A Review of a most Unsettling Book

I just finished reading Dr. Timothy Dailey's book 'Apocalypse Rising'.

After finishing a year of Bible study on the book of Revelation I was looking forward to reading this book. But I didn't enjoy it at all. And I guess really we weren't meant to. It's a very serious and gloomy topic.

In his history sections, talking about the various wars and invasions, it was incredibly gory. Added to that was his section on EMP and how all of America could easily and speedily be destroyed and I had trouble sleeping at night! 

Because I had accepted a copy of this book from Chosen with the promise I would give it a fair and honest review though, I felt like I must finish reading it. And I did. His section on the current refuges in Europe was interesting and I believe on target. But at least the book of Revelation left me with hope and the feeling that God is in complete control.

I didn't get the feeling from this book.

Why Still Care about Israel?

I just finished reading Why Still Care about Israel by Sandra Teplinsky.

I was drawn by the title of this book to learn more about Israel and what is going on today. In reading the book I was blessed with understanding of Romans 9 – 11. (And this after studying Romans for a year with Bible Study Fellowship!

I challenge anyone considering buying this book to first read Romans 9 – 11, then read the book and then go back and read Romans 9 – 11 again! You will be amazed how your eyes are opened!

Romans 9 – 11 9 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, ⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen

⁶ It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. ⁷ Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” ⁸ In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. ⁹ For this was how the promise was stated: “At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁰ Not only that, but Rebekah’s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. ¹¹ Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad—in order that God’s purpose in election might stand: ¹² not by works but by him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” ¹³ Just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

¹⁴ What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! ¹⁵ For he says to Moses,

“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”

¹⁶ It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. ¹⁷ For Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” ¹⁸ Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

¹⁹ One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?” ²⁰ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” ²¹ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

²² What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? ²³ What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— ²⁴ even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? ²⁵ As he says in Hosea:

“I will call them ‘my people’ who are not my people;
and I will call her ‘my loved one’ who is not my loved one,”²⁶ and,

“In the very place where it was said to them,
‘You are not my people,’
there they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”

²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:

“Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,
only the remnant will be saved.
²⁸ For the Lord will carry out
his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

²⁹ It is just as Isaiah said previously

“Unless the Lord Almighty
had left us descendants,
we would have become like Sodom,
we would have been like Gomorrah.

³⁰ What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; ³¹ but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. ³² Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. ³³ As it is written:

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall,
and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.

10 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. ² For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. ³ Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. ⁴ Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

⁵ Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: “The person who does these things will live by them.” ⁶ But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) ⁷ “or ‘Who will descend into the deep?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). ⁸ But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: ⁹ If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. ¹⁰ For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. ¹¹ As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.” ¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

¹⁶ But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” ¹⁷ Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. ¹⁸ But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:

“Their voice has gone out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.”

¹⁹ Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,

“I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.”

²⁰ And Isaiah boldly says,

“I was found by those who did not seek me;
I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.”

²¹ But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
to a disobedient and obstinate people.”

11 I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”? ⁴ And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” ⁵ So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. ⁶ And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

⁷ What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, ⁸ as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor,
eyes that could not see
and ears that could not hear,
to this very day.”

⁹ And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap,
a stumbling block and a retribution for them.
¹⁰ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.”

¹¹ Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. ¹² But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!

¹³ I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry ¹⁴ in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. ¹⁵ For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? ¹⁶ If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.

¹⁷ If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, ¹⁸ do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” ²⁰ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. ²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.

²² Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. ²³ And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!

²⁵ I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, ²⁶ and in this way all Israel will be saved. As it is written:

“The deliverer will come from Zion;
he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
²⁷ And this is my covenant with them
when I take away their sins.”

²⁸ As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, ²⁹ for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable. ³⁰ Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, ³¹ so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God’s mercy to you. ³² For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
³⁴ “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Who has ever given to God,
that God should repay them?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things.
To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Disclosure: I was given this book by Chosen Books to review on my blog. They did not ask for a positive review; only an honest one.

Be Alert! Mark 13:28-37

Mark 13:28-37 ²⁸ “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁰ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

³² “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. ³⁴ It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

³⁵ “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. ³⁶ If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”

This passage tells us we need to be prepared and how to do that. We’re to read the signs. A fig tree loses its leaves in the winter; and in late spring when you see the new growth, you know that summer is coming. He says when you see the signs you will know the end is near. Jesus will be right at the door. There’s immediacy in His statement. In the book of Revelation Jesus says many times “I am coming quickly”. And it’s for sure. “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but not my words”.

Where He says “this generation will not pass until these things happen”, He doesn’t mean a 20 or 40 year time period. It’s more like “the church age” or this season of trials kind of thing.

He also makes it clear in this passage that we are not to figure out when it will happen. We’re not to focus on the timing; we are to focus on the task. And that’s to be ready to welcome the Lord Jesus into our life. To trust Him and with joy anticipate His arrival.

Luke 12:35-38 ³⁵ Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning;³⁶ and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their lord, when he shall return from the marriage feast; that, when he cometh and knocketh, they may straightway open unto him.

³⁷ Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and shall come and serve them.³⁸ And if he shall come in the second watch, and if in the third, and find them so blessed are those servants.

We’ll be blessed if we are ready for Him!

Jesus then tells a story about a master who has servants and he’s going away on a trip. He leaves his servants in charge. Jesus is the master who has gone away. We are the servants and we’ve been left in charge while He’s gone. The verse says each one was left with their assigned task. The task is the same really for every Christian. That we be engaged in developing quality followers of Jesus Christ. Period! It’s called different things in scripture, “loving your neighbor”, “making fishers of men”, “spreading the Gospel”… and we have different ways of doing it based on our gifts; telling people about God and Jesus, teaching, writing, mentoring, encouraging, showing Christ’s love, giving God the Glory, etc. but it’s all to make disciples. That’s our job as Christians.

Of course, even His disciples were slow learners:

Acts 1:6-8 ⁶ Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

⁷ He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus had already told them no one knows, but the Father. But here they ask again. So Jesus answers them again: don’t focus on the times or dates. Focus on the task – “you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Mark 13:10 also said the Gospel must be preached to the ends of the earth.

So encourage people by your faithfulness. Be alert! Be ready! We’ve all been left in charge of this task!

The Ovilet Discourse

Mark 13:1-13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
² “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

³ As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵ Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. ⁸ Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. ¹⁰ And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. ¹¹ Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ¹³ Everyone will hate you because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

This teaching, called the Olivet Discourse, because it took place on the Mt. of Olives, occurred on Wednesday of Jesus’ final week on earth. He had spent much of the first part of the week in the Temple; teaching and healing.

The Olivet Discourse is the longest answer to any question in scriptures. This discourse is recorded in Matthew 24:1 - 25:46, Mark 13:1-37 and Luke 21:5-36.

Jesus had spoken to the Pharisees concerning judgment. And when Jesus was leaving the temple a disciple asked Him about the temple buildings, seemingly so that Jesus could explain how the judgment of which He spoke related to the temple. Herod, who built the temple buildings that existed during the time of Christ's earthly ministry, built them to last. Here Jesus tells the disciples that not one stone of the temple would be left on top of another. This is what occurred in A.D. 70 when Rome, led by Titus, destroyed Jerusalem.

The Jews had rebelled against the Romans and the Roman army surrounded the old city where they hid for 5 months. The Romans beat against the walls, but the Jews had a lot of supplies, the walls were strong and they kept holding them back. Eventually they ran out of food and the Romans scaled the walls. Titus wanted to save the opulent Temple, but the Jews burned it to the ground.

The things made of gold that resided in the temple melted as the temple burned, and the gold ran down into the cracks between the stones. Every stone was toppled from its place as people searched for the gold. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

This temple was probably 10 stories high. One stone was 37 ½ ft by 12 ft by 18 ft! The foundation stones were even larger! The temple was amazing! Huge! And beautiful! But Jesus said not one stone would be left. Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled word for word. In fact He said in Luke 19:41-44 ⁴¹ As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it ⁴² and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

As they went over the Mt. of Olives, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked Him when this would happen. The Jews were confused about the coming Messiah. In all the prophecies in the Old Testament there wasn’t a clear differentiation between Christ’s first coming and His second coming. In fact they didn’t really understand that there would be 2 comings. Jesus answers the disciple by giving two prophecies. The first: the crushing of the temple. The second “when will we see the end of the age?”

Jesus lets them know this would be a different time then the crushing of the temple. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. And something had to happen first: Verse 10  And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Verses 4 – 13 give the description of the church age.

 Jesus first warns them about things that would happen that should not be interpreted as signs:

 Some would claim to be Christ; deception.

 There would be wars and rumors of wars.

Then Jesus identifies the beginnings of birth pangs, a metaphor for 'false alarm'

 Nations rising up against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms.

 Earthquakes

 Famines

 Pestilence

 Fearful events

 Next He described more birth pangs which would lead to the coming Kingdom:

 False prophets

 Apostasy

 Persecution of the followers of Jesus

 The spread of Jesus' message (the gospel) around the world.

These things are all happening and have been happening. 100,000 earthquakes are felt every year. There is famine in many countries. In World War II alone 72 MILLION people were killed. Pestilence – the Black Plague in Europe lasted 2 years and killed 100 million people! Believers are persecuted.

Jesus knew it all! He knows the beginning and the end. He will get us through!

End Times. What people think and why they care.

Pastor Kurt is starting a sermon series on end times! One of my favorite studies!

Eschatologyis the study of the End Times. And there are many ways people have looked at this time. There are 4 views regarding the return of Christ:

Postmillennialism – believes life on earth gradually improves as the kingdom of God fills the earth through more and more Christians bringing His will down from heaven. Christ reigns now in our hearts. We are in the millennium. Christ overwhelms the world with increasing influence and ushers in a golden age through preaching that reaches the ends of the world. This is optimistic eschatology.

Amillennialism - A system for understanding the church and end times that believes that this age is the millennium. There is no literal thousand year bodily reign of Jesus Christ on earth until the eternal state.

Historical Premillennialism - A system for understanding the church and end times that believes Christ will come back after a period of trouble followed by Christ’s thousand year reign. The issue of the return of Christ whether future or not is difficult to determine. Preterism, a popular example, is a form of historical Premillennialism that says that Jesus returned in 70 AD.

Dispensational or Futuristic Premillennialism - A system for understanding the church and end times that believes that Christ’s return is definitely future and occurs in two phases separated by the tribulation. Christ’s reign on earth will be bodily and will graft national Israelback into the vine of salvation.

There are 3 basic views regarding the rapture and its timing in God’s plans:

Pre trib rapture - The rapture occurs before the tribulation begins.

Mid trib rapture – The rapture occurs before Jacob’s sorrow in the midst of two sets of 3 ½ years

Post trib rapture - The rapture and the second coming are immediately before the millennium.

We are dispensational premillennialists who anticipate the pretribulational rapture of the church. We are in the church age. The next event will be the Rapture of the Church (this is not Christ’s second coming as He will call us from above and we will rise to meet Him in the air.) Next will be the 7 year tribulation, THEN Christ returns to end that and He will reign for 1000 years while Satan is bound. Satan will break out, people will sin and Christ will once and for all end sin, cast Satan in the lake of fire and reign on the new Heavens and Earth forever.

The tribulation is described in Mark 13 and Revelation. It is a time of profound trial on earth.

Studying end times is important because almost 1/3 of the Bible is prophecy and 1/3 of the prophecy in the Old Testament points to Jesus’first coming and 2/3s to His second coming! 62 or the 66 books mention it.

It’s also important because it induces a healthy fear of God, makes us realize we need to starting living right and that we need to evangelize more.

1 John 3: 1-3 See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. ² Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears^] we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.³ All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

We see from this passage that we are blessed when we study end times because:

1.      We become overwhelmed by the love of God.

2.      We realize that we are misunderstood by the world and our lives must be different from the world’s.

3.      We know we are possessed by God. We are now His children!

4.      We see we will be glorified in His image. “When He appears we will be like Him.”Our relationship with Him will be increased a thousand fold at that time.

5.      We will be purified when we stand before Him.

 

 

Prophecy Conference Night Two – The Importance of Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the spiritual capital, the physical capital and the eternal capital of the world.

Psalm 132:13-14 says that God chose Jerusalem for His people. In Zechariah 1:12 Jesus appeared to the prophet and said, “I am jealous for Jerusalem,” (Meaning “I am aggressively possessive of Jerusalem.”) “and displeased with the heathen (the nations) who are against it.”

And in Ezekiel 5:5 God put Jerusalem in the center, surrounded by the other countries, who will one day attack her. But Zechariah 12:1-9 says that God will deliver Jerusalem from those nations.

2^nd Samuel 7:13 and 16 tells us that God promised David Jerusalem will be there forever.

Zechariah 1:16 says that Jesus will come back and build His temple there and rule!

Why is Jerusalem key? This is where Abraham offered up Isaac on the Temple Mount. The same spot was also where David paid for the site. And where Solomon built the first temple. After it was torn down the second temple was built there. All the sacrifices took place there.

And! It’s where the Garden of Eden was!

In Genesis 1:26 God told Adam and Eve to rule the first kingdom, Eden. At the end, the last Adam and His bride (the church) will rule from the Garden of Eden (Jerusalem)!

2 Thessalonians - Part 3

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

5Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Paul is telling the Thessalonians that they must give up their nervous, hysterical waiting for the second coming. He denied that he ever said that the Day of the Lord had come. That was a misinterpretation of his words. He told them that before that happens many other things had to take place.

First there would come an age of rebellion against God. That there was already a secret evil power working in the world. He says the lawless one will come and he will be the incarnation of evil, just as Jesus is the incarnation of good. In 1st John we see this person called the antichrist.

In time the power which is restraining him will be removed. This power is the Holy Spirit and when Christ takes His church up before the tribulation “all hell will break loose.”

This antichrist will be able to perform miracles and the people who don’t believe in God, who had already rejected Christ, will follow the lawless one. But, take comfort in the fact that this man is doomed to destruction. His fate is already sealed. God is in control and nothing can stand against Him! The great question is – whose side are you on? If you are on God’s side, verse 13 tells us how lucky we are and to thank Him!

2 Thessalonians 2:13 13But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

And in verse 14 God used Paul to tell the Thessalonians His message, the Good News, so that they might share in His Glory.

2 Thessalonians 2:14 14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God has given us the same mission. To tell the world how to find salvation.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:15 he tells them to stand firm in truth: 15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Why Does God Put Up With It?

I’m still teaching Revelation and I have to say I asked myself, why does God go through all of this? In the end, why will Satan be allowed to rule, then be removed, then come back until he is finally disposed of for good?

I think on a smaller scale, looking back at when the Israelites wanted a king “like the other nations.” God didn’t want them to have a king. He was supposed to be their only ruler. But He let them have one – Saul, who was awful.

They had to see for themselves. We were given free will, with all of its consequences, so we would know for ourselves that God’s way is best and come to Him freely.

1st John 2:18

1 John 2:18 “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour.”

Over 2000 years have gone by and some people say, “Well, where is the final hour? The end times?”

Some think the end times are between Christ being on earth the first time and when He comes back the second time. In Biblical thought the last time or end time is the end of one age and the beginning of another. So it’s used more then once in the Bible and not always about the same period of time.

Men have the choice of allying themselves with the old world, which is doomed to destruction or allying themselves with Christ and entering into the new world. Here is the urgency for John: man has a choice and it depends on whether or not he has given his life to Jesus Christ.

So you may argue that every hour is the last hour, every minute in fact we are confronted with allying ourselves with God or with evil forces that are against God. I heard someone say once that one of the reasons we go to church is to show the world whose side we are on!

The antichrist John mentions here is not the one and final antichrist he talks about in Revelation. Here he uses it as a term for one who is an adversary of Christ or a false prophet or false teacher. Many men in history have been thought to be the antichrist, the one in Revelation: Nero, Hitler, the Pope (!), Stalin, Mussolini to name a few. But, in the letters of John he is not so much a person as a principle, the principal that is hostile to and actively opposed to God.

Show the world whose side you are on. Christian tees at:
Team Jesus