2 Thessalonians 2: Warning of The Coming Apocalypse

2 Thessalonians 2 describes how the apocalypse will come about. There’s still a lot of information missing, but we can watch for signs to know when it is about to arrive.

I have really bad fears about the apocalypse or the great tribulation. It stems from being a kid in church. We had to watch these Christian movies about the Rapture and Tribulation, and as a kid in the late 80s, they were terrifying to watch.

The first one made in 1972 was called Thief In The Night, and that movie scarred me for years. To this day I can’t stand the sound of an old alarm clock going off.

They’re quite cheezy now.

Regardless of your belief about these movies, Jesus is coming back, and we are moving toward the end at breakneck speed. The only thing we can do is prepare our hearts, tell others about him, and wait for everything to go down.

I remember as a young child I was sick and had to stay home from Church. My dad stayed home with me and I promptly fell asleep after my family left.

I didn’t sleep long and after I woke up, my dad wasn’t there. I ran through the house freaking out. All the while thinking he was trying to scare me. But nobody was there so my mind started to turn towards those left behind movies.

I told myself that I’d been left behind because I didn’t go to church. God was angry at me, and so he left me behind to endure the tribulation that was about to happen.

I was just a kid, I didn’t know what I should do.

Then I looked out the front door and my dad was talking with a neighbor. I’ve never forgotten that feeling of terror.

2 Thessalonians 2 is trying to teach us that we can’t let fear stop us from living our lives. Instead, we need to live our lives for Christ and follow him. Also when you’re a child of God, skipping church because you’re sick probably isn’t an issue.

God loves you, and being sick is part of human nature. Just make sure you get some prayer for healing before you stay home.

2 Thessalonians 2: Events before the Lord’s Second Coming

2 Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. ² Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.

³ Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. ⁴ He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

This description of the end is interesting to me. Sooner or later I will do a correlation between 2 Thessalonians 2 and the Book of Revelation. But I need to study a lot more before I attempt that.

I’m not a biblical scholar, and I’m just reading through 2 Thessalonians 2. However, I am a follower of Jesus, but some of what was said in the first few verses can be seen today. Whether it’s the beginning of the end or not I do not know.

All I know is that we shouldn’t be easily shaken or alarmed. We need to live our lives for Christ, focusing on him spreading his gospel.

Too often we fall into fear, I saw it a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Remember God has not given us a spirit of fear. Instead, he gave us the ability to logically make decisions.

Unfortunately, we let our emotions take control, and fear has free reign in many of our lives. This is what Paul is talking about in 2 Thessalonians 2.

In addition to that, we have to remember that God is our ultimate source of information. He holds our lives in his hands and he loves us. We have to be cautious with what we let into our hearts and minds.

2 Thessalonians 2: The Antichrist is a Man of Lawlessness

⁵ Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? ⁶ And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. ⁷ For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. ⁸ Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

⁹ This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. ¹⁰ He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. ¹¹ So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. ¹² Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

2 Thessalonians 2

In 2 Thessalonians 2, we are introduced to the man of lawlessness. He is also known as the Anti-Christ and he will come to fool many. However, he will only fool the people who are already allowing themselves to be fooled.

These are the people who don’t follow Jesus with their whole hearts. They’re the people who go to church because it feels good, not because they want God, and they’re the people who won’t let go of evil. So instead they allow themselves to be deceived and God allows them to go on their way.

It must be painful to be God in this position, he loves every one of those people and yet lets them choose death.

When we choose God, we open ourselves to love, joy, peace, and many other great gifts. But if we deny him, we close ourselves off from those gifts. When we die, we won’t see them again, because God is the source, and Jesus is the way. Without them, we won’t make it far.

2 Thessalonians 2: Believers Need To Stand Firm

¹³ As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, ¹⁷ comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

2 Thessalonians 2 is teaching us that as Christians, we need to stand firm against the coming onslaught of evil. In essence, we will be going through a trial by fire. Our roots need to be firm in Christ, and our focus has to be on him.

He is our light, and the light is the life of men.

My life has been a living hell the last year or two (Possibly longer). But one thing I am holding onto is that Jesus is here for me.

I refuse to give up, and I will not surrender. Sometimes I get confused in my walk with God, I doubt that he loves me. But I don’t believe those lies for long.

Jesus loves me, and he loves you. He came and died for every one of us. He hopes that we all choose to follow him, but that’s our choice.

If we choose the path of sin, we aren’t standing firm and we risk our eternity.

That’s a terrifying thought, and I don’t want that for anyone, because I want to live with my family and friends in eternity.