In this sermon, Pastor Babij examines the Apostle Paul’s teaching to the Thessalonians regarding the timing of the Day of the Lord. In part one of this investigation, Pastor Babij explains how to understand present events in light of God’s judgment program. Pastor Babij then explains which future events must occur before the Day of the Lord.
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alright this morning let’s take our Bibles in turn to 2nd Thessalonians I’m taking a break from mark because I news the holiday and people would be away so I’m looking at a few things for a couple weeks and that’s going to be found in Thessalonians yes it does have to do with some end time passages which I think we need to be reminded of from time to time especially because there is climate change going on spiritual climate change all right things are getting colder and colder towards religion specifically against Christianity Christianity is actually being increasingly removed from the public square only to be replaced by humanism there seems to be no boundaries in which opposes Christianity’s people do not look at things as having absolute truth and so therefore secularism in America has determined that society is best served by limiting the influence of Christians in the public square that secular institutions of higher learning are full of anti-christian propaganda and the world is becoming more and more unfriendly with Christianity in fact a university professor from Chicago said recently describing religious belief he said a unique Christian as far as Christianity is concerned that Christianity is a unique bad combination of moral fervor and mental blindness serving no public good that justifies special protection our culture is removing God from all platforms and replacing him with situational ethics which allows the culture to redefine marriage gender truth and the value of human life that is going on don’t you see it going on don’t you feel it going on it is going on so it’s really the body of Christ needs to be prepared for that that we are should be ready to stand firm in our Christian identity and stand firm in what we believe the Bible teaches because this is not going to stop this is going to continue this is not a phase this is a product of living in the last days so you have to ask yourself do you know what you believe do you live what you believe and and are you ready are we ready together for the pressures mounting on every side when it comes to Christianity Christian belief um people are really being influenced by the mindset of our day and we have to be prepared for it and one way to be prepared for it is to see what God says about things in the Bible concerning the last days and to make sure that we are considering them in a biblical way and within its context so we can at least have in our mind that God is definitely doing something alright so that’s what we kind of have here in second Thessalonians it’s talking about the man of lawlessness and but I want you to notice in verse number one and two just so I’m going to read you just to give you the background on why the Apostle Paul is even writing this letter to the Thessalonians it says now we request you brethren this is 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 1 with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or message or a letter as if from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come verse 3 let no one in any way deceive you for it will not come unless certain things take place and that’s how I ended right there so the scripture here is actually giving encouragement and assurance to suffering Christians the Thessalonians because of their identification with Jesus Christ were coming under severe trials and Paul the Apostle Paul proposes to encourage the Christians to persevere even in the face of Jewish opposition and heavy persecution and to continue to live steadfast and blameless lives which they were doing they were doing that he’s encouraging them to continue on to do that so for the Thessalonian believers if they were to continue to grow strong in the Lord than some doctrinal issues had to be addressed and actually they need to be reminded of what was already taught about them there’s always a reason why any portion of Scripture is penned and this second epistle to the Thessalonians is no exception something happened a new problem had arisen between the time of the first writing first Thessalonians and this second letter so in chapter 2 the Apostle Paul is addressing a problem which was causing some confusion and of course it was causing that confusion amongst the believers now what was the problem that caused deep concern among the Church of the Thessalonians well apparently someone had caused concern on the part of the believers with regard to their relation to the day of the Lord now in second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 2 which i just read if you notice that the last part of the verse it’s as if a letter is written if from us to the effect that the delayed the day of the Lord has come in other words somebody had written a letter saying that listen because of your suffering because of your persecution you are already in the day of the Lord so that caused some concern for them and so he writes to correct that and say no the day of the Lord has not yet come in fact when it comes certain things must take place first so consequently the letter takes on a flavor of providing assurance to the believers which includes at least two things and the first thing is an assurance that the day of the Lord had not yet come and that’s what I want to look at this morning and assurance that the day of the Lord had not yet come for these believers now again the bogus claim in verse number one and two it says now we request you brethren with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him so there’s right in the first sentence he puts together what he had taught already before and that the Lord when the Lord Jesus Christ comes we you will be with him and right so that is in their mind already and he Denny says to them listen don’t be shaken by anything that is told to you that comes to you whether by a spirit or a message or a letter as if it was from us we didn’t write it all right i want to remind you about it we didn’t write it paulding write it and so therefore don’t worry about it but I want to correct you about some of the things you have been hearing so is highly probable that the Thessalonians received a false Pauline letter claiming that the day of Dave the Lord was upon them or had already passed them and so the very fact that they were going through severe persecution along with a letter they thought their beloved Apostle Paul wrote moved them to conclude that the day of the Lord had come up upon them and they were in tribulation now according to this false teaching which it was believers were in the midst of some tribulation and we’re facing the day of the Lord in all its fury so the believers were robbed in a sense of the comfort they have when they received the first teaching on the end times of what’s going to take place and they were robbed of their daily expectancy that Jesus would do certain things before his coming so they were alarmed they were discouraged and they were distressed and so that is why Paul is writing second Thessalonians to correct things to bring back the comfort that they lost and to encourage them again and to remove the distress that they don’t have to be under because what they heard was not true so again if you notice in verse number one their attention was directed on now we request you brethren with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him so it’s not hard to understand how the Thessalonians could knock really be knocked off balance and disturbed concerning the day of the Lord now in Scripture the day of the Lord is a pretty large topic of and why should the idea of the day of the Lord cause such an alarm and disrupt the peace of mind within these disciples here in the Thessalonian Church well probably the most prominent events in their thinking were tribulation judgment and even destruction so such a portrayal occurs in many of the related Old Testament passages from which that concept comes we see in Joel and in Obadiah and zephaniah and Zachariah all talk about the day of the Lord and so it was to be a time that would actually strike terror into the hearts people the Thessalonians had begun to wonder whether they had also fallen victim to the day of judgment but keep in mind that these believers were well informed concerning the end times in fact if you turn quickly over to 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 in verse number one when he’s talking about the day of the Lord in the first letter he says this in verse 1 now as to the times and the epochs brethren you have no need of anything to be written to you verse verse 24 you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night alright so they were definitely informed as to the day of the Lord they were instructed way back when about those things so these believers were not in the dark about the day of the Lord they were well instructed in the end time matters and from this passage of Scripture a pre understanding of end times is assumed in fact as we saw in verse number 2 it says for you yourself know full well that means you know accurately about what is going to take place in fact in verse number three of chapter five of 1st Thessalonians it says while you were saying while they were saying peace and safety then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child and they will not escape but you brethren are not in darkness that the day would overtake you like a thief or you are all sons Sons of light and Sons of day we are not of night nor of darkness so then let us not sleep as others do but let us be alert and sober and all end time teaching really should direct us to be ready to be sober to be alert about what’s going on around us what’s going on in our day what’s going on as far as what the Scriptures teach so we can be aware of those things and be ready for what is going to take place prepare ourselves spiritually for those things so for sure they had received prior definite detailed information about times and seasons to the extent that he writes to them you don’t need for me to write anything to you about it so it is clear that the Thessalonians needed no instruction what they really need is to be re in the sense re reminded again and then encouraged by way of calling attention to the facts of what was first taught which they already know accurately and to assure that nothing of what was originally taught has changed so these false letters that have upset you I’m telling you don’t listen to them because nothing has changed about the first teaching all right there’s no added information but I’m going to clarify some of the information before I go any further self word of prayer this morning lord I do ask you that you would bless our time together in your word Lord that you would truly make us aware of the times in which we live Lord and the things that are going on Lord don’t allow us to put our head in the sand or to think in a sense that we want to just be happy go lucky all the time because there’s a certain realism that comes with reading Scripture that there are things that are going to take place that the Lord said would take place and everything he said in the Word of God already did take place and so I pray Lord that you would just remind us again of the things written in the Word of God so we can also provide to us comfort and it can provide to us encouragement that Lord you are completely and totally in control of all things and Lord for this will give you praise and glory all right so looking again at our text and then just reminding you that there is an assumed understanding here in Scripture of what the Old Testament says about the day of the Lord in fact the phrase the day of the Lord is often connected with a definite article which gives it emphasis and meaning that upon the quality of the day in other words it is a day like no other it is a day of such character as belongs to the Lord alone so the day of the Lord really includes more than one day don’t think of it as just one day or even a short period of time it actually includes a complex of events that extend over a period of time and so the day of the Lord includes the start of God’s wrath and that’s why it does strike fear and it would strike fear in the lives of the Thessalonians that oh no maybe we’re in that day right now and Paul saying no you’re not in that day right now because it’s going to definitely strike fear in the hearts of those who are dwell on the earth and so what happens is that it was a day familiar to the Hebrew prophets and was known as a time in which God’s sovereignty was manifested in a very particular way for example if you want to take your Bibles I’ll just read the passages of Scripture but turn Amos chapter 5 verse 18 through 20 while you’re turning there Joel chapter 2 verse 31 says the great and awesome day of the Lord all right so Joel packages it as a awesome day a great day and in Amos chapter 5 verse 18 through 20 it says again alas in verse 18 you who are longing for the day of the Lord for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you that is a question it will be darkness and not light as when a man flees from a lion and a bear meets him or goes home and leans his hand against the wall and a snake bites him will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light even gloom with no brightness in it so he is just communicating that the day of the Lord is going to be a particular time in the history of humanity that is going to take place and it is going to be a day where the wrath of God begins to fall upon humanity so both these Hebrew prophets connect the day of the Lord with the climax of God’s wrath upon the earth Daniel the prophet refer to it as a time of Daniels 70th week prior two messiahs earthly reign on earth and the point being that the day of the Lord is closely associated with judgment in Scripture specifically final judgment in other words the Thessalonians understood based on the Old Testament that the day of the Lord would begin with a period of intense earthly suffering that serves as a prelude to messiahs personal return to the earth so the Thessalonians had already demonstrated their resolve and perseverance undertrials but since this last letter their persecution had intensified and some among their number hadn’t concluded that they had indeed entered the period of God’s wrath and of course Paul is writing them saying though that is not the case alright so brethren if one day you woke up and some and you thought was in the know told you listen your persecution shows you are already in the day of the Lord when you were expecting the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and you’re gathering together to him you would be also confused and frightened well this was a bogus claim that needed to be corrected and so that is what Paul’s doing here and so he on word from Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 and onwards he begins to give them a correct understanding of i’m calling it three groups of events i’ll just probably cover the first and second today and then i’ll pick it up the next time so the first thing the first group of event is the present events in their day what was going on well in down in verse number seven it says this for the mystery of lawlessness is back into second Thessalonians chapter two verse 7 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 so in that passage of Scripture there are certain present things that are going on and the first one is that there is a restraining power on evil evil is being held back and then secondly presently there is the mystery of lawlessness already at work going on behind the scenes so you you and I must agree with this passage that the aggressive forces of evil are already operative and evident all around us it was then it was like that then and it’s like that now and it will continue to be like that but if you look at the passage it says there the mystery of lawlessness now what does that refer to well the term does not mean simply mysterious and unintelligible but rather something formerly unknown but is now revealed that is something undiscoverable discoverable by mere human search and has only known when God of course reveals it and how does he reveal it he reveals it in the scripture and the lawlessness is not simply referring to disorder or a violation of law it is actually referring to what’s going on behind the scene of evil behind this lawlessness is the aim of the devil to overthrow the law and the rule of God and to establish his own rule matter of fact all the things that are going on in the world have to do it Satan working behind the scenes to overthrow the rule of God and establish his own in other words even though this evil man of sin which I’m going to look at in a minute is not revealed yet the spirit that will permeate his career is already operational behind the scenes see Christians ought to know that we shouldn’t be surprised when things are happening that just give us a picture of just pure evil because we know time in the latter times this mystery of lawlessness is going to increase behind the scenes and as it increases Christians should be aware that is it is Satan himself working this mystery of lawlessness to a great extent behind the sin the scenes it’s working he is working his lawlessness right now and it’s working under restraint right now that means lawlessness is actually not as bad as it will be or it could be something is in its way that keeps it from fully gushing out but that will not always be the case because according to our passage the restrainer the thing that is holding evil back is actually going to be removed and then when it is removed then evil will have full reign and power and so that are some of the present events that are going on is that there is a restraining power of evil and that there is the mystery of lawlessness working behind the scenes even right now it was denon with the Thessalonians it is even in our day but there are going to be some future things the second group of events are the future events before the end and this is where Paul begins to give the Thessalonians instruction and the main concern in these matters is that the beloved Thessalonians would not be deceived he intends to dispel their ignorance by teaching that the day of the Lord could not have already taken place so these believers thought because of some false information like I said already that they were already in it so the day of the Lord cannot come as long as the coming of our Lord and the gathering together to him had not taken place so scripture records that there are certain things that must occur before the full force of God’s eschatological judgment will be manifested and what’s the first thing we’ll look at verse number three a right and the first thing is that of apostasy a defiance that must come first alright says in verse 3 let no one in any way deceive you for it will not come that means the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first so a defiance yet to come in the form of the apostasy from True Religion must happen first right now you just can’t get away from the force in the text don’t be deceived don’t be led astray by such incorrect information so pro Paul the Apostle Paul broadens the warning to go beyond conversation and letter and he includes tricks of any kind that can come up from the law of the Evil One and he says to them don’t be gullible when new deceivers pull off some stunts in religion it’s going to take place but he says that first something must happen in sequence in other words the day the lord is not present unless first in sequence within that day there has come an apostasy now the word apostasy comes from the Greek word apostasy ax which is translated falling away in this passage the word is closely related to another word in the Greek which means divorce or two separate from someone or some group so it seems clear that the word here means some kind of religious revolt now it is not clear whether Paul means a revolt of Jews from God of Gentiles from God of Christians from God or of the apostasy that includes all classes within and without the body of Christianity specifically though apostates are those who fall away from the true faith abandoning their formerly professed doctrines all right what they formerly believed they leave they just leave it so the term really describes those whose beliefs are so deficient as to place them outside the scope of true Christianity for example a liberal denomination that the is the authority of scripture or the deity of Christ is an apostate denomination but something’s greater greater is going on here these are people that are possibly have given a profession of faith in Christ and just leave the church they leave the group of believers they become apostate to what is written in Scripture as being the truth now if you remember and don’t forget what the kingdom parables taught us that we are in the seed sowing age in which good wheat that’s the children of the kingdom and imitate imitation we that’s the children of the Evil One are mixed together in the church until the end of the age so it could be that the tears those who connected themselves to the church but are not really true believers leave from inside the true church and just a pasta sighs those who fall away into apostasy demonstrate that their faith was never real to begin with just like it tells us in and first John where it says they went out from us but they were not really of us for if they had been of us they would have remained with us but they went out so that it would be shown that they were not of us at all so that’s the sense of apostasy that they believe certain things they connected themselves religiously possibly to even the true church but when a certain time comes they’re going to leave it and they’re going to leave the the truth and they are going to fall away and that’s going to be done in great numbers there’s going to be a great apostasy now let me just say this that true Christians do not apostasy but they preserve they persevere to the end now we do find in Scripture certain general examples of apostasy for example when if you remember in John chapter 6 a very pivotal passage of Scripture in the gospel because the disciples were following Jesus they were listening to his cheat teaching until Jesus gave that message in which he makes it very clear that unless you believe these things and are doing these things you cannot be part of me or be part of the kingdom of God and so this is what’s recorded that many disciples leave Jesus after following him seeing his miracles hearing his teaching and they leave him it says in John 666 as a result of this many of his disciples withdrew and we’re not walking with him anymore so Jesus remembers said to the twelve do you want to go away also do you and of course Simon Peter answered Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God so see there’s two groups there there’s the one who’s listened followed Jesus but when it came down to a real belief real commitment to Christ they were off there’s our item sign up for this I all I don’t want this but then the real disciple say no they know who Christ is the Holy One of God they know he has the words of eternal life and they’re not going anywhere right so their life in a sense didn’t their death didn’t wasn’t the obstacle that kept them away they understood that this life goes way beyond into eternal life because of what Jesus Christ did for them and then of course another example would be hymenaeus and Alexander found in Timothy when right and Paul’s writing to Timothy he says in Timothy chapter 1 verse number 19 and 20 he says keeping faith in a good conscience which some have rejected and have suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith among these are high mineus and Alexander whom I have handed over to Satan so that they will be taught not to blaspheme again these two ended up ship-wrecking their faith because they were doing something contrary to the Word of God and then you we find again in 2nd Timothy 4 10 dimas it says for dimas having loved this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica and of course he was deserted by Dimas and why was he deserted because you loved this present world so these are some general examples of why people would have pasta sighs right because really when persecution comes and suffering comes you begin to think like this is my faith real or what would I you know what it says in the Word of God and there’s going to be a lot of attacks upon Scripture in the days ahead of us saying that the scriptures just a fairy-book Scripture is not doesn’t tell us the truth the scriptures this the scriptures that if we don’t hold to what it believes and understand what it believes we too can succumb to some kind of false influence in our life we must know what we believe so there these are some examples but there is of course going to be a large and widespread religious apostasy that will take place in the last days prior to or including with the beginning of the day of the lord also scripture records that there is another thing that must occur before the full force of God’s endtime judgment will be manifested and it’s this it’s going to be the man of sin is going to be revealed look at verse number 3 again second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 it says let no one in any way deceive you for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of sin the man of lawlessness is revealed all right so this is a second thing that he includes telling the Thessalonians listen the day of the Lord cannot come and let unless these things take place and so he of course gives us a word that describes this man this man is a man of lawlessness now we can ignore his character in and this can’t go unnoticed from us the this this attribute of him is very important because he is he is the lawless one now who is not Satan this is not talking about Satan here this is some definite person who is doing the work of Satan of course we are going to learn that this person is the Antichrist right a person who is energized by Satan but is not Satan himself so the implication is that this man is hidden somewhere whether he’s alive now or not or whether he’s going to be born he’s not if he does come on the scene he will be hidden until a particular time and only the Lord knows that time but the prophet Daniel had already given a good description of the e this evil character of this evil endtime man which fits the description of the Antichrist and his personage can be described in several ways in the Old Testament Daniel chapter 7 he is known as the little horn the final ruler of the last Gentile world amp Empire as it says in in Daniel 7 verse 24 and for the ten horns out of this kingdom 10 Kings will arise and another world arrives after them and he will be different from the previous ones so in other words this little horn of Daniel 7 is the coming man of sin the Antichrist who actually is going to be ruling during the Tribulation Period for a period of seven years but he will be destroyed of course by Christ at his second coming also in Daniel it talks about the ruler who will come in chapter 9 the personage is not a messianic ruler but the ruler who would come the prince that shall come on the scene will make a covenant with Israel and he is the one of the ten toes of an image of Daniel describing the empires of the world the Babylonian Empire being the first Empire than the medial Persia Empire being the second empire the Greco Empire being the third Empire world empire of the world world and then the Roman Empire and then of course the last he describes in Daniel is the Messianic Kingdom that will come and crush all the other empires and so but in between that time Daniel describes a ruler that will come a prince that will come a little horn who emerges from the ten horns and this Prince covenants to protect the Jews from their enemies probably so that they can build their temple and and restore their sacrifices he is also considered in Daniel 11 as the willful willful King in Zechariah he’s described as the foolish Shepherd and then here in Thessalonians he is described as the lawless one or the man of sin first John describes him as the Antichrist where it says children it is the last hour and just as you heard Antichrist is coming alright and then in Revelation 62 he is the writer on the white horse and then in Revelation 13 he is the Beast that comes out of the sea and the sea represents the gentile nations so that’s that becomes very interesting because we we we don’t know really where he’s going he’s going to come out of a Gentile nation but we don’t know exactly who were where or what the background will be alright and then we’ll find also that in our text and in Daniel that listen he’s going to be self-willed in Danville 1136 the king will it says will do as he pleases all right so in other words this Antichrist will do as he desires meaning he will have an unchallengeable authority nobody will be able to challenge him Antichrist will arrogantly believe that he can function sufficiently well without God and the bottom line is going to be that whatever he wants whenever he wants it to whomever he wants it to happen will happen without restraint with no one even questioning it and that’s why it says in Scripture here in second Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 3 he is the son of destruction alright and what does he do in verse number 4 it says that he opposes and exalts himself above every so-called God an object of worship that the Antichrist will go far beyond anything the world has ever seen yet he’s going to be that kind of person and then according to Daniel chapter 11 verse 36 he’s going to be egotistical he will exalt and magnify himself he will have a humongous ego and he will of course assert himself against God that is what he is going to do and then of course again in verse number 4 it says this in Thessalonians so that he takes a seat in the temple of God displaying himself as being God now that’s what he’s doing he is going to present himself as being God now who’s looking for the coming of Christ the Jews are looking for the coming of Christ the Muslims are looking for the coming of Christ is the chair looking for the coming of Christ not the first coming we’re looking for the second coming they’re looking for the first coming because they don’t believe he came yet well who’s going to step into that vacuum Antichrist and he is going to be a political genius he’s going to be a military genius according to Daniel he’s going to be able to convince people with words without war he’s going to be able to end what that’s what the world is looking for the world is looking for a leader who can unite the nations of the world who can unite the world in this global economy in this globe on this global scene and bring everybody together without Wars we you must admit nameless may were sick of wars aren’t we we’re sick of hearing this going on that going on these things going on but nonetheless behind the scenes remember the mystery of iniquity is working but he is also going to be something else not only from Daniel but from Thessalonians he is going to be a theistic Antichrist will be an atheist he will reject all religions except the one he establishes when he declares himself God and that’s what the Bible tells us that he is going to get the world to worship Him now quickly if you take your Bibles to a revelation chapter 13 you’ll see that this whole chapter describes that I can’t read the whole thing but in Revelation chapter 13 look at verse number 4 of 13 it says and they Revelation 13 verse 4 they worshiped the dragon because he had he gave his authority to the Beast now the dragon is Satan the Beast is the Antichrist and they worshipped the Beast saying who is like the Beast and who is able to wage war with him verse 5 there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogance arrogant words blasphemies and a all ready to act for 42 months was given to him that’s three and a half years and he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle that is those who dwell in heaven verse 7 it was also given to him to make war with the Saints and to overcome them and authority over every tribe in people and tongue and nation was given to him verse 8 all who dwell on the earth will worship Him everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of the land of the life of the Lamb who has has been slain if anyone has an ear let him hear if anyone is now of course I don’t want to read the whole thing right now but the thing is that again in all prophetic passages and in Thessalonians in all over the place is talking about this man of sin this man of lawlessness that comes on the scene and so you have to remember that the Thessalonians were aware of this and if you notice in verse number 6 it says the verse number 5 says do you not remember that while I was still with you I was telling you these things and then verse 6 he says and you know what restrains him now so that in his time he will be revealed so again I was saying was presently happening he’s being restrained he’s being held back he’s not able to come on the scene yet something is holding him back now that is the man of lawlessness who is not Satan but some definite person doing the work of Satan and the real purpose for the restraint is that it has a divine purpose to it that is the restraint is that this man of lawlessness may be revealed in his time that means at the proper time there for something presently is being exercised to hold back the unveiling of the man of sin one commentator said it like this the restraint prevents the prima premature manifestation of the man of sin as the very embodiment of iniquity so see this man of sin can only be revealed when the time is right when the time is ripe that’s it and only God knows that when when history is ripe this man of lawlessness will only be revealed by divine appointment but the church is to be aware of it the church should be ignorant of it so God knows how to control the activity and the advancement of evil God will vanquish all of this someday now who is this restrainer or what is this restrainer what’s holding back iniquity what’s holding back the revealing of this man of sin and will the Antichrist be a Jew will you be a European or will he be a Muslim holy be next week we’re going to look at that I want to keep you hanging on this one but next we’re going to look at that let’s pray lord thank you for your kindness to us and allowing us to know things that really apart from the Word of God no one can know so lord I pray that we would take serious the things found in Scripture and that Lord when we see them we would really take them to heart for Lord these things are not fairy tales these things are actually going to take place and lord I pray that whether we are living when they do or are not living when they do whether the church is taken out before these things or Lord whatever we believe on those things Lord the main thing is that we are we are specifically aware of them and we’re living ready me for whatever the Lord has and that Lord were not going to be tossed to and fro by every wind of teaching that comes our way by the pressure of society upon the church and by Lord the spiritual climate change that’s taking place against Christianity all over the world Lord this is this is not something that you didn’t speak of in the Word of God these are the things that are actually in Scripture and so I pray Lord that as we are aware of them it would just make us more sober more serious more ready even in our own life and more just wanting to serve you and to bring the gospel of the kingdom to those who haven’t heard it yet I pray that that would be a motivation in our heart to be able to speak the truth to those who don’t know and I pray Lord that you would prevent apostasy in our own lives whether it in a small way or a big way that we would always no matter what takes place know that you are the Holy One of God and you have the words of eternal life and the only way that anyone could have ever been made right with the father is through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the cross and I pray we would never move from that position no matter what takes place and so lord thank you for the word of God again encourage us like the Thessalonians were encouraged and Lord strengthen us with the truth so we can live our life with in the power of your spirit and I thank you for what you’ll do in Christ’s name Amen