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Henry Mahan

His Return

2 Thessalonians 2
Henry Mahan • August, 22 1993 • Audio
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Message: 1116a
Henry Mahan Tape Ministry
6088 Zebulon Highway
Pikeville, KY 41501
What does the Bible say about the second coming of Christ?

The Bible assures us that Jesus will return to gather His elect and establish His everlasting kingdom.

The second coming of Christ is a vital belief for every Christian, as reflected in passages like 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 and the messages from the Apostle Paul. Paul reminds us that every believer should look forward to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, emphasizing the importance of His promise to come again and receive us unto Himself (John 14:3). This doctrine brings hope and assurance, affirming that Christ, who was crucified, dead, and buried, rose again and ascended to heaven to prepare a place for us, ultimately returning to claim all who are His.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, John 14:3

How do we know that God will gather His elect?

God's promise to gather His elect is supported by Scripture, confirming His sovereign plan for salvation.

The assurance of God gathering His elect is found in Ephesians 1:10, which speaks of God's intention to bring together all things in Christ. This gathering is rooted in God's sovereign grace and elective purpose, indicating that before the foundation of the world, God chose His people for salvation (Ephesians 1:4). Throughout Scripture, the repetitive promise of gathering those He has called emphasizes God's faithfulness and sovereignty in realizing His eternal plan for redemption.

Ephesians 1:4-10

Why is the doctrine of Christ's return important for Christians?

Understanding Christ's return encourages believers to live in hope and readiness for His promises.

The doctrine of Christ's return is crucial for Christians as it shapes our hope and anticipation for the future. The promise of His return motivates believers to remain faithful and steadfast, reassuring us that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). It signifies not only the fulfillment of God's promises but also the ultimate victory over sin and death. As we await His coming, we are called to live lives that reflect His glory and grace, remaining active in the gospel ministry and encouraging one another in faith.

1 Corinthians 15:58

What does falling away from the gospel mean?

Falling away from the gospel refers to a rejection of God's grace and a shift toward self-reliance and works.

Falling away from the gospel is a significant concern highlighted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, where Paul warns of a general apostasy from the true message of grace. This departure manifests when individuals or communities abandon the central tenets of the gospel—God's sovereignty, grace, and the necessity of Christ's work for salvation—embracing instead a message of human merit and self-reliance. The warning against this apostasy serves to remind believers to hold fast to the truth and sound doctrine, as the spirit of Antichrist seeks to draw people away from the authentic gospel of grace.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

How does the Spirit of God restrain evil?

The Spirit of God restrains evil by upholding truth and preventing complete lawlessness in the world.

The Holy Spirit plays a crucial role in restraining evil in this world, as indicated in 2 Thessalonians 2:7. This divine restraint allows for a measure of order and decency even amidst a fallen world. Without the Spirit's influence, humanity would be given fully to its depravity, and the gospel would be completely absent. The Spirit not only empowers believers to propagate the truth but also holds back the full manifestation of evil and the spirit of Antichrist until the appointed time of Christ's return.

2 Thessalonians 2:7

Sermon Transcript

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This morning I want you to open
your Bibles with me to the book of 2 Thessalonians. The book of 2 Thessalonians. Chapter 2. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Let's read verse 1. Now we beseech you, brethren, let me repeat again what I've
said so often. Find out who's speaking, to whom
he's speaking. What's the subject? The Apostle
Paul is speaking here to believers, brethren. That's a clear, clear
salutation. I beseech you, I appeal to you
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our
gathering together with him. In other words, every believer
believes in, rejoices in, looks forward to, and sets a high value
on the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because I do not choose to set
dates and take popular positions, such as pre-millennial, post-millennial,
amillennial, or whatever, because we do not labor the point continuously
about his second coming does not mean that we don't believe
and highly esteem and look forward to the return of our Lord. He
will come back to this earth. He said to his disciples, I go
to prepare a place for you. I go to the cross, I go to the
tomb, I go to the right hand of the Father. Through his work,
through his righteousness, through his blood, he prepares a place
for us. The Lord Jesus is not up there
building mansions. He's already built it. in his
person and work, he has redeemed us. He has prepared for us a
place and prepared us for the place. And he said, I will come
again and receive you unto myself, that where I am there you may
be also. And when our Lord ascended back
to heaven, the angels came down and appeared to the apostles,
and this is what they said. They said, ye men of Galilee,
Why stand ye gazing into heaven?" Of course they were gazing into
heaven. Their Lord had just been caught up in a cloud before their
very eyes and ascended to heaven. They stood there and watched
him go, the Scriptures say. Of course they're gazing into
heaven. But the angel said, why do you
stand gazing into heaven? Go do what he told you to do.
Go to Jerusalem, tarry till you be endued with power, and then
you'll be his witnesses in Judea, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, Judea,
and Samaria are the most parts of the earth, but this is what
they've continued and said. This same Jesus, this same Jesus,
and if you read the first two or three chapters of Genesis,
that term is used frequently, this same Jesus, not another. The same one who created the
world, the same one who stood as our sheriff, to the same one
of whom the Moses and the apostles and the prophets wrote, the same
one who came to the earth, the same one who lived in Nazareth,
the same one who ministered in Galilee, the same one who died
on the cross and was buried and rose again, this same Jesus shall
so come back to earth in like manner as you've seen him go.
And he will gather together all of his elect from the four corners
of the earth. Paul wrote over here, let me
read it to you. In Ephesians he said this, he
said, in the dispensation of the fullness of time, he will
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven, which are on earth, even in him. The Lord is going to
finish calling out his elect, redeem them He's coming back. All right, back to the text.
We believe that. Rejoice in it, look forward to
it. All right, verse 2. But we beseech you, brethren,
verse 2, that you be, that you be not soon shaken in mind, or
be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word, I'm preaching, nor
by letter, books, as from me, either the ones I write or the
ones they say I write that I didn't, as the day of the Lord is at
hand, imminent, right upon us, very soon. Now listen to me a
moment. Look up and listen. The Apostle
Paul is writing here to the early church. And what he's warning
them about in verse 2, He's warning them against becoming upset,
unsettled, alarmed, and excited by those preachers who declare
that the Lord Jesus is coming very, very soon, or on a fixed
date. Now, he said, don't, I don't
want you shaken and troubled. as whether you hear it preached
or read it in a book or whatever, that the day of the Lord is at
hand. This week, next week, next month, or next year. Now this
was written a long time ago, almost 1900 years ago. And his
return may be at the door. I hope so. They People have asked
me frequently what I thought, not people here because you're
not familiar with the book, but people who write to us from California
and New Jersey and other places where they hear family radio,
they ask me frequently what I think of this new book that has been
written by a friend of ours, Brother Harold Camping, and I've
never met him personally, but I know him and he knows us. We're
on his television station in in California and we're on his,
he has 37 radio stations, we're on those 37 radio stations. Once
every once in a while. We get a lot of mail. And a man
sent me a book that Harold has written. It's twice as big as
this book. And the title of it is 1994. And what it says in the book
is that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth in September
1994. That book is given to a complete
study. Mr. Camping is a brilliant man.
He's a very brilliant man. And he's a strong grace preacher
and a strong believer and a very well-known, influential man.
He was on Larry King Live for an hour not too awful long ago
about this book. But they ask this frequently,
people write, a man has sent me a copy of the book, another
man sent me a small resume of it, because he thought he didn't
have time to read the big book, I'd read the resume. But here
the question is, what do you think of it? And I always reply
this way, no man knows the day nor the
hour when Christ is coming. And Mr. Camping's answer to that
is, I heard him say it, on the television, he said, it
says no man knows the day or the hour, it doesn't say no man
knows the month or the year. Well, that's neither here nor
there. But anyway, I always replied
this, I hope he's right, don't you? I hope he's right. Oh, what a day, what a glorious
day that will be when our Lord comes back, if it's one year
from next month. That's great, that's great. But
this is what Paul is saying. When an event, now you listen
to me, I'm going to read this, I wrote it down because I don't
want to rely on my judgment to quote it, but listen to me. When
we, when an event, so momentous, so overwhelming, so awesome,
so final, as the return of Christ When we, with boldness, state
that it's very near, even a year from now, and we set a date,
and it doesn't happen, we're wrong. Now, be wrong on
whether it's going to rain tomorrow or not. That's immaterial. Be
wrong on whether, you know, You ought to plant your beans tomorrow
or not do it. Be wrong on those things. But
this is too momentous. This is too overwhelming. This
is too great an expectation. And when you set dates, my dear
friends, whoever hears this message, when you set dates and times
and talk about something being very near, if I stand here and
say the Lord's coming, Very, very, very soon I'm convinced
of it. I'd better be convinced of it. But even if I am, and I'm wrong,
and it doesn't materialize, it leads to what? Disappointment. John, despair. And also, people lose confidence
in my ministry. Isn't that right? and lose confidence
in our leadership. But besides that, listen to me.
And this is what, this is the reason a lot of preachers
do this. They hope to motivate people.
That's right. They hope to motivate believers
to be better believers. Witnesses to be better witnesses.
They hope to motivate us to quit dragging our feet and get with
it, you know, get active, get stimulated, get vitalized, get
up there, you know. But I'm just not motivated like
that, and I don't believe you are, and I don't believe most
believers are. I thought of this illustration. I hope it's a good
one, but suppose a husband's gone to war, and I lived through
those days when husbands went to war. Some of them were gone
a year, some two years, some three years. And so the war's over and Hubby's
coming home. And wife tells people, now I'm
going to have to straighten up. My husband's coming home. I'm
going to have to quit running with some people I run with and
doing some of the things I do because my husband's coming home.
Well, I'll tell you this, his coming is going to cause more
problems than you want if that's your attitude. And there's a
problem between you and him if that's your attitude. And you're
not, I question very much in love with him if that's your
attitude. If his coming home will straighten you up, he doesn't
have much influence over you anyway. And this is a believer. A man said to me recently, he
said, don't you think when the tribulation period down that
Christ is at the door? I said, well, I really don't
know. But it's immaterial to me. I plan to do what I plan
to do, whether he's coming tomorrow or next week. I'm going to preach
the gospel. I'm going to lead my family. I'm going to
have fellowship with my friends. Christ is my King, whether he's
coming tomorrow or ten years from now. He's the Lord, isn't
that right? And I'll tell you something else,
it's very poor motivation to try to bring unbelievers to trust
Christ. Men aren't saved because they're
afraid Jesus is coming next year, they're saved because they're
sinners and need a Savior now. Not next year, need him now.
And this is what Paul is saying here in verse 2, don't, 2 Thessalonians
2, don't be shaken in mind or troubled. Either by spirit or
by word or by letters, most of the day of the Lord is at hand.
Now listen. Let no man deceive you by any means. Now remember,
this was written 1900 years ago. For that day, the coming of the
Lord, that day when he comes back, shall not come except there
come a falling away first. A falling away. This falling away is a falling
away from what? Falling away from what? Falling
away from the gospel. The gospel of God's grace. That's
what he wrote to the Galatians. He went down to Galatia and preached
the gospel. The gospel of God's sovereignty.
The gospel of man's depravity. The gospel of God's covenant
mercies. The gospel of God's elective
grace. the gospel of Christ's full atonement,
can it be, sufficient atonement, the gospel of the power of the
Spirit to quicken, regenerate, and call sinners, the gospel
of perseverance and preservation, the gospel of grace, not works,
but pure grace and mercy in Christ. He went down and preached this,
and some fellows came in And said, that's all right, but you
have to be baptized to be saved, and circumcised to be saved,
and do certain works to be saved. And Paul said, they're falling
away. They're falling from grace. When
an individual leaves Christ for Moses, he's falling away. When
he emphasizes free will instead of free grace, he's falling away. When he talks about sin or save
thyself, instead of salvation is holy, completely unchangeable
of God, he's falling away. And so what he's saying here,
that Christ is not coming that day of the Lord, that day of
the end of the world, that day of the beginning of God's everlasting
kingdom, he's not coming till there come a falling away. And
this is not one person or ten persons, it's a general falling
away from the gospel. Right? It's a general falling
away. It's the norm, and not the exception. Over here in Galatians, Tom,
it was the exception. Today, it's the norm. The falling away. Harold Campion
can be right. He may come September 1994, because
the falling away is pretty, pretty overall, general. In other words, to find a pastor
and a church that preaches, and young people listen to me, when
you contemplate moving away from Ashland, going somewhere else,
go to Lexington, go to Houston, go to Danville, go to wherever
these young men are preaching, but don't go where the gospel's
not preached. And I'll tell you something. to find a church where
these great songs are sung, the scriptures read, God's grace
and gospel is preached and Christ is magnified, it's difficult. It's hard to find one. I've got
people who write me from all over this country who say we
have no place to hear the gospel. We have no place to go. I got
a letter from Gene Harmon in Rescue, California yesterday.
He said there was a man and his wife who came to our conference
out there in California in June. Bob Mahaffey, wife, two children,
another child on the way. They live in Santa Rosa, California.
They came and heard the gospel at that conference. Went back
home, quit his job, sold his house. Got a rider, used to haul
it, packed his family, and moved to rescue California. Said, we're
going to hear the gospel. And that's what you're going
to have to do if you hear it. We're going to hear the gospel. There's come a falling away,
the general falling away. And it's taken place. Free grace
is not the message of this day, free will. And I'm talking about
all the leading evangelists and preachers, denominations. All
right, look, secondly, verse 3, and that man of sin be revealed,
the son of perdition. In other words, these two things
have got to happen before Christ comes back. A falling away from
the gospel of God's grace, which has taken place, it's general.
And the man of sin be revealed. Now, who is this man of sin?
Let's read the next verse. who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. So that
he as God sitteth in the house of God, the temple of God, the
place of God, showing himself that he's God. Now listen to
me carefully. Many believe this man of sin,
this Antichrist, to be an individual or a single person. I don't believe
that. I don't believe there ever has
existed or exists now or ever will exist one person, human
being, Catholic, Protestant, or Jew, or political leader,
whomever, that'll ever have that kind of persuasive powers and
influence over all men in this world. The best writers say that
this Antichrist is not a single individual, but this Antichrist
is a succession of so-called religious spiritual leaders,
and it's a spirit of Antichrist, but it's masterminded by one
individual, Satan. He's the super Antichrist. He's
the cheap Antichrist. And these false ministers and
false apostles are his ministers and his apostles. The spirit
of Antichrist is the will of man opposed to the will of God. Now look at verse 4 again. This
spirit of Antichrist, this Satan masterminds the whole thing,
but all the succession of religious leaders and all these religious
organizers and all of these preachers, and even the smallest preacher
in the smallest hamlet or village in the smallest place in this
world who preaches the free will of man as opposed to the sovereign
will of God, he is Antichrist. It's a spirit. And it's exalting the will of
man. We've got right out here on 13th
Street, a few blocks from here, is the Free Will Baptist Church. Who reigns there? Free Will reigns
there. Man reigns there. It's not God's
church, it's the church of man's will. Look at that verse again. He opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that's called God. He says, man's really God. God's
impotent. God wants to do this, but it's
up to you to let him do it. God wills to do this, but he
can't do it because you will not let him. Satan said, I will
be like God. I will exalt myself above the
stars of God. I will exalt myself above the
throne of God. I will. I will. He exalts himself above God,
for all that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, showing himself that he is God. The spirit of
Antichrist, or the will of man, now, right now, 1993, is nearly
in all places exalted above God. Words like this, we can't spell
church without you. We can't spell success without
you. We can't spell anything without
you. God has no hands but your hands. That's exalting me above
God. God's dependent on me. God has
no feet but your feet. God has no eyes but your eyes.
Showing himself to be God. The will of man above the will
of God. Look at verse 5. Remember ye
not that when I was yet with you, I told you these, I warned
you about these things? And now, verse 6, you know what,
now watch this, now you know what restrains. What's restraining
Satan? That he might, this Antichrist,
this spirit of Antichrist, literally taken over. Who restrained him? The Spirit of God. The Spirit
of God. And now you know that what withholdeth
that he might be revealed in his time. Now what's this? For
the mystery of iniquity. Now Paul's writing 1900 years
ago to the early church. He said it doth already work. This spirit of antichrist is
already working in the early church 30 years after Christ
was crucified. Spirit of iniquity. Mystery of
iniquity. Compromising the gospel, falling
away from the gospel. Now, my friends, I know homosexuality
is rampant, but it was rampant in Sodom and Gomorrah. It was
rampant in the Roman Empire. It led to the fall of Rome. I know that greed and covetousness
and promiscuity and lasciviousness, and they say, boy, this world
is getting worse and worse. No, it's not. It's getting more
open, but the sin of man, it's been here all the time. It's
the same. What's getting worse and worse
is no gospel. What's getting worse and worse
is the message from the pulpit. That's what's getting worse and
worse. That's the falling away. That's the spirit of Antichrist. I'm against abortion and all
these things. You know that. And against pornography
and against thievery in government and these things. And you say
this old world is going to the dogs. The dogs have always had
it. Since man fell. The problem, the great problem,
the anti-Christ spirit is against Christ. Who is Christ? The Redeemer. The Savior. The one who died
for sinners. That's what's anti-Christ. I
wish the whole world could see that. And verse 7, now listen to this,
write this word, let it. Look at verse 7, the mystery
of iniquity is already working. Only he that now let it will
let. The word is restrained or hindered.
Write that in right there. This mystery of iniquity. This
opposing the sacrifice of Christ, the work of Christ, the person
of Christ, the glory of Christ, the covenant of Christ, the mercies
of Christ. Who opposes that? Satan, demons,
men, everybody that's with him. And the only he that now restrains
him will restrain him until he be taken out of the way. Who's
going to be taken out of the way? The Spirit of God. The only thing that's enables
me and you to preach this gospel and to love the grace of God
is the Spirit of God who quickened us. The only one who is keeping the
whole world from completely being void of any gospel is the Spirit
of God. When the Spirit of God is removed,
she'll go. It'll be unanimous. There won't
be any gospel anywhere. There won't be any truth anywhere. Or when he, then verse 8, and
then shall that wicked one be revealed in all of his hatred
for the gospel, hatred for God, whom the Lord will consume with
the spirit of his mouth and destroy with the brightness of his coming.
You see, that's when the Lord's coming. I'll tell you, I'll sum
this up in every day, like Brother Mews used to say, cornbread,
tater roll, pritchard. Plain old one-syllable word. When God made man, put him in
the Garden of Eden, he rebelled. He fell. He went to the dogs
right then. Nothing he's not capable of.
And here's posterity. Nothing they're not capable of.
The only reason man didn't completely act like a devil and be like
a devil is the Holy Ghost restrained him. God restrained him. God
restrains evil. God puts a cap on it. I'm telling
you the truth. The only reason that people out
there in Ashton, Kentucky, the only reason they're not tearing
this town up right now and burning it down and giving vent to every
wickedness in their heart is the God of the Bible is restraining
them. It's all there, it's always been
there. But God's always had his people. Noah found grace in the
eyes of the Lord. Moses found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Abraham found grace in the eyes of the Lord. There's
been days of revival. There's been days of refreshing.
There's been days when it looked like it wasn't anybody saved.
Elijah said, I'm the only one left. Remember? And God said,
I've got 7,000. But it's all in his design and
working. And as these last days come to
a close, our Lord, there's been revivals, there's been times
of complete famine of the Word of God. Back in 1950, the preaching
of the grace of God was unheard of, almost. And there was a revival
of the preaching of the grace of God. In the last 30, 40 years,
there's been more preachers preaching the gospel of God's grace. You've
known that to be true. And the only one responsible
for that is the Spirit of God. The one holding back the evil
and promoting the grace of God is the Spirit of God. When the
Lord is pleased to remove his spirit and allow
that spirit of Antichrist to take over, it's taken over. And when it takes over, Christ
is coming. Christ is coming. That's what
it says there. Even him whose coming is after
the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." I tell you, this spirit of Antichrist,
and what is it? It's the righteousness of men
instead of the righteousness of Christ. It's the will of men
instead of the will of God. It's the works of the flesh instead
of the works of grace. it's man on the throne instead
of God on the throne. That's what it is. And this spirit
of Antichrist is opposed to the righteousness of Christ, to the
work of Christ, to the glory of Christ. And he says here in
verse 9, it's after the working of Satan, with all power, signs,
and lying wonders. Listen to me a minute now, listen
carefully. This falling away and this religious promotion
and program and works will be attended with great success.
That's right. Great success. Great power, satanic
power, great signs and lying wonders. You hold that right
there and I'll do you good and turn to Matthew 24 verse 24.
You turn over there a minute. There's something here that everybody
needs to see, Matthew 24, 24. Our Lord is talking here about
his second coming, about his second coming. Verse 22, let's
read that, Matthew 24, 22. And except those days should
be shortened, that shall no flesh be saved. But for the elect's
sake, those days shall be shortened. Then, if any man say to you,
Lo, here's Christ, or there, don't you believe him? For there
shall arise false Christs, plural, many a false apostle, false prophets,
false preachers, shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch,
if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect." That's
right, just falling away. This free will gospel will be
accompanied by great, they're building bigger buildings all
the time, great wonders, great science, great power, great success. And verse 10, it's so deceivable,
it deceives the very elect, if it were possible, listen, with
all deceivableness, people deceive, and unrighteousness, what is
unrighteousness? But it's self-righteousness.
The only righteousness is Christ. And if I'm not in Him, I'm unrighteous.
Religious unrighteousness in them that perish because they
receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. It's
not enough to know it, it's important to love it. Now listen carefully
to me. People who follow these deceivers
and free will preachers, Arminianism works. People who follow these
deceivers and false teachers do so not because they haven't
heard the truth. They do so because they don't
love it. That's right. That's right. They've heard it.
It's in the word. They don't like it. They don't
like it. They don't love it. Now let me
ask you a question this morning, and ask myself too. Do I love
the gospel, the preaching, that God's Almighty, Sovereign, Omnipotent? What I read a while ago, all
power, might, glory, majesty, it's in thy hand to make great
or small, give riches or poverty, life or death. You like that?
I love it. That's the difference in you.
Your relatives don't love it. That gospel says man is depraved
and dead in sin, incapable of even desiring salvation, let
alone working it out. You love that? I love it. They don't. Have they heard it? Sure they've heard it. That Christ
is the only Savior. Salvation in Him and Him alone.
One Abbey wrote this, some woman wrote her, and said if Jesus
Christ is the only way to heaven, I don't want to go there. She's
heard it, but she hates it. That's what this says. Now friends,
the falling away, the spirit of Antichrist, the
man of perdition, may be standing in the pulpit
of that little country church. Verse 11, and for this cause,
why? What cause? They don't love the truth. They
don't love God's majesty. They don't love Christ's atonement. But for this cause, God will
send them strong delusions that they should believe a lie, that
they might be damned, all of them who believe not the truth,
but have pleasure in unrighteousness. What's this mean? Listen to me.
People who follow a false gospel, They've heard the truth and hate
it. They don't love the truth. God Almighty will send them or
allow them to have such strong delusions and security in what
they believe that it will lead them to hold
even more strongly to it. They're not getting weaker. They're
getting more hateful and stronger. One man said this, I know I'm saved because I was
there when it happened. Now let me tell you something,
that's a pretty poor foundation on which to base your salvation.
I know I'm saved because Christ died for my sins. Christ was
buried and rose again for my justification, and Christ intercedes
at the right hand of God. And I looked to him, and him
alone was my Savior and Lord. If not I was there when something
happened, anything could have happened. But this is the Spirit,
and they get deeper in it, and deeper in it, and deeper in it. Deeper in it. But let me give you this now,
closing. You can read it at home later. But, verse 13, but. And this is where we take our
greatest comfort, but we're bound to give thanks always to God
for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, because God hath from
the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
spirit and belief of the truth, whereunto he called you by our
gospel. to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast
and hold the traditions which you've been taught. Hold on,
whether by word or by epistle. Know now our Lord Jesus Christ
himself, and God, even our Father, who loved us, he hath given us
everlasting comfort and a good hope through grace. May he comfort
your heart, establish you in every good word and You know
that great chapter? God chose us, God called us,
God taught us, God Almighty loved us, God gave us a good hope,
and God accomplished it. It's what He did in Christ for
us.
Henry Mahan
About Henry Mahan

Henry T. Mahan was born in Birmingham, Alabama in August 1926. He joined the United States Navy in 1944 and served as a signalman on an L.S.T. in the Pacific during World War II. In 1946, he married his wife Doris, and the Lord blessed them with four children.

At the age of 21, he entered the pastoral ministry and gained broad experience as a pastor, teacher, conference speaker, and evangelist. In 1950, through the preaching of evangelist Rolfe Barnard, God was pleased to establish Henry in sovereign free grace teaching. At that time, he was serving as an assistant pastor at Pollard Baptist Church (off of Blackburn ave.) in Ashland, Kentucky.

In 1955, Thirteenth Street Baptist Church was formed in Ashland, Kentucky, and Henry was called to be its pastor. He faithfully served that congregation for more than 50 years, continuing in the same message throughout his ministry. His preaching was centered on the Lord Jesus Christ and Him crucified, in full accord with the Scriptures. He consistently proclaimed God’s sovereign purpose in salvation and the glory of Christ in redeeming sinners through His blood and righteousness.

Henry T. Mahan also traveled widely, preaching in conferences and churches across the United States and beyond. His ministry was marked by a clear and unwavering emphasis on Christ, not the preacher, but the One preached. Those who heard him recognized that his sermons honored the Savior and exalted the name of the Lord Jesus Christ above all.

Henry T. Mahan served as pastor and teacher of Thirteenth Street Baptist Church in Ashland, Kentucky for over half a century. His life and ministry were devoted to proclaiming the sovereign grace of God and directing sinners to the finished work of Christ. He entered into the presence of the Lord in 2019, leaving behind a lasting testimony to the gospel he faithfully preached.

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