The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
Commentary by Nick Boork
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October 14 – 2 Thessalonians 2
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 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. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 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. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 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, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this portion of Paul’s letter he addresses confusion about the timing of the coming of the Lord. Some were teaching that Christ had already returned and this was causing believers to question their salvation. They thought, if Christ has returned how come we were not caught up to meet him in the air? Paul corrects this false teaching by reminding them that the day of the Lord will not come until the man of sin otherwise known as the Antichrist is first revealed. He describes the Antichrist as one sent by Satan that will deceive multitudes of people by all kinds of miraculous signs and exalt himself above every God and make a declaration while sitting in the temple of God that he himself is God. Obviously this event had not yet happened so Paul assures them that they were safe because God had truly ordained them to salvation because they had believed and received the Gospel and the love of the truth and we’re already saved. Paul says that before the Antichrist comes there will come a great falling away or an apostasy away from the true faith in Jesus Christ. I think it is safe to say that we are living in the last days, the time that he described as the mystery of lawlessness already at work in the world.
It is very wise to remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to prophets and teachers that try to calculate a date and make declarations about when the Lord is coming back. Jesus taught us in Mark 13:32-36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Jesus Christ himself warns us to beware of anyone saying that Christ has already returned or to place a date on his coming because no one knows the day or the hour except our heavenly father God and he is not sharing that information with anyone not even his Son until he gives the command to return to earth. So, instead of getting all concerned and absorbed in trying to figure out when the Lord Jesus is coming back we should all do the very thing that Jesus taught us to do and that is to concentrate on serving the Lord and fulfilling the great commission because everyone has a part to play and special assignments given to them by the Lord to do his work. The most important thing that we can do is watch, pray and be ready for the coming of the Lord because no one knows when he’s coming so you have to live ready!
This also is how the apostle Paul concludes this portion of Scripture by saying that we should hold fast and keep the traditions that were given to us. In other words, don’t give up your faith in Jesus but keep doing the things that we should do as Christians by worshiping the Lord celebrating communion and encouraging one another. For this reason Paul finally says he’s praying for them that God would comfort their hearts and establish them in his love with the hope of the return of Christ and to be fruitful in every good word and work meaning to keep serving the Lord faithfully until he comes.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) Don’t let anyone confuse you about the coming of the Lord.
2) No one knows the day or the hour only the Father in heaven
3) One of the signs that we are getting near is a great falling away from the faith and the public manifestation of the Anti-Christ declaring himself to be God which obviously hasn’t happened yet.
4) Watch, pray and live ready for the coming of the Lord.
5) According to Jesus he gives everyone of us work to do here on earth and we should concentrate on that and be faithful until the coming of the Lord!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute.
Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 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. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 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. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. 16 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, 17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In this portion of Paul’s letter he addresses confusion about the timing of the coming of the Lord. Some were teaching that Christ had already returned and this was causing believers to question their salvation. They thought, if Christ has returned how come we were not caught up to meet him in the air? Paul corrects this false teaching by reminding them that the day of the Lord will not come until the man of sin otherwise known as the Antichrist is first revealed. He describes the Antichrist as one sent by Satan that will deceive multitudes of people by all kinds of miraculous signs and exalt himself above every God and make a declaration while sitting in the temple of God that he himself is God. Obviously this event had not yet happened so Paul assures them that they were safe because God had truly ordained them to salvation because they had believed and received the Gospel and the love of the truth and we’re already saved. Paul says that before the Antichrist comes there will come a great falling away or an apostasy away from the true faith in Jesus Christ. I think it is safe to say that we are living in the last days, the time that he described as the mystery of lawlessness already at work in the world.
It is very wise to remember the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when it comes to prophets and teachers that try to calculate a date and make declarations about when the Lord is coming back. Jesus taught us in Mark 13:32-36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is. 34 It is like a man going to a far country, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to each his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch. 35 Watch therefore, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or in the morning 36 lest, coming suddenly, he find you sleeping. 37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!”
Jesus Christ himself warns us to beware of anyone saying that Christ has already returned or to place a date on his coming because no one knows the day or the hour except our heavenly father God and he is not sharing that information with anyone not even his Son until he gives the command to return to earth. So, instead of getting all concerned and absorbed in trying to figure out when the Lord Jesus is coming back we should all do the very thing that Jesus taught us to do and that is to concentrate on serving the Lord and fulfilling the great commission because everyone has a part to play and special assignments given to them by the Lord to do his work. The most important thing that we can do is watch, pray and be ready for the coming of the Lord because no one knows when he’s coming so you have to live ready!
This also is how the apostle Paul concludes this portion of Scripture by saying that we should hold fast and keep the traditions that were given to us. In other words, don’t give up your faith in Jesus but keep doing the things that we should do as Christians by worshiping the Lord celebrating communion and encouraging one another. For this reason Paul finally says he’s praying for them that God would comfort their hearts and establish them in his love with the hope of the return of Christ and to be fruitful in every good word and work meaning to keep serving the Lord faithfully until he comes.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) Don’t let anyone confuse you about the coming of the Lord.
2) No one knows the day or the hour only the Father in heaven
3) One of the signs that we are getting near is a great falling away from the faith and the public manifestation of the Anti-Christ declaring himself to be God which obviously hasn’t happened yet.
4) Watch, pray and live ready for the coming of the Lord.
5) According to Jesus he gives everyone of us work to do here on earth and we should concentrate on that and be faithful until the coming of the Lord!
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute.
Enroll free today! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll