church history in obedience to the Great Commission. The futurist would look to the book of the Revelation and see the fulfillment of this in the preaching of the gospel by the two angels flying in the mid-heaven all over the world, or the preaching of the 144,000 witnesses. If you are not familiar with those things go read the Revelation. Are any of those approaches without merit? I don’t think so.

 I have shared that with you for a reason. There are some doctrinal issues where I will stand before you and proclaim orthodox truth without a shadow of a doubt in my mind. I don’t have any questions about the non-negotiable doctrines. I may not fully understand any of them, but I know the ones that matter and the ones I am willing to fight and die to defend. On the essential doctrines of the faith there is room for growth in my understanding but no room for change. My eschatological doctrines don’t fit into that category. I am still pursuing truth. I am committed to teaching truth. I am just not able to stand and deliver what I am sharing with you today with the same level of confidence that I might share the gospel, or define the deity of Christ.

 I once heard the pastor I most admired, and the only guy I know of who preached verse by verse through the entire New Testament, that being Dr. John MacArthur, once say, “There is a chance that we will all have our eschatology rearranged somewhat when Jesus comes back.” 

 That being said, there is a lot to cover. Let me begin with an overview of the context. Sometime in between Paul’s first letter and the second, a false teacher had evidently written a letter and claimed it was from Paul. This false teacher may have preached a message and produced a false letter claiming that it was from Paul and it provided apostolic authority to the message preached. The apparent claims of that message and letter was that the day of the Lord had come. This had caused the Thessalonians to be shaken from their composure and disturbed. This message and/or letter was upsetting these believers because it contradicted what Paul had previously taught them regarding end time events. So Paul writes this second chapter to address the error.

 Paul makes his desire and intention very clear at the end of this chapter. “Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” Whatever Paul is teaching, it is designed to comfort, instill hope, and strengthen our hearts in good work and word. Paul’s motive was not sensational but pastoral. His goal was not to gratify the curiosity of the people about end times. His goal was to comfort and straighten out the confusion caused by the false teacher. He doesn’t teach a comprehensive, detailed explanation of everything related to the day of the Lord. He simply points to one significant event to show that the day of the Lord could not have happened. It could not have happened because this event had not taken place.

 Probably the best approach for me to take with this passage is to just walk through it as a narrative and explain it as best I can and support the explanations with plenty of cross-references. We will see how far we get today and try to finish next week. I’m going to try to get through the first part of verse 10 in the next two Sunday mornings because I am going to try to take off the last Sunday morning. I’ve asked Matthew to be ready to cover verses 10-12. 

 Paul obviously changes the topic of discussion between these chapters. That is why the chapter division was added here in later years. Paul didn’t put the chapter and verse divisions in this as he wrote it. I’m sure most of you were well aware of that. As he changes topics he makes a request. Paul isn’t addressing this issue as authoritatively as he does some issues. The word for “request” can mean “to plead, or implore, or even to beg.” Paul is gently correcting those who have fallen victim to the deception introduced. He even, once again, refers to them as “brethren.” This is a designation we should never forget.

 The fact that this church could be shaken from their composure and disturbed by a false teaching should be a warning to us. False teaching is dangerous. Paul calls these dear brethren to “let no one in any way deceive you” (v. 3), and “remember that while I was with you I was telling you these things” (v. 5). We know from our study of 1 Thessalonians that these believers accepted Paul’s words for what they really were, not the words of man, but the word of God. We are all susceptible to false teaching if we do not remain focused on the perfect truth of God’s word. 

 The issue of concern regards “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him.” (v. 1) John MacArthur and others see this as two expressions of a single event. The Greek syntax uses only one article with the two nouns, suggesting that these are two complimentary elements of a single event. If this is the case, and I believe it is, this is a reference to the Rapture of the church. 

There is little debate over the certainty of the return of Christ, or the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” There is, however, much debate over the Rapture. Let’s focus first on the return of Christ. There will be a sudden, personal, visible, bodily return of Christ. The New Testament emphasizes this consistently. Jesus said: “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think he will.” (Matthew 24:44) Three times the glorified Lord Jesus Christ promises in Revelation 22: “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” (v. 7) “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” (v. 12) “He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come Lord Jesus.” (v. 20)

At the ascension of Christ while the disciples were still gazing intently into the sky while He was going “two men in white clothing stood beside them. They also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you watched Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:10-11)

The Apostles confirm: James – “You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” (James 5:8) Peter – “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” (2 Peter 3:10) John – “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1 John 3:2)

The Scriptures predict a sudden return of Christ that will be visible and dramatic. Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.”

 The issue Paul addresses was not just regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also “and our gathering together to Him.” There is pretty much universal agreement that when Christ does come back He will gather together to Himself all who are the elect, the redeemed, those who are His at His coming. Jesus promised His disciples, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.” (John 14:3)

There are varying interpretations of when this gathering takes place. It was only back in May that we studied 1 Thessalonians 4 where Paul dealt with the question of what happens to the brethren who die before the Lord comes back. There was concern that perhaps they would miss out on the glory of His return. I told you back then that my personal belief is that Jesus will come for His church in an event called the Rapture. If you missed that, or want more on it, go back and listen to the message on 1 Thess. 4:16-17. “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” (1 Thess. 4:16-17) 

My eschatological viewpoint, being that of dispensational Premillennialism, is that Jesus will come for His church prior to the outpouring of God’s wrath on the earth during the time known as the Great Tribulation. Mark 13:19 records these words of Jesus, “For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.” This time of unprecedented tribulation is also known as “the day of the Lord.” I believe this is described in chapters 6-19 of the Revelation. The day of the Lord culminates with the return of Christ to do all that is written in the final section of Revelation. We find the day of the Lord mentioned specifically in verse 2 because the message and false letter suggested that “the day of the Lord has come.”

The Old Testament prophets used the term “day of the Lord”  to describe the near, or impending judgments of God on the nation of Israel for their disobedience, as well as the final period of divine judgments to happen at the end of time. Sometimes these prophets did not see the time span between the near and far judgments. They called the time of judgment “the day of the Lord.” The “day of the Lord”  is called in the Bible the “day of doom” or the “day of vengeance.” In the New Testament it is called the “day of wrath, the day of visitation and the great day of God Almighty.” It is a time of the terrifying judgments of God for the utter sinfulness of the world. The future “day of the Lord” unleashes God’s furious wrath on the unbelieving world. This unleashing of the fury of God immediately precedes the return of Christ. Yet, the term “day of the Lord” also includes the return of Christ. When Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians 5 about the day of the Lord he is writing of the day when Jesus returns.

The suggestion from the false prophets may have included the lie that Jesus Christ had already come back. We don’t have the letter written by the false teacher to which Paul references, and we don’t have the record of the sermon they taught. All we have is the problems the message and letter produced. If the false message included the claim that the day of the Lord has come, it would likely suggest that the wrath of God was being poured out and that Christ was coming very soon. This might explain why in Chapter 3 there were some who had quit working and were doing nothing. Their motivation may have been the false message regarding the day of the Lord.

 The false teachers were likely suggesting that the persecutions and afflictions they were enduring were the evidence that God’s wrath was being poured out in the fashion described in Scripture as the “day of the Lord.” This would have been very unsettling. They would have been quickly shaken from their composure because they had been taught that the Lord was going to come and get them before the wrath of God was poured out on the earth. The word “shaken” was used to describe the prison at Philippi during the earthquake that freed Paul and Silas. These believers were shaken and disturbed. The word disturbed means “frightened.” This false message caused their hearts and minds to be filled with anxiety and fear. Their hope was being undermined by a lie.

So to set their minds at ease, Paul explains what must happen before the Day of the Lord is unleashed. In verse 3-4 he writes, “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

Paul tells the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord could not have come because the “apostasy comes first.” The basic meaning of the word “apostasia” is “revolt” or “rebellion.” Because Paul uses the definite article he is referring to a specific, identifiable act of apostasy. This word refers to a turning away from a previously held position, or the abandonment of previous loyalties. I think it will involve a number of professing Christians walking away from the faith, embracing the lies of the deceiver identified in the words that follow.

Paul then describes what will occur during this act of apostasy. The man of lawlessness will be revealed, who is also the “son of destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship. He will take his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

In order to fully explore what Paul is describing here I believe we would need to take weeks to dig into the prophecies of Daniel and some parts of the book of the Revelation. It was not that long ago that I taught through the book of the Revelation in our Bible Study time. I am really agonizing with the decision not to go that deep with this passage. Perhaps we should. Maybe we will at some point in the future. I think that a thorough look at the doctrines of eschatology would be a great use of our Bible Study time on Sunday mornings. But for the purposes of this message I am not going to go very deep. Hopefully it will be deep enough to explain the text.

Based on the eschatological framework I embrace, I believe Paul, in 2 Thessalonians 2, is referring to an event that takes place at the mid-point of the seven year tribulation period. We are in the church age. The church age continues until the event we call the Rapture. This can happen at any time. After the church is removed by the snatching away, the period of judgment begins. The first three and a half years of the tribulation will be marked by peace. This world leader, who is the Antichrist, who is the one Paul describes here, will rise to world dominion. He will initially appear to be Israel’s protector. He will make a treaty of peace with Israel. 

At the mid-point of the Tribulation the Antichrist, who functions as Satan’s mouthpiece, will break this treaty with Israel. He will take his seat in the Temple and put a stop to the sacrifices and offerings and will commit the act Jesus called in Matthew 24:15, “the abomination of desolation.” He will show his true colors. He will, as Paul describes in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, he “opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” He will demand to be worshipped as God. This will be unacceptable to the people of Israel and the time of great tribulation ensues. This time of tribulation ends after 3 ½ years when Christ returns as depicted in Rev. 19.

I’m going to do something I rarely, if ever do. I’m going to read you an extended section from a commentary by John MacArthur on this individual described in Daniel as the Antichrist. We must concede one reality. The Apostle Paul was a futurist. What he describes in verse 4 must be drawn from his interpretation of what Daniel had written in his prophecy. In verse 5 Paul writes, “Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?” The things Paul told them about this individual must have been what he understood of things prophesied in the Old Testament and the most comprehensive description is found in Daniel.

Read MacArthur commentary pages 266-267.

When we come back next week we will face other interpretational challenges for which I may not have good answers. We have a question with many possible answers in verse 7. Who is the “he” that now restrains the work of the mystery of lawlessness and what does it mean that he will be taken out of the way? I have another week of intense wrestling with the word of God. I’m thankful for the opportunity.

You will want to be here because out of the questions we may not be able to answer, there is one glorious hopeful reality. Whoever this antichrist is, he is no match for our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns. He is able, by the power of Satan, to work all kinds of signs and false wonders. He deceives and leads many to destruction. But he cannot stand when the Lord comes back. Jesus Christ will return and the Lord will slay this beast with the breath of His mouth and bring him to his just end. That is the message of our eschatology. We know who wins. That was one reason for the homework you were supposed to do last week. If you didn’t do it, you should. Read the Revelation of Jesus Christ at the end of your Bible.

Let’s pray.