The Clarification About the Day of the Lord, Part 2

Let's bow for a word of prayer. Father, thank you for today, the opportunity you give us to meet together in the middle of the week. We know, Lord, that many of us have very busy lives. We have responsibilities at home, at work, and sometimes, Lord, they can crowd out all kinds of things that we need to be doing. And yet, Lord, we realize that our time in the Word is important, our understanding of the Word is important. And our prayer, Father, Lord, is that tonight you'd help us understand those things that will enable us to live for you.

Your Word is so clear and your Word speaks to us in such a way that it brings conviction as well as comfort. And tonight, Lord, as we engage once again in our understanding of the day of the Lord and all the events surrounding that, that you'd give us real wisdom and that our hearts would be in tune with you. And our prayer is that as we hear your Word, it will enable us to be more ready, more eager to share with others the truth of the gospel. Your Word is so important. It's really all there is.

It is the truth for life and godliness. So tonight, as we examine it once again, we thank you in advance for what you're going to teach us. We thank you in advance for what you're going to do in us. And, Lord, we anticipate great things because your Word never returns void. It always accomplishes the purpose for which it was sent. Tonight, Father, we pray you work in every heart and motivate us to live for the glory of your kingdom until you come again, as you most surely will, in Jesus' name, amen.

Okay, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, looking at the day of the Lord, coming to understand that we have already looked at the concern about the day of the Lord, then the characteristics of the day of the Lord, and now we're looking at the clarification surrounding the day of the Lord. There was confusion in Thessalonica as to whether or not the day of the Lord had actually arrived. And so Paul is going to clarify for them what happens when the day of the Lord is upon you. He wants them to understand that they must not be deceived.

That's why he tells them in verse number 2 that we don't want you to be easily misled. We don't want you to be led astray. We don't want you to be deceived because we want you to know the truth. And then he says in verse number 5, what I'm going to share with you, I want you to remember that I've already done this. You know, one of the key aspects of Christianity is just to remember the things that God has already said. So easily we forget from week to week. We forget from month to month and year to year.

It's so important to remember what God has said. Israel's biggest problem was that they never remembered what God said, and God indicted them for that. You just forgot. You needed to remember.

And the same is true with us. It's not that we purposely want to forget. It's not like we're trying to forget what God says.

We just do. Some things become more important to us. We get busy. You know, we have job promotions. We have children. The children grow up. The responsibility becomes greater and greater. And we just happen to forget some of the things that God has said. And so Paul, like Peter, Peter would say, I want to stir you up by way of reminder, because Peter was a man who was big on just reminding people about what has already been said. Paul does the exact same thing. And it's important for us to realize that in the church today, we need to remember what God's word says.

So we'll review things. We'll go back over them again, just to keep giving them to you so that you'll understand exactly what God has for you. So Paul says, I just want you to remember that I've already talked to you about this. And I'm going to reiterate some things for you concerning the day of the Lord. And we told you last week that there's a number of things he could have talked to them about. Things that he probably already covered. He never did hardly anything like the Lord did in Matthew 24 on the Olivet Discourse.

He goes right to the central aspect of the day of the Lord, right to the tribulation, the middle of it, and helped them understand the arrival of the Antichrist, and what happens when he comes, and the events surrounding that. And he does that because he's already told them about Daniel 7, 8, 9, and 11, because that's the biggest emphasis in the Old Testament concerning the day of the Lord and the rise of the Antichrist. So he's going to take them back to that, help them understand exactly what's going to happen to assure them that they are not in the day of the Lord.

But what he says is so fascinating, and I want you to see it, because we've already covered the Antichrist's defection, we've covered his depravity, and we've covered his destiny. The fourth thing you want to see about the Antichrist is his desire. His biggest desire is to be worshiped. In 2 Thessalonians 2, it says these words, verse number 4, he opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God displaying himself as being God.

And that's when Paul tells him, don't you remember I've already told you this? Because that's what Daniel chapter 11 said. Way back in Daniel chapter 11, it says in verse number 36, then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every God and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods, and he will prosper until the Indian nation is finished. For that which is decreed will be done. He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other God, for he will magnify himself above them all.

Remember, the Antichrist is one who is demon possessed. He's moved by Satan. And Satan, his biggest desire is to be worshiped. He wanted to be like God. Way back in Isaiah chapter 14, remember what it says in verse number 13, it says, but you said in your heart, I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit on the mount of assembly in the recesses of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will make myself like the most high. That was Satan's ambition.

This is what he wanted. He wanted to be God. And so nothing's changed. His biggest desire is to be worshiped. So he's going to exalt himself. He's going to do this through what is called the abomination of desolation, where he desecrates the temple and demands that the people sit down and they worship him. Over in Revelation chapter 13, it says these words, Revelation 13, verse number 3, I saw one of his heads, that is the Antichrist, as if it had been slain and his fatal wound was healed and the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.

They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast. Now they don't know they're worshiping Satan, but they're worshiping the dragon who was Satan. They just don't know that because they presume that the Antichrist is God. The Jews believe he's their Messiah. And so it says, they worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast and they worshiped the beast saying, who is like the beast and who was able to wage war with him. And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies and authority to act for 42 months was given to him.

It was given to him by who? By God. Because Satan can't do anything without getting permission. He has to have permission to do what he does. But in all reality, the desire of the Antichrist is that he be worshiped and that people bow before him. So looking at the Scriptures, we realize that there is his defection, that is the apostasy of verse number three.

His depravity, that's the man of lawlessness of verse number three. His destiny, he is the son of destruction or son of perdition. And then that's also in verse number three.

Verse number four, his desire that is to be exalted and display himself as God. And then in verse number six, I want you to notice his disclosure.

How will he be revealed? When will he be revealed? How will he be disclosed to the world for who he really is? Well, it says these words in verse six, and you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed. This is his disclosure. In other words, he will be revealed and he will be revealed at the time the one who restrains him decides to reveal him.

So the question is, who is the restrainer or what is the restrainer? The first time it's used, it's used in the neuter form.

The second time it's used, it's used in the masculine form. So what is or who is the restrainer? Well, some people believe it's if you read a commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2 and you put 10 of them in front of you, you'll get 10 different views as to who the restrainer is. Some believe it's human government. It's not. Others believe it's Rome. It's not. Some believe it's the Jewish state of Israel. It's not. Some believe it's Michael from Daniel chapter 10. Again, it's not. Okay. Some believe, some believe it's the gospel.

It's not. Why? Because the gospel will continue to be preached all throughout the tribulation period. In fact, over in Matthew chapter 24, it says these words, verse number 14, This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. So the end won't come until the gospel actually is preached to all the tribes and all the nations of the world. And we told you how that happens. It happens because there's an angel that flies around in midheaven, there's 144,000 Jewish evangelists.

There are two witnesses, one like Enoch and one like Elijah or one like Moses, and they are the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11, and they begin to preach the gospel and people get saved and the gospel permeates the entire globe. That's not the way it is today, but it will be in the tribulation. But it's not the gospel. The gospel is not the restrainer. Granted, it does restrain evil in the church, right? We preach the gospel in the church and the gospel is that which helps purify the soul, but the world doesn't care about the gospel.

Some think the restrainer is the church, that the church can restrain evil. And so what Paul is referring to is the church of Jesus Christ. But all you have to do is look at today's society.

The church isn't restraining evil in today's society. Evil is running rampant in our country, all over the place. This is the most lawless our country has ever been, and we have more churches now than we've ever had. So the church isn't the restrainer, granted. When the church honors God, when the church lives for God, there is a restraining influence to some degree in the community, because the church is that last pillar, that last defense against a totalitarian government that just overrides the country.

And so the church, if it stands strong on the truth, if it lives for the truth, it doesn't back down from the truth, and always has a firm commitment to live the truth, there is a sense that it does restrain evil in society. But that's not what the restrainer is. I truly believe the restrainer is the power of God exercised through the Spirit of God. I believe that that is what's going to disclose the Antichrist. He will stop restraining lawlessness. Now note, you must understand that this is going to happen in God's time.

Satan doesn't want to wait for God to do what he does, but he has to. Do you think that Satan wants to wait to be worshipped? No, he wants to be worshipped now.

That's what cast him out of heaven to begin with. He wanted to set himself up as God, right? So he's not waiting around for God so that he can enact his plan. He wants to do it. He wants the world to worship him, and he could have chosen any man from years gone by to be his, quote, Antichrist that he could infuse with his satanic powers to accomplish his agenda, but he has to wait for God because he's under the control of God. And so everything runs on a divine timetable. Remember Galatians chapter four, in the fullness of time, God sent forth a son born of a woman born under the law.

Do you know that when the Messiah came, it was the perfect time, right? He didn't come too late, didn't come too early. He came right on time to accomplish his father's will. The same is true for the anti-Messiah. He will not be revealed. He will not be disclosed until God says so, until it's God's time.

Because everything is predetermined. Everything is sovereignly designed by the living God. So nothing happens because Satan wants it to happen. It happens because God allows it to happen. And Satan will not be able to be disclosed in the fullness of his evil, that is the Antichrist, until the Restrainer is able to allow him. It says that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. That's true. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. And why is it called a mystery? Because it's a mystery, in fact, over in Romans chapter 16, this is how it's defined.

Romans 16 verse number 25, not to him who was able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested. In other words, God manifests the mystery. It's something that's held in check until God allows it to be seen. But the mystery of lawlessness is already in play. But the fullness of that mystery has yet to be seen. No matter how many cities have burned in our country over the last year, no matter how many people have been killed, no matter how many people have been robbed, no matter what the vengeance or the violence of our country, it is nothing compared to the mystery of lawlessness that will be revealed when the Restrainer, the Spirit of God, allows that mystery of lawlessness to permeate this society, this world.

Nothing like it. We've seen nothing like it. In fact, if you read Revelation chapter 9, where the abyss is opened up and the demons out like... In fact, turn to Revelation chapter 9. Revelation chapter 9, verse number 1 says, Then the fifth angel sounded and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, smoke went out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of that pit.

Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth and power was given them as the scorpions of the earth have power. And they were told not to hurt the grass of the earth nor any green thing nor any tree but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. And they were not permitted to kill anyone but to torment for five months. And their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. And in those days men will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die and death flees from them.

Isn't that amazing? These demons from the pit are told what they can and cannot do. And they are told that they can't kill man because man has to live in torment. But man will want to kill himself but he can't. Death flees from him. Can you imagine being in so much pain that you wish that you could just die? But you can't die. No matter what you try you can't die because God won't let you die. That's just amazing the control that God has over people and over this world. But again what's going to happen during the tribulation is so far beyond anything we can ever begin to imagine that when you read the book of Revelation and begin to understand the mystery of lawlessness and how it's just going to permeate the entire globe, it only happens because the restrainer is removed or taken out of the way.

That doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit leaves, right? The Holy Spirit doesn't leave. Remember Genesis chapter 6 verse number 3, my spirit shall not always strive with man. So we know that. But also know that people are still going to be saved in the tribulation. So the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit's omnipresent, it doesn't mean that the Spirit of God is gone. No, He's still here. But His restraining work is released and therefore He no longer holds back lawlessness. He no longer holds back the Antichrist.

He lets the Antichrist do what He's going to do. But people will still get saved because the Spirit of God convicts people of their sin, right? The Spirit of God converts lost souls. That's what the Spirit of God does. You can read it in John 14, John 15, John 16. By the way, if you read that in John 14, you realize the Spirit of God is used in the neuter form as well as the masculine form. To show you that in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the restrainer is in a neuter form as well as a masculine form because the Spirit of God is that one who restrains evil.

And so God will use Him as He's always used Him to bring people to Himself. And people will be saved during the tribulation period. That's simply because the Spirit of God is still going to be at work, but He will allow the Antichrist to do the things that He does. Very important. So we've looked at His defection, depravity, destiny, desire, disclosure. How about His destruction? His destruction is absolutely inevitable. Listen to what it says. I love this. It says these words. It says, then the lawless one, verse number 8, who will be revealed, whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.

He's going to slay Him with the breath of His mouth. Not a word. We know that the universe was created when God spoke into existence. He said, let there be light. There was light, right? He created man. He created animals. He created everything. But He spoke into existence. When He defeats the Antichrist, He does it with a breath, just a breath to show you the power of the living God over Satan and all of the things that He wants to do. This is not something that's new. Back in the book of Isaiah, the 11th chapter, these verses are used, Isaiah chapter 11.

It says in Isaiah chapter 11, verse number, let me see, I can't remember where it was. Isaiah 11, verse number 4 says this, but with righteousness, He will judge the poor and decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth and with the breath of His lips, He will slay the wicked. God's word is so powerful. We just give us a breath. He slays the wicked. We know what it says over in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 1 about how the Lord has a sword in His mouth.

It says in verse number 16 in Revelation number 1, in His right hand, He held seven stars and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when He comes back in Revelation chapter 19, also in Revelation chapter 2, it talks about the sword of His mouth. When He comes back, He slays the wicked with the sword of His mouth because His word is so powerful. But the destruction of the Antichrist comes because of a simple breath from the Lord. He brings it about, the text says, to an end at the appearance of His coming, at the shining forth of His arrival.

Remember, the world will be completely dark and the glory of the Lord will shine forth and the Lord will appear. And when He goes to war, it's the great war of God, He just speaks a word and people's lives are destroyed. With the Antichrist, He will be brought to ruin simply by the breath of His mouth. He'll be rendered inoperative, He'll be rendered ineffective. He's not going to kill Him because He's going to throw Him into the lake of fire, but that's exactly what's going to happen. And then you move from His destruction to His deeds.

Verse number 9 and verse number 10, these words are spoken, that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity or the energy of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish. This is His deeds. They're all inspired by Satan and they come with power, with signs and wonders. Interesting. Those same words are used of Christ in Hebrews chapter 1, signs and wonders, of the apostles in Acts chapter 2, powers, signs and wonders, same thing.

Because the Antichrist is a supreme counterfeit. So He comes with power, signs and wonders, and that's how He deceives the world. We read earlier that He receives a fatal wound, okay? Does He really die and rise again? I don't think so. I think it's all a part of the counterfeit process. There's a wound that He might obtain, but it's going to appear as if it's fatal. But for Him to be the all-powerful One, He must rise from the dead. And so the ability for Him to be able to demonstrate that in such a way that He deceives the entire world because He's going to do that, that He does that in such a way that He gives the appearance that He's died, He rises again according to Revelation chapter 13 and Revelation chapter 17, but in all reality, He doesn't die and rise again, but He gives that appearance because He wants to counterfeit the true Messiah.

And that's why His deeds will be with all wonders, all signs, all powers, because He operates with the energy of Satan. But they're all false. That is, not the signs and powers and wonders are false. The conclusion is false. The conclusion is that He wants you to believe He's God. He wants the world to worship Him, but He's not. That's why it's false, because He is a deceiver. He is antichrist. And then His deception, His deception affects everybody who perishes. That's what it says. It says in verse number 10, "...and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth," deception.

He is a master deceiver. And to be able to get the whole world to follow you, think about that. Revelation 12 speaks about how He deceives the whole world, and they follow after Him. But I want you to notice something that I think is of supreme importance when you look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

When Paul describes it for us, he talks to us about his defection. His defection is a religious one, because it's the apostasy. He talks to us about his depravity, because he is the man of lawlessness. He talks to them about his destiny, because he is the son of perdition or the son of destruction. He talks to them about his desire, because he wants to be worshipped. He wants to be as God. Talks to them about his disclosure, because when the antichrist is revealed, it will be revealed, because the restrainer allows him to be revealed.

Then he talks to us about his destruction, because that's inevitable with the breath of the mouth of the Lord, his deeds, his deception. But notice this, there's coming a delusion that leads to one's damnation, a delusion that leads to damnation.

I think Paul drives the point home to get them to understand the day of the Lord in its fullest extent when it comes to how deceptive the antichrist is to delude those who perish. Listen to what he says, very, very important. He says, with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

Notice, God seals the fate of those who hate the truth, those who hate the gospel. It says they did not receive the love of the truth. It doesn't say they didn't receive the truth because they probably did. It doesn't deal with one's intellectual awareness of the truth because they probably know about the truth. But what Paul does is ascribe for us, why is it people do not ever get saved? It's not because they don't know what God says, most people do.

It's not because they haven't heard the gospel, a lot of people have. It's not because they don't want to receive what they've heard because they have. Oh, I can receive that, I can believe that, but it's because they do not love the truth. That's the essence as to why you are here tonight and you are saved versus those you know that aren't saved. Because you have family members that know the truth, you've told them the truth. You have friends who have heard the truth, but why aren't they saved? Because they don't love the truth, they love something else.

They love their sin, they take pleasure in wickedness. That's why someone doesn't get saved. It's not because they don't know the gospel, it's because they don't love the gospel. It's not because they don't know God, because they do know God. They just don't love God. They love their sin, they love their wickedness. And then it's illustrated all throughout the scriptures. Look what it says over in the book of Matthew, Matthew chapter 23. Matthew 23, verse number 37, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her.

How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. His desire was to gather them together, but they didn't want that to happen. The question is, why was Israel unwilling? It's not that he didn't hear the truth, Christ is the truth. It's not that he didn't give them the truth, he did give them the truth. When you talk about the love for the truth, you're talking about the truth incarnate and the truth inspired. Because Colossians 1, 5 says the gospel is the truth.

We know that Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. So when you're talking about the love for the truth, you're talking about a love for the word incarnate and the word inspired. Listen, if you love the word incarnate, you love the word inspired, you love the gospel, you love the truth of the word of God. If you don't love the truth of the word of God, it's because you don't know and love the truth incarnate, Christ himself. You can't separate the inspired word from the incarnate word.

They're one and the same. It's the breath of God, it's the words of God. So if you love God, you love the gospel of God. If you love the word of God, inspired, it's because you love the word of God incarnate. You love God himself. And so Israel was unwilling to come to him. Why? Well, listen to what John says in John chapter 3. This is the judgment, verse number 19, that the light has come into the world. And men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light and does not come to the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

But he who practices the truth comes to the light so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God. John makes it very clear that people hate the light. They love their wickedness. John chapter 5, verse number 37. The Lord says, And the Father who sent me, he has testified of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form. You do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe him whom he sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life.

It is these that testify about me. And you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. John 8, verse number 24. The Lord says these words. John 8, verse number 24. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am, you will die in your sins. Verse number 45. Because I speak the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe me? He who is of God hears the words of God. For this reason, you do not hear them because you are not of God.

The Lord does something very unique in the tribulation. Something that he has always done but will cause those who hate the truth to truly believe all the lies. Why do people believe lies? Because they don't want to believe the truth. They are unwilling to come to the truth. And they believe the lies because the lies promote their wickedness and promote their sin. And they love their sin. And that's why someone doesn't give their life to Christ. When you witness to people, you talk to people, your friends, your family, your work associates.

And you lay the gospel out, you articulate the gospel. They say they understand it, they get it. But they don't want to embrace the Messiah. Why? Because they love their sin. Their sin is their God. They love the comfort of their sin. Not knowing that they are deluded by Satan to believe the lie. That is the passing pleasures of sin for a season. They love their sin. And so, Paul makes it very clear that they do not love him. What did Christ say? If any man come after me and love father or mother more than me, what?

He is not worthy of me. If you love anything else more than me, then you can't have me. You just can't. I must be your sole admiration, your sole adoration. I must be your sole attention. That's why you got to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow him. And over and over again, Matthew 10, 37, Luke chapter 14. It's always, if you love father or mother more than me, you're not worthy of me. You cannot be my disciple. You can't love anything else more than God. That's why people don't get saved.

They just do not love the truth. The gospel of truth and the God of truth. Remember John 12. In John 12, these words were spoken. John chapter 12. Christ says in verse number 42.

Nevertheless, many even of the rulers believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they were not confessing him. For fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God. Many believed in him. Many knew all about him. Many understood exactly what he said. But for fear, fear of man rather than the fear of God, right? They'd be put out of synagogue. And they couldn't bypass their love for the approval of man. Because they love that more than they love the approval of God.

And Christ says, if you love something else more than me, you'll never have me. And that's a good test for every one of us, isn't it? Do we love something more than we love God? Is something more important to us than the Lord himself? Christ sentences these people in 2 Thessalonians 2 to accept evil as if it was good and lies as if they were truth. And he sentenced them by giving them a deluding, a delusion that will cause them to believe that. God does this. Not Satan. God does. Those who choose falsehood will be caught in falsehood.

Those who choose lies will be caught in lies. Proverbs 5.22, his own iniquities will capture the wicked. And he will be held with the cords of his sin. So important. There's a principle that Paul gives here. It's a principle that's given so many times throughout his epistles. Remember way back when Pharaoh was hearing about God and Moses would go to him and Aaron would go to him and explain the truth of the living God to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh, the Bible says, just kept hardening his heart until finally one day in Exodus 9, God hardened Pharaoh's heart.

In other words, Pharaoh heard the truth, but because he didn't love the truth, he kept rejecting the truth. And the more he rejected the truth, the harder his heart became. So that then God hardened Pharaoh's heart. It would be impossible for Pharaoh ever to repent. He goes beyond the point of grace and therefore is unable to repent. Willful rejection of the truth will eventually lead to the judicial rejection of that truth by God. Remember Matthew chapter 13? Matthew chapter 13, one of those passages of Scripture that's quoted several times in the Scriptures.

In fact, I believe it's quoted six other times because it quotes Isaiah chapter 6 verses 9 to 11. It was applied to Judah as they went into Babylonian captivity. And now Christ quotes Isaiah 6 and applies it to Israel in his day. It says these words, in the case, verse 14. In their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, You will keep on hearing, but you will not understand. You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull. With their ears they scarcely hear.

They have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not. Did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. Our Lord speaks to Israel in parables. So they cannot understand. They cannot hear, they cannot see.

They're going to hear, but they're not going to understand. They're going to see, but they're not going to grasp it. Why? Because they rejected the Messiah. They rejected the truth of his word. They rejected the God of truth. And if you keep rejecting that which you know to be true, God says, your willful rejection will lead to a judicial rejection.

And you will not be able to ever repent again. And that's what happens in 2 Thessalonians 2. They will not receive the love of the truth, so as to be saved. See, if you don't love truth, you can't be saved. You just can't. You have to love God so much that what you're doing is, you want to turn away from it. That's what repentance is, right? You want to turn from your sin, because you hate now your sin, and turn to God because you want to love the Lord who died for your sin. And that's why you come to him, because you want to follow him.

And what happens then is it leads to your damnation. Listen to what the Lord says through the pen of the apostle Paul. They did not receive the love of the truth, so as to be saved. And for this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence, so that they will believe what is false. God's going to delude them. The Antichrist is able to deceive the whole world, because God deludes people's minds into believing his lies. They will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged, who did not believe the truth, but they took pleasure in wickedness, that they loved their sin.

This is such a profound, a profound statement, for you to understand why your friends and your family members are not saved. They're not saved because they don't know God. They do know God. In fact, Romans chapter 1 illustrates this perfectly. Therefore God gave them over to the lust of their hearts, to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, and it is blessed forever.

Amen. They suppressed the truth. They knew God, they just suppressed the truth. They don't want to hear the truth, because they don't love the truth. They love the lies, and they want to believe the lies. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions, verse 26. Verse 28, and just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind. So he gave them over to degrading passions, to a depraved mind, to the desires of their heart, simply because they would not receive the love of the truth.

God gave them over. That's called the judicial judgment of God upon America. Not Americans necessarily, individuals, but the nation as a whole. God has given the nation over to the desires of his heart, to its degrading passions. That's why homosexuality is rampant. That's why immorality is rampant. That's why transgenderism is rampant. It's becoming more and more rampant all throughout our society. God has just given this country over to its degrading passions. And God sends the country a deluding influence to believe the lie.

To believe the lie that homosexuality is okay. It's just an alternate lifestyle. God sends a deluding influence to get you to believe that transgenderism is normal. It could very well be. In a few months, we have a choice between a dictator, Gavin Newsom, or a transgender, Caitlyn Jenner, to choose for the governor of our country. That could very well be. Think about it. Only in America can that happen, right? Only in America. But that's God giving a nation over to its degrading passions. Did we ever think that that's where we would be?

But that's where we could very possibly be in just a few short months. You see, those things are all over the place. But that's how God deals with it. A willful rejection of the God who is true will always lead to a judicial rejection of you by God. Now listen carefully. This is very important. Let me explain this to you.

In damnation, God acts in response to human choice. In salvation, man acts in response to divine choice. That's always the way the scripture explains it. Man is damned. Why? Because he willfully chooses his sin over the Savior. God acts in response to human choice. But in salvation, man acts in response to God's divine choice. I don't believe the Bible teaches a double predestination. I don't believe it teaches that. I believe that that statement right there sums up what the scriptures teach. What's it say in 2 Thessalonians 1?

It says this. It says, Why is it God will deal out retribution on unbelievers? Because they do not know God and they do not believe the gospel of God. In damnation, in retribution, God acts in response to human choice. That's what the Bible teaches. And in salvation, man acts in response to divine choice. That's what 2 Thessalonians 2 verse number 13 says. It says, But we should always give thanks to God. For you, brethren, beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.

It was for this He called you through our gospel that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Those two verses explain everything you need to know about soteriology, the doctrine of salvation. Those two verses alone you could study for the next 10 years and never exhaust them. Because there's so much theological truth in those two verses. But it helps you understand, Paul says, look, I'm going to give thanks to God for you. Why? Because of what God did for you. These people are going to receive a deluded influence that's going to cause them to believe a lie because they don't love truth.

And they don't love truth, but they love their wickedness. They take pleasure in their wickedness. That's what they want to do. And because they willfully reject, because as Pharaoh hardened his heart, God then hardened his heart. That's what the right of Hebrews says five times over in those warning passages in the book of Hebrews. Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation in the wilderness. Don't do that, Hebrews chapter 3. Why? Because you're in danger of a judicial rejection.

If you willfully reject him, if you become dull of hearing and will not respond to the truth, the Lord will send a deluded influence towards you and you'll believe the lie and it'll be impossible for you to be saved. You go, as the theologians of old used to say, you go beyond the point of grace, the opportunity to receive the truth any longer. The problem is, you just never know when that time is. You just don't know. That's why there's this call, today is a day of salvation. There's an urgency behind that.

Today, if you hear his voice, come to him. Don't wait. Don't wait. That's why in Hebrews 6, he talks about those who will be unable to repent for those who have tasted of the heavenly gift to become a partaker of the spirit of God, people who knew everything about God, did everything along the lines of God, but yet they wouldn't repent of their sins and we embrace the Messiah. You're in danger of coming to a place that you'll never be able to repent ever again because God will judicially judge you while on this earth and you will spend eternity separated from him forever.

That's just powerful. So please understand this. As you go through this and you see God sending, why would God send a deluding influence to them? Because they believe a lie. They don't want to believe the truth. They know the truth. They suppress the truth, Romans 1. They know about God. They just want to give their lives to God. They know about God, right? So how many times have we told you over the years that there are no atheists, there are no agnostics. God doesn't believe in atheists and God knows no agnostics because there's no such thing.

They all know about God, but they love their sin. Maybe it's a sin of intellectualism. See, man doesn't go to heaven because intellectually he knows about God. No. Man doesn't go to heaven because intellectually he knows everything there is to know about God. No. He goes to heaven because he loves God. He loves the truth of God. He gives his life to God. You love him, you give your life to him. It's about love for the truth. And so Paul wants these people to understand, look, this is so important.

God sends a deluded influence to them because they hate the gospel. They hate the God of the gospel. If you don't hate him, you love him, but they hate him. And they choose to believe the lie. So God's gonna send them a deluding influence so they grasp that lie and think the lie is truth. They think the Antichrist is God. They think the Antichrist is the Messiah and they'll perish in their unbelief because they do not love the truth. You see, sometimes we have a hard time understanding salvation.

We talked about on Sunday a little bit about God's calling and choosing of you. And people have a hard time digesting that. They think about election and predestination and all that's involved and God's foreknowledge and God's choosing and calling his own to himself. People have a hard time with that. And I get that. It's hard to digest. But so many times we wanna try to think, well, if God chose you to go to heaven, then he chose you to go to hell. You can't say that because the Bible doesn't say that.

You can't say what the Bible doesn't say. You can't preach what the Bible doesn't preach. When the Lord says, oh, I wanted to gather you together, but you know what? I did not ordain you for this time, so therefore you're going to hell. Hmm. You were unwilling to come. You did not want to come. Oh, you believe me, but you loved the approval of God, of man more than the approval of God. Sorry. You loved what man said, but you didn't love what God said. You read the scriptures, you search them because they speak of me, but you were unwilling to come to me.

In damnation, God acts in response to human choice. That's what the Bible teaches. Don't go beyond that. You go beyond that, you're going to mess up all kinds of thinking, but don't go beyond this either. In salvation, man responds, man acts in response to divine choice. The reason I'm saved is because God chose me. The reason I'm saved is because God called me. The reason I'm saved is because God sanctified me. The reason I'm saved is because God did it. God did it, not me. God did it. And I'm responding to divine choice.

That's what he thanks them for. Next week, we'll pick up verses 13 and 14 and help you understand exactly what Paul was saying as he gives thanks to God for what he's done in them and for them. Let me pray with you.

Father, we thank you, Lord, for tonight, a chance to be in your Word. As brief as it is, it's always a reminder, Lord, that Satan can only do what you allow him to do. You're in charge of everything. You're in control of everything, and we thank you for that. And our prayer, Lord, is that you go before us. Help us to realize, Lord, that we have friends. We have family members. There are husbands here without wives, parents without children, wives without husbands who don't know you. And the reason is is because they do not love the truth so as to be saved.

Our prayer, Lord, is that you'd work in their hearts. Work in their hearts and cause them to hate their sin and love you. Cause them, Lord, to turn from their sin, to see the futility in their sin and see the salvation of the living God. We are grateful for all that you do. And our prayer, Lord, is that as we leave here tonight, you give us safety as we go home, that we might be effective ambassadors for your kingdom and then gather again, if you tarry, this Lord's day to worship you once again. We would rather gather in glory, if that be your will.

But if not, we'll gather down here and worship you one more day until you come to take us home as you most surely will, in Jesus' name, amen.