Last Tuesday we commented on
the first three verses of chapter 2 of the second epistle of Paul
to the Thessalonians. This evening we'll read verses
4, 5 and 6. And they read as follows. Who
opposeth and exhorteth himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that
when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye
know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his name. And of course these verses really
link with the third verse that we thought upon last Tuesday. And the third verse reads, Let
no man deceive you by any means. For that day shall not come except
there come a falling away first and that man of sin is revealed
the son of perdition. And just to again recap on that
particular position, The apostle was concerned that the people
might not think that the Lord was going to return virtually
immediately. And that's why he says, let no
man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except,
and then he gives this list of what would happen before that
day when the Lord will come. One thing of course is very certain,
the Lord will return. The Lord will come. And so he
speaks about the situation which will come. There'll be a falling
away first. And the man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all
that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God,
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Many people think that this perhaps
refers to the Pope of Rome, but obviously it doesn't actually
say that. And commentators are not all convinced that that is
the truth, but very clearly it does speak about the end times. And it does speak about that
situation which will occur and will develop. And as we return
to A couple of references again that we referred to last Tuesday,
first of all in Timothy chapter four, first of Timothy chapter
four and verses one to three. And we're told this. Now the
Spirit speaketh expressly, in the latter times, some shall
depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits doctrines
of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared
with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from
meats which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving
of them which believe and know the truth. And coupled with that,
going on to the second epistle of Timothy, and the third chapter,
and reading the first few verses there, this know also that in
the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent fierce, despisers
of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness
but denying the power thereof, from such turn away." Well, the
combination of those descriptions in Timothy and also the one we
have before us here in Thessalonians really points very clearly to
the day and age in which we live. We don't know, of course, when
the Lord will return, but we have got these words in the Word
of God to indicate to us the situation which will exist before
the Lord returns. And as we read in another part,
when these things come to pass, we are to look up for our redemption,
draweth nigh. And I'm sure in these days, written
here, and really until relatively recent years, people would never
have comprehended the situation which exists in the world today,
would have gone to a complete turning away from the great truths
of God contained in the Word of God. The world has been wonderfully
blessed in most parts with the Word of God. Indeed, in all the
major languages, the Word of God has been translated and we
should be thankful for it. And therefore, people have been
aware of the situation, have been aware of the truth of God,
have been aware of the commands of God. And yet we see today
a turning away from these things in such a brazen way, and a turning
away indeed from God. And surely this statement is
true, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called
God or that is worshipped. People think that they are higher
than God. They think they can dispute with
God. They think they can disagree
with the Word of God. And they think that what they
say in their logic and reasoning is therefore more correct than
the great truths that the Word of God contains. Well, it's a
very sad situation and we can think perhaps of the homosexual
situation which is now looked upon by so many favourably and
many laws have been passed to allow what years ago was a crime
and people were imprisoned for it and now we see that people
just accept that situation and they've been hoodwinked to not
believe the Word of God. And we see the evil one, Satan
himself, whoever it is, that may be influenced, have been
influenced, tragically and sadly. And what have they done? They
turned people away from the true God. How very sad it is. And then, of course, we know
that we have the situation developed only relatively recently with
regard to Those people who consider themselves to be transgender,
who change their sex from male to female and vice versa, in
reality, that's a total impossibility. Scientifically, it's a total
impossibility. And yet, you see, people are
prepared to accept a lie. rather than believe the great
and glorious truth of God's word, which sets before us so very
clearly the wonder of creation and all that has occurred since.
And yet you see men and women cast these things behind their
back. Surely it's a sign that these
conditions which are spoken of in those readings that I've given
to you, prove that we must be very near to the end of all things
because these things have come to pass and then we can take
and go further and think of the unbelievably extreme situation
where people are not even able to think or to pray in their
minds. No one hears. And that is classified
as illegal. Well, what incomplete opposition
It is to the Word of God. And how can a true believer agree
with any of those points? Surely we live in a dark, dark
day. And how we need the work of the
Holy Spirit to once again return, return upon us individually and
nationally, and indeed throughout the world, that people may come
and be blessed with that faith to believe the Word of God, the
great truth of God. How vital it is indeed, the last
couple of lines in that hymn which we sung together is so
very true and so very relevant and it's good if we Take these
things to heart, John Newton's, so hear him of John Newton and
what does he say? He says in the last verse, my
promised grace receive. I work in thee both power and
will. Thou shalt in me believe. What a great wonder it would
be if the Lord graciously turned men and women, boys and girls,
to come and to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, how vital
it is, how vital it is to be amongst those who don't believe
all the evil which is thrust upon us today. But may we be
given faith to believe the great truth of God and to believe that
the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, And
to be brought to that position, as the Apostle Paul said, of
whom I am chief. How essential it is that men
and women believe the truth of God. And yet, you see, all the
things of God are spoken against people who do not believe. They
have an eternal soul. They do not believe in the judgment
day. They do not believe in heaven
or in hell. Perhaps some might believe in
heaven because it sounds, according to their interpretation, a pleasant
place, perhaps in a very wrong view, but definitely do not want
to believe in hell, a place of damnation, a place that all deserve
to go. And so we find ourselves in this
evil day in which we live. Well, the Apostle here writing
to the Thessalonians says, Remember ye not that when I was yet with
you, I told you these things? Well, there they are recorded
for the benefit of the Church of God. People read it and they
ignore it. Well, my friends, may we not
disbelieve the glorious truth of God. May we lay hold of it
and realize how relevant it is and how necessary it is that
we do indeed understand it and are thankful indeed for it. Let
me just give you one final reference, and that's in the Gospel of Luke. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 18,
verses 7 and 8. Luke, chapter 18, verses 7 and
8, and this is what we read. And shall not God avenge his
own elect, which cried day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them? I tell you, that he will avenge
them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of
Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth. It's clear, isn't
it, that when the Lord returns, faith will be very low. It would
seem that there will be very few who are still on the earth. who are blessed with living faith. And so he says, nevertheless,
when the Son of Man cometh, and he will, let us never think he
won't. And let us always be watching
and waiting for the appearing of the great God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. And again, it's good to ponder
the question, if the Lord should come tonight, How stands our
soul? How stands my soul? How stands
your soul? Indeed, are we ready to meet
God? Are we ready to be caught up
in the clouds to be forever with the Lord? Or will we be amongst
those who cry out for the rocks to cover us? What a futile cry
that is. We'll be of no benefit. no one
can escape. And so we are told and warned
about the end of all things. How clear it is indeed we can
read in the Acts of the Apostles when the Lord was taken up into
heaven and the angels came and they spoke to the disciples and
they said this same Jesus you see being taken up into heaven,
well, it will in like manner return to the earth. And how true that is. So we must
realize these things are very relevant, are very important. And what a mercy, therefore,
if God, in his great love and mercy, looks upon us and causes
us to stand fast It's never easy to stand fast for the truth. It's never easy to ignore the situations and the views
which exist in the time in which we live. It never has been easy.
You can look back into the days of the Reformation and many had
to stand out because of the sacraments the Lord's Supper and their belief
in that. Many lost their lives because
of it. We're thankful at the moment.
There are not laws which will mean we're executed for our belief
in the truth. But we know not what the future
holds. And if that should come in our
time, where if we do not believe the evils of the day, if we do
pray, and if we dare not deny it that we have prayed, it's
a terrible thing, isn't it? To be forced, well, to try and
force us to deny the living God, to deny that there is a right
prayer. Well, may the Lord stand by us
each one and strengthen us, especially you who are younger in this day
and age. I don't know what you will see
before you die or before the Lord returns, but there's every
indication that times won't get easier, they'll get more difficult. But do remember this, the Lord
God omnipotent reigns. The Lord is on the throne. and nothing comes into this world
without Almighty God's divine permission. And may that be a
help and be a strength to us. And let us always remember the
Lord is always ready to hear an answer prayer and to strengthen
us spiritually, with might in our inner man, and that you and
I, in the day and age in which we live, may be given grace to
truly resist the devil, that he may flee from us, and wonderfully
be found. In the words of Isaiah's prophecy, look unto me, and be ye saved,
or the ends of the earth, for I am God and there is none else.
Oh, my friends, may all of us be found looking to the Lord
Jesus Christ, looking to his great and glorious sacrifice. Look to him and that sin atoning
blood and rejoice in that great and glorious sacrifice for sin. And may you and I know that we
have a personal interest in the blessing and glorious death of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.