(2Th 2:8)  “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:” This occurs at the end of the Tribulation Period. Point: the Lord destroys with the “brightness of His coming”. True Believers are to live in the light of God’s Word. Truth. Truth is light. And light pushes all darkness aside. Always speak the truth as lovingly as you can but still speak it. The only way darkness can prevail is when truth is not spoken.  

 (2Th 2:6) “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. (7)  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:….”  This was penned almost two thousand years ago. Listen, Satan is real! He is moving mightily in the world we live in. Hindering him begins in you and me: (Jas_4:7)  “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” The problem I’ve seen among professing believers is that they do not know the Word of God and therefore do not know when their thought processes, their reactions to people, their emotions – are wrong. Satan is at work. Grow in the knowledge of the Word so that you may resist. 

 (2Th 2:6) “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. (7)  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”  He that is holding back and restraining is God the Spirit. There is a marked difference between the countries where Christianity has flourished and those where it has not. Now we see as true Christianity becomes less and less (those truly being born again – spirit made alive and the Holy Spirit indwelling) evil has become open and “in your face”. Society is devolving “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:….”  If you belong to the Lord, now is the time to be the most faithful and to snatch as many from the fire as you are able!

(2Th 2:5)  “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?”  Remember I told you. We have a tendency to forget. The Lord Jesus in facing Satan quoted the OT: “Man shall not live by bread alone but by EVERY word of God” (Matt 4:4). I have read the Bible over and over again since getting saved back in 1973. Why? Lest I forget. Remember.  

 (2Th 2:4) “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;”   The anti-christ does this to be worshiped. Yet, people side with Satan today in there hearts every time they say, “I know what the Bible says, But…..”  They are admitting they know God said one thing but they will be their own boss (Lord) and do as they please.” Sad. In reality they are exalting themselves over God. The Lord God is our Creator; He it is that gives us daily life; He it is that gave His Own Son to pay for our sins, to give us a new nature that would desire to obey Him. Sad that so many choose self-will over “Thy will be done” in their life.

 (2Th 2:4) “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped;”  The anti-christ is the subject. I draw your attention to “Who opposeth…..God”. I say you as lovingly as I know how, if you do not come and seek to follow God His way, through what is revealed in the pages of the Bible, then you live in opposition to God – no exceptions. There is no middle ground lacking offense when it comes to how you live your life. Your purpose is to know and serve Him in truth. If you do not you make yourself the enemy of God (Matthew 6:24; James 4:4; Roman 8:7).

 (2Th 2:3)  “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;”  This speaks of the anti-christ. The name given here is interesting. He is the son of “perdition”. Perdition means “ruin or loss”. He will be the son of him who ruined his own life; the son of he who loss greatly because of his own sin. He is the son of the devil. Sin ruins. Sin makes us losers. We lose the blessings that come with being God’s!

(2Th 2:3)  “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, …”  Are we living in such a day? Jesus said of the people of His day, (Mat 15:8) “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.” Jesus also told us the evidence of our love would be, (Joh_14:15)  “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” Here’s where the falling away is found. Professing believers living according to their own will (what they think) instead of God’s will (what He has said). Churches today are filled with people who will say, “I know what the Bible says, but….” Yes, we are in the last days.

(2Th 2:1)  “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (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.”  Why would they be troubled by such news? Because the Day of the Lord is judgment, the tribulation period followed by the judging of the nations. If you “hope” you are saved, then you need to be sure, for the day is at hand!  You can be sure. Just deal with the Lord in sincerity of heart, willing to turn from “all” of your old life to have Christ Jesus and salvation. He died because of the sins of that life you have lived in pleasure of your own will. Ask His forgiveness and for the gift of everlasting life. Believe not only in His payment for your sins  and resurrection but also in His willingness to save you!

 (2Th 2:1) “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,”  The Holy Spirit is about to say, “Since you know this, don’t worry about that.” In other Words, you know you are His and He is coming for you. There are truths that are foundation and should be held to, not cast aside in our minds and hearts. Salvation is one of them. We base our faith upon the knowledge that Jesus died for our sins on the cross, paying its price, was buried and then arose from the dead; that if we would turn in our hearts from our sinful ways He would forgive us and give us eternal life. Not life, but eternal life. We then read some verse that seems to say, “Do this or you will lose it.” We are shaken from our foundation upon which we trusted. God did not promise us “life”. That we could lose. He promised use “never-ending life”. That cannot be taken away, for it does not end. It seems the Bible is the only area of learning where people have a tendency to throw away the foundation for what they seem to learn later. “Since you know this, don’t worry about that.”