I. Introduction:
A couple of weeks ago, we introduced the book of 2 Thessalonians. I mentioned that there was confusion among the believers about Jesus’ return. So the Apostle Paul addresses it in this chapter.
II. The Letter:
A 2:1
a. “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…our gathering together to Him” –Scripture declares that Jesus will return one day and will gather together the last generation of believers and they will be fortunate enough never to experience death.
B 2:2:
a. “the day of the Lord has already begun” – Paul didn’t spend much time in Thessalonica, a few weeks or a couple of months. The believers in this city had lots of questions about Jesus’ return. This created an opportunity for false teachers to forge a letter using Paul’s name indicating that “the day of the Lord has already begun.” Their motive was probably to spawn a new religion. Now, what do we mean by the day of the Lord?
1. This is not a singular event. The word “day” can refer to more than one literal day. The Hebrew word “day” could refer to a span of time.
2. Other passages indicate that this “gathering” of believers initiates the “day of the Lord.” The gathering of believers starts the timer ending in Jesus’ return.
b. “a spirit…a message…a letter” – The false teachers were teaching something different. This false teaching came by one of three ways: “a spirit…a message…a letter.” Some must have said they received a spiritual vision, others a revelation. Still others brought a forged letter.
That’s why at the end of this letter, Paul says, “I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write” (3:17). Paul probably dictated most of his letters. In this case, he signed his letter. This helped these believers identify whether someone was trying to pass off a forged letter.
C What did the forged letter say? We know that,
a. It may have said that Jesus “gathered” the believers and they missed it.
b. Or maybe it indicated that Paul was mistaken about the “day of the Lord.” It could’ve been that the forged letter said, “I know in my previous letter that I wrote to you that we would be gathered together when Jesus returns, but I’ve received subsequent revelation.”
c. Paul’s response to this gives us things to look for, which indicate Jesus’ return. Here’s a map of the city of Chicago. Navigating the city is pretty straightforward. If you’re visiting the city and phone is about to die and you are lost, you can walk up to a stranger and they can easily help you.
The reason for this is that the city is laid out in a grid, using the cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. This is sort of a tangent, but one time my friend was lost and called her friend to get directions. Her friend was like, just keep going North on State Street and you will see Starbucks on your left and then you will see a Graeter’s on your left. After 10 minutes, she’s like I don’t see those any of those things. I see the Linden Library. Her friend was like, you’re going the wrong direction. I told you to go North. And she was like, “What do you mean North? I am going North.” Her friend was like, “You’re going South.” She was like, “What’s I thought North is wherever you are facing.”
Now, here’s a map of Boston. Not a single street follows cardinal directions. I was just there a few months ago. If you are trying to navigate the city without your phone, you would need to look for landmarks. For example, let’s say you are downtown and you wanted to go to Harvard. You would take Beacon Street and as you pass the Boston Common on your left, you will hug the river till you see the Harvard Bridge. Make a right and then you will see MIT and Harvard.
In the same way, God gives us landmarks to look for as Jesus’ return approaches, so we can tell if Jesus’ return is drawing near. He gives us two landmarks indicating Jesus’ arrival.
III. Man of Lawlessness and Apostasy: Verse 3 says,
A 2:3a:
a. What is the “rebellion”? – This Greek word could also mean = “falling away.” This falling away will be a widespread departure from sound biblical teaching in the church. This is a sign of the “day of the Lord.” Paul describes this in more detail in 2 Timothy 4:3-4: For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. You see this today. Many churches don’t teach that God will judge people. In fact, they’ve denied the existence of Hell. A growing number of churches have rejected Scripture’s stance on sexual ethics.
b. Matthew 24:11-12: When Jesus’s disciples asked what would be sign of his coming and the end of the age. He replied, “Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold.”
1. Many false prophets will arise. False teaching will spread, and many will lose their faith. False teaching has been a threat through the history of Christianity.
For example, if you do a Wikipedia search of Christian heresies — false teachings — there are 15 listed in just the first and second centuries AD. Those are just the ones we know about.
False teachings are still present today. There are many so-called Christian groups that have either denied aspects of Jesus’ personhood (such as his divine nature) or they have elevated other figures to the status of Christ (people who claim to be Messiah-like figures).
Other types of false teaching come from taking passages out of context and building a theology around them. For example, many churches are around the world teach a Prosperity Gospel. They take passages from the Old Testament, where God promises to provide for the nation of Israel and apply it today. Therefore, these churches teach that if you are faithful to God, particularly through generous giving, he will bless you with wealth and good health.
Jesus adds that leading up to the day of the Lord’s coming,
2. “most people’s love will grow cold.” – We’re seeing this already in Western culture. Christianity is declining rapidly. Forty million Americans stopped attending church in the past 25 years. That’s almost 12 percent of the population.
In fact, there’s a movement called “Christian Deconstruction” that has gained popularity. Young people are rethinking and dissecting the Christian beliefs they grew up with. Part of what sparked this deconstruction are questions related to sexual ethics, the culture in megachurches where sexual abuse is swept under the rug, and the widespread support of Donald Trump among Evangelical churches in America. Some are wrestling with their faith and evaluating whether Christian tradition and culture fit with what’s contained in Scripture while most are rejecting the beliefs they grew up with.
There’s a subreddit called Deconstruction where people can safely deconstruct their faith tradition. Here’s one titled, “I still hesitate being honest about my state of deconstruction”
I am neck deep in deconstruction, and while I still find religion and it’s impact fascinating, I wouldn’t say I “have a relationship with god” (as people put it). I'm still deciding if I consider myself a Christian and what I truly believe.
I have friends that have gone atheist or agnostic, and I’m honest with them. We have some really fun conversations. My family who are still die hard Christians, I'll probably never tell them. It’s not a health environment in the least bit. What’s most disturbing about this is that this person feels as if she needs to hide losing her faith from her family. My kids are 9 and 12 and I told them, “You should never believe something because someone told you to. You should believe it because you have reasons to. You are going to have questions about your faith. You are going to have doubts about God.”
In fact, sociologist George Barna claims that many children who grow up in Christian homes start to have doubts or questions about their faith in middle school, and if they don’t get those questions answered, many of them lose their faith and are just biding their time till they graduate high school to leave the church.
I told my kids, “If you have any questions about the Bible or your faith, I want to talk about it. I won’t be upset.” We’ve even started reading books written for pre-teens that answer difficult questions like the one we addressed a couple of weeks ago, “How can a loving God send people to hell?”
B. 2:3b-4: This is another sign that the day of the Lord is approaching.
a. “the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” – Who is this man of lawlessness? Some Christian interpreters have suggested the identity of this “man of lawlessness” is a figure in Roman history.
1. Caligula (AD 37–41)? Since he ordered that a statue depicting him as the incarnation of Zeus be set up in the Temple of Jerusalem. However, this never happened since he and his entire family was assassinated in AD 41.
2. Titus (AD 79-81)? Yet others believe the man of lawlessness is Titus, who destroyed the Temple in AD 70. Now, this is interesting since there are remarkable similarities between Titus and the man of lawlessness. A more detailed description is given to us about this person in:
b. Revelation 13:2b, 3b-4: “[Satan] gave the beast his own power and throne and great authority… The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. People worshiped [the Evil One] because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast?”
1. “The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast.” John, the author of Revelation, tells us that this guy is an actual person, a human being. He’s very charismatic and he’s able to unify the world.
In fact, he’s able to perform miraculous signs and wonders. In verse 9 of our passage, Paul tells us (2:9). So
Satan, God’s enemy, will be the one who energizes or empowers this figure to gain power over the world.
According to the ancient historian Suetonius, Titus was very charismatic. He describes him as very good looking, a great politician and very cultured. He was one of the Emperors of Rome, which you could argue meets this description. The other thing we are told about the Beast is that:
c. Then the beast was allowed to speak great blasphemies against God. And he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months. And he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling (Revelation 13:5-6).
1. “he was given authority to do whatever he wanted for forty-two months.” – Scripture teaches this charismatic leader will rule for forty-two months, which is three and a half years.
2. “he spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling” – At the end of this three and a half years, he will blaspheme God and his temple.
Now it is remarkable that the historian Jospehus tells us that Titus ordered his soldiers to make sacrifices to the Roman Emblems in the Temple, thus worshipping Caesar as god in the Temple. However, Titus was not the emperor at the time he did this. He was the emperor’s son. Titus became Emperor nine years later.
d. The beast was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And he was given authority to rule over every tribe and people and language and nation (Revelation 13:7).
1. “was allowed to wage war against God’s holy people” – Following this act of desecrating the Temple, the Beast will make war with the believers until Christ comes and intervenes. In Daniel 7:25-27, we are told: “He will defy the Most High and oppress the holy people of the Most High. He will try to change their sacred festivals and laws, and they will be placed under his control for a time, times, and half a time.” This period will last only a short time. Time, times, and half a time is a Jewish idiom for three and a half years.
“But then the court will pass judgment, and all his power will be taken away and completely destroyed. Then the sovereignty, power, and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will last forever, and all rulers will serve and obey him.”
It is interesting that Titus’ campaign against the Jewish people was three and a half years long. But again, some of the details don’t line up. Titus was not killed. He died of natural causes in AD 81. Moreover, this prophecy suggests that God will set up his eternal reign right after the Beast is destroyed. Obviously that did not happened. Therefore, Titus was not the man of lawlessness. This person has not yet come.
B What is the likelihood that a figure like this could emerge today? One necessary condition would be the:
a. Possible Emergence of a One World Government: Of course, there are many factors that would contribute to the formation of a one-world government, like overpopulation, food and water shortages.
You could also see a temporary alliance formed by most countries in the world after another major world war. That was how the League of Nations formed after World War I. Show emblem. After seeing the horrors of the Great War, 40 countries came together to maintain world peace. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he tells us that people will be cheering “Peace and safety!” But the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
Moreover, the existence of multinational corporations has made the existence of national borders somewhat irrelevant. For example, corporations such as Apple’s market capitalization is equivalent to the GDP of Australia. Show infographic. The largest corporation in the world, Saudi Aramco is worth more than the GDP of individual countries such as Italy, Brazil, Canada, and Russia. Show infographic. Walmart’s revenue is about $600 billion a year. If it were a country, it would be ranked 24th in among the top 185 countries in the world—higher than every country on the African continent. It has more employees than the entire population of Slovenia. I’m sure some of you are thinking, “I knew Walmart was from Satan.” This has led to a call for international law and regulations on these corporations.
Joseph Stiglitz (Nobel Prize winning economist, former chief economist of the World Bank, professor at Columbia) – “These corporations are not only rich but politically powerful.
If governments decide to tax or regulate them in ways they don’t like, they threaten to move elsewhere.
There is always another country that will welcome their tax revenues, jobs, and foreign investment.
“[We need] international frameworks and international courts – as necessary for the smooth functioning of the global economy as federal courts and national laws are for national economies.”
If you combine the pressure of overpopulation, the growing food and water shortages, the possibility of another world war and globalization, you could see the nations of the world coming together to solve the world’s problems or even unite for a brief period of time. The second condition is that the Temple needs to be standing.
a. The Temple in Jerusalem. Now, it’s remarkable that the nation of Israel even exists. It’s even more remarkable that the Bible predicted Israel’s re-gathering thousands of years earlier in Ezekiel 37, after nearly two millennia of non-existence.
But there’s one major issue with the Temple standing where it was in Jesus’ day. The Dome of the Rock, an Islamic holy place, stands on the exact location were the Temple stood.
However, this is a highly disputed area of Israel. A small group of Orthodox Jewish people that are part of the Temple Institute in Israel, have made it their mission to re-build the Temple.
In fact, they have crafted furniture for the Temple, the priestly clothing, and have even begun breeding the specific type of cow (the Red Heifer) that was used to sacrifice in the Temple.
It’s not hard to imagine a war that could lead to the destruction of the Dome of the Rock. You could see something like this happening in our lifetime.
Back to our passage. Paul tells us in verse 5:
C. 2:5: It’s remarkable that Paul would say this since he was only in Thessalonica for a few weeks and at most a couple months. He saw it necessary to teach them about the end times and what the Day of the Lord looks like.
Years ago, my mentor Dennis was asked to speak at a church conference in the Bahamas. He said to me, “Hey, I’m going to need an assistant to carry my projector. Do you want to come with me and Bret (his son)?” I was ecstatic. They put us up at the world-famous Atlantis Hotel during our stay.
The pastor, who invited us, asked his brother to take us conch fishing and snorkeling. When we anchored, the pastor’s brother spear-fished conch as Dennis and Bret snorkeled. I was leaning over the side of the boat chumming the waters with the contents of my stomach.
I had never been out on the ocean before. They told me to lift my head and stare at the horizon. And after a few minutes I felt better. Staring at the horizon gives you brain a point of reference, allowing it to sense the motion of the ship.
In the same way, having a clear picture of Jesus’ return gives us a point of reference in chaotic, disorienting world in which we live. Seeing where this is all heading helps us endure living in a fallen broken world.
IV. Restraining Force (2:6-7)
A “you know what restrains him now” – Apparently, there is a restraining force in place to prevent the end from appearing before its appointed time. Now, there are various theories as to who or what this restraining force is.
Some argue that this was Seneca, Emperor Nero’s advisor. While he served in this role, Nero was levelheaded in his policies and his decision making. But later, Seneca was accused of being involved in a plot to kill Nero and sentenced to death. This event marked a dramatic change in Nero’s behavior. The events following Seneca’s death made Nero infamous for his brutal persecution of Christians. There’s speculation he set fire to Rome and blamed it on the Christians; and as a result, Nero virulently persecuted the church—burning many Christians at the stake. Even though this is a remarkable similarity, I don’t think Seneca was the restraining force. I believe this for the simple reason that the events Paul are describing are future events that pertain to Jesus’ coming. Obviously, that hasn’t happened yet.
Others think that it is Satan. The idea is that Satan has not revealed his final act of terror but is waiting for just the right time. Now, I think that this is an interesting option. The problem with this view is that from Genesis to Revelation, Satan is never described as restraining lawlessness. If anything, it is just the opposite.
The classic, and most likely explanation is that it is God himself is restraining evil. More specifically, God does this through his Spirit. There are a few indications of this in the text.
B “what restrains him now…he who now restrains” – First, the gender used for the restrainer changes in verses 6 and 7. It goes from the neuter (“what restrains”) to masculine (“he who now restrains”). You see the New Testament speak the same way about the Holy Spirit. For instance in John 14, Jesus often switches from masculine and neuter in reference to the Holy Spirit. Therefore, God’s Spirit is probably the one who is restraining evil until the proper time (Read 2:8).
V. Why does God want us to know about this?
A Jesus will return one day.
1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,
2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.
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.
5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
8 And then 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.