2 Thessalonians 2:1-14. Stand Firm For a Greater Glory
Notes
Transcript
Stand Firm
For a Greater Glory
2 Thessalonians 2
March 28, 2021
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask
you, brothers,
2
not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming
to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.
3
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first,
and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
4
who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes
his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
5
Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6
And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
7
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is
out of the way.
8
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth
and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
9
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
10
and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth
and so be saved.
11
Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false,
12
in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in
unrighteousness. (ESV)
1
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the
Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
13
To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
14
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught
by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
15
The challenge of deception
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered together to him, we ask you,
brothers,
2
not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by
a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be
from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has
come.
1
The challenge of deception
Our adversary uses deception and doubt to
shake our faith
Stand Firm on Truth
Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being
2
gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken
in mind or alarmed,
1
Let no one deceive you in any way.
3
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were
taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
15
Stand Firm on Truth
Acts 17:11
Now these Jews were
more noble than those
in Thessalonica; they
received the word with
all eagerness,
examining the
Scriptures daily to see
if these things were so.
(ESV)
11
Stand Firm on Truth
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for
teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness (2 Tim 3:16)
Three truths
• #1: Christ’s Glory will be despised until the return of
Christ
• #2: Man’s Glory will be destroyed when Christ returns
• #3: Christ’s Glory will be yours when Christ returns
Christ’s Glory will be despised until the
return of Christ
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not
come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of
lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,
4
who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called
god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the
temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
3
Who is the man of lawlessness?
Opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship v4
Takes his seat in the temple of God v4
Proclaims himself to be God v4
Comes with false signs and wonders v9
Powered by Satan v9
“Lawless” - Against God v3
•Beauty
•Charm
•Power
•Wealth
•Honor
•Praise
•Glory
7
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.
The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power
and false signs and wonders,
10
and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they
refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11
Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe
what is false,
12
in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had
pleasure in unrighteousness.
9
#2 Man’s glory will be destroyed when
Christ returns
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill
with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of
his coming.
8
Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what
is false,
12
in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but
had pleasure in unrighteousness.
11
2 These 2:10: … those who are perishing, because they refused to
love the truth and so be saved.
Romans 1:22-23
Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory
of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible
man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Romans 2:5
But because of your
stubbornness and
unrepentant heart you
are storing up wrath
for yourself in the day
of wrath and revelation
of the righteous
judgment of God,
Isaiah 53:5
But He was pierced through
for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our
iniquities;
The chastening for our wellbeing fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are
healed.
Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day
will not come, unless the rebellion comes first,
and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son
of destruction,
3
And you know what is restraining him [the man of
6
lawlessness] now so that he may be revealed in his
time.
Our mission is to depopulate hell and
populate heaven
• Pray to God for mercy on others
• Pray to God to help others accept the Truth
• Pray to God that others would turn from glorifying themselves or
others and turn toward glorifying God
#3 Christ’s glory will be yours when
Christ returns
But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the
Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through
sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
13
To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
14
Philippians 3: 20-21
For our citizenship is in heaven, from
which also we eagerly wait for a
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who
will transform the body of our
humble state into conformity with
the body of His glory, by the
exertion of the power that He has
even to subject all things to Himself.
2 Cor 4:17-18
For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an
18
eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we
look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are
unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the
things that are unseen are eternal.
Romans 8:29
For those whom he foreknew he
also predestined to be conformed
to the image of his Son, in order
that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
2 Cor 3:18
And we all, with unveiled face,
beholding the glory of the Lord, are
being transformed into the same
image from one degree of glory to
another
1 Thess 4:16-17
For the Lord himself will descend
from heaven with a cry of command,
with the voice of an archangel, and
with the sound of the trumpet of God.
And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Then we who are alive, who are left,
will be caught up together with them
in the clouds to meet the Lord in the
air, and so we will always be with the
1 Peter 5:4
Lord.
And when the chief Shepherd appears, you
will receive the unfading crown
of glory.
• Stand Firm
• #1: Christ’s Glory will be
despised until the return of
Christ
• #2: Man’s Glory will be
destroyed when Christ
returns
• #3: Christ’s Glory will be
yours when Christ return
John 5:44
How can you believe, when you receive glory
from one another and do not seek the glory that
comes from the only God?
Stand firm for a greater glory
