10 Who is The Lawless One? (2 Thessalonians 2:1-17)

Krisan Marotta: Welcome to the Wednesday in the Word podcast. I'm Krisan Marotta, and this is my podcast about what the Bible means and how we know. Today we'll be studying 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 1 through 17. This is the tenth talk in my series on Thessalonians. You will find lecture notes for today's talk on the link below this podcast, or you can go directly to them by going to Wednesdayintheword.com slash Thessalonians 1 0. Thanks so much for listening. We have reached chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. Just a review, this is Paul's second letter to a young church who is suffering under persecution, and he's been writing to them to encourage them to stay the course. In chapter 1, he encouraged them by expressing his gratitude for their growth in faith and love. He cited their perseverance under persecution as evidence of their genuine faith. He assured them their suffering would end. One day God would bring justice to them and their persecutors will be judged. God will bring justice in one of two ways. Either God will accept Jesus' death on our behalf and God will grant us eternal life in his kingdom, or if we continue to reject God, we will get what is coming to us. In Thessalonica, we see these two groups. One group has set itself against God's people and is seeking to wipe them out. The other group is patiently enduring their suffering and trying to remain faithful to God and not retaliate in kind. Ultimately, God will bring a just and appropriate justice, and those who have set themselves against God's people will be condemned, but those who humbly cast themselves on the mercy of God and the blood of Christ will receive eternal life. Now Paul opens chapter two with the phrase, Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, I don't want you to be confused or alarmed. He's turning to a new topic that seems to be causing confusion for them. As we saw in his first letter, they were confused about the return of Jesus. It appears that confusion has persisted, and Paul is going to address it again. And I will admit this is the passage that has always made me avoid teaching this letter in the past. For some of you, I know it's probably the most interesting part of the Thessalonian letters, and it is interesting, but it's also very difficult. Paul talks about the second coming of Christ and the end times in this passage, and this is one of those very divisive passages of scripture. Lots of people have very definite opinions about what Paul is saying and what he isn't saying. There are many theories out there, there's lots of disagreement, and I do not have all the answers. We are just going to jump in and try to figure out what he is saying in the context. And I hold my views on this passage very, very loosely. This is my best guess so far. I'm sure there are many teachers out there who could do a better job of teaching this passage. This podcast represents my thinking so far. I am not confident that I've got this one a hundred percent right. But since I don't know that I will ever get it a hundred percent right, I decided might as well teach it now. It's as good a time as any. Before we look at the passage, there are two other passages we should talk about. Because how you understand a couple of other passages greatly influences what you think Paul is doing here in 2 Thessalonians 2. The first passages are the prophetic visions in the book of Daniel. Daniel was a prophet during the Babylonian captivity. God gave Daniel visions about the future of Israel while Israel was still in exile in Babylon. And you can imagine those visions would have been very comforting to Daniel and the captives because the visions meant they had a future. Yes, God was disciplining them through the exile at that moment in history, but he had not abandoned them. He has plans for them in the future, and he tells his prophet Daniel about those plans. Now, in these visions, Daniel speaks of a ruler who is opposed to God and his people. I'll put a link to those passages in the lecture notes. They're mostly in chapter 7, 8, and then also chapter 11. Daniel describes this king as one who will exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and he shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. In chapter 11, Daniel says this person shall not pay attention to any God, and he shall magnify himself above all, and he tells us this king will set up an abomination that makes desolate in Jerusalem. Now Paul seems to be drawing on these passages with his language about the man of lawlessness in chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians. The other passage that influences how you understand 2 Thessalonians 2 is the teaching of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, which you can find in Matthew 24. Now, Paul was not present when Jesus spoke the Olivet Discourse to the twelve, but Paul is very familiar with the content. In 1 Thessalonians, we saw he used a language from the Olivet Discourse, and he used the same metaphor Jesus used about judgment coming like a thief in the night. The Olivet Discourse is a sermon Jesus gave while he was sitting with his disciples on the Mount of Olives, looking across at the temple. His disciples commented on the beauty of the temple, and Jesus remarked that the whole temple was going to be torn down and destroyed. They asked him when that will happen. They also ask him about his second coming, and Jesus talks about both. He talks about the coming destruction of the temple and also his coming at the end of the age. Now each of these passages, Daniel, the Olivet Discourse, and Paul's writings come from a different point in history. When we're trying to understand them, it's important to remember when the passage was first spoken or written and what events in history are before it and after it. For Daniel, one of the things in Daniel's future was the desecration of the temple by the Greeks in about 167 BC. The exile ended when the Persians conquered Babylon and let the Israelites return home. Eventually, the Israelites rebuild the temple in Jerusalem, but Israel is never an independent nation again. She is always under someone else's control. The rule of Persia was ended by Alexander the Great, who conquered the world basically from England to India, and that included Palestine. When Alexander the Great died, he left no successor, and that plunged the empire into a bloody civil war, which eventually ended in four main kingdoms, ruled by Seleucius, which was roughly in Syria, Ptolemy in Egypt, Lysimachus, who is in Thrace, and Antipater's son Cassander, who was in Macedonia, including Greece. So Palestine became a battleground for Egypt and Syria, who both wanted to tax it and use it as a buffer zone between them. Eventually the Seleucid dynasty under Antiochus III conquered Israel. And then in about 167 BC, in an act of great sacrilege, Antiochus IV, who's known as Antiochus Epiphanes, sacrificed a pig on the holy altar of the Jewish temple and ordered that the temple be called the Temple of Zeus. And that leads to the Maccabean Revolt. The Maccabeans regained control of Jerusalem and rededicated the temple, and that is, by the way, what Hanukkah celebrates. Now many scholars agree that some of Daniel's visions predict the desecration of the temple under Antiochus Epiphanes. Daniel is very specific and accurate about details of this event, which was hundreds of years in his future. In fact, Daniel is so detailed and specific that skeptics claim that his book must have been written after the desecration under Antiochus occurred. So many people believe Daniel describes the desecration of the temple under Antiochus Epiphanes. They also believe Daniel talks about the destruction of the temple under Rome, which occurred in 70 AD. The big debate is whether Daniel talks about events that are still in our future. Now I'm no expert on Daniel, but I do think he clearly talks about the desecration of the temple by the Greeks under Antiochus, and he, I think, seems to talk about the destruction of the temple by the Romans in 70 AD. But does he say anything about this person Paul describes as the man of lawlessness? Well, that's the big debate. When Paul starts talking about this man of lawlessness or this rebel in our passage today, is he relying on the book of Daniel for part of his information or is he talking about events Daniel said nothing about? That is a very difficult question to answer. At this point, if I had to vote, I think Daniel also describes some events that are still in our future. And Paul is referring to the same person that Daniel describes in some places. Now I do recognize there are good arguments on both sides of that debate, and I may change my mind in the future. Okay, that was Daniel. For Jesus and Paul, the desecration of the temple by Antiochus is in their past, but there is another desecration of the temple coming in their future. In 70 AD, the Romans began a five-month siege of Jerusalem, which led to a severe famine. The Romans camped out on the Mount of Olives and cut down all the olive trees for firewood and warmth. Eventually the city fell. The Roman army looted the temple and literally knocked every stone over and burned the temple mount. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is a future event for both Jesus and Paul. And in the Olivet Discourse, I think Jesus is talking about the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and Jesus seems to connect the destruction of the temple in 70 AD with some of the passages from the prophet Daniel. Jesus also appears to talk about his second coming. The big debate is which passages refer to which event. How much does he talk about 70 AD, which is in our past, and how much does he talk about his second coming, which is in our future? There is a big debate over how much of the Olivet discourse is still in our future. Now there are a lot of solutions, and each of them have a lot of nuances. I'm going to give you three general approaches. Generally speaking, the first approach is to decide everything in the Olivet Discourse is in our future. One of the more popular approaches is to see the Olivet Discourse as describing only the second coming. So they see everything in it as describing events still in our future, from the abomination of desolation to the destruction of Jerusalem. This camp says that is all in our future, none of it has happened yet. That solution does not persuade me. The second very general approach is to decide that all of the events of the Olivet Discourse are in our past. And the preterists take this view. They think everything Jesus described in the Olivet Discourse happened in 70 AD. And in fact, I believe they even think the book of Revelation describes all events that are in our past. They think it was all in the first century and it's over. They would understand that the second coming happened already in the sense that Jesus came in judgment and wrath, and that judgment and wrath was expressed in the destruction of Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem established the kingdom of God in the sense that it ended the nation of Israel and replaced it with the church, which establishes the kingdom of God. That view doesn't work for me either. And that leaves us with the third general approach, which is the one I would take right now, and that is to see parts of the Olivet discourse describing events in our past and parts describing events still in our future. So I think that parts of the Olivet Discourse talk about the destruction of Jerusalem, which is in our past. It happened in 70 AD, and there are parts of it that talk about the second coming of Christ, which is still in our future. Right now, I think the mixed approach is best in part because Jesus speaks the Olivet Discourse in response to a question the disciples ask. We find this in Matthew 24, 3. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately saying, Tell us when these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Now the disciples asked Jesus two things. When will these things, which I think refers to the destruction of the temple that Jesus just mentioned in the previous verse, when will this destruction of the temple happen, and when will you come again? And the disciples seem to think those two events are going to happen at the same time. As I understand it, Jesus says, No, those are two separate events. The temple is going to be destroyed, but I, Jesus, won't come back until much later, and even I don't know the date of the second coming. Now, of course, the big debate is which verses refer to which event. That brings us to Paul. Paul wrote this letter after Jesus spoke the Olivet Discourse, but before the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. So when Paul writes this letter, the temple in Jerusalem is still standing. And Paul is writing this passage in response to a different question. Paul addresses the question, has Jesus already come? And he answers, no, we know Jesus hasn't come because this other stuff has to happen first. The question that's debated, of course, is how much of that other stuff is in our past and how much of it is in our future. And this is where it matters what you think Daniel is doing. If you think Daniel describes events still in our future, you are going to understand Paul differently than if you think all the events of Daniel have already happened. It also matters what you think Jesus is doing in the Olivet Discourse. If you think Jesus is describing only events in our past, you're going to understand Paul differently than someone who thinks Jesus is describing events still in our future. And if you think Daniel and the Olivet Discourse refer to both past and present events, then that of course affects how you understand what Paul is doing in Thessalonians. Now, it would be way too complicated to go through Daniel and the Olivet Discourse here in this podcast. And I'm not sure I could do it anyway. There are a lot of things I don't know about those passages. But there are a few places in the New Testament that I think I understand, and that gives me a framework that I bring to Thessalonians. Just like how you understand Daniel and the Olivet Discourse influences how you will interpret 2 Thessalonians 2. There are these other New Testament passages that I think I understand, and they influence how I understand Paul. So I want to explain the framework that I've built from these other passages because it may be wrong. At this point, it's the best I've got, but I feel like I still have a lot to learn in this area. But so far, the picture that I think I see in the New Testament is this. Before Jesus came into the world in the incarnation, Satan had some kind of dominion over the earth. He's called the ruler of this world. In Ephesians 2, Paul talks about Satan as the power now at work in unbelievers. He's described as the deceiver of nations, and his primary work is deception. He advances and promotes lies rather than the truth, and he seeks to blind our eyes, stop our ears, and harden our hearts so that we don't recognize the truth. When Jesus came into the world in physical form at the incarnation, Satan's power was broken in some fundamental way. Now, I don't have time to go through it all, but Jesus makes these cryptic comments in John 12, 31. He's talking about the coming cross, and he says, Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And then later in John 16, he says, The ruler of the world is judged, and I take that ruler of the world to be Satan. Also in Luke 10, Jesus makes this very strange but interesting little comment that he saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. And then there's a very confusing passage in Revelation 12 that describes Satan as being thrown down to the earth and bound. Now, all of that seems to describe to me a dramatic and significant reduction in the power of Satan. I think the coming of Jesus into the world greatly reduced his power to deceive, but he is not completely defeated yet. So it makes sense. Jesus, the light of the world, has come to shine into the darkness. The work of Jesus, including his death and resurrection, was a death blow to the powers of Satan, to the powers of darkness. Now, Revelation 20, again, not sure I understand, but it talks about an angel binding Satan and throwing him into the abyss for a thousand years so that he might not deceive the nations any longer. At this point, I understand the event that causes Satan to be bound and thrown into the abyss as the coming of Jesus into the world from his birth to his ascension. It seems to me in God's plans and purposes, that death blow paved the way for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on believers, and that changed everything. So before Jesus and the Holy Spirit came, relatively speaking, mankind was close to the truth. But now, after the cross and Pentecost, we live in a more open environment. More people see and hear and understand the truth of the gospel than ever before. Jesus explained the plans and purposes of God more fully and completely than any prophet before him. But when he left, only a handful of people believed. Then God poured out his spirit and thousands came to faith. And now we have the Holy Spirit at work in us to open our eyes so that we see, hear, and embrace the truth. So it seems to me that the coming of Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit represent this watershed event in human history that fundamentally changed the world. Now, if I'm right so far, and that's a really big if, some passages suggest that Satan is going to be set free again before Jesus returns, that this reduction in his power will last for a long and significant time period while God gathers his people, mostly from the Gentiles and a remnant of the Jews, and that right now we're living in what Paul calls the age of the Gentiles, where it is mostly the Gentiles who are coming to faith and a remnant of the Jews. Again, if I'm right so far, and that's a big if, at some point in our future, I think that's going to change. Revelation 20 talks about an angel binding Satan and throwing him into the abyss for a thousand years so that he might not deceive the nations any longer. But it also says that after that time Satan will be released for a little while. And I put this together with what Paul says about a time when the Gentiles will by and large start rejecting God again, stop coming to faith in large, large numbers, and then God will pour out his spirit on the Jews in a very real and profound way, such that virtually all living Jews will come to faith in Jesus. And that's going to set up the second coming of Christ. So if all of that is right, which is a big if, at the end of this metaphorical thousand years, Satan is going to be loosed again on the world. Deception will run rampant. It will become more powerful and widespread again. By and large, the Gentiles will stop believing. Although I expect there will always be a remnant. But God will pour out his spirit on the Jews such that virtually every living Jew will come to faith in Christ. I think that's what Paul talks about in Romans 11 when he talks about this partial hardening that's on Israel now until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. But at the end of the age of the Gentiles, there will be an age of the Jews. Well, they will come to faith. Virtually all of them will come to faith, which is a blessing bestowed on no other tribe or nation. And that's, I think, going to create a spiritual and political situation that is ripe for the end times. It seems to me that this man of lawlessness, Paul talks about, is going to foster hatred for Israel because they are the remaining holdout following Christ. The non-believing world will turn with hatred on the Jews because they love God. And so we'll have this situation where it is a true battle of light against dark or God's people against his enemies. And that will set up what we call Armageddon. But the Jews will not need to defend themselves because Christ is going to return in judgment, save them, and usher in his kingdom fully and finally. That's my basic framework right now. I still have a lot of questions. I hold it very loosely, but it does influence what I think Paul is doing in this passage, so I wanted to lay it out there for you. Now with all of that as background, let's see if we can make some sense of chapter two. Paul starts out in the first two verses. This sets up the passage. They think the day of the Lord or the second coming of Jesus has already happened, or maybe that it's coming immediately or imminently. And Paul says, with regard to the coming of our Lord and our gathering to him, all the stuff Paul described in his first letter, don't be confused or deceived into thinking that this has already happened or is about to happen. Maybe someone's telling them something like, you know, quit your job and come sit on the top of the hill with me because Jesus is coming back Saturday and we'll have a good view from there, or something like that. Or maybe someone has told them Jesus has already returned and they missed it. Something like that has confused them. Now remember, this is a very young church. Paul was not with them very long. While he was there, he taught them about the second coming of Christ. They seem excited about the return of Christ, but somehow that enthusiasm has taken a wrong turn. Paul is not trying to satisfy their curiosity about how the end times will unfold, like we might be curious. He is not set out to say, here's how it's going to happen A to Z. They're confused about the second coming. They think it's imminent in some way, and he wants to set them straight. And he sets them straight by reminding them of three things. In verses three and four, he tells them certain events which have not happened yet must happen first. In five through seven, he tells us those events are being restrained or held back right now. And in eight through twelve, he describes the nature of those events, which demonstrates they haven't happened yet. I think that's the purpose of this passage, that Paul is not setting out to lay out how the future is going to unfold, but he is trying to comfort them in light of some serious misinformation that they've been given. He goes on in three and four, let no one deceive you in any way, 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. So Paul says the day of Jesus' return will not come unless this other thing happens first. And let's just walk through those phrases. So first he says, that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first. Now some translate that unless the apostasy comes first. And many people connect this phrase with the rapture. The idea comes from a debate over what this Greek word means. The word has this idea of a taking away, a falling away, or a departure. It can be both literal and metaphorical. So it could be a literal departure, i.e. the rapture, or it could be a metaphorical spiritual decline or an apostasy. So some people argue that Paul is talking about a rapture, that this is a literal falling away, a literal departure, and that the rapture must happen first. Other people connect this phrase with the words Jesus spoke in the Olivet Discourse, and they take it metaphorically as a spiritual falling away. So in the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, 10 through 11, Jesus says, At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold. So many think that Jesus is describing a time of apostasy or unbelief when people will fall away from the truth, their love for God will grow cold, and many will be misled or deceived. So Paul could be referring to that same thing. Now the debate gets really complicated because those who argue for the rapture say, of course, apostasy follows, because if you take all the salt and light out of the world by rapturing believers, you're going to be left with rebellion and unbelief. I'm not going to settle that debate for you. My brief study of this word suggests to me that it is not used a physical leaving or being a taken away, i.e., a rapture, very commonly, but it is more often used in the context of departing from a standard or falling away from a standard. I do think apostasy is a better translation. And at this point, I think Paul is describing a falling away from the truth. But again, I could be wrong. Because of my framework, that influences me to think that Paul is describing this time when Satan is loosed again and his powers to deceive are increased, and that many will be deceived and will fall away from the truth, and that lawlessness will increase. Now, in one sense, these words describe the entire time between the ascension and the second coming. The trend certainly seems to be toward rebellion and apostasy, which I think will culminate in Christ's return. And while the church has always had some influence and shed light on the world, eventually, I think a time is coming when deception is going to run rampant and the influence of the church will be minimal. We're going to see dramatic and widespread spiritual blindness. I think that is all still in our future, but we could be in the early stages now. We're seeing increasing darkness and a lot of widespread beliefs that are simply unhinged from reality. Never in history have we seen unbelief like this. We've seen paganism, hedonism, and rampant atheism, but to my knowledge, never before have we seen a time where people don't even have a concept of truth. Think about some of the new ideology today. I mean, when you stop and think about it, some of these beliefs have no basis in reality. Why do so many people believe them? I don't know. It could be that Satan is being let loose again and we're seeing the beginning of the end. And even if that's true, it could be another thousand years. Or God could graciously send us another revival and a great awakening, and who knows? In any case, Paul is saying, I know that Jesus has not come yet, and his return is not imminent because we haven't seen this time of widespread apostasy. Then he talks about the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction being revealed. Some people take this metaphorically, that this is just an idea, a metaphor, while others take this as a real individual person. And this person is sometimes referred to as the Antichrist. This comes from 1 John 2.18, where John says, Children, it is the last hour, and just as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared. From this we know that it is the last hour. So people look at 1 John and they say, Well, where did they hear that the Antichrist is coming? Well, they heard it from Paul in this letter to the Thessalonians. This man of lawlessness is against Christ or he is an Antichrist. And if you think that Daniel's visions describe a future figure who comes at the end of time and sets himself up as God, you would also see Paul is talking about a literal figure here. Daniel describes this ruler as a king who is the son of destruction who exalts himself above the God of gods. And Paul seems to be echoing Daniel's language. Speaking of this ruler in 1136, Daniel says, Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods, and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. So Daniel speaks of a figure who will claim to be above every God. Paul speaks of one who will exalt himself above every so-called God. I think it's likely they're referring to the same person, but it's very tricky to sort all that stuff out. Paul describes this person as taking his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. And this is one of the verses where people get the idea that before Jesus comes again, the temple in Jerusalem has to be rebuilt. If this figure literally sits in the temple, then there has to be a temple to sit in. But people also debate whether Paul is speaking literally or metaphorically. Will this figure physically sit in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem? Or metaphorically speaking, will this person make himself out to be God as if he was sitting in God's temple? He claims to be God, which Paul could metaphorically describe as putting himself in God's temple. Honestly, I have no idea if Paul is speaking literally or not. At this point, I lean toward metaphor, but I have really no idea. When this is all over, we'll know. Looking at politics today, it's hard to imagine how the temple could be rebuilt, but God will do what he will do. And if he wants it to be rebuilt before Jesus returns, then it's going to happen. What most people agree on, though, is that some kind of charismatic ruler is coming in our future who will set himself up as above any and all gods. Then Paul says in 2.5, do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? Well, it would have been really nice if Paul had refreshed their memory and gave us a few verses on what he taught when he was with them, but alas, Paul didn't do that. We weren't there and we don't know what he taught them. For our purposes, I think this verse tells us that we have to realize this letter was not written directly to us, it was written to the Thessalonians. Paul is not explaining these ideas from scratch. He's assuming a basic understanding from his previous teaching, a teaching which you and I did not hear. And this verse also tells us that Paul knew more than he wrote down here, and Paul told the Thessalonians those things, but in the plans and purposes of God, Paul did not tell us. If God had wanted Paul to spell out in step-by-step detail how the end times are going to unfold, Paul would have written that down. But he didn't, at least we don't know that he did, and that means you and I are gonna have to wait. We can try to put the puzzle pieces together, but at the same time, I think we have to recognize we're missing a few pieces. We just don't have all the puzzle pieces we need to clearly see the picture. Then we get two six and seven, 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. Honestly, I don't even know how to talk about this section and the following verses. There are so many theories about what's going on in these verses, I couldn't begin to do them justice. There is much debate about who or what is restraining the man of lawlessness now. There is much debate about pronoun shifts in this verse from neuter to masculine, and there is much debate about what Paul means by the mystery of lawlessness. Those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, which is the idea that the rapture happens first, the church is taken away, and then everything else happens, they see the church as the thing that is restraining the man of lawlessness now. They argue the spirit of God is at work in believers now. When believers get taken away, the restraining influence of the Spirit of God through his people is removed, and then it all starts to fall apart. Well, I do not think a pre-trib rapture makes the most sense, but I do think the influence of the Spirit of God is a big restraining influence right now. As I told you, my framework is that before Pentecost, the world by and large rejected God and the truth. The coming of Christ and the Holy Spirit was a watershed event that broke the power of Satan. Jesus, the last and final prophet, explained the plan of God more clearly than any prophet before him. Christ died for our sins on the cross, and because of that, God sent his spirit into the world, binding the power of Satan and bringing about an era of much more openness to God. But that's going to end. Eventually, before the end of history, God will let Satan loose again, deception will be widespread again, and those events will set up the return of Christ. And I think we're in this time where Christ has come and proclaimed the gospel more clearly than anyone before him in terms of prophetic revelation. We who live after the cross know more about the plans of God and his purposes than any previous generation. And yet, what marks our time? Lawlessness. Rebellion is already at work. By and large, humanity rejects God. They don't think he exists at all, and they don't care what Jesus had to say. So it seems like this rebellion and lawlessness is all going to culminate in one individual who is going to set himself up above God in some profound and evil way. Right now, someone or something is holding this rebel back so that he will appear at a later time. Paul told the Thessalonians what that was, but he didn't tell us. Then in two, eight through ten, 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. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all powers 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. Now Jesus uses very similar language in Matthew twenty-four, this is twenty four, twenty-three and twenty-four. Then if anyone says to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe him, for false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. So far I think Paul has made two points. First, the day of the Lord can't have happened yet, because certain very observable events must happen first, and those events have not happened. Second, the Thessalonians know what those events are because Paul told them when he was with them. They know what is holding back the appearance of the man of lawlessness, and the man of lawlessness must appear before Christ returns. And now Paul gives a very brief but vivid description about what happens when this lawless one, this rebel, appears. I think Paul gives this description to reassure them that a, the events haven't happened yet, and B, those who rebel against God, including their present persecutors, are going to face justice in the end. So verses eight through twelve focus on what will happen to unbelievers when all these events unfold. When the restraint is removed, the lawless one appears and deceives most of the world again. The lawless one will meet his end through the coming of Christ, and Christ is going to defeat him handily and easily, it will take but a breath, but a word to defeat him. In fact, Paul echoes the language of the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 11 about a shoot from the stump of Jesse who will strike the land with the word of his mouth and slay the ungodly with the breath of his lips. So having announced that Jesus will come again and very easily defeat this rebel, Paul describes the rebel's activity among unbelievers in 8 through 12. The figure will deceive many through the power of Satan. He will lure them to their doom because they reject the truth. Satan will be loosed, his deceptive powers culminate in this one figure who exalts himself above God and deceives many, and then Christ will return and defeat him. This person and the events surrounding him will be so persuasive that many will be easily deceived and think that God is behind it. And the figure may even claim to be from God or maybe claim to be God. You can imagine a lot of scenarios that would fit the language we have here. Ultimately, it's not possible to deceive the elect, but this person will be so persuasive that if they could be deceived, the elect would. What keeps the elect from being deceived? God has given us a love of the truth. He has opened our eyes to the truth, and we have embraced it. So Paul goes on, this is eleven through seventeen. 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. But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. So Paul just gave a kind of litany of the lost where he vividly described the fate of those who don't believe. Then he reassures them they have a different destiny. God will judge his enemies, but they are no longer his enemies. They are destined to share in Christ's glory. And you can see these contrasts throughout the section. Paul contrasts those who believe a lie in verse 11 and those who did not believe the truth in verse 12 with those who have been saved through belief in truth in verse 13. In verse 12, he says, The former will perish and be condemned, but the latter will be saved in verse 13. thirteen and obtain the glory of Jesus, which he says in fourteen. Those who reject God are going to be so lost to reason that they will be totally deceived by what is false, they will reject the truth and choose to love evil instead, and they will be condemned. But Paul reassures the Thessalonians, God will keep them from this deception. Those who have received the life-giving gospel and embraced the truth are not going to be deceived by any of this. Now remember this is not a warning. Paul is not saying shape up or else this could be you. I don't think he means this as a threat. This is comfort in the face of persecution and misinformation. Yes, it may get worse before it gets better, but Christ is coming back. He will easily defeat this man of lawlessness and he will bring justice to those who hate him and salvation to those who love him. You can trust God with a future for those who trust him the return of Christ is part of our great hope because that's the day when God fulfills all his promises. Christ came to gather a people for himself and he will not lose a single one. You can take comfort those who have received the life-giving gospel and embraced the truth will not be deceived by any of this. Now I know I've left a lot of questions on the table. That's because I don't have the answers to them. I have a lot of studying left to do and this is just my tentative understanding but just to try to make some sense out of this what are we to take away from all this I have two thoughts. First I think we have to realize we don't know everything. Paul did not spell out everything here that he told the Thessalonians in person. He writes in this letter Remember all that other stuff I told you when I was there and he didn't repeat it. So Christians can get really divisive and dogmatic about their differing views of the end times. And it seems to me that we should hold our views loosely and say well this makes sense to me but I recognize we don't have all the puzzle pieces. I think there's a real sense and we just have to say we will wait and trust and see how it happens. Second it seems to me that not knowing the Bible is going to be deadly in a profound way one day. As I read the scripture the thing that's keeping the elect from following false prophets is our love of truth. And where do we learn truth? From scripture those who don't fall away will be the ones who by the grace of God are able to say what that guy is teaching is not what the Bible teaches. I don't care if he calls down fire from heaven like Elijah. I don't care how many dazzling signs and wonders he performs what he's telling us is not true because the Bible says otherwise he's going to claim to represent the true supreme being and he's going to back that claim with some powerful miraculous displays by the power of Satan. Maybe his miracles will look just like the ones the Old Testament prophets did. Maybe he'll reinterpret Jesus's teaching and tell us here's what Jesus really meant or he'll tell us that Christians through the centuries got it wrong but now he is here he can set us straight. And if those in the generation listening to him do not understand the scripture or they have no idea what the Bible says they are going to be suckers for that kind of a message. One of the morals of this story is Bible study matters. We need to know what the Bible says and we need to know what it doesn't say. The more we understand truth the easier it is to recognize lies. Now thankfully God has promised to give wisdom to all who ask seek and you will find ask and it will be given to you. Our job is to persevere in faith to believe the gospel to teach the gospel to others and to encourage each other in the faith no matter what happens politically geographically or culturally it seems to me that we will face increasing pressure to abandon the gospel and the truths of scripture but we also have a great optimistic hope in the face of these real pressures and trials. Paul can tell them you know it's not important for you to know the details of who the Antichrist is or what 666 means it's important for you to believe the gospel. Whenever and however all this stuff comes about you need to be prepared and being prepared means believing the gospel knowing the truth of scripture and waiting for God to fulfill his promises we don't have to know all the details of how the end times will unfold we just have to cling to the truth that we know we are sinners who will one day face our Creator. We will be found guilty unless we have thrown ourselves on the mercy of God and believed in the atoning death of Jesus Christ. If by the grace of God we have believed that then we are ready for whatever happens. The important thing is that we are people of faith. If that's true it doesn't really matter how the future unfolds you've been listening to the Wednesday in the Word podcast my mission is to explain not only what a passage means but how to figure it out. If you haven't visited my website I encourage you to stop by rather than being covered with advertisements my website contains a wealth of Bible study materials designed to help you improve your skills and understanding it is all free. I don't accept donations and I do not take any advertising. If you want to thank me please join the mailing list subscribe to the podcast but most importantly tell a friend what you learned. Our theme music is graciously provided by Reggie Coates. You can find his music and his brand new CD on heartfeltmusic.org if you want to find out more hear previous episodes please go to wednesdayintheword.com. Thank you for joining me I'm Krisan Marotta and I hope I'll see you next week at Wednesday in the Word