Previews of the End - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-13

Copyright September 23, 2018 by Rev Bruce Goettsche

Debbie and I enjoy going to movies . . . we look for movies that will lift us up rather than drag us down. One of the ways we discover some of these movies is through the previews of coming attractions (commercials) before the movie we came to see. Usually we can tell from the preview whether or not it is a movie we would enjoy. Getting previews out before an audience is an important part of publicity.

What we are going to see in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-13 is, if you will, previews of the events leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus. The Bible is filled with references pointing to a return of Christ, this time, not as a humble servant, but as a victorious King and Conqueror. The Bible also teaches that there are certain signs that will precede this great day.

Let's start with caution: studying the signs is difficult and has created a great deal of controversy. There are several schools of thought when it comes to the signs leading up to the Second Coming of Jesus.

I believe some of these signs were fulfilled in 70 AD in the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome but other signs sure do seem to be in the future. A second thing that makes studying the end times difficult is the variety of interpretations. I am extremely cautious because I know how badly sincere and scholarly people missed all the signs for the first coming of Jesus.

Over the years there have been some who were quite sure they had the date of the return narrowed down. They have all been wrong! Jesus told us we cannot know when that day will be . . . only that it is coming.

A different problem appears to have happened in Thessalonica: the people were led to believe Christ had come and the final days were underway. Paul wrote to address this faulty understanding.

Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3Don’t be fooled by what they say.

Paul warned the church not to be taken in by false teachers. We must know the truth and resist those who try to teach us otherwise. We must remain steady and not be taken in by any deceiver who says they had a vision or revelation or any other special insight as to the coming of the Lord. If anything does not agree with the Word of God, we should disregard it.

The Signs of His Coming

For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. 4He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

5Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

It seems that the surest sign of the Lord's return is the "Man of Lawlessness" who will come on the scene. This person will for some reason be given a platform. This Man of Lawlessness (which most believe is the same person that John calls the Antichrist, and other prophets call the Beast) appears to be an individual that has the ear of the world. Lawlessness is saying there is no law. He will encourage people to "do their own thing." There will be no objective truth. It will all be about feelings. It is selfish. Paul says the seeds of this rebellion is alredy in the world. We see it all around us. This man, will exalt himself, defy everything people look to for faith, and demand we worship Him.

The Apostle John wrote,

Dear children, the last hour is here. You have heard that the Antichrist is coming, and already many such antichrists have appeared. From this we know that the last hour has come. (1 John 2:18)

Later in the text we are told that anyone who denies the Father and the Son is an antichrist.

The many antichrists are those who have stood against the reign of Christ and have sought a position which was not theirs to seek: that of God Himself. These lesser antichrists are the ones who are making sure his lawlessness is already at work (7). They all have a small "a."

The Antichrist (big "A") is being restrained at the present time according to Paul. I believe he is being restrained by the Holy Spirit. There is coming a time when the Holy Spirit will not restrain him any longer. At the moment God is ready to begin His judgment against the world, He will withdraw the restraint and the Antichrist, Beast, or Lawless one will step into the role of leader. It is possible the Antichrist is already in the world and has not taken his position of authority yet.

We wonder, how this could happen? For a minute, think about some of the people of world history: Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Napoleon, Alexander the Great, various Roman emperors. They were all leaders who seduced the masses. If we are honest, I think we must recognize that we are living in a time that has a great leadership vacuum. Many leaders seem to only be working to preserve power or to get re-elected. People are frustrated, and I think they would gladly follow someone who seemed different. If there was someone who appeared to be concerned about the people and also seemed to have the power to effect real change people would flock to them. It appears this person will make Hitler and company look like minor league players when it comes to wickedness. Listen to what else Paul tells the Thessalonians,

9This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

When the time comes, the people will believe the lie. They will welcome this person to power without any real fight. They will be so gullible they will believe all the promises the man makes. The Antichrist will slide into power with very little effort. As a result, the Antichrist will lead them further and further away from God. They will reach the point when they will "refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them."

The Temple

In verse four we are told the Antichrist will sit in the temple of God. The temple, however, was destroyed in AD 70 along with the rest of Jerusalem. Today, the place where the Temple in Jerusalem stood is not the foundation for the Dome of the Rock - a great Muslim shrine! Some have concluded based on this verse that the Temple in Jerusalem will need to be rebuilt before Christ can return. I have heard (and it could all be nonsense) that there are people assembling supplies to rebuild the temple of God in Jerusalem.

Personally, I don't think Paul is speaking literally. I believe "sitting in the temple" is a word picture designed to show the arrogance of the Antichrist. Some suggest the Antichrist will take his place in the "new temple" the church of Christ. In other words. some feel this man, this charismatic deceiver will come out of the church!

The Sobering Truth

Paul tells us how this is all going to happen. This "Man of Lawlessness" will be empowered by Satan to do miracles and signs. People will run after the dramatic and the spectacular rather than love and accept the truth of God's Word. In other words, they will choose novelty over truth. They will choose entertainment over worship. Later we are told the people will enjoy evil instead of believing the truth.

Some church people run from church to church eager to find the newest, the coolest, and the most popular thing. When the church caters to this, we are doing the work of the Antichrist for Him! If the Antichrist can get us to focus on what we enjoy over what we need, he has us leaning in the right direction.

Think about all the ways we refuse to accept the truth. We choose

entertainment over humble and reflective worship

materialistic indulgence rather than contentment

rationalization rather than repentance for sin

immediate pleasure instead of any delayed gratification

activity over quiet reflection

exploitation of others rather than service and honor

viewing God as the "blessing machine" rather than the Holy One who is a consuming fire.

The seeds are all in place. The Antichrist could be revealed at any time.

Application

Two warnings: Do not obsess over the details. Some people spend their lives trying to figure out all the details that previous centuries could not discern. Jesus told us, "no one knows" when the return of Christ will happen.

If you look at some of the Old Testament prophecies, you will see why so many of the Jewish leaders were not ready for the first coming of Christ. The signs were there, but they were not seen clearly until after the fact. The Jewish leaders had it "figured out" but they were wrong! Take heed, lest you follow their example.

Do not be afraid. Though there are tragedies and evil in the news every day, that does not necessarily mean the Lord's return is imminent or Armageddon is upon us. If you have placed your faith in Christ, in other words, if you have bet your life on Him and follow Him in your living, then you have nothing to worry about. He will see us through. Whatever the details and whenever it happens, He will be the victor and we will stand with Him.

Prepare for the End. What action should we take since we know these things? First, we should be alert. We know the Lord will come back soon. As we watch world events we should be alert to signs that things are lining up for the Man of Lawlessness to take his place. We must beware of our tendency to blindly follow charismatic leaders. We must be attentive to when we are justifying our own sin and thereby hardening our heart. We must see the urgency of proclaiming the truth and living that truth in our everyday encounters.

Our job is to keep our eyes on Jesus and not become distracted by other things. As we watch devastating Hurricanes, earthquakes, and read of vicious acts we should remind ourselves that He is coming soon. Rather than allow this to make us fearful, my hope is these things will motivate us to share the truth and to live lives that honor the Lord.

Second, we live with confidence, knowing the Lord will defeat the man of Lawlessness. Knowing about the End Times should help you remember that life has a purpose. History is going somewhere. Things are not arbitrary, there is a purpose and plan for everything that happens.

The Lord Jesus Christ will be on the throne before the battle, during the battle and when the battle is over. Victory is certain. Do not give up fighting, but also, don't become overwhelmed. The Bible does not tell us these things to scare us. It wants us to prepare us and let us know what the future holds. These things are written to ENCOURAGE us.

Third, diligently work to be ready whenever He comes. This is really where Paul would have us focus. As we confidently face the future we should be doing several things: HOLD FAST TO THE TRUTH. In 2 Timothy we are told to "Study to show that we are approved, a workman who does not need to be afraid, who correctly handles the Word of Truth." We must read the Bible carefully and listen to what God is saying and ALSO what He is not saying. We must not make the Bible say what it does not say.

We should read well. That means we should read books that somehow deepen our faith. What we read will mold the way we think. We are either polluting our minds or enriching them. So, read carefully and purposefully. You will learn how to tell the difference between truth and error by being exposed to truth as much as possible. We find that in the Scripture, in Biblical preaching, in good books, and good teachers on Christian Radio and other such places

We should also BE UNCEASING IN PRAYER. Ask God to give you strength and discernment so you will recognize false teaching. Ask Him for courage to stand. Ask God to make you aware of what is going on in your own heart; where you are beginning to develop hardness. Pray for others to have the courage to withstand the deception of Satan. Our strength is found in building a relationship with the Lord. We do this best through prayer.

We should SERVE AND SHARE. It is vital for us to build bridges. The best way to win a hearing with others is to care for those people. Simply walking up to someone and telling them they should choose to follow Jesus is much less effective than building a relationship with a person so you are sharing as a friend and not as someone looking down their nose at you.

We serve others

By listening to someone

Visiting them

Helping with projects (moving, remodeling, cleanup)

By Encouraging one another

Praying with and for each other

Giving our time to serve. Time is a precious commodity. We serve others when we give some of that precious time to serve others in the name of Christ. You can serve youth, you can serve in a kitchen, you can support older believers, you can serve in music, you can serve in support ministries. And this is just in the church! When we serve we are effectively engaging in the antidote to selfishness. When we give our precious time to serving the Lord we are making a bold statement about our allegiance.

Finally, we should DILIGENTLY PURSUE HOLINESS. When you know an assignment is due or test is coming, you cram fervently. What does it mean to diligently pursue holiness?

Doing what the Bible tells us to do with the attitude it tells us to possess

Ruthlessly and tirelessly weeding sin out of our lives and learning to call it what it is: spiritual rebellion. We unfortunately are great at spotting sin in others and often absolutely blind to what is happening in our own heart! Find people who will tell you the truth. And when they do so, listen rather than respond in anger.

Forgive those who hurt you, not because the hurt is gone but because we know His judgment is better than ours. We forgive so a bitter and resentful mindset does not control and destroy us.

Work at being content instead of trying to fill our lives with stuff. Recognize all you need is Christ. Learn to be generous instead of indulgent.

Live in such a way that you would not be embarrassed if Jesus came to us by surprise. Strive to live every day knowing this could be the day He calls us home.

Prophecy and the End Times can be confusing. Don't become unsettled because of these prophetic words. Instead take them and use them as motivation for your life right here and now. Jesus is coming back, our job is to be ready when He does so.

So, the question I hope you ask yourself is this: Am I ready? Have I taken hold of Christ or do I continue to resist Him? Are you a follower or only a club member? Are you looking for that which tickles your soul or do you seek the One who died in your place? If all of this is new to you, then know this: if you believe Jesus was real, that He was God in human form, that His sacrifice on the cross was sufficient as payment for your sin and mine, then tell God! Let Him know you want Him to enter your life and change you forever. If you are serious about your commitment, you will, at that moment be a new person! You will stand forgiven before Him The next step it to tell someone. A good place to start is your own children. Tell them so they can watch God work in you.

The world is certainly showing signs of moving toward the end times. We are not the first generation of people to say this. The Thessalonians also believed Jesus was coming in their lifetime. Here's the point: the world is a mess. Someday Jesus is going to come and clean it up. And that day may very well be sooner than we think.