2 Thess. 2:1-12 “Don’t Be Alarmed, Be Ready”

1:03But for many Christians, perhaps even most Christians, that's not the case at all. They're confused and intimidated by the study of eschatology, and they are functional pan-millennialists. They believe that everything will just pan out in the end. I believe that's because many Christians, maybe even most Christians, Struggle to see the relevance of eschatology for everyday life. You don't have to hold a certain eschatological position to be a Christian or to be a member in 99% of churches around the world, including ours.

1:48Moreover, the Bible's teaching on certain matters of eschatology is hard to understand. So many Christians just don't see why it matters. But I submit to you that eschatology, what we believe about last things, does matter. And it does have relevance for how we live our daily lives. I want you to think of it this way. Imagine that next weekend you go out with a group of friends and you bring up the subject of death and the afterlife.

2:23What's going to happen? That conversation is going to get shut down very quickly. Somebody in the group is going to say, isn't this a bit morbid talking about death and the afterlife? Why don't we talk about something else? Why is that? Well, it's because, thanks to modern medical and scientific advancements, the likelihood that you or anyone you know is going to die in the near future is very slim. But friends, that wasn't always the case. People couldn't always put off thinking about death in the afterlife. Up until about 100 years ago, those questions were obviously relevant because people died all the time.

3:17Women died in childbirth regularly. Children died in infancy regularly. Men died in war. Everybody died from all kinds of diseases. So questions about death in the afterlife were obviously relevant to every person, and the study of eschatology was obviously relevant to every Christian. So think now about the situation here in Thessalonica. In addition to all of the stuff that I just mentioned, people dying from childbirth and infancy and from war and from disease of all kinds, in addition to all of those things, you have the fact that these brothers and sisters are being persecuted for their faith. They're being killed for their belief in Jesus. So it's not hard to see why they're asking questions about the second coming of Christ. Did he already come, they wonder? Did we miss it? And if he hasn't come, when is he going to come? So that he can put an end to all of our suffering, all of our trials, all of our tears and sorrow.

4:30You see, when you're not being persecuted, eschatology can kind of get moved to the back burner or even off the stovetop completely. But if you think that there's a good chance that your front door could get kicked in tonight because you are a Christian, eschatology gets moved to that gigantic burner at the front of the stove. You want to know the answers to these questions. So, friends, some of what the Bible teaches about last things is hard to understand.

5:07There are parts of this passage that, as Pastor David read them, you are probably like, What in the world does that mean? Welcome to Monday for me every week. It would be easier to just skip this passage and preach something else. But we believe that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write these words and to preserve them for all time for our instruction and edification. So, with great humility and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we press forward in our study of 2 Thessalonians. Let me give you the bottom line up front. Paul wants us to know two things.

5:50First, Jesus has not come yet. Second, before he comes, certain things. Have to happen. That's the bottom line up front. Jesus has not come yet, and before he comes, certain things have to happen. So, what we're going to learn today is that when Jesus returns, he will defeat sin and Satan and save all those who trust in him. When Jesus returns, he will defeat sin and Satan and save all those who trust in him. Let's pick up here in chapter 2, verse 1.

6:30Now, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 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. Let no one deceive you in any way. We're off to a pretty good start, don't you think? That's all fairly straightforward. Paul does not want the believers to be afraid that they miss the second coming of Christ, no matter who says differently. Paul says, I don't care if somebody stands up in the assembly and says, I have a divine word from God that Jesus has already returned. No, he hasn't. He says, I don't care if somebody stands up and tries to teach you from the scriptures that Jesus has already returned. He hasn't. He says, I don't care if You get a letter seeming to be from us saying that Jesus has already returned. He hasn't.

7:39Like he does in Galatians, when false teachers had infiltrated the church with a false gospel, Paul is playing his apostolic trump card. He is saying that if anyone or anything contradicts what I am writing to you here, do not believe it because it's not true. You see, church, whether we're talking about the first century or our century today, the way to guard yourself from being led astray by preachers or TED talkers or professors with agendas or conspiracy theorists or anyone else is to know and hold fast to the Word of God.

8:33That is the way. Knowing Scripture is the way to guard yourself against error and to know what is true. Let's pick up in the second half of verse 3. For that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 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. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things?

9:20Before Jesus returns, two things have to happen: the rebellion has to occur, and the man of lawlessness has to be revealed and proclaim himself to be God. So let's start with the rebellion. The Greek word here is apostasia, which means, as you can guess, apostasy or falling away. And in view of what Paul writes in verses 9 through 12, this seems to imply a rebellion of all of humanity against God. That rebellion will likely include many nominal Christians around the world who claimed the name of Jesus but were not genuinely converted. They were not true believers in the gospel. Jesus alludes to these nominal Christians in the parable of the four soils, where he says that some of them fall away and do not persevere to the end for one reason or another.

10:19As a part of that rebellion, one called the man of lawlessness or the son of destruction, or later in the passage, just the lawless one. Will be revealed. And if you're familiar with the Apostle John's writings, only he calls him this, but he's referring to the same person. John calls him the Antichrist. According to verse 9, he's an instrument of Satan. What is he going to do? Look again at verse 4: who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship.

10:59The man of lawlessness will tolerate no rivals and will seek to wipe out all worship, whether that is worship of Jesus or worship of Allah or worship of cult gods and goddesses or worship of the emperor. He is going to come and wipe out all of worship. And that's because, look what it says, he's going to take his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Now, some have taken this to mean that he's going to do this in the Jewish temple. But of course, the Jewish temple was destroyed in AD 70.

11:43And ever since the 7th century, in the 600s, a Muslim mosque has sat in its place. And so some Christians believe the Jewish temple is going to be rebuilt on that site with the help of the man of lawlessness. Who will then betray them, take his seat in it, proclaim himself to be God, and demand to be worshipped. And maybe that's right. But whether Paul's reference to the temple is literal or figurative, what is clear is that the man of lawlessness will proclaim himself to be God and demand to be worshipped.

12:23And because he has the power of Satan behind him, he's going to be able to perform all kinds of false signs and wonders to deceive most people. Thankfully, Jesus assures us that Christians, true believers in Christ, will not be deceived. Look at Matthew 24. Jesus says, For false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. In other words, the signs and wonders are going to be so persuasive that the only people that are not going to be persuaded by those false signs and wonders are the elect, are the people of God, the true believers in Jesus.

13:16And so Paul concludes by asking in verse 5, Do you not remember that when I was with you, I told you these things? You know, as a pastor, that makes me feel bad. Paul was with these folks. For three weeks, and I think taught them more eschatology than I've taught you in 14 years. But Paul's point is that nothing has changed in his message, and that's because he preached the truth, and the truth doesn't change. Charles T. Russell founded the cult known as Jehovah's Witnesses.

13:59And Charles T. Russell taught that the world was going to end in 1874. When 1874 came and went, he revised his calculations to 1914. 1914 came and went, and Charles T. Russell died. His successor, J.F. Rutherford, said that actually what had happened was Jesus came in 1914, but invisibly. When you're wrong, you have to keep changing your story to keep up with the facts. Paul didn't have to do that because he told the truth. The relevant question for us is: have these things already happened, or are they happening now, even in our midst?

15:01In the last 2,000 years, many attempts have been made to identify the man of lawlessness. You can guess the suspects: Roman emperors like Nero and Domitian, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, various popes, even the papacy itself. And if you've ever read the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Confession of Faith says that the papacy is the man of lawlessness. But it seems that all of those men throughout history, awful as many or even most of them were, failed to live up to the description that we see here in 2 Thessalonians.

15:49Most of them didn't demand to be worshipped. They didn't perform signs and wonders. And they didn't lead the entire world into rebellion against God. So we expect that at some point a rebellion will come and a man of lawlessness will be revealed that will perfectly fulfill everything that is written here in 2 Thessalonians. And then the day of the Lord will follow those events. So what that means is that neither the Thessalonians in the first century nor believers alive today have missed the second coming of Christ. He has yet to return.

16:31So, the next question is: why hasn't the man of lawlessness been revealed? Let's pick up in verse 6. And you know what is restraining him now, so that he may be revealed in his time. 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. These are two of the toughest verses in the Bible to understand and to interpret. Just to encourage you, Augustine, one of the greatest theologians of all time, said of these verses: I frankly confess I do not know what he means.

17:26If Augustine cannot figure these verses out, then friends, you and I are off the hook. The verses themselves are fairly straightforward, but there are a couple of challenges in them that you may have caught. The first challenge is that the restrainer is referred to as a thing in verse 6 and as a person in verse 7. The second challenge is: what does Paul mean by the mystery of lawlessness? Not the man of lawlessness, not the man of mystery, but the mystery of lawlessness. What does he mean by that? Well, let me start with that second question first. What is the mystery of lawlessness? This Greek word translated lawlessness is a nomios, and that's a combination of the Greek word namos, which is law, with the prefix a meaning no or none, so no law or lawless. It's synonymous with the word sin in the Greek. So take a look at 1 John 3:4. This is a great definition as well. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness.

18:48So this can be translated man of lawlessness or man of sin in this passage. So Paul's point here is that while the man of lawlessness, the man of sin, has not yet been revealed, the mystery of lawlessness or the mystery of sin is at work because sin has been at work in and through people ever since the fall of Adam and Eve. But both the mystery of lawlessness, sin, and the man of lawlessness are being restrained, and the restrainer is referred to as a thing and a person.

19:27That feels very confusing. So let me try to help you understand these verses by replacing the pronouns. This is going to be very clunky, but I hope it might help. So here is the DSV, the duty standard version. And you know the thing that restrains the man of lawlessness now, so that the man of lawlessness may be revealed in the man of lawlessness' time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only the person who now restrains the mystery of lawlessness will do so until the person who restrains the mystery of lawlessness is out of the way.

20:11Glad I was able to shed light on that for you. Let me leave that up there for a minute while I offer some observations about the restrainer. First, and this is really important, the Thessalonians knew the identity of the restrainer. Did you catch that in verse 6? Paul says, and you know what is restraining him now. Augustine did not know. We don't know. But the Thessalonians did know. They knew what the restrainer was or who he is.

20:53Second, the restrainer is currently working to prevent the outbreak of the rebellion. The rebellion hasn't occurred and the man of lawlessness hasn't been revealed because the restrainer isn't allowing it. Third, and I'm indebted to John Stott for this language: the restrainer is both an it and a person, something and someone, a pressure and a person. Fourth, and finally, when the restrainer is removed, the rebellion will begin, and the man of lawlessness will be revealed. So, those are the facts, but here are the questions: who and what is the restrainer, and why in the world would Paul use such weird, cryptic language to talk about the identity of the restrainer?

22:01Some suggest that the restrainer is the Holy Spirit and the work of the church. The problem with that is that the scriptures do not seem to teach that the Holy Spirit or the church is going to be removed before Jesus returns. In fact, in scripture, the church is pictured as greeting Jesus on his arrival. Furthermore, if Paul is talking about the Holy Spirit and the church, why would he do so in such cryptic terms? Language. There is no other place in any of his letters that he talks about the Holy Spirit or the church in cryptic language.

22:40Others suggest from passages like Daniel 10 and 11 and Revelation 12 that the restrainer is Michael, the archangel. The problem with that is that in Daniel and in Revelation, Michael is pictured as actively fighting against Satan, not holding him back. And furthermore, why would Paul refer to Michael as an it, as a pressure? The majority view, and the one that I hold, is that the restrainer is a political ruler and the power of the state. I want you to think about that for a moment. What is the most obvious restrainer of lawlessness?

23:31Laws and those who enforce them. How do you explain the switch from what restrains in verse 6 to he who restrains in verse 7? Laws are a thing, and political rulers and enforcers of the law are people. Why does Paul use such cryptic language? And not merely repeat in his letter what he taught the Thessalonians in person. Because obviously, Paul can't be writing down when Christians are already being persecuted by the government, Rome's laws and the emperor are holding back lawlessness right now, but as soon as the emperor and the Roman Empire are removed, then the end will come.

24:27That sounds like Paul is trying to predict and incite rebellion against the Roman government. And that's not at all what he's doing. That's not at all what he believes. Look what Paul wrote in Romans 13: Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, whoever resists the authorities, resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's word. God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

25:34There is Paul's theology of government, of human government. Clearly, he is not trying to incite Christians to revolt against Rome. He is commanding submission, arguing that authorities are put in place by God. Why? To curb lawlessness by rewarding good behavior and punishing evil behavior. That's Paul's theology. So my view and the majority view for most of Christian history is that the restrainer is a political ruler and the power of the state. That seems to be the best explanation of this passage in light of what all of Scripture teaches. But friends, don't lose sight of the main point. We're looking at the pine needles right now. Let's back up and look at the forest again. The point here is that Jesus is not coming back again until the rebellion takes place and the man of lawlessness is revealed. And that can't happen until the restrainer, whoever or whatever he is, is removed.

26:41Now we're going to return to verse 8 in a moment and talk about Jesus' return, but we're going to skip ahead to verse 9 and talk a little bit more about the man of lawlessness. So let's look at verse 9. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity. Of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

27:30Paul informs us that the coming of the lawless one is going to mirror the coming of Jesus. In fact, the same Greek words, parousia and apocalypto, coming and revealing, are used of both the lawless one and of Jesus Christ. And as we noted earlier, the coming of the lawless one is going to be accompanied with all false signs and wonders, just as Jesus came performing true signs and wonders pointing to his real identity. The difference is that the lawless one is performing false signs and wonders with all wicked deception for those who are perishing. So Jesus' signs and wonders led people to correctly conclude that he is the Christ.

28:19But the lawless ones' false signs and wonders are going to lead people to incorrectly conclude that he is God. Why will the People be deceived. Take a look again at verse 10 because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. At the heart of their deception is a refusal to acknowledge and believe the truth. It's a refusal to love truth. Truth is what corresponds to reality. And God the Creator defines what is real, what is true. Look what Jesus told Nicodemus, John chapter 3.

29:11And this is the judgment. Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. So Jesus says the problem isn't that God has not revealed himself. He says the problem isn't that God hasn't made the way of salvation plain, but rather that people love the darkness rather than the light. Why? Because their works were evil.

29:54And Paul reinforces that truth in verse 12. Take a look again there. He says, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. So, friends, that's all pretty straightforward. I think we understand what Paul is saying here. What makes people uncomfortable is not the idea that Satan, through the lawless one, is going to deceive people. I think we all expect that. What makes people uncomfortable is that Paul says in verse 11, God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false.

30:38It's important to note that Paul does not say God deceives them, but rather God sends them a strong delusion, which he does by allowing Satan to deceive people through the false signs and wonders of the lawless one. We remember that in the book of Job, Satan had to have God's permission before he could act in any way. So it may feel confusing to read that God sends people a strong delusion so they may believe what is false, but he does that by allowing Satan, who is the ultimate liar and deceiver, to simply have his way with people who refuse to love and believe the truth, but instead take pleasure in unrighteousness.

31:30Friends, it is not unjust or unfair for God to allow people who hate the truth and love unrighteousness to be further deceived. It is not wrong for God to condemn sinners for their unbelief and for their love of evil. This is the path that we have all chosen, every one of us, since Adam and Eve, whom God, rather, whom Satan persuaded that it would be better to sin and to try to become like God than to submit to a loving and caring creator who only gave us commands for our good and for our flourishing, to embrace our limitations as creatures, not as gods and goddesses.

32:24It is not remarkable that we deserve death and eternal punishment for our sin. What is remarkable is that God is so merciful and gracious that He sent His only begotten Son to live and die and rise again so that through faith in Him, we could all be forgiven of our rebellion and our sin against the Lord. That is remarkable. Salvation is remarkable. It is remarkable that we who once loved Evil and took pleasure in unrighteousness of all kinds, through the grace and mercy of Christ, have had our hearts transformed to love the truth, to love righteousness, and to love God.

33:18That is remarkable. My friends, please hear the warning in this passage. If you begin taking pleasure in unrighteousness, in sin, you will increasingly be deceived because God's word says that sin is inherently deceitful. Once you've been deceived, you will begin to hate the truth. Once you hate the truth, you will reject the truth. Once you reject the truth, you will believe what is false. And once you believe what is false, you will be condemned. That is what the passage says.

34:11That does not have to be the case, though. That doesn't have to be the case with you or with anyone else on earth. The solution is to love and believe the truth spoken by Jesus and his apostles and preserved for us in his word, the Bible. Those who love and believe the truth, embracing Jesus as Lord and Savior, will be saved. And that's what we find in verse 8. So let's go back there to verse 8, the verse that we skipped, and conclude there.

34:48Verse 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. Once the restrainer has been removed, the rebellion will begin, and the man of lawlessness will be revealed. And to every person on earth, he will seem invincible, undefeatable. But I want you to look at Revelation 13. Here, the lawless one is called the beast. And they worship the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?

35:42But the rebellion and the rule of the lawless one will be short-lived because Jesus is going to return and kill him with the breath of his mouth. I want you to think about that. Scripture does not say that when Jesus returns, there's going to be this. Epic Lord of the Rings, seven movies long, protracted battle where the outcome is uncertain. Jesus is going to show up, he's going to exhale, and the lawless one is gone. It's that simple.

36:24And then look at Revelation 20. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. In the end, Jesus is victorious. And because he is victorious, all who trust in him are victorious. For we are the ones that he came to save, to resurrect from our sin and its consequences, and from Satan and his wicked counterparts.

37:03Brothers and sisters, my hope is that our exploration of this passage has helped you to see that we can understand and apply nearly all of the Bible's teaching about the last things. Even where they're more difficult to understand and apply, it's still written for our edification. It's still relevant for our everyday life. As we saw last week in chapter one, the more we pray, And yearn for Jesus' return, the more interested we become in his return. And the Bible is not silent on that issue. This passage today has given us very specific details on when Jesus will return and what's going to happen before and after he comes.

37:52So, for various reasons, the Thessalonians were concerned that Jesus had already returned, but he hadn't, and he still hasn't. That means that he is coming. And according to Jesus Himself, He is coming soon. Not on our timetable, but on His eternal timetable. So, we close today with a clear calling to prepare for Jesus' coming by holding fast to the truth that is laid out in Scripture. That will prevent us from being shaken or alarmed by false teaching and from being led astray by the lawless one when he comes with all false signs and wonders to deceive.

38:40So, if you are here this morning and you cannot say that you are holding fast to Christ and His Word, your action step is very clear. Believe the truth, take hold of Christ through repentance and faith. And be saved. If you are holding fast already to Christ and His Word, then, friends, remember what Paul said. You do not need to be shaken or alarmed, you do not have to fear what is coming in the last days.

39:21Because, yes, it is true that those times will be awful for any Christians who are alive on earth during that time. But in view of eternity, it will seem to be a light and momentary affliction when Jesus returns to save all of us who are trusting wholeheartedly in Him. We should take encouragement. Let's pray. Father, we confess that many of us have neglected different parts of your revealed word because we have not considered it to be relevant or because. Because it's hard to understand, or sadly, because we honestly don't think it's going to matter for 10, 20, 30, 50 years because we don't expect to die.

40:50But Lord, everything your word says is written for our edification. It's written for our instruction so that we can live rightly according to what you've revealed. We pray that you would help us to do that, to embrace the truth, to prepare for Jesus' coming, and to help others get ready for when he does return. In Christ's name we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.