10/24/19 SEALING THEIR OWN DOOM

10/24/19 SEALING THEIR OWN DOOM
 
As the end draws near, God sends strong delusion to those who reject His word, leading to their destruction (2 Th. 2:1-12).

SEALING THEIR OWN DOOM

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 KJV (with *notes from dlg)
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That 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.

*dlg note... vss. 1-2 Paul warned that some folks would erroneously say that the "day of Christ" was already here.

3 Let 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;

*dlg note... vs. 3 the day of Christ, the end times, the days just before the return of Christ, will not come until a major apostasy (turning from Christ) takes place and the anti-Christ (world ruler and adversary to God) is openly on the world stage.

4 Who 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, shewing himself that he is God.

*dlg note... vs. 4 The anti-Christ of the end times brazenly sets himself up as God, in the temple in Jerusalem, to be worshipped.

5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

*dlg note... vs. 6 Though the spirit of anti-Christ has been active in the world for a long time, it is in the last days that a man would embody the power of Satan and seek to rule the world.

7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

*dlg note... vs. 7 The power and presence of the evil world ruler
has been hindered and delayed by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit through God's people, the Church. But there is coming a time when the Holy Spirit removes the Church from the world, thus opening the door for the anti-Christ to rise to power.

8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

*dlg note... vs. 8 Though "that Wicked" one arrives in the world with great pomp, his stay will be short lived, because Jesus will conquer "the Beast" when Jesus returns and takes His place on the throne in Jerusalem.

9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
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.

*dlg note... vss. 9-10 The anti-Christ spirit has been deceiving people for millennia but during the years of Tribulation (when he usurps the throne in the Temple), he will have mental and spiritual sway over the world as never before. People will love the false god, believe the false god and reject the True and Living God, Jesus Christ.

11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

*dlg note... vss. 11-12 Because the world has so thoroughly rejected God and His word and His salvation, He will give the people what they want. He will send them strong delusion, sealing their choice to follow darkness, rather than light. This will lead to these end times reprobates being lost forever and unable to come to salvation during the Tribulation because they defiantly and finally rejected God's truth, reveling in the pleasures of unrighteousness.