Life tends to get real ugly. 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3

This kicks off with Paul writing to the Thessalonians, a body of believers who seem to be in a panic because someone has sent a letter to the effect that the day of the Lord has already come. They are convinced, at this point, that they have missed the bus. Considering how intense life will get immediately after the rapture happens, I could understand why they might go into panic mode.

2 Thessalonians 2:2-3 NASB (2) “that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (3) Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,”

Initially, when this came before me, it focused solely on 2 Thessalonians 2:2-3. The problem with that focus is that it affects our understanding of the context, which initiates with the catching away of the church. So, let's include verse one and try again.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NAS95 1) Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,  2 ) that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  3)  Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,

In verse one, Paul talks about “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him.” This sets the tone for the context, and it has everything to do with the catching away of the church—those who are in Christ at this time, including the dead in Christ.

What happens almost immediately after this snatching away?

Having pulled the church to safety, God will begin to pour out His wrath upon all those who remain on earth during this coming seven-year period.

A thought as I make these introductory statements, almost two thousand years after Paul wrote this letter. I can boldly say that those of the Thessalonian church were not thrust into the time of wrath spoken of in Revelation. If their lives were anything like what we have seen in the Middle East and North African nations, life tends to get really ugly at a moment's notice.

What is the day of the Lord?

I see two possibilities:

• The day he comes in the clouds, we go up to meet him in the air.

• The other would be his physical return to the earth as the avenging Messiah.

As a believer hoping to escape some nightmarish time of tribulation, my understanding would lean toward the choice that most closely applies to me. This appears to be the understanding that the Thessalonians applied, but we have a problem; it is one of those glaring arguments, like the one pointed out to me recently, in which God never promised us that we would not have tribulation. Jesus made this clear when he said, 

“...in the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” John 16:33.

All of life's tribulations were initiated with Adam.

Genesis 3:16-18 NAS95  To the woman He said, "I will greatly multiply Your pain in childbirth, In pain you will bring forth children; Yet your desire will be for your husband, And he will rule over you."  17)  Then to Adam He said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat from it'; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life.  18)  "Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field;

In Acts 14:21, Paul and Barnabas preached the Good News in Derbe and won many disciples. Then, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch in Pisidia. 

Acts 14:22 GNB  They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the faith. "We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God," they taught.

So, the problem of understanding is one we created when we assigned the word tribulation to a period in which the specific purpose is the pouring out of God's wrath (judgment) upon the nations and Israel for their rejection of the Lord.

All you have to do is mention “end times” or Revelation, and immediately, the mind screams out the word tribulation. Hostile theological debates rage daily about whether we are destined to be pre-, post, or mid-tribulation believers.

All you have to do is ask the saints who are survivors of Islam’s murderous onslaughts in the Middle East whether we are to go through horrid tribulation or not. I wonder how they would classify it. If the question was when the church will be raptured: pre, post, or tribulation, they would probably tell you post-tribulation. It really is relative, isn't it?

Most of us here in the United States do not know what deadly tribulation looks or feels like, and many still believe that our government will protect us. Our naivety and complacency will allow vast numbers to be killed here in the United States.

2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 Moffatt NT (6) “Well, you can recall now what it is that restrains him from being revealed before his appointed time. (7) For the secret force of lawlessness is at work already; only, it cannot be revealed till he who at present restrains it is removed.”

It is clear that something is restraining not only Satan's schemes from becoming full-blown, but the antichrist character and his actions are also being restrained. If it seems like the events of Revelation 6 are happening, just know that this is what Jesus called the beginning of sorrows and the wrath of man against mankind. It is becoming quite clear that many who deem themselves to be in the upper echelons are creating famines and poisoning the population with injections.

Something is undeniably missing from this formula, and that is a clear definition of what it is that restrains him (the anti-Christ) from being revealed.

We have a massive clue in that Paul calls this restrainer ‘he.’ A quick round-up of possible suspects:

• The Holy Spirit—The problem with identifying the Holy Spirit as the restrainer is that we see the activity and evidence of the Holy Spirit on earth after the church is gone.

• Christ himself – that does not work, for Christ’s work is completed, and he is sitting at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us.

• No one person fulfills that role – sorry to disappoint fans of the pope.

• Therefore, the only reasonable explanation left is the church. What makes that more plausible is that the Holy Spirit is in us. Colossians 1:27

  Colossians 1:27b GNB  “...the secret is that Christ is in you, ...”

Therefore, the main player in holding back the anti-Christ is Jesus living in us. That tends to push us to the forefront because we are his hands and feet on this earth. Given the time and space, one could back this concept up with Jesus' words multiple times. I will give you one from Paul's mouth.

Ephesians 2:10 ISV: “For we are God's masterpiece, created in the Messiah Jesus to perform good actions that God prepared long ago to be our way of life.”

Considering what I see in the less-than-mainstream news (There is much they will not show you on television, and the reasons vary,) the level of violence against the common man is rising exponentially daily. Our American President (I initially wrote this in 2014.) has intentionally opened our United States borders and allowed not only Islamic extremists but also every other form of violent offender. Infected people have come across the border carrying diseases that we in America have not seen for over 50 years. These diseases will have a deadly and widespread impact similar to the plagues in Europe, but again, the naive mind says that is not happening.

We, the blind sheep of the church, cannot seem to see anything that makes us uncomfortable, such as tribulation. Their blindness causes them to be unable to distinguish between the wrath of humans and the time referred to in Revelation as the seven-year period, which is a mind-boggling time of God's wrath.

An acquaintance recently said, in trying to divert from an uncomfortable conversation, “Besides, the first three and one-half years of this period, nothing really happens.” Wrong, from beginning to end, it is a non-stop destructive punishment, escalating at the midpoint, as some entity starts a methodical slaughter of anyone not in compliance with the worship of this thing called the beast. I suppose you have already figured out that this is Islam, and the beast may be Allah, for the wanton slaughter of infidels, those outside of Islam, is their trademark.

So much for introductions:

I want to understand this passage [2 Thessalonians 2:2-3], so I have to stick with what scripture tells me, not theory or conjecture, but truth and comprehension.

Based on Paul’s response, these people were seriously distressed that the rapture had occurred. In the short time Paul had spent with this church, he explained the timing (in a sense) of the “rapture” and the wrath of God that followed that event. Sadly, someone confused them to the point that any understanding and hope they had rapidly dissipated because of terminology, specifically “the day of.” 

This phrase shows up 163 times in 152 verses throughout scripture. If I narrow it down to “the day of the Lord,” it shows up 27 times in 26 verses. This phrase, “the day of the Lord,” decisively addresses Jesus' return to the earth as the avenging Messiah.

Take the time to look up some of these verses that speak toward "the day of":

• Joel 2:11… For the day of Jehovah is very great and terrifying, and who can endure it?

• Amos 5:18… The day of Jehovah is darkness and not light.

• Zephaniah 1:8 … in the day of the LORD'S sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, …

• Zephaniah 2:3 … it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD'S anger.

• 1 Thessalonians 5:2: “…the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”

• 2 Peter 3:10 …But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;.. the heavens shall pass away.

Not very optimistic, is it.

The phrase "the day of Christ" may convey something completely different, as it is inaccurately translated. At least, that is what J. Vernon McGee[1] said. Let us take a moment to see what we find.

2 Thessalonians 2:2 KJV (2) “That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”

Christ - G5547 Christos; from G5548; the Anointed One, Messiah, 

The implication of what Paul referenced in verse two is the coming of Christ as the warring Messiah, but that is not what the followers of Christ are looking for.

We are looking for the snatching away of the Church, the context found in verse one.

2 Thessalonians 2:1a BSB  “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, ...”

So, the clear thought of our being gathered to Him should be the basis of our understanding, and Paul had taught these dear people this very thing in a very short time frame.

If verse two was the context and all that Paul gave us, then we should be seriously concerned because that would mean we missed the bus and have no hope of Jesus rescuing us from the horrid, escalating nightmare that is about to quickly come upon us.

If the catching away of the church has come and gone, then there will be no gathering in the clouds where we meet Him, although the Revelation points out that Jesus will gather unto Himself those who will, in time, be deemed saints for having had their heads cut off.

Christ, as used here in verse two, is understood to mean the Messiah. For the Jews, that term meant that He was coming as the warring Messiah to save Israel from the warring oppressors, such as the Roman troops. Everything I see in scripture indicates a pre-judgment rapture.

Do you see how critical it is to use your brain, consider the context, and study the words' origins and grammar?

I said we must consider the context and look at the entirety of Paul’s thought. In chapter one of 2 Thessalonians, Paul addresses the persecutions and tribulations they are already enduring. These troubles are evidence of God’s righteous judgment. I know that terminology is hard for some of us, but it is our cross to bear. (Figure it out.) Paul explains the whys of the previous verses with, 

2 Thessalonians 1:6-8 KJV (6) Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; (7) And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, (8) In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Nothing about this passage conveys Christ's return to gather his own to him.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 NASB (3) “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,”

Compare this with:

2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV (3) “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

The NASB assumes they can call what they obviously did not understand "it." The KJV placed the words “that day shall not come” in italics, indicating they are added for clarity. The “it” is the wrath of God being poured out upon the earth, which happens at the catching away of the church.

If I do a rewrite without the added words, how does the meaning change?

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for… except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;”

‘for’: hoti; because.

‘except’: Greek - ean mē; unless. Clarified - provided that.

‘there come’: erchomai; to come, go.

‘a falling away’: apostasia; Feminine of the same as G647; defection; apostasion . Neuter of a (presumed) adjective from a derivative of G868; properly something separative, that is, (specifically) divorce: from G868; defection, revolt.

One of the oldest translations of the Bible is the Geneva Bible, and it says this:

“for that day shall not come, except there come a departing first.”

The inference is that the church does the departing, not individuals.

‘and’: a simple word in the Greek. Kai is a primary particle with a copulative and sometimes a cumulative force; and, also, even, so, then, too.

This verse could easily have said that the man of sin would be revealed.

Again, look at the verse with alternate wording:
Let no man cheat you by any means: because… provided that there comes a separation first, and that man of offense takes off the cover, the son of ruin;

Separation?

Is God divorcing us? You might think so based on the word separation. That, however, would be unthinkable as we are engraved upon the palm of his hand.

If we focus on separation as the definition, we are looking at the Church (followers of Christ) separating from this earth. The only separation I am aware of would be the removal of the church.

We could be looking at the church separating from God or, to a less dramatic extent, sound doctrine (P.S. I hate that phrase because it has manipulation built into it.)

2 Thessalonians 2:4 continues to expound on this son of perdition or ruin.

Only one entity gives any meaning to this, and that is Islam.

“…and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”

Is he (this man of perdition) here yet?

Absolutely, the problem is that most of us, with our (naive) Western mentality, do not have a clue about who this person is. As a heads up, many within Islam have, in just the last few years, stated that they are “channeling the Mahdi,” and a few have openly declared that they fulfill that role.

The important thing to understand is that the necessary things described by God in scripture have been fulfilled, but the things (Islamic prophecies describing his advent and cataclysmic destruction) that bring him on the scene are happening before our eyes.

There is a 2005 video in which a young man tells of a dream of the rapture and the associated chaos that ensues (he had the dream in the mid-eighties). “I Saw the Tribulation” - Ken Peters; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2owHVfZlDg (This video immediately registered in my spirit and made my hair stand up.) In the dream, he spoke of things he could not understand (Everyone seemed to have small, white devices upon which this man’s face appeared [this makes sense now as so many have iPhones and iPads]. There were large monitors everywhere that people gathered around and along the freeways, something we could not have imagined in the 1980s, and they all broadcast this man’s face and speech.) 

Ken Peters said, “There was a power outage that lasted several weeks, but it seems the biggest impact was to computers and their ability to communicate.” (This may have been the internet going down, possibly from an EMP blast.) When power was restored, a man appeared on everyone’s screen, including screens along the freeway and in public places. Remember that no one had laptops or ‘Ipads’ back then, and none of us had cell phones. The technologically advanced had pagers. Freeways had billboards, but I would have never imagined LED screens that are as high-quality as television screens. The man who appeared on the screens spoke smoothly and calmly. He was very charismatic and told everyone to calm down and that he had everything under control. People followed him as though they were mesmerized.

When I try to accurately build this puzzle called the End Times Prophecy, it does not work completely because neither I nor you have all the pieces, but we have enough to get a clear picture of what is coming. 

As I tell these things to others, and some of them lead Bible study groups, they say things like, “Why is any of this important to me? I won’t be here anyway.”

Let me answer that with a question: What is the good news of the gospel in this instance? Assurance! Paul referred to this assurance as hope.

Paul, speaking to the body of believers in Colossi, desired:

“..that their hearts may be encouraged, having been knit together in love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a true knowledge of God's mystery, that is, Christ Himself, (3) in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (4) I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument.” Colossians 2:2-4 NASB

To put it plainly, we have hope, and that hope tells us that heaven is real and Christ is coming, just as he said he would.

[The Colossians, to whom this epistle is written, were not the Rhodians, by some called Colossians, from Colossus, the large statue of the sun, which stood on the island of Rhodes and was one of the seven wonders of the world; but the inhabitants of Colossae, a city of the greater Phrygia, in the lesser Asia, near to which stood the cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis, mentioned in this epistle.] John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

I added Gill's commentary because of its association with the Laodicean church. The Laodicean church is the last church mentioned before the transition into Revelation chapter 4, which opens with “after these things,” an indicator, in my mind, that the church age has ended.

The Laodicean church is also the lukewarm church that is to be spewed out.

Consider this in light of Matthew 25, where 10 virgins are invited to the same wedding. Only five of them had an adequate amount of oil, and while they were out shopping for more, in the middle of the night, they lost their opportunity to get in while Grace held the door open. Paul wanted the Colossian church and us to comprehend the full assurance of understanding that comes from acknowledging the mystery of God and Christ.

End times prophecy is a mystery to a vast percentage of the church, 

Why do you suppose that is?

I can tell you that I know very few who invest quality time in God’s word, and of the few who do, many are so entwined in tradition that when they find the truth, they do not know what to do with it.

Look, everything is hidden in him (Him = Christ), and it's inescapable terminology, not because he wants to keep people from finding it, but because He desires that we find it.

I believe this is one of the reasons we were told the parable of this man:

“…the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” Matthew 13:44 KJV

If the implications are that the truth of God’s word is that treasure, then why do we choose not to pursue it with enthusiasm as this man did?

If you know your biblical stories, you know about Ruth and Boaz. 
Following her mother-in-law’s instructions, she lay at Boaz’s feet, effectively saying I am available and willing to marry you.

Boaz already knew what a treasure she was, regardless of her being an unacceptable Moabitess (according to law). She went back home, maintaining her integrity, and Naomi, her mother-in-law, told her to sit tight because this guy would do everything possible to make this happen today, and he did.

I see end-time prophecy, the books of Revelation, Daniel, Ezekiel, and the others that give us an understanding of what God is doing at this time as this treasure. 

Yes, there is the treasure (so to speak) of life with the Father in heaven. And though the thought of heaven excites me, especially since all pain and mental discomfort will be gone, I have come to understand long ago that I do not have to strive for this and can, therefore, rest in that knowledge.

I suppose that could make me complacent about heaven, but knowing there is no struggle there gives me a reason to relax. 

We do not have any room to feel complacent about end-times prophecy. I want and need to understand what God has said to us and what he is doing on earth. 

I lived most of my life just like all of you, in denial. Mocking the “conspiracy theorists” because it seemed unreasonable that someone would be that blatant about their plans and methods to reduce the earth’s population by any means while securing elaborate lifestyles for the world’s economic elite and putting everyone else under a solitary, global, controlling force (one world government), but there it is, happening before our eyes almost daily.

I have repeatedly asked myself how to deliver messages like this and how a message like this would cause the reader/hearer to want to know my Jesus more. I am unsure what the answer is, but I know I must be obedient.

Some could see a message like this as a need for fire insurance (to avoid hell's flames) or a desire to avoid the wrath that is coming upon the world. Others, hopefully, see a need for a relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the one who paid our ransom with his own blood and life upon the cross.

It is easy to gain a life in the family of God by merely accepting the fact that Christ died to restore you to life and that life is with the Father in eternity. He desires a loving relationship with you and will take you into his arms as you are.

[1] John Vernon McGee, Th.D., LL.D (June 17, 1904 – December 1, 1988) was an ordained Presbyterian minister (PCUS) and later became the pastor of a non-denominational church, a Bible teacher, theologian, and was also a radio minister. He began broadcasting Through the Bible in 1967 and did so until his death.