The
“Coming of the Lord Jesus” Before the COMING of the Lord Jesus!
2
Thessalonians 2
July 21, 2013 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
I.
Introduction (1st Thessalonians
4:17)
A.
This month we are working
on getting ready for the Lord Jesus’ return to this world
B.
The first time He came
1.
He was rejected and hated
of men. He was used and abused, tortured and murdered on a Roman cross.
2.
He was so dead that when
they pierced His side, His blood had already separated into plasma (the
water part), and haemoglobin (the dark red part).
3.
He was so dead that they
buried Him in a tomb, and rolled a huge stone over the entrance way
4.
Three days later, He got
up from the grave!
5.
And showed Himself very
much alive
6.
And then ascended up to
heaven
C.
Well, He is coming again!
1.
He will be coming to
fight the greatest and fiercest battle of all time – the battle of
Armageddon!
2.
Coming to set up an
everlasting kingdom – the kingdom of heaven on earth!
3.
To be the King of all
kings and Lord of lords!
D.
But just seven years
before that battle He will come first to get His bride, and take her away
with Him, while all hell breaks loose on this planet! Song of Solomon 2:8-10
1.
Son 2:8 The voice
of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon
the hills.
2.
Son 2:9 My beloved
is like a roe or a young hart: behold, he standeth behind our wall, he
looketh forth at the windows, shewing himself through the lattice.
3.
Son 2:10 My beloved
spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.
E.
It is called the Rapture!
F.
Seven years later, WE
will return with Jesus, following behind Him into that battle, and into that
kingdom!
G.
Are you ready for the
Rapture?
II.
Message
A.
The Warning (2Thes 2:1)
1.
Written to believers, to
Bible believing Christians – brethren! Not to the world
2.
Beseech is to BEG, plead
with
3.
THIS is serious – as
anything in the Bible is
4.
So, pay very close
attention to what you are about to read
B.
The Second Coming (2Thes 2:1, 8)
1.
It is promised,
prophesied throughout the entire Bible
2.
The Messiah would come
a.
To defeat the serpent,
Satan
b.
To restore the earth to
the Garden of Eden
c.
To bring in perfect
worship – no more
3.
We are told to be looking
forward to His coming, expecting it, READY for it
4.
When He comes (2Thes 2:8)
a.
It will be bright,
visible to everyone
b.
He will come and destroy
the Wicked One
5.
That is all talking about
Christ’s second coming!
C.
The Confusion (2Thes 2:2,3)
1.
Loads of confusion about
that day – the day of Christ, and the day of the Lord
2.
It’s the same today!
3.
The problems, or
questions that need to be answered:
a.
Are believers, followers
of Jesus Christ right now supposed to be looking for Christ’s visible and
destructive coming?
b.
Are we supposed to fear
the time of the tribulation? It is a time coming of world-wide disaster
predicted in Matthew 24
4.
Yet, notice the last part
of 2Thes 2:2… It is NOT at hand! It is not within reach! It is NOT soon to
happen! The Second Coming has some things that must happen BEFORE Jesus
comes back!
5.
Don’t let ANYONE use ANY
means to trick you
a.
With “new revelations”,
visions, feelings, even miracles!
b.
With messages from
angels, or
c.
By fancy teachers with
fancy words and flashy style
6.
If we just stay with the
Bible, God helps us “rightly divide” the Scripture so that we are NOT scared
and expecting the wrong event!
7.
Let’s see if we can learn
what will soon happen – hopefully in our lifetime!
D.
The Sequence of Future Events
(2Thes 2:3-12)
1.
The Imminent Gathering
Together unto Jesus – the Rapture (2:1)
a.
We are called UP and out
of here!
b.
No warning – it could
happen at any moment
c.
No signs, no way to know
that it is about to happen
d.
It will JUST HAPPEN (1Cor
15:50-53) 1/15th of a second!
e.
The word 'Rapture' does
not appear in the English Bible - It comes from the Latin.
f.
God explains the Rapture
to us as:
1)
a "Mystery." (1
Corinthians 15:51-53) He was revealing a new truth, not known before.
2)
This mysterious event is
most clearly represented in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
3)
Christians have hope
beyond death – beyond the grave
4)
Those believers who have
died are with Jesus right now
5)
Even people’s dead bodies
will be resurrected
6)
We which are alive will
be caught up together – at the same time
7)
To meet the Lord Jesus in
the air
8)
In this passage the
English phrase "caught up" is a translation of a Greek word which means "to
seize upon with force" or "to snatch up." Like a thief stealing a purse! The
Latin word for it is "rapturo," which comes into English as "Rapture."
9)
So, at the Rapture,
believers who are alive at that moment will be "caught up" in the air, into
the clouds, and in a moment in time join the Lord in the air as He briefly
descends into the clouds for us, and then whisks us away back to His
Father’s house in heaven.
10)
Don’t forget, according
to John 14, Jesus comes to get us to TAKE US TO HIS FATHER’S HOUSE – not to
bring us right back down to earth for Armageddon!
g.
But what happens next?
What happens right after the rapture?
2.
The Falling Away (2:3)
a.
World wide rejection of
God – in absolute terms!
b.
It happened in the Garden
of Eden in Genesis 3
c.
It will happen again!
d.
One world religion,
totally against the God of the Bible
e.
We already see this
happening
f.
But it will happen in a
big way right after we all leave!
3.
The Antichrist Revealed
(2:3,4,8-10)
a.
Before Jesus Christ comes
back, someone called the Beast of Revelation 13 will show up
b.
He is a counterfeit
Messiah
c.
Man of Sin
d.
Son of Perdition – the
son of hell
e.
He is the Wicked One
f.
Satan in the flesh
g.
He hates God, and
anything connected with God, or worship
h.
There will be NO
tolerance that day
i.
And he has all power to
do whatever he wants on this world (2:9)
1)
Exalts himself above
every religion, every god
2)
He will force the whole
world to worship him
3)
All of this was already
told us in Matthew and Daniel
4)
He does what Satan does
5)
He has all powers – over
weather, over world disasters
6)
Lying wonders –
impressing the whole world
7)
And the world will LOVE
him!
4.
The
a.
According to Daniel 9,
the antichrist, called the prince, will help the Jews rebuild their temple
b.
And then on its
dedication day, he will sit right down in the holy of holies on the Mercy
Seat of the Ark of the covenant, and he will declare himself to be GOD in
the flesh!
c.
The Jewish temple was
destroyed in 70AD
d.
It has not been rebuilt
e.
But it WILL be rebuilt
during the Tribulation
f.
All, so that the
antichrist can set himself up as GOD in the
g.
It is called “the
abomination of Desolation” in Dan 9:27!
h.
This hasn’t happened yet
– it is so close though!
5.
The Removal of the Holy
Spirit (2:6,7)
a.
The Holy Spirit was
promised by Jesus to come and stay with us
b.
The Holy Spirit works in
this world to hold back Satan – “withholding”
c.
The spirit of the
antichrist is already at work, but one day he will be here bodily, and
unrestrained!
d.
You see one day, the Holy
Spirit will pull out of this world and let Satan do as he pleases!
1)
Satan is like a rabid
dog, on a leash, trying so hard to tear into this world
2)
He who now letteth, now
allows Satan to do his business, will let go of the leash and walk away
e.
He won’t totally
disappear, but will not be in dominant control anymore
f.
This hasn’t happened yet
6.
Strong Delusion (2:11,12)
a.
To help the devil out,
God will send a strong delusion
b.
God will mess with
people’s minds, so that they cannot get saved
c.
If someone has right now
rejected so great a Saviour, then when we all disappear, that person will
become deluded, crazy, he will believe a lie, and will NOT be able anymore
to believe the truth!
d.
God expects people to
take salvation and sin very serious!
7.
The Judgment of the whole
World and the Antichrist (2:8; 1:7-9)
a.
The Lord Jesus will
CONSUME the antichrist, and his armies
b.
Take vengeance on those
that have been fighting Him all along
c.
Right now, God is
gracious to let us continue to mock Him, spit in His face, make fun of His
Son, put off getting saved, and instead just keep living in sin
d.
BUT… one day, God will
say the party is over!
e.
Everlasting destruction –
that is what hell is! And end that never ends
E.
The Exclusion of the Believer
(2Thes 2:13-17)
1.
Wow! Evidently getting
saved from the wrath to come is very serious business!
2.
Believers are NOT part of
any of that mess (2:13,14)
3.
All of that is called the
time of JACOB’S trouble –
4.
When we get in trouble,
we get chastened!
5.
But the nation of
6.
We don’t have to have
that happen!
7.
We can comfort each other
with these words
8.
They don’t frighten us,
or cause us to stock up food, or sell our homes and move to bunkers…
9.
We just get more and more
encouraged looking forward to three simple, powerful words, “Come Up
Hither!”
10.
And so shall we ever be
with the Lord!
III.
Conclusion
A.
God has called you by the
Gospel – to flee from the wrath to come (2:14)
B.
Have you answered Him?
And called back to Him, to save you? To make you HIS child, forgiven by the
death of Jesus Christ?
C.
If you have, then STAND
FAST
D.
Don’t be distracted by
troubles, and temptations!
E.
HOLD what you have been
taught by this Bible
F.
Allow the Lord Jesus
Christ to comfort your heart
G.
And allow Him to stablish
you, settle you in every good word and every good work!