Enlightenment About the "Day of the Lord"

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The Apostasy Must Take Place

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The "word" that Paul speaks of here is not "The Word"; it is the word of false teachers who enthusiastically speak and lead people astray by their enthusiasm. These people are to be shunned. Also Paul speaks of a letter that they had received that was supposed to have come from him. This letter had contained false information about the Second Coming. This may be one of the reasons that Paul always sent his letters by trusted companions so that those who received them would know that they were truly from him.

The "Temple" Must be Rebuilt

The "Temple" spoken of here is the Temple in Jerusalem. It is not the "body" of the believer which houses the Spirit of God and which is often led astray by false teachers. Paul does not speak of the "Anti-Christ" as John does but he is speaking of the same false influence.

Lets piece together the events in the world leading up to the Second coming. First, the last great world dictator before the coming of Christ will come into power. Paul calls him,, by three different names. One, the man of sin, two, the Son of Perdition and three, the Lawless one. He will be a "deceiver" and he will come out of the Church. His platform will be "reform and purification".

The Greek word translated Anti-Christ, literally means "instead of Christ". Under the pretence of reform, this deceiver will seek to be worshipped instead of Christ. By eloquent speech, emotional excitement and enthusiasm, he will lead people to believe, falsely, that he has the keys to pure and true religion. To get a good description of this person, we must use the whole Bible.

He is described in Revelation 6, as the "peace maker". He is the rider on the white horse who imitates Christ. He carries a bow but no arrows. ( a degree to preach but no message ) He unites the 10 great nations of Europe who are obligated to protect Israel, under the pretence of peace. These nations will fall under the power of the Anti-Christ.

In Daniel 9, Daniel speaks of the "peacemaker". Up to this point, the Anti-Christ has masqueraded as a peace maker. Then he will reveal his true mission. He will take over the Jewish Temple and rebuild it, and demand that the world worship him.

This is what Paul calls "The Rebellion". This "Man of Sin" will oppose all other religions. He will organize a "world church" that will worship him. Jesus prophesied this in Matt. 24:15-28. The world will be taken in by this man who will, with Satan's power, perform signs and wonders.

John, in Revelation 13:15, tells what will happen then. "Great persecution will come upon the earth." "Satan will vent his anger upon Israel." The Anti-Christ will control the world's economic system so that people must bear "the mark of the beast" to be able to do business. Will any body be saved during this period? Yes. John, in Revelation 7 states that 144,000 Jews (12,000 from each of the 12 tribes) will be saved. Also a great multitude of Gentiles will be saved. Even though the Holy Spirit will not function as a restraint to evil during this time, He will still function with power to enlighten for redemption.

So during this time of deception, the Apostasy will take place and the Temple will be rebuilt. This brings us to the third event. The "Restrainer" or the Holy Spirit must be removed.

The "Restrainer" Must be Removed

As we see in the book of Revelation, during this time, the Holy Spirit will be removed as a "restraining" power against evil in the world. When we read about this and the condition of the church in the "last days", we cannot help but see its weakness and seeming failure, but we must remember that "the church" is the instrument whereby people are saved. It is the presence of the Church in the world that delays the Second Coming of the Lord. (An example, Lot was not a dedicated man, but it was his presence in Sodom that, for a time, held back the wrath of God.)

There are two programs at work in the world today. God's program of salvation and Satan's program of sin. God had a timetable. Nothing Satan can do will change that timetable. So, in the "fullness of time", The apostasy will occur, the "man of sin" will come into power and rebuild and occupy the Temple in Jerusalem, the Anti-Christ will take over and the Holy Spirit will be removed as a "restrainer" to evil. When will all of this take place? "In the fullness of time", after the Church is complete.

The "Church" Must be Complete

What makes up the Church? The body of believers, loved by the lord because God chose them from the beginning to be saved (Predestination). Those who have been "enlightened" by the Holy Spirit and are able to believe the "truth". Who then will be the Anti-Christ? Paul says in verse 10 that it will be those who refuse to "love the truth", who refuse to believe when they had the opportunity. Paul says in verse 14 that they had the opportunity through his Gospel which he preached.

So, Paul instructs them to stand firm and hold to the truths that he had taught them, either by word of mouth or by letter. Then he pronounces a little benediction before the end of the letter, here at the end of Chapter 2. "Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us:

1. Eternal comfort,
2. Good hope through Grace,

comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word."

So it appears that the Church will be complete at the Second Coming of Christ which will occur before the Tribulation, yet elsewhere we read that there will be those who will be saved during the Tribulation, the 1000 year reign of Satan, before the Third Coming of Christ in all His Glory to set up his Kingdom and establish a new earth.

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