2 Thessalonians 2:16—“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace.”
Paul, Silas and Timothy wrote this letter to the church at Thessalonica. The zealous new Christians were taught by Paul and his friends. They expected the second coming of God but were being warned about the ways of the Antichrist who would be ruling then, and who already started his work towards his reign by duping people. Christ would come back to set things straight with Satan, who worked on Earth through Antichrist, and to call His people back home with Him. All of the above applies to us Christians of today as well.
We shouldn’t be unsettled or alarmed by a ‘prophetic revelation’ of a spirit, a message, or a letter which says that the day of the Lord has come. Oh no! We shouldn’t let ourselves be deceived or entrapped because none other than God knows that time. Even Jesus will be given instructions to come and “will come like a thief in the night”. Unfortunately, before this beautiful thing that we await happens, wavering Christians will abandon their faith or rebel due to the lies of Satan and the revelation of the son of destruction – Antichrist. He is the one destined to be destroyed even though he will exalt himself over all gods and things of worship, stake his seat in the temple of God, and publicly proclaim that he himself is god.
The coming of the Antichrist is through the activity of Satan: all kinds of counterfeit miracles, deceptive signs, false wonders (lies), unlimited seduction to evil. Those, who were spiritually blind and who rejected the truth of the Gospel that would have saved them, will have upon them a misleading influence of error and deception to believe the lie and take pleasure in unrighteousness. They would be judged and condemned for not believing the truth, their sin, and their need for Salvation. The rebellion against divine authority and the coming reign of lawlessness is already at work but restrained under Satan. When our Messiah comes, the lawless one will be revealed and our Lord Jesus will bring him to an end.
God chose us from the beginning for Salvation through the cleansing work of the Holy Spirit, to set us apart for God’s purpose, and by our faith in the truth of God’s Word that leads us to spiritual maturity. We were called through His Gospel-the good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection-so that we could obtain and share in the glory of Lord Jesus Christ. So we ought to take a firm stand in our faith in Christ. We must hold on to what we were taught from the Word. Paul asked God to do two things in the Thessalonian Christians. 1- He wanted God to comfort their hearts. 2-He asked God to establish them in every good word and work. This was needed for believers under pressure. God our Father and Christ reached out to us in love through the Gospel, gave us the comfort and unending help and confidence to live our purpose on this Earth with the hope of Salvation – life after death with Him. God keeps our hearts strong and steadfastly looking at Him in our work and word only by His grace. He does this for whom He loves. We must always remember God’s past faithfulness, His present blessing in our lives, and His promise for our future!
