The End - 2 Thessalonians 2

2:1-3 - As much as the Thessalonian saints were concerned about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, Paul tells them to they “be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled by letter, except ye receive it from us.” That last part is a JST and gives considerable context to what was troubling the people. This is an issue that arises often as people who are not in authorized positions teach doctrine that doesn’t align with prophetic counsel. The IM quotes Boyd K. Packer as teaching, “there are some among us now who have not been regularly ordained by the heads of the church who tell of impending political and economic chaos, the end of the world… They are misleading members… follow your leaders who have been duly ordained and have been publicly sustained, and you will not be led astray.” This ultimately comes down to “does it matter to my salvation?” There is so much speculation about when the Savior will come again, and it all ends in the same question, “if you’re right or wrong, does it impact my salvation?” It’s all well and good to be aware of the “signs of the times” and all that, but does it change how we act? Honestly, it shouldn’t. We should all be acting every day the same way we would if Jesus was coming tomorrow. No deathbed repentance and all that stuff, just do your best and you’ll be ready at all times. I think that the kind of people that this speculator appeals to are the ones who are interested in the intricate and “mysteries” of the gospel. I’m not saying that they can be focused on true salvation, but it seems to me that those who would stop and listen are looking for something that the basics of the gospel can’t give, such as intrigue or excitement. Now this isn’t a blanket statement or an accusation against anyone. If Jesus comes tomorrow or 2,000 years from now, my daily life and testimony won’t change. So if the answer of “no one knows when the Lord’s coming again, but it’s been ‘at hand’ for the last 2,000 years,” isn’t enough for you, then maybe it’s time to stop and have a good long think about exactly what you are looking for in finding out that information. 2:4-17 - The whole rest of the chapter has to do with the apostasy and I really struggle with this concept a lot because I just don’t understand it. I get that the whole plan of salvation is for us to gain a physical body and to be tested, but why does it have to be so hard? I think about all the horror that has been inflicted on almost every single person who has ever lived and I wonder why it has to be like that. Why couldn’t Jesus just implement his kingdom on earth the first time he came? Why couldn’t he have done it back with Adam and Eve? Why is the horror necessary? It does give me comfort that through the atonement, Jesus Christ felt all that horror first hand for every single being, but why did it even have to come to that? If we already accepted the plan and the atonement in the pre-mortal world, then why did we have to do it again here? I am suddenly reminded of something that was said in “The Infinite Atonement” that was something along of the lines of “why did Jesus have to perform the atonement? Isn’t there anything else that could have been done instead?” And the answer was “Jesus wasn’t the first person to ask ‘is there no other way?’ By necessity, the atonement had to be the most simple and easy method by which to reconcile man with God. If there was another easier, less painful way then requiring Jesus to perform the atonement, then God would have done that instead. Not only because as his Father loves Jesus but because to do otherwise would have made God cruel. By that deduction we can know that the atonement was the only way in which man could be reconciled to God as anything easier was not possible.” That’s really helped me a lot in understanding and coping with the horror of this life and I guess if I consider the apostasy and earth life in general with the same lens, then it would make sense that this is the only way. If there was an easier way, God would have to do it or else he would be a cruel person. This is the only way. This whole chapter is about the apostasy happening before Christ returns again and Satan revealing himself, but doesn’t really make sense to me because an all-knowing God would already know everything about Satan and what he is going to do, so I don’t really get that part. And there’s a lot in the IM and the article online that talks about how the apostasy happened and what were considered the “dark ages,” which again doesn’t make sense because it was only the dark ages for the European area, as Islam was having their Golden age during that time. So, there’s a lot about the apostasy that I don’t understand and it hard for me to think about because of the abstractness. So, I’m just going to make a few notes of things I learned while studying this chapter. First, the IM notes that Paul uses the Greek word “apostasia, a word that is closer in meaning to ‘rebellion’ or ‘mutiny.’ Paul was therefore speaking of an intentional fight against the gospel of Jesus Christ rather than a gradual movement away from it… Apostasy is often not simply a passive letting go of truth but an active rebellion that originates within the covenant community.” I had always envisioned a gradual falling away from the truth because after the apostles were killed everyone just kind of drifted. But this indicates more that not only was the killing of apostles intentional, but controlling the Christian dialogue from the beginning. I mean it’s pretty ingenious, honestly, religion can absolutely be harnessed in such a way that enriches you and allows you great power. There is some stuff in the IM talking about how the pope throughout time has been more powerful than any king or emperor. I just wonder how Satan came up with this idea, because I’m just not that clever. Paul encourages the people to “stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught whether by word or our epistle… comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work,” because “God hath from the beginning chosen you to be salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So even though there is all this gloom and doom, still be faithful, still be happy, still have joy where you can because the believers are appointed to the kingdom of God. And that’s kind of like we have today, lots of hardship surrounding and facing us, but we just keep on keeping on and we’ll be blessed and saved.