2 Thessalonians 2
Concerning the rapture and our gathering together, as well as the Day of the Lord and His Second Coming, Apostle Paul says there are some things that will need to take place first. There will be a falling away, or an apostasy, where Christians will leave the faith. There will also be a revealing of the man of sin (lawlessness, son of perdition), who is the Antichrist. The Antichrist is a human leader that turns against the Jews during the Great Tribulation, or the last 3 ½ years before these end time events – the rapture, the Second Coming, and the Day of the Lord. The Antichrist is a human leader, but the enemy is working through him, against the Christ and against His kingdom.
In verse 7 Paul writes about the spirit of lawlessness that has already been at work in the earth, and is intensifying. In that day, the Antichrist will be revealed, and this restrainer will be removed. We often consider the Holy Spirit as the force retraining lawlessness; however, there are conflicting viewpoints on whether this restrainer could be a person or nation who has been holding back the Antichrist from coming into power until his time.
Verse 10 writes about the unrighteous and their deception in their rebellious choices, “they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” If you are saved, you have received both love and the truth in love. Yes, there is tremendous love found in truth!
In verses 16-17 Paul writes, “May our Lord Jesus Christ…comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.” While addressing end time prophecy, Paul encourages people to continue living their lives and serving in ministry. We are to do the same, even as we see the day approaching.
Jeremiah 1-2
Jeremiah as a prophet, a vessel of God to preach messages from God to the Jewish people. His prophetic office was held during the reigns of the kings Josiah, Jehoiakim, Jehoicahin, and Zedekiah until the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. The content of his messages were mostly of repentance and restoration. This book shows us the heart of God for people, even in their rebellion, desiring for their return to restore them from their sin, knowing they would be headed to captivity.
God called Jeremiah when he was a young adolescent. The Lord told Jeremiah that through the words of God that he would declare out of his mouth, nations and kingdoms would be affected. There is something powerful in the human being declaring words from our mouths, especially when those words are words from God. They have an effect. This young man has God encounters and visions, prophesying the coming captivity of the Babylonian empire.
Jeremiah’s first vision is of an almond tree, also known as “the waker” to the Hebrew, because the tree blossoms early, watching for the opportunity to bloom. When God says He is ready to perform His word, He is saying He is watching over His word to perform it. Ready is shaqad, meaning “watching, waking, hastening, anticipating; to be sleepless alert, vigilant; on the lookout; to care for watchfully.”
Jeremiah 1:12 God says, “I am ready to perform My word,” speaking about His following through with the prophecies He will share with Jeremiah.
God’s word is alive. We also be confident that when God gives us a promise of blessing, He is watching over it diligently to bring it to pass.
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