July 3, 2022
Dead Man Walking
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

• INTRO
• 1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or 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. 3a Let no one deceive you in any way.
• They thought they had missed the rapture!
• Added details to what must happen before the second coming and the gathering: the rebellion, the man of lawlessness, the temple, the delusioned disciples.

Ask = implore >> not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by 1) a spirit or 2) a spoken word, or 3) a letter seeming to be from us.

• Paul realizes that many modes will be used by the enemy and mistakenly received by the saints: these include errors, confusion, and outright lies. COMMENT
• As I said in the intro: This was glaring for the church: the Thessalonian church thought that they had missed the simultaneous events of the coming of the Lord and the gathering of the saints. Rapture missed!
  • this really would be impossible based on what Paul told the Thessalonian church in the first letter unless they thought they were outside of Jesus.
  • Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:16 again: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (italics added)
    • They thought they had missed the gathering.
    • The might have thought they were not genuinely saved.
      • Gospel
    • They missed this: this event is second only to Creation itself!
  • This happens when God is wrapping up!

APPLICATION

• Nothing has changed: the world loves lies about the faith and Christians are daily duped.
• To be fair: we have more information that the church had; let’s use some here. >> 2 Peter 3:10, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, [Does that sound familiar?] and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. (italics added)
• This is a Day that is unmistakable!
• It reminds us too how easily the church can be moved off biblical truth by mixed messages.
• YouTube, BookFace, TokTik, radio: the world loves its lies and Christians are daily duped by these mediums.
• We need to remember: things can be taught clearly to us and we still may miss the truth.
• I am reminded too that, we each have things we hold as truth that may be wrong and even erroneous at times.
• We need to study the word of God to root these things out.

TRANSITION
Paul makes clear that the church was deceived by conflicting theology that the church was readily prepared to listen to. We will now see that Paul reminded them again of things he already told the church to straighten them back out.

3b For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

• I’m going to cover v. 5 first:
• Man needs reminders. The Thessilonian church needed reminders.
• Reminders, reminders, reminders.
• That what biblical teaching is: biblical truth has to be said again and again.
• C.F. > the Hebrew word for teach = pound!
  • I wanted to see this in a lexicon … I didn’t see pound in the lexicon I checked but instead found:
  • לָמַד (law-mad’) = teach = to strike, to beat, to goad.
  • יָרָה (yaw-raw’) = teach = to shoot arrows, to throw; to throw water or rain ^{(Blueletter Lexicon)}

Paul had to reteach:
What> vv. 3b-4 the Rebellion must come before the Second Coming and Gathering, likewise the man of lawlessness revealed, also he will takes a seat in the temple of God, and he will have a world filled with delusioned disciples.

We will cover them separately.

The rebellion

• rebellion ESV >> “falling away” (KJV)
• = ἀποστασία (a-poss-ta-see-a) = transliterated English word “apostasy” (NASB uses)
  • 1 A defection, … especially in religious sense, rebellion against God
  • 2 disappearance > good and truth will disappear.
  • 3 distinguishing > distinguishes itself from love.
  • 4 distance > there will be greater distance between culture and God. (LSJ.gr)
• The rebellion both geographically large in scope and in dept of depravity.
• This is not just a passively disbelieving time for the world but instead is what Constable called “an aggressive … revolt.” (20)

The man of lawlessness has to come before Jesus’ return and the gathering.

• As his name implies, he is “lawlessness.”
  • 1 John 3:4, Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.
  • He is apposed of all the governing institutions ordained by God. (Cf. Bruce, 167; Rom 13:1, 2).
  • He is the law unto himself. He is above the law. Implies a law-breaker.
  • He is an anti-type of God.
• v.4 “who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship”
  • Egyptian and Roman Emperors have demanded worship, as a god, in the past, but often in a polytheistic scheme.
  • But - cult leaders demand this type of worship.
    • This lawless one is a cult leader that demands the whole world drink his Kool-aid^®.
  • He claims the right to be monotheistic.
  • Allegiance is demanded; for he will actively oppose worship of any other god or object.

• [Nicoll said,] He is described not as an ideal, but as an historical personage the man who is regarded as the very embodiment of all evil. [He is] the hideous consummation and manifestation of all that sin can make man. Depravity is in him personified.

The lawless one must take a seat in the temple before the Second Coming and the gathering. v. 4

• “… so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.”
  • Vatican
  • 70 AD temple
  • Underground temple
  • Tells the saints, as a spiritual temple, he is to be worshiped alone. A symbolic temple then. (cf., Nicoll)
  • City of David being excavated now.
• indeed it is hard to envision a literal temple being rebuilt.
  • Many hold to the rebuilt temple at least complete by the last half of the tribulation.
  • In 1940, a nation of Israel … who would have thought?
• Gathering = rapture. 2 Thess. 1 = 1 Cor. 15.
• The Church is still here when the man of lawelessness is revealed.
• Rev. 13 has much more to say on how much time he has and what is the disposition of the saints.
  6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
  v.7 first = The mystery of lawlessness is already at work
  • the world has been progressing the its own demise for some time.
• v.6 “You know what is restraining him now …” "v.7 “he who now restrains”
  • Suggestions are many:
    • Roman Empire¹ and/or the emperor,²
    • God the Father,³
    • the archangel Michael,⁴
      • Gabriel & Michael, the archangels, wrestled in the spiritual world against powerful men (Daniel 10:13-14).
    • Antichrist, Satan, and human government (or law and order).⁵
    • Some commentators after discussing the passage eventually confess ignorance.⁷

    • The restrainer must be more powerful than Satan, since He presently restrains evil in the world, and Satan promotes evil.
      ^{(bullet point from Constable, 26; see his “Notes” for these section notes/citations)}

• Monte’s opinion:
  • I think the civil government of God is the “what.”
  • I think The Holy Spirit is “he”.
• Paul did not elaborate further, perhaps because they had been told before.
  • So the Thessalonian audience did not need an explanation of “what” and “he.”
• But the lawless one has a proper time appointed to him.
• A man born for the purpose of the last evil days.
• GOOD NEWS! The lawlessone is a dead man walking. >>
  v. 8Jesus will kill this lawless one “with the breath of his mouth” at his appearing! Amen!
  • Revelation 19:15a, From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron.

APPLICATION

• Constable said something important: Paul did not regard prophecy as too deep or unimportant or controversial for even new Christians. (24)
• We win in the end. We have nothing to fear. God is with us!

Delusioned disciples

• 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
• Instrumentation: v.9 “is by” = the coming of the lawless one is by activity of Satan
  • with…
  • v.9 … all power (that Satan can muster)
  • … all false signs & wonders
    • Some say fake. I say most likely not fake but lying.
    • false = ψεῦδος = Eng. pseudo, counterfeit = “lying” signs and wonders
  • v. 10 … all wicked deception >> The REALLY BAD NEWS
    • one definition of the word “deception”: being cheated out of marriage (ἀπάτη > LSJ.gr)
    • … for those who are perishing.
      • What is causing the people of the world to perish?
      • Causality: v.10" because they refused to love the truth and so be saved."
    • Why did these people receive the power of Satan and the lawless one? Why did they receive the false signs and wonders and the wicked deception? The Bible clearly and acutely charges: their refusal of love and truth.
      • Active participation
      • LOOK again v.10b >> In so doing they refused to love truth >> truth always leads to salvation.
    • Romans 1:18 and following, there is a theological parallel
• Therefore = because they refused truth and love—v.11—God sends them a strong delusion.
  • strong = ἐνέργεια (en-erg’-i-ah)= energy; effectual; efficiency (BlueLetterBible Lexicon)
    • in the NT used only of superhuman power, whether of God or of the Devil (BlueLetterBible Lexicon)
  • Delusion from God (“a belief held in the face of evidence to the contrary, that is resistant to all reason”) (Collins)
• WOW—deception from Satan & delusion from God: these people are in a world of hurt. COMMENT
• Purpose: Look at v.11b: “so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
  • God has dropped His gavel. The opportunity for grace is over for this group.

APPLICATION

• God may withhold repentance.
• Footnote: If one takes pleasure in sin. That one is not in a saving relationship with Jesus.
• God holds out an opportunity for each person to be saved.
• To the lost: respond while there is light.
• To the church: don’t worry about a thing.
• The events that God has foreordained, He has also prepared us for such a time.

Bibliography and Works Cited

NOTE: Please see the following web-page for most of the works cited: https://insidecrosspoint.org/sermons/2022/july/bibliography.html. Works cited on this web-page correspond to the verses they are are grouped or outlined with.

Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Other Works Cited

Bruce, F. F. 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Word Biblical Commentary series, Word Books, 1982. As quoted in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 2 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf. Constable compared David A. Hubbard, The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, p. 1363.

“Delusion” (n.d.). Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged. 12th Edition 2014. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014). Retrieved June 29 2022 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/delusion.

Morris, Leon. The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians. Tyndale New Testament Commentary series, Tyndale Press, 1966. As quoted in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 2 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf.

_____. The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians. New International Commentary on the New Testament, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1959. As quoted in Thomas Constable. "Notes on 2 Thessalonians.” 2022 ed., https://planobiblechapel.org/tcon/notes/pdf/1thessalonians.pdf.

Ryrie, Charles C. Biblical Theology of the New Testament. Chicago: Moody Press, 1959. See also René Pache. The Return of Jesus Christ. Translated by William Sanford LaSor., Moody Press, 1955; p. 119.