Holding Him Back

II Thessalonians 2:1-12

Good morning!  Today we are going forward in the second letter which Paul, Silas and Timothy wrote to the church in Thessalonica.  As Tim pointed out last week, this letter was written not long after the first letter, just a few months at most.  Its purpose is similar to the first letter as well.  This letter serves to encourage, exhort, and explain.

There are some unique things in this letter.  There are a number of words which appear in II Thessalonians which are not used anywhere else in Scripture.  In addition, the book includes another dose of eschatology.  What is the eschatology?  “Ology” means the study of something.  In this case, it’s the study of eschatos.  Eschatos is the Greek word for last or last things.  In Revelation 22:13, Jesus says there, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”  Jesus is the first and the last, the protos (the same root word found in prototype) and the eschatos (where we get words like … eschatology).

Eschatology is then the study of the end or end times.  The second part of I Thessalonians 4 and the beginning of I Thessalonians 5 talked about some of these last times topics.  In particular, it talked about the return of Jesus Christ which is often called the Second Coming.  That portion of Scripture was written specifically to correct a misunderstanding about what happens to people who are believers in Jesus but die before He returns.  The passage concludes by telling us to comfort one another in the truth that all believers first those who have died and then those who are alive will be raised, taken up to meet and be with Jesus.

Now, in II Thessalonians, another misunderstanding has arisen.  There was concern among the church that this day of the Lord had already come.  In other words, they had missed the return of Jesus.  They hadn’t all been taken up.  So, if that were true, they were worried, “What went wrong?!”

Before we go further with these things, let’s pray and ask God to speak to us from His Word regarding these topics.

Lord God, ultimately, You are the only one who knows about all these things.  In fact, some of the details about the end times have been specifically hidden until the time that they will be revealed.  Help us to have understanding.  Help us to think, understand, and believe rightly about these truths.  Teach us we pray, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Let’s go directly to II Thessalonians 2 beginning in verse 1:

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 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. –II Thessalonians 2:1-2

More or less, I’ve already mentioned what is going on.  A couple of items that could also be pointed out, this misunderstanding started with an alleged teaching from the leaders, Paul, Silas, and Timothy.  It’s a good thing that this kind of thing doesn’t happen anymore because that would be really confusing right?

I’m only kidding, of course.  Alleged statements and directives are broadcast constantly through all kinds of media, through one on one conversations, about political topics, cultural topics, relational topics.  You name the topic, and there is someone alleging something about what someone else said or what they really meant when they said something.

I caught a headline this week that said, “In the time it takes you to read this headline, 400,000 robocalls had been made to Americans.”  We don’t even have to have people spreading alleged reports in the present day.  There are machines doing it.  It’s not the machine’s fault.  It’s the one who is putting the message into the machines.

I like this quote from Father Brown.  He said, “No machine can lie, nor can it tell the truth.”  A machine can only do what it was built or programmed to do.  It is only people (or demons) who can lie or tell the truth.

What then is the antidote to messages of alleged veracity?  What should we do to be prepared to respond rightly when a untrue message comes our way?  One way is to be continually in the Word of God.  Knowing the truth is the best preparation for discerning a false message.

I want to go just a bit farther on this.  Some might say, well how can I be sure that the Word of God, the Bible, is true.  What about all the translations?  How can we know that the message hasn’t been corrupted or altered through the centuries?  If you have these sorts of questions, I would encourage you to investigate this further.  The Bible is an absolutely unique book.  There are tens of thousands of reference copies throughout the centuries immediately after the words were originally recorded.  Many have heard of the Dead Sea Scrolls which were copies of the Old Testament books which were hidden in caves before Jesus was born.  This finding conclusively showed that prophecies about Jesus were not “doctored up” somehow to better match his life.  There are just so many reasons that we can be confident in the Bible, I can’t do it justice in a few words.  Let me say that I have only scratched the surface of the proofs which exist to give us confidence that God’s Word is really God’s Word.

Another key response to the danger of false messages is found in verses themselves.  “Do not  become easily unsettled or alarmed.”  I really like I Peter 3:6 in the ESV or English Standard Version.  It says, “do not fear anything that is frightening.”  In the NIV, it says “do not give way to fear.”  Don’t give in to fear.  Trust that the God who made the universe, who made You is able to keep these things and to deliver on His promises to us.

So, we would do well to know the truth and to continually read God’s Word to be established in the truth, and then not to be afraid when we hear false messages.

Let’s continue with verse 3, remember that we are talking about the day of the Lord …

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.  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. –II Thessalonians 2:3-4

One of the things that is so cool about God and His Word is that God is not dismissive toward us.  Just this week, Tina was telling me about her car and how it was doing some weird things.  I didn’t think I had a wrong attitude about it, but apparently I came across as dismissive.  What do I mean by dismissive?  It’s that thought that somehow your concerns are unimportant or just don’t matter.  It’s a kind of rejection.

How often could God simply dismiss our concerns?   It could even be done in a righteous way.  God could just pull the “because I said so” on us and just move on.  That’s not what God does though.  He gives us the right amount of information.  The Thessalonians thought that Jesus may have already returned.  Paul, Silas, and Timothy could have said, “No, He hasn’t,” and left it at that.  However, that’s not what happens.  Instead, Paul says, “No, that day will not come until …”  He gives the reader more information so that their concerns can be better answered.

I think this is an area where I need to grow.  How do I best show concern and then communicate the right amount of information in return?

Okay, so now for the message of these verses. 

I sort of skipped over this question in the previous passage, but what is the day of the Lord?

First off, it does not appear to represent an instant in time or even 24 hour period.  It is described as a period of time.  The events depicted in Revelation 6-19 are not given the name “the day of the Lord” but they are consistent with how the day of the Lord is described elsewhere in Scripture:

Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. –Amos 5:18

How awful that day will be! No other will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it. –Jeremiah 30:7

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-- a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was in ancient times nor ever will be in ages to come. ... Before them the earth shakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine. ... The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.  –Joel 2:1-2, 10, 31

In the New Testament, here is just one sample from II Peter 3:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.  –II Peter 3:10-13

In Revelation 7:14, a great multitude of people dressed in white robes who come before the throne of God are described as ones who have come out of the great tribulation.  This time period which is described as the day of the Lord is sometimes called the Great Tribulation.

Based on passages in Daniel (chapters 9 and 12) and Revelation 11, this time of tribulation will last 7 years.  Back in verse 2, the meaning of “the day of the Lord has already come” is like the day of the Lord is at hand, it is present among us, it has arrived.  If the Thessalonians have the understanding that the Rapture precedes the Great Tribulation, then their fears are likely based on missing out on being taken up to be with Christ.

Looking now at verses 3 and 4, that day will not come until what?  Two things:  the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed.  It’s easy for us to jump into discussion over the man of lawlessness, but let’s not skip the first point:  the rebellion.  What rebellion?

We get see in Matthew 24:10-12 and I Timothy 4:1 that there will be a falling away from the faith at the last time.  It seems though that this is a time of active rebellion rather than merely a falling away.  And so things have continued into the events beginning in Revelation 6.  There is a sad statement at the end of that chapter after a great earthquake and the sky is darkened.

Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and everyone else, both slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it?” –Revelation 6:15-17

It is sad because they do not repent.  They instead call on the rocks to hide them, to keep them separate from God.  This then is the heart of rebellion, outright rejection of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.

In addition to the rebellion, the man of lawlessness is revealed.  Some ancient manuscripts say the man of sin.  The verse goes on to describe him as the man doomed to destruction.  This is the only place in Scripture where the name man of lawlessness is used.  In I John, the name antichrist is used.  Then, in Revelation 13, this person is called the beast.  This man is not Satan as we will see in a few verses although there appears to be something supernatural about him with this description of being revealed.  Jesus second coming is described as being revealed in I Thessalonians 1:7.  In spite of his claims and even the power he will display, his defeat is certain.  What are those claims?

“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.”  So we’re not talking about a military or political ruler.  He claims to be a god and even the God.  Daniel 11:36-45 and Revelation 13:1-15 both attest to his blasphemies and unheard of things spoken against God.

Let’s continue with verse 5:

Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?  And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.  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. –II Thessalonians 2:5-7

Our friends in Thessalonica seem to have forgotten what Paul had told them.  This is a word of warning to us as well.  We hear truth a good bit, but then sometimes we fail to remember.  It is good to think on the Scripture, to meditate on the Scripture, to memorize Scripture.  Then, we will be less likely to forget.

Another point of interest, the Thessalonians were brand new Christians when Paul was with them, but he straight away told them about Biblical prophecy and arguably in greater detail that we know it.  We should not be afraid that these things are going to be too big or too weird or too complicated.

I remember talking to a lady who had been to Egypt and was just enamored by ancient Egypt.  She was disappointed though with any explanation as to why that society had declined from such great achievements.  I told her that the Bible had an answer, half expecting that she would brush that off.  Instead, she was genuinely interested to hear about it.

The entire chapter 19 from the book Isaiah is a prophecy against Egypt.  Here are just a few of the things it says …

The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; … The officials of Zoan have become fools, the leaders of Memphis are deceived; the cornerstones of her peoples have led Egypt astray.  The LORD has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; they make Egypt stagger in all that she does, as a drunkard staggers around in his vomit.  There is nothing Egypt can do--head or tail, palm branch or reed.  In that day the Egyptians will become weaklings. They will shudder with fear … —Isaiah 19:3, 13-16

It was a bit of a surprise to me, but this lady was quite comfortable with this answer.  To her it would make sense that it would take an act of God to dismantle a civilization.  I think it’s kind of the reverse.  It takes an act of God to enable a civilization to exist, but my point in sharing that story is that people are looking for deeper and bigger answers.  We should not be afraid to share the truth.  The answer to why God was opposed to Egypt can be found in Isaiah 31:  Egypt had led Israel away from God.  Also, I don’t want to leave you discouraged about Egypt.  There is good news at the end of Isaiah 19 …

When they cry out to the LORD because of their oppressors, He will send them a Savior and Defender, and He will rescue them.  So the LORD will make Himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. … —Isaiah 19:20-21

There is good news for other nations, too.  This is the last verse of Isaiah 19 which brings in the nation of Assyria, as well.

The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” –Isaiah 19:25

The Word of God is ready to be shared.  We should be happy when people can hear it.  It is living and active.  Let’s go on with the content of our passage.

Even though the man of lawlessness looks to be a fearsome person, he is not all-powerful.  He is held back.  He has a time which is right for him to be revealed.  His timetable is not his own.

However, there are evil forces already taking action.  I John 2:22 (and 4:3 and II John 1:7) talks about those who deny that Jesus is the Christ as antichrists.  Ephesians 6:12 explains, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”  This unseen power of lawlessness is already at work.

The “seen” power of lawlessness is though held back.  The Thessalonians knew who was holding this man of lawlessness back, but do we?  I had to smile when I looked at my study Bible.  It says that “there have been many suggestions as to the identity of this restrainer:  the Roman state with its emperor, Paul’s missionary work, the Jewish state, the principal of law and government embodied in the state, the Holy Spirit or the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit through the church, and others.”  That’s quite a list.  I think you have to look seriously at the spiritual restraints rather than the earthly ones.  Any good that the state might do is enabled by God, not the government itself.

I didn’t expect any of those on the list.  I was expecting the answer to be the archangel Michael or perhaps the angel Gabriel as they seem to be in this sort of work based on Daniel 10:21.

It looks like we have to be content with the young children’s Sunday school answer.  First guess is God.  Second guess is Jesus.  It is God that holds back this evil influence from having greater power sooner.  The reason God is holding him back at this time is because of His patience and love desiring more people to come to repentance.  I shared I Peter 3:10-13 earlier when talking about the day of the Lord.  The immediate preceding verse (I Peter 3:9) says …

“The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” –I Peter 3:9

So whether it be the Holy Spirit or one of the angels of God, it is God Himself allowing more time for people to come to faith in Jesus before the last times.

Let’s continue in verse 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.  –II Thessalonians 2:8

Even though this lawless one is coming and will have some frightening things to say and will do terrible things, Jesus will overcome him.  The King James Version says that the lawless one will be destroyed by the brightness of Jesus’ coming.  I feel like that somehow characterizes His splendor.  Jesus is wrapped in light.  He is and will be the light of the world for eternity.

The idea of Jesus overcoming this lawless one with His breath exemplifies that this person cannot be compared with Jesus.  Jesus is able to blow him out like a candle.  Likewise, much of the activity of this man of sin is in what he says.  It is fitting then that he will be put down by breath from Jesus’ mouth.

Paul takes a loop back to describe still more what this lawless one will be like.  Let’s follow that in verses 9 and 10:

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. –II Thessalonians 2:9-10

So like mentioned earlier, the man of lawlessness is not Satan.  Verse 9 makes that clear.  However, Satan has planned out how the lawless one will act.  In fact, he has planned this carefully in a way mirroring Jesus own ministry.  These points come from David Guzik:

·         Jesus and the man of sin have a coming (2 Thessalonians 2:1 and 2:9)

·         Jesus and the man of sin are revealed (2 Thessalonians 1:7 and 2:3)

·         Jesus and the man of sin have a gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:10-11)

·         Jesus and the man of sin say that they alone should be worshipped (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

·         Jesus and the man of sin have support for their claims by miraculous works (2 Thessalonians 2:9)

The lawless one will not do bogus signs but rather will do supernatural works which give a false impression about him and his message.

And so, the lawless one can deceive the perishing to follow him and worship him rather than Jesus.  James Moffat called the man of lawlessness “an infernal caricature of the Messiah.”  Like we saw earlier in Revelation 6, the people rejected God, and their rejection happened even before the lawless one was revealed.  Those same people though are ready to follow this beast when he appears.  Revelation 13:8 says, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

It is a sad and terrible thing to consider, but it is a real situation that will arise out of individuals rejecting God.

They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. –II Thessalonians 2:10-12

That concludes our passage for today.  It is a tough message in these last verses, but it is nevertheless true.  God gives us the opportunity to respond to Him, to His truth, and to be saved.  When a person does not accept Him, then that person will be separated from God.

For some reason, I heard Ravi Zacharias share this message twice this week, so I feel like it is something I should share with you as a part of this message.  He begins with a C.S. Lewis quote:

“There are two kinds of people in this world.  Those who bend their knee to God and say to Him Your will be done.  Or those who will refuse to bend their knee to Him, and He says alright your will be done.” Every person in their eternal destiny will be exactly where he or she has chosen to be, and that is as fair as one can be.  Because to give a person the dignity of freedom and then to violate that freedom is to make freedom an illusion.  I believe as God has given us the freedom to choose, your choice determines what your destiny will be.   

I think it is a hard concept for us to think about God hardening someone’s heart to point that they cannot change.  I think John Bullard may have shared this thought that we get the opportunity to respond to God, but if someone continually hardens their heart to the message of salvation or even the reality of a transcendent Creator which then can start a person on a road of discovery to meet Jesus, eventually their hardness of heart becomes permanent.

A common example is the pharaoh at the time of Moses.  Moses came and told pharaoh, “Let my people go.”  God does harden pharaoh’s heart, but does he do it from the very beginning?

We don’t have time to go into all the exchanges just now, but you can check it out for yourself in Exodus 7-14.  In short, we see that God does tell Moses in advance that He will harden pharaoh’s heart (7:3) and even though miraculous signs are multiplied, God will bring the people out.  However, it is a while before there is any mention of God actually hardening pharaoh’s heart.  Pharaoh watches his magicians do things like Moses and Aaron.  When he sees this, his heart is described once as unyielding and once as hard.  Then, pharaoh goes through at least three cycles of hardening his own heart not to mention that he also lies to Moses that he will let the people go but when he saw there was relief from a plague he hardens his heart again.  This goes on all the way until after the sixth plague in Exodus 9:12 when it first says that the Lord hardened pharaoh’s heart.  It works out that there are nine times that pharaoh hardens his own heart, and nine times that Exodus says the Lord will harden or does harden pharaoh’s heart.

Romans 1:24 and 26 says regarding those who reject God, God gives them over to the sinful desires of their heart.  In my study Bible, there is a quote from Leon Morris who wrote, “God uses sin to punish the sinful.”

Since these people in fact want a lie, then God sends on them a strong delusion through the Antichrist.  God does not force this delusion on anyone.  Only those who do not receive the love of the truth will receive the strong delusion.  These people believe the lie.  Not just any lie.  The lie.  The lie is the same one that first was told in the Garden of Eden that God is not God, and that we are or can be gods.  It turns out that what people may have thought was an act of defiance against God turned out to be the means by which their own punishment comes.

What should we then do?  I think we can take our direction from the passage.  We should not be afraid about these things.  God is able to keep us and protect us.  Also, there is much that we can share from this passage and I Thessalonians 4 to comfort one another.  We will not be left behind whether we are awake or asleep.  Jesus will come back for everyone who trusts in Him.

I think we can also rest in the thought that the Lord has given us the right amount of information.  We are not in the dark, but we also don’t know every detail.  We need to be content with this.  By all means, please study the Word, but we also need to maintain humility regarding what is yet to come.

In a paper that John Hopler wrote for our association of churches on matters related to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ … “GCC emphasizes the instruction given to the disciples in Acts 1:6-14.”  There were four points:

·         Avoid speculation about these matters (v. 7).

Jesus said, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.”

·         Focus on the fulfilling of the Great Commission (v. 8).

“But, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

·         Keep your hope on the Lord’s return (v. 11).

The two men in white said, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

·         Pursue unity with believers for the fulfillment of the mission (v. 14).

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

Let us do these things just as those first disciples did to the glory of God.  Let’s pray.

Lord God, thank you for saving us and delivering us from sin.  Please help us to be ones who share the truth as we walk through this world.  May You lead us to people who need to hear about Jesus.  We pray all these things in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.