Signs of the Times

2 Thessalonians 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. 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. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. 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.

INTRO: Some things are difficult to understand. For instance, I have twin nieces that are about 2 years old. They run around and are constantly jabbering… the thing is, I have no idea what they’re saying! It’s a whole other language! There are times when we read Scripture and find ourselves in a similar boat.

Peter actually wrote in his second epistle that some of the things Paul wrote were hard to understand (2 Pet. 3:16) and I wonder if this chapter in this letter was among those Peter had in mind.

Paul has addressed the subject of Christ’s return already in his first letter to the Thessalonians. If you were with us a few weeks ago, we studied a bit about this and before we jump into our text this morning, I’d like to recap real quickly what we have learned:

Christ will return to gather His saints and judge the world (1 Thess. 4:16-17)

Until then, the church is called to be about the Gospel work, that is making disciples and teaching others the Good News and truth of Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:1-11)

And even though Paul had evidently taught this to some degree and had written about it specifically, there was apparent anxiety and concern among the Thessalonians regarding Christ’s return. They had either misunderstood some of what Paul taught or they were hearing false teaching related to the subject. Either way, they were a bit distraught.

ILL: I actually used to worry about this - I would wake up as a kid in the middle of the night and think, “Did Jesus come back and I missed it?” I’d actually go and check to make sure my mom was still in bed where she was supposed to be. It was a relief to see my pastor each Sunday cause I figured he probably would not get left behind… and that book series didn’t help me at all either!

But, I’ve learned more and more that God’s Word was not given for confusion, but for clarity. And in our text this morning, Paul is attempting to clear away the confusion for the Thessalonian church regarding Christ’s return. You see, if you remember, in 1 Thess 5, Paul talked about some being overtaken by the Lord’s return, but I want to remind you that those that will be caught off guard are those who have not trusted in Christ as Lord and Savior. Paul mentioned that the 2nd coming would be like a woman going into labor. What we need to note is that it is highly uncommon for any woman to go into labor who had no idea she was pregnant…

Paul reassured the church, and us, that Jesus taught about His return and promised that there would be signs - things that would hint that the time was drawing nigh. Jesus taught that these signs would be like the green leaves that sprout on the trees in Springtime, letting us know that soon it would be Summer.

And we need to understand that the point of this letter is not to unravel every mystery surrounding the return of Christ- indeed Jesus said that no man know the day or hour of His return. So, there will be mystery, but as Christians, we can be confident and alert as to His return.

So this morning, we are going to take a look at these signs that Paul talks about here, and prayerfully will leave here today with the hope and determination that Paul intended for the Thessalonian church.

So, if you were able to pick up a bulletin this morning, I’ll invite you to take that, along with your Bible, and let’s walk through the signs of the times. The first sign Paul brings out is

The Apostasy Will Precede Christ’s Return (3a)

That’s all Paul says about it. So, we have to do a little digging.

Apostasy might be translated in your Bible as “falling away”. The literal definition is a rebellion or abandonment/ defiance against established authority or belief.

It was a word sometimes used to talk about revolutions against a government, but here the context tells us that this is a rebellion against Christianity.

Jesus taught about this in Matthew

Matthew 24:9–13 NASB95

“Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. “At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. “Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The apostasy will be a time when Christians are hated across the globe. People who once filled the pews of the churches will join in the cultural movements and ideologies of the secular world. Neighbors and family will seek our reasons to hate one another and be divided. They will think nothing of trampling over one another in order to vie for their own positions.

The word apostasy comes out the word apostate, which means false teacher/ deceiver.

Jesus taught that there will be people spreading lies and causing hatred to flow freely between his creation because they are embracing what is false instead of what is truth.

Friends, that time is coming.

ILL: Just last week someone shared a page from a supposed Christian devotional that included a prayer that God would help one to hate people of a certain color skin. Look friends, Jesus is clear that you cannot say you love God and hate your brother. This is poisonous garbage and there is no place for that within the body of Christ.

This should give us a little background as to what the apostasy is, but we still might ask “What does this look like?”

The book of Jude gives us a little insight into this as well. I want to read just 2 quick verses from Jude

Jude 3–4 NASB95

Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Jude encourages his readers to contend for the faith (3), BTW- contend lets us know that this is a fight. This is a war and it is not a war that is just for pastors and church leaders, but for every Christian to partake in! And folks, this is not a political war or cultural war, it’s a spiritual war. It’s the Gospel that we contend for! Don’t miss that!

In. v 4, he gives the reason, which I believe give us 3 traits of apostate teachers/ the apostacy.

Apostates will be subtle.

Jude tells us they “crept in” unnoticed.

They look the part, they use the right jargon- that is what makes them such great deceivers.

This should not surprise us- even the devil masquerades as an angel of light!

A.W. Tozer said, “So skilled is error at imitating truth, that the two are constantly mistaken for each other. It takes a sharp eye these days to know which brother is Cain and which is Abel.”

Apostates use God’s grace as sinful disregard of God’s holiness

We’ve seen so many who call themselves “leaders, teachers, pastors and preachers” and they use the Word of God to abuse those in their care- This happens in cults and it happens in churches.

Grace is not license to sin, no it is that which enables us to pursue the goodness that God desires for us.

Apostates will deny Jesus as God.

This would seem like a dead giveaway- how do apostates do this and go unnoticed? Well, they do this by speaking one way, and acting another.

Titus 1:15–16 NASB95

To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

Before Christ returns, there will be a time of unprecedented global apostacy. Next, Paul explains that

Discuss: What does “apostasy” mean? How can you keep from being deceived?

The Man of Lawlessness Will Be Revealed Before Christ Returns (3b-4)

The popular title for this individual is “AntiChrist” or the Anarchist.

The key here is that this antichrist will be revealed. Paul says that 3 times in just a few verses here. Scripture talks about this character in other places, but we’re going to focus on what Paul says about him.

The man of lawlessness will exalt himself.

He will object every object of worship- every idol, false god, etc.

He will claim to be God himself.

Paul uses the phrase “takes his seat in the temple of God”. I do not pretend to know exactly what this will look like, but I believe that this will be the time described in

Revelation 13:14–17 NASB95

And he deceives those who dwell on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, and he provides that no one will be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.

The man of lawlessness is currently restrained

Paul is ambiguous as to how he is being restrained at the present, but here is what we do know:

God has placed a restrainer on this antichrist. Don’t forget that God is all-powerful!!

God in His sovereignty will ensure that this happens according to His timing.

The man of lawlessness will be slayed by Christ

When he is revealed, then Christ will very quickly come and with his very breath, bring judgment upon the antichrist.

The church in Thessalonica could be confident that they weren’t left behind because of the signs that Jesus taught must take place before His return. First the Apostasy, and then the revealing of the man of lawlessness.

But we cannot leave this passage just yet. You see, as a church, we must understand a 2-fold reality of Jesus’ second coming that Paul brings out here.

Much of the world will be deceived by the apostates and antichrist.

In 2:10, Paul explains that because they rejected the truth of the Gospel, they will bite hook line and sinker into the deceptive ploys of Satan. They will be given over to their lusts and will drink the cup of God’s wrath on that day.

Friends, the deception is real and your family and friends and my family and friends could very well find themselves living out a false Gospel. There are a number of false teachings right now that are kidnapping the minds of our loved ones.

And it’s this reason that I am so passionate about the truth of God’s Word. The only way we can go to war against apostate teaching is through the truth of the Gospel.

But if you are His. If you have received the salvation of Christ and are pursuing His glory, then friend you will gain that glory on the day of Christ’s return.

You have been, as Paul says in v.13, chosen from the beginning, called by the Gospel to faith in Christ.

Therefore, I urge you, as Paul did the Thessalonians, stand firm in the Gospel. Stand firm on the Word of God. Do not buy into the false teachings of these who have perverted God’s truth. Put on the armor of God, and contend for the faith, being strengthened and comforted by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is coming back, church. I pray that you will be ready.

PRAY

Discuss: What does Paul mean about the “mystery of lawlessness” being already at work?

Invitation- As we sing, If you’ve never received Christ as your Lord and Savior, I invite you to take that step this morning- leave that pew and come forward to embrace the truth of the glorious Gospel- that God so loved you, that He gave His son to take the penalty that you deserve. Won’t you come?