Now we come to the point of this second letter to Thessalonica. Some one or more persons was trying to convince the church there the Day of the Lord had come, as if that would explain their persecution. Paul warned them not to believe any such notion, whether it come via spiritual revelation, a report of teaching or a bogus letter from Paul himself. During those three short weeks with them, he warned there would have to be certain conditions fulfilled before the Lord's Return.
Paul runs through a brief summary of what he had taught them in more detail, which details are no longer available to us. However, the outline is not hard to follow. First there must be a general apostasy, but it is paired directly with the rise of an Antichrist. This draws a picture of the church drifting far, so very far it mistakes some Satanic deceiver for Christ. In other words, the genuine Return of Christ would be preceded by a fake one. This someone will eventually reveal their pretension to being God Himself. In his previous letter, Paul draws a picture of Christ coming in the air, we rise to meet Him, He changes and redeems all Creation, and then comes Eternity in Paradise. The qualitative difference is indescribable, so anything short of that means Christ has not come. Signs and miracles are not evidence of any new revelation from God which contradicts plain teaching.
Granted, the deep mystery of such a preposterous presumption is already at work in this world. Satan began the day Christ ascended, planning and preparing the way for his fake Messiah to displace the truth of Christ. The only thing stopping him is the restraining hand of God, working through some force Paul does not declare here. Nor does it matter, because the point is we have not yet seen any such global deception focussed in a single individual just yet. This Antichrist's time has not yet come, so clearly this is not yet the Day of the Lord. And when this Son of Perdition does come, he won't last long. God will obliterate him with just a puff of His breath.
There is a clear distinction between those who embrace the Cross and those only pretending. The Cross is death, and those who don't quite grasp the nature of mortification aren't there yet. The Antichrist will come with an easy gospel, signs and wonders, and a solid majority of humanity will embrace whatever he's selling. It's not as if this hasn't been offered in numerous packages already, but the following has never been quite universal in any sense. The final revelation of the Antichrist will provide the context which will so clearly separate those who willingly give all for Christ and those who seek something else, because the reign of Antichrist will seek to destroy those who really do know the truth and recognize him.
This is the whole point, which Paul implies but does not state plainly. The Great Tribulation will bring a truly different level of persecution, something which would make the situation in Thessalonica pale in comparison. The very same false Messiah who fools those on the path to Hell is the one who will make it Hell on earth for the redeemed. Paul reminds them they haven't seen that yet, nor have they seen someone manifesting as an earthly fake Messiah.
So Paul gives thanks the Thessalonian Christians are not so easily fooled by such things. From the very first, they embraced the truth of Christ, and took up the Cross. People don't come to that by simple persuasion, but by a mighty miracle of God calling them to life. Paul warns them not to depart from what he first taught them, because his message had not changed since that first encounter there. For this truth they embraced the suffering of this world's rejection, and found the consolation of His love and power.
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By Ed Hurst
26 March 2011
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