⏱ 8 min read

• We continue with 2 Thessalonians 2 with a short but powerful word 📖🔥🤗
• Maybe you missed Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians, Colossians but hey, join in and let’s “tattoo” God’s Word in our hearts! 📖🤍
• God bless you, and looking forward to your lessons, insights, and comments.

Now in regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to meet Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly unsettled or alarmed either by a [so-called prophetic revelation of a] spirit or a message or a letter [alleged to be] from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has [already] come. ~ 2 Thess 2:1-2

• It seems there were people at that time teaching that the day of the Lord had already come (referring to the rapture).
• And you may come across such misleading statements about the rapture (in different directions) on your Christian walk.
• You must note that such controversies are aimed at deceiving and trapping us (v3).

Paul is contesting those misleading statements and saying it’s impossible because the day of the Lord will not come until some other things have happened. Then he explains what has to happen:

Let no one in any way deceive or entrap you, for that day will not come unless the apostasy comes first [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians], and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction [the Antichrist, the one who is destined to be destroyed], 
who opposes and exalts himself [so proudly and so insolently] above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he [actually enters and] takes his seat in the temple of God, publicly proclaiming that he himself is God. ~ 2 Thess 2:3-4

So, before the return of the Lord, Paul says two things have to take place or happen:

1. There has to be the falling away, the apostasy [that is, the great rebellion, the abandonment of the faith by professed Christians]
2. And as a result of that rebellion or apostasy, there will be the emergence of the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition, the antichrist. 

These two things must take place before the actual return of the Lord in glory. And it seems that the apostasy, the falling away from the truth of the church, will open the way for the manifestation of the antichrist.

• You see, the great barrier or defence that protects the world from the antichrist is the Church of God sticking with the truth of God’s word.
• But when the church falls away from the truth, then the barrier will be broken down and the way will be opened for the antichrist to be revealed.

So the abandonment of the faith (that is, the falling away of Christians and the church in general), is part of Satan’s strategy to open the way for the appearance of the antichrist.

Now, everybody has to make their own personal decision, but I believe that we may be living in the time of the great rebellion.

You see, down through the ages in the history of the church, there have been ungodly men who claim to be ministers of Christ and who led immoral and dissonant lives.

But basically, the central truths of the Christian faith were maintained and professed by the large body of the universal Church and its leadership. A good example of this is the Apostles’ Creed:

It talks about how Jesus is the Son of God, that He was born of a virgin, that He led a sinless life, that He died an atoning death, that He was buried and that He was raised again from the dead (physically) on the third day. And also that He’s coming again in power and glory to judge the living and the dead.

• Now, as I understand it, throughout the centuries, the universal church as a united body has affirmed these truths.
• Even if perhaps some people didn’t really believe them in their hearts, and even if sometimes the leadership led lives that were totally inconsistent with what they claimed to believe, they still affirmed those truths.

But in our age, especially in the last few decades, many leaders from different sections of the universal church have been openly and publicly renouncing these truths.

• For instance, Derek Prince said that a very large proportion of universal church leaders (from the main denominations), do not believe in the physical resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
• In our generation, we are seeing churches endorse homosexuality. And they have made public statements of these.
• I don’t think this situation has ever existed in the history of Christianity until now. And I don’t believe it has come to a climax yet.

I believe that it’s going to be much more open and much more bold to the point that they will attack those who claim to believe some of the statements in the Apostle’s creed, and for instance, the truth about homosexuality.

So we may be in the stages of the apostasy Paul spoke about, and as such, the way is being opened for the antichrist to be manifested.

And you know what restrains him now [from being revealed]; it is so that he will be revealed at his own [appointed] time. For the mystery of lawlessness [rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness] is already at work; [but it is restrained] only until he who now restrains it is taken out of the way. ~ 2 Thess 2:6-7

• And then Paul says that there is something restraining that manifestation of the antichrist (the antichrist being revealed).
• I believe this is the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church.
• Jesus said we’re the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), and when light shines, darkness recedes.

The scripture states that the restrainer will be “taken out of the way.” I believe this means the true Church of God will be taken away (raptured) before the Antichrist is manifested.

Before then, the Church is expected by God to restrain evil today. We’re the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). When we decree a thing, it’s established unto us.

While we are here, we remain the salt of the earth, and one of our supreme responsibilities by our presence, by everything we say and do, is to restrain the manifestation of the Antichrist, the consummation of lawlessness and rebellion until God’s purposes of grace have been fulfilled.

Satan can’t lord it over the nations; he can’t perpetuate his ultimate wickedness in the nations of the world and in the lives of men as he desires to, because we’re putting him in check.

• Join in with your full armour (Ephesians 6) and let’s continue to restrain him and reign gloriously until the coming of King Jesus!
• The church (which means you and I) is more powerful than we think.
• Don’t let the enemy scare you with His bluffing; we are more than conquerors!

Hey, you're blessed and highly favoured and dearly loved! Do share your lessons from 2 Thessalonians 2. Remember to tag us and your friends on 📲:
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Disclaimer: this post contains portions of messages and text originally shared by Derek Prince (who is one of my mentors in the faith).