2 THESSALONIANS LESSON 3


     We will begin this lesson in II Thessalonians 2:9 "[Even him],
whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs
and lying wonders,"

     In the last lesson, we talked about this man of sin who would
come in the end of the age. We, also, saw that even though he had
great power, he was no match for the Lord. The Lord will consume him
with the Spirit of His mouth which is the Word of God. He {the evil
one} will be destroyed by the Light of the Lord. You can easily see
from the verse above that he had some power, but it is overcome by the
power of the Lord. Many will be deceived, because they base their
belief on signs and wonders. We should base our belief on the Word of
God, and then we will not be deceived. We learned in Exodus that the
evil magicians could do some of the miracles that Moses did by the
power of God, but they could not do all of them. We know then that
their power is limited.

     II Thessalonians 2:10 "And with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the
love of the truth, that they might be saved."

     We see from this, that some will believe this deception. Just as
Eve was deceived in the garden, many will be deceived by this man of
sin. Antichrist just means against Christ. The Truth in the Word of
God will set you free. Try the spirits, and see whether they be of
God, or not. Any spirit that does not elevate Jesus Christ as Saviour
and Lord is the anti-christ spirit.

     II Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them
strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:"

     Since they are not interested in the Truth of God, they will fall
for a lie. Temptation is always around us to sin and to believe a lie.
The protection we have is the Truth of God. God sent the Truth to
those who will accept Him. Those who rejected Him, will be sent strong
delusion as punishment.

     II Thessalonians 2:12 "That they all might be damned who believed
not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

     I have said over and over, we are a free agent. We can follow God
and be saved, or we can follow Satan and be doomed to hell. There are
only two kinds of people really, those who believe in Jesus Christ
unto salvation, and those who do not believe who are damned to hell.
The flesh life will lead a person into damnation. All unrighteousness
is sin. Those who practice sin are not of God, they are of their
father the devil. When we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are
made righteous in the sight of God. We are washed in the blood of the
Lamb {Jesus} and put in right standing with God. Those who reject
Jesus, remain in their unrighteousness.

     II Thessalonians 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to
God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit
and belief of the truth:"

     Paul is saying, that God chose them for salvation from the
foundation of the earth. This looks like predestination, but I believe
Paul is speaking of the fact that God foreknew that they would
believe. You see, they had to believe the Truth, before they were set
aside for God's purposes {sanctified}. Salvation is offered to
whosoever will. This is saying, that God knew at the beginning,
because He saw into the future those who would believe. Notice, in the
verse above, Spirit is capitalized meaning that this was speaking of
the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit of God that leads us into all
Truth. The Word is the Truth. The Holy Spirit teaches us the meaning
of the Scriptures.

     II Thessalonians 2:14 "Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to
the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."

     Paul now explains that God sent the gospel by Paul to them.
I Corinthians 1:21 "For after that in the wisdom of God the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to
save them that believe."  Paul says, they were touched in their spirit
at the bringing of the good news of the gospel by him and were saved.
The glory of the cross, was for the Father and the Son, but was also
for all who would believe. To believe makes us one with the Father and
the Son. His inheritance is our inheritance. I Peter 1:3 "Blessed [be]
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his
abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," I Peter 1:4 "To an
inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away,
reserved in heaven for you," I Peter 1:5 "Who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last
time."

     I Peter 1:6 "Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season,
if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:"

     We, Christians, should greatly rejoice, knowing the wondrous
provision He has made for us. While we are in this life, we will have
temptations. They come to make us strong in the Lord. Every time we
overcome a temptation, we grow a little bit. Job faced many
temptations and never faltered at all. When we are going through
difficult times, we should read about Job and how he lasted through it
all. Hold firm to the faith and great will be your rewards in heaven.
I Timothy 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal
life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good
profession before many witnesses."  Mark 13:13 "And ye shall be hated
of all [men] for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the
end, the same shall be saved."

     II Thessalonians 2:15 "Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold
the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our
epistle."

     Paul is encouraging them to stand fast in their faith. Paul had
taught them the Truth in his sermons and is, also, teaching them the
Truth in the letters he writes to them. He explains to them that this
teaching will be the only thing they should accept. They should not
listen to every wind of doctrine that comes along. Stay with their
first love, and do not wander, and they will remain steadfast in the
Lord. Many people today are constantly looking for some new doctrine.
That is a very dangerous thing to do. Stay with the pure Word of God.
The daily study of the Bible is the best recommendation I can make for
staying with the Truth. Make sure the Bible you read is not watered
down to tickle the ears of those who do not want to conform to God.

     II Thessalonians 2:16 "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and
God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given [us]
everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,"

     Our consolation and hope lies in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Consolation in the verse above means comfort. By grace are you saved.
It is a free gift. The hope of the resurrection is what comforts all
of us. We are not like the world, who have no hope. We are looking for
that city whose maker is God. The greatest love known to man is that
the Father would give His Son for a world of lost sinners. This
message is not just from Paul, but from the Lord Jesus Christ,
Himself.

     II Thessalonians 2:17 "Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in
every good word and work."

     Paul is saying, God will help us to the end. Stay with the Truth
in the Word, and work to show thyself approved unto God a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed. We work, not from obligation, but in Love
and praise of our Father who first loved us. Be established, do not be
wishy-washy.



















                     2 Thessalonians 3 Questions


1.  Why will so many be deceived by this man of sin?
2.  When will the man of sin appear?
3.  Who is more powerful than the man of sin?
4.  What will the Lord consume him with?
5.  The evil one will be destroyed by the ______ of the _______.
6.  What did we learn in Exodus about the evil magicians?
7.  Eve was ________ in the garden of Eden.
8.  Try the spirits, and see whether they be of ____, or not.
9.  Any spirit that does not elevate Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord
    is of the _____________.
10. The ______ in the Word of God will set you free.
11. Who sends them strong delusion?
12. What happens to those who do not believe the Truth?
13. Who chooses whether we go to heaven or hell?
14. All unrighteousness is ___.
15. When are we made righteous in the sight of God?
16. When had God chosen them unto salvation?
17. What does "sanctified" mean?
18. The ______ ________ leads us into all Truth.
19. It pleased God by the foolishness of ________ to save them who
    believe.
20. Who was the glory of the cross for?
21. Quote 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 and 4.
22. While we are in this life, we will have ______________.
23. Why do we have temptations or trials?
24. Who faced many temptations and held strong?
25. Quote 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 12.
26. Quote Mark chapter 13 verse 13.
27. What two ways had Paul taught them?
28. How should you choose a Bible to read?
29. Where does the Christian's consolation and hope lie?
30. What is the greatest love known to man?
31. We work not for obligation, but in ______ and ________ of our
    Father.