Friday, 20 September 2013

Some Thoughts for Today, Hold Fast




2 Thessalonians 2

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Man of Lawlessness


2 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the [a]coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your [b]composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a [c]message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the [d]apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

 4 who opposes and exalts himself above [e]every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.

 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 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His [f]coming; 9 that is, the one whose [g]coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and [h]signs and false wonders, 10 and with [i]all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

 11 For this reason God [j]will send upon them [k]a deluding influence so that they will believe [l]what is false, 12 in order that they all may be [m]judged who did not believe the truth, but [n]took pleasure in wickedness.

13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you [o]from the beginning for salvation [p]through sanctification [q]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He called you through our gospel, [r]that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter [s]from us.16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

The Bible Panorama
2 Thessalonians 2

V 1–4: DON’T BE DECEIVED Continuing teaching on the second coming of Christ, Paul deals with those who have been deceived into thinking that ‘the day of Christ’ has already come, because of the tribulations they are facing. He tells them to stay firm: that day will not come without a falling away, and the revelation of the man of sin  who will oppose everything to do with God, and exalt himself. He will even sit in the temple of God claiming to be God.

 V 5–12: REMEMBER MY REMINDERS Paul reminds them that he had often told them what would happen before the second coming of Christ. (The verb for ‘told’ is in the imperfect tense, indicating he kept on doing it.) As God withdraws His restraining influence (thought by some to mean that the Holy Spirit will withdraw), the lawless one (the man of sin) will be revealed. God the Son will consume him with the breath of His mouth and ‘destroy him with the brightness of His coming’. The lawless one will perform satanic works and lying wonders with great powers and signs. Those who are perishing will be deceived. Having rejected God’s truth, He will send them a delusion that they will believe. Condemnation awaits them.

 V 13–15: SALVATION AND SANCTIFICATION Paul thanks God that the Thessalonian Christians have been chosen for salvation to be sanctified through God’s Holy Spirit and a belief in the truth of His word and His gospel. This glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, and he urges them to stand fast in these godly traditions.

 V 16–17: GRACE OF GOD Grace from the Father and Son will give those Christians consolation and comfort, establishing them in ‘every good work and word’. Paul prays for this for them.

The Bible Panorama. Copyright © 2005 Day One Publications.


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