NOTE: This Bible study on the end times comes from the perspective of a pre-tribulation Rapture.
Before we talk about the Rapture, we need to look at something called “The Great Apostacy.” In Hebrews 10:23-25, we read, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”
We are told to stay strong in our faith and to always come together as a church. This is especially important as we see the Day approaching. The word “Day” refers to the calamities and persecutions that will come upon the earth during the final season before Christ’s return. We are not supposed to forsake the church, but when we look around us right now, it seems that more and more people are leaving. Why? What’s going on? I think what we see happening can be explained in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-15.
Christ Has Not Yet Returned
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2:
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
In verses 1-2, we learn that “the occasion of Paul’s writing to the Thessalonians was to correct some of the errors concerning the endtimes that the believers had heard from false teachers. Among the falsehoods, was that the day of the Lord [had] already come (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The Christians in Thessalonica were afraid that Jesus had already [returned, that] they had missed the rapture, and [that] they were now in the Tribulation . . . Paul writes his second letter to assure them that, contrary to what they had heard, and despite the persecution they were enduring, the ‘day of Christ’ had not yet come.” He then began to tell them how to recognize the season of our Lord’s return.
The Falling Away Must Happen
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5:
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
Paul begins to tell them, “The endtimes are near when these specific things begin to happen.” First, there will be “the falling away” (v. 3). “The word rendered ‘falling away’ is apostasia. Of course, you need no theological degree to see that this term is where our English word ‘apostasy’ originated. ‘Apostasy’ simply means ‘a defection from truth, falling away, [and] forsaking’ . . . The word apostasia is the feminine form of apostasion, which itself means . . . ‘divorce’ or ‘writing of divorcement’ . . . The idea is [of] one party leaving another. Now, carry that concept over into 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and it becomes clear [that] someone is leaving someone else.”
And right now, there appears to be a massive divorcement from the church; and it is leaving behind the hurt and pain of a divorce, as those who seemed to be with us until the very end have suddenly rejected having any fellowship with us! They have just up and vanished without even a goodbye. “The Bible indicates that there will be a great apostasy during the end times . . . The King James Version calls it ‘the falling away,’ while the NIV . . . calls it ‘the rebellion.’ And that’s what an apostasy is; a rebellion – an abandonment of the truth. The end times will include a wholesale rejection of God’s revelation, [and] a further ‘falling away’ of an already fallen world.” “Every age has its defectors, but [noteworthy is the fact that] the falling away at the end times will be complete and worldwide. The whole planet will be in rebellion against God and [Jesus] Christ.”
In Matthew 24:6-14, here’s what Jesus said about the beginning of the end: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”
Now, I am one who holds to a pretribulation rapture. Some who believe in a pretribulation rapture will say that the church is taken to heaven before any of these things start to happen, believing that Christians will escape what Jesus called “tribulation.” In Matthew 24:8, Jesus said, “These are the beginning of sorrows” – they are just the beginning. I believe the church will see some of these initial hardships; that believers will behold the beginning of sorrows before being raptured.
• What have you recently observed that appears like we are seeing “the beginning of sorrows”?
Something Jesus said that really stands out to me is that “there will be . . . pestilences” (Matthew 24:7) and “they will deliver you up to tribulation . . . and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake” (Matthew 24:9). Our world has suffered from a great pestilence called Covid 19; and during this great trial, Christians all over the world have been barred from their places of worship. And when they oppose these mandates against church attendance, many have been arrested and mocked for their faith; and they have been beaten and imprisoned under inhumane conditions for unbearable amounts of time. Jesus said that many “will betray one another” (Matthew 24:10); and often, when believers have assembled for worship, their own family members and friends have called and reported them to the authorities. These things constitute what Jesus called “tribulation.”
Notice how Matthew 24:14 says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Someone is still preaching the gospel as these calamities begin to happen. This tells me that the church is still around until a certain point. The rapture is supposed to happen just before the appearing of “the man of sin” (v. 3) or “the son of perdition,” mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. If we are still alive on the earth just before the man of sin is revealed, then we will see “the beginning of sorrows,” which is the beginning of tribulation.
Paul told the Thessalonians, “The endtimes are near when these specific things begin to happen.” First, there will be “the falling away,” or the great apostasy; and secondly, “the ‘man of lawlessness’ must be revealed, he who is called the ‘son of perdition,’ also known as the Antichrist,” and then he goes on the describe him.
Christians should be raptured before the Antichrist is revealed; however, I believe we are presently seeing things done to condition people to his rise to power. The Antichrist, who will be in charge of a one-world government, will cause all worship to cease; and I must again point out how during the Corona Virus pandemic, we have seen many governments working hard to shut down churches and imprison those who gather for worship.
God Restrains the Lawless One
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8:
6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Paul told the Thessalonians that until the end comes, God Himself is holding everything back until the appointed time. One day, however, He will stop restraining. And when He does, we will see “the beginning of sorrows,” as Jesus said (Matthew 24:8); but also at that time, “the lawless one will be revealed” (v. 8). His identity will be made known to the world. But I want hone in on something that both precedes his appearing and which accompanies his reign of terror – lawlessness. “The mystery of lawlessness is already at work” (v. 7), the Scripture says. In Matthew 24:12, Jesus warned, “And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” So, when we see lawlessness abound, this is another sign that the Rapture and Tribulation are near.
Daniel 7:25, in the NIV, describes the Antichrist this way: “He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times, and half a time.” Here are some warning signs of lawlessness. “The Antichrist will take an active stance against Jesus and His followers,” and he will “attempt to change the laws in his favor and to oppress God’s people for a designated period of time.” We’ve already established that God’s people are experiencing oppression, but what about the changing of laws.
• What are some examples we see of lawlessness in the world today?
The changing of laws is all we hear about in the news today. From Covid mandates, to violations of the US Constitution, to defunding the police – these are all examples of lawlessness; examples of changing the laws.
The Lawless One Will Arise
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12:
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Based on what we have already learned, Christians should not even be around to see the Antichrist’s appearing. But let me tell you what we “will” be able to see – the “spirit of the Antichrist.” John said, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world . . . Every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world” (1 John 4:1, 3).
The spirit of the Antichrist is obviously loose upon the earth; and there are leaders all over the world right now demonstrating the behavior of the Antichrist, conditioning people to his rise to power. “Some have taken the names of presidents and run them through a series of mathematical equations to declare them as being the Antichrist. However . . . these calculations have been applied to dozens of people over the centuries and proven to be false . . . The Bible tells us in 1 John 2:18 that ‘the Antichrist is coming; even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.’ While it also says there will be one specific person who rises to power as the Antichrist, the Bible confirms that there [will be] many antichrists [plural] . . . These are described as people who deny that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 1:22).”
Some other traits found in those overtaken by the spirit of the Antichrist is that they will be easily deceived, because they do not love the truth (v. 10); and thus, strong delusion will come upon them and they will believe the lie. They will believe whatever the spirit of the age is proclaiming or whatever narrative someone wants to push. Why? Because they took pleasure in unrighteousness.
This information tells us something that most of us already know, but are afraid to speak aloud. People are leaving the church in vast numbers because they have forsaken the truth of the gospel and the whole counsel of God’s Word, and they have loved sin and unrighteousness more than Christ and the church.
True Believers Will Be Faithful
Turn with me in your Bibles, and let’s read 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15:
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
A true believer is one who has “salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (v. 13). The definition of sanctification is “the action of making or declaring something holy” and “the action or process of being freed from sin or purified.” Only through the power of the Holy Spirit can someone be freed from sin, and thus obtain salvation. This happens when someone believes the truth. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” So, a person must believe in and confess that Jesus is the only way to heaven and the only path to righteousness, in order to be saved and one day go to heaven. This truth about Jesus is revealed by the gospel, according to verse 14. Those who have not fully believed the truth of the gospel will fall by the wayside.
Verse 15 admonishes believers to “stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.” “Stand fast” means to remain faithful; and the book of Revelation has a lot to say to those who are “overcomers.” Revelation 2:7: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:11: “He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” Revelation 2:17: “To him who overcomes . . . I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written.” Revelation 3:5: “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” Revelation 21:7: “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
In Revelation 12:10-11, we read, “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ‘Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.’ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” The blood of the Lamb was shed for our sins. Let me ask you: Do you know the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ? Have you confessed Him as Savior and Lord of your life? If so, then you are saved and you have a testimony to share in both word and deed.
Through His blood and by being faithful to your testimony, you will overcome and spend eternity with God. If you are someone who has confessed Jesus as Savior and Lord already, then ask yourself, “Have I been true to my testimony?” and “Am I being faithful to Christ and His church?”
