The Gospel and Deception
Series: Gospel Life
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 28th September 2025
Passage: 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17
00:00:00 --> 00:00:11 The nature and the timing of the second coming of Jesus has been a topic of concern for Christians for nearly 2 years.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 ! Many predictions have happened as well as well as it would happen.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:31 And the most recent prediction was from a South African pastor who claimed in June this year that the rapture, the coming of Jesus, would occur in this past week, if you were not aware, on the 23rd of September.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:43 Although there's been some confusion, it could have been any time between 23rd and 25th of September based on the different time zones and exactly when Jesus would land.
00:00:43 --> 00:00:47 Again, social media exploded.
00:00:48 --> 00:01:02 A thing called Rapture Talk is a corner of TikTok filled with videos of content where people are getting ready for the return of Jesus on the 23rd of September.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:13 A lot of the content is very practical in terms of tips, ensuring that the anticipation of the disappearance of Christians from the world would not leave a mess behind.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:25 Some were selling their cars, others their homes, others quitting jobs or, if not quitting jobs, applying for eternity leave from their employers.
00:01:25 --> 00:01:31 Others were stockpiling survival kits, leaving Bibles marked with key passages.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:39 Others were unlocking their mobile phones so that those left behind could, in fact, use their mobile phone.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:45 There was the inevitable ridicule as well.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:52 One person laments that the rapture, the timing of the rapture was one day before payday.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:57 And so therefore, a whole month of work for no pay.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:03 Others posted that it would make rent more affordable for those who were left behind.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:17 Some even pranked their Christian housemates by leaving piles of clothes randomly on the floor and hiding in the hope that their Christian friends would say,
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 Oh no, we've missed out and we've got it all wrong.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 Now, I find that kind of cheeky.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:40 But I also know that this chapter tells us that for the Thessalonians, the thought of missing the coming of Jesus produced a whole heap of confusion, hysteria and discouragement.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:48 And so this topic, while there's stuff that I've chuckled at in this last week, is crucial.
00:02:48 --> 00:03:06 Quite a lot of ink has been spilled on these verses in 2 Thessalonians 2 over the past 200 years, especially, particularly with the rise of a theology called dispensationalism from the 1830s.
00:03:07 --> 00:03:17 This chapter, according to biblical scholars, is one of the most difficult of the entire New Testament to understand.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:20 And it's done my head in.
00:03:21 --> 00:03:26 And we need to be careful how we interpret it, how we understand it.
00:03:27 --> 00:03:40 And the key to understanding it is to focus on the bits that we know and are certain of, rather than the bits that we want to speculate on.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:44 The ones that we have particular questions of.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:48 And the ones that we think we've got solved.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 So it requires a great deal of humility and open hearts.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 So I've got three points.
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 It's on the St. Paul's app as well.
00:03:57 --> 00:04:02 The problem of deception, the power of deception, and disempowering deception.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:16 So the problem, the first thing we can absolutely be certain of is that Paul is writing these verses here so the Thessalonians are not unsettled or alarmed by wrong thinking.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:20 That is, false teaching rocks faith.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 It diminishes hope.
00:04:22 --> 00:04:26 And when hope is diminished, Christian lives wander.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 There's a lack of purpose to it.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 So you see that in the second half of verse 1.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:43 The particular false teaching that has rocked them is in verse 1 concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him.
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 This, as I said, is a massive topic.
00:04:47 --> 00:04:56 And Paul has already written a bunch about it in 1 Thessalonians 1 and last week in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1.
00:04:57 --> 00:04:58 Thessalonians says,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:15 That's why he's written.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:23 But for the Thessalonians, as we open up to Thessalonians 2, are their hopes dashed?
00:05:23 --> 00:05:30 You see, verse 3, the false teaching is that maybe they've missed it.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 Jesus has already come and they've missed it.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:39 And if they've missed the coming of Jesus, then what awaits them is what they already know of the coming.
00:05:39 --> 00:05:45 It's just purely condemnation by God on the day of judgment.
00:05:45 --> 00:05:49 And so it's no wonder their faith has been rocked.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 Deception destroys.
00:05:53 --> 00:05:54 It destroys.
00:05:56 --> 00:06:01 Deception is the act of getting others to believe what is true and valid,
00:06:02 --> 00:06:06 what is in actual fact false and invalid.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:15 Very few people would say that they are easily deceived.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:22 For the Thessalonians, their deception was that they had missed the coming of Jesus.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:35 Often our deception in the West is to so live for the moment that we don't look for the coming of Jesus.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 That's more likely our deception.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:47 And the problem is in both deceptions is they call us to take our eyes off eternal hope.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:54 And when that hope, that happens, we stop living for and with Jesus in the present.
00:06:56 --> 00:07:00 And Paul does not want them or us to be deceived.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:03 Verse 3, don't let anyone deceive you in any way.
00:07:03 --> 00:07:12 And so Paul writes this chapter, and in fact, his entire letters here to the Thessalonians,
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 out of pastoral concern.
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 He doesn't want hopes to be dashed.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:20 He doesn't want faith and love to be diminished in any way.
00:07:22 --> 00:07:28 And so his goal here in this chapter is not to predict the future.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 He wants to see gospel confidence.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 That's why these are written.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:39 Hope, faith and love is what's at stake.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:47 And so as we move into this chapter, we must not miss the forest for the trees,
00:07:47 --> 00:07:53 even if the tree is what we particularly want our attention to be attached to.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:56 So the power of deception.
00:07:56 --> 00:08:07 This brings us to the most confusing part of this chapter with all its questions and missing pieces.
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 It's like we're trying to put a puzzle together without pieces.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 Paul says in verse 3 that they haven't missed the second coming Jesus,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:22 because that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:29 And when it comes to the timing of Jesus' arrival, that's all we know.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:30 That's it.
00:08:30 --> 00:08:37 This is where it gets tricky.
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 Who is the man of lawlessness?
00:08:40 --> 00:08:48 So many people in the Western world, particularly,
00:08:48 --> 00:08:52 their whole focus of this passage is to identify who the man of lawlessness is.
00:08:53 --> 00:09:02 Paul does not give us enough distinguishing features for us to point out the man of lawlessness in a police lineup.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 At all.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:14 For 1900 years, Christians have been diligently trying to find a contemporary in their world
00:09:14 --> 00:09:18 that leads us to think that that person there is the candidate.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:19 They fit the bill.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 They is the man of lawlessness.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:28 In our current day and age, there seems to be a temperature rising saying Donald Trump is the man of lawlessness.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:35 In the early days of when Paul wrote these, the prime candidate was the Roman emperor,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:42 and in particular, the emperor Caligula, who set up a statue of himself in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 and demanded that that statue of him be worshipped.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:51 Once upon a time, with the rise of Islam, Muhammad was the prime candidate.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:58 In the 16th and 17th century, Martin Luther identified the role of the pope, the papacy,
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 as the man of lawlessness.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:07 They returned favour and said, no, actual fact, it was Martin Luther who's the man of lawlessness,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:12 other popular contenders throughout history, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler,
00:10:12 --> 00:10:16 and the list is virtually endless.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:22 Some scholars reading this actually say it's most likely not a person,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 it's more likely a movement.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 It could be an ideology, even an institution.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:31 The reality is, who knows?
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 And every prediction has been wrong.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:41 Every prediction has been wrong, without exception.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 And verse 6 doesn't clear things up for us either.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:50 It tells us the man of lawlessness is currently being held back.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 Who's doing the restraining?
00:10:53 --> 00:10:58 Multiple answers to that question over the centuries.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:05 And to add confusion, the reference to holding back is in the present tense,
00:11:05 --> 00:11:10 suggesting the man of lawlessness, whoever that is,
00:11:10 --> 00:11:14 has been held back for 1 years since this was first written.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:17 That's an old person.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 Or is it multiple people?
00:11:21 --> 00:11:23 Or is it an institution or an ideology?
00:11:25 --> 00:11:29 It's also difficult to know what the temple is referring to in verse 4.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:32 Scholars have confused about this one.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 The temple in Jerusalem doesn't exist,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:39 and there is no reference at all for the temple being rebuilt
00:11:39 --> 00:11:42 in a physical form once it was actually destroyed.
00:11:42 --> 00:11:47 The New Testament says that the church and the individual Christian
00:11:47 --> 00:11:51 are both now the temple of God with the Holy Spirit.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:57 And so any reference to a future rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 is a misreading of Scripture.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:05 There are so many questions about the second coming,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:13 and yet we actually don't need to know the answers in order to have hope.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 Put it this way.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 Understand it.
00:12:16 --> 00:12:18 Let's wind history back.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:25 If I was an Israelite reading all the Old Testament prophecies
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 about the coming of the future Messiah,
00:12:29 --> 00:12:32 that is what we know to be the first coming of Jesus,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:38 what would I conclude about the nature and the timing of his coming,
00:12:39 --> 00:12:43 about the identity of the Messiah?
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 Would I have expected Jesus?
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 No.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:56 The reality is that when he did arrive,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 the experts on the Messiah,
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 the teachers of the law,
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 did not even notice him.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:08 And for 30-odd years,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 they rejected him.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:18 He was not the one they thought the prophecies were predicting,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:21 and so we need to be careful.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 And make sure we focus on what we do know.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 So what do we do know?
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 First of all,
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 we know that the man of lawlessness is quintessentially lawless.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:34 Lawlessness is not the same as being a lawbreaker.
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 There's a distinction here.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:42 The lawbreaker acknowledges the rightfulness of law,
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 but fails to obey it fully.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:49 I acknowledge the goodness of speed limits,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:55 unless it gets in the way of me needing to be somewhere in a hurry.
00:13:57 --> 00:14:01 Lawlessness means without law.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 That is,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:06 there's no goodness in a speed limit at all.
00:14:07 --> 00:14:12 This lawless one specifically rejects the eternal,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 absolute law of God.
00:14:13 --> 00:14:18 They reject God being the determiner of right and wrong,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 and absolute truth.
00:14:21 --> 00:14:21 And so,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 therefore,
00:14:22 --> 00:14:28 the second thing we can be certain of is that they reject God.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:36 And this lawless one does not do it by arguing that God doesn't exist.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:41 They set themselves up as God to be worshipped.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:44 They deceive everyone to say,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 God does exist,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 but I am God.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:49 Thirdly,
00:14:50 --> 00:14:55 this lawless one will work real signs and wonders with great power,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 but all of it is in the service of a great lie.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 They are not false signs and wonders.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:05 They are real signs and wonders.
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 He is empowered and driven by Satan,
00:15:08 --> 00:15:10 animated by Satan,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 serving Satan,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 accomplishing Satan's purposes.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 And this means,
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 number four,
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 that they will have,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:22 they'll be unparalleled in their ability to deceive.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 Because they'll be in the place of God,
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 claiming to be God,
00:15:32 --> 00:15:34 showing the powers and wonders of God.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:45 Hence my picture on the screen.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 When you see that,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:51 you don't automatically imagine a man of lawlessness.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 You're not getting what you think you're getting.
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 However,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 Paul carefully records in verse 10,
00:16:01 --> 00:16:04 that only those who are perishing will be deceived.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 Very crucially,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 the word perishing there
00:16:09 --> 00:16:13 is the same word Paul uses elsewhere in the New Testament
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 to specifically describe those
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 who reject the gospel of Christ.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:23 That's a very significant clue
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 to the nature of the deceiving.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 The deceiver
00:16:31 --> 00:16:36 doesn't say the gospel doesn't exist.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 The deceiver gives you an alternative gospel,
00:16:40 --> 00:16:43 an alternative good news
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 to cling your life to.
00:16:45 --> 00:16:49 The followers of lawlessness
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 have failed to love the truth of Christ's gospel.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 Instead of loving truth,
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 verse 12 literally says,
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 they take pleasure
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 in unrighteousness.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 And the final certainty that we can
00:17:05 --> 00:17:07 about the man of lawlessness
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 is that they are going to be destroyed.
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 He is quintessentially lawless,
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 he opposes God
00:17:14 --> 00:17:17 and so condemned by the law of God,
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 he opposes
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 and is therefore doomed by God.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 Verse 8 tells us,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 the Lord Jesus will overthrow
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 with the breath of his mouth
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 Jesus will only need to exert
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 as much effort as a mere breath
00:17:35 --> 00:17:38 to defeat the lawless one.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:43 And so what we can be certain of here
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 is that whatever transpires in the future
00:17:46 --> 00:17:48 and is obvious from this text
00:17:48 --> 00:17:52 is that God is sovereign
00:17:52 --> 00:17:54 and he is all-powerful.
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 And we can be absolutely certain
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 that the man of lawlessness is not God.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 God has no equal.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 Whatever is in the future,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 God reigns
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 and all his,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 the deceiving
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 of the man of lawlessness
00:18:10 --> 00:18:12 is simply fulfilling
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 God's plans and purposes.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 So to avoid deception,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 to avoid deception,
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 we need to understand,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 we don't need to know
00:18:28 --> 00:18:30 the identity of the deceiver.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:33 We need to know
00:18:33 --> 00:18:35 how it is
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 that they are deceiving.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 What's their playbook?
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 How do they work?
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 And verse 7
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 is a crucial verse
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 to help us understand.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 The secret power of lawlessness
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 is already at work.
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 We need to know
00:18:55 --> 00:18:59 that the secret of lawlessness,
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 or if you like,
00:19:00 --> 00:19:02 the power of deception
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 of the man of lawlessness
00:19:03 --> 00:19:06 is already at work right now
00:19:06 --> 00:19:08 and has been for 1900 years.
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 We don't need to know
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 the secret power of,
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 sorry,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 we need to know
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 the secret power of lawlessness,
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 not the mystery
00:19:20 --> 00:19:23 of the secret identity
00:19:23 --> 00:19:25 of the powerful man of lawlessness.
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 Before the man of lawlessness
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 is revealed,
00:19:29 --> 00:19:32 lawlessness is operating secretly.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 The Greek word there,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:35 translated secret in verse 7,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 literally is mystery.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 The mystery of iniquity.
00:19:41 --> 00:19:43 The mystery of sin.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 The power.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:46 The secret power of sin.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:49 What is the mystery of sin
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 that is in play now?
00:19:50 --> 00:19:50 Now?
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 Now?
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51
00:19:51 --> 00:19:51
00:19:55 --> 00:19:58 Verse 4 is the key clue.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 He sets himself up
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 in God's temple.
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 Literally,
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 quite literally
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 in the original language,
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 he takes his seat
00:20:08 --> 00:20:11 in the temple.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 Takes his seat in the temple.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:21 We could try and work out
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 what temple he's talking about,
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 but more and crucially,
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 what we need to understand
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 is how does the Bible
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 understand the seat
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 in the temple?
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 What's he saying here?
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 What's the nature
00:20:31 --> 00:20:33 of the secret power of lawlessness?
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 Some have interpreted
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 this as a man of lawlessness
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 will be a great political leader.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:41 He will rebuild the temple
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 in Jerusalem,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 and when that happens,
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 Jesus will come back
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 at some point.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:48 That's not the point of this.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:51 That is importing
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 a theological framework
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 that began in the 1830s
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 into this passage.
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 This here is talking
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 about the role
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 and the purpose
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 of the temple.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 The temple
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 was the place
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 where God met
00:21:06 --> 00:21:09 with his people
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 in the Old Testament times.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 The temple
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 represents
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 ultimate reality,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 and the man of lawlessness
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 is putting themselves
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 at the centre
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 of the ultimate reality,
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 that you must govern
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 your life
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 by this.
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 In the centre
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 of the temple,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 in Old Testament times
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 for the Israelite,
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 was something
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 that revealed
00:21:32 --> 00:21:34 what was the centre
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 of ultimate reality.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 The reality
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 of both creation
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 and redemption.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 What was it?
00:21:41 --> 00:21:44 Was it a statue?
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 Was it an image
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 of God?
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 No,
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 it was a piece
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 of furniture
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 that pointed
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 to an event.
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 It was,
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 in fact,
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 a wooden box
00:21:56 --> 00:21:58 at the centre
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 of the temple
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 called the Ark
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 of the Covenant,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:05 and that Ark
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 contained
00:22:06 --> 00:22:08 the two stone tablets
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 inscribed
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 with
00:22:10 --> 00:22:12 the Ten Commandments.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 We,
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 two other things
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 that pointed
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 to God's goodness
00:22:18 --> 00:22:21 and God's power.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 And both,
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 all of that there,
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 this thing
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 was the sacred object
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 at the centre
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 of the temple
00:22:28 --> 00:22:32 and the lid
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 on top of the temple
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 was a,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 on top of this Ark
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 was a gold slab.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 And each year,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 once a year,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 on the Day of Atonement,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 the high priest
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 would come
00:22:45 --> 00:22:47 into there
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 on behalf
00:22:48 --> 00:22:50 of all Israelites.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 They would come
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 into the Holy of Holies
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 and they would
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 sprinkle the blood
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 of a sacrificed animal
00:22:57 --> 00:23:00 on the top
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 of the Ark
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 of the Covenant,
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 on that slab
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 for atonement
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 for the sins
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 of God's people.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 And that slab
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 where the blood
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 was sprinkled
00:23:12 --> 00:23:14 was called
00:23:14 --> 00:23:17 the mercy seat.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:21 It's very significant
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 when it says
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 he will take
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 his seat.
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 there is no
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 other furniture,
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 there's no
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 other seats
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 in the temple.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 There's only one
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 seat in the temple
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 and it is
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 the mercy seat.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 And it's the place
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 where God
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 sat
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 and dwelt
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 with his people.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 And the slab
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 there
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 with the offering
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 of blood,
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 the condemnation
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 of the law
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 which the Ark
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 of the Covenant
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 held,
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 with the offering
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 of the blood,
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 the condemnation
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 of the law
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 would be taken
00:23:56 --> 00:23:56 away
00:23:56 --> 00:23:58 and the violations
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 of God's law
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 were covered
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 by the sprinkling
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 of the blood.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 And so the mystery
00:24:04 --> 00:24:06 that God gave
00:24:06 --> 00:24:07 Israel
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 in their temple
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 is the exact same
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 that he gives us
00:24:11 --> 00:24:11 now.
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 It is the mystery
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 which says
00:24:13 --> 00:24:15 that all life
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 flows
00:24:16 --> 00:24:20 from this mystery.
00:24:20 --> 00:24:22 and it's the mystery
00:24:22 --> 00:24:24 that all life
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 flows.
00:24:26 --> 00:24:26 My life
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 for yours.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:30 All of creation
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 and all of redemption
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 is built
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 on that mystery.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 It is my life
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 for yours.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:40 That's the central
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 mystery
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 of all
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 of reality.
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 And the reality
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 of lawlessness
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 is the exact
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 opposite.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 It is
00:24:52 --> 00:24:54 your life
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 surrendered
00:24:56 --> 00:24:56 for me
00:24:56 --> 00:24:59 and that is
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 the nature
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 of the man
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 of lawlessness.
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 That is
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 the mystery
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 of sin.
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 God's law
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 says
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 lay down
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 your life
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 for others.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 Sin says
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 you lay down
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 your life
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 for me.
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 The man
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 of lawlessness
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 will deceive
00:25:22 --> 00:25:24 for his own
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 gain
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 even though
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 he knows
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 he is destroyed
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 and he will
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 take
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 everyone
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 with him.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 The secret
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 power of lawlessness
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 is a philosophy
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 an ideology
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 a belief
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 that goes
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 right back
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 to the very
00:25:42 --> 00:25:44 first act
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 of rebellion
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 against God
00:25:46 --> 00:25:46 in the
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 Garden
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 of Eden
00:25:47 --> 00:25:50 where God
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 says
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 I have
00:25:51 --> 00:25:51 given you
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 all of
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 this
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 for your
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 enjoyment
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 but you
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 must obey
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 my word.
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 This one
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 word
00:25:57 --> 00:26:00 and Adam
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 and Eve
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 say no
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 God's
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 holding back
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 from me.
00:26:02 --> 00:26:03 No no no
00:26:03 --> 00:26:03 he's holding
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 back.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 They believe
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 the lie
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 of Satan
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 that God
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 is not
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 good
00:26:08 --> 00:26:10 and for
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 my
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 fulfillment
00:26:11 --> 00:26:11 for my
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 realization
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 for my
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 desire
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 to know
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 what's
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 right
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 and wrong
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 and to
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 be like
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 God
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 I must
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 eat of
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 the fruit
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 and all
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 destruction
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 flows.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 And the
00:26:25 --> 00:26:25 destruction
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 that flows
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 the power
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 of sin
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 is that it
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 sets people
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 against one
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 another
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 it sets you
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 against your
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 very self
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 it sets you
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 against creation
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 and it sets you
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 against God
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 himself.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 My
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 life for
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 yours
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 is the
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 central
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 reality
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 of the
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 Godhead.
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 It's the
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 central reality
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 of all
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 of creation
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 of the
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 Jewish
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 temple
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 and the
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 Christian
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 faith.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 You see
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 Jesus
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 Christ
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 at his
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 first coming
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 talked about
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 the law
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 and obeyed
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 the law
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 of God
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 like no
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 other
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 human
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 being.
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 He didn't
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 go away
00:27:01 --> 00:27:04 with the
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 law.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 He made
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 it very
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 clear he
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 didn't do
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 away
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 with the
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 law.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 He upheld
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 the demands
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 of the
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 law
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 absolutely
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 perfectly.
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 Galatians
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 4.4
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 and 5
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 puts it
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 like this
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 God sent
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 his son
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 born of
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 a woman
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 born under
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 the law
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 to redeem
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 those under
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 the law
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 that we
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 might receive
00:27:21 --> 00:27:23 adoption to
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 sonship.
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 How did
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 you do
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 that?
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 2 Corinthians
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 5.21
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 says that
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 God made
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 him who had
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 no sin
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 to be sin
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 for us
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 so that
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 in him
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 we might
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 become the
00:27:34 --> 00:27:34 righteousness
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 of God.
00:27:36 --> 00:27:38 What is
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 the Christian
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 faith?
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 Jesus
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 exchanged
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 his life
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 for ours.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 That's the
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 central
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 message of
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 Christianity.
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 It's the
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 gospel.
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 Jesus has
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 satisfied the
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 demands of
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 the law
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 of God.
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 In Jesus
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 we are
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 forgiven,
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 we are
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 loved by
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 God and
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 that creates
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 a love
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 for every
00:28:00 --> 00:28:02 word that
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 proceeds from
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 the mouth
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 of God.
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 The secret
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 power of
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 lawlessness
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 that is at
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 display right
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 now utterly
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 hates God's
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 word and it
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 hates the
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 gospel which is
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 the central
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 of God's
00:28:19 --> 00:28:19 word.
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 And the
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 great deception
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 that's making
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 a life,
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 is to make
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 the life of
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 unrighteousness
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 attractive.
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 the great
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 deception of
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 lawlessness is
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 to say you
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 will not
00:28:34 --> 00:28:36 receive full
00:28:36 --> 00:28:36 complete
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 fulfillment as
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 an individual.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 In fact,
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 it's restrictive
00:28:39 --> 00:28:41 in your life
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 if you obey
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 God's word.
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 You need to
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 reject that in
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 order to live a
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 full and
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 wholesome life.
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 You need to
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 set yourself up
00:28:51 --> 00:28:53 as the ruler and
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 determiner of your
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 life.
00:28:54 --> 00:29:00 So how do
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 we disempower
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 that deception?
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 The first
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 step
00:29:04 --> 00:29:10 is to see
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 that the
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 principle of
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 lawlessness
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 is at work
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 now.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 That's the
00:29:13 --> 00:29:13 first step.
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 We cannot
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 avoid what
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 we do not
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 see and
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 acknowledge.
00:29:20 --> 00:29:22 everyone
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 operates on
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 the default
00:29:24 --> 00:29:26 principle of
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 lawlessness.
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 Our default
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 position is
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 it's your
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 life for
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 mine.
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 You exist
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 to serve
00:29:33 --> 00:29:33 me.
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 You exist
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 to affirm
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 me.
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 You exist
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 to build
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 me.
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 All of us
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 want to rule
00:29:42 --> 00:29:43 our own
00:29:43 --> 00:29:43 life, be
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 masters of
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 our own
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 destiny and
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 determiners of
00:29:46 --> 00:29:46 what is right
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 and wrong.
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 That's the
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 nature of the
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 very first
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 sin of
00:29:49 --> 00:29:50 lawlessness
00:29:50 --> 00:29:50 in the
00:29:50 --> 00:29:51 garden of
00:29:51 --> 00:29:51 Eden.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 And all
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 destruction in
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 our life
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 flows from
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 it and
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 yet we
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 justify it
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 consistently.
00:30:01 --> 00:30:02 The second
00:30:02 --> 00:30:04 step to
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 disempowering
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 deception is
00:30:06 --> 00:30:07 to do the
00:30:07 --> 00:30:08 same thing
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 that overcomes
00:30:09 --> 00:30:09 the man of
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 lawlessness
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 here in
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 verse 8.
00:30:12 --> 00:30:13 What is it
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 that destroys
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 the man of
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 lawlessness?
00:30:16 --> 00:30:17 The splendour
00:30:17 --> 00:30:18 of his
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 coming.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 I talked
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 about this
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 last week.
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 It is the
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 splendour.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 Not just
00:30:23 --> 00:30:23 his coming.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 It is the
00:30:24 --> 00:30:26 splendour of
00:30:26 --> 00:30:26 his coming.
00:30:27 --> 00:30:27 In other
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 words, look
00:30:28 --> 00:30:28 to the
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 splendour of
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 Jesus Christ.
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 He is
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 better than
00:30:32 --> 00:30:32 any offer
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 of righteousness.
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 What he
00:30:34 --> 00:30:34 offers us
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 in life,
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 in life in
00:30:37 --> 00:30:37 him right
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 now is
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 fundamentally
00:30:39 --> 00:30:39 better than
00:30:39 --> 00:30:41 anything that
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 we think that
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 we could build
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 for this world
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 can offer.
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 Look at the
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 splendour of
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 the mystery
00:30:47 --> 00:30:48 of God's
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 grace to
00:30:49 --> 00:30:49 me, a
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 sinner in
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 Jesus Christ.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 Marvel at
00:30:54 --> 00:30:54 the gospel of
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 Jesus Christ
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 and all its
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 implications.
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 His life
00:30:59 --> 00:30:59 for mine.
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 He died
00:31:02 --> 00:31:02 that I
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 might live.
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 Marvel at
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 the gospel
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 that declares
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 that the
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 Christian is
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 because of
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 Jesus Christ.
00:31:10 --> 00:31:10 They are
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 loved by
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 God.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 We are
00:31:12 --> 00:31:12 not
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 lovable
00:31:13 --> 00:31:15 because of
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 any of the
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 lovability
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 but because
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 it was his
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 initiative
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 to choose
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 to set
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 his love
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 for us
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 in the
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 person of
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 Jesus Christ
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 by Jesus
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 giving his
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 life for
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 ours.
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 And it's
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 in that
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 gospel of
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 Jesus Christ
00:31:32 --> 00:31:35 the sprinkling
00:31:35 --> 00:31:38 the shedding
00:31:38 --> 00:31:38 of his
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 blood that
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 fulfills
00:31:39 --> 00:31:41 all the
00:31:41 --> 00:31:41 law of
00:31:41 --> 00:31:42 God.
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 It's because
00:31:44 --> 00:31:44 of that and
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 his act that
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 we are
00:31:46 --> 00:31:46 declared to
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 be his
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 much-loved
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 children.
00:31:49 --> 00:31:49 That in
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 despite
00:31:50 --> 00:31:54 this is
00:31:54 --> 00:31:54 in fact
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 that you
00:31:55 --> 00:31:55 are his
00:31:55 --> 00:31:56 much-loved
00:31:56 --> 00:31:56 children
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 despite the
00:31:57 --> 00:31:58 ongoing
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 presence that
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 we have
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 inside of
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 us of
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 lawlessness.
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 Holy Spirit
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 is sanctifying
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 us through
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 belief in
00:32:06 --> 00:32:06 that truth.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 To
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 disempower the
00:32:09 --> 00:32:09 deceiver,
00:32:10 --> 00:32:10 to stand
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 firm in
00:32:11 --> 00:32:11 the truth,
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 to grow in
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 confidence in
00:32:14 --> 00:32:14 the gospel
00:32:14 --> 00:32:16 and stable
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 in life,
00:32:17 --> 00:32:17 verse 5
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 calls us to
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 hold fast to
00:32:19 --> 00:32:19 the teaching
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 of God's
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 word.
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 15 holds us
00:32:21 --> 00:32:23 to hold fast
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 to the teaching
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 of God's
00:32:25 --> 00:32:25 word.
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 That is
00:32:26 --> 00:32:29 the only
00:32:29 --> 00:32:31 way to
00:32:31 --> 00:32:31 disempower
00:32:31 --> 00:32:32 deception
00:32:32 --> 00:32:33 and the key
00:32:33 --> 00:32:34 instrument to
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 disempower
00:32:35 --> 00:32:37 deception is
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 to marvel
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 at the
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 splendour
00:32:39 --> 00:32:40 of the
00:32:40 --> 00:32:40 gospel
00:32:40 --> 00:32:44 in God's
00:32:44 --> 00:32:44 word.
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 God's
00:32:47 --> 00:32:47 word is
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 the key
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 instrument
00:32:48 --> 00:32:50 and it's
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 unfortunate that
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 this South
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 African pastor
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 chose to
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 believe a
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 dream
00:32:55 --> 00:32:58 and set
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 his hopes
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 on a
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 dream
00:32:59 --> 00:33:00 rather than
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 the authority
00:33:01 --> 00:33:01 of God's
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 word.
00:33:03 --> 00:33:03 Because if
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 he did,
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 he would
00:33:05 --> 00:33:05 know,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:07 as we've
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 already seen,
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 1 Thessalonians
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 chapter 4
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 verses 16
00:33:11 --> 00:33:11 and 17
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 are the
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 only verses
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 in the
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 entire Bible
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 that refers
00:33:16 --> 00:33:18 in any
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 vague form
00:33:19 --> 00:33:19 to this
00:33:19 --> 00:33:20 idea of
00:33:20 --> 00:33:20 a rapture
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 as it's
00:33:21 --> 00:33:21 understood
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 in its
00:33:22 --> 00:33:24 modern idea
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 by a
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 very small
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 group of
00:33:26 --> 00:33:26 Christians.
00:33:27 --> 00:33:27 A very
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 small group
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 of Christians.
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 It's a
00:33:30 --> 00:33:31 recent
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 doctrine
00:33:31 --> 00:33:33 out of
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 dispensationalism
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 that didn't
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 exist before
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 the 1800s.
00:33:37 --> 00:33:41 And those
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 verses in
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 1 Thessalonians
00:33:43 --> 00:33:45 4 are
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 about a
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 meeting of
00:33:47 --> 00:33:47 Jesus and
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 his faithful
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 ones to
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 encourage them
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 because their
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 friends had
00:33:52 --> 00:33:52 died.
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 And had
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 they missed
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 out,
00:33:56 --> 00:33:56 they are
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 about the
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 dead in
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 Christ not
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 missing out,
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 so keep
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 living,
00:34:01 --> 00:34:02 trusting God
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 now in
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 the gospel.
00:34:03 --> 00:34:05 and in
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 1 Thessalonians
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 4 there
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 is no
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 further
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 information on
00:34:09 --> 00:34:10 any direction
00:34:10 --> 00:34:11 of travel once
00:34:11 --> 00:34:12 that meeting
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 has happened.
00:34:13 --> 00:34:16 there is no
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 evidence in
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 the scriptures
00:34:18 --> 00:34:19 at all
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 if you're a
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 rapture talk
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 person
00:34:21 --> 00:34:24 that you
00:34:24 --> 00:34:24 then go
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 with him.
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 Nothing.
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 It's all
00:34:31 --> 00:34:31 about the
00:34:31 --> 00:34:33 meeting and
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 you're not
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 lost, you're
00:34:34 --> 00:34:34 not forgotten.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 Crucially
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 though, even
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 more crucially,
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 a few verses
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 later Paul
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 writes to
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 the
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 Thessalonians
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 and
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 emphasises
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 something that
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 Jesus has
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 already said.
00:34:50 --> 00:34:51 He will
00:34:51 --> 00:34:52 come back
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 like a
00:34:52 --> 00:34:52 thief in
00:34:52 --> 00:34:53 the night
00:34:53 --> 00:34:54 and we
00:34:54 --> 00:34:55 do not
00:34:55 --> 00:34:56 know the
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 time or
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 the dates
00:34:57 --> 00:34:58 and that
00:34:58 --> 00:34:59 even Jesus
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 does not
00:35:00 --> 00:35:00 know the
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01 time or
00:35:01 --> 00:35:02 the dates.
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 And so
00:35:03 --> 00:35:03 if you
00:35:03 --> 00:35:04 have a
00:35:04 --> 00:35:05 dream,
00:35:05 --> 00:35:06 even a
00:35:06 --> 00:35:06 vivid
00:35:06 --> 00:35:08 dream of
00:35:08 --> 00:35:08 Jesus telling
00:35:08 --> 00:35:09 you the
00:35:09 --> 00:35:09 date of
00:35:09 --> 00:35:10 his return,
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 you are
00:35:12 --> 00:35:12 being
00:35:12 --> 00:35:13 deceived.
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 Because
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 Jesus
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 already said
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 in his
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 word, I
00:35:20 --> 00:35:20 don't know
00:35:20 --> 00:35:21 the time
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 and the
00:35:21 --> 00:35:21 dates.
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 How can
00:35:23 --> 00:35:23 he tell
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 you what
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 he does
00:35:24 --> 00:35:24 not know
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 himself?
00:35:27 --> 00:35:28 It will
00:35:28 --> 00:35:29 just happen
00:35:29 --> 00:35:29 when the
00:35:29 --> 00:35:30 father tells
00:35:30 --> 00:35:30 him to do
00:35:30 --> 00:35:31 it now.
00:35:34 --> 00:35:35 So to
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36 live with
00:35:36 --> 00:35:36 confident
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 hope,
00:35:37 --> 00:35:39 hope, and
00:35:39 --> 00:35:39 I feel
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 for those
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 who have
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 been brought
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 into this
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 latest lie
00:35:42 --> 00:35:43 of deception,
00:35:43 --> 00:35:45 to live
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 with confident
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 hope so
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 that we
00:35:47 --> 00:35:47 grow in
00:35:47 --> 00:35:49 trust of
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 God and
00:35:49 --> 00:35:50 love for
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 all people,
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 we need
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 to know
00:35:52 --> 00:35:52 our
00:35:52 --> 00:35:53 Bible.
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 And with
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 the gospel
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 of the
00:35:57 --> 00:35:57 Lord Jesus
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 is the
00:35:58 --> 00:35:58 central
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 interpreting
00:35:59 --> 00:35:59 principle
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00 of it.
00:36:00 --> 00:36:04 Paul's
00:36:04 --> 00:36:04 desire,
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 his whole
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 plan, is
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 for you to
00:36:06 --> 00:36:06 grow
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 confidently
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 in the
00:36:08 --> 00:36:08 gospel.
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 And that
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 is our
00:36:12 --> 00:36:13 desire here.
00:36:15 --> 00:36:16 In
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 1987, a
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 pilot was
00:36:18 --> 00:36:19 flying an
00:36:19 --> 00:36:20 empty plane
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 in the
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 US when
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 he heard a
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 noise at
00:36:23 --> 00:36:23 the back
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 of the
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 plane.
00:36:25 --> 00:36:25 So he
00:36:25 --> 00:36:26 left a
00:36:26 --> 00:36:26 co-pilot
00:36:26 --> 00:36:28 to fly the
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 plane while
00:36:28 --> 00:36:28 he went
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 and investigated
00:36:29 --> 00:36:31 he discovered
00:36:31 --> 00:36:32 a door that
00:36:32 --> 00:36:32 would have
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33 been sort
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 of left
00:36:33 --> 00:36:33 ajar.
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 While
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 trying to
00:36:34 --> 00:36:35 close the
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 door, he
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 fell out.
00:36:37 --> 00:36:37 And so
00:36:37 --> 00:36:38 the co-pilot
00:36:38 --> 00:36:38 saw what
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 happened,
00:36:39 --> 00:36:39 radioed
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 Coast Guard,
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 said, hey,
00:36:41 --> 00:36:41 search area,
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 pilot's fallen
00:36:43 --> 00:36:43 out over the
00:36:43 --> 00:36:44 Atlantic Ocean.
00:36:45 --> 00:36:47 And when
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 the plane,
00:36:48 --> 00:36:48 which made
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 an emergency
00:36:49 --> 00:36:49 landing,
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 when it
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 landed,
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 the emergency
00:36:53 --> 00:36:54 service discovered
00:36:54 --> 00:36:54 that the
00:36:54 --> 00:36:55 pilot was
00:36:55 --> 00:36:56 hanging on
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 to the
00:36:57 --> 00:36:57 railing of
00:36:57 --> 00:36:58 the stairs.
00:36:59 --> 00:37:04 emergency
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 service said
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 he was
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 hanging on
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 so tight
00:37:07 --> 00:37:10 they literally,
00:37:10 --> 00:37:11 he did not
00:37:11 --> 00:37:11 let go
00:37:11 --> 00:37:13 when he
00:37:13 --> 00:37:13 landed.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 They literally
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 had to peel
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 his hands
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 off those
00:37:18 --> 00:37:20 steps by
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 extreme
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 force
00:37:22 --> 00:37:25 because he
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 would not
00:37:25 --> 00:37:25 let go.
00:37:25 --> 00:37:28 do not
00:37:28 --> 00:37:29 be deceived
00:37:29 --> 00:37:30 now or
00:37:30 --> 00:37:30 in the
00:37:30 --> 00:37:31 future.
00:37:32 --> 00:37:32 Hold
00:37:32 --> 00:37:33 tight,
00:37:33 --> 00:37:34 so tight
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 to God's
00:37:35 --> 00:37:35 word with
00:37:35 --> 00:37:36 the gospel
00:37:36 --> 00:37:36 of the
00:37:36 --> 00:37:37 Lord Jesus
00:37:37 --> 00:37:37 as its
00:37:37 --> 00:37:38 centre and
00:37:38 --> 00:37:38 its focus.
00:37:39 --> 00:37:40 That is
00:37:40 --> 00:37:40 how we
00:37:40 --> 00:37:41 stand firm
00:37:41 --> 00:37:42 with hope
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 and grow
00:37:43 --> 00:37:43 in faith
00:37:43 --> 00:37:44 and love
00:37:44 --> 00:37:45 in the
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 face of
00:37:45 --> 00:37:45 lawlessness.
00:37:45 --> 00:37:46 each.
00:37:46 --> 00:37:47 Stop
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
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00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
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00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:37:47
00:37:47 --> 00:38:17 Thank you.