CHAPTER 2

Vs 1
Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,

Paul seems to be alluding to what he had previously said in
1Thess. 4:17, "..then we shall be caught up together with them
in the clouds."

Now, Paul is pleading (beseech) with them that they should not be
disturbed or distressed about the fact that Jesus WILL come again.
Perhaps some had told them that the catching away had
ALREADY happened; and that they had MISSED it!

Those two possibilities are shown in the next verse.

Vs 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.

May I point out that the Scripture says "nor by word, nor by
letter as from us."
Perhaps someone had SAID one or both of the above
possibilities.
Or, perhaps someone had written a letter (saying it was from Paul)
and read it in the congregation.

At any rate, "..be NOT soon shaken in mind, or be troubled.."

Yes. Most genuine Christians of that day believed Christ's
return would be SOON.
But, what is SOON when we consider that 1,000 years are as
only ONE day with the Lord!! (2Pet. 3:8)

The truth is, YES; He IS going to appear.
Therefore, we should live our lives TODAY, as if Jesus would
come TONIGHT! And, also remember, that our Lord is not "slack"
concerning His promise to return.
Instead, He is "long-suffering" toward us, desiring that
"ALL should come to repentance!"

Vss 3-5
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;
4 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.
5 Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you, I told you
these things?

The words "falling away" are from the Greek
apostasia which describes a departure from the faith
as it was in many times during the last 2,000 years.
That word is used only twice in the New Testament; here, and
in Acts 22:21, where it is translated "forsake".

As stated, the departure from the faith has happened many
times over the last 2,000 years.
One was in the great persecution which occured in
70ad. Titus, the son of Emperor Vespasian, destroyed
Jerusalem in that year.

The "man of sin" is the person who would act
viciously with iniquity against God and the Bible.
Later, about 167ad, a vicious Roman sacrificed a pig on
the altar; a very despicable act concerning Judaism.
That incident sparked an outrage, and an uprising.

Let's jump forward to TODAY.
In our world today, fewer than 20% of people claim to be
Christians.
And, on any given Sunday morning, fewer than 40% of those
appear in church!
That means, out of about 1.6billion people calling themselves
Christians, fewer than 640,000,000 attend church regularly.
Now, is that a "falling away?"

Well, there are about 960,000,000 who do NOT attend regularly!
The "falling away" would eventually lead to the rise of
the "man of sin".
He would oppose God and exalt himself as God!
As yet, we might conclude that he has NOT been revealed.
There is something yet which prevents the exposure of such a
person.

These things Paul had advised the church at Thessalonica
while he was with them. (vs 5 above).

The term "son of perdition" is the same term which
Jesus used in John 17:12, probably referring to Judas, who
betrayed Jesus and brought crucifixion upon Jesus.
That term can apply to either one devoted to destruction, or, as
one who would bring destruction to others.

Vs 6
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed
in his time.

This means that something is restraining the "man of sin"
from being revealed.
Again, may I point to 2Pet. 3:9, where it is stated that God is
"LONGSUFFERING" toward us; and desires that ALL men
come to repentance!

God is HOLDING back the rapture until He has seen that
ALL who WOULD be saved, ARE saved.

Vs 7
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

There IS "iniquity" in the world today.
Wouldn't you agree? (See Rom. 3:23)

In the words of Matthew Henry, "We have a subtle adversary,
who watches all opportunities to do mischief..."

What WATCHES over the world that impedes the appearance
of the antichrist today?
CIVIL GOVERNMENT!
In each country today, there are laws which impede total
iniquity.

However, the "mystery of iniquity" will one day take
OVER all civil governments and declare himself to be God!

That "mystery of iniquity" IS working in the world
today, subtly OPPOSING laws governing evil, and requiring
penalties for such actions.

But, one day, one awful day, the antichrist will TAKE OVER
the WORLD!
And, laws then will be defined by HIM!

Vss 8-10
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:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with
all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.

There is an END to the wicked antichrist.
He will appear with "the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders."
And, he will prevail over the world for 7 years.

But in the end, he will be destroyed by the "brighteness" of
the Lord Who will come. (See Rev. 13&14)

Note that those who follow after the antichrist shall PERISH!
And the REASON they shall perish is that "they received
NOT the love of the truth, that they might be saved!"

Vss 11-12
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

The antichrist will fall, and even Satan shall fall, into an
eternal burning pit!
AND, all people that have followed their evil ways will ALSO fall
into the same burning pit! (See Rev. 19:20 - 21:8)

Vss 13-14
13 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 truth:
14 Wherunto He called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving is due to God for His grace that has "chosen"
those who have received and believed and lived by the TRUTH,
of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is through Him and Him ONLY that man may be SAVED
from the pit of eternal condemnation!!

Vs 15
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which
ye have been taught, whether by word or our epistle.

My friends, salvation is a ONE-TIME decision for a
LIFE-TIME of servitude to Christ!

Christians are to "stand fast," or remain strong
in that decision!

Vss 16-17
16 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,
17 Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word
and work.

It is "through grace" that God has called men to
eternal salvation and given the atonement of our sins through
Jesus' sacrifice at the cross.
It is also "through grace" that God has given us the
gift of FAITH, which is the ability to CLING to that truth
established in Christ Jesus.

CLING to that truth in all circumstances, temptations, tests,
and trials!

If indeed we are saved, let us be FAITHFUL to Christ in ALL
our doings!
And, let us not be swayed from that truth by some
side-winders who would be employed by the devil to
depart from it!