Posted on 03/12/2018 5:24:39 AM PDT by Faith Presses On
In a letter to the Christians at Thessalonica, Paul speaks of a future event he calls "the day of the Lord." He writes:
"We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3).
Some theologians believe the "day of the Lord" Paul refers to here is the final judgment. However, I believe with most scholars that Paul is speaking of Christs second coming. And Paul states that Jesus return will not take place until two things happen:
1. A great apostasy will occur. Many who once knew God will fall away from the truth of the gospel theyve known.
2. The Antichrist, or man of sin, will be "revealed."
It should be obvious to every lover of Jesus that a "falling away" is already taking place. Many believers today, as well as Christians throughout the past few decades, have grown cold in their love for God. With that in mind, Id like to focus on Pauls second point - that the day of the Lord wont come until the "man of sin is revealed."
What, exactly, does Paul mean by this phrase? Is he saying Jesus wont come back until the Antichrist has been enthroned as a world ruler, and we all know his identity? I dont think so. Paul knew that Christ could return at any moment...
(Excerpt) Read more at tscpulpitseries.org ...
Even more true today. We are on a downward slope.
In reference to a “great falling away” many people think only of the west. In the 1920’s, when Communism strangled Russia, the average church dwindled from 300 to 15. That was a 95% falling away.
With all due respect, I do not agree with that.
Jesus said: "I who come in the name of the father you reject. But another who comes in his own name you will accept."
He isn't talking about some spiritual or allegorical event--Anti Christ is a real live walking talking person.
Anti Christ is wounded in the head and has a miraculous recovery; he emerges from the "people" who destroyed the Temple in 70 AD; he is one of seven heads of the group of people who emerge from the ten nations identified in Daniel Chapter 7.
The word translated "people" in Daniel Chapter 9 is actually the Hebrew word "yam"--the word means "tribal or ethnic group". Titus's army in 70 AD was, according to Sutonious and Tacitus and Josephus made up exclusively of "levies on the local kings"--all ethnic (tribal) Asyrians.
"Dan thou are a viper"--the tribe of Dan is excluded from the list of tribes in Revelation 7 who are to enter the kingdom age. It is a reasonable estimate that is because Anti Christ is a historic Danite.
The Tribe of Dan was removed to an area South of modern Damascus where names of Danite tribal origin continue. Reasonable to expect that the Anti-Christ will come from a Jewish ethnic background in Southern Syria.
He will be Jewish ("another--you will accept"); the Jewish establishment in Israel will accept him.
We need to study the word carefully because this is one of the next events in God's plan--the visible physical revelation of the Man of Sin.
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