Do’s and Don’ts
II Thessalonians 2
SCRIPTURE READING: II Thessalonians 2:1-8
INTRODUCTION:
Have you noticed that the Second Coming is a big topic in pop-culture lately? Several years back, a Gallup Poll recorded that 62% of Americans believe Jesus Christ will return to earth someday. (George Gallup, Religion in America, Leadership, Fall 1987)
More recently, a Time Magazine survey recorded 59% who believe the Book of Revelation will come true. (July 1, 2002: The Bible & the Apocalypse!) Some of you have probably read at least part of the Left Behind series of novels written by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. In 10 books, they lay out a fictionalized preview of events leading to the Second Coming. The series has become an international best seller, and 2 movies have been made from it so far.
Even secular Hollywood has been pumping out a steady stream of films about the End Times. Films like End of Days, Armageddon, and the Omen trilogy are just a few examples. The point is, people who are picking up their information about the end of the world from movies, TV shows, and novels are bound to get confused.
That was the problem in Thessalonica. They had received a letter from someone who claimed to be Paul. The letter said that Christ had already come again … and somehow they had missed it. Because of all the confusion about the Second Coming, Paul gave them some Do’s and Don’ts in chapter 2.
He starts out with 2 Don’ts:
• Don’t become easily unsettled or alarmed vs.2
• Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way vs.3
1. DON’T be distressed or deceived II Thessalonians 2:2-3
Some Christians actually avoid learning about the Second Coming of Christ because the whole scenario scares them. They don’t want to think about the End of the World, so they ignore those parts of the Bible. But that’s a real problem, because the Bible is full of Prophesies about the Last Days.
Over 1800 references appear in the Old Testament, and more than 300 in the New Testament. In fact, all but 4 of the 27 books in the New Testament talk about the Return of Jesus Christ. The last book --- Revelation --- is dedicated to prophecy about the Last Days. It is obvious that God wants us to know how it will all end.
We should not be afraid to learn about the Last Days … as long as we are learning it from God’s Word. The problem comes when we get our information from other sources. This is why Paul warned the Thessalonians: Don’t let anyone deceive you …
Ever since the days of the early Church, there have been False Teachings about the Coming of the Lord. Let me list just a few Deceptions.
• In A.D.135, a man named Montanus proclaimed that the New Jerusalem would soon descend from heaven to earth and land in what is now Turkey. He was wrong.
• About 100 years after that, a historian named Hippolytus records that a Bishop convinced his followers to sell all their possessions and follow him into the wilderness because the Lord was on His way. He was wrong, and his followers were left homeless and hungry.
• Skip ahead to the year 999. St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome was filled with people weeping and trembling. They were sure the thousand-year-mark would be the time. Eventually they went on home to their usual routines.
• During all the Middle Ages, there were many groups who taught End Time Doctrines. Many of them set dates and caused a lot of confusion. Some taught that the Puritans were setting up the “New Jerusalem” on American soil and would usher in the Millennium.
• In 19th Century America, there was a surge of interest in the Second Coming. In fact, that’s when a farmer named William Miller taught that Christ would secretly snatch away believers before the public coming. (This is now called the Rapture.) Miller predicted the Rapture would occur on March 21, 1842. He revised the date to April 3, 1843, and over 3,500 followers jammed the Boston Advent Temple. The next day, he lost some followers, but he continued to set dates.
• You’ve heard of some of the groups that grew out of the teachings of the Millerites. The Jehovah’s Witnesses and 7th day Adventists trace their roots back to Miller. Other groups that trace back to Miller are Herbert Armstrong’s Worldwide Church of God, and a variety of “Yahwehistic” groups who sometimes call themselves “completed Jews.”
• Date-setting did not stop in the 1800’s. Recently the Reverend Colin Deal published a book titled Christ Returns by 1988 – 101 Reasons Why. Thousands of people bought that book. Susan remembers being in a class at UTSA on the Day when Deal said Jesus would Return (I think it was the day of the Jewish Feast of Trumpets) Susan remembers wishing he was right so she could avoid the exam she had to take that morning.
• Hal Lindsey taught that Christ would come within 40 years of the time Israel became a nation in 1948. The forty years was up in 1988.
• Recently Jack Van Impe (a TV evangelist) said he believed Christ would come back between 2008 and 2013.
• I found a website called the Rapture Index that rates the likelihood of the Second Coming according to how many prophecies are being fulfilled in the daily news. A rating of 145 means “fasten your seatbelts.” The most recent rating was 159.
It is easy to see why Paul warned: Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way… The way to avoid being DECEIVED is to HOLD ON to the Truth. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. II Thessalonians 2:15
2. DO stand firm and hold on II Thessalonians 2:15
The Bible contains 453 prophecies about the Coming of Jesus. 196 of them were fulfilled in his First Coming. That leaves 257 signs left to be fulfilled for his Second Coming.
When Jesus came the first time, no one had it all figured out ahead of time. Even his closest disciples had it wrong when it came to the details. It was only when they looked back that they finally saw how the Prophecies had been fulfilled. I think it will be like that when He comes the Second Time.
I fully expect to look back on those events from Heaven and see that every single Prophecy was fulfilled to perfection. But I don’t believe any one person --- or group of people --- will have the details mapped out before it happens. That’s why I get nervous when I see someone drawing complicated charts on exactly how World Events will unfold.
Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think there is anything wrong with Theorizing about Prophecy. Back in the 70’s I read The Late Great Planet Earth, by Hal Lindsey … and I learned a lot about Prophecy from that book. In fact, I think he may very well be right about some things. And I think novels like the Left Behind books can do a lot of good. For one thing, they present the Gospel message to the readers.
But the problem comes when we don’t know the difference between Theories and Scripture. It’s dangerous when someone teaches that God has given them all the details. In fact, I’ve come to the conclusion that the LEAST likely day for Jesus to come is the day named by a Date-Setter! People’s interpretations (so far) have never come to pass. But Scripture will ABSOLUTELY come to pass exactly as it is written.
I like to watch the History Channel. We call it the “All Hitler All the Time” channel because they have so many shows about Hitler. It’s interesting that back in the 1950’s many Christians wondered if Hitler was the Antichrist. Others thought maybe it was Stalin.
In the 1970’s I remember people saying the leader of the Soviet Union was the Antichrist. Gorbechov was supposed to come out to 666 somehow by giving numerical value to each of the letters. (If I recall right --- another group figured out that Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger’s name equaled 666 somehow…)
It got really scary in the 80’s when my In-Laws got new License Plates … and the number was 666. That Ford Pinto gave them so much trouble they thought it might very well be the Antichrist.
Some day --- according to Scripture --- the real Antichrist will be revealed. II Thessalonians chapter 2 gives us some facts about this “lawless one.” He will exalt himself and proclaim himself to be God. He will do all kinds of evil and even perform all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders.
The point is that God doesn’t want us to be DECEIVED. We need to know the difference between God’s Word and people’s opinions. We need to know the difference between Bible and blather!
The Bible teaches that the Antichrist is --- in every way --- the opposite of Christ. (This is kind of like the top-ten facts about the Antichrist.)
1. Christ came from above. Antichrist will ascend from the pit.
2. Christ came in His Father’s name. Antichrist will come in his own name.
3. Christ came to do His Father’s will. Antichrist will do his own will.
4. Christ humbled Himself. Antichrist will exalt himself.
5. Christ was despised. Antichrist will be admired.
6. Christ is the “man of sorrows.” Antichrist is the “man of sin”.
7. Christ is the “truth”. Antichrist is the “lie.”
8. Christ is the “Holy One.” Antichrist is the “lawless one.”
9. Christ came to save. Antichrist will come to destroy.
10. Christ will be exalted. Antichrist will be cast down to hell.
Shawn Drake sermoncentral.com
Some day the Antichrist will be revealed. We can’t know exactly how it will come about --- or who he will be. But we do know how it will all end. 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
The Bible tells us everything we need in order to stand firm and hold on until Jesus comes. In verses 13 and 14 Paul tells us to hold on and stand firm because we are…
• Loved by the Lord
• Chosen by God to be saved
• Sanctified (cleaned up) by the Spirit because we believe in the truth
• Called through the Gospel (the Good News that Jesus died for our sins)
• Destined to share in the Glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. (in other words, when He wins in the end, we win with Him!)
CONCLUSION:
While we wait for the Lord’s Promised Coming, we can stand firm and hold on to the TRUTH. We won’t be DECEIVED if we know the difference between Bible and blather.
Paul ended this chapter with a prayer for the believers. Let’s pray together the thoughts from verses 16 &17:
We praise you, our Lord Jesus, and we thank you, God our Father, because you have loved us. By Your grace you have given us eternal encouragement and hope for the future.
While we wait for Your Coming, we pray that You will encourage our hearts. Give us the strength to stand firm --- to do everything you want us to do and to say everything you want us to say.
Through the power of Jesus Christ --- AMEN
