2 Thessalonians
Lesson 2 w/Answers: The Day of Christ, The Rebellion, The Antichrist - Part 12 Thessalonians 2:1-17 and 3:1-18
In this two-part lesson, we will examine End times, the Antichrist and the role of the Church today in light of the Apostasy and Rebellion and the subsequent Second Coming and Day of Christ.
Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 and 3:1-18 and consider the following questions:
- Paul refers to "the Day of Christ" in 2 Thessalonians 2:2. What are the two things that must happen prior to this "Day?" (See 2 Thess. 2:3-4.)
- ANSWER: Paul is fighting against the false teaching that asserted that the Day of the Lord had already come. The people in the church at Thessalonica believed, according to this doctrine, that they had missed the Second Coming. Paul instructs them that this is false doctrine, and that the day of the Lord’s Second Coming will not happen until two things occur: namely, (1) the rebellion against God and His son Jesus and (2) "the man of lawlessness is revealed." Paul also indicates that the man of lawlessness will set himself up in God’s temple, "...proclaiming himself to be God." Both of these things must occur before Christ returns.
- Who is the "son of perdition?" (Hint: he is NOT Satan.)
- ANSWER: When Paul refers to the "son of perdition," he is referring to the anti-Christ—the man of lawlessness who will set himself up as God in God’s temple and require everyone to worship him, and not God.
- What does the Antichrist do? (See also Daniel 7:23 - 27.)
- ANSWER 1: He sits _________.
- ANSWER: He, the Anti-Christ, sits on the throne that belongs to Christ, attempting to rule over the entire world. As we can see from the reference in Daniel, and in other End-time prophecy, the anti-Christ will set himself up as God and King over all the earth. For a time, times and a half time he will suppress and oppress the Jews and anyone who places their faith in God and not him. That amounts to three and a half years, many believe that this is the second half of the tribulation period, also known as the Great Tribulation. At the end of it, things have gotten so bad that Christ returns, crushes the anti-Christ and his kingdom, and Jesus takes his rightful place on the throne.
- ANSWER 2: He tells everyone he is _______.
- ANSWER: He tells everyone he is God, that he is the incarnate Jesus, the Messiah.
- ANSWER 3: He changes times and ________.
- ANSWER: He tries to change the set times and laws.
- ANSWER 1: He sits _________.
- When is the Antichrist revealed? (See 2 Thess. 2: 8.)
- ANSWER: The anti-Christ, accepted by the entire lost world as God, is revealed to be a liar when Jesus returns; and "with the breath of his mouth" he overthrows the anti-Christ and reveals him to the world as a fake, a liar, and a master deceiver—who was so cunning that he got the whole world to believe that he truly was God.
- What do you suppose is now holding back evil that will need to be removed in order to reveal the Antichrist?
- ANSWER: Clearly the Holy Spirit would be the only one strong enough and powerful enough to hold back the forces of evil that will be let lose when the day of the Anti-Christ’s rule arrives.
- If you believe that the Holy Spirit is currently holding back the advance of Satan and the revealing of the Antichrist, then you can also see how the doctrine of the rapture affects the true church. If the Holy Spirit is "removed," what happens to the true church at that time?
- ANSWER: The calling home of the Holy Spirit would imply that all those filled with Holy Spirit and protected by him would also be called home, but this is only a theory. In truth, we do not know enough about these times to fully understand. However, we do know that if the Holy Spirit is not present on this earth, then the Anti-Christ and the false prophet will have free reign over everyone on the earth at that time, and it will be a most horrible and terrible time.
In the next lesson, we will complete our study of 2nd Thessalonians.
Have a great week everyone!
In Christ,
Wes
[2019]