Aunty Jane
Well-Known Member
This chapter in 2 Thessalonians is chock full of spiritual gems…..Paul starts by addressing his brothers concerning the day when Christ returns to gather them and to take them “home”….but he warned that this would not take place unless a foretold apostasy occurred first…and a “man of lawlessness” would be revealed as a counterfeit Christian entity who would try their best to lead the whole Christian world astray, including God’s elect if they were not vigilant.2 Thess. 2:8-12
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
This imposter (not an individual, but a composite “man” corrupt in their ideas and led by the devil) would try to introduce doctrines that were a complete departure from the truth, but while the apostles were still alive, these acted as a “restraint”.
Once the last apostle John passed away at the close of the first century however, that restraint was removed, and opened the way for the counterfeit to spread like “weeds”….almost choking out the truth of God’s word with false teachings that been perpetuated to this day.
Those who accept that counterfeit and embrace those false doctrines, are the ones whom Paul is referring to here. These will believe the lies and show no love for the truth when they hear it….a strong delusion overtakes them even in the face of clear Bible teachings.
We also believe that only the righteous will be saved, but we believe very differently to you….Then all Israel will be saved. Read Revelation 12 and 13. The woman is national Israel - the genealogy of Jesus. The last verse of chapter 12 shows that imperfect Christians (the offspring of Spiritual Israel who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus Christ) will be on earth during the Great Tribulation to overcome and repent, but will be martyred because of the false doctrines they heard and believed up to the beginning of the Great Tribulation. This is why the doctrine I believe is that the gospel is the power of God, and that only the righteous or holy will be saved
“The great tribulation” that is just ahead of us, will be worse than any calamity that humans have ever experienced on earth before (Matt 24:21)…..so we must be prepared for it, both spiritually and mentally, knowing that God will see us through it.
The scene painted by Revelation ch 12 is vivid….The woman is not national Israel, because fleshly Israel no longer features in God’s purpose, she has fulfilled her role and because of her constant disobedience, she will never feature in it again, nor will any geographical location on earth be the focus for God’s worship because no land is “holy“ to Jehovah anymore. Israel’s skirts are dripping in blood, like all the other political nations of this world with blood guilt. (Isa 1:15) God sanctioned war for Israel only to defend their God-given land…no land today is God-given, and the once “holy land” gifted to Israel, is now polluted with innocent blood.