|
II Thessalonians
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Picture not available yet
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chapter Two
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
By Peter Marshall McLewin
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Now Paul takes his readers even deeper into the events of the tribulation.
Vs. 6 & 7 Sin will be unrestrained.
Paul says that something (Vs. 6) or someone (Vs. 7) is holding back the rampant spread of evil throughout the world. Evil is presently everywhere in the world, but a day is coming when corruption will increase at a rate that has never been seen before in this world. What could Paul be talking about? Who is restraining evil in the world now? Jesus taught His disciples that they are the light of the world. I believe that what is restraining evil in the world is not Satan or government, but the presence Christian men and women. The light of Jesus shining through our lives keeps the world from being more corrupt than it presently is. How often have Christians seen unbelievers cleaning up their language when they walk into a room? I believe that it is the presence of the Holy Spirit in the lives of Christians that is keeping sin in check. Some object to this because verse six uses the neuter in referring to the Holy Spirit…
Vs. 6 to katechon: neuter. It should be noted that there are other references in Scripture where the neuter is used of the Holy Spirit:
John 14:26; 15:26; 16:13-14
Vs. 7 ho katechon: masculine. In verse seven the masculine is used with reference to the one who is holding back evil in the present age.
I believe the loss of the Holy Spirit’s influence through the lives of Christians, when they are caught up in the air prior to the Day of the Lord, will result in a massive increase in evil.
In the 1970s New York City had 48-hour power failure. In those brief 48 hours, over a million dollars of looting was done. Think of the impact that the approximately one billion people, who claim to know Jesus as their Savior, have on the world. When they are suddenly removed, evil will explode.
It is not that the Holy Spirit will not be at work drawing men and women to Christ during the tribulation. He will continue to do that work, but at the beginning of the tribulation, when one billion followers of Christ are removed, His influence will be greatly reduced.
Vs. 7 The mystery of lawlessness. While teaching about the rampant increase in sin, Paul lets us in on one of the mysteries of the New Testament. A mystery, mysterion, is a new truth previously unknown anywhere in Scripture. There are several New Testament mysteries that Paul has the privilege of releasing. They are found in:
Romans 16:26
I Corinthians 2:6-12
Ephesians 1:9; 3:3-5
Colossians 1:25-27
The mystery not previously known is that there will be a climax of lawlessness in the world after the church of Jesus Christ is removed from the earth. The Holy Spirit, working through the lives of believers, is the only person strong enough to restrain the presence of evil in this world.
Vs. 8 Verse eight spans the seven-year career of the antichrist. He will be revealed, and he will be destroyed. As the glorified Christ stopped Saul on the Road to Damascus, so will the breath of God slay the antichrist.
“For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle. In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which is in front of Jerusalem on the east; and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from east to west by a very large valley, so that half of the mountain will move toward the north and the other half toward the south…And the Lord will be king over all the earth; in that day the Lord will be the only one, and His name the only one.” Zechariah 14:2-4, 9
Vs. 9 Power of the antichrist. The antichrist will win over the nations of the world by craft and deceit. He will perform miracles, dynamei, signs, semeiois, and wonders, terasin. The key word in this verse is that they are false acts. Revelation tells us that the antichrist will even try to duplicate the resurrection of Christ. Many will blindly follow him, but their end will be destruction and misery.
How are Christians to live?
Vs. 13 Paul concluded his course on the end times by reminding his readers that they are to “…always give thanks to God” for their salvation.
He encourages them to live holy lives "...through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth."
Vs. 17 Finally he charges them to stay active in their service to God through the Church of Jesus Christ. “Comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.”
Final thoughts:
This is a companion teaching to my thoughts on I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11. I encourage you to read both pages to get the full impact of Paul’s teaching on this subject. Keep in mind that Paul wrote I & II Thessalonians before John received the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul must have received his information on the end times by direct revelation from Jesus Christ, following his conversion. It is interesting that he makes only a passing reference to end time teaching. That might be a lesson in itself. Paul kept his focus on declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. Let us not get so caught up in judging each other’s views on the end times that we stop spreading the good news that there is presently hope for a dying world. The last time I read through John’s Revelation, I did not come away with some new eschatological thought, but rather I came away with a renewed sense that God is in control of His world and millions upon millions of saints and angels are bowing before His throne at this very moment in worship of Him. Perhaps that is how we should end our study of these mysteries of the Bible.
“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 7:9-12
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chapter Links
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Study Links
Thessalonica
First Missionary Journey
Second Missionary Journey
Third Missionary Journey
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Greece Report
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This site was written and produced by Peter McLewin, all rights reserved, 2001
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| page created with Easy Designer |