2 Thessalonians 2 Lesson

THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS

There are three important things to know about the second coming of Jesus that will be discussed in today’s lesson:

1. Nobody knows when that will be except God,
2. The Apostasy (taken from the Greek word apostasies which means, “defection.”) will happen before Jesus returns,
3. The “Man of lawlessness” will be revealed before Jesus returns.

The terms “Apostasy” and “Man of lawlessness” may be new to you.

Fear not! Each of these will be discussed in greater detail as we think about what it will be like on the day that Jesus returns to earth.

ONLY GOD KNOWS WHEN JESUS IS GOING TO RETURN

At the time of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians, there was a problem with people falsely reporting that Jesus had already returned to earth.

Of note, this was approximately eighteen years after Jesus’ death, and people were already claiming that He had returned.

In his letter, Paul lets the Thessalonians know that  Jesus has not yet returned and that two other events must take place before this will occur:

1. The Apostasy,
2. The revelation of the “Man of lawlessness.”

THE APOSTASY

What is the Apostasy and how will we recognize it when it happens?

According to: biblestudytools.com:

“The term ‘apostasy’ as we use it today comes from the Greek word “apostasia” which means:

1. Departure,
2. Revolt,
3. Or Rebellion.

In terms of religion, apostasy is the abandonment of, or a willful falling away from, the faith. It can be defined as the departure of religious practices, a rejection of beliefs once agreed upon, or even mockery of the religion.”

During the Apostasy, many who were formerly Christians will decide not to follow Jesus . 

THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS

The second event that must take place before the second coming of Jesus is the arrival of the “Man of lawlessness.”

Who is the “Man of lawlessness” and what is his significance?

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of details in the Bible, itself.

And while it is not exactly clear who this is, there are several theories.

Apparently, we will know him when we see him. 

Some scholars associate the man of lawlessness with the beasts that are referenced in Revelation 13. 

The only thing that we know for certain about the “Man of lawlessness” is that he will come before Jesus’ return and he will be part of Satan'steam fighting against Jesus.

This battle between good and evil is detailed in the Book of Revelation, including in the following verse:

• “And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.” – Revelation 12:9.

CONCLUSION

There are three things that we know about the second coming of Jesus:

1. Nobody knows when that will be except for God,
2. The Apostasy will occur before Jesus returns,
3. The “Man of lawlessness” will be revealed before Jesus returns and will join in Satan’s fight against Jesus.

Since none of us know when Jesus is going to return, the time for us to get our Spiritual lives in order is now!

We will conclude today’s lesson with the following scripture taken from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians:

• “For the Lord, Himself will descend from Heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who remain, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” - 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.