For Whom Are We Looking?

Regardless of what time period a person lives, there always seems to be someone who is so bent on evil that it boggles the mind. Just touching upon a little history, we can read of a character in the first century that was beyond evil, fitting every quality of a madman as there was, by the name of Nero. Come forward to the 20th century, as we remember Stalin, Hitler, Castro, and a whole host of others.

Evil was not just limited to the geo-political world; it was found in the religious world as well. Jim Jones immediately comes to mind as he has caused drinking the Kool-Aid to be a well-known phrase with negative connotations. Then there’s the founder of Multiple spiritual leaders from a variety of religious backgrounds have fleeced their flocks, abused others under their care, predicted the day of return of Christ, manipulated the Scriptures to get what they want, etc.

We should not waste time looking for the appearance of the Antichrist; but rather looking forward to the appearance of Jesus Christ Himself.

Don’t Be Disturbed. - 2.1-2

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 (NASB95)

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

All of those people mentioned earlier are like Disney princesses when compared to who will be coming, in the person of the Antichrist, or Antichristos. Though Paul does not use this specific word in this letter, we most assuredly know this is the one of whom he is speaking. We gather this from Daniel, Revelation, and other scriptures, as well. This word is what we know as a compound word, anti and Christos. He will oppose, anti, everything about Christ, Christos, and will even try to take Christ’s place. We need to understand that this is a specific individual, as opposed to what John refers to 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 multiple antichrists refers more to the spirit and intent of anyone who has the spirit or attitude of opposition to Christ.

This particular part of the 2nd letter to the Thessalonians appears to have been written to encourage them, as they seemed to be confused about the end times from the false teaching that was taking place. It seems that there must have been so-called spiritual leaders who were suggesting that they had missed out on the rapture and were actually living during the time of God’s judgment, or the Day of the Lord. Sadly, Christians can be deceived by those who present information that is close to Scripture, yet is not what the Bible actually teaches. The best way to deal with this sort of confusion is to teach exactly what God teaches in His Word. In addition, all of us can avoid this by knowing God’s Word, which requires spending time reading the Bible.

It is interesting to note that Paul was not focused on exact times and timelines, but rather upon encouraging and comforting the Thessalonians. The false teachers were trying to cause problems by creating crisis thinking based upon false information. We can see this encouragement and comfort by the use of the gentle phrase, we request you.

Also, the encouraging part of this sentence is found in Paul’s discussion of the rapture, which occurs before the coming of the Antichrist. The topic is with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him. This is not two separate occasions, but one event, as seen by the language.

In verse 2, it is made clear that the information they had received was not at all from Paul. Even though what had been presented appeared to be genuine, it was not, as seen by the phrase, letter as if from us. In addition, not having a definite article before the word, spirit, shows that this was not from a message given by the Holy Spirit. It was a forgery, in an attempt to gain credibility by using Paul’s name. In fact, at the risk of a spoiler alert, Paul gives further evidence in 2 Thessalonians 3:17, “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write.”

These false teachers were intentional in trying to confuse and mislead and discourage the church. Satan often will try to manipulate the Word of God, so as to cause believers to focus on things other than Jesus Christ and His true Word.

Paul continues by showing the falsehood of the teachings that the enemies of Christ were promoting and by explaining what was the actual truth.

Don’t Be Deceived. - 2.3a

2 Thessalonians 2:3a (NASB95)

Let no one in any way deceive you,

Is this really a problem? How could it be a problem with the Thessalonian church, or even churches today? Listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11:14–15. “No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.” One of the most prevalent deceptions over the centuries comes from manipulative leaders who predict the time of Christ’s return. Multitudes question whether the teaching they had believed, was actually right. People begin to actually question the Bible.

Paul uses very strong language, as seen in the double negative in this phrase. One commentator suggested that we might understand this by wording it: Do not let anyone by any means or any method lead you astray in any way.

So, what would cause the church to second-guess Paul’s earlier teachings, and be worried about what they were being told? After all, the letter must have been a fairly convincing forgery to have gained any credibility. Then combine that with the persecution they were already experiencing, this would probably cause them to react emotionally. Brothers and sisters, let me encourage you understand that the truth of the Bible is the only thing we should rely upon; we dare not trust emotions or circumstances or events all around us. God’s truth does not change.

We have no need to concern ourselves about having to experience God’s torment, which is what is going to be taking place during the Great Tribulation. We can live our lives full of joy, knowing that God’s promises are true and that we shall be kept from this.

There’s another question we ought to consider. How can a believer get to the point where we won’t be shaken and we won’t be deceived? We have to keep remembering the truths as taught in the Bible.

Don’t Be Distracted. - 2.3b-5

2 Thessalonians 2:3b–5 (NASB95)

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. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?

How sad it is when we ignore or forget what we’ve been taught. How tragic to actually consider that there are teachings that might be true, in spite of what the Bible says is truth. How foolish to think that our society is enlightened and know better what God may have changed His mind in light of the relevance to the world’s thinking. When that happens, we are open to deception. When we begin to believe the deception, then panic can take over within us.

I’d like for us to look at verse 5, first, as that helps explain the other verses. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? By the use of the verb was telling, Paul is revealing that this was not a one and done teaching. It was something which he repeatedly was teaching them. This was affirming that understanding some of the end times events was crucial to the church properly living out our Christian faith. Knowing what the Bible teaches enables us to live with hope and joy, realizing that we belong to the Lord and one day will forever be with Him.

What were some of the teachings which Paul had shared?

There was knowledge within the church that the Antichrist would be coming, as Paul had already taught them from the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus. Many of you recall many of the facts about the Antichrist from our time spent in the books of Revelation and Daniel. Based on the facts of Scripture and the reality that the Antichrist has to come before the Day of the Lord begins, Paul tried to help them understand that they should not be paying any attention to the false teaching. The Day of the Lord could not already be taking place, since the appearance of Antichrist had not happened.

Verse 3 is not suggesting that the church would undergo the terrible times of the apostasy. Paul was not suggesting that they would experience being under the rule of the man of lawlessness. He was simply pointing out the facts that before the Day of the Lord could come, the events of the Tribulation period would have to come first. Since that had not happened, they could not possibly be experiencing the apostasy.

I have used that word several times, as it is found in the middle of verse 3. The core meaning of apostasy is revolt or rebellion. This is speaking of rebellion against God, or leaving behind a previous position of religion. Paul actually uses a definite article, the, showing that he has something specific in mind, not just the general apostasy of so many churches and leaders.

So what is it to which Paul is referring? The answer is found in the next phrase, the man of lawlessness. This individual is the worst of the worst; he is the most blasphemous sinful individual who will have ever lived; he will boldly defy God’s law; he will be worse than any and all of the most evil people who have ever lived; he will end up influencing the entire world, causing many to follow his lead.

The use of the verb revealed shows that there is a particular point in time, when this individual appears. We know that the first half of the Tribulation Period will be one of peace. However, the last half of the Tribulation Period, this individual will drop his mask and not try to hide any longer who he truly is.

You know that a type of this Antichrist has been spoken of in many different places in the Bible, as well as throughout history. Some of the names you will recall: Antiochus Epiphanes, Nero, Hitler, Stalin, and the list goes on. Because the phrase, Day of the Lord, is used, we can be assured that this is someone who is yet to be seen. By the way, this person is not Satan, but is rather empowered by Satan. He is described as a man.

He’s also named as the son of destruction. Everything he is associated with is tied together with Satan, who wishes to destroy everything and everyone. However, he is ultimately going to be destroyed. You may recall this same description being given to Judas. Both were, and will be, controlled by Satan. There are some differences, but both rebelled against the Lord and set out to destroy Him. However, Judas betrayed Jesus; whereas, the Antichrist will declare himself to be God. Judas didn’t influence others to rebel against God, he was on his own. The Antichrist wants to lead the entire world against God and into destruction.

Conclusion

These verses we’ve covered today are a wonderful encouragement that what Jesus did on the cross removed our need to pay a penalty which we would have been incapable of paying. We have been given the righteousness of Christ, which has with that the promise that we shall be rescued from the upcoming judgment and will not have to undergo the terrible Day of the Lord. For the believer in Jesus Christ, we have the same good news which Paul shared with the Thessalonians. We will not be required to undergo judgment for rebellion against God, for Jesus took that judgment upon Himself while on the cross.

Proving that what was done on the cross was sufficient to satisfy God’s requirement, Jesus was raised from the dead and is alive forevermore. Thus, all of His promises will continue to be absolutely true. This should cause us great joy. Anxiousness and fear should not be part of our consideration.

We are awaiting for the time when Jesus gathers the church to Himself as He meets us in the air. We should not waste time looking for the appearance of the Antichrist; but rather looking forward to the appearance of Jesus Christ Himself.