Apparently the Church wanted to know when Jesus was coming back…they thought it was soon. Here’s what Paul told them.
Paul is talking about two things here. 1. the end of the age 2. the parousia (we go with Jesus).
It is commonly accepted that the rapture will occur before the end of the age, however there is some discussion about how long before the end it will occur. Some say it will happen before the tribulation, others say “during” and still others “after”. At the end of the day, someone will be right….
Here’s what I observe. Paul says in verse 3 that it (Second Coming, mentioned in verse 1) will not occur until the “man of lawlessness” (NLT) is revealed and there is a great rebellion against God. So Paul is telling the Church “don’t get excited thinking that we are almost ready to leave, unless you see the man of lawlessness sitting in the Temple and claiming that he is God.
This has already happened during the time of the Maccabees (168 BC) when Antiochus IV entered the temple and sacrificed pigs on the altar. It was the last straw for the Jews, and a revolt sprang up. After Jesus ascended to heaven, the persecution of Christians began, and in 69 AD, the Romans came to Jerusalem and destroyed the temple…but no one entered the temple before it was torn down and claimed to be God. The temple hasn’t been standing on the temple mount ever since.
Therefore: if the lawless man is going to sit in the Temple and claim deity….there will have to be a temple erected. Today the “Dome of the Rock” occupies the space where the temple should be. It will have to be removed before the Jewish temple can be rebuilt.
Okay… Remember that Paul is saying to the Church “don’t get too excited about leaving until you see these things happen”. Those same words could hold true for us today. I know that most of us have grown up believing that the Rapture will whisk us away to heaven before the world descends into chaos, but clearly, Paul doesn’t think so.
And why would he? He was tortured about a dozen times and run out of almost as many towns as he entered. A fair chunk of his ministry was conducted while incarcerated, and eventually he was martyred for his testimony. I don’t think Paul feared the tribulation….he lived in the middle of it.
If you and I are going to fulfill God’s purpose and destiny for us, then we have to keep our vision and expectations clear, and the facts straight. Clearly, Christians are going to suffer for their belief. It’s already happening in other parts of the globe, and it will eventually happen here. Just like rain that is seen in the distance eventually gets you wet, times of tribulation will come to our shores as well. Jesus told us it would happen, and it will. Since He has told us ahead of time that we will be expected to suffer, we shouldn’t be looking for an exit door that helps us avoid it. In fact, if someone appears who says that we can avoid it…we should be very careful in examining their teaching. It’s likely they are false teachers.
The lawless man will do signs and miracles, and then he will fight against God. THEN God will return and slay him. It seems to me that Paul is saying “God will come to slay the man of lawlessness, and then we will go with Jesus to heaven”. I know that there are a couple of verses that also provide some footing for other points of view, and I mention this now only because of where we are in our reading.
For more information on these same events, look into Revelation 14 and beyond. In Rev 14 the “earth is harvested” (possibly verse 16) and the battle of Armageddon doesn’t occur until chapter 16. (but could be predicted in Rev. 14:20)
That perspective leads us to believe that Christians will be taken from the earth prior to part of the tribulation.
In any case, I firmly believe that we as Christians should prepare our minds to endure whatever tribulation is possible. We should put down “deep spiritual roots” and “keep our lamps filled with oil” so that when the time of testing comes, we will not be found too weak or immature to endure. Revelation says “blessed is he who perseveres”.
Training for battle,
PR