Truth to Live By: Regarding Death and Christ’s Return Pt. II• 10.12.25
Nick Lees   -   October 12, 2025

Truth to Live By: Regarding Christ’s Return Pt. II

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

Providing hope for the future that matters today

  1. Do not be deceived about the timing of the Lord’s return
  2. Understand the truth that specific events will happen first

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Good morning church family! (Introduce self + welcome guests)

Dismiss 4th + 5th graders

Ushers + Bibles (2 Thessalonians 2; page 1175)

Today we return to a familiar theme in our study of Thessalonians, truth about the return of Christ. If you were here with us three Sundays ago, we heard Paul teach similar truths in his first letter to this church. Given the way he handles this topic in his letters, these young believers were certainly confused about what to expect regarding resurrection and Christ’s return. As we will hear today, there were also some false teachers who were trying to deceive them about the day of the Lord.

You may hear that and think, “Why would someone want to deceive others with false teaching? What do they stand to gain by that?!” Well, we don’t know exactly what the aim of these false teachers may have been, but deceiving people is one of the main ways our enemy, Satan, seeks to undermine God’s plan to make a people for himself. It is still common in our day for men and women to be led astray by Satan’s deceptions and then spread false teaching to any who will give them ear.

Two weeks ago, as we finished up the first letter, it ended with a call to test every teaching they received and hold fast what is good but abstain from every form of evil. This was timely counsel for them in their day, and it continues to be timely counsel for us in our day. We must be discerning about what teaching we take in and make sure that it is in line with the objective truth of God’s Word. It would be foolish to trust anyone who claims to speak for God without first vetting their teaching by God’s revealed Word. That includes what you hear from this church’s pulpit week after week. We are held to the same standard! Be faithful to test what you’re taught by what you see in the Word.

Today we have the opportunity to hear additional teachings about the return of Christ. This has been a consistent theme throughout the letters. Paul started this letter with thanksgiving for their abundant growth in faith and love for one another as he pointed them towards God’s work in them to prepare them for the day of Christ. Paul has taught with certainty that there is a day when Christ will return. And when Christ returns, he comes to judge those who reject his salvation and oppose him. But Christ will also make his people, those who have believed in him, perfected in holiness so they can join him in eternal life. It is this second reality that has been a beautiful source of hope for Christians throughout church history.

If your faith is in Jesus Christ, then you have this hope. Jesus is coming again, and he will rescue his people from persecution and affliction. He will finish the good work that he began in us, making us holy as he is holy. These are glimpses of glorious truths that are developed throughout the Scriptures. I share these with you at the start of our time together because the passage we are about to read can sound quite alarming. My hope is that as we study it together you will leave here with hope for the future that matters today. With that in mind, let’s read our text:

2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 (ESV)

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Hopefully you are beginning to get an idea of what was going on in Thessalonica from this text. Paul has heard that someone is spreading false teaching among them, either by a spirit (prophecy) or teaching, or a letter that was falsified as coming from Paul/Silas/Timothy. The content of this false teaching is about nearness of the day of the Lord. The way it is worded in our English translation is a bit awkward but think of “is already here” or “is arriving even now” (or as in the ESV “has come”). They are being deceived thinking that the end was upon them!

So now Paul is trying to prevent them from descending into a panic! They do not need to be ruled by fear but can rest in peace through knowing the truth. He even reminds them that he had already taught them about these matters when he was with them. This is not new information! … But because they are actively being lied to, now he is caring for them by confronting lies with truth.

Paul wants the truth about Christ’s future return to provide peace and hope to Christians in the present. And if that was Paul’s goal then that should be our aim as we study these matters…

Providing hope for the future that matters today

Christians ought to have great hope for the future. We know that Christ is coming again. And when he comes, he will bring us to be with him in glory. If you were not present to hear our previous sermon about that future hope back on September 21st, then I’d encourage you to listen through it on our website sometime this week. It covered 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11.

For now, let’s work through the hope Paul provides in this passage. It begins with this call:

  1. Do not be deceived about the timing of the Lord’s return

Paul has no problem calling this what it is – a lie/deception! Someone has sought to mislead them, and they should not allow such lies to cause alarm in their lives. As I mentioned earlier, even though we may not know humanly speaking who started spreading this lie, we do know that it originated in the enemy of God, Satan, the Great Deceiver. From the earliest introduction to him in Scripture in Genesis 3, Satan is known for his lies. In fact, Jesus identifies him in this way when he rebukes the religious leaders of his day:

John 8:44 (ESV)

44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Satan wants to deceive people and bring them into unnecessary panic/fear/grief. Why do you think he might operate this way? *pause* Have you ever heard of the tale of the boy who cried wolf? The whole point behind that story is that when you raise the alarm falsely too many times then everyone stops listening (or being prepared) when there truly is danger! In this case, Satan wants as many people as possible to be confused, alarmed, or just plain apathetic about eternal matters. Why? Because then they will stop caring about it and fail to prepare for eternal life. The more people that he can convince to be spiritually apathetic or deceived the better for his destructive desires!

Now, I understand that looking at the workings of our enemy can seem the opposite of hopeful… but when you understand the enemy’s motives and methods then you have the opportunity to resist them! There is great hope in knowing the truth and having the opportunity to silence the temptations to be unnecessarily alarmed.

To put it another way, for those who have faith in Christ, our posture can be one of great hope and growth in the present age! Consider the tone and tenor of these two letters to the Thessalonians. What have you heard from Paul and his companions? Are they despondent? Do they sound like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh? “Poor me, what’s the point… might as well give up…” Not at all! 

1 Thessalonians 1:2–7 (ESV)

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.

2 Thessalonians 1:3 (ESV)

3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing.

Notice how the Thessalonians were known for bearing much fruit in this present age. There were many reasons to rejoice and give thanks and have hope in Christ!

2 Thessalonians 1:4 (ESV)

4 Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

It is possible in this present age, as we await the return of Christ, to hold a posture of steadfastness and faith, even when things are hard and we are suffering!

But how can someone live this way?

It comes back to knowing your God and the finished work of his Son, Jesus Christ. Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Romans.

Romans 5:1–5 (ESV)

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

If your sins have been forgiven by the finished work of Jesus Christ, then you have every reason to have great hope in him! You now have peace with God and grace to stand in each day. Grace that will sustain you through the midst of the hardest sufferings. Grace that will force suffering to produce good fruit in you – endurance, character, and hope – hope especially in the glory of God that you will partake in when Christ returns.

Paul goes on to link this new identity in Christ with a call to live for him in the very next chapter.

Romans 6:1–4 (ESV)

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

What Paul describes in his letter to the Romans is the very reality that the Thessalonian believers were living out. They had received the forgiveness of their sins through faith in Jesus Christ. They were no longer dead in their sin but united to Christ in new life. They were now able to walk in newness of life – living holy, fruitful lives in the present age.

Christians throughout history are able to have a posture of hope and pursuit of holiness in this present age because of what Christ has done and promises to do in the future! We are able to be steadfastly loving and faithful because we have been rescued and redeemed from our sin and the wrath it deserved!

Does this posture describe how you are currently living? Are you known for steadfastness and faith?

If so, praise God for his marvelous grace at work in your life! You are bearing fruit in keeping with faith and repentance. Keep running the race of faith with your eyes fixed on Jesus!

If not, then please consider the warnings of Jesus for your life.

Matthew 25:31–46 (ESV)

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

There is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be shunned. Both Jesus and Paul teach truth to prevent us from being deceived about the Lord’s return. They want us to be prepared for it! God has made it very clear through his Word that a day is coming when we will each give an account for how we’ve lived in this present age. You do not want to stand before the perfect, just Judge without the protection and provision of his forgiveness through his shed blood on the cross.

So, if you recognize that you do not have this hope of Christ and new life, then I want to encourage you to deal honestly with that with God today. Today can be the day of salvation for you. You can pray to the Lord right now, confessing your sin against him and asking him to forgive you, to save you from his just judgment and the wrath to come. You can commit your life to following him and begin this journey of faith today! If you are wrestling with what you believe or want to follow Christ, I would love to talk with you after the service. *pause*

The point through all of this is that if Christians believe lies about Christ’s return, you will be alarmed when you don’t need to be, which either leads to unnecessary angst or apathy. But if you believe the truth about these matters, then you can have hope and peace in this life as you focus on living for Christ.

So, let’s turn our attention to further truth. Paul provides hope for Christians by laying out some of the details leading up to Christ’s return. Our necessary response is to…

  1. Understand the truth that specific events will happen first

In verse 3 and following, Paul says, “For that day will not come, unless…” Then he lists specific events that must happen before Christ will return.

  • The rebellion comes
  • The man of lawlessness is revealed

As he explains these events, Paul provides some incredible details that surround them. We’re going to spend the remainder of our time together looking at these events but with the emphasis on our response in this present age. These future events ought to drive how we live today.

In this passage we see that a time of great rebellion or apostasy (abandonment of faith or rejection of authority) will occur before Jesus’ return. This great rebellion is in connection with the appearing or revealing of the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction. This person is currently restrained but will one day be released to deceive many and lead them astray to death and eternal judgment. Let’s read verses 9-10 again:

2 Thessalonians 2:9–10 (ESV)

9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

This person’s appearance will be surrounded by satanic, deceptive work that is designed to lead those who refuse to love the truth astray. The language used here is describing incredible works akin to what we see Satan doing in the book of Job or with the magicians in Egypt during Moses’ day. This should not be surprising for a student of the Bible for we know that Satan masquerades as an angel of light. He deceptively imitates the power of God to deceive as many as possible!

Due to Satan’s influence and power supporting this man of lawlessness, he successfully opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship. His aim is to be the most powerful and exalted being in the Universe, proclaiming himself to be God. This is utter and unrestrained pride, another hallmark of the enemy and his servants.

And yet, this powerful display will be appealing to many. For those who hate the truth about Jesus, they will be looking for an alternative explanation and answer for life. And so, they will be especially receptive to someone who has great power and abilities and seems to be on top of the world. This isn’t some far-fetched fairy tale either, we have examples of this kind of behavior throughout world history, even when it is on a lesser scale than described here.

Consider those who chose to follow Hitler in WWII. Or Stalin. Or Mao. Or the Pope(s), who have led billions astray. Or the many other false teachers in our day… Throughout history there have been charismatic leaders, either on a global scale or a more limited one, who have risen up and led many astray. Satan loves to deceive, and he has sent many antichrists to lead people astray before the day when he sends his greatest deception yet! The Apostle John warned of this pattern all the way back in the first century. It has been Satan’s way of operating since the beginning!

And, perhaps shockingly, we read the following in verses 11-12:

2 Thessalonians 2:11–12 (ESV)

11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

How should we understand this teaching? It is consistent with what we read in other passages of Scripture in both Old and New Testaments. God responds to the hard-heartedness of rebellious sinners by giving them what they want. For those who refuse to love the truth and so be saved, he will send them a strong delusion that will only serve to confirm the path they are on.

We see this same pattern in the first chapter of Romans, where, after rejecting God’s plain revelation about himself in the created order, God gives them up to the lusts of their hearts and their dishonorable passions and debased mind. Or in the Old Testament, in 1 Kings 22, when the Lord sent a spirit to lead the prophets of Ahab astray to fully confirm the path of his folly and rebellion against God. God gives sinners over to the sin that THEY embrace; this is a form of his judgment.

What should we do today with this truth that Paul provides about future events?

For starters, it would be wise to examine yourself to make sure you love the truth and are saved! If the ones who will be deluded and perish are those who reject the truth, then I would hope you want to be part of those who love and live by the truth.

In his letter to the Corinthians, which were much more confrontational than his letters to the Thessalonians, Paul writes:

2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV)

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

It is wise for each of us to evaluate the fruit of our lives carefully.  Do you have a growing desire for the Lord and His Word? Would anyone who knows you well be able to say, as Paul did of the Thessalonians, “Your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing”?

Those who are abiding in Christ bear good fruit. Much good fruit. We learned about that when we studied John 15 on August 10th. If you do not see such good fruit in your life, then you ought to be concerned. The call for you is to confess your sin and repent! There is a beautiful, life-giving path for you through Christ’s forgiveness and restoring grace. You can have present hope in light of these future events.

For everyone who claims Christ as their Savior and Lord, I want to exhort you with the words of Peter:

2 Peter 1:5–11 (ESV)

5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. 10 Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. 11 For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God has been quite clear in his Word how we ought to live in this present age. We are to be actively pursuing Him by faith and that will lead to us growing in tangible ways. Faith leads to obedience. If you’ve never done a deep dive on these character qualities and behaviors that ought to be ours in Christ, then I would encourage you to do so this week. Evaluate where you especially need to grow and identify your next steps in doing so.

Because the truth is Christ is coming again. And there are some awful events preceding his return that we need to be ready to endure. But thankfully, even though these days of the lawless one are coming, they will be cut short by Jesus at his return! Do not miss the hope of verse 8:

2 Thessalonians 2:8 (ESV)

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

Though the events preceding Jesus’ return are powerful and intimidating, the ultimate outcome is Jesus is victorious! No one compares with his power and authority. He opens his mouth and his enemies perish. This is very similar to what the Apostle John reveals about the Lord’s defeat of his enemies in Revelation 19 and 20. From Jesus’ mouth will come a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations who oppose him. Fire will rain down from heaven to consume all who oppose him.

Throughout all these events, God is in control. He reigns. The one who restrains the lawless one is likely an angel appointed by God for this task, as we see many examples of in Scripture. This is another reminder that Satan is not in control. He does not determine the day or the hour of Christ’s return. Only the Father knows, and he directs history towards this appointed end at his will and in his timing.

Our appropriate response to this truth today is a posture of trust in the Lord, hope in the eternal life to come, and rejoicing in the peace that we have with God through faith in Jesus. Christians do not need to live in fear. We are called to protect ourselves and others from deception. Let us encourage one another with the truth about Christ’s return. And let us call our unbelieving friends/family/neighbors to love the truth and so be saved before it is too late. For this is how we will stand firm in the faith until the day of Christ.

Let’s pray.

Pray