They wanted to figure out at way to outsmart their enemy, the cat. Many suggestions were made. Then one young mouse suggested, “Since we all agree that our chief danger consists in the sly and treacherous manner in which the enemy approaches us. I venture propose that a small bell be procured and attached by a ribbon be placed around the neck of the cat. Then we can always hear when he is approaching and we can hide from him and easily protect ourselves.”
Everyone applauded, but then an old mouse stood, and quietly asked, “That is all very well, but who is going to place the bell around the cat’s neck?”
It is the job of the church to “hang the bell” around the necks of the false teachers and preachers. If we don’t, WHO WILL?
The one thing the devil wants to do is place his servants in leadership positions in churches around the world. Once he does this he can then control those churches and promote his evil agenda.
Illus: That was the plan the communists had to take America over without ever firing a shot. Once they controlled the key positions in society, then they could promote the evils of communism.
Never in the history of mankind has the time been more ripe for the anti-Christ than it is today. For example,
Illus: A man who ranks as one of the top television preachers in this nation was preaching in a large city auditorium. He read a couple of verses, took them out of context, and then spent the rest of the time talking about himself.
He spent almost the whole time talking about how great he was. He gave the impression that day after day, wherever he goes, supernatural miracles follow him.
That is, he gave the impression that it is a common thing each to see the crippled walk, the blind be made to see, the deaf to hear, cavities be filled, legs grow, etc. He just went from one miracle story to the next.
GUESS WHAT? If you did not hear enough about all the miracles he has been used of God in performing, tune in next week and he will tell you about some more that are just as exciting!
The only problem is that they are LYING WONDERS!
Any time now the RAPTURE of the church may take place and THE DAY OF THE LORD will begin. Evil forces of the anti-Christ spirit are being restrained today by the church of which God says that “...the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18) We have already seen that when false teachers taught the rapture had taken place during Paul’s day, PAUL VEHEMENTLY OPPOSED THEM.
How did Paul do this? As we have heard in the earlier message, he ENLIGHTENED them. But, notice, there is more in our text. We see...
II. HIS EXAMPLE
That is, THE EXAMPLE of the anti-Christ during the DAY OF THE LORD.
Look at verses 9-12, “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Paul gave them a word picture of AN EXAMPLE of what it will be like, once the DAY OF THE LORD is here, when the anti-Christ is in control. What he showed them is something no person would relish living in.
For example, look at verse 9. We read, “...WHOSE COMING IS AFTER THE WORKING OF SATAN with all power and signs and lying wonders...”
• When Christ came to earth, He came in the power of His heavenly Father.
• When the anti-Christ comes he will come in the power of Satan.
How is that?
Look at verse 9, “...AFTER THE WORKING OF SATAN with all power and signs and lying wonders...”
Never underestimate the power of Satan. He comes in all power, signs and lying wonders!
This is the age of “lying wonders.”
Illus: We do not know what happens in other churches because we are in our church when they are having their services, but during the week we hear television preachers get up and tell of all kinds of miracles without a single thread of DOCUMENTATION and multitudes who listen believe what he says.
When Christ was here, He went about performing all kinds of miracles, but all He performed could be documented.
Illus: If you will notice, when Christ healed we are often told that the one healed had been...
• Crippled from birth.
• Blind from birth.
Why do you think God’s Word includes that? That documents the fact the people knew those people had something wrong with them from birth and everyone who saw the miracles knew that. That was why THEY MARVELED when THEY SAW THE PEOPLE WALKING and SEEING. They knew a miracle had taken place.
Today we hear of all kinds of supernatural miracles, but often those, who claim they took place as they ministered, give no documentation of the legitimacy of the miracles. These are what the Bible refers to as “lying wonders.” The men who relate these tales hardly ever refer to a scripture in the Bible. They just go from one “lying wonder” to the next.
The DAY OF THE LORD is coming! WHAT HAS BEEN KEEPING THIS FROM HAPPENING?
Look at verses 6-7. We read, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
Look at the last part of verse 6, He will be revealed, “...in his time...” That is, as Christ came, born as a babe, in “the fullness of time,” so also will the anti-Christ be allowed to come. Paul was saying that the anti-Christ will have to appear, “...in his time...” But, Paul was telling that the stage is being set.
Look at verse 7a, “. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work...”
Never in the history of mankind have conditions been more like what God’s Word says they will be than today.
One reason I say that is because so many have gotten so far from God today. Even those who claim to know the Lord are being deceived and do not seem to know what is going on. Remember the example earlier about the man who told of such miracles that took place as a result of his ministry? That man has been challenged to produce evidence of those miracles from credible doctors and the man can not produce one piece of evidence that those miracles took place.
Listen, the thousands who were wasting their time listening to and watching that huckster were mesmerized. Why? Because he not only told them God did all those things through him, but that God would do the same through them.
He told them what their “itching ears” wanted to hear. That was that they were going to be wealthy and do all kinds of miracles as he had done.
Do you know what is sad? There were thousands in the building where he was preaching WHO BELIEVED HIM! Most of them probably left that building thinking they heard a sermon from the Word of God. They probably never realized all they had heard was a man trying to brag about how great he was.
Someone is asking, “Don’t you believe God can do the supernatural?” Of course, I KNOW GOD CAN DO ANY SUPERNATURAL THING HE CHOOSES TO DO!
However, His Word is plain. It lets us know THE DIFFERENCE IN A MAN’S EXALTING HIMSELF, AND IN HIS EXALTING GOD!
All over this nation there are people who do not read their Bibles. They have no idea what the difference is. But, one of these days God is going to change things. It will be different. That is, this church age will end!
Look at verse 7b. We read, “...only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
The evil forces of the anti-Christ are being restrained today by the presence of God’s church here. Again, this is the church about which God says, “...the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Today, still, the anti-Bible crowd has to be careful because members of God’s church will brand them. When a man of God gets up and exposes the devil and his servants, they get angry. They do not want to be exposed for what they are.
Illus: In his book, “Christianity In Crisis,” Hank Hanegraaff has printed what many television preachers preach and taken God’s Word and shown how they contradicted what God’s Word said.
One of the men he quoted and exposed was so angry that when he went on one of his programs he looked into the camera and said to those who had exposed him that they could, “Go straight to hell!” He said that right on national television!
Why do today’s false teachers say so many ridiculous things and do so many ridiculous things? Because they know that the church is departing from the faith and they can get away with it.
They know that they can preach false doctrine and if the preacher of the local church speaks out against them the people of that local congregation will rise up against their own pastor for speaking negative things about the false teachers.
But, praise the Lord, there are still churches where God’s man has faithfully preached the Word through the years and the congregation knows what the Bible teaches. When the man of God exposes hucksters the people in those congregations support their pastor’s preaching with loud “Amen’s”!
One of these days such churches are not going to be around as we know them today. Saints will be raptured. There will be no restraining forces to stop apostasy.
All around the world the Word of God will no longer be preached.
That time has not come yet, but the stage is being set. Soon the Lord will take His people out of this world--THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL BE AT HAND.
Paul gives us THE EXAMPLE. He tells us how the false teachers will work.
Look at verse 10. We read, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
He has given us HIS ENLIGHTENMENT, HIS EXAMPLE. He also gives us...
III. HIS EXHORTATION
He sounds for the warning that those who will not receive THE TRUTH OF GOD’S WORD, will receive THE LIE!
Look at verses 11-12. We read, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Paul warns that those WHO BELIEVE NOT THE TRUTH will be sent STRONG DELUSION that THEY WILL BELIEVE A LIE!
Perhaps some are sitting here, saying to yourselves, “Well, I do not want to accept the TRUTH, but if I am living here when the anti-Christ comes, I will not accept him either!
If that is what you are thinking, you are in for a surprise. Why?
Because, if you are living here during THE DAY OF THE LORD, you will come to believe, whole-heartedly, the “lying wonders” and “strong delusions.” God said He would send strong delusion that those left behind would be forced to believe in a lie.
This is HIS EXHORTATION. Let us also look at...
IV. HIS ENCOURAGEMENT
Look at verses 13-17. We read, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.”
These verses, TO THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST, contrast to those to the FOLLOWERS OF THE ANTI-CHRIST. That is, we see, as Paul talks about THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST...
A. THEY ARE SAVED
We read, v. 13-14, “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Paul has been talking about those who would be THE FOLLOWERS OF THE ANTI-CHRIST. Then we see “But,” and he begins talking about THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST.
The contrast is this, FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST are NOT DAMNED like THE FOLLOWERS OF THE ANTI-CHRIST.
It is not the will of God that ANY SHOULD PERISH, but, when men reject the truth they place themselves with those who will be damned. IT WILL BE THEIR CHOICE THAT PLACES THEM IN THAT CATEGORY, NOT GOD’S CHOICE.
B. THEY REFUSE TO COMPROMISE THE WORD OF GOD
Look at verse 15. We read, “. Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” Look at the word “tradition.” A “tradition” is something that is repeated year after year. Paul had that in mind when he thought of FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST! That is, the FOLLOWERS OF THE ANTI-CHRIST NO LONGER CLING TO THE TRADITIONS OF BELIEVING THE WORD OF GOD, but THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST HOLD TO THE TRADITIONS THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT AND REFUSE TO COMPROMISE THE TRUTHS OF GOD’S WORD!
Conclusion/Summary:
(1 of 2)
I. HIS ENLIGHTENMENT
A. APOSTASY MUST FIRST COME
B. THE ANTI-CHRIST (MAN OF SIN) MUST FIRST BE REVEALED
(2 of 2)
II. HIS EXAMPLE
III. HIS EXHORTATION
IV. HIS ENCOURAGEMENT
