1-2 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 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. 3-4 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness (sin) is revealed, the son of destruction, (perdition) 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.

5-6 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7-8 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. 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. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8 English Standard Version

Today's section has led to lots of discussion and different points of view. Who is this 'man of lawlessness' and who is it that 'restrains' him? The reason for different opinions is that we don't know what Paul had told the Thessalonians when he was with them, as vs 5-6 suggest. What is clear is that even in those early days of the gospel there were people making claims about the Lord's return that were groundless. (vs 1-2) In our generation the Jehovah's Witnesses have been guilty of this charge. What was Paul's warning about such claims? (vs 3-4)

Believers must not jump on board with every prediction people make about the return of Christ. Paul says that Christ's return would be preceded by someone who would arrive on the scene and who would shake his fist at all religions and see himself as supreme. Some Christians suggest this referred to events that led to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, and that ever since that day Christ's return was imminent. Other Christians believe this refers to events immediately before Christ's return, and that there will be a worldwide Antichrist dictator. As the centuries have gone by we've certainly reached a time when it seems as if the situation is ripe for a worldwide anti-religion and anti-Christian dictatorship.

In vs 7-8 Paul said to the Thessalonians that this rebellion against the true God had already begun even in the first century, but what was the encouragement in those verses he gave to the believers?

He says that God restrains the powers of evil until the appointed time. We see in other parts of the Bible that Satan himself is restricted by God in how far he could go in harming the saints. In Revelation 20:1-3 we read: “I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” So even if days of great distress are yet to come upon us, we know that God is still fully in control. His purposes are still being worked out.

The other thing those verses tell us is that the final outcome and victory belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ. He has conquered tyrants throughout history, and He will certainly conquer all the enemies of His saints at His second coming. We mustn’t be misled and deceived by the multitude of ‘prophecies’ and claims we may see online. And we must not let the discouraging things we are seeing in the world today cause us to despair. The man of lawlessness, whoever he may be, has a limited time to shake his fist at God. Jesus will send him to eternal destruction and will bring about the new heavens and earth where there will only be righteousness. Those who love Jesus will be gathered to Him.