A Falling Away First Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.—1 John 2:18 Verse by verse study in 2 Thessalonians 2 The question of the return of Jesus Christ preoccupied the minds of many of the early followers of Christ. This was particularly so in the church in Thessalonica. Paul’s second epistle to this congregation addresses several issues concerning this much-anticipated event. A Falling Away First—Verses 1 to 5 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming (parousia) of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 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. 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; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? In his first epistle Paul had stirred the Thessalonians with the prospect of the second coming of Christ with its attendant resurrection of the saints (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:6). In that letter he emphasized the suddenness and thief-like manner of that return and therefore the need to be awake, alert, and watching. Evidently there were some in Thessalonica who mistakenly had deduced that Christ had already returned. A similar situation may have also occurred in Corinth (1 Corinthians 4:8). This misapprehension indicates that they anticipated an invisible return of their Master for there is no evidence they had heard reports of Jesus being seen in the flesh. There were three methods that Paul feared might lead them astray on this subject: 1) "by spirit," that is, by someone claiming to have the spirit of prophecy; 2) "by mouth," as by some claiming they had heard Paul himself make this statement; 3) "by letter as from us." The fact that there may have been just such a spurious letter is suggested by Paul’s assurance that any letter from himself would bear his distinctive signature (2 Thessalonians 3:17). Paul then informs the church that two things must occur before the anticipated presence of Christ: an apostasy and the revelation of its consequence, the man of sin. This apostasy had been predicted by Jesus himself in the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24–30). The tares ("children of the wicked one"—Matthew 13:38) were to grow side by side with the wheat until the harvest, which Jesus defined as "the end of the age" (Matthew 13:40). Not only was this prophecy of an apostasy aNew Testament truth, it was testified adequately in the Old Testament as well, particularly in the book of Daniel under the figure "the abomination of desolation" (Daniel 11:31 and 12:11). This apostasy was to be fostered by "the man of sin." This developing apostasy not only would occur, it would be revealed before the return of Christ. The description of this wicked one stands in marked contrast to Christ himself. He is described as "the man (or embodiment) of sin," "the son of perdition (or destruction)," and the self-exultant one who "opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God." In contrast, Jesus at his triumphal entry is described prophetically as "just, having salvation, and lowly" (Zechariah 9:9). The two stand in bold relief:
These things, Paul assured the Thessalonians, were not new. He had taught them the same things when he was with them in Thessalonica. The Development of the Apostasy—Verses 6 and 7 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. It did not take long for the great Adversary to plant seeds of evil in the church. These seeds—variously described as "the man of sin," "the son of perdition," "the mystery of iniquity," and "antichrist"—were already evident in the apostles’ days. In their epistles, the authors allude to several of these apostates. Some of those thus named were Diotrephes (3John 9), Demas (2 Timothy 4:10), and Hymenaeus and Philetus (2 Timothy 2:17). The apostle John showed similar awareness of the ingrowing evil when he wrote in 1 John 2:18, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." In the book of Revelation, the message to the angel of the first church, Ephesus, was: "But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate" (Revelation 2:6). Since Revelation is a book of symbols, we might well take this name as symbolic. The name Nicholas means "lord over the people" and may well indicate the spirit of this "mystery of iniquity." It was during the first century that a clergy class began to develop, taking on near dictatorial powers in the supervision of their followers. The apostle Peter warns of this very danger in admonishing the elders of the church, "Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2,3). Verses 6 and 7 of 2 Thessalonians are clearer in the New American Standard translation: "And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. 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." Because the gospel message was not only unpopular to the Jews but also was oppressed by the Roman government, these tendencies to dominate lay latent. They could not be manifested openly until Christianity became the state religion in the days of Constantine in the fourth century. It was then that this developing trend toward clerical domination became openly evident. It came into full fruition during the "Dark Ages" when persecutions drove the true followers of Jesus literally into the wilderness, and the inquisitions introduced an epoch of torture. Destroying the Apostasy—Verses 8 to 10 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. The revelation of that "Wicked" is in stages. First, from the time of the exaltation of Christianity under Constantine, this spirit of dominance became evident. Then, as centuries rolled by, reformer after reformer began calling attention to the apostate nature of the ruling "papal" system and applying the apocalyptic prophecies of Revelation to it. These revelations of apostasy preceded the return of the Lord; however, the subsequent destructive processes were to follow it. Two steps in the tearing-down process are outlined in verse eight: "consuming with the spirit of his mouth" and "destroying with the brightness of his coming." These steps appear to be listed in the reverse order of their fulfillment. The latter action, "to destroy," is from the Greek katargeo, meaning "to render powerless." Throughout the centuries of the gospel age the power of the dominant system has beenin the superstitions foisted on the laity as thoughthey were truth. The enlightenments of the past two centuries largely have dispelled these superstitions and many have increasingly lost confidence in organized religion. In Psalm 97:4 these enlightenments are attributed directly to the return of the Lord: "His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled." These enlightenments are "the brightness of his coming" and have the effect of notifying all who see them that there is a new day dawning. Not only will this apostate system be rendered powerless, eventually it will be utterly consumed. This second action will mark the permanent removal of that "mystery of iniquity" which was already at work in the days of the apostles. This will not mean, however, the final destruction of the great architect behind these powers of evil for we read of his being "loosed" at the end of Christ’s millennial kingdom to attempt once again to deceive the nations (Revelation 20:7–10). Nor should we assume that the individuals who succumb to this "deceivableness of unrighteousness" will perish eternally. Professor W. E. Vine says of the Greek word apollumi, here translated perish: "The idea is not extinction but ruin, loss, not of being, but of wellbeing." This is the same thought given in Revelation 18. In that chapter we find the pronouncement of doom on this same system in the words, "Babylon is fallen" (Revelation 18:2). However it is not until Revelation 18:21 that we see the final destruction of Babylon. Between these two verses we have a detailed listing of those whose well-being is affected by its fall. Strong Delusions—Verses 11 and 12 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. In these verses we have the reason why God permitted the apostasy in the first place—to try the hearts of men. God desires servants who yield instant and willing obedience. During the centuries of apostasy, the easy course for an individual was to go along with the masses in their obeisance to the dominant systems. The "little flock" (Luke 12:32), in contrast, is more interested in yielding service to God than to man-made organizations. At the Lord’s return, when these false religious systems come into great difficulty, there tends to be a pulling away from them. Yet God desires the test to continue. Therefore he permits other strong delusions to sift out those who are unwilling to uphold the high ideals of complete consecration to him. The apostle carefully chose the Greek word pempo, rather than the stronger apostello, to describe this action of God. Citing the noted Greek lexicographer Thayer, Professor Vine notes that pempo is a more general term than apostello; apostello usually "suggests official or authoritative sending." Here the thought is more of permission than of directing the delusions upon men. The Living Bible catches the thought well with this translation: "So God will allow them to believe lies with all their hearts." The New American Standard correctly translates verse 12, "in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness." Although the judgment is negative, there is no thought in the word of eternal punishment. Their fate is to endure the destructive processes of the systems in which they trusted. Their destiny is the "outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 25:30). Salvation Through Sanctification—Verses 13 and 14 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Turning now from the class who receives the negative judgment, Paul directs his attention to his Thessalonian brethren. He expresses his grateful confidence that they will not receive such negative judgments because they have engaged in a two-fold process toward the obtaining of their heavenly glorification. The first of these steps is "sanctification of the spirit." Called to holiness, they seek to practice holiness in their daily lives. They accept their every experience as sent from God for the purpose of setting them apart for a holy work in the future—to assist their Master in the uplifting of the human race. The second step is "belief of the truth." This is not mere intellectual acquiescence to the precepts of Christ, but it is a living faith. This faith, as James says, is demonstrated by their works (James 2:18). It is this active, appreciative faith, which sets them apart from those who are deceived by the "strong delusions." Some may take the statement of these verses as indicating predestination. However, they fall far short of that concept. Rather than saying that God has pre-selected them to receive salvation, Paul’s point is that they were chosen with that goal in mind and that they must follow successfully the steps of sanctification and belief if they would reach that goal. As the same apostle expressed it in Ephesians 4:4, "ye are called in the one hope of your calling." Admonitions—Verses 15 to 17 Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle. Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work. The chapter closes with the admonition to stand fast in the doctrinal understanding which they had received, both from personal teachings and through Paul’s epistles. By using the word "traditions" he distinguished between direct Scripture (from the Old Testament) and the teachings which he deduced from his study of those inspired writings. The body of apostolic teaching, while in accord with the law which they had received, was a radical expansion of the body of Old Testament writings, it represented, in many cases, a departure from the traditions handed down through their Jewish rabbis. As elsewhere, Paul clearly distinguished between the Lord Jesus Christ and God. How comforting to note that God is introduced in this passage, not merely as the Father of Christ, but as "our Father." Through their consecrations, the Thessalonians had become spiritual brothers of Jesus and uniquely sons of God. What everlasting consolations and good hopes such a relationship portends! It should comfort out hearts and stablish us in every good work and word just as it did the Thessalonian church. |