Now,
brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering
together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either
by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ
had come. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 NKJV
I
find this passage of scripture interesting in that with all that is going on in
the world today, some are repeating the same error the Thessalonians were
making during their time of trouble. The
question many watchers have had over the years is just how much are we going to
see and experience before Jesus returns to take us home to be with Him? As things get progressively worse, and wars
and rumors of wars take center stage, it is possible some might believe we have
already entered the seventieth week of Daniel.
That is just what the Thessalonians were thinking, and so today I
thought I would look back at this blog from a few years ago which seems rather
relevant considering the situation we find ourselves in today.
As
we look at the passage from Thessalonians, I'm going to use a tool I came up
with that I use when I study the scriptures. I call it the rule of three w's.
What, why, and whow. ( Yes, I know, whow is misspelled but it's easier to
remember the rule of three w's than two w's and an h! Remember I teach high school students; it
works, trust me. )
So
what is the problem in the church at Thessalonica? Paul tells us immediately in
verse 1 that the subject of the letter is about the rapture ( parousia ) of the
Church when Jesus comes to take us home to be with Him. Then, according to
verse 2, Paul says they were "shaken" and "disturbed". This
is one of those times where I think it's really important to look closely at
the meaning of the words Paul uses. Shaken is saleuō in the Greek and means
"agitate" or become "insecure" in mind. Disturbed is throeō
in the Greek and means "clamor" or "tumult". So the picture
Paul gives us is that the believers in the church are in an uproar, really
agitated because they have become insecure in something they believed, but now
have doubts about, and obviously it has to do with the rapture. Paul then
identifies the reason at the end of verse 2 when he refers to someone claiming
by "spirit, message, or letter" that the day of the Lord had already
come.
This
brings us to the why question. Why were they so shook up? This is the part I
think gets missed most often when studying this passage of scripture. They were
shook up because they had been told by someone that the tribulation had already
begun, and they had missed the boat! They were still on earth! This passage is
one of the reasons I believe so strongly in the pre-tribulation rapture of the
church. You see, if Paul hadn't taught the pre-tribulation rapture, these folks
wouldn't be all shook up now would they? They were in an uproar because they
were under the impression Paul had taught them wrong, or they had done
something wrong to get left behind. You see, at the time of this letter, the
Church was undergoing persecution from Rome and it was easy for people to
believe that the bad things they saw happening all around them fit the picture
of events that take place during the Tribulation. Unfortunately, all it took to
shake them up was someone to suggest that their belief in the pre-tribulation
rapture was wrong. So it's up to Paul to set them straight again.
Whow
does Paul go about doing this? Simple really. He just reviews the main points
he taught about Jesus' return when he started the church, and then later in his
first letter. What Paul chooses to "re-teach" is this. One, he
differentiates between "the mystery of lawlessness" and "the man
of lawlessness". The mystery of lawlessness is the evil in this world
produced by Satan and his angels. The man of lawlessness is the coming world
leader, or anti-christ, who will be revealed at the beginning of the
tribulation. Paul makes the point that although evil forces were at work already,
they are being held in check by "he who now restrains".
And now
you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 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. 2 Thessalonians
2:6-7 NKJV
We
know that Paul is referring to the work of the Holy Spirit, alive in the hearts
of believers today, and I like how Paul gently reminds these believers that
they too "know" what is restraining. Paul goes on to say that even
though the works of evil were occurring, the man of lawlessness had yet to
appear, and could not appear until the Church had been "taken out of the
way".
How
often do we too need to be "reminded" of what we have already been
taught, yet somehow begin to forget or doubt? I know I'm guilty of that, so I
sure can't get down on these poor folks. I'm sure there are plenty of believers
today who may be in the same position those in the church at Thessalonica. We
see all the terrible things going on in the world around us, events we know are
the signs Jesus said would occur at the end of the age, and I'm sure there are
those saying we have already entered the tribulation period. But you know
something, we can't have entered the tribulation because as Paul so simply
said, the church is still here!
Evil
is present, but so are we; the Church, the body of Christ. There is no doubt in
my mind that we are as close to leaving this world as we can possibly be. If
you find yourself in the same position as those believers back then, the best
advice I can give you today is the same advice Paul gave the Thessalonica
church:
Therefore,
brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by
word or our epistle. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and
Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting
consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in
every good word and work. 2
Thessalonians 2:15-17 NKJV
He
is coming soon.
Keep
watching.
