2 Thessalonians 2

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We beg you, brothers not to let your minds be suddenly troubled about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and about our meeting together with Him. Do not be troubled by a spirit, or a message, or a fake letter which is said to be from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

There are many false letters which have not been included in the Bible. If you want to waste your time and read some of these letters, your spirit will show you that they are false.

3. Do not let anybody trick you -that day will not come until first there is a falling away, and then the lawless man appears, the son of destruction.

These things will happen before the Lord returns:

A. There will be a large falling away.

The words "falling away" show that there will be believers who turn away from Christ. Jesus said this would happen.

Because lawlessness is increased, the love of many will grow cold. Matthew 24:12

When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”Luke 18:8

But the Spirit specifically says that in the last days some will fall away from the faith, listening to lying spirits and teachings of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1

Some of the lies will come from inside the church. Acts 20:29, Matthew 7:15

B. The anti-christ will appear and will be a lawless man

History shows that men who want to control people start by creating anger between groups of people. Then they create some kind of emergency to build more of this anger. When the government tries to stop them they rebel. They create situations which make themselves look good and make the government look bad.

This plan can trick Christians into believing that we all need to be against the government. Governments are put in place by God. (Romans 13:1).

When people do not have enough money, food, or medical care they will follow whoever promises to help them.The anti-christ will make it look like he has the same personality as Jesus and has been sent to save the world.

And just as they did not want to agree with God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not natural. Romans 1:28

The main attack will be to bring a spirit of fear.

Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. Luke 21:26

For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
1 Corinthians 14:33

4. He will say that he is against every god. He will set himself up in the temple of God and will show everyone that he claims to be God.

The first thing we notice here is that in the last days there is a temple. This is why most Bible experts tell us that the temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt.

If you study the Bible carefully, you will see that God has used history to show us an example of things which will come in the future. One of these examples is a man named Antiochus Epiphanes. He is an example of how the antichrist will be.

He was a man who wanted to be a great conqueror but was stopped by the Romans. He was so angry about this, that he went to Jerusalem and sacrificed a pig in God's temple. Daniel 11:30 – 36

We see that history prepares us to see what is coming, just as Jesus told us.

Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand) Matthew 24:15

See also Isa 14:14.

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Do you not remember how I talked about these things when I was with you? I told you about what holds him back from being seen until his time has come. These secret evil things are already working until the One who holds them back gets out of the way.

We can compare the mystery of lawlessness to the mystery of Godliness (1 Timothy 3:16). The devil has a fake idea to imitate everything which God has.

The One who holds evil back is the Holy Spirit. When the Lord takes us up in the rapture, the Holy Spirit will leave the earth and so there will be nothing to hold back the evil of the anti-christ.

8. When that happens, the lawless man will be seen, but the Lord will defeat him with the breath of his mouth. The coming of the Lord will destroy this man.

So, first there will be the falling away, then the rapture, then the anti-christ and the tribulation, and finally the second coming of Christ where He will destroy the anti-christ.

And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked. Isaiah 11:4

Therefore repent; or else I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war against them with the sword of My mouth. Revelation 2:16

9. This lawless man has the power of Satan behind him with all signs and false miracles.

This is why we need to test anyone who says that they can make miracles. The Bible contains all the truths that we need. We do not need to see a miracle so that we can believe God. Any miracle that brings glory to a man is a fake miracle.

An evil and adulterous generation looks for a sign... Matthew 12:39

10. For those who believe him, instead of trusting God, he will have the power to deceive them because they have refused the truth that could have saved them.

No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:14

11. Because of this, God will allow them to be deceived so that they will put their faith in a lie.

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator... Romans 1:25

12. They will meet the judgment of all who refuse to believe the truth and who have enjoyed evil.

God would not be fair or show justice if He did not punish evil. Some people say, "But that happened a long time ago!" If a man killed some somebody many years ago, should the judge let him go free? Remember, we are preparing to live in heaven forever. No evil can exist in heaven so all evil must be dealt with before eternity begins.

13. We have to keep thanking God for you, my brothers (whom the Lord loves), because He has chosen you from the beginning to be saved and set apart by the Spirit and by faith in the truth.

We can see that all these things were done by the Lord, not by us. If He did all this for us, then we can trust Him to do all the things that are impossible for us.

14. It was for this reason that He called you when we preached the Gospel to you so that you can receive the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps. 1 Peter 2:21

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

15. Stand strong, hold on to what we taught you when we were there with you or in our letters.

When in doubt, go back to what you already know!

“It is not the things that I do not understand in the Bible that trouble me, but it is the things which I do understand.” Mark Twain

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Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God, our Father, who loved us, and has given us encouragement that will last forever, and hope and confidence by His grace, comfort you and strengthen your heart hearts in every good thing you say or do.

Men have imagined many gods, but nobody ever thought of a God like this! He encourages you in every way that He can think of!