GOD IS BIGGER THAN THE BOOGIE-MAN
Brent Logan – Missionary to Romania/Eastern Europe
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2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 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. 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; 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.
There is great controversy over the meaning of these verses. And there is room for disagreement on some things. It’s OK to disagree, but if you’re going to disagree, do it right. (It’d be worth your while to listen to the introduction to this message!)
According to verse 5, Paul has already taught the Thessalonians this material. So just because we don’t know what he’s talking about in chapter 2 doesn’t means that they didn’t know what he was talking about.
Brother Logan’s opinion:
Verse 1 speaks of two separate events: the coming of the Lord (second advent), and our gathering together unto Him (the rapture).
Verse 2 – The day of Christ is at hand. This day has reference to the rapture of the church, and the judgment seat of Christ that follows (Philippians 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Corinthians 1:7-8; 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14).
Verse 3 – That day is not the day of Christ but is a specific reference to the day of the Lord in almost every case. The day of the Lord has reference to the coming of the Lord and the judgment that He brings on this earth (Isaiah 2:11-12; Joel 3:14-18; Zephaniah 1:7-10, 14-15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:1-4; et al).
Day of Christ = reward
Day of the Lord = judgment
Be not soon shaken in mind, Thessalonians. You have not missed the rapture.
A possible reason that the Thessalonians would be shaken in their minds over the rise of the antichrist is the fact that Thessalonica is in one of the 4 parts of Alexander’s kingdom, from which the antichrist is said to rise (Daniel 8:21-27; 11:21-36). If they had missed the rapture, the antichrist could have been in their own neighborhood.
OTHER NOTES:
Verse 3 – The measure of your life, your family, your church will be determined by what you do when others fall away.
Verse 4 – The antichrist does according to his own will (Daniel 11:36; Isaiah 14:12-14). So when I do according to my own will, I am being displaying the attributes of the antichrist.
