Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we come before you with fear and trembling, understanding that this is your word, that you are the one who has revealed it, and understanding that we can only understand your word through the power of the Holy Spirit. And there are things here that are written difficult to understand because of the distance that is between us and our brothers and sisters in this church in Thessalonica. And we pray, Lord, that you will help us, Lord, as we consider these verses in humility to receive from you what you have prepared for us in this morning, this afternoon. We thank you for the blessing that we have to be able to hear your voice as we open your word. Help us, Lord, to be ministered by your word. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. So today we're going to focus in verses 1 through 12, but I wanted us to read all the chapter to see the big picture of what Paul is writing here. Next week we will continue with verses 13 through the end of the chapter, verse 17. And I would like us to do a little exercise before we start to consider these verses. And this is, I would like to invite you to put yourself in the shoes of those who received this letter. I would like you to think that you are one of the members of this church, the church in Thessalonica. And I know that is difficult, it's not easy because of the distance that is between them and us. Our context is very different and our circumstances are very different. But I want us to think that we are one of the members of this church. And I will point a few things of what they were going through because I think that this might help us to feel how they felt. and to understand why it was important for Paul to write these words to them. So think about this. You are all new believers. You have come to Christ very recently. Some of you are coming from a Jewish background. Some of you are coming from a Gentile background. And it happened that because you became a Christian, because you have trusted in Jesus as your savior, your countrymen, are persecuting you. If you were a Jew, they thought that you have betrayed the traditions of your ancestors. They believe that you have abandoned what you were supposed to believe. And if you were a Gentile, you were judged of being, betraying the emperor because now you are following Lord Jesus Christ. And then what happened is that you just became a Christian and right away that The thing that you are experiencing is great persecution and tribulations and challenges and difficulties just because you are believing in Jesus who is offering you hope right now, in this moment, and for eternity. What will be the thing that you will want the most, I think, is for Jesus to come soon. Paul have preached to them and have gave them that hope that Jesus will return And that Jesus will make things right. And that Jesus will remove evil and remove everything that is bad, that is affecting you. And you are facing all these problems, all these difficulties, and you hope to see Jesus very soon. Some of you believe that Jesus will come very quickly and you thought that, they thought that Jesus didn't come quickly enough because you have seen some of your brothers and sisters dying and then you are concerned what happened with them. Some of your brothers and sisters stopped working because they thought that Jesus was coming very soon and what's the point on working? Let us just focus in the Lord but what happened is that they became busybodies And they stopped working and they started to ask support from the members of the congregation. Some of you thought that maybe the solution is to know when is the Lord coming. And then you ask Paul, you send a letter or ask Paul through Timothy, when is he coming? What is the day of the Lord? To what Paul responded, well, the only thing that you need to know if you are a believer or not. Because if you are a believer, you will be right. You will be okay. And then on top of that, what is happening, and this is what we are facing today, is that some may have been teaching that the Lord Jesus had already come. There is actually no agreement on if it is that some were teaching that or it was confusion among the members of the church. But the problem is that some thought that Jesus had already And this is actually what Paul is addressing on these verses. The thought that Jesus had already returned and they were shaken, they were concerned, they were alarmed because if Jesus has already come, why things continue to be as they are? Now, if you look at the problem again that we are facing on these verses here is that some were teaching that Jesus had already returned. Now, when I think about that, I wonder why would they be thinking that, but at the same time I think that I understand. I wonder because if you look at 1 Thessalonians, Paul was very clear that at the return of our Lord Jesus, he will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Meaning that he will raise those who have died before Jesus Christ. And those who are alive at the return of our Lord Jesus will be lifted up in heaven to welcome Lord Jesus and return to earth. And certainly that thing has not happened there. They haven't seen that happening. But at the same time I understand because this is not just the first time or it's the first time but it's not the last time there will be a kind of struggle similar to this one. We have this sample of the Jehovah's Witnesses, who Charles Russell in 1874 predicted that Jesus would come in 1874, something that did not happen. Then he changed the date to 1914, and when that didn't happen as well, Rutherford suggested that Jesus actually had already come, but it was something spiritual and people could not see it but he was already here. A few years ago, I don't know if you are familiar with this name, Harold Camping, another radio station host who predicted the coming of Jesus a couple of times and this did not happen. And then he concluded at the end that yes, he came. It's just that you could not see it. And it is interesting that these things are very clear, are addressed here in the scriptures. You can see them very clear in these verses, but they continue to happen throughout history. Now Paul, as he faces this problem, he has this answer for the Thessalonian church, and it's for us as well today. That the day of the Lord will not come unless two events will have to happen first. And actually these two events are connected with each other. The first one, as you see in verse two, that rebellion will come first. And then the second one is that the man of lawlessness will be revealed. And actually both things will happen simultaneously. That before the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, Paul is telling them that these two things need to happen. The man of lawlessness will be revealed and that a great rebellion which is apostasy, apostasia, apostasy that you have there will come first. Now what I like to do in order to see what is Paul's response to the Thessalonians and how he explained these two events the revelation of the man of lawlessness, and the coming of the rebellion to do is to ask four questions to the test. These are the four questions that I asked the test when I was studying the test, and I think that this might be some of the questions that you will have for the test as well. The first question is, who is the man of lawlessness? Who is the man of lawlessness? Paul actually described the man of lawlessness by assigning to him some names or by describing the activities of the man of lawlessness. The first thing that you see there is that he is the man of lawlessness, that he is the man of lawlessness. And what that means is that he is an antinomian, is somebody who is going against the law, somebody who is against the law. John Stott will say that this could be speaking to being against the law of God, and at the same time being against the civil law, like an anarchist. But I would say in the context of what we're seeing here, these events are happening within the community of believers. So a man of lawlessness, Paul is describing, is a man who is against God's moral law, God's word, God's precepts that we find clear in the scriptures. He also describes him, if you see, if he continues, the man of lawlessness is revealed. He's describing as the son of destruction, the son of destruction. And it is that he is appointed to be destroyed. That eventually he will be destroyed. But also as the son of destruction is one who comes to bring destruction. He is a destroyer. He is one who comes to destroy what God is doing. Think about this, if you go back to Genesis, Satan who came to Adam and Eve as a serpent, came with the desire of destroying what God has created, is his intention. He is the son of destruction. Paul also describing as someone who oppose God, is an enemy of God. Someone who is declared, who is clear, an enemy of God. He is not someone who is neutral to God, And it just happened to disagree with God in some points. But he is someone who is the enemy who opposes God. And then he goes to describe him, and this is what make it a little bit more difficult, as someone who takes his seat in the temple of God. So the challenge that we have with this text is that Paul has already taught the Thessalonians these things. You see that in verse five, he says, do you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? It means that this was part of a conversation of the Thessalonian church and Paul. And when Paul told them these things, most likely they asked questions to Paul, questions that Paul answered to them. But when Paul is writing this letter to them, he's referring to things that they already knew, and therefore he doesn't go to describe them in details. Leon Morris says that this is probably one of the most obscure passages of all Paul's epistles. in the Bible, and not because Paul make it more difficult, but because the Thessalonians had some information that we don't have today. So therefore, many of those who have come to these verses to interpret them, they have come with great humility, and with the understanding that we all struggle and continue to have questions, even though we offer some answers. And all this to say, what does Paul mean when he says he takes his seat in the temple of God? That the man of lawlessness who will be revealed, who is the son of destruction, who opposes God, Paul is saying that he takes the seat in the temple of God. And there are at least three positions that are offered to explain that. And when I say at least it's not just the only ones, there are some others that come actually with some variations of these positions. But I wanna describe to you three of them, and I wanna tell you that the last one is the one that I agree with, and I will try to give you some of the reasons why I think that's the reason. So the first one is that when Paul says that he takes the seat, or he takes his seat in the temple of God, Paul is referring a future apostasy, future apostasy, a future rebellion in Israel, in the nation of Israel. And sitting in God's seat at the revealed temple in Jerusalem. So some have interpreted this as meaning that that man of lawlessness will actually try to take control of a revealed temple in Jerusalem. The other position has been that this is describing an event that already happened in the past. And this is when Rome defiled the temple of Jerusalem in the year 70 A.D., after the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, when Rome took the temple and defiled the temple, an event that happened in the past. And the position that I believe is that this is a future event that is a worldwide apostasy that happens in the church around the world. Now why would I say that I believe that this is what Paul means here? It is because when we think about the temple or the way Paul uses the word the temple of God in the rest of his epistles, He never referred to the temple of God as being the temple in Jerusalem. He's always referring to either Christ or the body of Christ, the church. Something that is also very clear here is that Paul here is not referring to any geographical place. The only reason why people will go to think that he's referring to the temple of God in Jerusalem is because they imagine that he is referring to the temple that was built in Israel, in Jerusalem. Marshall will describe this, or will explain this, this way. No specific temple in mind, but the motive of sitting in the temple and claiming to be God is used to express the opposition of evil to God. Think about this, when Christ ascends and he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, he is not seated at a chair that is next to God, but that means that he is in authority over everything. Therefore, when Paul is saying that the man of lawlessness takes his seat in the temple of God, he's referring I believe he's referring to somebody who will go or infiltrate the church to take authority and to influence with his vision of lawlessness the church. The other thing that Paul tells us about this man of lawlessness, because we are answering the question who is this man, is a man who comes by the activity of Satan. He says, the coming of the lawlessness is one, verse nine, is by the activity or energy of Satan. It is clear that the man of lawlessness is not Satan himself who have incarnated into a man, but is a man who is influence or an instrument of Satan in the church. Now the question, the next question that I will ask the test is, when and how will he be revealed? When and how the man of lawlessness will be revealed? Paul answered that question by describing to us a restraint, something that does not allow the man of lawlessness to be revealed. And here we have another mystery. Augustine says, honestly, I don't know what Paul means here. Therefore, I will attempt to describe what he means here based on what many others have described what he means here by a restrainer. When I say this, I'm referring to what Paul says in verse 7 and ahead. He says, 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. until he is out of the way. So the question that many have asked is who is him or it? Because it's using it and him in two occasions here that actually restrain the man of lawlessness. And there are, again, three main positions. If you find, you could find at least seven. There are variations of these three, but there are three main positions. The first one is that the one who restrained the man of lawlessness is the Holy Spirit. That is the Holy Spirit. In fact, they will say, they will go to say that he will restrain it until the end, until the coming of Christ, and then he will stop restraining it by the Holy Spirit will be removed out of the picture. And in a sense, take out the believers before the Great Tribulation happens, and then the man of lawlessness will be revealed. But this is inconsistent with what the Bible teaches, because the Bible teaches that we believers who will be closer, will be alive by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, will endure part of the Great Tribulation as well. The second position is that that this is actually referring to the proclamation of the gospel. That what restrained the man of lawlessness is that there is the promise that the gospel will be preached to all the nations, to all the believers, to all those who are appointed to believe. And once that promise is accomplished, is fulfilled, then it will be removed the restrainer and the man of lawlessness and the mystery of lawlessness will be displayed. But I am more inclined to agree with the third position, which is that the restrainer is actually referring to the state. The first person that came out with this was Tertullian, who was looking at Rome as the restrainer. But later it was developed to say that the restrainer is any state that restrained the power of evil in society. Now, how do we understand this in practical ways? So first of all you see that verse seven tell us that for the man or the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work mean that this lawlessness vision is already happening and has been happening throughout the history of the church in different ways. Through the states and even inside the church. How do you see that? You see that in the promotion of things, even in countries or nations that are against the law of God. The promotion of breaking the law of God, the promotion of going against what God has prescribed in His Word. But you also see that happening within the church when the church trying to be inclusive or trying to embrace the society, adopt also these principles. And that mystery is at work within the church when the church is going against the law of God. So, in a sense, what Paul is saying here is that there will be a moment when two things will happen. that the state, and when I say the state I mean the nations, will become more and more against God's law, and simultaneously that man, that person who is within the church, will promote the church to follow those principles of the world that are against the law of God. That is the rebellion that comes, the apostasia, or apostasy, that comes within the church in coalition with what the mystery of lawlessness is doing in the world and in the church. And again, I say this with great fear and humility because at the end we see that there are struggles with these verses. Some people see a strong argument for the proclamation of the gospel to be the restrainer. But I am inclined to believe that is referring to how God uses the nations. Now, while we see this in all this, God is the one who is sovereign over everything that is happening, even in the nations. Therefore, he is the one who is behind the time when God will allow the man of lawlessness to be revealed. Third question that you could ask the test is what will be the end of the man of lawlessness and of those who are deceived by him? And this is very clear in verse five. In verse eight he says, and the man of lawlessness 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. We actually see two paroushias here, two comings. We see the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in verse nine, in verse eight, and right away you see in verse nine the coming of the lawless one. And what happens is that when the lawless one will be revealed, the Lord Jesus Christ will descend and will kill him with the breath of his mouth. What is important about that is that he's telling you the power of Jesus compared with the power of the man of lawlessness. That even though has great influence through the mystery of lawlessness around the world and even in the church, but Jesus will do, and he will disappear. Remember that Paul is writing to you, brothers and sisters, Thessalonians, who are concerned about many things. Remember? And Paul is strengthening your faith. Even though he's telling you difficult times will come, by saying, Jesus is powerful. Those who are perishing, he says, those who are perishing, they refuse to love the truth. but pleasure in unrighteousness. You see verse 10, he says, for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and to be safe. And by the end, in verse 12, who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. It's so easy to think about First Corinthians, when those who are perishing are those who think that the war of the cross is folly, but those who are being saved know that the war of the cross is the power of God, the gospel that save you, that give you eternal life. But those who think that the war of the cross is folly, they will perish. They will be deceived by the man of lawlessness and his mystery of lawlessness. Last question. Where are the good news in all this? Have I only told you bad news? There is the man of lawlessness that is coming. And there is the mystery of lawlessness that is gonna spread out. Well, remember that Paul starts These verses say, now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together with him, we ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind and alarm. Paul's purpose with these verses was to encourage the Thessalonians to strengthen their faith. to help them so they won't be taken in mind and discouraged. Both the mystery of lawlessness that is at work in the world and the revelation of the man of lawlessness are under God's sovereign control. He has the power. The restrainer will be removed once God wants the restrainer to be removed. And our Lord Jesus Christ will descend and will kill the man of lawlessness. We will not be deceived if you are a believer, and you will see that next week. Referring to those who are appointed to believe, you will not be deceived. And he's telling this to the Thessalonians, do not be alarmed because if you are a believer, you will not be deceived. We don't know actually how strong is our faith until we face difficulties and challenges. And sometimes we try to imagine how will I face the challenges and the persecutions that brothers and sisters are experiencing around the world. But let me tell you this, if we were to face this today, here, God will give us the power to endure. God is empowering those brothers and sisters there. And if you were to face this, God will give you the power to endure. Who are those who will be deceived? Those who do not trust the truth and don't find pleasure on righteousness. And what is the truth? The truth is the gospel. The gospel is the good news that it is not because of your own works, your own doing that you can be saved, but the truth is that God sent his only son so that if you believe in him, you will be saved. His righteousness, his perfection will be transferred to you And you will be righteous before God on the basis of his righteousness. You will be justified. There is a verse that my dad used to tell me so often, especially when he was going through difficult times. And this is John chapter 16, verse 33. He says, it is in this world you will have trouble, but take heart. I have overcome the world. Christians, do not be shaken. Christians, do not be alarmed. Christ will destroy the man of lawlessness and the mystery of unrighteousness or lawlessness, and Christ is in your sight. Let's pray. Dear God, we thank you for the good news that though we were your enemies following the devices of the world, you have brought us to be saved by grace. We thank you for the promises that we have and that you have revealed to us through your word that you are in control, that nothing is out of your control. And even though, Lord, we see the mystery of lawlessness around the world and sometimes even in the church, we can be sure that you are the King. We praise you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.