Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Thessalonians 1-3.
Paul writes that there will be those who falsely claim that the day of the Lord has already come, but we should not allow them to alarm us. Paul tells us that the day of the Lord will not come until the rebellion occurs. He does not tell us how to recognize the rebellion, except that when it occurs the “man of lawlessness” will be revealed. Paul tells us quite a bit about this man of lawlessness. First, he tells us that he will oppose everything which is called God, or is worshiped, and he will exalt himself over those things. In fact, the man of lawlessness will proclaim himself to be God. Every time I read this, it makes me wonder if Paul is referring to a single individual, or to society in general. I look at our society today and see it encouraging people to oppose God and to view themselves as God. On the other hand, Paul does seem to be referring to an individual whom others will worship. In any case, Paul warns us that the power of lawlessness is already working in our society, but is being held back. When it is no longer held back, the lawless one will be revealed and will deceive those who refuse to love the truth. Again, I look at our society today and see people who refuse to embrace the truth, who instead choose to embrace lies and falsehoods. People refuse to accept the truth because they delight in wickedness. So, if we love and embrace truth, we will not be deceived by the signs and wonders which promote and serve lies.
I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.