Nov 24 - 1 Thes 4:16-17, 2 Thes 2:3

we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,

for the Lord himself, with a cry of command,

with the archangel's call and with the sound of the trumpet,

will descend from heaven ... then we ... will be

caught up in the clouds ... to meet the Lord in the air.

1 Thessalonians 4:13,16-17

Let no one deceive you in any way;

for that day will not come

unless the rebellion comes first

and the lawless one is revealed.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

Boy ... I don't know what was going on in Thessalonica!

I'm guessing they must have had a huge fascination with the end times. In fact, it appears that there was even some degree of being "uninformed," overwhelmed, and even "deceive[d]."

Why do I say that? Because in both letters, I think that the Apostle Paul is saying, "Wait! Don't worry yet! It's not the end! And do you know it's not the end? Because you haven't seen either of these two signs."

What two signs? 

In First Thessalonians, the sign they were told to anticipate was the rapture. Paul was saying, if you're a faithful believer, meeting Christ is in the air might just be a pretty good sign that the end is near! (By the way, I hope you're as inspired by that thrilling image as I am.)

In Second Thessalonians, the sign is the revealing of "the lawless one." This, you probably guessed, is the Antichrist. As Revelation tells the story, Jesus will finally and eventually come to his final victory, riding on a white horse. Ironically, the Antichrist will come on a white horse too. White is a symbol for both kingship and peace. A year or few before Christ returns, Revelation prophesies that the Antichrist will appear as a counterfeit king, and he will bring a counterfeit peace.

What is "a counterfeit peace"? It is predicted that "peace" will be the primary message of the Antichrist's lips. Like flies to sugar, evil knows that a message of peace sounds much sweeter than it's real agenda. The irony, as Revelations tells us, is that the Antichrist's presence may even work ... for a while. Tensions may seem to be soothed. Scripture tells us, however, that it will be false peace, a temporary peace. The mask will eventually come off.

Paul's point in writing was to give the Thessalonians -- and us -- a glimpse of the future. My point in writing is to remind you that Revelation is not alone in it's predictions of the future! Several Old Testament books -- especially Daniel -- point to the end. Paul and other apostles sprinkle their writing with eschatology -- the fancy word for the end times. And most importantly, Jesus himself had much to say about his own coming again -- see the end of the Matthew, for example. Jesus says, "Keep awake."

In Christ's Name,

a guy who wants to fly

(let's meet Christ in the air)