2 Thessalonians 2:1-17
Key Verse 2:13,14
"But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. "
In this passage, Paul encourages the young believers to fix their eyes on God. They should not be alarmed in the last days but see the splendor of Christ who will overthrow the lawless one (8). He assures them that: God loves them, God chose them, God saves them, God sanctifies them, God encourages them and God strengthens them. God's desire is for each of them is to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. May God bless each of us with the same hope and assurance.
First, the man of lawlessness
Look at verse 1-2. Apparently, there were some false teachers who were circulating some teachings that the "day of the Lord has already come." Some circulated forged letters claiming they belonged to Paul. Some of the young believers at Thessalonica became "easily unsettled" and "alarmed." In other words, they started freaking out and have a nervous breakdown. Apparently, some of them even quit their jobs. Look at verse 3 "Don't let anyone deceive you in any way,..." Paul's main aim is to get at the root of the deceit. Paul wanted the young Christians to turn their eyes to God who is the creator and ruler of human history.
As for the day of the Lord, Paul gives two specific signs to watch out for First, we know the day of the Lord hasn't come because the rebellion must come first. This rebellion is the final rebellion against God. And second, this rebellion will be led by a man of lawlessness (antichrist) has to be revealed before the day of the Lord arrives. For thousands of years, people have been trying to decipher what Paul meant by these two events. Two centuries before Christ, Antiochus IV Epiphanes sent troops into Jerusalem. He sacrificed pigs and placed pagan images in the holy temple. Some thought Antiochus was the man of lawlessness. Many Protestant reformers have thought the medieval Catholic Church and the Pope was the antichrist. In the last century some thought Hitler, Stalin and other dictators were the antichrist. The entertainment industry has profited much speculating about these two events in movies, books and music. Most famous movies about the rising power of the antichrist are the “Omen” and the “Left Behind” series. 1 John 2:18 "Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour." According to Apostle John, the antichrist comes in many forms. It can be a political leader, a movement, a philosophy, or a tenure professor with crazy ideas. We don't really know. It is impossible to predict who it will be. The man of lawlessness will have his day, but his days will be numbered. Paul said in verse 3 he will be "doomed to destruction.” And verse 8 “the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.” This clearly reveals that God is in control and the future events are according to God’s sovereign plan.
Second, the power of lawlessness
John Stott says "The two principal targets of the antichrist venom is God and law...God and law, religion and ethics, are the two essential ingredients of culture, which act as a glue to bond a community together...To oppose them is to undermine the foundations of society." This is exactly the battle plan of the antichrist. Look at verses 4, “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” The word lawlessness literally means without law or anti-law. Lawlessness is to “exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped.” The lawless one replaces God's laws with laws of self; it replaces laws of the spirit with laws of the flesh. Lawlessness means to put my desires, my feelings, my comfort as more real and truthful than God's law. Look at verse 7a "For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work" C.S. Lewis in his book the "Abolition of Man" observed that the Western world was in the process of rejecting this "natural law tradition" of an objective right and wrong. This rejection is being taught in schools and condoned in culture and society. He reasoned the rejection of natural law will doom civilization. These days we see clouds of lawlessness in our society getting darker and darker. Lawlessness has cheapen the sanctity of human life, sex, marriage and family, all of which God created and instituted. The courts are in the process of redefining marriage, divorce is viewed as an entitlement, we see murder of the unborn as a justifiable act, etc. Even churches are not immune to the work of the lawless one. There are churches that don’t even believe the Bible but teach there are many ways of salvation and paths to God.
Paul describes this power in verse 7 as "secret power." It has a seductive and alluring power. Jesus earthly ministry was accredited with "miracles, signs and wonders." Look at verse 9, the lawless one will come with " counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing." According to verse 10, the most vulnerable are those who "refuse to love the truth and so be saved." Instead of honoring the true God in our hearts, the man of lawlessness convinces us to replace it with counterfeit idols. Soon our hearts are replaced by idols of money, sex, power, children and even our own righteousness. Soon two tragic consequences result. First, we start to believe lies as the truth. Look at verse 11 "For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.” The truth becomes too repulsive. Why? Because truth requires honesty about one’s sinful state, it requires a change of heart, it requires a decision to turn to God. So people perishing reject the truth in their pride. What can God do, but to give them over to their deception. Second, they delight in wickedness (12). Soon all moral sensitivity is gone. Instead of loving the truth, they delight in wickedness. Even though ex-governor Rod Blagojevich has overwhelming evidence against him, he still insists he is innocent. Jeremiah says it correctly that the heart defaults to deception. Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" We are too helpless to overcome the secret power of lawlessness.
Third, Share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul's temperament was completely different from the Thessalonians. Rather that feeling alarmed concerning the last days, he was filled with thanksgiving and joy. Look at verse 13,14 "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. " Paul joy and thanksgiving was rooted deeply in God Almighty. He believed God is in control in the midst of moral and spiritual chaos. He believed God will win the final victory over the forces of evil. As the hymn says "Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly friend. Though through thorny ways leads to a joyful end." Paul gives six examples of his assurance and confidence in God.
First, God loves you. Look at verse 13 "But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord..." Jesus said in Matt 24:12 "The love of most will grow cold" in the last days. The lawless one convinces us to trust in human love. Human love is temporal and conditional. It says "I'll love you if you love me back." Human love leaves us disappointed, broken and wounded. On the other hand, the love of our father is unconditional. He is like the father of the prodigal son who waits for his son to come home. God is the good shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine and looks for the lost sheep (Luke 15:4,5). This is the active, sacrificial, pursuing and saving love of God who tracks us down in our rebellion and sin and restores us as his holy children.
Second, God chose you. Look at verse 13 again "God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth." He chose you to be his son and daughter. He chose you to be his heavenly bride. In the movie Toy Story 3, there is a teddy bear named Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (a.k.a. Lotso). One day Lotso became bitter and hateful when his owner lost and replaced him. Because he did not feel loved, he made the other toys feel just as miserable. At times, the lawless one makes us doubt God’s election. We sometimes feel abandoned and alone like Lotso the bear. Paul wants us to be assured of God’s election. He said in Phil 1:6 "being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." As God called you, he will complete his work of salvation in your life. God chose you and will be with you to the end.
Third, God saves you. The lawless one convinces us that we need to be saved from financial insecurity, loneliness, corrupt politicians, etc. But we need most of all salvation from the power of sin. How are we saved? We are saved through the gospel. Look at verse 14 "He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ." There is a penalty for sin. It must be paid. On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty with his blood. Jesus suffered the death that we deserved. This is an act of grace. As a result, we share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. We live remembering, it is nothing we have done, but it is what Christ has done. As a result, we live our lives with thanksgiving and humility.
Fourth, God sanctifies you. Verse 13 says "God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth." Sanctification is the process of purification. Every morning we take a bath to get rid of dirt. But how does one clean a dirty heart and mind ravaged by our lawless times? How do we overcome the delight of wickedness and become a lover of truth? It is only the work of the only Holy Spirit. Only the Holy Spirit can change our hearts.
Fifth, God encourages you. Verse 16 says" May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope" As we run in the race of faith in the last days, we get wounded by the lawless one and fall into deception. But it is God who helps us to the finish line. In the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Derek Redmond tore his hamstring in the 400 meters semi-final but fought through the pain and, with assistance from his father, managed to complete a full lap of the track to complete the race. Our God is like Derek’s father who picks us up and encourages us and if necessary carry us to the heavenly kingdom.
Sixth, God strengthens you. Verse 17 "encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." God will give us the strength to live courageously in the last days. He gives us the strength to serve and help those who have been deceived by the lawless one.
Look at verse 15, "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter." In this verse Paul is alluding to powerful and violent winds of temptation and deception that will cause them to lose ground and become unstable. The best way to overcome the winds of the enemies is to hold on to the gospel message. We are too weak to hold on. But God gives us the strength to hold on. With the strength God provides, we can stand firm and hold on in the last days.
In this passage, we learn it is easy to become alarmed by the events of the last days. We can easily become unsettled. The last days produce violent winds that cause us to be shaken and enslaved by the forces of evil. But Paul helps the Christians to fix their eyes on God and not their present situation. He teaches them that God is the Almighty God and is the ruler of history. He taught them God loves, God chooses, God saves, God sanctifies, God encourages and God strengthens. May God bless you to with joyful devotion as you study his word by word of mouth and by letter. May His word enable you to stand firm with faith and become an encouragement to others.