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tribulation through which they are passing, are comforted by the fact that "rest" shall be
theirs.
"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God" (II Thess. 1: 7, 8).
It was of this same event that the apostle had written in I Thess. 3: 13:--
"To the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even
our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His holy ones" (angels).
And in verse 3 the apostle speaks of sending Timothy to comfort them--"that no man
should be moved by these tribulations".
We have not to rest our faith merely upon deduction, comparison and inference, for in
II Thess. 2: 1, 2 the apostle declares that those who were spreading abroad the teaching
that the day of the Lord was at hand, were false teachers, speaking the doctrine of
demons:--
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither
by SPIRIT, nor by WORD, nor by LETTER, as from us, as that the day of Christ (or the
Lord) is at hand."
This was a threefold attempt to deceive.
The words, "by spirit", refer to the miraculous gifts in the church, which, being
travestied by Satan, required to be "tried" to see that they were "of God". The evil is
countered in this chapter by that sanctification of "the Spirit" that is associated with
"belief of the truth" (2: 13).
"By word" refers to the method of passing on the instruction. The apostle, at the close
of chapter 2:, reminds them of the source of authority:--
"Hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle."
And in 3: 17 he pointedly refers to the false "epistle":--
"The salutation of Paul, with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle; so I
write."
Returning to chapter 1:, we find that the apostle declares that a series of prophetic
events must take place before the Lord's coming:--
1.
The apostacy must come, for such is the word "falling away".
2.
The man of sin must be revealed.
3.
The revelation of the wicked one must take place.
4.
This will be preceded by great Satanic signs, and wonders and lying miracles.
When these things have come to pass, then only will the coming of the Lord take
place:--