In his sermon titled 'The Revealing and End of the Lawless One,' Jason Dohm explores 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, focusing on the coming of Christ and the events preceding it. Dohm emphasizes that the day of Christ will not come until two key events occur: a massive apostasy and the revelation of the 'man of sin,' also called the son of perdition or the lawless one. The sermon highlights the role of false teachings in unsettling the Thessalonians and Paul's corrective instruction to remain firm in their beliefs. Dohm explains that the lawless one is currently restrained by a force or person, which he identifies as the Holy Spirit, delaying the revelation until the appointed time. He draws parallels to biblical passages, such as Acts 1 and the Book of Job, to illustrate God's sovereignty and control over His enemies. Ultimately, the sermon assures believers of the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ, who will effortlessly defeat the lawless one with the 'breath of His mouth' and the 'brightness of His coming,' signifying the absolute power and authority of Christ over all evil. Dohm encourages listeners to have confidence and joy in Christ's assured victory and to thank God for the restraining work of the Holy Spirit.

I'll be reading from 2 Thessalonians 2, verses 1 through 12. Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means. For that day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 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. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." Let's pray.

Father, I pray that Your Word would land upon us with power and be effective. I pray for Jason that You will anoint him with power from the Holy Spirit that He may rightly divide this word and has been prayed, Lord God, that You would move in our midst Father One that reigns over such epitome of evil and the lawless one and restrains him and forces him to do his bidding and that simply by his breath and his light consumes him. One that snaps cedar trees with His Word, makes the earth roll. I pray, Father, that You would create a holy fear in us. And those of us, Lord, that are on the same side, that are watching this destruction and power happening upon those that have not received a love of the truth, Lord, may we pray earnestly for those that will be on the receiving end of it, Father.

And may you give us great confidence in your wisdom and in your power to rule and reign and orchestrate every single instant of our lives. Lord, give us a ten of hearts now as we hear your word preached in Jesus name. Amen. The title of the sermon this morning is the revealing and end of the lawless one. This section began at the beginning of chapter 2 with Paul and Silvanus and Timothy talking about a man of sin, also called the son of perdition.

It's two titles for the same man. Man of sin and Son of perdition are the same person. Last week our authors turned our attention and the Thessalonians' attention to the second coming. Why did they do that? Because they were being deceived.

The Thessalonians were being deceived by false teaching. So they are addressing it to put a stop to that. To end the turmoil that has been brought about by wrong teaching coming into the church. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy asked the Thessalonians not to be soon shaken in mind, meaning, don't be moved off your convictions. That was what is meant by that phrase.

Don't be soon shaken in mind. Don't be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, as Paul says in Ephesians. And, having asked them not to be soon shaken in mind, they ask them not to be troubled or unsettled or disquieted. These are tendencies that false doctrine introduces into any church that is entertaining the false doctrine. They're tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine, and they're troubled or unsettled or disquieted by those who are deceiving.

These deceivers in this church had come to say that the day of Christ had already come. But Paul and Silvanus and Timothy flatly contradict that. And they say that can't be because there are two things that have to have happened before the day of Christ comes. The first thing is the falling away, or the apostasy, or the rebellion. Now, church history all the way back to Adam and Eve is filled with apostasies, with those who are falling away, or those who are in rebellion.

But this is on a whole other scale. This is the falling away, not a falling away, of which you can find many in church history. And so it's going to be on a massive scale. Secondly, the other thing that must happen before the day of Christ is the man of sin is revealed. Again, there have been many sinful men, many men who are good at sin and who promote sin.

But this is the man of sin. It's going to be on a whole other scale when this man, this son of perdition, is revealed. He will oppose God and he will exalt himself above God and above anything that is worshiped at a whole other level. This week is just a continuation on those thoughts. And we're told by our authors why the man of sin hasn't yet been revealed.

What is the holdup? Well, we're told that in this text. We're told what will have to happen to change that. In other words, there is something that is restraining, and that will have to be brought to an end before he can be revealed. We are told ultimately what will happen when this man of lawlessness has been revealed.

That is what our text is about today. So as we go to the text, let's go to the text in prayer. Our Lord Jesus Christ, you have all power. There is no power that doesn't belong to you. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to you.

We praise you. Thank you that nothing is out of place. That all things proceed according to the counsel of your own will. You superintended all. You have decreed it all.

And no one can successfully raise themselves up against you. I thank you for your conquering, vanquishing power. Oh Lord, I pray that these things would give us joy and confidence as we study your word today. In Jesus' name, Amen. I'd like to begin by starting just in looking at verse 5.

So, assuming you have your Bibles open to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Please follow along as I read verse 5. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? Simple verse, very straight forward. If you're taking notes on the handout and filling in blanks is do you not remember.

Remember fills in the blank. Do you not remember? As we've occasionally seen several times in 1st Thessalonians and now I think this is the first time in 2 Thessalonians, Paul every once in a while separates himself from his co-authors, and it goes from addressing them together, addressing the Thessalonians together, to Paul separating himself and saying, I said this. He attributes something singularly to himself by using the first person, I. That's what we have here.

Paul says, don't you remember that when I was with you I told you these things? Now what did we learn in 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 11? Well I'm guessing you don't remember verse by verse exactly what we learned. So let me remind you, this was 1 Thessalonians 2 verse 11. We were told that Paul and Silvanus and Timothy taught the Thessalonians as they would have taught their own children.

So they've commented on their exhortations and teaching toward these new believers. And they've essentially said, we're your spiritual parents. We didn't just share the Gospel with you, we were pleased also to share our own lives with you, and we taught you like fathers teach their own natural children. I think that's communicating a couple of things. I think it is communicating the affection that supports the teaching.

In other words, this is not just a classroom of 25 students and you are just passing over information. I hope you get the information. There is the affection that a father has in the teaching of his children. It's backed up by love. It stands on love.

He's teaching them because he has an affection for these children that God has entrusted to him. I think they are also communicating the seriousness of the instruction. Fathers and mothers Feel the weight, don't we? We have a lot of fathers and mothers in the room. Do you feel the weight, or don't you, of what is at stake in the teaching of your children?

You know that if they don't get certain things from you, they probably won't get them at all. These are not things that are lost on fathers and mothers. They think about it every day. It's a burden that actually helps you to be more diligent in the teaching of your children. I think Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are communicating, we feel the weight.

There are things that if you don't get them from us while we are here, you may not get it at all, and we love you, and this is serious to us. So they pour their hearts into the teaching. It's not just a transfer of information. Listen to what Solomon says about his teaching of his son. This is Proverbs chapter 4 verse 5.

Solomon says this in Proverbs 4, verse 5. Get wisdom. Get understanding. So he's exhorting his son in this verse and he's telling him what to do. Get wisdom.

Get understanding. Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Solomon knew that sons are prone to forget. They're prone to get fantastic instruction and then forget all about it. And not take it to heart and not be benefited by the affection of the teaching, the seriousness of the teaching, but it's lost because the son sometimes turns away from the words of the Father's mouth, even though he taught with love and even though he took it as serious business.

Solomon says, get wisdom, get understanding, do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Being taught well is a stewardship. When you are taught sound things, sound doctrine, you incur an obligation to learn well. That's the principle I think that we learn in this verse. If you are taught well, you have an obligation to learn well.

Then to stand on the sound things that you have been taught. Paul has an expectation. He pours his affection, he pours seriousness, he pours his life. Remember, we shared not just the Gospel with you, but our own lives. He's poured his life into this thing, and now he expects a return on his investment.

So Paul, I believe, is delivering a mild rebuke. It is a gentle rebuke in this verse, but I do think we have a gentle rebuke. He says, do you not remember, another way to say that would be just kind of the other side of the coin, the flip side. How could you forget? I was there.

I was pouring my life into this teaching. I taught you sound things. I taught, well, you didn't learn well. How could you forget? Here's what Gene Green says when he comments on this verse.

He says, the question implies that the church already had sufficient instruction to evaluate and reject the teaching that had so moved them and put them in turmoil. I think Gene Green is exactly right. That's what's implied in this verse. They had sufficient instruction. Paul had already taught them enough that when the false teaching came, that the day of Christ had come and gone, they should have known from what Paul already taught them, that can't be true.

But they didn't. They were moved. They were put into turmoil. The false teachers came and said the day of Christ had already come, and they bought it. And now Paul is writing back and saying, How could you have fallen for that?

Based on what I know I told you, and what you know I told you. Now let's look at verses 6 and 7. Second Thessalonians 2, verses 6 and 7. Read along. And Now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.

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." In these two verses we have, what's the hold up? If you're taking notes on the handout It's hold up. What's the hold up? There's something delaying.

There's a reason why the man of sin, or the son of perdition, or the man of lawlessness – now he's given a third title in this section. It's been called three different things since the start of the chapter, the man of sin and the son of perdition, and now the man of lawlessness. There's a reason that he's not on the scene yet. He will be revealed. It was future then to Paul and Silvanus and Timothy and the Thessalonians.

I believe it's still future now. There are different views of that. But something was restraining. In these two verses, this restrainer is spoken of twice. First, it is a what?

What is restraining? Verse six. It's a restraining influence or force in verse 6. What is restraining? Secondly, he is a he in verse 7.

It's a masculine word, it's a personal word. He who now restrains. So two verses in the first verse, it is a what? It's impersonal. It's a restraining influence or force.

And then in the very next verse, back to back verses, verse 7, He is a he. It's personal, it's masculine. He is personal, he is masculine. So what or who is restraining the man of lawlessness from being revealed? What is it?

Who is it? Give us a name. You know my favorite answer for these questions. The text doesn't say. It's just not there.

You don't get a name from Paul. Paul says the Thessalonians know, but we don't know. The best we're going to be able to do is make an educated guess. You can either satisfy yourself that the text doesn't say, because the text doesn't say, or you can look at all the information you have and say, it could very well be this because of the information we have. So what information do we have with which to make an educated guess?

Well, this restraining force, or this masculine person, this he, is able to restrain Satan. So I'm giving you a preview of next week's text. The very beginning of next week's text in verse 9 is, the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan. So who's rolling out the man of lawlessness? It is Satan.

This is according to the working of Satan. So it is Satan who is being restrained from the revealing of the man of lawlessness. We learn from our text today that the restrainers, whatever it is, or whoever he is, is so powerful that it or he has to be taken out of the way or forever will come and the man of lawlessness will never be revealed. He has to be taken out of the way. If he is still restraining There will be no revelation of the man of lawlessness.

If you have a New King James Version in your lap, you can see that the translator has weighed in on this. How so? Well, In verse 7, He is not at the beginning of the sentence, it's right in the middle of the sentence. There are two of them, and it's capital H-E, signifying that the translator is saying it's God. But there's nothing grammatically, or there's nothing in the Greek that requires that.

So you just have to know that that's the translator saying, we're making an educated guess. You have to sort of land one way or the other. And the translators of the New King James have landed and capitalized the word E. So the New King James translators think it's God. And I think they're right.

Here's what The Expositors Bible commentary points to the upper room discourse. That is the section of John, and it is actually a large section of John, which is the Passover meal when the Lord's Supper is celebrated and Jesus does a lot of teaching at that meal. It starts in somewhere, but it at least includes John 14, 15, and 16, which is all about Jesus departing and sending the Spirit to continue his ministry in his absence. Jesus will no longer be physically present after his death and resurrection. He is going to send the Holy Spirit to indwell believers.

The Holy Spirit is spoken of over and over and over again in John chapters 14, 15, and 16. In fact, if you want to learn about the Holy Spirit, you don't begin with the gifts of the Spirit or anything like that in the epistles. You begin with John 14, 15, and 16, and what Jesus teaches about the Holy Spirit. So The Expositors Bible commentary is pointing to that discourse and those chapters on the Holy Spirit. Observing that in that discourse, sometimes neuter words are used, meaning non-gender specific, what it words are used.

Sometimes masculine personal words are used. He, he. You see them used in succession. Sometimes a neuter word, sometimes a masculine personal pronoun used for the Holy Spirit. That would match this.

That's essentially what the Expositors Guide is saying. How Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as both genderless in one sense, but using the masculine personal pronoun, He, in other senses and other places in those chapters would match what we have here. So that's what I think it is. I think the restraining force and influence is a he, the Holy Spirit of God, and I think that fits the information that we have, so that's my educated guess. But at the end of the day, an educated guess is a guess.

And I should say that many others have offered up many other possibilities. When you read the guys I love to read, the Reformers and the Puritans, you find that the majority report is that it's the Roman Empire that is the impersonal force and the Emperor himself is the personal force, is the he, and that they're speaking of the suppression of the rise of the papacy, meaning the popes would have arrived sooner if it wasn't for the Roman Empire and if it wasn't for the emperors. That's where many, many of the reformers and then the Puritans, including Matthew Poole and Matthew Henry, who I always love and I always quote, but I'm not quoting them today because I don't agree with them on this point. But there's such a strong majority that speak of it that way and interpret it that way that I thought it was at least worth a mention. My view is that it is the Holy Spirit, but my encouragement is, whatever your educated guess is, that you take God as the first cause.

Here's the point of the text. If the point of the text was, who is it? Give me a name, then we'd have the name. We know it's not the point of the text because we're not given the name. God hasn't made a mistake not giving the name.

The point of the text is these things are at the pleasure of God. Whether it's God directly or God using secondary causes like an empire or human government or the preaching of the gospel or the many other possible explanations that have been offered up. Whatever the secondary causes are, God is the primary cause and all these things happen at His pleasure. We are also given the why for the restraint. In other words, the revelation of the man of lawlessness has been delayed.

Why? We're told why. That he may be revealed in his own time. That he may be revealed in his own time. Now, let's understand this rightly.

It is so clear from the text that the timing for the revelation of the man of lawlessness is not self-determined by either Satan or the man of lawlessness. If you don't get anything from the text, get that. This is not self-determination. I think I'll reveal myself now, so I'm revealed now. Satan thinks he'll be revealed now, so he's revealed now.

That's completely contrary to what we have in the text. So we have to be careful not to impart that meaning to his own time. That does not mean he chooses the time and does it in that time. Then what does it mean? Turn to Acts chapter 1.

Acts chapter 1 talks about another son of perdition. Now the term son of perdition isn't used in Acts chapter 1, it's used in the Gospel of John. But it's used in the Gospel of John of who? Judas. He's the first son of Perdition, mentioned in the New Testament.

And in Acts chapter 1, they're replacing him. And they're casting lots to see who will take his place and join the eleven in spreading the gospel to the four corners of the world. So I'm going to read Acts chapter 1 verses 23 through 26 and I think it will help us to understand this phrase from our text his own time. Acts chapter 1 verse 23 and they proposed two, two replacements are proposed for Judas. Joseph called Bar-Sabbath, that Bar-Sabbath who was surnamed Justice and Mathias.

They prayed and said, You, O Lord, who know the hearts of all, Show which of these two you have chosen to take part in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." And they cast their lots and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. Here in Acts chapter 1 we have a phrase that is almost exactly the same. In our text we have his own time where that Son of Perdition will be revealed. In this text, we have this phrase, His own place.

It's where that Son of Perdition, Judas, went after he betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, his own place does not mean that Judas picked it. I pick hell to go to. That's what you'd have to say. If his own place means he determined the place, you would have to say he picked hell.

Well, We know that's not true. It doesn't mean he owns it. Hell doesn't belong to Judas. So what does his own place mean? It means that Judas was appointed to it.

Judas was appointed to perdition, destruction, hell. So it is called his own place. In the same way in our text, this is the time appointed by God for him. That's what makes it his own, because God appointed him to it. That's very consistent with the view that we get about how God operates with his enemies in Job 1 and 2.

So now let's go there. Let's go to Job 1 and Job is right before Psalms. We get two encounters, one in chapter one, one in chapter two, between God and Satan. Satan is desiring to work in Job's life to say the least. In certain ways.

We see how God and His arch enemy, the devil, Satan, relate to one another. Hopefully you're in Job chapter 1 now. I'm going to be reading verses 6 through 12. Follow along. Job chapter 1 verse 6.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? So Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it. Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil? So Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for nothing?

Have you not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But now stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, All that he has is in your power, only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. Satan is a beggar in Job chapter 1. Satan is a dog on a leash in Job chapter one.

God says to the devil, have you noticed Job? The devil says, well here's why, you restrain me. You've got a hedge around this guy and his family. So I have no ability to get at them. That's why, if you take down the hedge, he'll curse you to your face.

And God says, we'll see. But don't touch his life. Now, chapter 2. I'm going to read verses 1 through 6. Job chapter 2 verse 1, Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord.

And the Lord said to Satan, From where do you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth and from walking back and forth on it. Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil. And still he holds fast to his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without cause. So Satan answered the Lord and said, skin for skin.

Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life, but stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will surely curse you to your face. And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand, but spare his life." Here's the truth. God's greatest enemies are on a leash. His greatest spiritual enemies, his greatest human enemies, our greatest circumstantial enemies, they're on a leash and it's a short leash. He sets the boundaries.

He appoints their times, their ends, exactly how far they can go. That's what we see in Job chapter 1. That's what we see in Job chapter 2. That's what we see in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. There is a lawless one, lawlessness incarnate.

Jesus Christ is righteousness incarnate. There is a counterfeit to Christ. There is an anti-Christ. When he comes, just as Jesus was righteousness incarnate, he will be lawlessness incarnate. Satan can't wait, but Satan has to wait.

God determines those times and places. Finally, Paul makes it clear that lawlessness is not waiting around for the man of lawlessness. The man of Lawlessness might not be on the scene, but Lawlessness surely is on the scene. Verse seven says, For the mystery of Lawlessness is already at work. This is consistent with a verse that we looked at last week, 1 John 2, 18.

Listen to it again, 1 John 2, 18. As you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, Capital A, the Capital A Antichrist is coming. Even now many Antichrists have come. Little a Antichrists. You've heard that the Antichrist is coming, but even now many Antichrists have come.

Add to that 1 John 4 verse 3. This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. John says, you heard that The Antichrist is coming? Yes, true. But the spirit of the Antichrist is already in the world.

The mystery of lawlessness is already among us. Lawlessness is not waiting around for the revelation of the man of lawlessness. Though the man of lawlessness is being restrained, the cause of lawlessness is being promoted every day by the world, the flesh, and the devil. This is really important stuff. Why is it so important?

Because we can't afford to think, that's going to be really dangerous when. To fix our eyes on this future time, which may or may not be in our lifetime, which sort of makes us comfortable. Because for the people of the last two thousand years, it wasn't in their lifetime, I don't think it was. And say, wow, it's going to be dangerous then. No, no, no.

We have to be vigilant over our souls now. Because the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work. The mystery of lawlessness is already hard at work. Jason's edition.

Hard at work. So vigilance over our souls is required now. Here are some helpful notes from a couple of my study Bibles. The first one is from the MacArthur Study Bible. MacArthur says this, This is the spirit of lawlessness already prevalent in society, but still a mystery in that it is not fully revealed, as it will be in the one who so blatantly opposes God that he blasphemously assumes the place of God on earth which God has reserved for Jesus Christ.

Meaning it's a mystery now because it doesn't have the name attached to it yet. It's going to be personified. It's going to be incarnate like righteousness. Jesus was righteousness incarnate. The antichrist, or the man of sin, or the man of lawlessness will be lawlessness incarnate.

So you might not be able to tag a name to it, but the lawlessness is already prevalent. Here's what the ESV Study Bible says, Prior to the revelation of lawlessness personified, the person you can name, it operates as an impersonal mystery stirring up hostility to Christ and his people. Lawlessness remains in mystery form until the restrainor is taken out of the way. I think that's exactly what we have in these verses. Now, Back to our text.

Finally, verse 8. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse 8. Follow along as I read. And then the lawlessness, then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming." This verse, revealed to be destroyed, If you're filling in blanks on the handout. Revealed, destroyed.

Revealed to be destroyed. Isn't this such an abrupt verse? So much build up and then just poof! Consumed and destroyed. Paul wants us to know with great clarity that there is no colossal battle between equals.

It doesn't exist. It's a fantasy. You would have thought that we were building to a climax. In fact, we're sitting here in the year 2016. We've been building up to a two thousand year climax He's going to be revealed he's going to be revealed he's going to be revealed he's going to be revealed it's closer is closer Paul wants us to know we're building to an anti-climax.

There is no climactic battle between God and all the hosts of Satan to be had. Where the outcome hangs in the balance. The outcome has never hung in the balance. The man of lawlessness was always going to be revealed in his own time, and Jesus Christ was always going to be revealed in his own time, and when he comes, he consumes him with the breath of his mouth and destroys him with the brightness of his coming. Period.

Amen. That's it. Now There is a sermon next week. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are going to continue to teach. And the man of lawlessness is going to do some things.

But I think that Paul takes ownership of this section. He makes it I and not we to say definitively, all in Christ have nothing to worry about. We're not building to a climax. We're building to an anticlimax. We're not building to a colossal battle between good and evil where the outcome hangs in the balance.

No, no, a thousand times no. This is not Satan bringing a knife to a gunfight. This is Jesus Christ bringing nuclear warheads to a fist fight. The outcome is not hanging in the balance. Great build up, revealed, destroyed.

That's how this is going to work. This is right out of Isaiah chapter 11. Turn to Isaiah chapter 11. Isaiah chapter 11 is unmistakably about the Lord Jesus Christ. It begins with these words, There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse.

Who's Jesse? David's dad. So this is the line of David. There's going to be a rod from the family tree of David. That is always talking about Christ.

Anytime you encounter words like that, phrases like that, in the Old Testament prophecies, it's always talking about the Messiah. So this is unmistakably about the Lord Jesus Christ. Let me read Isaiah 11, verses 1-4. There shall come forth a rod from the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and he shall judge not by sight of eyes, nor decide by the hearing of ears, but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked." We have the same person, the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have the same outcome. The breath of his mouth consumes his enemies. Here is generally, here the breath of his lips he slays the wicked. It's much more specific in our text.

But the same words are used. In many ways, Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy are teaching Old Testament eschatology. Old Testament end time prophecy. We don't need anything in the New Covenant. All we need is Isaiah Chapter 11.

I just compare that to what they've already been saying. I'm back in 2 Thessalonians again. Listen again to chapter 1 verses 6 through 8. Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." They've already been talking in these terms in chapter one. Jesus is going to be revealed.

Don't worry about the man of lawlessness being revealed. Jesus is going to be revealed. And He's going to take vengeance in flaming fire on the ones who don't know God and who don't obey the Gospel. So the Lord Jesus will consume the man of lawlessness with the breath of his mouth, and he will destroy him with the brightness of his coming." I want to talk just briefly about the word destroy. He will destroy him with the brightness of his coming.

That translation is okay, but it's the secondary meaning of that Greek word. Here's the primary meaning of the Greek word. Listen to this range of meaning of the primary meaning of this Greek word. To render idle, unemployed, inactivate, inoperative, to cause a person or thing to have no further efficiency, To deprive of force, influence, power. It's the primary meaning of that word that's been rendered destroy here.

This is why the NASB actually render it's bring to an end or the ESV renders it bring to nothing. I actually favor those translations because it lines up a little better with the primary meaning of that Greek word. They're both fine. There's not a bad translation to be had among those. But the point, I think, taking the primary meaning of this Greek word, is that Jesus' revelation is going to render the lawless one idle.

Inactivate him, make him inoperative. He's going to deprive him of force, influence, and power. In other words, you are dismissed. You are unemployed. That was one of the words.

The primary meaning of the Greek. You're unemployed. You're relieved of all influence or power or force. I have three applications. Number one, we are in a day when Christians can drown themselves in sound teaching.

It's probably also worthwhile to say We are in a time where Christians can drown themselves in very unsound teaching and false teaching. But there is so much wonderful, sound, faithful, passionate teaching out there. Has there ever been a time where Christians could get at more of that? I doubt it. In the 6, 000 years of earth history, I seriously doubt when there was a better era for getting your hands on wonderful, sound, faithful, accurate, passionate teaching from the Word of God.

Because of the many new ways in which we have to disseminate such things. A stewardship comes with that. When you're well taught, you now have a duty to well learn. When you are soundly taught, you incur a duty to soundly learn, and to stand on what you have learned, And to not be moved off of what you learned. We're coming to verse 15 in chapter 2.

Stand fast, is what Paul and Timothy say. Stand fast on the things we taught you, either by word or by our epistle. This applies to us. When we read in verse 5, Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? This is direct application to us.

God has given us access to this treasure trove of sound, wonderful teaching. And there's a stewardship that comes with that. Number two. Well let me back up and apply this to me and you. We'll go back to number one.

When I teach you soundly, when I faithfully give you what's in the text, you have incurred an obligation. Not to me, but to God. I didn't write these things. I don't write the mail, I deliver it. As the saying goes.

This is not my book. But when I teach you soundly from this book, you're on the hook. Not to me. God expects when he gives you, when he feeds you his word soundly, that you learn well. That means holding on to it.

Number two. One of the things we should be continually thanking God for is the restraining work of the Holy Spirit. Back to 1 Thessalonians, in everything give thanks. Here's one of the things we should be thanking God for. The ongoing restraining work of the Holy Spirit.

Listen to John chapter 16. You can go there if you're fast. John chapter 16 verses 8-11. Jesus says, and when He has come, when the Holy Spirit has been sent, when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin because they do not believe in me, of righteousness because I go to my Father and you see me no more, of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.

I'm saying that Jesus promises in this text to send His Spirit in the world and to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. And that if the Holy Spirit weren't doing this always in the world, we would have a very different world. We would be much less restrained. Especially the unregenerate would be much less restrained. Because God works directly, His Spirit working, and through His people, raising up the Law of God to say, this is right and this is wrong.

It has a restraining influence in our world. Our passage had a very specific work of restraint. I think it is that the Holy Spirit is keeping back the lawless one from being revealed. In John, it's a very general restraint. On the world, In both cases we should be thankful.

God is restraining. We very rarely think of what this world would be like if the Holy Spirit wasn't holding back the corruptions in man's heart and Men, women, and children were wholly given themselves over to the inclinations of their hearts. You do not want to live in that world. It is a mercy that even the unregenerate are restrained by the Holy Spirit of God in certain ways that keep them from acting on every inclination. When you go to more lawless countries, you find out how out of control things feel.

The things are. Number three. Revel in the certain and complete victory of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Remember, Satan is not bringing a knife to a gunfight. The Lord Jesus Christ is bringing nuclear weapons to a fist fight.

The outcome is not hanging in the balance. He will win. It will be nothing for him to win. His might will not be diminished at all by winning. It's not a colossal battle between equals.

It is not. And he's our king. It should give us such joy, it should give us such confidence knowing that our King has all of His enemies on a leash. Just like we read in Job. How much more so now when the Holy Spirit has been sent to indwell us every minute of every day.

If it was like that in Job before the Spirit was sent in the world to indwell and empower the Lord's people, what is it like now? Joy, confidence, have confidence, know that our King is a conquering King, He's a vanquishing King. We need not fear anything. Let's pray. God, I do pray for this in my own heart and for our hearts together that we would have joy from knowing that you are King of Kings.

You are Lord of Lords. That all your enemies are being made your footstool. That nothing happens unless the one restraining is moved out of the way. Thank you Lord for your great conquering, vanquishing, unbeatable power. All authority in heaven and on earth in your hands.

You are our King. I pray that you would free us from any fear, Lord. Use these truths to free us from fear so that we would serve you with joy and confidence. In Jesus' name, amen.