2 Thessalonians 2 - Concern & Comfort - 7/17/16
Turn with me to the book of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2. We’ve been looking at the book of 2 Thessalonians, which is a letter from the Apostle Paul to Christians in a town in Greece called Thessalonica. It’s a town that is still in existence today. Paul came to town, preached in the Jewish synagogue, and many Jews and Gentiles believed. A church was started at Thessalonica, but rowdy Jews stirred up a riot, and Paul had to leave quickly. As he travels down to Athens, Paul writes them a letter to encourage them to continue on in their newfound faith.
In his first letter to them, Paul praises these new Christians, because they had a faith that was growing, showing, and echoing.
But shortly after Paul had written them the letter of 1 Thessalonians, he felt a need to write them a second letter, the letter of 2 Thessalonians. Paul wants to straighten out a few misunderstandings that the church had. Here in 2 Thessalonians we have three chapters, and three key ideas.
• In chapter 1, Paul gives Commendation: he writes in Praise for their Perseverance
• In chapter 2, Paul gives Comfort: he writes about the Reality of Christ’s Return
• In chapter 3, Paul gives Correction: he writes about the need to Work while we Wait
Today, we want to look at chapter 2. Read 1 Thessalonians 2 - Pray
We saw last week that Paul starts out chapter 1 by praising God for the Perseverance of the Thessalonian believers. They are just baby Christians, and they are “thrown into the fire” - figuratively speaking - they had to face a lot of opposition and persecution. Here in chapter 2, Paul gets into the heart of the matter he wants to address. The first thing we see is
• Paul’s Concern - Paul is writing this letter not just to give encouragement, but to address some key concerns. Here is the Reason for the concern: a Wrong Witness - someone has given the church at Thessalonica wrong information, and they are greatly troubled by it. Paul writes, Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
In our society today, there are so many “false teachers” out there, spreading incredible teachings, that it is easy to be led astray. If you are going to turn on the “Christian” channel of TV and watch some preachers, BEWARE! Smooth talkers can easily lead you astray if you aren’t watching. Whenever you listen to ANY preacher - myself included - never believe what I tell you to be true - but rather go home and compare what you hear to what the bible teaches. Paul sets up the church at Berea as the perfect example of this. He writes in Acts 17 - Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. So here they are, anxious to hear the truth, but every day they go home and check the scriptures to see if Paul was telling them the truth.
But notice that verse in Acts said the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians - the Thessalonians were quick to jump on the bandwagon. Do you know anyone like that? They are quick to believe anything they hear - especially if it sounds sensational. Things like . . .
- Did you know Barak Obama built a mosque in the basement of the white house?
- Did you hear Hillary Clinton has already started a ban on producing bullets - that’s why the stock in the stores has been dwindling.
- or religious ones - Did you know the King James Bible actually had two extra chapters in the gospel of John that tells us about Jesus getting married and having a family?
Some people will believe ANYTHING! Especially if it comes through the “spiritual” grapevine!
So the Thessalonians had a wrong witness - someone had told them that the day of the Lord had already come! And they even attached Paul’s name to it. Paul told us to tell you this! Paul wasn’t sure how they got the wrong information - whether by someone giving a “word of prophecy” in one of their worship services - or whether someone wrote a letter - or whether by word of mouth - but Paul knew they were going down the wrong road about this. So what was the
• Result - They were worried & worked up. Paul tells them in verse 2, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed - Paul word unsettled may be used of the motion produced by wind and wave; it indicates a restless tossing, as of a ship not securely moored or even shaken loose from its moorings. Paul says “you’re being tossed back and forth by this false teaching! Just like a ship on the waves. Then the word alarmed denotes a continuing state of agitation; it points to an ongoing anxiety. Paul says you’re emotionally fragile and you’re mentally flustered. You’re bouncing all over the place, because this false teaching has really shaken your faith.
Why is that? Well, we need to remember what the “Day of the Lord” is. Scripture talks about God’s judgment on the world before Christ returns. And the phrase for this period is the “Day of the Lord.” It will be a serious, dark time. A time of God’s judgment upon sin. Amos says, 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. It is the day of God’s judgment.
So what was happening to the Thessalonian believers? They were facing great persecution. Back in chapter 1, we see Paul used several words to describe their situation: persecutions, which means “attacks from without”; tribulations, which literally means “pressures” that result from the trials; and trouble, which means “to be pressed into a narrow place.” No matter how we look at it, the Thessalonian Christians were not having an easy time. And so someone told them, You’re facing this tribulation because this is the Day of the Lord. God’s coming back and bringing judgment to the earth. And you’re going to have to go through it! NO WONDER they were all emotionally fragile and mentally flustered. They thought they missed the rapture! They thought God had forgot about them, and now suddenly they were about to face the wrath of God! That’s enough to cause anyone panic!
I know of cases at my college where people have been saved through similar misunderstandings. We had a chapel program that everyone attended. Sometimes people would take a late morning nap before chapel, and when they woke up, no one was in the dorm, no one was anywhere in the classrooms or on campus - and they thought the rapture had taken place and they had been left behind! Now THERE’S a scary thought! And that’s what was happening with the Thessalonians. They thought that all the persecution they were facing was simply a sign that God had passed them over.
There are so many people who like to “set dates” and talk about the Lord’s return. There have been scores of people who have tried to predict when the Lord was returning. Remember Y2K, and all the speculation that Jesus might return then. 4000 years of history before Jesus, 2000 years after, and then the seventh day, the day of rest, a 1,000 year period of rest as Jesus returns. SORRY! It didn’t happen.
Edgar Whisenant gave eighty-eight alleged reasons why the Rapture would happen between September 11 and 13, 1988; when it did not, he then announced with even more conviction that 1989 was the year.
Back in 1982, Pat Robertson came out and said that God was going to return by the end of the year - but it didn’t happen.
In 2011 a radio preacher named Harold Camping came out and said the Rapture would take place on May 21, 2011 and that the end of the world would subsequently take place five months later on October 21, 2011. Once again, it didn’t happen.
Paul says NO ONE knows when the Lord is returning. He says when Jesus DOES return, it will be like a thief in the night. What does that mean? There won’t be signs letting you know it’s happening soon! There’s a lot of hype right now about 4 blood moons - but do I think they are signs of the Lord’s return? No! Could the Lord return this year? By all means, Yes, and I pray that He does! But we need to be careful about setting dates.
The Thessalonians thought they missed the rapture and went right into the Day of the Lord. They thought they were facing God’s judgment and wrath on the world. So what does Paul do? He gives them
• Reassurance - Paul let’s them know that the day of the Lord has not come yet, because there are certain PRE-CURSORS to the day of the Lord, certain things that must happen first. And notice what Paul says in verse 5 - Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? Paul had only spent a short time with these Thessalonian believers, but he had repeatedly taught them about future events during that time. So Paul says, I told you about this before - different times - there are certain things that will happen before God’s judgment falls. What are they? First
- Rebellion Revealed - verse 3 - 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. So here is a man of lawlessness - the KJV calls him a man of sin, a son of perdition. The Apostle John calls him a term we are more familiar with: the AntiChrist. He is called that because he is opposed to all that Christ stands for. He is a false imitation of Christ. Who is he? We don’t know. Because he hasn’t come to the forefront yet. But before the Day of the Lord, the antichrist will rise to power and gain a following. There will be a great rebellion of those who turn away from the truth and follow this world leader. In verse 9, we see he will be accompanied by all sorts of miracles. Revelation talks about a partner in his deceit, called the false prophet, who will be his miracle man, doing all sorts of wonders and sensational tricks to cause the gullible to be overcome with awe.
In verse 4, we see the extent of his rebellion - he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. The Jews learned their lesson years ago, back in the babylonian captivity, and they won’t follow him: they will know there is no God but YHWH. But the peoples of the earth will follow him. In verse 11, it says, God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie. What does that refer to? My thought is that the “lie” is that “he is God.” The rebellious unsaved will believe that this lawless man, the antichrist, truly IS God in flesh. And so they will be carried away in his rebellion from the truth.
Paul mentions a second precursor to the day of the Lord: verse 6 - 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. The second precursor, the
- Restrainer Removed - before the day of the Lord, the one who restrains will need to be removed. Who is that? If you know, then you are wiser than the scholars of the ages. A famous scholar named Augustine, who wrote volumes explaining the scriptures said, “I frankly confess I do not know what he means.” But let me mention a couple popular ideas. One of the most popular, is it refers to the Holy Spirit. When the rapture occurs and Christians are taken from the world, the Holy Spirit will have a very different impact on the world. So it may refer to the Holy Spirit no longer having a controlling force on evil.
A second idea, this may refer to Michael the Archangel. In the book of Daniel we see Michael has a role restraining the forces of evil.
A third idea, it may refer to organized government, that before the antichrist comes to power, a worldwide anarchy takes place where governments crumble. But we know there will be some form of worldwide change before the Day of the Lord.
So Paul’s concern is that the Thessalonians are living in fear because of wrong information that they have been deceived into believing. So what does Paul do? He offers them comfort!
• Paul’s Comfort - Paul knows they are concerned about their salvation, so he takes some time to clarify some great truths about salvation. And these are great truths for us as well.
- God Chose Us - Paul says in verse 13 - But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. The term we use for this is “election” - that God has “elected” to bring us salvation. The fuller idea of scripture is that some are elected for salvation and some are elected for damnation. And when we try to get a handle on that, it fries our brains. It’s sort of like nuclear fission - think of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki - you have this 10 foot long bomb, but the destruction it creates is incredible. The heat created was so great that clothes caught fire on people over one and a quarter miles from the centre of the explosion; roof tiles a third of a mile away melted. The wind speed on the ground directly beneath the explosion was believed to have been 980 mph and this speed generated a pressure the equivalent to 8,600 lbs per square feet. One mile from the centre of the blast, the wind speed was still 190 mph and this speed created a pressure the equivalent of 1,180 lbs per square feet. Such a force would still be very capable of bringing down the most sturdy of buildings. All because of a chemical principle called nuclear fission.
In the same way, we don’t understand how God chooses some for election, but we believe it. We take God at His word when He says “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Harry Ironside explained it best with this illustration. When you get to heaven, imagine a big wall around the city, and at the entrance gate you look up and see the phrase, “Whosoever will may come.” As you walk through, and look back, you see on the inside the words, “Predestined from the foundation of the world.”
Do we understand how the two go hand in hand? No, but we know that God does. He invites every person to accept the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ, but he also is the one who predestines our salvation. So Paul gives the encouragement to these Thessalonian believers - they have been chosen by God to be saved.
How does Paul KNOW they are chosen? Because of their actions - because they “believed the truth.” Many people like to say Well if we are elected by God, then there’s nothing we can do about it. Either God will save us or He won’t - it’s all up to Him. And yet, notice what Paul points out in verse 13 - But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. What showed Paul that the Thessalonians were chosen for salvation? They believed the truth of the gospel. Paul says in Romans 9 - That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. . . . Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
You may be here today, thinking you are okay. After all, God loves everyone - He wouldn’t send anyone to hell, would he? And yet, even in this passage of encouragement, Paul points out in verse 12 - all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. So the question comes down for each one of us: Have I placed my faith in Jesus Christ, believing I am a sinner and that Christ died to take my sins upon Himself so I could be forgiven? God elects us to salvation, but we need to believe the truth of the gospel. The next encouragement Paul gives is that
- God Loves Us - In verse 13 Paul calls them brothers loved by the Lord. So one think we want to think about is this: WHY does God love us? And the simple answer to that is that God loves us because He CHOOSES to love us. There is nothing attractive about us. Romans 5 tells us, You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, -- a righteous man, that’s someone who just keeps all the rules - no one’s going to die for him - though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. Maybe if we were good someone might die for us. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Why? Because God CHOSE to love us!
Back in the OT, in the book of Deuteronomy, God tells the Jews: For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.
Let’s remember, that even when we are down on ourselves and don’t even love ourselves, that our God still loves us. Why? Because He chooses to - that’s who He is! The next encouragement Paul gives -
- God Sanctifies Us - verse 13 again - from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit. So the Spirit “sanctifies” us - it means He makes us “holy” - but what is that? Not the idea that we just read the bible and pray all day. Rather the idea of sanctification is the idea of being “set apart.” At the moment of salvation, God “sets us apart” to Himself - we are separated from the PENALTY of sin. No longer are we under judgment and condemnation. That’s what Paul says in Romans 8 - Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. So at salvation we are set apart from the penalty of sin.
Daily in our lives, we are in a process of being set apart from the POWER of sin. The more we follow the leading of the Spirit, and take the way of escape that God always gives when we face temptation, the less and less of a hold that sin will have on us. Romans 6 - In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. At salvation, we are set apart from the penalty of sin, daily we are set apart from the power of sin, and one day, when we go to be with our Lord forever, we will be set apart from the very PRESENCE of sin. Revelation 21 tells us, Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
So why be encouraged? God chose us for salvation, God loves us, God sanctifies us, next
- God Glorifies Us - understand that “this life” is not all there is. Think about the old beer commercials - “It doesn’t get any better than this!” YES, it DOES! Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Our hope is far beyond this life! The chapter goes on into a glorious description of our resurrection bodies. I love to read that passage at funerals: Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. . . O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
We know that ONE DAY we will leave this world for our heavenly home. Like the hymn of old [SING]: This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin through, my treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue, the angels beckon me from heaven’s open door, and I can’t feel at home in this world any more!
Paul says in verse 13 - from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. All that comes to Jesus, we share in as well. Romans 8:17 tells us, Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
So, the Thessalonians were mistaken. They were flustered and troubled because they thought they missed out on all of God’s blessings. But Paul gives them encouragement and reminds them what is ours in Christ. And so, in light of all those blessings, what do we do? STAND FIRM, and HOLD ON!
I grew up going to Hershey Park - sort of like Cedar Point - and they had an amusement called the Cinemascope - it gave you a 180 degree video of rollercoasters, trains, airplanes - and half the fun was looking around watching all the people - because they were all swaying, ducking, falling - and they had these rails in front of you. The only way to not fall over was either to not watch the video, or to hold on tight to the rails. Spiritually, Paul says we need to hold on.
Back in WW2, there were slogans all over Britain - and they have regained popularity today in 101 different variations: Keep Calm and Carry On! What did that mean? Keep on doing what you need to be doing, but don’t give in to fear. What is Paul’s call to us? Verse 15 - So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. Opposed to the idea of being unsettled and alarmed, Paul calls these believers to stand firm. How do they do that? By holding on to the truth. By holding on to the teachings they heard from Paul. There is always some teacher out there that wants to present some “new” idea, some new perspective on the truth. If something hasn’t been embraced in the last 2,000 years, there is a very, very good chance that it is NOT the truth. Hold on to the word of God. Judge all things by the word of God. Compare all teaching to the word of God. God’s word - Psalms 119 tells us - Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. We don’t need to get caught up in false teaching - we don’t need to worry about the future - instead, keep calm and carry on - trust the Lord and judge everything by His word. His word is truth! And His word is never mistaken. No matter what is “politically correct”. Let’s hold on to the truth, and we will stand firm in our faith. Let’s pray.
