DAILY REMINDER – Today, December 14’s Bible reading is 2 Thessalonians
1-3.
NEXT DAY REMINDER – Tomorrow, December 15’s Bible reading is 1 Timothy1-6.
May God bless you with the reading of His WORD.
2 THESSALONIANS Introduction
2 Thessalonians is quite similar to the first book in that it deals
with eschatology (study of death, judgment, and the final destination of the
soul). Some of the believers thought that Paul was announcing Christ’s return
as an imminent event and that they no longer had to work, so they became idle. Paul,
however, corrected their misunderstanding in this letter and encouraged them to
remain busy.
2 THESSALONIANS MOMENT – (14DEC19) “The coming
of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all
sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are
perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved”
(2 Thessalonians 2:9-10).
In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, he detailed the coming of
the man of lawlessness otherwise known as the antichrist. The Thessalonians
feared that they had somehow missed the Day of the Lord, due to the persecution
that they had been experiencing, but Paul wanted to reassure them that their
fears were unwarranted. Certain prophetic events had to take place first before
the Day of the Lord. This man of lawlessness will oppose everything that is of
God and will set himself up as God in His temple. He will do amazing signs and
wonders which will deceive many. God will allow for the wicked to be deceived by
him because they rejected Truth. Whomever this man is, he will be totally
possessed by Satan just as Judas was possessed by him when he betrayed Jesus. Nevertheless,
his time will be short because Jesus will destroy him with the brightness of
His coming and the breath of His mouth. All who fail to accept truth will be
destroyed.
There have been many debates in
Christian circles as to who the man of lawlessness is. Some believe its former
President Obama, others have suggested Turkey’s president Erdogan, etc. It is
not so much of a matter of who he is, but for Christians, it is important to
know what he represents and that is the embodiment of God’s nemesis. Satan
hates God and all who worships Him. Therefore, the antichrist will persecute
the saints in an attempt to eradicate the world of Christ’s followers as he
tried to do with the early church. The Bible says: “He shall speak words
against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and
shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his
hand for a time, times, and half a time” (Daniel 7:25). God will allow those
who have rejected Him as Lord to be deceived by this man of lawlessness just as
a deceiving spirit deceived King Ahab into thinking that he would be victorious
in war. The Bible says: “And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into
attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ ‘One suggested this, and
another that. Finally, a spirit came forward, stood before the Lord and said,
‘I will entice him.’ ‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. ‘I will go out and be a
deceiving spirit in the mouths of all his prophets,’ he said. ‘You will succeed in enticing
him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it’ ” (1 Kings 22:20-22). Jesus said
that the devil is the father of lies, so the world will run after this man of
sin, but those who are sealed with the seal of God will not be deceived. Prophecy
is coming to past, but we know that Jesus has already defeated the enemy and
his time is running short where he will never be able to deceive anyone else
again. Something to ponder….
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