The Thessalonian Christians were disturbed by receiving a letter purportedly from the Apostle Paul saying that the troubles they were enduring were because they were then passing through "the day of the Lord." This was false, but the Lord used the erroneous report to bring out certain truth in order to aid believers then and later to a more correct understanding. Let us read some verses from a more correct translation of 2 Thessalonians 2: "Now we beg you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, nor troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as [if it were] by us, as that the day of the Lord is present." vv. 1, 2; J.N.D. Trans.
These Christians knew enough of Old Testament prophecy to understand that "the day of the LORD... is... a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness.... for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:1-111Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. 3A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. 4The appearance of them is as the appearance of horses; and as horsemen, so shall they run. 5Like the noise of chariots on the tops of mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth the stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. 6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness. 7They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks: 8Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded. 9They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief. 10The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: 11And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? (Joel 2:1‑11)). Isaiah also tells of the same time: "The day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty,... and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low; and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day" (chap. 2:12-17). Then Amos 5:2020Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? (Amos 5:20) speaks of it: "Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?" Therefore the outlook for "the great and dreadful day of the LORD" (Mal. 4:55Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: (Malachi 4:5)) is most awful to contemplate. So there was justifiable reason for the Thessalonians to be alarmed by the report which was falsely signed by one claiming to be the Apostle Paul.
That dreadful day will stand in sharp contrast with this present time which is the "day of man." Man is now having his sway almost unrestrained in this world. We reviewed a book written by a famous biologist who is an avowed and dedicated evolutionist, in which he says that men in his class look forward to the day of man and to the giving up of God and the name of God, and that there will be no loss felt at His passing. But woe be to unrepentant mankind, for his day will terminate at the "day of the LORD"-0 dreadful day for the inhabitors of His earth!
But the faithful Apostle of our Lord Jesus Christ explains that that "day of the Lord" "[will not be] unless the apostasy have first come, and the man of sin have been revealed, who opposes and exalts himself on high against all called God" (or object of veneration); "so that he himself sits down in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God." 2 Thess. 2:1-41Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1‑4); J.N.D. Trans. (This will be the fulfillment of the evolutionist's wish previously mentioned.)
When man first fell from his God-given estate, it was by sin-the sin of man. All of his black history of multiplication of sins will culminate in its full-blown form when the "man of sin" deifies himself. At that time there will be a full trinity of wickedness when the political leader of the Western world will astonish man by his greatness; the false Christ in Jerusalem will aid and abet that great political and military head, and Satan himself will sustain both of the others. All three heads of wickedness will receive worship which alone is due to God. But before the end comes, there will be "the apostasy," or complete abandonment of even the form of Christianity, or the name of God. In other words, it will be fully developed atheism. This wickedness was already in its early stages when the Apostle wrote (2 Thess. 2:77For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (2 Thessalonians 2:7))-it was working then-today it is very far advanced, and each week indicates an increase in the pace of its acceleration. All this spells out in unmistakable words that the coming of the Lord for His own is at the very door; for He will first call His own to meet Him in the air before the full apostasy matures.
There are to be two developments in apostasy, and both are already well along, so that we look for the Lord to take us to Himself at any time. Of these evils we read: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son." 1 John 2:2222Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. (1 John 2:22). This combines Jewish and Christian apostasy; to deny that Jesus is the Christ, or the Messiah, is the Jewish form of unbelief; to deny both the Father and the Son is antichrist as opposed to the blessed truth of Christianity. There is a drawing closer together of the Jewish and "Christian" antagonisms to God. We call attention to the fact that in 2 Thessalonians, where apostasy is definitively foretold, it will be seen that both characters of antichrist will coalesce. In the end, when apostasy has come to its head, it will bear more the style of atheism. Both the Messiahship of Christ and the blessed truth of the "Trinity" will be rejected.
As the Roman Ecumenical Council's third session is drawing to a close with the promise of another session to be called later-the time as yet unspecified-it seems that a major portion of that vast assemblage favors the issuance of a statement freeing the Jews of any special guilt in connection with the death of Christ. This is also in accord with the wishes of a sizeable portion of the Protestant National Council of Churches of Christ. This is in flagrant contradiction of the Lord's words to Pilate: "He that delivered Me unto thee hath the GREATER sin." Also the Lord speaking prophetically in Zech. 13:66And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. (Zechariah 13:6) answers some regarding His wounds in His hands saying they came from what happened in the house of His friends. Whose house was that? To ask this question is to answer it. But who is it that dares to gainsay the word of Him who is THE TRUTH? But this accommodation seems requisite for Jewish and Christian drawing together for the apostasy, according to 2 Thessalonians; for the Word of God tells us that the antichrist will come "after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie." 2 Thess. 2:9-119Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (2 Thessalonians 2:9‑11). The deception will be so strong "that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect" (Matt. 24:2424For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. (Matthew 24:24)). God will have an elect Jewish remnant on the earth at that time whom the antichrist with all his supernatural powers of deception will not be able to sway.
In that last great bundle of deceived souls at the end will flock eagerly the remnants of Christendom with deceived Jews who will accept their acclaimed leader as their Messiah. Such will be the condition of the world after the Lord calls His saved ones home. All the powers of darkness will be let loose to deceive the rejecters of Christ. So we see professed Christianity now denying the word of Christ regarding the guilt of those who rejected their own Messiah when He came to them in grace. The antichrist will be the "hireling" of John 10, and the "idol shepherd" of Zechariah 11. In that chapter the Lord was prophetically offered to Israel by God as their shepherd; but on rejection of Him, another will come in his own name and be received by them. Christ came in by the appointed way, the door; He came according to all the prophecies and promises of God in the Old Testament, but was rejected forthwith.
Another scripture that informs us of the self-exaltation of the antichrist is found in Daniel 11: "And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished.... Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers [this indicates his Jewish background], nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all." vv. 36, 37.
Another ominous sign of the coming end of the age and the fast approaching "apostasy" may be read in reports from the Episcopal triennial General Conference held in St. Louis, Missouri, late in October. There again the modern, infidel-leaning bishop of the San Francisco diocese, James A. Pike, who was once a lawyer, reaffirmed his unorthodox and heretical views by saying in a sermon that "the Trinity" (that word used to describe the divine verity of three distinct persons in the Godhead) is "well-intentioned idolatry." This is a flat denial of the basic truth of Christianity, and is "antichrist." Not only is it shocking that such a blatant statement could be uttered in a church convention by one very high and noted ecclesiastic, but that it could be done with the acceptance of many notable persons in that great assemblage is appalling.
At that time the convention elected the Rt. Rev. John Elbright Hines of the diocese of Texas as Presiding Bishop and official spokesman for the 3,500,000 church body in the nation. It is also important to note that the bishop elected as their head had only three years ago defended California's Bishop Pike when he described the basic truth of the "virgin birth" of Christ as a myth. This is also antichristian; it is a denial of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is Arian falsehood, which early infected the church and has never been eradicated. It is strongly entrenched today in supposedly orthodox bodies, as well as among the Unitarians, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and many others. With that brushed aside there is no barrier to linking of Judaism and so-called Christianity. Either the Lord Jesus took human form in an altogether unique way, or He was not what He and the Word of God claimed Him to be; and if this was not true, the whole fabric of Christianity is a colossal hoax. We say this with a measure of fear, for God forbid even the lurking thought! Christ was truly God and truly perfect man. Deny this, and we have no Savior -all is lost. The testimony of the whole Word of God is to the deity and humanity of the Lord Jesus. He was as described back in Genesis 3, "the seed of the woman." Many good articles have been written which set forth the scriptures reaffirming His deity and His virgin birth when He came down and assumed human form; so we rest this unassailable truth here. The opposition is no newer than that of the Pharisees when the Lord was upon earth. At that time they went so far as to charge Him with being a Samaritan, and having a demon. Man in his patent unbelief is daringly brazen.
Now in the same attitude of unbelief, Bishop Pike contends that the apostles had no doctrine of the Trinity. We say not that they had formulated a creed about the Trinity, for no creed in itself contains all the truth, or is necessary for the maintenance of the truth. But if it is meant that the apostles did not speak of or know of the Trinity, it would be arrant folly, easily refuted. Many times the truth of the Trinity is affirmed and reaffirmed in the New Testament, as well as indicated in the very beginning of the Old Testament. "In the beginning Elohim created"-it is in the Hebrew where the name of deity is a word indicating a plural number of persons with a singular verb. There the Trinity is spoken of acting as one. Then when we come to the New Testament we find that the Apostle Matthew clearly states that truth in his fourth chapter. There, by the Holy Spirit, we are taught that when the Lord Jesus went to be baptized of John at the beginning of His ministry, there was witnessed the Son on earth; and the Father spoke to Him from heaven, while the Spirit of God rested on Him in the form of a dove. In The Acts, Stephen being "full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God." And many times another apostle mentions the distinct Persons of the Godhead together, as in Hebrews 103But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. (Hebrews 10:3); the will of God, the work of Christ, and the testimony of the Holy Ghost are brought together. Many times the distinct Persons of the Godhead are mentioned individually, as "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all." 2 Cor. 13:1414The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. <<The second epistle to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, a city of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.>> (2 Corinthians 13:14). Is any formal declaration of mere men necessary to sustain the unalterable truth of God? May no man like Judas be allowed to betray the Lord or His truth to the enemy, although he be clothed in clerical garb. It would amount to betraying the Son of man with a kiss. For this, Judas was called the "son of perdition" (see John 17:1212While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12)); and the future consummation of wickedness, the antichrist, is also called the same (see 2 Thess. 2:33Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (2 Thessalonians 2:3)). After that, Judas went to "his place," and the antichrist will be cast into hell by the Lord Himself when He comes to tread the winepress of the fierceness of His wrath (Rev. 19:1515And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. (Revelation 19:15)).
Christian readers, in view of the fast approaching "apostasy" may we heed the exhortation found in the last epistle, Jude: "It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith [that is, Christianity] which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men." vv. 3, 4. May God preserve the feet of His saints!