For years I led trips to Israel for students. Often, we traveled in buses on tight schedules. It was important for the students to be in the bus on time, not to miss opportunities to see important sites by the end of the day. Each morning began with a gentle reminder that if they were too late, they might get left behind.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul addressed the issue of Christians who had perished. In his second letter Paul addressed a different problem. It seems the word went around that Jesus had already returned, and they had missed Him (v. 2)! As you might imagine this was disconcerting. To make matters worse, Paul was aware that this rumor might have been backed up by people claiming to have spoken with him and maybe bearing false letters forged in his name (v. 2).

He answers by giving them prophetic insight into the future. After his conversion, Paul received direct revelation from Jesus (Gal. 1:12). Jesus revealed to Paul that certain things must come to pass before He would come back. The details were not so specific that someone could pinpoint the day when Jesus would return. However, they are specific enough to assure his readers that God had a plan. He expected his readers to be encouraged by this. They had no reason to be unsettled, because God was in control.

The events of the future would not roll out haphazardly. God’s sovereign hand was on the future! First, the “man of lawlessness” must appear (v. 3). He must set himself up in the Temple as God (v. 4). But until the time was right, he was being held in check (v. 6). The Thessalonians could stand firm in the knowledge that they would not miss Christ’s return.

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