After 14 years of studying the Bible, William Miller became convinced that Christ would return in 1843. When Miller
announced April 3 as the day, some disciples went to mountaintops, hoping for a head start to heaven. Others were in graveyards, planning to ascend in reunion with their departed loved ones. Philadelphia society ladies clustered together outside town to avoid entering God’s kingdom amid the common herd. When April 4 dawned as usual the Millerites were disillusioned, but they took heart. Their leader had predicted a range of dates for Christ’s return. They still had until March 21, 1844. The devout continued to make ready, but again they were disappointed. A third date--October 22, 1844--was set, but it also passed. Today in the Word, December 20, 1991.
Perhaps you remember the book 88 reasons…
Many people were swayed and confused by these end time teachings, and ultimately many turned not only from faith in those predictions but also from faith in Jesus.
This is a big part of the reason that we need to have a good foundation of what the Bible teaches about the end times and a firm grasp upon our faith.
In our text today Paul writes to a church who has become confused once again about the end times and he writes to set them straight.
The question for us is “How do we avoid confusion in the midst of the last days?”
In today’s chapter I think we’ll see three important things to guard against.
1. We must not be Dismayed
1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not 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.
Apparently the church at Thessalonica, or some members of it, has become dismayed because a rumor has circulated that the “Day of the Lord” has come and gone and they’ve missed it. Paul seems to suggest that a letter or a report has falsely been sent in Paul’s name. Paul says—remain calm. That’s not true.
Mayor Richard J. Daley, defending the actions of policemen during the Democratic convention in 1968: "Get this thing straight once and for all. The policeman isn’t there to create disorder. The policeman is there to preserve disorder."
The job of the enemy of our souls is to preserve disorder in the church, over the years one of his favorite methods is causing confusion about the end times.
Granted, this can be a confusing topic. And even our text today has some room for various interpretations, but I think at least one thing is clear in these first two verses.
First, you’re not going to “Miss” the Lord’s return if you’re trusting in Jesus—you don’t have to wonder about that. Your salvation is based upon what Christ did and the fact that you are trusting in Him. The Day of the Lord isn’t going to come secretly and OOOPS you’ve missed it.
With regard to the Lords return and specifically with regard to teaching about it don’t be dismayed.
Secondly, in the last days we must take care that we..
2. Are not be Deceived
3Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[1] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He 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.
Don’t let yourself be deceived about the Lord’s return.
Now what does this mean about the man of lawlessness and a rebellion before the day of the Lord? Well that’s open to interpretation:
Some believe that means that the antichrist will be revealed and the time known as the tribulation will occur before the Lord returns for His church.
Others believe that only part of the tribulation will occur—the antichrist will be revealed and a time of great suffering and a time of rebellion will take place before the Lord takes away his church after which the Lord will pour out His wrath (the final portion of the tribulation.
Still others believe that the force which is holding back the lawlessness in verse seven is the church and the Lord will come and rapture his church before the antichrist is revealed and the rebellion and tribulation occur while the church is with Christ in heaven. Those who believe this distinguish between the rapture and the second coming (Day of the Lord).
I am one who tends to believe the latter—however—this text still is a bit problematic, because if that’s the case, Paul reassuring the people that the man of lawlessness must be revealed before the “Day of the Lord” doesn’t seem to reaaly speak to their concern that they might have missed it.
Part of the problem here is that we are reading only half of the conversation—we don’t know exactly what the false teaching was that Paul was giving Spirit-inspired guidance about.
But there’s a priniciple of interpretation that says we should emphasize the clear passages over the unclear—and what’s clear throughout these two books is that we are not waiting for something to occur before the Lord can return for His own—He will come unexpectedly, so the coming of antichrist and a seven or 3 ½ year tribulation preceding the rapture would seem to be in conflict with that surprise coming.
I think that people can believe any of those three things and still be sincere in their beliefs and “ready” for Jesus to come. But one thing is clear—we are not meant to get bogged down in all of this and spend our time trying to pinpoint our place on the last days timechart.
That’s the kind of deception the enemy would like to use to trip us up.
Deception has been a part of warfare since the Trojan horse. During WWII, it became high art. Members of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops used special "weapons" like dummy planes, tanks, antiaircraft guns, and amplified recordings that created war sounds to fool the German high command. To enable a combat unit to change positions or even attack when the Germans thought it hadn’t moved at all, the 1800 men of the 23rd impersonated entire divisions. They would move in at night, change insignias, and inflate their rubber decoys. Meanwhile, the troops they were replacing sneaked away. Such deception was a major factor in the success of the Allies’ D-Day invasion, as the German 15th Army waited elsewhere for an assault that never came. Today in the Word, November 10, 1991.
I fear that Christians intent on fixing the time of the Lord’s return or drawing up full color charts of the prophetic timetable are in danger of being easily deceived by rubber airplanes of confusion and may waste their time looking for something that isn’t coming from that direction.
Which brings us to the last and most important thing we need to guard against.
3. We must not be Distracted
13But 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. 14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev used to tell of a time when there was a wave of petty theft in the Soviet Union. To curtail this the authorities put up guards around the factories. At one timberworks in Leningrad, the guard knew the workers in the factory very well. The first evening, out came Pyotr Petrovich with a wheelbarrow and, on the wheelbarrow, a great bulky sack with a suspicious-looking object inside. "All right, Petrovich," said the guard, "what have you got there?" "Oh, just sawdust and shavings," Petrovich replied. "Come on," the guard said, "I wasn’t born yesterday. Tip it out." And out came nothing but sawdust and shavings. So he was allowed to put it all back again and go home. When the same thing happened every night of the week the guard became frustrated. Finally, his curiosity overcame his frustration. "Petrovich," he said, "I know you. Tell me what you’re smuggling out of here, and I’ll let you go." "Wheelbarrows, my friend, " said Petrovich, "wheelbarrows."
Satan would like very much for you to get your eyes on the sawdust and loose track of the wheelbarrow. In the midst of the teaching about end-time events and confusion about them comes this reminder of the basic truths of salvation and an encouragement to hold fast to these truths. This is the bottom line of the Gospel. Christ died for sins so that all who trust in what he has done receive eternal life. Those who trust in him also enjoy the “sanctifying work of the spirit” empowering and enabling them to live a godly life.
Stand Firm in these truths. Don’t be
Dismayed
Deceived
Distracted
