2 Thessalonians 2:17

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2 Thessalonians 2:17

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17 Comfort [parakaleo] your [humon] hearts, [kardia] and [kai] stablish [sterizo] you [humas] in [en] every [pas] good [agathos] word [logos] and [kai] work. [ergon] KJV-Interlinear


17 comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word. NASB


Comfort, ‘parakaleo,’ means to be invoked, to be generated, to be caused by something. Comfort is the state of relaxed security or confidence, wherein there is no threat, no worry, no uncertainty regarding ones status. And in our context, that status is referring to the confidence in ones spiritual life and eternal future.

Heart, ‘kardia,’ is the reference to your physical heart, but symbolic of its function as a circulating organ. The heart pumps the blood through your body, thus sending the body its needed nourishment, defense mechanisms, cleansing functions and so forth. The analogy here is to the soul, and the circulation of bible doctrine (logos) within your soul, sending and serving the soul in its needed nourishment, and edification.

Stablish, ‘sterizo,’ means to build upon an unmovable foundation, to confirm, to set fast, to turn resolutely in a certain and known direction, to strengthen.

Good, ‘agathos,’ refers to that which is of high quality, superior, that of intrinsic value. Intrinsic means to possess an attribute which will never change regardless of its state. Gold for example has intrinsic value. It will always be in demand, always be sought after, regardless of the situation.

And the only thing that possesses the highest of value, which has been around for all time since eternity past, and will never vanish, is Bible Doctrine, ‘logos,’ the Word of God, the content of the scriptures.

Work, ‘ergon,’ means production, but not just any production. This is the production which results out from the previous noun, ‘logos,’ or the content of the scriptures.

Therefore we have the conclusion of this chapter.

You were born into a world of discomfort. That discomfort originates from the power in the world, which rules the world, namely Satan.

When we studied Job, we saw how Satan or the devil gets his name by way of his accusations, and assertions, by his complaints, adversarial, and antagonistic approach toward God, by using man as his pawns. We have also seen how all evil originated from Satan, and how nothing but lies come from him.

This is the state of the world today and has always been. Now, none of us will ever see the devil. We will only see the activities and results of the patterns of evil, which he started long ago. Indifferent man doesn’t need much help when it comes to promoting evil, in society and history. Just look around you. There are plenty of examples in the world.

Without truth in your life, there is no hope. If you choose to abide by the rules of the world, then you have chosen to subscribe to lies. In lies, there is no foundation, no reality, no future.

And in that respect, non-Christians, indifferent Christians, anyone who rejects or otherwise is apathetic toward Christianity and the principles taught by Christianity, will live a life of fear, frustration, anxiety, and hate. They have no promise. They have no future. They will ultimately live in fear, and their rage is, or will be, their only expression of their lack of substance in life.

But, for Christians who are positive, and dedicated to their daily studies of the scriptures, then developed within them is the Word of God, ‘logos.’ Which is designed to circulate through your soul, to build you up, and to make your life and purpose complete.

What does that mean? The circulation is the thinking, the memory, the activity of your brain as it were, but your soul is the real residence of your knowledge not your brain. Remember that the spiritual (your soul) is separate and apart from your brain (the biological). There is a link in there somewhere between the two, but that link has evaded discovery by modern medicine and will never be discovered. The physical is incapable of detecting the spiritual.

Learning Bible doctrine, thinking it, pondering it, utilizing it in your daily life, builds a structure within your soul, which establishes, strengthen, builds up on a strong foundation within you, which no one and nothing, can ever remove.

The strength is supported by the power of God, over which there is no greater power. That knowledge, produces maturity, and that maturity produces confidence, contentment, security, and ultimately an inner happiness and relaxed state of mind, that you cannot ever accomplish by any other means from this world.

The world will swirl around you in its panic and tantrum, but with Bible doctrine in your soul, you can become immoveable in your spiritual life.

We have two members of our family, a son-in-law and his brother, who are right now stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan. We are anxiously awaiting their return, on leave, in just a couple of weeks. But I tell them just as I will share with you, the story of Elisha from 2 Kg. 6.

There are a lot of bullets that will be fired in your direction. Whether you are in a real shooting war, or whether your war is with gossips, poverty, health issues, or any one of a million other problems that are common to humanity. None of them will ever touch you, unless God grants them permission. God is just that powerful.

Elisha found himself in a situation where the city was surrounded by a military force, but Elisha prayed for eyes to be opened in order for others (that now applies to you) to see the real participants in any battle. Angels outnumbered the enemy forces. So, that means that any arrow, any attack could not succeed to its target unless allowed to.

Have you ever seen any of the many history documentaries of past wars, and wondered just why beach invasions did not go far worse than they could have, or why the bullets of the enemy don’t seem to hit their targets, but ours (the good guys) seem to find their mark?

Well that principle applies in all aspects of life. God has a plan for your life, abide by His plan and those bullets, those arrows, those confrontations of life, will never touch you, at least not until God is ready for you to go home to Him.

That does not mean that you can be stupid and irresponsible. Its intent is to give you confidence and security within yourself, that God is going to look after you in a way that far exceeds anything that you can do for yourself.

The only way that you can rise to a level of absolute confidence in life, is by means of advancing within your spiritual life to maturity. That does not happen overnight. It requires a commitment from you, to doctrine, day after day, for every day of your life, no exceptions.

And when you pursue doctrine with vigor, as a starving person would pursue a banquet of food set before him, then your life will change in the course of time, and you will eventually experience that which the rest of the world will never ever understand.

Your life, your spiritual life, is between you and God. What people think is irrelevant. Their approval is irrelevant. No one can offer you anything better than that which God has already made provision for you. You just have to fight the good fight, meaning confess your sins to God the Father and live in fellowship, 1 John, study to advance to maturity, 2 Timothy. Apply the principles of doctrine to your life for ‘good’ production, James, and eventually win, (our current verse).


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2 Thessalonians 2:16

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2 Thessalonians 2:16

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16 Now [de] our [hemon] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ [Christos] himself, [autos] and [kai] God, [theos] even [kai] our [hemon] Father, [pater] which [ho] hath loved [agapao] us, [hemas] and [kai] hath given [didomi] us everlasting [aionios] consolation [paraklesis] and [kai] good [agathos] hope [elpis] through [en] grace, [charis] KJV-Interlinear


16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, NASB


Now there is a pronoun inserted here, ‘Himself,’ which relates to both Jesus Christ and God the Father. This position makes them both equal persons and is one of the strongest testimonies that Jesus Christ is in fact God.

In every Christians mind, there should be no doubt that Jesus is the Lord, the one and only person through whom we look to gain access to deity and the favors of deity.

The Holy Spirit here is not included, but not for the reason that you probably are thinking. He too is also co-equal and co-eternal with both the Son and the Father, however, there are too many folks and movements out there which try to make the Holy Spirit, or the gifts of the Spirit, into a religion of their own. And that is a distortion, of truth and the function of the Spirit, in the overall plan of God for us.

Too many folks want to make the Holy Spirit into an emotional component of the spiritual life, and the spiritual life is not an emotional relationship, nor any type of connection to God through emotions or the senses, etc. Our relationship to God is through doctrine. The Holy Spirit facilitates that spiritual growth process, but apart from the physical senses that so many folks try to include in their spiritual life. Those emotional approaches are nothing more than pretenses and frauds.

Both the Father and the Son have loved you since eternity past. When you were first conceived in their minds and included in the overall plan of God, their love for you has never faltered or waivered. Through the history of eternity past, through prehistoric history, through our current human history and through all of the future of eternity, their love has always been for you, and will never depart or fade.

You are an important person. Probably more than you really know. Regardless of your circumstances, regardless of your color, culture, talent, ability, intellect, health, etc., or lack of them. Those things are irrelevant to Gods love for you.

But Gods love is based on truth, not lies, reality not fantasy, fact not fiction, responsibility and not irresponsibility. In doctrine there is no room for pretense, no room for excuses, no room for shallow phony spirituality.

Bible doctrine is the real food for your life, not milk for children, but food for adults, mature adults. Your responsibility in life is to grow up to spiritual maturity, and in maturity you will discover phenomenal blessings that only adults can appreciate. Infants cannot appreciate anything much less the details of an adult life. And so it is in the spiritual life.

Remain a child and lose out on the greatest opportunities that have ever been made available to anyone.

God has a plan for your life. It is a phenomenal plan. One that you could never dream up on your own, and all you have to do is grow up.

And along the way, of your growing up, God will test your spiritual muscle to see if you are really growing up or just coasting through life on an emotional roller-coaster.

God has phenomenal things to give to you, but to whom much is given, much is expected. You have to do your part, and your part is the growing up part. Our study in James, looks in detail into the ‘work’ of the Christian life, which by the way, has nothing to do with ‘working for God’ as some would have you think. And, by the way, you might want to revisit the studies in 1, 2, and 3rd John, for the details of the function of the spiritual life.

But of course only those who are genuinely interested, will pursue knowledge, while others will of course be too busy for what they view as nonsense. Isn’t it interesting that those who are clueless as to the workings of the universe, rate their own wisdom off the charts, with regard to life, afterlife, and reality in general.

God questioned Job about some of the basic fundamental details of our world, which even today we still have no answers to, so even our science of today, has not improved mans omniscient attributes.

I saw a show on television on dark matter and dark energy and the various theories of undiscovered dimensions, and though these are just theories, they do present more evidence of the amazing sophistication of our universe and how it is constructed. And when you consider the vastness of our universe, the complexities and so forth, and then begin to wonder about the next universe which is to come, and how it will be infinitely better than what we have now, then possibly you can begin to realize the magnitude of what God has in the works, for you.

Is that not worth a little of your time to learn doctrine and grow up to be a complete person, as He would like you to?

Regardless of who or what you are in this life, the next great event of your life will be your face to face meeting with Jesus Christ. Those who are not impressed with Christ in this life, are going to be in for an overwhelming shock. Those who are impressed with Christ are going to be in for an overwhelming and anticipated experience.

You have an opportunity, right now, to prepare yourself to completion and readiness for that next great event. That means that you need to adopt for yourself the genuine desire (not pretended, not phony, not emotional, not for show), to learn doctrine and grow up in your spiritual life. And if you really care, then you will invite others to participate in their own spiritual advancement as well.

Gods desire in not for you to make noise to impress others, but to remain silent, a student without portfolio, and learn. And in so doing, He (not you), will mold you into something more beautiful and wonderful than anything that has ever existed.

Humanity consists of dirt. And into that dirt, God imputed life out of nothing. And from that combination, God has molded all of the many examples of humanity that you have witnessed in your life. From the beautiful to the ugly, smart to the dumb, talented to the not so talented. And what could you do with only dirt?

And with all of these many examples of people, the world has imposed many hardships and disadvantages for most of us, but God has risen above the unfairness’s of the world and has given everyone, with no exceptions, the opportunity of having a complete life and far more. What have you accomplished?

The only barrier to your ultimate success in life is your refusal, or reluctance, or indifference toward God, Christ, doctrine, and your own spiritual life. No one but you, can be blamed for your failure. And God alone gets credit for your success.

So now, you have to choose. Roll your eyes and walk away, or commit yourself to your daily bible study and stick with it every day of your life, no exceptions.


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2 Thessalonians 2:15

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2 Thessalonians 2:15

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15 Therefore [ara], [oun] brethren, [adelphos] stand fast, [steko] and [kai] hold [krateo] the traditions [paradosis] which [hos] ye have been taught, [didasko] whether [eite] by [dia] word, [logos] or [eite] [dia] our [hemon] epistle. [epistole] KJV-Interlinear


15 So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. NASB


The word for traditions, ‘paradosis,’ means very simply, things handed down. This is the information disseminated from one person to another, whether by speech or by written communication, which provides the communication of the content of the scriptures, or Biblical information.

Remember that in Pauls day, the only written documents available were the Old Testament scriptures. The New Testament as you and I know it, did not exist, then. So, there was the communication of the written word from the Old Testament scriptures, the verbal communication from when Paul and others spoke, and of course the letters which Paul wrote or was writing back then.

Typically the tradition of learning back then, was when information was handed down from parents to their children, or family members and so forth.

But be clear on the differences between the traditions of man verse the traditions of God. They are not the same and have been clearly identified in the Bible as follows.

Col. 2:8
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. NASB

Isa 29:13-14
13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,
14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, And the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed." NASB

Matt 15:3
3 And He answered and said to them, "And why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? NASB

Mark 7:8-9
8 "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men."
9 He was also saying to them, "You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. NASB

Mark 7:13
13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that." NASB

The traditions of humanity are strongly aligned with culture, cult, religion, various beliefs that you have grown up with, philosophies that are all contrary with the Bible, and so forth. These traditions, are not what Paul is speaking of.

Therefore, learn truth, and then hold fast to truth. Somewhere along the line you have to get rid of the worldly baggage that you have been raised up on, and transform yourself into a new way of thinking. And getting rid of ones emotional baggage is not an easy thing to do. Because in many respects, emotions are tied into ones worldly attitudes and beliefs, making detachment difficult.

However, if you decide to stick with your daily studies, and pursue a commitment to advancing in your spiritual life, then get off the old habits of signing up with this thing or that, bickering over this or that, mocking life in general, then there might be some hope for you.

But your commitment on a daily basis is your decision and yours only. No one else can learn doctrine for you. You cannot delegate your spiritual responsibilities to someone else.

The tradition of man is nothing more than the habitual practice of doing something over and over again. Something that yields no spiritual benefit for you, whatsoever. And moreover, you must discard any pretended or rationalized good in the habits you have, that are really a waste of time, and not good.

1 Tim. 6:20
20 O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you [doctrine], avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called "knowledge" — NASB


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2 Thessalonians 2:14

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2 Thessalonians 2:14

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14 Whereunto [eis] [hos] he called [kaleo] you [humas] by [dia] our [hemon] gospel, [euaggelion] to [eis] the obtaining [peripoiesis] of the glory [doxa] of our [hemon] Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ. [Christos] KJV-Interlinear


14 And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. NASB


And what ‘this’ is Paul referring to? It is referring to Gods redemptive plan, first, for our salvation, to save us from eternal separation from God, and second, for our advancement to spiritual maturity. For that is where your life becomes complete.

2 Thess. 1:12
12 in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. NASB

This is the plan of God. That all would be saved, or at least have the opportunity to be saved. People can certainly choose against it. And so that we can all grow up to spiritual maturity. That too, is an optional opportunity. And again, certainly folks can choose against growing up as well.

But the best thing for your life, is to believe in Christ, and for those who have not already done that, then you simply say in your heart, ‘Father, I believe in Jesus Christ.’ Salvation is that simple.

Once you have believed in Christ then you cannot un-believe, that which you have already believed. You cannot cancel out a thought which you have already had, and go back to before you ever had that thought. So once saved always saved. Even if later in life, for whatever reason, you come to deny Christ, or simply want to wipe Him out of your life. You cannot.

God foresaw you in eternity past. God foresaw your entire life. He saw your thoughts and words and decisions, and He saw your belief in Christ. For this reason He loved those who believe truth and not lies. He saw, He loved, He chose, He called, and He transformed all who have believed, or will believe, in Christ, into a new spiritual species.

You are no longer tied to the traps of this world, no longer bound by the eventual destruction, that unbelievers and this world will eventually see.

1 John 3:1
3 See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. NASB

Rom 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; NASB

1 Cor 15:42
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; NASB

Phil 3:21
21 who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself. NASB

And there is nothing and no one who can prevent Gods plan from advancing to its ultimate completion.

Job 42:2
2 "I know that Thou canst do all things, And that no purpose of Thine can be thwarted. NASB

Rom. 8:35
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? NASB

Rom. 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NASB

God has a plan for your life. His plan is far superior than any plan that you can even begin to imagine for yourself. God is better able to complete His plan for you, than you are for yourself.

And all you have to do in order to possess His plan for your life, is to study, listen, learn, understand, apply His principles to your daily life, adopt his principles for your daily life, and continue to do that everyday of your life, and in so doing, God will advance you in your spiritual life toward your ultimate completion as a person.

Only in doctrine, only in learning doctrine, is there any hope and any advance in your spiritual life. All of the singing, all of the devotionals, all of the fancy spiritual cliché words (hallelujah, praise God, amen) and so forth, used to impress men, will not accomplish what you need in order to grow up.

Can you graduate from school by not reading and writing and doing your school work? Can you graduate by merely feeling good about being there? No. And so it is with your spiritual life. Sooner or later you need to get off the devotional feel good train, and get on to the study and learn train. And then, your life will turn around, when you have doctrine of substance within your soul.

Wisdom comes from understanding, understanding comes from using, using comes from learning, and learning comes from studying with discipline and obedience to your daily doctrinal obligation to grow up in your spiritual life. Studying requires a word by word, line by line, precept by precept, approach to the Word of God.

When you advance in your spiritual life, then your emotions will allow you to appreciate the tremendous blessings that God has provided for you. It is better to actually experience those feelings, than to pretend them.


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2 Thessalonians 2:13

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2 Thessalonians 2:13

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13 But [de] we [hemeis] are bound [opheilo] to give thanks [eucharisteo] alway [pantote] to God [theos] for [peri] you, [humon] brethren [adelphos] beloved [agapao] of [hupo] the Lord, [kurios] because [hoti] God [theos] hath [haireomai] from [apo] the beginning [arche] chosen [haireomai] you [humas] to [eis] salvation [soteria] through [en] sanctification [hagiasmos] of the Spirit [pneuma] and [kai] belief [pistis] of the truth: [aletheia] KJV-Interlinear


13 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. NASB


Yesterday, we studied the flaws of Islam, and especially the uncertainty of the promises that Islam represents. If a message is from God, then that message is perfect. If the message is anything other than perfect then it is not from God, and the follower risks losing their eternal life.

Life is a very serious business. Your entire future is on the line, and to avoid the responsibility of pointing out to those who might be lost forever, would be totally irresponsible. To tolerate their beliefs is one thing, but to remain silent so as not to offend, is quite another.

And now here Paul, with one swoop of the pen in a single verse, especially following the previous verse, where he warns that those who reject truth, will with certainty, be lost forever, gives us the doctrines of salvation and of eternal security of that same salvation.

Once you have been saved, you are always saved.

Once you have believed in Christ, you will not stop committing sins. This is the devils world and you are in bodies of corruptibility. Even denying that you sin, is a fools comment. However, once saved, always saved. Once born, you cannot unborn yourself. Once born again, you cannot unborn again yourself. Tell your momma that you would like to unborn yourself and return to the womb, and if she doesn’t smack you senseless … Well, look into the mirror and identify stupid.

Anyway, sinless perfection in this life is unattainable, 1 Kings 8:46, Psa. 143:2, Prov. 20:9, Eccl. 7:20, 1 John 1:8,10.

1 Kings 8:46
46 "When they sin against Thee (for there is no man who does not sin) NASB

1 John 1:8
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. NASB

Through your belief in Christ, God chose you, even elected you into salvation. He saw in eternity past, your choice to believe in Christ now. Without coercion, without being intimidated, without pressure of any kind. You made the choice to believe in Christ.

And through your faith, salvation became yours forever.

Rom 8:29-30
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren;
30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. NASB

Gods election is permanent. Gods foreknowledge is permanent. He cannot see you saved and then see you unsaved, afterwords. For you cannot lose your salvation. There is nothing that you can think or do, that will cause you to lose your salvation. That would imply that your thoughts or actions are greater than God. And that is impossible.

Jesus, likewise stated that anything given to Him by the Father, could never, repeat, never be lost.

John 6:37
37 "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. NASB

John 6:39-40
39 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.
40 "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." NASB

John 6:44
44 "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. NASB

John 10:27-29
27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;
28 and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand.
29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. NASB

Salvation began with Gods sovereign and uninfluenced love. It is not based on the merit or numbers of the individual, otherwise that would imply that the person could earn salvation or negotiate his salvation through his own works. Such is not the case. God made His decision, even before the foundation of the world, before humanity even existed.

Eph 1:4-5
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love
5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, NASB

Deut. 7:7
7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, NASB

And even though many will believe and be saved, there will be many who will have the same choice of salvation, but through their own volition, will reject Christ. For to think those six little words, ‘Father I believe in Jesus Christ,’ seems to be an insurmountable hurdle for unbelievers.

And for the life of me, how anyone can refuse to even think these words, which would take all of but a second of time, seems the epitome of arrogance and stubbornness, when the alternative is the Lake of Fire and eternal condemnation. Why would anyone even take that risk, over a simple thought?

So Paul lays out four simple contrasts. There are those who love and obey truth vs. those who refuse to love and obey. There are those who God redeems vs. those who God judges. There are those who believe truth vs. those who believe the lies (which are from Satan). There are those who follow Christ vs. those who follow anti-christ.

Note that good yields freedom, prosperity, security and so forth. Bad yields slavery and suffering and worse.

There is no room for the bad, if you want anything good.

Place out a piece of meat on the counter and leave it there. What happens? It rots. Can the meat cure its own rot? No. No person can cure their own flaws through their own work. Only God can work that miracle.

2 Tim. 1:9
9 who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, NASB

Once saved, always saved, for all of eternity.

Once saved, the believers name is sealed permanently to the book of life and is never blotted out. Believers are called the elect or the chosen, Rev 13:8, 17:8, Matt. 24:22,24,31, Mark 13:20,22,27, Luke 18:7, Rom. 8:33, Matt. 22:14, Rom. 11:7, Col. 3:12; 2 Tim. 2:10, Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1.

God doing all of the work crushes mans arrogance, Titus 3:5.

Titus 3:5
5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, NASB

Salvation exalts God, Psa. 115:1. It produces happiness in knowing one is saved, 1 Pet. 1:1-2, 6, 8. It grants privileges beyond imagination, Eph. 1:3. It paves the way for holiness in believers, Col. 3:12-13.

And, the key to this passage, it provides eternal security, Phil. 1:6

Phil. 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. NASB

The Holy Spirit, in salvation, sets apart (sanctifies), the believer from the world, and aligns the believer with Gods righteousness, not mans righteousness, Rom. 15:16, 1 Cor 6:11, 1 Peter 1:2.

And as for our part in all of this, we merely believe.

We believe in Jesus Christ who accomplished all of the work for salvation. Man can do nothing to earn nor does he deserve salvation. It is Gods gift.

Eph 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; NASB

Acts 16:31
31 And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household." NASB

The principle that salvation is by faith is found in many passages in the Bible, Mark 1:15, John 1:12, 3:15-16,36, 5:24, 6:40,47, Acts 10:43, Rom. 1:16, 1 Tim. 1:16, 2 Tim. 3:15, 1 Peter 1:9, 1 John 5:1.

Therefore, God has done all of the work. The Father planned it, the Son executed it, and the Holy Spirit secures it. That makes salvation permanent. No one can take it away from you, and you certainly cannot lose it.


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2 Thessalonians 2:12

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2 Thessalonians 2:12

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12 That [hina] they all [pas] might be damned [krino] who [ho] believed [pisteuo] not [me] the truth, [aletheia] but [alla] had pleasure [eudokeo] in [en] unrighteousness. [adikia] KJV-Interlinear


12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. NASB


Too often people will argue or reject what the Bible teaches. When we studied the other day, that there are only two views in this world – Gods, and everything else, and that Gods view was truth and everything else is a lie, that brings the adversaries out of the shadows in protest, as they believe that there are many forms of truth. That is of course their delusion, which we just studied.

But now here we are in our current verse.

When truth is rejected, then everything else is embraced. Now I ask, if truth is rejected, then what is left?

When truth is accepted, then we have a perfect world, but of course our world is far from perfect, so what does that tell you? Truth is rejected on a scale greater than any of us can comprehend.

Unfortunately, most folks do not believe that they are in rejection of truth, they just have a different perspective on life, than that which God teaches. So in their minds, there is nothing wrong with their beliefs.

However we have already been studying the repercussions of a world that has gone negative toward truth. In time our dispensation, at its end, will become the most apostate generation since the time of Noah. And then after the Rapture, things will just get worse. In fact, in the next seven years following the Rapture, that period called the Tribulation, will see humanity drive itself to near extinction. That is the ultimate result when truth is rejected.

Truth is good, and anything else is corrupt and leads to worse corruption. The delusion is that people will refuse to see it.

When truth is accepted, then people pursue all things good and honorable and right.

When truth is rejected, then people pursue all things that are wicked. From the little white lie, to gossip, to alternate lifestyles, to tyranny and everything in between, whether they seem harmless of are extremely harmful, all things of sin or rejection of truth, are corruption. And corruption leads to putridness, and that is nothing more than a maggot infestation of rot in the souls of spiritually negative people.

Spiritual growth leads to orientation to life, leads to maturity, leads to responsibility, leads to independence from the untruths promoted by this world. Spiritual growth provides you with the only true freedom and autonomy that is available to ones life. And though we say we are slaves to Christ, spiritual maturity in Christ leads to true freedom, prosperity and happiness.

Those who believe that they are free because of their progressive or liberal thinking, are in fact slaves to the world, which has trapped them into losing their life and future.

Truth leads to freedom and liberty and opportunity and prosperity.

Rejection of truth leads to bias and prejudice, and unfairness, and lying, and cheating and double standards, and exceptions, and favoritism, and poverty, and loss of opportunity and destruction.

That is why those who reject truth are so dangerous to the world. Their views result is everyone's loss and suffering. Truth never causes suffering. Therefore those who choose lies, are violating the very freedom principles of life, which steals from everyone, and for that they are tried (their life long sequence of decisions is the evidence against them), convicted (the sum total result of their chosen lifestyle), and judged (God has all of the facts).

No one has any excuse. Everyone has knowledge of God and yet they still choose wickedness. This choice is a conscious decision against truth.

Rom. 1:18
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, NASB

Rom. 1:19
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. NASB

Rom. 1:20
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. NASB

Rom. 1:21
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. NASB

Rom. 1:22-23
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, NASB

These are some other related verses. Rom. 1:24-28, Gen. 6:3, Judg. 10:13; 2 Chron. 15:2, 24:20, Matt 15:14, Acts 7:38-42, 14:16.

When people continue to reject God, Christ, doctrine and their spiritual life, then God will, sooner or later, abandon them, and let them slip away, to their own darkness of soul.

Rom. 1:24
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. NASB




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2 Thessalonians 2:11

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2 Thessalonians 2:11

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11 And [kai] for this [touto] cause [dia] God [theos] shall send [pempo] them [autos] strong [energeia] delusion, [plane] that [eis] they [autos] should believe [pisteuo] a lie: [pseudos] KJV-Interlinear


11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, NASB


There are only two views in existence – Gods truth, and everything else. There is only one truth, and everything else is a lie.

Why is that? Because in everything else, people misinterpret or misapply the meaning, and misuse the facts that are before them.

That is why we have so many religions, so many philosophies, so many beliefs, and so many attitudes in existence in this world. People who adopt them for their own beliefs are adopting lies, and therein is your strong delusion.

The power of non-truth is tremendous, but it gains its power only because people allow it to have power over their lives.

Bible doctrine is like a light in ones soul. It shines and lets you see what is really around you. If you do not have Bible doctrine in your soul, then you cannot see, because you are living your life in the dark. And that means an absolute darkness in which there is no light. Not even so much as the light from a candle, not even so much as the light from a distant star on a very dark night. Zero light, in which you cannot even see your hand when held in front of your nose. Total blackness of sight.

That is strong delusion.

And how is it allowed to affect people? Because they reject, they refuse, to allow the light of the Word of God into their soul.

They see with their eyes. They see the world around them. They see their school and work and social activities. But that is not really seeing. It is the delusion of sight without seeing the ultimate repercussion of the thoughts in your life, on your life.

With strong delusion comes absurd ideas. For example, vast forests, vast coal deposits, vast reservoirs of oil, vast wealth, vast prosperity through liberty, even common sense, and similar concepts such as these, are rejected, even though God created them all, gave them all to us for our use.

Instead people embrace socialism, isolationism, pursuit of resources that do not exist, restriction of production in order to get more, ancestry from mush, and similar concepts like these which are absolutely absurd. This is the strong delusion into which God allows people to fall.

Why? Because, God is a gentleman. God does not intimidate people into thinking His way, but gives everyone the freedom to make up their own minds, even if their own decisions are wrong.

People walk out into the dark jungle of life, thinking that they are safe.

They are not.

Your life is the sum total of the decisions you make during your life. If you allow darkness into your life, then you go your way, totally lost. And you mock and laugh at everyone else.

If you bring light (Bible doctrine) into your soul, then you can see everything clearly. And more important, you can see that your life, now, is only the very beginning of an eternal existence, for which God has given you but a moment to prepare for. Your lifespan, whether it be a few years or several decades, in the timeline of eternity, is but a moment, or a blink on that timeline.

Why make bad decisions that will ruin your forever, when you can make good decisions that will guarantee you a life in eternity, and even now, that will be far beyond your dreams and desires and imaginations?

Col 1:5
5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven, of which you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel, NASB

John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. NASB

John 1:17
17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. NASB

Eph 4:21
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, NASB


Bible doctrine is truth. You must learn it before you can possess it. You must study it by means of a disciplined study approach, before you can learn it.

‘Study to show thyself approved [mature] unto God.’

There is only one way to grow up to spiritual maturity, and that is through a daily study of the Word of God. There are no shortcuts.

The sum total of your life does not come to you until you learn doctrine and advance to spiritual maturity. But like so many things in life, you won’t know what you have, until you have it, or until you lose it. And never knowing a better life should not even be a consideration. Only a negative attitude toward God, Christ, doctrine and your spiritual life can prevent you from a better life. In short, you are only barrier to something better for yourself.

The world will throw many obstacles at you, but with doctrine in your soul, then you have God to help you around them.


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2 Thessalonians 2:10b

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2 Thessalonians 2:10b

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10 And [kai] with [en] all [pas] deceivableness [apate] of unrighteousness [adikia] in [en] them that perish; [apollumi] because [anti] [hos] they received [dechomai] not [ou] the love [agape] of the truth, [aletheia] that [eis] they [autos] might be saved. [sozo] KJV-Interlinear


10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. NASB


Who is going to perish during the Tribulation? Both believers and unbelievers. Who is going to be the target of Gods wrath during the Tribulation? Both believers and unbelievers.

But, you say, why will believers be on the receiving end of Gods wrath during this terrible time? And that answer is, that just because you have believed in Christ, does not mean that you will grow up in your spiritual life.

There are far more spiritually negative believers than spiritually positive believers, in this world. Why? Because there are believers who simply are not interested in doctrine, with regard to a daily, or any type of repetitive study.

And though they are no longer unbelievers, they continue imitating unbelievers with respect to their thoughts and attitudes, and so forth.

There are only two sources of information in this world – truth and lies. God is truth. Everything else is a lie.

It is really just that simple.

Unbelievers reject truth and even more, they reject the source of truth, and they reject the image of truth, God and Jesus Christ. They live in their lies. And they do it by choice.

We studied recently that people have a certain foundation of intuition within them. People can know and reason what is good and what is evil. However, people, when left to their own devices, will reject truth and choose evil.

How do we know this? The last part of this verse tells us, that they who are deceived, are deceived because they did not receive truth. And more than that, they did not receive the love, ‘agape.’

What is that? ‘Agape’ is the sum total of the principles mandates, teachings, instructions, in other words, the content of the scriptures. ‘Agape’ is not an emotional attachment, not a hug and a kiss, not related to emotion or feelings in any way. ‘Agape’ means the instruction, or the content of instruction.

That means that those folks who are deceived, are deceived because they have no truth in them. Truth being the information, and love being the instruction.

They did not study, did not learn, and therefore did not have an understanding or better stated, they did not have any frame of reference, they did not have any discernment in life.

And they did this by choice.

Not that they could not have learned, for all people have the opportunity to learn. Unbelievers simply choose to not learn. It is a conscious effort at rejection.

Likewise, believers who have been saved, somewhere along the line lose their interest. Or they simply get lazy.

After all, participating in a daily study means that you have to read or listen, or far worse, you have to think!!!

Wouldn’t it be more fun is we could all just share, or sing, or shout out glory and hallelujah and praise God. But these emotional bursts do not teach. Emotion is not a learning mechanism, it is a response mechanism for appreciation of something that you like or enjoy.

But the actual learning of doctrine, requires concentration and a disciplined academic environment, and more than that, it requires a serious commitment to ones spiritual life.

And why are there those who are deceived? Well first, because they want to be deceived, although they do not think of themselves as being deceived. They simply want the easy way. And second, because there are those who will not teach or communicate properly. And more than that, there are those who intentionally withhold instruction or truth, because they want their followers to be dependent on them.

The anti-christ will deceive as never before in history. People, whether believer or unbeliever, in those days, will fall into his deceptions, simply because they have no truth within them. Unbelievers lack the gospel, and believers lack doctrinal knowledge. Unbelievers lack salvation, and believers do not advance in their spiritual lives.

And why? Because they do not desire truth, and they reject anyone around them that is providing it.

They prefer the lies of the world over the truths of God. And this preference is a conscious choice for lies, over truth.


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2 Thessalonians 2:10

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2 Thessalonians 2:10

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10 And [kai] with [en] all [pas] deceivableness [apate] of unrighteousness [adikia] in [en] them that perish; [apollumi] because [anti] [hos] they received [dechomai] not [ou] the love [agape] of the truth, [aletheia] that [eis] they [autos] might be saved. [sozo] KJV-Interlinear


10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. NASB


The anti-christ is the absolute worst person who will ever live. But as we have already seen, who is behind his every move? Satan.

Satan is the father of lies. Everything that comes out of Satan is a lie. There is no truth whatsoever, in him.

John 8:44
44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies. NASB

We have already seen from our study of the other day, that the anti-christ is the son of destruction. It is in his nature.

However this verse is not just to teach us of the absolute evil of this evil man, but to teach us of what can and will transpire, when truth is excluded from yours or anyone's life.

The anti-christ will use all of the powers of deception, for that is the only strength that lies have, in order to claim the loyalty and following of the masses of people that will populate the earth, now or in that future time.

But even though people in that future time will be deceived, they will not be without excuse.

There are two parties in a deception. There is the deceiver and there is the deceived. Both are guilty of their mistakes.

The deceiver, does so with the intent of gaining control or power over those of whom he deceives. The deceived, acknowledge the deceit because they want something for nothing. Both are fooled because they lack truth.

Satan is the leader of lies. Those who follow him, are the disciples of lies. Those who follow the pattern of lies, regardless of where they come from, are the disciples of lies.

But how does planet earth get into this fix?

Because there are many, even now, who would prevent truth from getting to those who want it or need it. And everyone needs truth in order to survive.

Whether a national leader, or the administrator of a small group, or the citizens of a nation, whenever you attempt to isolate those for whom you are responsible, or attempt to control what your followers may have access to, or whether you prevent others from having freedom or opportunity, then you are practicing a degree of control which leads to evil.

If people do not have access to truth, then they do not have access to opportunity.

A generation that lacks truth, raises up a generation that knows nothing of truth. And they in turn raise up a generation who is apathetic toward truth, and they in turn raise up a generation who opposes truth.

You do not want to be in the chain of events that lead to this type of an outcome.

God placed people and nations on this earth to insure that everyone will have an opportunity for truth and therefore an opportunity to complete ones own life. God did not place people (including you) or nations on this earth so that you could make decisions for everyone else.

In the spiritual life, God gives everyone the opportunity to make their own decisions and to be free from the controls and abuses that this world offers.

Just a week or so ago, we studied the necessity of the believer for questioning everything. We learned that this questioning is not one of doubt, but of an objective search for truth, so that one could find it. God provides truth to any and all who seek it. In tomorrows study we will see why God withholds truth.

As our dispensation advances through the minutes, days, or years ahead of us, we know one thing for sure. And that is, that our dispensation will end with a great apostasy. That kind of worldwide attitude does not come into existence overnight, but takes the repeated bad decisions of the deceivers and the deceived, of the ones who would control, and of the ones who would be controlled.

This will all culminate in the worst generation and period of time in all of human history.

We have already seen that the anti-christ arises out of this quagmire of anti-God attitudes. Is it a wonder that when all believers are removed at the Rapture, that the anti-christ will so easily acquire power, and those who would be ruled, will so easily give up their freedom!





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2 Thessalonians 2:9

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2 Thessalonians 2:9

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9 Even him, whose [hos] coming [parousia] is [esti] after [kata] the working [energeia] of Satan [Satanas] with [en] all [pas] power [dunamis] and [kai] signs [semeion] and [kai] lying [pseudos] wonders, [teras] KJV-Interlinear


9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, NASB


We saw that the anti-christ’s reign is controlled by Christ. He seizes power when Christ removes believers at the Rapture, and he loses his reign when Christ returns at the Second Advent.

Here Paul teaches us that the anti-christ has even less control over his own life. His power on this earth is due to the activity of Satan, and not from himself.

The anti-christ is a mere man. He has great arrogance and great contempt for everyone, but were it not for Satan, he would have no ability whatsoever.

His power is that of evil, or acts of a supernatural origin. The signs that he performs, point to the man, himself, as people will be deluded into believing in his abilities. His wonders, point to the results of his actions.

And the word for false, does not refer to the acts themselves, but to the conclusions that people will reach when they see him in action.

The word for ‘working’ as in the working of Satan, or ‘energeia,’ refers to the one who actually performs the action.

Therefore, the anti-christ is a fraud through and through. His sign, as we have already studied in Revelation, ‘666’ is a tripling of the number of man. The tripling affect is for deity.

The anti-christ, who is a man, but resents all theology, all philosophy, all living things, has no real power, has no real accomplishments, can do nothing on his own, must rely on Satan, but presumes himself to be as good as, if not better than, God, whom he rejects. He is the quintessence of arrogance, incompetence, irresponsibility, and evil.

And when there is no restraint of evil, then when all things good are rejected, disaster and horrendous suffering are the only result.

Good results come only from the pursuit of truth. Bad results are the only possible results when truth is rejected.

Truth is rejected when anyone attempts to modify it, exclude it, compromise it, replace it, or reject it.

Everyone alive today, has but two choices in life. The first is to ignore all of this as nonsense, or adopt some other form of belief as your truth. Or second, to study the Bible with an open mind, adopt a position of a student without portfolio, and learn through persistence and patience, and do this for all of ones life.

The first position will get you nowhere in life, for one day your life will end, and your next appointment will be standing before Jesus.

The second position will gain you everything, once you learn that you are nothing more than a speck of dirt, and your entire life depends on the grace of God.

When you stand before Jesus, at some point in your future, will He smile on you, or shake His head in disgust with you?

You have an opportunity, now, to make your life into something phenomenal and beyond your imagination.

Most folks have dreams and they are really nothing more than wishes that will never come true.

However, the spiritually mature believer has dreams that one day, will not only come true, but he will live his dreams and more.

The anti-christ will seize his dreams with evil and with false pretenses, and will lose it all.

You as an advancing believer merely need to study the scriptures, grow up in your spiritual life, and in so doing maintain responsibility, and allow God to do all the work that will shape your life into something that you alone will never be able to achieve, ever.



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2 Thessalonians 2:8

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2 Thessalonians 2:8

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8 And [kai] then [tote] shall [apokalupto] that Wicked [anomos] be revealed, [apokalupto] whom [hos] the Lord [kurios] shall consume [analisko] with the spirit [pneuma] of his [autos] mouth, [stoma] and [kai] shall destroy [katargeo] with the brightness [epiphaneia] of his [autos] coming: [parousia] KJV-Interlinear


8 And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; NASB


The reign of the anti-christ is totally controlled by Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ controls history. Whether the details have to do with your personal life or the larger scale of world history, is irrelevant. Jesus Christ controls history.

When the time of the Rapture arrives, as controlled by God the Father, and as we studied a week or so ago, three things will occur nearly simultaneously. You of course recall what those three events are!!! You might want to revisit 1 Thess. 4:16 for that study.

Immediately after the Rapture, the holds are off as far as Satan’s plan is concerned. Then the identity of the anti-christ is revealed and the Tribulation, that seven year period also known as Daniels seventieth week, begins.

Those last seven years are the resumption of, and the conclusion of, the dispensation of the Age of Israel, which our dispensation interrupted at the Feast of Pentecost, nearly 2000 years ago.

But just as his identity and rule begin in a moment of time, so also, his (the anti-christ’s) rule will end in a moment of time. Christ will control both.

There is however a seven year gap between the two events.

Christ will recall (Rapture) all believers to Himself with the power of His voice, and Christ will end the rule, life and empire of the anti-christ likewise with only the power of His voice at the Second Advent.

Who can stand before Christ? No one. The power of Gods voice far surpasses all of mans (or angels) weapons.

The most powerful and evil man in all of history will begin and end by the mere sound of Gods voice.

While people demonstrate their opposition of truth by means of embracing invented religions, alternate beliefs, philosophies, cults, and so forth, the anti-christ will weld contempt for anything of a philosophical or theological nature. He is a respecter of nothing and no one.

During the first half of the Tribulation, the first three and a half years, also called Satan’s Utopia, the anti-christ will attempt all manner of regulation and law, in order to regulate and control the world. It will fail. Gods judgments will begin at the outset of this period of time.

At the mid-point of the Tribulation, Satan will indwell the anti-christ and assume formal control over planet earth. The last half, the last three and a half years, of the Tribulation, also known as the Great Tribulation, will see the most horrible events ever in history. Satan will grow more and more frustrated as Gods judgments increase dramatically.

The seven seals, the seven trumpets, the seven bowls of Revelation, do not represent the escalation or sequence of events, but they represent the record of what is to come (the writings of the scrolls – thus far sealed and reserved for that future time), the warnings or announcements (trumpets declare the arrival of important matters or events), and then the actual events (the bowls actually poured out upon an indifferent people).

The multiplication of all of these things by seven, simply means that everyone has no excuse for their conscious rejection of God, Christ, doctrine, and truth.

It will apply to those folks who will have to live through the Tribulation, and it certainly applies to you, right now.

You have no excuse for not advancing in your spiritual life to spiritual maturity.

With His breath, the Lord will slay, ‘analisko,’ which means to bring to an end. In other words, ‘You’re fired!’

But worse than that, the anti-christ’s rule, his power, his organization, will all come to an end, and he will be thrown into the Lake of Fire, while yet alive.

Other related verses - Dan 7:26, Dan 11:45, Isa 11:4, Isa 30:33, Topheth means The valley of Slaughter, the place of burning, Rev. 1:16, 2:16, Rev. 17:11, Rev 19:20, 19:15,21.



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2 Thessalonians 2:7

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2 Thessalonians 2:7

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7 For [gar] the mystery [musterion] of iniquity [anomia] doth [energeo] already [ede] work: [energeo] only [monon] he who now [arti] letteth [katecho] will let, until [heos] he be taken [ginomai] out of [ek] the way. [mesos] KJV-Interlinear


7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. NASB


The word for mystery, ‘musterion,’ means something which was before now, unknown to all, a secret kept by someone who did not reveal the secret, therefore all who had no knowledge of it, were not even aware that the secret even existed.

For example, we all know about the atoms and molecules and distant galaxies and germs and so forth, but for centuries, even thousands of years, people knew nothing about these things. They existed all around them, but their secrets were not revealed until science began the long discovery process which reveals their existence.

This is of course an example of our temporal world. Within our temporal world, God has given us the tools to discover how it works. It just took humanity a long time to make the basic discoveries. And even now, in our high tech and rapid period of discovery, the more we learn, the more we realize that we do not know, the more questions are raised, thus perpetuating the search for more discoveries, and so forth.

And just as God placed a vast universe between heaven and earth, denoting the vast distance between knowledge and ability and wisdom and so forth, in order to demonstrate just how far apart man and God are in reality, so too, we now have an example of just how weak and naïve humanity is with regard to the truths that rule our current dispensation, even our contemporary times.

God has a plan. We call that plan the Divine Decrees. Within those Decrees, God set out all of the details of history. Your life, every detail of your life, is contained within those decrees. God looked down through the tunnel of time and saw every detail of history, regarding everything that is in existence, and then He recorded those details, thoughts, motivations, decisions, and events, and then He turned history loose.

If you were to record a movie or a game, and watched it, then you know the details of that recording. Then you rewind it and replay it. You can watch it all again, knowing everything that will be said, everything that will occur, and so forth. And you do not change anything, nor coerce anyone into doing what they do within that recording. You just know in advance what is going to happen. That is similar to the Divine Decrees. Only now we are living history of the first time. God does not change anything, nor do anything that would make us do whatever it is that we do.

But God does have one big advantage. He foreknows everything that is going to happen, and thus He can place anyone or anything into history in order to cause history to terminate in His desired result, namely good, and not evil. And His decisions as to when to place people into history, and when various things will occur, were made in eternity past, when He developed the Divine Decrees. God controls history.

God represents good. Satan represents evil. God is the only one who can control evil. And in this case, restrain it to such a degree that its full force cannot be unleashed into history, unless and until God allows it.

Man cannot control evil. Man cannot even control man. Angels cannot control evil. The angel Michael wrestled with Satan over the body of Moses, but the angel could not control evil. God is the only one who can control evil.

There are three members of the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Bible tells us that the Father authored the divine plan, the Son executes the plan, and the Holy Spirit sustains that plan. But the Holy Spirit has yet another role to play in history, and that is one of restraint.

The anti-christ is under restraint by the Holy Spirit, John 14:26, 15:26, 16:13. John uses the masculine pronoun together with the neuter gender to describe this action of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit battled wickedness before the flood of Noah, ‘My Spirit will not strive with man forever …,’ Gen 6:3.

The Holy Spirit ‘convicts’ the world with regard to sin, Jn. 16:8.

The Holy Spirit is referenced when Israel was declared a ‘stiff-necked’ people resisting the Spirit, Acts 7:51.

In Rom. 1:18-20, 1:21-23, 1:24-25, 1:26-28, three statements are used (‘gave them up,’ ‘gave them over to’) to describe the removal of the restraint from evil man. Refer also to Psa. 81:11-12, Prov. 1:23-31, Hos. 4:17 for similar divine policy.

Likewise, since God has sent His Son, Satan would similarly desire to send his own personal representative such that he could then rule the world through him. But that representative is under current restraint.

And here we are taught that there are two levels of evil. The first level is that which is loose in the world today and has been for all of history. Here Paul calls it ‘lawlessness.’ This is the sin and corruption and tyranny and lawlessness, including human self-righteousness, that exists today. We have seen in history, many examples of just how bad this kind of lawlessness can get. From the gossips of social clubs to the radicals of terrorism, to the Hitlers and so forth, this world is not without its bad people.

But there is a level of evil, the likes of which this world has never seen, but one day, will see in all of its fury.

There have been books and movies and things that attempt to present the events of the Tribulation, but they generally romanticize the human aspects, the human endeavors, the human efforts to thwart that future evil. But none of them have ever come close to the real deal.

The restraint that exists today, is controlled by the Holy Spirit, preventing Satan from having his very own personal representative turned loose on the world. But even though that evil has been delayed, Satan, since the very first promise of a Savior, given to Adam, a long time ago, has been plotting his own pseudo-savior to counter the real one, Jesus Christ.

All of Satans plans are centered around his own plan of evil and his own last attempt to either rule the world, to cause God to make an error, or to destroy the world. And it is that last effort which will be the final effort of Satan, when all else fails.

When the time was right, God restored the world. When the time was right, God created Adam and Eve. When the time was right, God caused the flood to come in Noahs day. When the time was right, God brought the Savior into the world.

When the time is right ….. then God will release the restraint against evil, and that will occur at the Rapture.

Ours is said to be the Age of the Royal Family. Royalty has privilege and when the world is about to turn into total corruption, the Royal Family is removed so as not to see the carnage that is about to occur.

While the world presumes that it is going to solve mans problems, solve the environment, solve any warming or cooling, solve evil as it were, and bring in some new hope or utopia, Satan is working his plan, behind the scenes, unknown to humanity, to the best of his ability, that will turn the world upside down.

Your responsibility in all of this? Study each and every day. Grow up in your spiritual life, be responsible, and be ready, spiritually ready, for whatever God has in His plan for your life.

In the night sky we can see stars that we could never reach. We can look through telescopes so powerful that we can see to vast distances, that are most certainly beyond our reach. But we cannot see heaven, and most of humanity cannot see the plans of greater powers that are unfolding right before their eyes.

Don’t be one of those who are blind and sightless.


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2 Thessalonians 2:6

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2 Thessalonians 2:6

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6 And [kai] now [nun] ye know [eido] what withholdeth [katecho] that [eis] he [autos] might be revealed [apokalupto] in [en] his [heautou] time. [kairos] KJV-Interlinear


6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. NASB


What existed in Pauls day, that continues to exist in our day, and everyday throughout the history of our dispensation? Well, obviously people come and go from generation to generation, so we as people are not the restrainers of the evil one.

Organizations that existed back then, do not exist today, and likewise, organizations that exist today, did not exist back then. So, organizations are not the restraint of the evil one.

The only things that existed in both of our times, is God and Satan. The evil one is a person, but he has a normal lifespan as we all do. So even the anti-christ did not exist, nor has he existed for all of these centuries.

God is the restraint on evil. Satan is evil. God sent His Son into the world to save, and Satan likewise would like to have his chance as a personal representative, to do his own bidding. But that is not to be until the time is right.

God controls history.

Within our dispensation, the one sustaining life is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit indwells all believers, and the residence of the Holy Spirit in believers, is the principle restraint mechanism for the restraint of evil. And that restraint means that evil is prevented from being unleashed with total freedom of action.

There is evil in the world today, but it is under restraint. Evil is far worse when unrestrained. We live in a society that has a restraint on evil, that restraint provided by the Holy Spirit.

However, one day, the Holy Spirit will withdraw from this world, and along with Him, every believer in the world will be withdrawn as well. This is the Rapture event that we have been studying.

Our indwelling by the Holy Spirit is permanent and eternal. Therefore He cannot leave the world and leave believers behind. But there will come a day, when the Holy Spirit will be withdrawn, just as ambassadors are withdrawn when war is about to be declared. Therefore, that is the reason that the Rapture will occur, and that is the reason why believers will all leave this world instantaneously.

Likewise, and concurrent with that event, we will all be changed into our resurrection bodies, from corruptible to incorruptible.

This means that we as believers, from within our dispensation, will never know the identity of the anti-christ.

Guess all you want, but you will be wrong. Why?

Because God has chosen to not reveal his identity.

Who is he and when will he live? Well, we do not know who he is, but when the Rapture occurs, at that given moment, the anti-christ will already be alive, and we can presume that he will be a young charismatic man. Perhaps someone who is in his thirties or forties. The age is of course only speculation.

With only seven years remaining for the Tribulation to complete itself, and with the anti-christ assuming power immediately following the Rapture, then he has to be an adult, presumably with some political or military post or position which will allow him to seize power almost immediately.

This also means that he will be alive during the last years or decades of our dispensation, the Church Age.

If the Rapture were to occur today, then this person is alive and out there somewhere right now. If the Rapture is not going to occur for another century, then the anti-christ will not have been born yet.

Our dispensation, is called the Church Age, or sometimes it is called the Age of the Royal Family, or sometimes it is called the Age of the Bride of Christ. These are all terms refer to our dispensation.

During our dispensation, believers are raised up on the written word only, supported by the Holy Spirit (unseen, undetectable, unfelt) only.

During our dispensation, the population of the world will expand to all four corners of the world, and the gospel will likewise be spread to all four corners of the world.

During our dispensation, God will position all of the powers, all of the believers, all of the unbelievers, all of the technologies, all of the ingredients of this world (as in a chess match), into a position that will make the world ready of the final confrontation.

In war, the generals try to gain the advantage over their enemy, with regard to disposition, strength, high ground, and so forth, such that the enemy can be defeated.

During our dispensation, God is making the enemies of God, a footstool for the Lords feet. That is to say, he is making them ready for the last battle. And this will not be complete until all of the details of history and of life are precisely in place as God has designed.

And now you know, just as the Thessalonians had known, why history is what it is and why life will go on and should go on, for you and for everyone. Why your first concern is to remain responsible in your life, in your job, in your focus on spiritual growth, and not get caught up in some sort of hoax prediction of the end of the world.