“Feb 21, 2024 - You Haven't Missed It”

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

You Haven’t Missed It

Reading:  2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
    
    This section of the letter (2:1-12) is challenging to interpret because Paul refers back to his previous teachings that we have no record of (see 2 Thess 2:5, 6).  The topic here is the return of Jesus, something he spoke about at length in his first letter (1 Thess 4:13-5:11).  “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come”(2 Thess 2:1-2).  Paul has previously described that day as something universal everyone will see (1 Thess 4:13-5:4, 2 Thess 1:6-12), yet some message has convinced the Thessalonians that Jesus came back and they missed it.   This must have greatly upset them, so he urges the Thessalonians “not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed.”  You haven’t missed it; God’s timetable is still on track.  

    Instead, Paul informs them that some things must happen first.  “For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God”(2 Thess 2:3-4).  First there will be a “rebellion” (or apostasy), which seems to imply a widespread departure from God’s ways.  Then there will be a figure of great evil, the “man of lawlessness” and “son of destruction.”  His work will be characterized by an arrogation of power and effort to be recognized as a divine authority (“proclaiming himself to be God”).  It appears that many will be swept up in this man’s consolidation of power and influence.  The details are fuzzy, but Paul’s point is clear:  things will get worse before they get better.

    It is remarkably difficult to pinpoint what Paul is describing.  Every generation identifies its own religious figures, world leaders, and false prophets as the “man of lawlessness.”  Many people fit the description of proclaiming themselves to be God.  Is the temple reference literal?  It seems to me that in the absence of further information, we must acknowledge that rebellion and apostasy happen in each age.  Rather than seeing this as a sign that God has lost control, it should serve as a reminder that Jesus can return at any time.  No matter how ugly the world becomes, you haven’t missed it; Jesus is still coming back!

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One Thing to Think About:   Why might someone follow a figure like this?

One Thing to Pray For:  Stability in my faith so that I am not “shaken in mind or alarmed”
 

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