"Now, dear brothers and
sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. Don’t be so
easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord
has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have
had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from
us." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)
It seems like every year
lately, someone comes along claiming that they know the end of the
world is near. They claim to have heard from God himself that Jesus
is coming back on a certain day and we should all make sure we are
ready. I'm telling you now, it's a lie. God isn't going to give us
some strange sign or forewarning beyond what he has already promised
in the Bible. And the Bible tells us- through Jesus' own lips in the
gospels- that NO ONE knows the day, the time, the hour that He will
return.
Apparently, this same issue
has been going on for centuries because here's Paul addressing it
halfway through his second letter to the Thessalonians. Honestly,
people are obsessed with what we don't know. Let's see what Paul can
tell us about what will happen leading up to Jesus' return:
"Don’t be fooled by
what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great
rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the
one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything
that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in
the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God." (2
Thessalonians 2:3-4)
Paul urges us not to be
fooled and then says that there will be many people rebelling against
God before God returns. There will be people leaving the church and
falling away. He goes on to describe the one who will come before God
as well. Paul calls him the "man of lawlessness" here and
the NASB adds that he is the "son of destruction." I
believe that this is what we often refer to as the "antichrist."
Whatever you call him, he will do something that is unforgivable. He
will claim to be God.
Paul goes on:
"Don’t you remember
that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what
is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes.
For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain
secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.
Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will
slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor
of his coming." (2 Thessalonians 2:5-8)
There is no way for us to
know exactly what Paul said when he was with the Thessalonians. It
isn't recorded anywhere that I know of. But that doesn't matter so
much. He goes on to further explain his opinion of things. He says
here that God is holding this man of lawlessness back until the time
is right. And when he finally is released, he won't have much time to
get anything done before Jesus is here obliterating him. Paul says
that "the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth
and destroy him by the splendor of his coming." Isn't it amazing
that our Jesus is that powerful?
It reminds me of this sign
we have here in our house. It says, "Don't tell God that you
have a big problem, tell your problem that you have a big God."
And isn't that so true? Our big God is way bigger than any problem we
can face including all that Satan is trying to do to destroy our
lives. God can handle it. We can trust him with it.
It's tempting to assume here
that the man of lawlessness that Paul is talking about is actually
Satan, but it's not. Paul goes on from these verses to say this,
which shows us that Satan is indeed not the man to which he is
referring:
"This man will come to
do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles.
He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way
to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that
would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and
they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for
enjoying evil rather than believing the truth." (2 Thessalonians
2:9-12)
I'm not going to pretend to
understand all that these verses mean. "God will cause them to
be greatly deceived?" The only way that I can make that
statement right in my mind is by realizing that we follow and love an
amazingly patient and loving God. He has given us SO. MUCH. TIME. to
figure out where we stand with Him. He has waited centuries- and is
still waiting- for us to come around. If it gets to be end times and
you still haven't come around, at that point, God is saying it'll be
too late. There is such a thing as waiting too long to come to God's
side.
And making no decision, I
have to warn you, is a decision all by itself. To be on God's side,
you must choose it. He will not force you onto his side. He loves you
too much for that. He isn't going to force the issue. He is persuing
with you unending, relentless love, but he will never force himself
on you. Choose him. Choose him before it truly is too late.
I pray now that if you are
on the fence about this and still reading, that your heart would be
softened and you would be given eyes to see Jesus for who he truly
is. I pray that you will take the time to really look at the Bible,
really read it and see what you think. Check out John for a great
starting place to read about Jesus, the one who loves you.
Be blessed today and
remember to be a blessing to someone else!
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