On the night of His arrest, Jesus expressed concern for His disciple Simon Peter, who faced a threat that was too great for him. Peter had boasted that he would be more faithful than the others, not knowing what was in store for him that very night. Jesus warned: “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). Under this diabolical pressure, Simon Peter failed utterly that night, denying Jesus three times before the rooster crowed (Luke 22:34, 54-62).

The apostle Paul’s converts in Thessalonica faced a similar threat under persecution for their faith. So far, they had done well, and Paul had boasted of their steadfastness (2 Thess. 1:4). There would be greater tribulation yet to come, however, because of the Antichrist’s opposition. How would believers hold firm in faith when beset by supernatural evil attacks?

Paul’s answer to the Thessalonians’ need was the same as the answer that Jesus gave to Peter on his dark night of the soul: “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32). Though Peter stumbled, he did not ultimately fall because Jesus interceded on his behalf. In the benediction of 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17, Paul likewise appeals to Christ’s intercession on behalf of His church. The final verses of chapter 2 are a benediction, a “good word,” uttered by the apostle in the authority of his office. These verses express not merely a personal prayer desire but an apostolic declaration of Christ’s intersession and the resulting blessings that flow from the Father. Jesus told Peter, “I have prayed.” Similarly, Paul declared to his needy friends, “Christ will pray for you.” His benediction therefore consists, first, of a reminder of the God to whom he prays, second, of the saving love that ensues our blessing, and third, of his desire for them to persevere despite trials in a life of practical godliness.

Paul begins his benediction by reminding the Thessalonians of the God to whom he prays. In doing this, he incidentally makes a striking assertion of the deity of Jesus Christ: “Now may the Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father,” he begins (v. 16). Note that Paul lists Jesus together with God the Father, praying with equal respect to both persons. Moreover, the apostle lists Jesus’ name first, which would be blasphemy if he did not believe in the full deity of Christ. The probable reason for this unusual ordering is Paul’s emphasis in the preceding verses on the victory of Christ in His return.

Another reason that Paul named Jesus first might be that Christians pray to the Father through the Son. As the incarnate Christ, Jesus is the Mediator between man and God (1 Tim. 2:5), The Bible teaches, therefore, that the trajectory of prayer is “through [Christ]” and “to the Father” (Eph. 2:18). The question now comes to you: Does your faith accept the Bible’s teaching of Jesus as the Son of God? Without this belief, you cannot be a Christian. The apostle John wrote: “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also” (1 John 2:23).

Having identified the recipients of his prayer, Paul continues by noting the ground of his petition. He prays for God’s help in the future on the basis of God’s act of salvation in the past: “who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace” (v. 16). This brief statement contains some of the greatest claims ever made. First, the apostle says that he prays to God “who loved us.” It makes sense that he would do this, since we naturally turn for help to those who have loved us previously. Let the impact of Paul’s words sink in. God loves you, if you are in Christ. Does that truth shape all the rest of your thinking about life and God? It should, because the Bible over and over declares God’s love.

God’s love for us is the spring of every comfort and encouragement that flows to those who trust in Christ. Paul goes on to note the “eternal comfort” that God has given His people. Because God’s comfort to those who trust in Christ is eternal, it will “outlast the afflictions of this age and the judgment to come.” In this life, the trials of the world oppress and threaten us. But God has given us comfort that reaches into the age to come and provide us with the resources of heaven to endure in faith.

Paul adds God’s gift of “good hope” (v. 16). Eternal comfort speaks to our present blessing with God, whereas “good hope” speaks to our confidence for the future. Since God has loved us by sending His Son to secure our salvation, Christians are optimistic about what the future holds, even when persecution rages against us. Paul’s “good hope” relates specifically to the return of Christ, who comes “to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted” (2 Thess. 1:6-7). If the future holds the overthrow of all evil and the consummation of our entry into eternal glory with Christ, then Christians have every reason to live in hope for the future.

Paul has set before us God’s love and His gifts of eternal comfort and a good hope. So far, all of this is still the preface to his actual prayer request. These blessings in Christ are the ground on which Paul stands as he turns to God to meet the needs of his afflicted readers. God’s love and saving gifts, eternally confirmed to all who believe in Christ, are the soil in which bold confidence in prayer may flourish and the Rock on which Paul may stand to pronounce that God is certain to meet His people’s needs. To this end, Paul prays that God will “comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word (v. 17).

Paul focuses not on the great events in his reader’s outward circumstances, but rather on God’s work in the hearts of the persecuted believers so that their lives may honor Him. First, Paul prays that God would “comfort your hearts.” This is the same word for comfort that he used in verse 16, with emphasis on “encouragement.” Earlier, Paul reminded us that God had given us reasons for eternal encouragement; now he prays that God would work these gospel truths into our hearts so that we receive the inward benefit of them.

Paul’s prayers, recorded across the span of his ministry and throughout his epistles, clarify the priority for our lives as Christians. We are to be established in our knowledge of God’s love for us – a love declared in the past but now applied inwardly to our hearts by the Holy Spirit – and encouraged so that we have spiritual motivation to live for Christ. We keep expending our efforts to gain positive settings, not realizing that God sometimes keep us in trials so as there to glorify Himself in us. Therefore, Paul prays for God to give “eternal comfort and good hope through grace” in order to “comfort [our] hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”

Paul concludes his benediction by praying for us to be established “in every good work and word” (vv. 16-17). The apostle is referring to a lifestyle of practical godliness, with works and words that follow the teaching and example of Christ. In concluding his end-times teaching with an appeal for practical godliness, Paul matches Jesus’ emphasis in teaching on the same subject. Jesus concluded His Olivet Discourse on the second coming by telling of the praise He will give to His sheep when they are gathered to Him in the final judgment (Matt. 25:35-36). Jesus then indicated that the glorified believers will be surprised that He noticed such seemingly unimportant works. But the Lord responded by saying how much our daily godliness and love mattered to Him (Matt. 25:40). By Jesus’ own reckoning, in light of the awesome events planned by God for history, the thing that matters most is the daily love of God shown in the works and words of the people who claim His name. The supportive visit, the welcoming meal, the fervent prayer, and the timely word of truth are esteemed so highly by our returning Lord that He takes them as offered to Himself.

Paul has offered a benediction – a good word – reminding us of God’s love and praying for God to apply His gospel grace to our lives. His purpose is that we would become a living benediction to the glory of God through “every good work and word” (v. 17). The apostle’s benediction for us is designed to become a benediction in us so that Christ may speak a benediction to us on the day of His coming.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 Study Questions:

Is your life a benediction for the blessing of others and the glory of Christ?

In the midst of all the problems with deceiving words the Thessalonians had heard, or prospects of being troubled by the lawless one and Satan, in verses 13-17 what does Paul want them to focus on about God?

How do you see God’s power being exercised precisely by your standing firm and holding tight?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 the apostle’s doctrine of salvation is thoroughly Trinitarian. Considering first the sovereign will of the Father, he urges us to be seated in the truth of God’s election to salvation. Moving to the Spirit’s sanctifying work, he urges us to walk in holiness and truth (vv. 13-14). Continuing to the glory that believers share through union with Christ, God’s Son, Paul urges us to “stand firm” in the gospel truth committed to us through the apostles (v. 15).

It is significant that Paul begins a passage with the word But. Realizing this, we note the connection between Paul’s confidence of salvation here and his alarming portrayal of the Antichrist in the preceding verses. The apostle’s point is that while there is great evil in this world that poses a deadly threat, there remain the strongest reasons for confidence when it comes to true believers in Jesus Christ. “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers” (v. 13), Paul writes, going on to note the mighty work of the triune God that secures salvation for His people.

Paul’s first ground for confidence against the evil afoot in the world is the sovereign election of the Father: “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers by the Lord, because God chose you…to be saved” (v. 13). Believers are secure in salvation because their destiny was decided by God’s choice of them before any decision on their part. The Bible teaches that from God’s perspective our salvation began in eternity past, when He chose us to be saved through faith in Christ. Romans 8:30 begins a chain of saving links – similar to Paul’s teaching in Thessalonians – with reference to God’s sovereign predestination: “Those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Opponents to election reply that God merely chose that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. Or they argue that God did not choose any particular people before their faith, but only foresaw who would believe in Jesus and predestined that by believing they would be saved. The problem with these views is what the Bible actually says! Second Thessalonians 2:13 says not that God chose a principle of salvation but that “God chose you…to be saved.” Election is of persons to salvation. Moreover, God did not choose the elect because He foresaw their faith, but simply because of His sovereign love for them. Paul declares, “In love he predestined us” (Eph. 1:4-5). This is consistent with how Jesus described election in His High Priestly Prayer to His Father, saying that He had received authority “to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” (John 17:2).

The doctrine of election is rooted not only in eternity past but also in the unconditional love of God. It is not incidental that Paul identifies his readers as “brothers beloved by the Lord” (2 Thess. 2:13). We see the same affection in Ephesians 1:4-5, where Paul notes that we are predestined “in love.” Love is the foundation of a believer’s security, despite the awful threat posed by Satan and his antichrists. God said of old: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you” (Jer. 31:3). It is God’s loving faithfulness to His elect people that secures us for salvation in the face of evil and spiritual danger.

The Christian’s salvation is rooted in eternity past but lived out in the power that comes from the Holy Spirit. The image of walking in the Spirit’s sanctifying power is Paul’s second ground for the believer’s confidence. Whereas 2 Thessalonians 2:13 begins by saying that believers are saved by God’s electing grace, Paul continues to see us as saved “through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”

The word sanctification often refers to the believer’s subjective transformation from sin into holiness. Yet the idea of sanctification also has a broader, objective meaning, which Paul has in mind here. God chose His people in eternity past, but in the present, He set them apart for service to Himself. This is the apostle’s second reason for rejoicing that his readers will not be made captive by Satan: God has set them apart once and for all to be holy to Himself.

The believer’s security from the coming evil is experienced by being seated in God’s eternal election and by walking in faith through the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Thessalonians 2:14, Paul turns to glorification of God the Son, Jesus Christ – a transformation to which Christians are called through the gospel. By standing with Christ in His glorification, believers are made secure against the coming onslaught of the evil one.

Paul connects believers to Christ by our calling through the gospel. This completes the Trinitarian outlook on salvation. According to these verses, the Father elects His people, who are then sanctified by the Holy Spirit and called through the gospel to salvation in Christ. Paul refers here to what theologians define as the effectual call, which is the preaching of the gospel as it goes forth with God’s power to open the heart to saving faith in Christ. This saving call joins the believer to Christ as he or she trusts and begins following Him. Levi the tax collector rose up when Jesus said, “Follow me,” leaving his seat of sin and becoming the disciple Matthew (Matt. 9:9). The Savior’s call in his life had an immediate effect. Likewise, everyone who is saved is called by God to believe in and stand with Jesus before the world. The effectual call is always “through [the] gospel” (v. 14), the good news of Christ’s saving work for sinners.

Whenever God’s sovereign grace in salvation is emphasized, as it certainly is in verses 13-14, there is a tendency for some readers to draw the conclusion that nothing is therefore required on our part as believers. Paul makes it clear, that this is far from the truth. It is God who saves us, to be sure, but the gift of salvation requires a wholehearted commitment to Christ and His saving truth. “So then, brothers,” Paul concludes, “stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter’ (v. 15).

How then, do Christians “stand firm” against enemy attack in the victory won by Jesus? Paul explains by urging us to “hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (v. 15). Far from being able to relax as Christians, we must lay hold of the gospel truth in the same way that a man at sea braces himself against the mast in the thrashing winds of a storm. “Stand firm!” Paul cries. “Hold fast!” This is how we withstand the present course of evil working through intimidation, temptation, and false teaching in the world.

Paul specifically calls us to hold hast to “the traditions.” Here we see the Bible’s emphasis on a body of doctrinal truth that Christians receive and believe. Similarly, Paul urged Timothy to “follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me” (2 Tim. 1:13). These statements refute the idea that Christians do not need to know theological terminology (“sound words”) and doctrinal truth (“the traditions”) that are handed down to us. On the contrary, it is valuable for churches to profess creedal statements in our public worship, thereby holding “to the traditions” of biblical Christianity. It is vital, however, for us to distinguish between apostolic tradition and traditions that are merely fabricated by men. Any doctrine that we embrace must therefore be based on and built upward from the written record of the Bible.

What difference does it make to us, beset in a world of darkness, idolatry, and empty unbelief, to believe in the gospel? Jesus put it this way: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). According to Paul, eternal life is grounded in God’s sovereign election “from the beginning” and comes to life in us as we answer the call to believe the gospel and follow Jesus Christ. If we are seated in God’s sovereign grace, walk in the Spirit’s power, and stand firm with Christ against unbelief, holding fast to the truth, not only will we be freed from the evil powers of sin and death, but we will also “obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thess. 2:14) so that God’s saving blessings are forever glorified in us.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 Study Questions:

In verses 13-14, Paul thanks God for His activity in the Thessalonian believers. What progression of the spiritual life and journey do you see in these verses?

How would holding “tight to the traditions” enable the Thessalonians to stand firm in the face of troubled times?

What can you do to hold tight to the traditions taught by the apostles in order to face the web of lies that threaten and the troubles that challenge us in the world?

Paul wasn’t surprised by the reality of apostasy. Paul had notified the Thessalonians that there would be a great rebellion against the gospel before Christ’s return. “Let no one deceive you in any way,” Paul wrote. “For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first” (v. 3). One of Satan’s chief goals, especially through the future “man of lawlessness,” is to induce people to abandon Christianity. Paul therefore knew that some people who profess faith in Jesus Christ will later renounce that faith, to their own destruction.

The Greek word translated in verse 3 as “rebellion” is apostasia. This word refers to the turning away from a former position or the abandonment of prior loyalties. It can be used of a political rebellion, however, in the Bible the word is used to describe a turning away from the true faith. Apostasy reflects an evil heart that embraces unbelief after previously professing faith. Does apostasy, however, describe a person who once truly believed and was saved, and who then, by losing his or her faith, lost salvation as well? The answer to this question is No. The Bible clearly teaches that those who possess a true and saving faith cannot be lost, for the simple reason that genuine faith results from the grace of God, and God never loses any of those whom He has saved. Jesus said of His true sheep: “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28).

If believers in Christ can never be lost for salvation, then what is an apostate? An apostate is a professing believer and outward member of the church who, having never truly believed, falls back into unbelief and condemnation. John explained: “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that they might become plain that they all are not of us” (1 John 2:19). How then, do we tell that a professing believer is really an apostate? In most cases, it is difficult if not impossible to tell until he or she actually abandons the faith. It seems, for instance, that the other disciples never suspected Judas Iscariot of his falseness even up to the night on which he betrayed Jesus to His death.

If professing believers may fall away, how can a Christian know that his or her faith is genuine and therefore eternally secure? Should believers worry that their faith is actually false and that sometime in the future they might apostatize? John addressed this issue in his first epistle, when he wrote “that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). According to John, there are three tests of a true, saving faith. One is a doctrinal test, focused on faith in the person and work of Jesus: “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God” (v. 1). Another is a moral test: “By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked” (2:5-6). This doesn’t mean that true Christians never sin or are as perfect as Jesus is. Yet true Christians have taken up the calling to follow Jesus in practical godliness, turning from sin and pursuing holiness. Third is the test of love: “everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him” (5:1). True Christians are drawn to other believers and gain a love for the church that reflects the family love of God. According to the Bible, these three tests – dealing with theology, ethics, and love – provide Christians with a testimony from God’s Word as to the assurance of their salvation.

This understanding of apostasy shows why Paul was so pleased with the news that the Thessalonians were holding fast to the gospel and embracing a lifestyle of godliness and love (2 Thess. 1:3). They were steadfast in faith under persecution, as their worldly goods and even their lives were threatened (v. 4). According to Paul, this confirmed that they were “worthy of the kingdom of God” (v. 5); that is, their lives manifested a true and saving faith in Jesus.

Yet the day will come, Paul warns, when a great apostasy will fall upon the church. Christ will not return “unless the rebellion comes first” (2 Thess. 2:3). Having understood the doctrine of apostasy, we learn from verses 9-12 that a great apostasy will occur in the end, both by the working of Satan and by God’s sovereign judging of unbelief. In verse 3, Paul had linked the great apostasy to the coming of “the man of lawlessness,” often known to Christians as the Antichrist. In 2 Thessalonians 2:9, the apostle makes it clear that the rebellion is the work of this evil person: the great apostasy by which multitudes of professing believers abandon the Christian faith and turn against the church results from “the activity of Satan” in “the coming of the lawless one.”

Paul makes three statements relating the coming Antichrist to the great apostasy that he inspires. First, the man of lawlessness comes as a counterfeit of Christ. Paul indicates this by applying to the Antichrist the same word that he has frequently used of Christ’s coming. Just as God the Father has ordained the coming of His Son, Jesus, back to earth, Satan has planned the “coming of the lawless one.”

Second, Paul says that these false signs employ “all wicked deception for those who are perishing” (v. 10). If we wonder how people can be deceived by false miracles, we need only consider the many examples that abound today. For example, in 1858 a Roman Catholic woman named Bernadette Soubirous claimed that the virgin Mary had appeared in the French village of Lourdes. Today, five million pilgrims journey to Lourdes each year, seeking miraculous healings, so that the town of fifteen thousand residents boasts 270 hotels, second in France only to Paris. In light of the power of many imaginings and frauds that happen today, consider how great will be the deception of the Antichrist when he appears with satanic power, performing genuine wonders so as to deceive the unwary, foolish and needy. Paul’s warning of Satan’s deception points out how perilous it is for anyone to neglect the saving truth revealed in God’s Word. Jesus stated that these wondrous deceptions will be so powerful that “if possible, even the elect” would be persuaded (Matt. 24:24). How much success then, Satan will have with those who have rendered themselves vulnerable by rejecting biblical truth.

Paul’s third statement regarding the satanic strategy in apostasy states that his victims are deceived “because they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (v. 10). Though Satan is unable to undo the salvation of true believers, his targets inevitably accept the deception because that is all that is left to them once they have rejected the truth. When Paul points out that Satan’s targets refused to love the truth, he inevitably includes worldly malice toward Jesus Christ Himself, who said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). They hated the gospel because it offended their self-righteous pride and threatened their lifestyle of cherished sins. For those who reject the gospel truth of Jesus Christ, there is no salvation from God but only a path leading away from Him, to Satan, and with Satan to eternal condemnation.

When Paul considers God’s purposes in the great apostasy, he says that in the coming of the Antichrist, “God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (vv. 11-12). Here Paul observes that the unbeliever not only refuses to love the saving truth that God sent through the blood of His Son, but also delights in the things that transgress God’s law and give offense to God’s holy person.

The Bible’s prophecies of the end fit the pattern both of what the early Christians faced and of the tendencies that will challenge the church throughout her history. John wrote: “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). The coming of the lawless one will put an exclamation point on what takes place throughout the present era, which Hebrews 1:2 calls “these last days.” Thus, Paul’s teaching about the great apostasy and the man of lawlessness warns all Christians and provides an agenda for our watchfulness in faith.

2 Thessalonians 2:3, 9-12 Study Questions:

Paul connects the “man of lawlessness” with the presence of Satan. Describe how Satan works in the world in verses 9-12.

What is another name for “the man of lawlessness” often known to Christians?

What is the relationship between God’s activity and mankind’s choice that is alluded to in verses 9-12?

In our previous study of the chapter’s opening verses, we saw that Paul’s eschatology agrees substantially with Jesus’ Olivet Discourse. In considering the Antichrist, we should note as well the correspondence between Paul and the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. Remembering that Scripture is always the best interpreter of Scripture, it may be helpful to consider the general portrait given by those prophecies as a safeguard for our interpretation of Paul’s portrait.

During Israel’s Babylonian exile, Daniel was shown a vision of beasts that symbolized four great empires in ancient history (Dan. 7:1-8). This succession of beasts led to the appearing of “one like a son of man,” who conquered and “was given dominion and glory and a kingdom…that shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:13-14). In this way, Daniel saw how wicked earthly kingdoms will rise up one after another, only to have their idolatry and violence swept away by Christ’s glorious appearing.

Reading Daniel, it might have been tempting to believe that Rome was the last of the beasts to come upon the earth. Yet the book of Revelation employs similar imagery, at one point describing “a beast rising out of the sea” (Rev. 13:1) that combines features from all four of the beasts from Daniel’s vision. Like the beasts of Daniel, Revelation’s beasts are violent rulers that destroy and oppose God’s kingdom. As a composite of Daniel’s four beasts, Revelation 13:1’s beast depicts the phenomenon of violent worldly powers that recurs throughout history and finds ultimate expression in the final days. Paul speaks of “the lawless one” who is empowered “by the activity of Satan” (2 Thess. 2:9). Revelation likewise states that the “beast” receives authority from “the dragon,” an obvious image of Satan (Rev. 13:4).

The book of Revelation was probably written over forty years after Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians, accurately describing what the early Christians would endure under the regimes of Roman emperors. Like the beasts of Revelation, the emperors wielded terrible violence against the church, exhibited satanic evil, and demanded worship of themselves as gods. Through its portraits of the dragon and his beasts, Revelation accurately describes the combination of government persecution and idolatrous demands for worship that would try the faith of Christians in the years after Paul’s letter.

Revelation’s dragon and his beasts not only depicted what Christians faced in the late first century and would continue to face all through history, but also supported the futurist understanding that these events will come to an ultimate expression when the final Antichrist arises before the return of Christ. Not only does Paul summarize Revelation’s later portrait of the Antichrist, with his violent persecution and idolatrous demands, but Paul also makes it particularly clear that the final Antichrist must be taken as an individual human being in service to Satan.

Focusing on this final, ultimate, and individual Antichrist, Paul offers four descriptions. First, he is “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thess. 2:3). In Satan’s cause, the Antichrist will rise up against the ruling rights of God as expressed in His law. Daniel 12:9-10 foretold that in the end “the wicked shall act wickedly,” and Paul indicates that the Antichrist will be their champion in flouting God’s rule. Second, the Antichrist is “the son of destruction” (v. 3). Jesus used the same description for Judas Iscariot, who alone of His twelve disciples would be lost (John 17:12). This comparison suggests that Paul’s Antichrist is doomed to hell.

Third, the Antichrist is not content with rebellion and destruction, but demands worship: he “opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or worship…, proclaiming himself to be God” (v. 4). In place of God, the man of lawlessness demands religious veneration for himself. The word that Paul uses for opposes (antikeimenos) is also used in 1 Timothy 5:14 to describe Satan as “the adversary” of the church. The man of lawlessness opposes true and saving faith so as to secure worship for himself. This is precisely what Roman emperors of the early church demanded, as their Christian victims would have recognized in reading the book of Revelation. More recently, imperial worship finds its analogy in the deified secular state, whether in the Communist tyrannies of the East or the Socialist democracies of the West. The spirit of antichrist demands that its subjects look to the state and its ruler for provision and deliverance rather than to God. Today’s anti-Christian politicians employ science and popular culture to push God and His rule out of society. This same historical impulse will come to a final and ultimate expression in the tribulation imposed by the Antichrist.

The fourth description shows that the Antichrist will seek not only to persecute but also to control the church from within. Paul takes up the language earlier used by Daniel and then by Jesus in His Olivet Discourse, saying that the Antichrist “takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (v. 4). The question is raised as to what Paul means in saying that the Antichrist “takes his seat in the temple of God.” Dispensationalists take this statement to refer to a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, which the Antichrist will physically occupy for personal veneration. The problem with this view is that not once in all his writings does Paul use the word temple to describe a rebuilt temple structure.

A second view believes that Paul’s reference to the Antichrist seated in the temple is metaphorical. The point would be that just as one might go into the temple and physically take the place of God, the Antichrist will similarly demand worship for himself. While this is a possible interpretation, a third view makes better sense of Paul’s usual use of the word temple. Paul sometimes speaks of the individual Christian as a “temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19). But predominantly Paul refers to the temple in terms of the Christian church as a whole. The church, he says, is “built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets” and “grows into a holy temple in the Lord” (Eph. 2:20-21).

With this in mind, we note that Paul’s forth statement regarding the Antichrist indicates that he will pursue his idolatrous agenda not only through government power but also from within the formal Christian church. Paul concludes: “Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things?” (v. 5). According to the apostle, it was important for Christians to realize the pattern at work in history and to be aware of how the great tribulation of the end will take place. Empowered by “the activity of Satan” (v. 9), the Antichrist will rebel against God by seizing both worldly power and religious authority, using them to bring tribulation on believers and gain worship for himself on Satan’s behalf. We cannot now be certain how the Antichrist will manipulate religious authority, but it is likely to involve the worldly corruption of church offices, and it will certainly involve the spread of false teaching. Christians can thus oppose him now by upholding biblical standards in the ministry, the spiritual focus of the church, and above all the defense of sound biblical doctrine.

Paul’s description of the Antichrist, who not only will appear before Christ’s return but will be represented in the spiritual warfare of every age, along with the insights that we have gained about Satan’s approach to war, points to some applications for us today. First, Christians are forewarned not to be surprised at opposition to the gospel both from the world and within the church. Contrary to postmillennial eschatology, which sees Christ returning only after a golden age in which the church has triumphed over the world in Christian faith and culture, Paul’s teaching on the Antichrist urges us to anticipate such a concentrated expression of satanic power that only the sudden appearing of Christ can save the church from destruction.

Second, since Satan aims to provoke apostasy from Christ and idolatrous worship for himself, Christians must never swerve from the gospel and an exclusive devotion to God alone through faith in Jesus Christ. Third, Christians should face every form of spiritual opposition – whether it is outward persecution or inward corruption in the church – with a joy that flows from complete confidence of victory in the soon appearing of Jesus Christ. We should make every effort to absorb what Paul and other biblical writers say, while at the same time modestly admitting that full clarity about the Antichrist is not provided to us in Scripture. But when it comes to the return of Christ, we have detailed knowledge of the sure salvation that He is coming soon to bring: He will raise the dead, gather His people, overthrow all evil and darkness, justify those who have believed His gospel and condemn unbelievers in the final judgment. And in the eternal reign that follows, “we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17).

The issue, therefore, is not what we know about the Antichrist but where we stand with respect to Jesus Christ. Are we worshiping false gods such as money, pleasure, power, or self? However the events are moving forward to the Antichrist, Satan always seeks to lure the unwary into worshiping things over which he wields influence, rather than honoring God alone by surrendering our lives in faith through Jesus Christ. Despite all present evil and dark clouds of darkness on the horizon, the way to live in joyful security is to commit yourself in trusting service to Jesus Christ, who will come on the clouds to save all whose hearts are devoted to Him.

2 Thessalonians 2:3-10 Study Questions:

What events described in verses 3-8 does Paul see ahead in the future?

In this context, what are the characteristics of the “man of lawlessness” Paul describes?

What parallels or examples do you see in our own society of people or institutions living out the characteristics of the “man of lawlessness”?

Together with the book of Revelation and Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24; Mark 13; Luke 21), Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians provide the most detailed New Testament teaching about the events preceding the second coming of Christ. As we begin our study of 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, it may be helpful to recap Paul’s teaching so far on this subject.

The apostle first mentioned Christ’s return because of believers who had died. He taught his readers “not [to] grieve as others who have no hope” (1 Thess 4:13), since all believers will be rejoined with Christ forever when He returns. His second point taught that Christ will return “like a thief in the night”; the second coming will be unexpected by the world but anticipated by His people (1 Thess. 5: 1-5). Third, Paul began his second letter by encouraging Persecuted believers to trust Christ to “repay will affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you” when He comes again in power (2 Thess. 1:6-7). Christ’s return, Paul insisted, is the ringing of good news for His people and the knelling of doom for the evil world.

Paul’s fourth and final teaching on Christ’s return came in response to false report that the Lord had somehow already come: “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ…, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind and alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come” (2 Thess 2:1-2). Word had spread, perhaps by a misinterpretation of Paul’s first letter or a message falsely ascribed to him – Paul indicates that he does not know exactly how this word has spread – saying that Christ had already returned. The apostle therefore wrote to assure his readers that they had not missed out on Christ’s coming and the consummation of their salvation.

From this statement, we learn that the Thessalonians suffered not only from outward persecution but also from false teaching from inside. False doctrine disturbs God’s people, which is why it must be corrected by true biblical teaching in order to bring believers to peace. Paul’s concern on this occasion points out a problem common to end-times teaching, namely, that many are “shaken in mind” and “alarmed.” This effect happens when end-times schemes make Christians fear that they might somehow miss out when Jesus returns, having failed in some way to rightly anticipate the end. One way to avoid being wrongly disturbed about Christ’s return, Paul emphasizes, is to know the Bible’s teaching about the events associated with the second coming.

Since we are told by our Lord Jesus to expect Him soon, we can understand why Christians are anxious to be certain about their salvation when Christ returns. Paul describes Christ’s coming as the time of “our being gathered together to him” (2 Thess. 2:1). What a tragedy it would be to live for Christ and even suffer for His gospel, but somehow to miss out on Christ’s return and not be gathered into His glory! The primary answer to this concern is the inseparable link between faith in Christ now and our future gathering to Him on the day of the Lord. Jesus made it clear that to believe on Him in this life is to gain eternal life in the next (John 6:37-40). Therefore, a true and saving faith in Christ now assures the believer of being gathered to Christ for salvation on the day of His return.

Paul asserts that we can be certain that Christ’s coming has not yet happened by knowing the signs that precede Christ’s return. He explains: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction” (2 Thess. 2:3).

In considering Paul’s teaching on the events preceding Christ’s return, we see that he is drawing on Jesus’ Olivet Discourse. Jesus gave this teaching shortly before His crucifixion. Seeing His disciples gaping at the splendor of the temple buildings, Jesus predicted their destruction. In reply, the disciples asked, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). Jesus’ answer followed the order of these questions, first predicting the fall of Jerusalem and then telling about His second coming.

Paul begins the material in 2 Thessalonians 2 with a concern that the believers should not be “quickly shaken in mind or alarmed” (v. 2) by false reports of Christ’s coming. He points out the signs of Christ’s coming that had not yet been fulfilled. In concluding this introduction to Paul’s teaching on the delay of Christ’s return, we can note additional dangers and draw applications on how rightly to await the return of our Lord.

The first danger when it comes to the signs that precede Christ’s coming is the wrong idea that we can be certain when He will return. Jesus warned the Jewish leaders that it is easy to miss the signs of His coming (Matt. 16:3), which shows that the signs might not be obvious in their first appearing. We should observe, by way of analogy, how hard it would have been to make precise sense of the prophecies of Christ’s first coming: He would be born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5:2), “out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos. 11:1), and “he shall be called a Nazarene” (Matt. 2:23). Similarly, a precise calculation of the events preceding Christ’s second coming is impossible before their fulfillment.

With this in mind, our first attitude in awaiting Christ’s return must be patience. Just as many great Christians (i.e., Augustine, Martin Luther, the Puritans, Jonathan Edwards) were mistaken in the certainty that Christ would come in their time, the same conviction today is potentially mistaken. And yet, on the other extreme, we should never assume that Christ is not coming simply because certain signs seem yet to be fulfilled.

Another danger pertaining to the signs of the end involves our need to be prepared. Thus, in addition to a posture of patience, Christians must maintain readiness for Christ’s coming. It might or might not be possible for us to immediately recognize the final events before Christ’s coming, but we can know how we should always respond to such occurrences. Christians must never betray our Lord despite persecution; we must never follow any false christs who claim to have come; and we must never worship any government or church leader in the place of Jesus our only Lord. The message is that we must always keep our faith vibrant, in communion with Christ through the Holy Spirit, by means of God’s Word and prayer. “Watch therefore,” Jesus said, “for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt. 25:13).

Can we know when Christ is coming? No, although we learn much form His prophecies about what to expect both now and at the end: signs of salvation through the spread of the gospel; signs of judgment through wars, famines, and disasters; signs of opposition through persecution and apostasy. Christ’s people should expect all of these without dismay. And while we patiently wait for our Savior to come, He calls us to maintain the readiness of a living faith and to occupy the time He has given us in the work of His kingdom. By being faithful to Jesus, we can be certain to hear from Him, whenever He returns: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34).

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Study Questions:

What do verses 1-2 suggest might be the reason that Paul writes this second letter to the Thessalonians?

Obviously, if by “the day of the Lord” (v. 2) Paul meant “the end of the world,” the Thessalonians wouldn’t have had to be informed by letter that such an event had already occurred. The Old Testament prophets used “the day of the Lord” to refer to catastrophes that befell Jerusalem within continuing history. So, what might Paul be referring to by using this Old Testament phrase?