“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. 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. 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. 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. Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 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. 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. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 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. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.”
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NLT
Things will get worse before they get better. Jesus taught in Matthew 24-25, and Paul repeated it in these verses, that there will be a time of intense suffering for Christians before Jesus returns. There will be an anti-Christ (a person of lawlessness) who stands against all other religions and demands all worship. The person will love destruction and will deceive many. Those who stay loyal to Jesus will be persecuted and killed. We are told this so that we will know it is coming and be ready.
These verses, as dreary as they are, can be a great comfort. Even as the world gets worse, following more selfishness and materialism, you can know that God predicted this would happen, and He has a plan. We are not currently in the great Tribulation; we are in the “birthpains”– this is the normal flow of the world. You are called as a
Christian to work for God’s Kingdom with all you are. Join with other Christians, follow Jesus, and fight in love for His world. Also, be ready for the worst of times because it will get worse before Christ comes back and brings the best of times. How can you prepare for hard times as a Christian? Why is it so important to “fight with love”?
