Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto Him,
That ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is present.
Let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
He that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is One that restraineth now, until He be taken out of the way.
And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of His coming;
Even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
That they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth;
Whereunto He called you through our gospel, unto the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, how we rejoice, knowing that we are in Thy presence. And in Thy presence there is light, there is revelation, there is life.
So, our Father, we just come to receive life, revelation, and light from Thee. We ask that the breaking of Thy Word may bring forth light and love into our hearts. We commit this time into Thy hands, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
The two letters of the Apostle Paul to the Thessalonians are among the first letters written by the Apostle. He wrote these two letters not very long after God had used him to bring forth that church.
We know that the church in Thessalonica was born through the ministry of Paul. And after the church was founded, it went through continuous persecution. It was a young church in affliction.
Because of this, we find that Paul, when he was in Corinth, wrote the first letter to the church in Thessalonica. In that letter, he tried to encourage these young believers who were in tribulation.
And we all know that the best encouragement that one can ever give to anyone, or to any church in any generation, that they may stand and continue on, is the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord.
That is the reason why, in 1 Thessalonians, the Apostle Paul mentions again and again this matter of the coming of the Lord. Because the coming of the Lord is a great hope, and it is the best encouragement believers can ever have.
Now, regarding this matter of the coming of the Lord, we mentioned last time that the coming of the Lord is the parousia of the Lord. The word coming in Greek is parousia.
Para means “with,” and ousia means “being.” In other words, the word coming means presence. It speaks of an arrival and the subsequent state afterward.
So parousia actually is a period of time. The coming of the Lord, the parousia of the Lord, covers a period of time, and it comprises a number of events.
Briefly speaking, the parousia of the Lord is in two stages. You remember in Acts 1:11, when the disciples were on Mount Olivet and saw our Lord Jesus being taken up. They were all looking up, seeing Him going up from Mount Olivet, until He was received by a cloud. But they were still looking.
Then two men in white appeared to them and said:
Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye beheld Him going into heaven.
Now, we remember that when He was taken up, it was in two stages. The first stage was from Mount Olivet to the cloud—visible. The second stage was from the cloud to heaven—invisible.
The word of the two men to the disciples was that He shall come back in like manner. That is to say, as His ascension was in two stages, so His coming will also be in two stages. But the order will be reversed.
In His coming—that is, in His parousia—the first stage will be from the throne to the air, invisible; and the second stage will be from the air to Mount Olivet, visible.
So, dear brothers and sisters, when we talk about the coming of the Lord, I think basically we need to remember that the parousia, the presence of the Lord, comes in two stages: one invisible, from the throne to the air; and one visible, from the air to Mount Olivet. If we can remember these two stages, then probably we will not be very much confused.
The problem with the people in Thessalonica, which Paul had to deal with concerning this matter of parousia, was that they were troubled or worried for those who had believed in the Lord Jesus and had died.
As you find in 1 Thessalonians 4, this was their problem. After believing in the Lord Jesus, within a period of time some of them passed away.
So, when they thought of the coming of the Lord, which is the blessed hope, it troubled them. They thought probably those who had slept in the Lord had missed the coming of the Lord. They had missed the opportunity, or perhaps the greatest blessing of being taken up—being raptured.
Because of this, they were troubled. So Paul, in this first letter to the Thessalonians, tried to tell them that in the coming of the Lord there will be rapture.
In the rapture, not only the living, but also those who have slept in Christ Jesus, will be raised from the dead. They will be caught up into the air with the living, and we shall all be with the Lord. In doing so, he tried to comfort his people.
But not long after the first letter was written, fresh news came from Thessalonica. Because of the new information that Paul received, he felt constrained to write another letter, and this is the second letter to the Thessalonians.
Actually, these two letters were written within a very short period, likely a matter of months. In the second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul is trying to deal with them on the second stage of parousia.
Or, to put it another way, in the first letter to the Thessalonians he deals with the first stage of parousia: the coming of the Lord from the throne to the air.
Now we know that our Lord Jesus today is seated at the right hand of the Father. But one day He is coming, and of course His coming has to begin with the throne.
If you put the whole Bible together, you will find that one day, suddenly, something will happen upon this earth. One day, throughout the world, some believers will be missing. They are being taken.
As in Matthew 24, we find that two are sleeping: one is taken, and one is left. Two are grinding meal in the morning: one is taken, and one is left. Two are working in the field at noontime: one is taken, and one is left.
We know that these two represent the living believers at the time of the coming of the Lord.
Dear brothers and sisters, we have a great change here. At the coming of the Lord, those believers who are prepared, who watch and pray, who are willing to take up the cross and follow the Lord, and who are being loosened from the grip of the world—these who are already the overcomers of the church—will be first taken.
As the man child in Revelation 12, the man child, as soon as he is born, is taken up to the throne, there to prepare the way for the Lord to come from the throne to the air.
In Revelation 12, we find that as soon as the man child is taken to the throne, the man child is caught up because they overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and because they loved not their soul-life even unto death.
As they are taken up to the throne, there will be war in the air. Michael and his angels will fight with Satan and his followers, and there will be no more place for Satan in the air.
We know the air is the headquarters of Satan. But Satan shall be cast down with his followers upon this earth. The air is cleared for the Lord to descend from the throne to the air.
At this period on earth, there will be the great tribulation, because the trinity of evil will all be on earth: Satan, the false prophet, and the false Christ, the Antichrist. There will be great tribulation.
But thank God, through the great tribulation the harvest will be ready. The firstfruits, represented by the overcomers, have already been taken. But what about the harvest? The rest of the believers will be ready.
Therefore, at the sound of the last trumpet—that is, the seventh trumpet—those who are dead in Christ will be raised from the dead, and those who remain and are living upon the earth will all be caught up into the air to meet the Lord in the air.
There we will find the judgment seat of Christ. In other words, all those who are of the family of God will be gathered around the Lord, and there they will be judged as a family.
Their works will be judged. Those who work with gold, silver, and precious stones will be rewarded. Those who work with wood, hay, and stubble—their work shall be destroyed, but they themselves shall be saved.
So this is the first part of parousia, which we find in 1 Thessalonians. But there is a second part of parousia: from the air to the earth. This is especially dealt with in 2 Thessalonians.
First Thessalonians deals with the first stage of parousia. It is especially related to the church. It is the coming of the Lord for His saints, and rapture is included in that period.
Second Thessalonians deals especially with the second stage of parousia. Or, if you like, it is the appearing of His coming: the epiphany of His parousia, the apocalypse of His parousia, the revelation, the outshining of His presence.
It is mainly related to the world. It is the coming of the Lord with His saints, and it is mainly connected with this matter of judgment.
Now, if you just remember this as we go, it will help us.
The church in Thessalonica had a new problem. We do not know for sure how this new problem came into being, but Paul mentioned in the second letter that if anyone should come to them—by spirit, by word, or by a letter as if from the apostles—saying that the day of the Lord is present, they were not to be shaken or deceived.
Probably, during that short period, there may have been someone prophesying to the believers that the day of the Lord was already here. Or perhaps someone had a word saying that the day of the Lord was present.
Or maybe someone falsified a letter, a false letter, as if it had been written by the Apostle Paul, telling them that the day of the Lord was now here.
When the believers heard these things, they were deeply troubled. In 1 Thessalonians, their concern was with those who had departed in the Lord. But now their concern was with the living.
If the day of the Lord was present, that was terrible. Why? Because the day of the Lord is a day of death, a day of judgment, a day of vengeance—and they thought they were in it.
Possibly, in the first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul did mention the day of the Lord. We find this in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.
Somehow, the enemy tried to insert some falsehood into the truth. Paul did mention the day of the Lord. He said the day of the Lord shall come as a thief by night—that is to say, suddenly and unexpectedly.
When they shall say, “Peace and safety,” as if everything is peaceful and safe, then suddenly destruction comes upon them. The day of the Lord is destruction, and destruction comes upon them as travail upon a woman with child. They shall in no wise escape.
Now someone says, “The day of the Lord is now here. Are you not in trouble? Are you not being persecuted? Are you not in suffering? Now this is the day of the Lord. You are already in it.”
If this were so, then what would be their hope?
Actually, when Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, in chapter 4 he tried to comfort them with the hope of the coming of the Lord. He said the Lord is coming soon, and when He comes, the dead in Christ shall be raised, and those who live and remain shall be transformed. We will all be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.
He said, “Use these words to comfort one another.” Now, it is for comfort.
But in chapter 5 he also mentions the day of the Lord. Notice the language:
When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.
In chapter 4 he is talking about we—that is, Paul and the Thessalonian believers. In chapter 5, he writes again to the Thessalonian believers: “Concerning the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you.”
But in verse 3 he says, “When they are saying.” In other words, after Paul has dealt with the first stage of parousia with the believers as a comfort and hope, he turns to the second stage of parousia.
He says there will be the day of the Lord coming, which is a day of destruction. But this is not for you. This is for them. And who are they? They are the world.
The world will say, “Peace and safety,” and then destruction will suddenly come upon them. But so far as you are concerned, verse 4 says:
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief:
For ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness;
So then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober.
So, in other words, the day of the Lord concerns the world, not the church. So far as the church is concerned, they are sons of day and sons of light. The day of the Lord will not come upon them as a thief.
But somehow they did not understand. They mixed up the whole thing. They thought, “The day of the Lord is now here, and we have no hope. We have missed the opportunity. We are in the day of judgment.”
So Paul was trying again to correct their concept, their understanding. He told them, “No. The day of the Lord will not come unless two things happen first: the apostasy and the revelation of the man of sin, the son of perdition.”
Maybe I need to explain a little more, because I think probably there is still some confusion.
Sometimes people think the Thessalonian believers were troubled because they expected the coming of the Lord too soon. Because the coming of the Lord was so soon, they thought they were already in the day of judgment and had missed the opportunity of rapture.
But this is really not the problem. In 1 Thessalonians, you find that the Apostle Paul uses the coming of the Lord as hope and consolation to the believers. In other words, they are taught to expect the Lord to come.
As in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, it says that we are awaiting the Son from heaven, Whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, Who delivereth us from the wrath to come.
So, in other words, the coming of the Lord to believers is a great hope and a great consolation. As believers, we must expect Him to come, and as soon as possible. Why? Because it is a joyous day.
It is the day that we shall see Him face to face. It is a day of expectation, of anticipation—a day when we shall see Him and we shall be rewarded. So it is a day to be looking forward to.
The problem is not that they expected the Lord to come too soon, and that Paul tried to tell them that the Lord is not coming back soon because certain things must happen. No, this is not the case.
The case is that they mixed up the two stages of parousia. Or, we may say, they mixed up the two days.
In the Bible, you have the day of Christ and the day of the Lord. These are two different terms. Unfortunately, even the translators of the King James Version translated “the day of the Lord” as “the day of Christ.”
People seem to mix up these things today. But if you read the New Testament very carefully, especially, you will find that the day of Christ and the day of the Lord are two different days.
The day of Christ is connected with the first stage of parousia, for the church and the believers. The day of the Lord is connected with the second part of parousia. It is related to the world and to judgment.
For the sake of clarity, let us look at this a little more. The day of Christ is found in Philippians.
In Philippians 1:6, Paul says:
Being confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ.
In other words, what God has begun in you, the good work, He will complete unto the day of Jesus Christ.
Then again, in Philippians 1:10-11:
So that ye may approve the things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and void of offence unto the day of Christ;
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.
Here you find that, by the grace of God, we can discern the things that differ, that we may be pure and without offence for the day of Christ. When the day of Christ comes, we shall be pure and without offence.
Again, in Philippians 2:16, Paul says:
Holding forth the word of life; that I may have whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither labor in vain.
He said to the believers that they are holding forth the word of life as lights in the world. In doing so, they will be a boast for Paul in the day of Christ. Paul shall boast of them in that day.
Again, this is found in 1 Corinthians 1:8:
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye be unreproveable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is Paul’s prayer for the Corinthian believers: that they shall be confirmed unto the end, unreproveable in the day of Jesus Christ.
Again, in 1 Corinthians 5:5, even in the matter of discipline, it is for the sake of that day:
To deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
And again, in 2 Corinthians 1:14:
Even as also ye did acknowledge us in part, that we are your glorying, even as ye also are ours, in the day of our Lord Jesus.
So you find that the day of Christ, or the day of Jesus Christ, is connected with the church. It has relationship to the church. One day, when the day of Christ comes, we shall all appear before Him. We shall see Him, and our works shall be rewarded.
So it is a day that we should look forward to. Brothers and sisters, the day of Christ is the day that we, as believers, are looking forward to.
What are we looking forward to? We are looking forward to the day when we shall see Him face to face. It is a day of great joy.
We love Him, even though we have not seen Him. But one day we shall see Him face to face. What a tremendous joy it must be. It is a day we look forward to.
It is the day when we shall all gather together in His presence. It is the day that we shall appear before Him pure and without blame, unreproveable. It is the day when our work shall be rewarded. It is a glorious day, a day to look forward to.
Now, of course, if you work with wood, hay, and stubble—if you live in the flesh according to the flesh, if you do not follow the Lord, if you are like the wicked servant burying your talent, or like the foolish virgins who do not prepare extra oil in their vessels—then, when that day comes and you appear before the judgment seat of Christ, there is something to be ashamed of.
But otherwise, if you as believers love the Lord, follow the Lord, are filled with the Holy Spirit, and faithfully serve with whatever God has given to you, then, brothers and sisters, it is a day to look forward to. The day of Christ is for the church.
As a matter of fact, everything we do should be lived in the light of that day. Knowing that one day we shall see Him, how we want to please Him in all things.
Let every day be lived in the light of the day of Christ. That is the way the Apostle Paul was. He labored, he suffered, he toiled. Why? Because of that day, when he shall be rewarded.
Dear brothers and sisters, this is our blessed hope: the day of Christ.
But there is another day, which is called the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is not merely a New Testament term. You find the day of the Lord in the Old Testament, and it is carried on into the New Testament.
In the New Testament, you find it in 1 Thessalonians 5:2: “The day of the Lord shall come as a thief,” coming suddenly upon the world, and destruction will suddenly come upon the world. Then in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, people say that the day of the Lord is present, which is not true.
The day of the Lord is a term used by the prophets in the Old Testament. We do not have time to go through all these references, but let me mention them and make a little comment on each.
So, in the Old Testament, what is the day of the Lord? It is a day of judgment, of wrath, of vengeance, and of woe.
God sent this day to the nation of Israel because of their sins. God sent that day to Egypt, to Edom, and to Babylon because of their sins. In the last days, God will send His day to the whole world: the judgment of the nations for the controversy of Zion.
So, brothers and sisters, remember: the day of the Lord is a day of judgment, of darkness, and of terror. One day this day will come upon this world. God will judge the world.
The Thessalonians were troubled. They were deceived by spirit, by word, and by a false letter saying that the day of the Lord was now here. In other words, they thought the judgment had already come, and they had missed everything.
But Paul said, “No. The day of the Lord will not come unless certain things come first.”
At this point, let me point out another thing: today is the day of mercy. Today is a day of grace.
In a day of mercy, a strange thing happens. Believers suffer. The Thessalonian believers believed in the Lord Jesus. They had faith, they had love, their faith increased, and their love abounded. But their suffering was not less.
The persecution continued. It was as if the world was able to persecute the believers, and nothing happened to the world. Now, is that not a strange thing? Where is the righteous judgment of God? Why is it that the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper?
The Apostle Paul gave a very striking explanation. In 1 Thessalonians, Paul mentioned that they had three cardinal, basic, essential qualities: faith, hope, and love—the work of faith, the labor of love, and the endurance of hope.
But in 2 Thessalonians, he mentioned only two: “Your faith increases; your love abounds.” He mentioned nothing about hope. Why? Because they were troubled. They thought they had lost hope.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:4-8, Paul says:
So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure;
Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer:
If so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you,
And to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of His power,
In flaming fire, rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
Notice: you are sustaining persecution. Now this is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God—that you suffer. Is that not strange?
But read on: “To the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer.” It is a righteous thing with God to render tribulation to those who trouble you, and to give rest to you who are troubled.
Dear brothers and sisters, we are living in a day of mercy. In the day of mercy, it seems as if God allows the righteous to suffer and allows the troublers to trouble the righteous.
Paul says this is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God. How do you explain that? The explanation is here: God uses these sufferings to perfect us.
It is with a view to the glory that we are to enter. It is with a view to the kingdom of God, that we may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God.
Our Lord Jesus Himself suffered first, and then He entered into glory. Therefore, we must suffer in order that we may be matured, perfected, and counted worthy of the glory that we are to obtain.
In other words, God is using our enemies to prepare us. This is the righteous judgment of God.
But God, being righteous, will He allow such a thing to continue forever? No. The day will come when He shall judge the troublers who trouble us, and we shall have rest.
That is the day of the Lord: the revelation of the Lord Jesus, the apocalypse, the unveiling of the Lord Jesus.
One day the Lord Jesus shall come from the air to the earth. He shall come with myriads of angels. He shall come with His heavenly host. He shall come with the overcomers of the church, and He shall come down upon this earth.
There will be the last war, the war of Armageddon. It is the war of Christ and His army against Satan and his followers.
There, with the breath of His mouth, He shall destroy the enemy. Satan shall be bound and cast into the bottomless pit. The false prophet and Antichrist will be cast into the lake of fire, and those who follow the beast will be killed.
Judgment will come upon this earth, and Christ shall reign upon this earth for a thousand years. Righteousness shall reign upon this earth, brothers and sisters. This is what is coming.
Do not think that the world will go by without being judged. God is just waiting. One day judgment shall come upon this world. Every evil shall be destroyed, and righteousness shall reign upon the earth.
Christ shall reign forever, and those who are with Christ shall reign with Him. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the day of the Lord.
But before this day comes, two things must happen. One is the apostasy, and the other is the appearing, the unveiling, of the man of sin.
Again, brothers and sisters, remember: this has something to do with the second stage of parousia, not with the first stage. So this is not something that we look forward to.
We look forward to Christ, not to Antichrist. But this is something that the world has to bear with.
First, there will be the apostasy. The word apostasy means falling away, departure, withdrawal from. It means falling away and departure from faith.
Just as our Lord Jesus said, “When the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth?” Dear brothers and sisters, we find that the spirit of lawlessness is already upon the earth. I think there is no question about it.
But we are to expect a general falling away. Not only will the world go further and further away from truth, from law, and from order, but even among God’s people there will be a falling away.
It becomes a general phenomenon: falling away. People do not believe the truth. They believe lies. There is no more standard, no more absolute. Everything is following error, and so forth.
When this happens, of course it prepares the way for the unveiling of the man of sin.
The man of sin is the embodiment of sin. Just as Christ is the embodiment of righteousness—He is the Righteous One—the man of sin is the opposite. He is the man of perdition.
Christ is the Man of life, eternal life, the Father of eternity. Christ is the Lamb, but this man is a beast.
One day the Antichrist will appear upon this earth, and he will set himself up as God. He will destroy all religion. He wants people to worship him as God.
He will perform miracles—false miracles, false signs. But the Lord shall come, shall appear, and shall destroy him with the breath of His mouth.
But Paul said this had not happened yet. The mystery of lawlessness is already there, but the lawless one has not appeared yet. Why? Because there is that which restrains.
Until he who restrains is removed, the lawless one will appear. Now, of course, brothers and sisters, we wonder: who is this one that restrains? Who is that which restrains?
In Christianity, there are many different interpretations. I am not going to give you all the interpretations, because it would take a long time. But let me share with you that which seems to satisfy me. If it does not satisfy you, search.
To me, I feel that that which restrains, or he who restrains, refers to the man child in Revelation 12.
You know, the church on earth is the light of the world and the salt of the earth. That is what the church ought to be.
You remember our Lord Jesus in Matthew 5 said, “Ye are the salt of the earth. Ye are the light of the world.” We are to shine, so darkness shall not be there. When light comes, darkness retreats.
We are the salt of the earth because, where salt is, corruption cannot continue and cannot spread.
But remember, when the Lord says, “Ye are the salt of the earth; ye are the light of the world,” to whom is He speaking? He speaks to the disciples, to those who follow Him.
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Ye are the salt of the earth. Ye are the light of the world.
Brothers and sisters, that is what the church ought to be. The church ought to be that vessel which is separated, sanctified, and Christ-centered. Therefore, it is a testimony to the world.
It is a restraining power against the evil and corruption of the world. That is what the church ought to be.
But unfortunately, the church today is so mixed up with the world that you can hardly distinguish which is the church and which is the world. Therefore, there is no testimony, no light, no restraining power, no salt.
But thank God, in the church you find those who are still faithful to the Lord. They are still the salt and the light of the world. Therefore, they are the overcomers in the church.
They overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb—not that they are perfect, but they trust in the blood of the Lamb—by the word of their testimony.
Why? Because testimony is real to them. Jesus is their Lord, the Lord of their life. And they do not love their soul-life. They are willing to lay down their soul-life for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Brothers and sisters, do you not know that the spirit of lawlessness is already in the world? But it can be worse, much worse. It will be much worse when the lawless one shall appear.
But today there is restraint. Now, who restrains? The church—the overcomers of the church—restrains.
I think this is evident. Suppose a believer who lives a very close life with the Lord enters into a group of people who are using foul language, mocking, and doing all kinds of things.
If a believer who is very close to the Lord walks into their midst, do you know what happens? Suddenly, there is silence.
Now there is the restraining power. Christians ought to have that restraining power.
If we lose our restraining power, brothers and sisters, God have mercy on us. Why? Because we are not separated.
But if we are separated, there will be restraining power there. The world may not appreciate believers, but they do not know what believers have done for them.
But one day God will take them away. When they are raptured, when He takes them away, the lawless one shall appear and move in the world.
Dear brothers and sisters, you find in the book of Revelation that when the church shall be gathered together in the air, the seven vials of the wrath of God will be poured out upon the earth. That is judgment.
God is righteous. He is righteous in allowing us to suffer today. He is righteous in judging the world—the evil that makes us suffer.
So, dear brothers and sisters, what do we see here? Paul says, knowing these things, make every effort. Encourage yourself. Press deeper. Do good. Follow the Lord.
Because, you know, nothing is in vain. The Lord will remember everything.
So, dear brothers and sisters, we do thank the Lord that our Lord is righteous. He is righteous in allowing us to suffer today for His name’s sake, to perfect us, to make us worthy of His kingdom.
And He, being righteous, one day shall come back as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All His enemies shall be destroyed, and His kingdom shall know no end. Praise God. Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, we do bow and worship Thee because Thou art righteous.
Thou art righteous in saving us and allowing us to suffer for Thy kingdom’s sake, because Thou dost desire that we shall inherit the glory of Christ Jesus.
Thou hast called us to Thy eternal glory, Lord, and Thou art making us worthy of it by Thy grace.
Oh, we worship Thee because Thou art righteous. One day Thou shalt send Thy King upon this earth, and all His enemies shall be put under His feet. His kingdom shall know no end.
Oh, Father, we do ask Thee to stir our hearts, that we may not be discouraged but be encouraged to press on unto that goal, to win Christ, knowing that He is our Christ, our eternal Christ.
Yes, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.