Let no one deceive you by any means; for the Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition (2 Thessalonians 2:3)
Most scholars think that the Apostle Paul wrote his second letter to the church in Thessalonica soon after he wrote his first letter. He probably wrote the second one because in the first, he wrote: “But concerning the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write you.”
As one scholar wrote: “Paul’s letters are like listening to a phone conversation and hearing only one side of the conversation. You have to guess what the other side is saying from the info you have received.”
From reading 2 Thessalonians Chapter 2, I figure Paul received some questions from the Thessalonian church concerning the timing of the Lord’s return. A few must have worried that the Lord had already returned and they had missed the rapture. This means they were not so sure about the times and the seasons as Paul had originally thought when he wrote 1 Thessalonians.
So, Paul emphatically answered their questions by stating that two events had to occur before the Lord returned: (1) the great falling away or apostasy and (2) the revealing of the Antichrist.
Where did Paul get his information about the two events? Although the books of Matthew, Mark and Luke had not been written as yet, the story lines would have been passed on to him by Peter, Luke and the other disciples. You see, it was Jesus Himself who first spoke about believers falling away and the revealing of the Antichrist.
Okay, many have felt that the falling away has already taken place. They point out the many pastors and leaders who have left Christianity as examples of the “falling away.” But these are only a few drips compared to what Paul experienced when “all of Asia turned away from Him and his gospel.”
And yet, Paul did not state that the turning away of Phygellus, Hermogenes, Demas and all of Asia fulfilled his words about the “great falling away.” Instead, he encouraged Timothy to continue preaching the word!
A few years ago, I felt the Lord say to my heart: “Fifty to seventy percent of American believers could fall away in the great apostasy. Warn your children and grandchildren and others to prepare themselves for this upcoming time period.”
Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. ((Proverbs 23:17-18)
How can we prepare ourselves for this chaotic upcoming event?
As I wrote in my last blog post, I believe the fear of the Lord will be the dividing line between those who fall away and those who continue to walk with the Lord.
Thus, we can pray for ourselves, our loved ones and others the following prayer:
Father, in Jesus’ name, help us to keep our tongues from evil and our lips from speaking deceit, help us to depart from evil and do good, help us to seek Your peace and pursue it all the days of our lives. And help us to never envy sinners and also to be zealous for the fear of the Lord. (Based on Psalm 34:13-14 and Proverbs 23:17)
Remember: Jesus and Paul gave us advance warnings to help us through this event. We do not have to become a part of the falling away. We can set our hearts to fear the Lord all of our days here on earth.
Larry Who 