2
Thessalonians 2
New
American Standard Bible (NASB)
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.
by Clay and Sally Clarkson,
and we think their right on!
