2 Thessalonians 2:3-5

2 Thessalonians 2:3-5

No one should deceive you all according to any manner, because unless the rebellion should come first and the man of lawlessness should be revealed – the son of destruction, the one who opposes and rises up in pride upon every so called god that is the object of worship – in order that he sits down in the temple of God while demonstrating publicly that he is a god.  Do you not remember that while I am yet with you that I was saying this to you all?

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Paul gives us an interesting perspective on the rebellion.  The rebellion is necessary.  Now, that doesn’t mean that the rebellion is necessarily from God.  However, the rebellion is necessary.  How else will the full scope of human depravity come out?  How else will humanity prove how deserving we are of judgment unless we are allowed to go into full rebellion?  The rebellion is not from God, but it is necessary for the rebellion to come through us to bring the dominion of sin to an end.

Do you understand why rebellion is necessary?  Does this make it something to be joyous about?

Second Thought:

Paul then speaks about the leader of the rebellion.  Paul calls his the son of destruction.  He is the man of lawlessness.  In other words, this leader of the rebellion will be self-serving.  He will not care about God’s law.  He will not care about a positive relationship towards creation and one another.  The son of destruction will be all about themselves, which is why they are such a destructive force.  They will be so much about themselves that they will even exalt themselves up as if they were a god.

Do you think that self-centeredness pairs up with lawlessness and destruction?  Where can you see this idea at work in the world around you?

Third Thought:

Finally, Paul reminds them that he taught the Thessalonians this information while he was with them.  This is not new information.  But this statement is true on many levels.  Of course, this was a part of Paul’s regular teaching.  People who are following Christ need to hear about what will lead up to Christ’s return.  However, this is true on a deeper level as well.  Humanity has always had the propensity for self-centered, destructive, and lawless behavior.  Human beings have always been interested in lifting themselves up as though we are gods.  This is absolutely nothing new to anyone familiar with studying human behavior.

Do you think this is still true of humanity today?  How have things changed since Paul’s day?  How have things remained the same?

Passage for Tomorrow: 2 Thessalonians 2:6-8