2nd THESSALONIANS 2

2nd THESSALONIANS 2......CORRECTION CONCERNING PROPHECY
In chapter 4 of the first epistle, confusion had arisen concerning the dead, that they had somehow lost out in blessing.   Paul corrects this by the teaching of the coming of the Lord that “the dead in Christ shall rise first...”   They will in fact be given precedence at His coming.   Now in chapter 2 here, more confusion has arisen, this time that the living have lost out because of the continued fierceness of the persecution, suggesting the day of the Lord had come already.   Again he corrects this by the reassertion of His coming and sets out the clear programme of prophetic events.
Verses 1- 5      Deception leads to delusion
These young believers were in danger of being destabilised due to deceptive tactics by the enemy.   It seemed they were “shaken in mind”...literally disturbed, agitated out of their mind.   They were at wits end because the word for troubled is translated “throes” in English.   Paul, ever aware of the traps being set, exposes the nature of the attack.   The “rumour mill” had gone into overdrive and false claims were made, either by spirit (some kind of prophetic utterance as from God), or by word (false teachers), or even by letter, (a forgery as from the apostles).   Having experienced the full frontal attack of Satan as a roaring lion, now they are confronted by his cunning wiles.   He could not bring them down by force, so he changes tack and introduces falsehoods.   Paul handles this in the same way as always, not by unravelling the error, but by the reassertion of the word of the Lord.   He begins “Now we beseech you brethren by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ...”  The word by is “huper”, meaning “for the sake of”....to maintain the truth of the Coming, none of these falsehoods can be true. The Lord is coming, and we shall all gather unto Him, both the living and the dead, as he taught them in the 1st epistle chapter4.   What a gathering this will be when all in Christ, both dead and alive, rise to meet Him at His shout in the air, not because of any faithfulness in them, but simply because they have believed that “Jesus died and rose again” (see chapter 4v14 and chapter 5v10 of the first epistle.)   None will be left behind, none will lose out, we will all be gathered to our eternal home, before that dreadful day of the Lord will come.   Two major events must take place before that day, and both after the Rapture.   First the apostasy, then the revelation of the man of sin;  then the day of the Lord, the awful events depicted in Revelation chapters 6-19, will commence.   That is the programme and nothing will alter it.   The apostasy is the global abandonment of faith on the part of professing believers, alive at the Coming, but left behind, who will apostasise in favour of earthly association with a powerful world leader.   The final end of the apostasy is described in Revelation 17 (the great whore), formerly pledging allegiance to Christ, now in bed with the beast who rises to world domination with her help.   This “Man of Sin”, who comes from small beginnings to the very top is a godless, amoral person, who deludes himself and all the world that he is God.  We have to understand what is coming to this world.    The sin of man will result in the man of sin, the man who is totally controlled by sin, who is actually defined by sin.   Sin is not merely what he does, sin is what he is!   He is the very embodiment of sin.  He is deceived into the ultimate delusion and he deludes a vast number of people.   It is the culmination of the pattern in Eden;   there deception culminated in delusion “...ye shall be as gods!!”....   Notice the extent of the delusion;
 He opposes everything, every single thing that is called God whether real or not.
 He exalts himself above every single thing that is called God.   In this he even goes beyond the arrogance of Satan, who knew there could never be anyone higher than God (Isaiah 14vv13-14....there, the one who would exalt his throne above the stars of God, the one who would ascend above the clouds, could not say he would be above God, he said rather that he “will be like the Most High.”   There can be no one above the Most High and Satan knows it..   This mere mortal man, not even an angel, never mind the highest angel ever created, has the effrontery to proclaim himself above the Most High, and, according to Revelation 13, seduces a vast following.
 He commands the worship of the entire world, he is above all that is worshipped, including all human icons, all angels, all gods.
 His profanity knows no bounds ....”He, as God, sits in the temple of God....” sits on the very throne of God in the holiest, he, an unholy, ungodly, man of sin, profaning the place that is exclusively for the Most Holy.
 He is the ultimate exhibitionist, “shewing himself that he is God.”......showing off is the idea, parading himself as the new God.   Sin is the new normal, arrogance is to be admired, evil is good, black is white.
All he  really is, as stated by the Spirit of God, is “the son of perdition” the ultimate loser, fit only to be discarded like waste, banished from God and all good forever.  The reality of this future world dictator is, in the terminology scripture uses to describe him,....”Antichrist”, “Man of Sin”, “The Wicked (lawless) one”, “The Beast”, “The Son of perdition”.   All that speaks of evil and wickedness and degradation.   God must demonstrate to the world, in allowing this evil man to prosper for a few short years, the real state of humanity when devoid of God and godliness.  
Verses 6-12          Delusion leads to destruction
Evil is allowed to prosper only by the permissive will of the Sovereign Lord.   The revelation of this man, (the man of sin, the man in whom sin will be enshrined), will be “in his own time”, that is by God’s permission.   This rise to power of a supremely godless man will signal the commencement of “the day of the Lord”, during which time God will shew what man really is when bereft of restraint, and also the antagonism of God toward human rebellion.   The seeds of it are already there, in the words of scripture “...the mystery of iniquity doth already work.”   This very important phrase needs to be understood.   Literally translated, the Greek word “anomia” means without law;   he is the lawless one, that is, he is not subject to the law of God, indeed he makes all the laws.   He is the ultimate rebel;   from the beginning, and all through human history, man has rebelled against God, and this rebellion, though it has different forms, is the driving power within every one of us that causes us to be antagonistic to God and His demands.   This is still true and God has exercised restraint on this evil tendency, but there is to come a time when that restraint of the rising tide of evil will be withdrawn, and the result will be an open defiance of the living God, resulting ultimately in world chaos and moral degradation.   The use of the word “mystery” suggests that when this man of lawlessness rises to power, there will be rebellion, such as has never been seen in all of world history.   Many hundreds of times this lawlessness, this rebellion of man, is stated in Holy writ, but in this man it will find it’s climax.   “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work”.   The word for work is energeo, a word almost exclusively used in the bible of supernatural influence (1 Cor. 12v6; 2 Cor. 4v12; Gal. 2v8;  3v5;  Eph. 1v11;  1v20;  2v2;  3v7;  4v16;  Phil. 2v13;  3v21;  Col. 1v29;  1 Thess. 2v13;  2 Thess. 2v9;  1 Tim. 2v12.)   There are supernatural forces for good and those for evil at work in the present world.   There are two forces for good at present which form the restraint on this evil;
 Firstly there is an entity which holds back the evil “...ye know what withholds..”
 Secondly there is a person who withholds “...he who now withholds...”                      
Paul is weaving into his teaching the twin truth of the Church on earth (the entity) and the Holy Spirit within (the person) as the Divine restraint.   When these are withdrawn, as they will be at the Rapture, the empty house will be filled with all manner of evil, (to use an idiom of the Lord).   Note the emphatic statement “..He who now withholds (restrains) will withhold UNTIL HE IS TAKEN OUT OF THE MIDST.”      This is a clear reference to the Rapture, the “Harpazo”, the removal of the church from earth.   The biblical teaching of God’s people as “salt” and “light” illustrate this principle of restraint.
“And then shall the Wicked (the lawless one) be revealed....”    Not until then will the day of the Lord commence, so the fears of these believers are removed.   Equally the fears of all believers are calmed with the following statement “whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming.”   This is the second stage of His coming when He returns to earth.   The Lord and only the Lord will subjugate the evil.....He will only need to speak the word!    God will rid His earth of all evil, including the perpetrators of it,
Nevertheless, the time when this man is allowed to hold sway will be serious, and will mean eternal consequences for many.   Note the character of his evil reign;
• “His coming is after the (effectual) working of Satan.”    Simply put, he will succeed, just as Satan has succeeded, in bringing many away from God.
• “...with all power and signs and lying wonders...”   He will succeed in drawing people after him through the use of visible miraculous omens.   The detail of this is expanded in Revelation 13.
• “...and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness... His methods will be the same as of old, he will pander to the carnal desires of humanity, by propagating the practice of evil as something good.   He will persuade them, that to sin, to give sway to their inner desires, is the way to live.   Part of this was first mooted in Eden, when Satan suggested that God was withholding good from them by refusing them the knowledge of evil.   This man will promote, not only the knowledge of evil, but the practice of it and all restraint will be cast off.
Many shall follow him into perdition, the eternal experience of ultimate loss.   Many will know the truth, but they did not want it “they received not the love of the truth that they may be saved.”   Rejection of God’s mercy is a serious matter for He takes people at their word; those who harden themselves against Him, He will harden....”For this cause God shall send them (those who received not the love of the truth) strong delusion that they should believe the lie...”   They chose their eternal destiny, because they loved darkness rather than light, they loved the unrighteousness that sin brought.   God accepts their decision;  no one who follows this man will be saved.
Verses 13-17          Faith leads to glory              The contrast is vivid, from wilful rebellion ending in perdition, to humble submission leading to eternal glory.   The vast unbridgeable chasm between folks who rubbed shoulders here on earth, settled forever in their attitude to God.   “Everlasting destruction and everlasting consolation” are the phrases used in this epistle to describe the awesome reality.   Paul turns away from the fate of the unbeliever to the faith of the believer.   He does so in rapturous terms, recounting the wonder of what it means to be saved.   In doing so he thanks God for them for the fourth time in the letters (see also 1st. letter chapter1v2;  chapter 3v9;  2nd. letter chapter1v3).   He uses the word “bound” reminding us of the obligation to praise our God.   The word “hallelujah”, oft used in scripture, is in the form of an imperative command, it is not merely a courteous thing to do, it is an absolute necessity.   He now outlines the chronological steps of salvation from eternity to eternity!
 What they now are                “..brethren beloved of the Lord....”   part of a very large family of God where love is the operating power.
 How it all began                    “..God from the beginning hath chosen you to salvation..”   The beginning, the unknown, unknowable distant past, before time began they were chosen.   The biblical truth of election has long intrigued the minds of men.   One thing we do know is that His election of us was based on His foreknowledge;  two scriptures are key...1 Peter 1v2 “...elect according to (on the basis of-kata) the foreknowledge of God the Father...”;  and Romans 8v29/30 “..for whom he did foreknow, He also did predestinate.....them He also called....them He also justified....them He also glorified.”    It all flowed from His foreknowledge.   We need pry no further into a glorious truth that is to be enjoyed, rather than (as it has become) a doctrine to be debated.
 The supernatural transmission        “...through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth....”    The coming together of Divine activity with human apprehension   There is a Divine side (sanctification of the Spirit);  there is a human side (belief of the truth). The Divine side involves the pre-conversion setting apart of the individual preparing their hearts to receive God’s word (1 Peter 1v2 “sanctification of the Spirit unto obedience..”) and also the cleansing of the individual ( Titus 3v7 “...through the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Ghost..”)   No one can have dealings with God apart from this cleansing.   This fact was made clear by our Lord in John 3v5 “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”   Then there is the human side, “and belief of the truth.”   When these two events come together, namely, the conviction of the Spirit and the reception of man, a person is saved; it requires cooperation of the person with the Divine entreaties.  It is important we realise the prime mover is God.
 The human agency       “...whereunto He called you by our gospel..”   God uses human preachers to bring people to salvation and the pattern is outlined in Romans chapter 10 vv14-15.   If we take the reverse order for the sake of chronology, these verses indicate the process, (paraphrased like this);   a preacher sent/ a gospel preached/ a Divine call/ a human response..   This is God’s way of communicating His truth...”It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe (1 Cor. 1v21).   He not only prescribes the way of salvation, but also the way in which it is communicated.   The most effective way is a sent preacher confronting an audience with the claims of God in person.
 The call to glory            “Called you.....to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”   What was planned in a distant eternity will have glorious eternal benefits for all who believe.   The glory of God is involved in our salvation, and Peter captures this thought when he describes the call thus “...He has called you by His glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1v3).   We are recipients of the grace of God and the glory of God.
In light of the magnitude of all this, he appeals for them to stand fast (in the face of opposition from people) and to hold fast the traditions (in the face of false doctrines).   There are the traditions of men which God opposes, but there are traditions of the faith which are of God ( 1 Cor. 11v2 R.V.)   These traditions were laid down by the apostles, by word and letter for all the churches at all times.   They are doctrines and practices laid down to be propagated and observed by all succeeding generations.
Paul concludes this important chapter by commending them to the Lord.   Ultimately their safety is in Him and He, alone, can empower their Christian life.   He repeats for the fourth time the beautiful thought of the Lord’s personal involvement in every aspect of our lives, by the use of the word “Himself” (1 Thess. 3v11, in the organising of life’s movements;  4v16, in His coming to take us home;  5v23, in our life sanctification;  and now 2 Thess. 2v16, in providing comfort and stability in life’s turmoil.)   We can strive ourselves, and we have been given the benefit of great men in our generation, but, as one great man, Moses wrote the summing up of life like this, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations...” Psalm 90v1, “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91v1.   Amazingly, He is personally involved in every facet of life and has provided all we need if we keep close to Him.
 He gave us His love, the bedrock of the Christian life.
 He has given us everlasting consolation, whatever loss we incurred in time He will compensate.
 He has given us good hope through grace, the grace of God will lead to glory, and we have much to look forward to.
Empowered by these rich Divine gifts, and consoled by His presence, our hearts should be comforted and we should be established in every good word and work.   Blessed with Divine glory and grace and goodness we can surely stand.