1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,
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 is revealed, the son of destruction,
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.
Stand Firm
13 But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Things to think about…
1. Paul wants to comfort the Thessalonians by telling them when and how the man of sin is revealed so they are not troubled, 2Thess 2:1, 2. Before the ‘Man of Lawlessness’ is revealed there will be a falling away from the true faith as Paul also tells Timothy, 1Tim 4:1-3. He will sit in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God, 2 Thess 2:4. Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Lord and He was crucified as a result. He was speaking the truth. But there will be another man who will say the same thing. The Jews will again reject the notion that a man can be God. This man will then break his covenant with his fellow Jews. The third temple must therefore be built in Jerusalem for this to occur. Some have said the temple is the church and that this man will simply proclaim himself to be Christ on earth, similar to a papal figure. There is little doubt that he will be someone the Jews are looking for and will in all likelihood be a Jewish figure.
2. Remember the messiah the Jews are still looking for will be both a military and spiritual/military figure like David. He must be Jewish, as they are seeking “a son of David” as their Messiah. Sadly, most in Israel miss the fact that Yeshua the Messiah has already been revealed. But this Jewish Messiah will turn on his own people and the Jews will finally look upon “the One whom they have pierced”, Zech 12:10 and turn to Christ en masse and it will be as if “all Israel will be saved”, Rom 11:26.
3. Paul says the ‘restrainer’ is stopping this from happening. Who is the ‘restrainer’ that will be taken out of the way, 2 Thess 2:7? God sends strong delusion so they believe what is false, vs 11. The restrainer is the Holy Spirit restraining the man and this season on earth. The Spirit will of course still be active over this season. Some say the church is raptured at this point. Paul spoke about a catching up in the clouds in 1Thess 4. There are differing views as to whether this event will be pre, mid or post this (7 year) tribulation period. The most important thing is that we are ready to be taken by Christ regardless of when it occurs.
4. What a fearful thing it is for God to send a strong delusion that people believe a lie, 2 Thess 2:11. This echoes what Paul says in Romans 1:26 that the Lord gives them up to dishonourable passions. It is a judgement of God when He hands people over to their own desires for evil and sin. Sadly, we see too much of this today and it seems this is outworking in a more global nature suggesting a time of great evil is approaching on the earth.
5. The exhortation for us is to ‘stand firm’, 2 Thess 2:15 and be established through good works and words, vs 17. Praise God we are not left without a plan or a purpose. Encourage someone today with an appropriate word or action – we all need it!
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson group Wednesday night 6:30pm. Off this week so that everyone gathers tonight for the combined prayer night. Starts at 7pm.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group looking at “what is a cult” this Sunday.
Prayer Points
1. Land slide in New Guinea that has claimed around 1000 lives. May God have mercy in the recovery efforts.
2. Keep praying for Anna and the Playgroup, pray for more families to be reached.
3. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
4. Church finances to cover all expenses. Budget presently not being met.
5. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups. Young Adults.
6. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Wednesday afternoons, 5:00pm in the church cafe. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
7. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Combined Baptist One prayer meeting was an encouragement to hear what the Lord is doing in the other churches and to pray for revival in our city.
2. Great meeting on Sunday with new comers – give thanks
3. Tad’s health getting better all the time.
4. Glenys is looking well and receiving good treatment as she recovers from her stroke.
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Playgroup 9:30-11am on Friday.
2. Special Members meeting 30th June after the service.
3. Young Adults study after church on Sunday – “What is a cult?”.
4. Wednesday evening prayer at church 5:30-6pm
5. Life Groups Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
6. Kids@Church every Sunday.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for June...
Q. 21. In what condition did God make Adam and Eve? A. He made them holy and happy.
Bible References – Gen.1:26-28; Ps.8:4-8.
“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” Jer 33:3
