2 Thessalonians 2:1-10

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TALKS FOR GROWING CHRISTIANS

The Day of the Lord

BACKGROUND NOTES



DOCTRINAL POINT(S)

  1. The day of the Lord cannot come before the apostasy is present.

  2. The day of the Lord cannot come before the man of sin is revealed.

  3. The day of the Lord cannot come before the restrainer is removed.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

  1. You are never to young to study prophecy.

QUESTIONS

  1. Both the rapture and the day of the Lord deal with the return of the Lord, but they are not identical. Explain.

  2. What is a “mystery”?

  3. Is the rapture a mystery? Is the day of the Lord a mystery?

  4. Could the rapture occur at any time?

  5. Could the day of the Lord happen at any time?

  6. List the signs associated with the day of the Lord.

ANSWERS

  1. The rapture is the return of the Lord for His church. The day of the Lord includes the tribulation and the subsequent return of the Lord to this earth to set up His glorious kingdom.

  2. A mystery is a doctrine not revealed in the Old Testament, but clearly revealed in the New Testament.

  3. Yes, it is a new teaching in the New Testament. No, the Old Testament speaks clearly about the day of the Lord.

  4. Yes. It is imminent. There are no prophetic signs that need to be fulfilled before the Lord returns to rapture His church home to heaven.

  5. The day of the Lord cannot come until the associated signs are present. As of yet, the signs are not present.

  6. a. the coming of the apostasy or falling away b. the revealing of the man of sin c. the removal of restraint.

DISCUSS/CONSIDER

  1. There have been departures from the truth and heresies within the church, but there has not yet been a wholesale renunciation and abandonment of the faith with Christendom. When that occurs, Christendom will worship the anti-Christ. “Let no one deceive you...unless the falling away comes first.”

  2. The man of sin is the anti-Christ, also called the son of perdition. He will only be a man, but he will claim to be God. He will set himself up in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem, showing himself to be God. Remember, he will be destroyed when the Lord returns to this earth in power and glory.

  3. The restrainer is the Holy Spirit. At the present time He is restraining the revelation of the man of sin and the unleashing of lawlessness. He is restraining evil through the Church, indwelling it and the individual believer. See 1 Corinthians 3:16. At the rapture the Holy Spirit and the Church will be taken away. Then tribulation will come like this world has never seen. Aren’t you thankful that you are part of His church and will not suffer God’s wrath upon this earth?

CHALLENGE

  1. Heavy prophetic truths are covered in 2 Thessalonians, but the young believers believed them. Don't sell young Christians short on understanding prophecy.

KEY VERSES

  • “ Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him… do not be shaken in mind or troubled either by spirit or by letter… as though the day of Christ had come. ” - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

  • “ Let no one deceive you, for that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed. ” - 2 Thessalonians 2:3

  • “ You know what is restraining… ” - 2 Thessalonians 2:6



2 Thessalonians, New Testament, TalksDeb Harms2 Thessalonians 2:1-10