2 Thessalonians, Day 2
2 Thessalonians Chapter 2
Good News: Jesus Will Return
Chapter 2 of 2 Thessalonians starts like a conversation where the messenger asks, “Do you want to hear the good news or the bad news first?” But reading through the chapter (2 Thessalonians 2:1 – 17), we see that the news was all good for the faithful church.
The church members at Thessalonica were anxious. Not only were they being persecuted for their faith, it appears that someone told them they missed the return of the Lord. First, Paul tells the church they should cheer up because they had not missed that glorious gathering; the Lord Jesus was yet to come.
Notice that Paul refers to both the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” and the “Day of the Lord” (Verses 1 – 2). Since this revelation is expressed as a comfort and reassurance to the church, it follows that “our being gathered together with him (rapture)” precedes the oppression (Great Tribulation) leading to the Day of the Lord. During this tribulation, the “man of lawlessness” (Antichrist) will be unrestrained and will act like he is God (2:4) until the Day of the Lord. Throughout the Bible, the Day of the Lord is always a terrific show of the power of God — and a frightful judgment of unrighteousness (Verses 8 – 12). That’s the bad news for the unrighteous.
The good news for those called to Christ is that the Lord Jesus will destroy the lawless one with the breath of His mouth (Isaiah 11:4). Our awesome God does not have to lift a finger; his word is that powerful. These end times signal the beginning of the New Heavens and New Earth and the eternal reign of Jesus our Savior.
As Christians, the end times should be welcome. That is a challenging thought when we consider that our largely material investments in daily life should have a clearly eternal investment value. Do we live with eternity’s values in view, looking forward to the New Heavens and New Earth?
Notice that we are to give thanks for our salvation. That means not just feeling thankful, but expressing our thanks, as praise to God and as testimony before the world. If you need encouragement, remember our Savior and His love at the cross. And that’s the truth (John 14:6).
We also look forward to “obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Verse 14). Jesus’ glory will always exceed ours, but we will be given the glory of the saints, both in soul and body — we will be resurrected to eternal life with our Savior.
All this good news does not mean we should slack off because the war is won (although it is). On the contrary, we are to stand firm in the faith, following the teaching of the godly teachers.
With all this good news, a benediction is a great way to close this encouraging chapter:
“Now may 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” (2 Thessalonians 2:16 – 17).
God bless you,
Andy Nordquist