2 Thessalonians 2
1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,
2 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.
Some false teachers were telling the Thessalonians that the Lord has already come. What’s more, they were making it sound as if Paul was in agreement with them. Similar things happen today – there are false teachers who look very legitimate, and who make it sound as if the Holy Spirit is in agreement with them. If you don’t know how to recognize these imposters you will be disturbed, just like the Thessalonians.
3 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,
4 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.
Paul is clear here – Jesus will not return before the apostasy – the great falling away of Christians – happens. Furthermore, the antichrist – the man of lawlessness – will also be revealed before Jesus returns.
The identifying characteristic of the antichrist is that he will sit in the temple of God and display himself as God, and exalt himself above every so-called god. Be alert and lookout for these signs.
Clearly, Paul believed that is was possible for a Christian to fall away. Clearly also, Paul is talking about Christians falling away, because one can only fall away from an existing position, and therefore, a non-Christian cannot fall away from Christianity because he never was a Christian in the first place.
5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?
Paul had already mentioned these things to them, but they forgot. They didn’t have ears to hear and therefore they ended up disturbed and confused. The same thing will happen to us too if we don’t make it a point to remember what we read in the Bible.
6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
7 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.
The mystery of lawlessness refers to the situation that just because God allows people to do wrong and doesn’t judge them immediately, the people actually think that just because nothing happened immediately to them for doing wrong, that they have actually got away with their wrongdoing.
Who restrains the antichrist from doing whatever he wants? Only God can restrain him – so this passage refers to the Holy Spirit.
There will come a time when the Holy Spirit will depart from the earth, and at that time the antichrist will be unrestrained on earth, and people will get a taste of evil as never before. The children of God won’t be on the earth at that time, but there will be much woe upon those who are still present on the earth.
8 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;
After the Holy Spirit departs from the earth, the antichrist will be revealed. He will be unrestrained for a while, and then, when Jesus returns, Jesus will end the antichrist.
9 {that is,} the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,
10 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.
11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false,
12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
But until then, and even now, the antichrist, and his team, will display signs and false wonders, and will deceive those will end up perishing.
The people who end up perishing are those who didn’t love the truth; instead they took pleasure in wickedness. That is, when someone told them the truth (about themselves, or about God and the things of God), they couldn’t handle it, and so they ignored the truth and were content with believing what everyone else was believing. If you prefer the security of going with the crowd rather than with the truth then you will end up deceived and you will perish.
God Himself will work towards allowing you to being deceived and believing what is false.
What Paul says here is something worth meditating on – and I hope you will take it to heart so that you don’t end up getting deceived.
13 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.
14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Salvation is through sanctification (or separation from what is false) and faith in the truth. The Holy Spirit will help you in this, if you love the truth and don’t take pleasure in wickedness.
God has called us, through the gospel, so that we may gain the glory of Jesus. That is, so that we may receive the best part of what Jesus has – which is His nature (the most valuable thing in the universe). For that, it is worth sacrificing what must be sacrificed to acquire and retain the truth.
15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word {of mouth} or by letter from us.
For this reason, we must make sure that we find, and hold firm to, the truth, as found in Scripture.
16 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,
17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
God has loved us so much that He has promised to give us eternal comfort, and we can therefore eagerly look forward to that.
Since the Thessalonians were among those who believed the truth, therefore Paul wishes strength from God for the Thessalonians to do and speak good to others.
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