Destroy

We are making our way through Paul’s second letter to the Jesus followers in Thessalonica. Today, Paul predicts a really big win.


2 Thessalonians 2
1 Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed - the one who brings destruction. 4 He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God. 5 Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? 6 And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. 7 For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. 8 Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. 9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.


Destroy. In sports, coaches (of good teams) commonly tell their players, “You can’t just show up and expect to win.” And yet, that is how Paul describes the encounter between Jesus and “the man of lawlessness”. He writes that Jesus will “destroy him by the splendor of his coming”. I love that phrase. Throughout the centuries (and even still today), many great men and women (who are more Godly and more intelligent than I) have tried to “clarify” what is known as eschatology (the study of the end times). They have covered topics like the rapture (check out 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18), the tribulation (check out Matthew 24:15-31), millennialism (check out Revelation 20:1-10) and ... the man of lawlessness. I would never make light of those theological pursuits; but what frustrates me is when the focus becomes the pursuit and not the point ... the point is, “In the end, God wins!” Seriously, reread each passage ... in the end, God wins ... which provide great hope and a great challenge. The hope is that we have the opportunity to be a part of the winning team. The challenge is helping as many people as possible experience that hope.