Sunday 122224
Do not let me or my writings influence or scare you in any way, instead, allow me to be used as a vessel to open the Word, just a little bit, and hopefully, together we are going to read and study His Word, and let God teach us what He wants us to hear.
So, our study consists of two ground rules:
First we ONLY read and follow what is found in the Holy Bible.
Second, we ONLY learn from a study by what effort we put into that study.
The verses we are going to study tonight:
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; Philippians 1:6, 10, 2:16; 1 Corinthians 1:8; Zephaniah 1:14; Amos 5:18; Isaiah 13:6; Ezekiel 30:3; 2 Samuel 23:3; Psalms 18:2, 62:7; 1 Corinthians 10:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:5-8.
As you are reading this lesson it is Sunday December 22nd, and I am proofreading this lesson on Saturday December 21st, getting it ready for posting tomorrow morning.
I hope our lesson this morning is not as difficult for you to read as it has been for me to write.
Let me note that in my Bible in the NASB version, there are subtitles used in 2 Thessalonians 2.
The first subtitle is MAN OF LAWLESSNESS, for verses 1 through 12.
The second subtitle is STAND FIRM, for verses 13 through 17.
It is like this Bible is alerting me to realize and see both subtitles.
The Man of Lawlessness is speaking of Satan, and Stand Firm is the reminder God has told us to guard ourselves from this evil that is always lurking out in front of us.
So, let us STAND FIRM and walk through this lesson this morning.
We MUST always remember to keep our guard up, which means our FAITH and TRUST in Jesus Christ is to remain always on HIGH ALERT.
Our study tonight maybe involves a little bit of thinking, a little bit of common sense, and that is one thing this world is really lacking right now today in the 21st century.
One must agree though, that the world that we live in is full of evil.
There are evil people, evil thoughts, evil television, and the list could go on and on for quite a while; evil is everywhere, all around us, all the time.
I am going to post what I have been having a tough time with, this morning.
2 Thessalonians 2
KJV
vs1 ‘…Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him…’
vs2 ‘…that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand…’
vs3 ‘…Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come, a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition…’ AKJV (Authorized King James Version)
And again, same verses in a different version.
NASB
vs1 ‘…Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him…’
vs2 ‘…that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come…’
vs3 ‘…No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
Paul wrote this letter because there were those claiming that the day of the Lord had already come.
These would have been false teachers trying to influence a crowd into believing what, these false teachers wanted a person to believe in and not necessarily what was the truth.
The Bible describes The Day of Christ as a specific day when Jesus will reward His children at the Rapture and The Day of the Lord is speaking of the beginning of the Tribulation.
My difficulty this morning is explaining why these two different versions are using these two different time periods in the same place.
As I try to figure out an explanation, let me show you how the Bible defines these two different days.
First is The Day of Christ:
Philippians 1:6 ‘…Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ…’ KJV (King James Version)
Philippians 1:10 ‘…That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ…’ KJV (King James Version)
Philippians 2:16 ‘…Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain…’ KJV (King James Version)
1 Corinthians 1:8 ‘…Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ…’ KJV (King James Version)
The Day of the Lord is about the judgement coming onto this earth and its inhabitants.
Zephaniah 1:14 ‘…The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly…’ KJV (King James Version)
Amos 5:18 ‘…Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light…’ KJV (King James Version)
Isaiah 13:6 ‘…Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty…’ KJV (King James Version)
Ezekiel 30:3 ‘…For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen…’ KJV (King James Version)
Today in the 21st century, there are those that still believe in Jesus Christ, hence, there is you and me, agree.
In the KJV (King James Version), vs3 speaks of ‘a falling away’ and the NASB (New American Standard Bible) speaks of ‘APOSTASY.’
In the Bible, ‘APOSTASY’ is the act of turning away from the Christian faith and abandoning Christ.
This is, the ‘falling away’ spoken about in the KJV.
I am not going to speak for you but only for me, I have no intentions of ever abandoning Jesus.
He is my ROCK.
2 Samuel 23:3 ‘…The God of Israel has spoken;
the Rock of Israel has said to me: When one rules justly over men, ruling in the fear of God…’ ESV (English Standard Version)
Psalm 18:2 ‘…The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold…’ ESV (English Standard Version)
Psalm 62:7 ‘…On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God…’ ESV (English Standard Version)
1 Corinthians 10:4 ‘…and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ…’ ESV (English Standard Version)
Why would I leave the only one that I have in this life?
What is there in this world if I do not have Jesus by my side?
The Day of Christ will happen just before the Day of the Lord begins. As soon as Jesus’ church is gone, the Tribulation (7 years) will begin.
Let us go back to the reading to further clarify these verses.
2 Thessalonians 2
vs4 ‘…Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God…’
vs5 ‘…Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things…’
vs6 ‘…And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time…’
vs7 ‘…For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way…’
vs8 ‘…And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming…’ KJV (King James Version)
a newer version again …
vs4 ‘…who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God…’
vs5 ‘…Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things…’
vs6 ‘…And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time…’
vs7 ‘…For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed…’
vs8 ‘…Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming…’ NASB (New American Standard Bible)
There are two things we can take from these readings:
First – Paul does not speak of anything but GRACE in his writings, except in these verses. This is the only time he speaks on the tribulation.
Second – That word MYSTERY appears again.
From vs3, this ‘falling away’ is only going to happen on the Day of Christ. As soon as Jesus’ church is gone from this earth, the Day of the Lord will begin with the 7 years of Tribulation.
This word mystery is used that I believe ties the entire passage together in both versions.
From vs2 this ‘Man of Sin’ and this ‘Man of Lawlessness’ ties in with vs8, this ‘wicked, lawless one,’ will appear; Satan Himself.
This is another time, in Paul’s writings where he speaks on the RAPTURE.
Jesus’ church MUST be removed from this earth so that there is a huge falling away or abandonment of Him and evil and lawlessness will appear thus exposing the evil one and beginning the process of the Tribulation that the Bible speaks for those not under the Grace of God.
This, along with what we find in the Bible today is all based on our FAITH in Jesus Christ.
As in our earlier studies, this is all based on our BELIEF or our UNBELIEF in God.
I cannot tell you how you must think. The only way you can find out for yourself is through your relationship with Jesus Himself.
I’d caution you to be certain that you’re not going to be one of those, like those at Kadesh Barnea that ended up wandering for 40 years in the desert, just because they didn’t believe.
I love all of you. Jesus loves you even more than I can. Open His Word, read what we have been given and then return your voices to Him and ask that He would give you the knowledge to know what is right and what is wrong.
The stories and descriptions of hell has been all that I needed to make certain that I am ready for that day when the angel shall sound the trump.
I pray you will be prepared as well.
Jesus, I pray that those ears and eyes, either listening or seeing this message today would be opened to the very fullest and allow Your love to come inside their lives and comfort them. Teach us Jesus. Protect us. We love You. Amen
InHIM. ><)))o>