The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet #5147 KC2Thes2
Do
you believe that Jesus Christ can return at any moment?
If you do, why do you believe that?
Who was it that told you such a
thing and where did they get that idea?
It is precisely because some of
the Thessalonians believed that the day of the Lord was at hand, as do
so many believers in the pre-trib Rapture Theory today, that Paul wrote
this second letter to "straighten them out" on this urgent matter!
It is EXTREMELY important that Christians
understand the chronological order of events which are about to take place
because as Paul will make clear to even the
simplest reader, there is a "supernatural one" coming first, BEFORE
Jesus Christ returns, and he will look just like the Messiah, and he will
call himself Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, those who are expecting
the return of Jesus Christ at any moment will surely believe the second
advent has taken place because they don't know there are two Jesus Christs,
the real one and the imposter who is called in scripture "anti-christos".
"Anti" means "instead of" as in a "substitute".
anti, an-tee', Greek 473; a primary particle;
opposite,
i.e. instead or because of (rarely in addition to) :- for,
in the room of. Often used in composition to denote contrast, requital,
substitution, correspondence, etc.
Just wait until you find out
who this first spurious messiah, the Instead-of-Jesus, really is that the
"many" will be worshipping!
Woe baby!
In today's exciting study we are
going to discover what the Word of God says concerning the second advent
as we begin to carefully examine chapter two of Paul's second letter to
the Thessalonians.
However before we begin, take a
moment and carefully consider the words the great scholar E.W. Bullinger
wrote in his Introductory to "How to Enjoy the Bible", Kregel Publications,
pg. 6.
"When we come to ask ourselves,
and say, 'Where did I learn this?' 'How did I get this?' 'Who taught this
to me?' it is astonishing to find out how much we have imbibed from man,
and from tradition; and not directly and for ourselves, from the
Word of God.
"All that we have learned from our
youth up must be tested and proved by the Word of God. Where we find
it is true we must learn it over again, from God. And where it will
not stand the test of His Word we must be not only content, but thankful
to give it up; and receive Divine revelation in the place of man's
imagination."
Now carefully consider the
Word of God.
2 Thes.
2:1
Now we beseech
you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering
together unto him,
Arrrggghhh!
We've just been "beseeched"!
Do you know what that means?
It means that Paul is imploring
us not to do something concerning the subjects of "the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and our gathering unto Him".
Here is what he begs us not to do:
[2]
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.
You better not be "wishy washy"
about this subject or have any doubts whatsoever when it is that we gather
back to Jesus Christ!
Furthermore, there is no need to
be ignorant concerning our gathering back because Paul "spells it out"
in real simple terms in this chapter.
Do you remember we covered the problems
that were troubling the Thessalonians concerning the Day of the Christ's
return in our last study?
They were not much different than
the problems confronting Christian's today concerning His return.
You see, the "many" whom Christ
said in Mat. 24 and Mark 13 would be deceived by the words of false teachers
in these last days, are continually fed a "vision" of a mentally disturbed
woman who claimed her vision was a "revelation" of the spirit.
Today it is called the Rapture Theory
and lately it has been promoted very heavily among Christians on radio,
TV, in book after book, and now in full length motion pictures such as
"Left Behind".
I recently saw a very prominent
Christian preacher on a nationally televised talk show tell the host of
the program that at any time during that interview Jesus Christ could return
and snatch him right out of his seat!
Well, I'm sorry!
That was simply a lie, whether spoken
intentionally or not!
Hopefully the man is just sorely
deceived in his own Biblical illiteracy.
Either way though, he has perpetuated
a big dangerous lie!
How so?
We are going to find out.
Note: With just a little research
at your local library you can easily trace the origin of the Rapture Theory
back to Glasgow, Scotland, to the year 1830 when a lady named Margaret
MacDonald saw a "vision" whereby all of a sudden the Lord descends in the
clouds and calls His saints to rise up and meet Him in the air. Start with
the book "The Incredible Cover-up", by Dave MacPherson. You can then trace
this Rapture Theory's entry into this nation, even identifying the group
that brought it here, and chart its infiltration into the majority of our
churches today. Those who support this any-moment Rapture Theory rely heavily
on the two verses of 1 Thes. 4:16-17 to support their theory. However,
we have already documented that the events of vs. 16-17 occur at the last
Trump, which is the Day of the Lord and the first day of the Millennium.
Paul continues in verse 3 with an
even more direct statement:
2 Thes.
2:3
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;
Remember, the subject being
addressed here is the return of Jesus Christ and when it
is we gather back to Him!
That is certainly easy enough for
anyone to understand.
But the really hard part of this
verse for people to come to grips with is the "Let no man deceive you by
any means" part!
Perhaps your minister or pastor
is a really nice man with a lovely family and you know him to be sincere
and conscientious and one who would not purposely lead you astray.
And that may all be true but will
you consider that perhaps he has blindly followed after the traditional
teachings of the church, which have the appearance of being good, just
as you have followed after him?
Think about it!
The point Paul is making is "PLEASE,
DO
NOT let anyone tell you in any way, shape, or form that the day of Christ
is at hand, i.e. that Jesus Christ can return at any moment!"
They are "in the dark", void of
accurate Biblical knowledge, and they will be caught off guard, caught
sleeping, when the true Messiah returns.
You see, whether a man is pope,
bishop, elder, preacher, teacher, pastor, minister, deacon, usher, author,
televangelist, or the paperboy, we have been instructed to check out what
that man says in the Word of God.
Remember Paul said to "Prove all
things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thes. 5:21)."
Well, Paul was not, neither did
he believe he was, nor did he attempt to, exempt himself from the "proving
and the testing".
It is written in Acts 17 that those
rascally Bereans checked him and Silas out real good, every day!
Acts
17:10
And the brethren
immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming
thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.
[11]
These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily,
whether those things were so.
Imagine that!
They had the NERVE to check out
what the apostle Paul himself taught them.
The question one should then ask
is, "Is there anyone greater than the apostle Paul today that we should
exempt from accountability to the Word of God?"
Forget whether they are nice guys
or good folks or popular among the people or followed by millions.
Do your homework and believe the
scriptures!
If a teacher does not encourage
you to study on your own (2 Tim. 2;15) or if that teacher is offended that
you document whether his words fully align with the scriptures, then find
another teacher.
No true servant of God will ever
ask you to believe him or her apart from documentation in the Word of God.
[12]
Therefore
many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and
of men, not a few.
They SAW for themselves that
it
was so in the Word of God and for that reason many of them "believed"...
not because Paul or Silas said so... but the Word of God said so.
So Paul has now specifically told
us in verse 3 that TWO THINGS must happen
BEFORE we gather back to Jesus Christ.
(I would say that if those two things
have not happened yet then you are NOT going to be plucked out of your
seat, are you?)
What are those two things?
There must first come a falling
away and the "man of sin", who is the "son of perdition", must be revealed.
Who is this "man of sin", this "son
of perdition"?
The word Greek word for "perdition"
is a derivative of "apollumi" which means to fully destroy, i.e. die, perish:
apollumi, ap-ol'-loo-mee,
Greek 622; from Greek 575 (apo) and the base of Greek 3639 (olethros);
todestroy
fully (reflexive to perish, or lose), literal or figurative :- destroy,
die,
lose, mar, perish.
The active participle of "apollumi"
is "Appollyon" which is Satan's name in Rev. 9:11.
You see, there has only ever been
one son who has been sentenced to "perish" in the lake of fire and that
one son is the man of sin himself, Satan, the Devil, the Great Red Dragon,
the soon coming Antichrist.
Judgment for everyone else, unless
you are part of the First Resurrection, has been scheduled for the time
following the Millennium known as the Great White Throne Judgment.
Here is some more info on the son
of perdition:
2 Thes.
2:4
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.
Have you read about that one
who exalted himself above God in the first*
earth age?
* Note: If you are not familiar
with the first earth age, the "world that then was" spoken of by Peter
in 2 Pet. 3:6, or the over all plan of God log unto our study of "God's
Plan"
Isaiah
14:12
How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down
to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
[13] For
thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
congregation, in the sides of the north:
[14] I
will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most
High.
This same abominable one will
be cast from heaven to this earth (Rev. 12:7-9) at the sound of the 6th
Trump, which comes before our gathering back at the 7th Trump (the last
one).
The 6th Trump is when Michael stands
up (Dan. 12:1) and the time of trouble (spiritual trouble) begins such
as never was since a nation was born nor ever shall be again.
Satan as antichrist, the false messiah,
will once again exalt himself above God and he will sit in the temple,
just as Paul explained in verse 4, and claim that he is God, i.e. the Messiah
who has come to rapture you away.
Jesus Christ also told us in Mat.
24 and Mark 13 about this abominable one who shall come before He returns,
and when he does, stay away from him.
Matthew
24:15
When ye therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) [16]
Then
let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Students of the book of Daniel
(i.e. those who read it with understanding) know that this is the "desolator",
the little horn, the vile person, which are ALL names of Satan.
We will find out in our next study
exactly why it is and what it is that will cause most people to believe
that he truly is Jesus Christ.
He will not only deceive the whole
world with a display of power and signs and lying wonders but he causes
the great falling away, the great apostasy, when the majority of Christians
begin to worship him as Jesus.
That my friend is a "great fall"
indeed!
To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits;
to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit, you accomplish both.
1 Corinthians
10:11 Now all these things happened unto them {the
ancient Israelites} for
ensamples, and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends
of the world are come.
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