2:1-12

END TIMES DECEPTION The Second Coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ

If Christ would to come tonight, are you ready

to meet Him?

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

The Day and Hour Unknown…but only the Father (Mt 24:36)

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come (Mt 24:42).

So we think Christ can come any moment, unexpectedly and surprisingly! ???????

SIGNS OF END TIMES (MATTHEW 24)

1. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many…and perform great signs and wonders to deceive (V5)

2. At that time (persecutions) many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people (VV 10-11)

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (v3)

SIGNS OF END TIMES (MATTHEW 24)

3. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (v14).

4. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again (v21).

SIGNS OF END TIMES (MATTHEW 24) “Immediately after the distress of those days “‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (vv 29-31).

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever (1 Th 4:15-17 NIV).

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Th 5:2 NIV) But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. (1 Th 5:4-5a NIV).

So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober (1 Th 5:6 NIV)

2:1-12

END TIMES DECEPTION

NJKV Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

NKJV 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

NKJV 6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

NKJV 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. *

Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us.

NLT

3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. 4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you?

NLT

6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

NLT

9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

NLT

Let no one deceive you by any means (V3)

KNOW THE BIBLICAL TRUTH

PRELUDE TO THE DAY OF THE LORD

2 FACTS MUST HAPPEN:

1. A certain event - The Falling Away (Rebellion; Apostasy) comes first (v3)

2. A certain person - The Man of Sin (Man of Lawlessness; cf Antichrist) is revealed (v3)

1.  The Falling Away (Rebellion) comes first

The abandonment of the faith by professed Christians; a falling away from the truth by those who once held it.

At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold (Mt 24:10-12 NIV). For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work (v7)

2.  The Man of Sin (Man of Lawlessness) is revealed

the son of perdition (the man doomed to destruction), who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (vv3b-5).

OPPOSITION OF EVIL TO LAW AND GOD

But WHEN will The Man of Sin (Man of Lawlessness) be revealed ?

And now you know what is restraining (holding him back), that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery (secret power) of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed (vv6-8a).

God is in control; He sets the times and seasons for the End Times

WHAT HAPPENS when The Man of Sin (Man of Lawlessness) is revealed ?

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume (overthrow) with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness (splendor) of His coming (v8).

The Man of Sin is doomed for sure

WARNING FOR US about the Coming of The Man of Sin (Man of Lawlessness) The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (wickedness) (vv9-12). Signs and Wonders should not be the ground of our faith; they do not point to the Truth

CONCLUSION

Believers can have comfort and encouragement that in the midst of persecutions or tribulations, God is in control and the Evil One will ultimately be destroyed along with those who do not believe in the Truth, at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Application

Love the Truth

John 14:6 (NIV) Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 17:17 (NIV) Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.

Application

Live the Truth

Matthew 28:20 (NIV) and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

John 14:15 (NLT) “If you love me, obey my commandments.