St. Paul turns the Thessalonians’ attention to the right teaching concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus. The apostle does not want his beloved congregation to be deceived by any source, and so he warns them concerning the coming of the man of lawlessness, who will attempt to usurp the place of Christ in the Church. Such a spirit of rebellion is already at work, but St. Paul urges confidence on the part of the Church by proclaiming Christ’s victory over this lawless one by the Word. The lawless one works by the activity of the devil, and those who refuse the truth will be condemned by their unbelief. This strong warning encourages Christians to cling to the truth of God’s Word as we look for the Lord’s return.
Rev. David Boisclair, pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
To learn more about Our Redeemer Lutheran, visit www.ourredeemerstl.org.
“Yearning for the Day of Christ’s Returning” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that studies St. Paul’s two epistles to the Thessalonians. Although Paul’s time in Thessalonica was brief, he had great affection for the Christians there. His two letters to the Thessalonians show us the joy that God gives us together in the Church and encourage us to live faithfully in expectation of Jesus’ coming on the Last Day.
Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org
Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund. Together in faith, LCEF helps to start, sustain and strengthen LCMS ministries through financial and strategic partnerships. Visit lcef.org.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,[a] 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness[b] is revealed, the son of destruction,[c] 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 13, 15
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Some manuscripts sin
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Greek the son of perdition (a Hebrew idiom)
