How To Have a Steadfast Hope In A Shaky World | Part 2

Listen closely as Adrian Rogers shares what will happen when we're taken out. 1 Thessalonians reveals how to have a settled faith in these last days. If you have your Bible, turn there now beginning in chapter 1 as Adrian Rogers delivers part 2 of how to have a steadfast hope in a shaky world. We're going to look today into the Word of God and find something that will give us a settled faith in a shaky world.

Somebody said if you can keep your head when all those roundabouts you're losing theirs, it's just a sign you don't understand the situation. But it may be another sign, it may be a sign that you have a bulldog grip on the Word of God. Now, 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 and look, if you will, in verse 7. And you who are troubled, are you troubled?

He's talking to you now. And you who are troubled, rest with us. That is, settle down.

Release that tension, rest with us. When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power when he shall come to be glorified in his saints and to be admired in all them that believe because our testimony among you was believed in that day. Now, let's talk about a settled faith in a very shaky world. I want to lay three things upon your heart, and I pray God the Holy Spirit will write them indelibly upon your heart and etch them today into your consciousness. Truth number one as we look at this scripture, you need not be dismayed.

You need not be dismayed. Look again, if you will, in verse 7. And you who are troubled, rest with us. You say, but Pastor, these are dark days. Yes, they are.

But they are gloriously dark because the darkest hour of the night is just before the dawn. You see, our hope is not in politics. Everybody's talking politics these days. Our hope is not in sociology. Our hope is not in science.

Our hope is a sure hope, and that is the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so what is Paul saying in this first section? He is saying, you need not be dismayed. You who are troubled, rest. God has everything under control.

As a matter of fact, I have a motto in my study that says, Adrian, trust me, I have everything under control. Now, number two, not only should you not be dismayed, you should not be deceived. Look, if you will, now in the second Thessalonians, the second chapter, and notice how it begins. Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that is the rapture, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, that is, don't be dismayed, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand, let no man deceive you by any means. For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you these things.

I'm going to stop reading there for a moment. But Paul is saying, not only don't be dismayed, but don't be deceived. Look again, chapter 2, verse 3, let no man deceive you.

Now put it down big, plain, and straight, the devil is a deceiver. He is a liar, he is the father of all lies, and he had inspired a devilish deception. What had happened, a forged letter had gone out, somebody had signed Paul's name to it, to deceive the church. And they were teaching that the church was already in the great tribulation. And they were saying that you Christians have missed the rapture, and you're in the great tribulation, and it was a lie.

It was a devilish lie. Paul is talking about our being gathered together unto him in verse 1. The rapture is going to come first, but here was the lie, that the day of the Lord is at hand, you're in the tribulation. And so Paul is straightening them out about this, and tells them now the truth. And he explains some things to them about the antichrist that is going to come. You see, there's coming an antichrist, the man of sin. He's going to fling one final insult into the face of heaven's king. Now notice what he says in verse 3, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and the man of sin be revealed the son of perdition.

That is, the day of the Lord is not going to come until the antichrist is here. Now, he's called here the man of sin. He is going to be the epitome of evil. He is Satan's Superman.

He will counterfeit the work of God. And like any criminal, he has many aliases. I want to give you some names that he's called in the Bible.

Now, two of them are found right here. First of all, he's called the man of sin. The man of sin.

That speaks of his character. He is going to be the epitome of evil. He's going to be the personification of sin. You see, history began with the sin of man. It will end with the man of sin.

All of the evil of this world will be distilled into one man. He's called the man of sin. Another translation calls this the incarnation of wickedness. Another translation, the champion of wickedness.

Another translation, wickedness in human form. All of these are the same way of saying he is the man of sin. But also, he's called, in verse 3, the son of perdition.

Now, what does that mean? Well, the word perdition means judgment. And it speaks there of the judgment that surely awaits him. The only other person in the Bible that's called the son of perdition is Judas. And Williams translates this, son of perdition, the one who is doomed to destruction. That's the reason why I said Satan sails a sinking ship. Then in Revelation chapter 13, he's called there the beast.

All of these are aliases. Why is he called the beast? Because that speaks of his ferocity, his cruel and fierce and ferocious nature.

This man may have the face of an angel, but he has the heart of a beast. And then the apostle John calls him the antichrist. You can read about that in 1 John. He's called the antichrist.

And the prefix A-N-T-I, anti, means instead of and against. He's against Christ, but he comes as a substitute for Christ. He's one who opposes Christ. He's one who will be a substitute for Christ. That is, he is the counterfeit Christ.

Now, I want you to get something straight. Jesus could say, He that hath seen me hath seen my Father. The antichrist can say the same thing. He is of his father the devil. Just as Jesus Christ was God in human flesh, the antichrist will be the devil in human flesh.

And he can say, He that hath seen me hath seen my Father, but his Father is the devil. Now, you have to understand this, that Satan desires worship, and he's getting bolder and bolder in these days. And more and more, he is inculcating to himself demonic, devilish worship. He wants to receive worship, and he will receive that worship through the antichrist.

Look, if you will, in the 2nd chapter in verse 4. It speaks of this man of sin who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God. That is the anti he is against God, or that is worship. But now he is the anti in place of God so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. The devil has always wanted to be worshiped. Now, the Bible says that this antichrist is going to come and sit in the temple of God.

Well, where is that? Well, the temple of God will be rebuilt in Jerusalem. You say, well, Adrian, do you believe the temple will be rebuilt?

Yes, I do. And I believe it will be rebuilt by the antichrist himself, and this antichrist will make a covenant with Israel and help the temple to be rebuilt there. And then when the temple is rebuilt, he himself will enter into that temple, and he will show himself that he is God.

Of course, he's not God. But Jesus said in Matthew 24, when you see the abomination of desolation and sin in the holy place, then you know that the greatest tribulation ever is about to begin. Now, notice the antichrist is going to be revealed. Look, if you will, in verse 3.

Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed. Now, what does that tell us? It tells us that he could be alive and well, but veiled and covered right now. He may be alive today on planet earth.

I personally believe he's going to come out of a reunified Europe. We'll talk about that later. But he's going to be revealed. But until he is revealed, there is a spirit working in this world that the Bible calls the mystery of iniquity. Notice, if you will, in chapter 2, verse 6, and you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time, talking of the antichrist. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way.

Now, look at this very carefully. Look in verse 6, and you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. That is, if the antichrist is alive and well today, there is something that is holding him back.

There is something that is restraining him. It's as if the devil is on a leash. And you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. The antichrist cannot come on the stage until the time that is set. Now, notice in verse 7, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work.

Friend, if you cannot see the spirit of antichrist in the world today, you're blind. The mystery of iniquity doth already work. Only he who now letteth, and that's King James, for he who now restrains will restrain until he be taken out of the way. Now, notice, if you will, in verse 6, there's a what, and you know what withholdeth. Now, notice in verse 7, only he who now restrains. There's a what, and there's a he.

What is the what? The what is the church. When the church is taken out, the church is a restraint to antichrist, and the church is going to be taken out.

Who is the he? The he is the Holy Spirit who inhabits the church. Now, when is the church inhabited by the Holy Spirit going to be taken out? At the rapture. When the church is taken out at the rapture, when the trumpet sounds, the dead in Christ rise first, we which remain alive will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air and to admire Him and to be changed and be like Him. Then we're taken out.

And the restraint is gone. Did you know that the church is a restraint to the power of evil? Did you know that the Holy Spirit inhabiting His people has Satan on a leash, and there's certain things that He would like to do that He cannot do?

Study the book of Job. Satan said the things I want to do, but you won't let me do them. Speaking to God. One of these days, Satan is going to be released. One of these days, the restraint will be gone.

When is that? When we're taken out. You know, they don't like us. They wish we were gone.

We are a pain to them. But the Bible calls us salt and light. What does salt do? Well, salt preserves. But what else does salt do? Salt stings. Salt irritates.

One of these days, this preserving, stinging, irritating salt will be taken out. Light. What does light do?

We're the light of the world. Light reveals as well as produces. But one of these days, God's divine photosynthesis will be taken out. One of these days, God's revealing light will be taken out. One of these days, the preaching, like I'm doing today, will be taken out. And then, Antichrist will have his way. That man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition.

He's going to come. And when that happens, when the church is taken out, friend, there will be such a flood tide of lawlessness and wickedness. You might as well try to dam up Niagara Falls with toothpicks, as to stop the flood tide of lawlessness that will come in that day when the church at the rapture is taken out. Now, it doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit is no longer on earth. Listen, friend, the Holy Spirit is everywhere. There's no place where God is not.

But what he's talking about is the restraining power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will stand aside, and then the Antichrist, the man of sin, will come on the scene. He will be all of the Hitlers, the Komenes, the Sodom-Hussanes, and the Napoleons in one. He will be the composite of evil. His intellectual genius will be great. His authority will be overpowering. His hatreds will be extraordinary. His techniques will be superb. Men will be willing to die for him.

Women will swoon at his feet. Little children will speak his name with reverence, and the whole world will wander after the beast. Now, look, if you will, in verses 10 and 12, because time is running out on me. It speaks of chapter 2, verses 10 and 12.

Let's begin in verse 9. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders. He'll make you believe that up is down, black is white. He'll make you believe that good is evil. All power and signs and lying wonders.

Now, watch this. And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because they receive not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.

Now, listen to me. Don't you ever plan on getting saved after the rapture? There will be some people saved after the rapture, but not people like you.

Not people who've sat in churches like this and heard the gospel preached. Heard the plan of salvation presented. And you said, no, I don't want him. I don't want Jesus. I have pleasure in unrighteousness, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness.

And the opposite here of truth is not error, but it is unrighteousness. A man is presented with the truth, and then he thinks of his sin, and he says, well, I don't want the truth. I'm going to take my sin. And God says, and with your sin will be the baggage of unbelief when the church is taken out and the Bible says that you will believe the lies of the Antichrist. And some people are saying, well, I'm just going to wait until the rapture, and if the rapture happens and everybody else is gone, then I'll just turn and get saved. No, you won't. You will believe the lies of the Antichrist, and you will go into the great tribulation, and then ultimately you will die and go to hell. Now, what have we said?

And I must come to conclusion. Paul is saying to these folks, don't be dismayed. He's saying secondly to these people, don't be deceived.

And he's saying thirdly and finally, you will not be disappointed. Chapter 2 and verse 8. Then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth. This is talking about the battle of Armageddon. When the wicked, the wicked, when the Antichrist comes, the Lord will consume him with the spirit of his mouth. What is that?

The breath of his mouth. The same Jesus that spoke them into existence is going to speak them into oblivion. This speaks of the battle of Armageddon. Remember that the second coming of Jesus Christ is in two stages. First of all, he comes secretly for his church, and then secondly, he comes sovereignly with his church. There's a period of seven years in between the great tribulation, and when our Lord comes, not only in the mystery of the rapture, but the majesty of the revelation, it's then that Antichrist is going to be destroyed. It is then that 777 will take care of 666. It is then that the Lord Jesus who suffered in shame will come in glory.

It is then that Jesus who wore a crown of thorns will wear a diadem. It is then that the one who died in the sinner's place will come to execute judgment upon those who refuse such love. He came the first time to seek and to save. He's coming the second time in judgment. He came the first time in mercy. He's coming the second time in flaming fire to take vengeance. He came the first time in humility.

He's coming the second time in incredible power. What does this mean to you? I'm just going to give you five things that it means to you in statements. Number one, there's the intercession factor.

You better begin to pray. Number two, there's the soul-winning factor. If you have men, women, boys and girls, friends, mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters, without Jesus, share Jesus. Number three, there's the family preparation factor.

You had better get your children and get them into the Word of God and get them to understand things that are happening today because the spirit of antichrist is in the world and the mystery of iniquity doth already work. There is the comfort factor. Friend, don't be dismayed.

Don't go around with headline hysteria. And last of all, there is the hope factor. We have a hope that is steadfast and sure.

We're the only ones who really understand what is happening in this day and in this age. Some people visited a real old church. The church was beautiful, the building, I mean. They wanted to see it. There was a janitor there, and they said, can we go inside and look at the building? The janitor said, sure.

You may go in. The key is in the lock. And so the people went over there and they tried to turn the key. They tried to turn the key. They tried to unlock the door. They tried and tried and tried. They even took the key out of the lock, took a handkerchief, wiped it off, blew it off, put it back in, but they couldn't turn the key. And after a while, the old janitor came over and he said, oh, I'm so sorry to tell you. The reason you couldn't turn the key is the door is already unlocked. Just lift the latch and go on in. I'm sorry I didn't tell you that. But notice, if you want to be saved, the door is already unlocked.

Quit trying and start trusting. Just come as you are. And if you don't know Jesus, I want to lead you in a prayer. Would you pray this prayer out of your heart? Dear God, I am a sinner. My sin deserves judgment, but I need and want mercy. Jesus, you died to save me and you promised to save me if I would trust you. I do trust you, Jesus.

I do. Right now, this moment with my heart, come into my heart. Forgive my sin. I'm sorry for my sin. I repent of my sin. I turn from it to you. Forgive me, cleanse me, save me, Lord Jesus. Then by faith, pray this way. Thank you for saving me, Lord Jesus. I receive it right now as the gift of your love.

I trust you. You're now my Lord, my Savior, my God, and my friend. Begin now to make me the person you want me to be. And Lord Jesus, I will live for you, not in order to be saved, that's a gift, but I will live for you because I am saved. And Lord Jesus, help me not to be ashamed of you. Give me the courage to make it public. In your name I pray, amen.

Amen. And if you've prayed to receive Jesus Christ just now, we would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our Find God's Love page at the website. There you'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith. Go to lwf.org slash radio and click the tab that says Find God's Love.

Welcome to his forever family. We can't wait to hear from you today. Now, if you'd like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety, you can call us at 1-877-LOVEGOD. Mention the title, How to Have a Steadfast Hope in a Shaky World. This message is also part of the insightful series, The Edge of Eternity. For the complete six-message collection, call 877-LOVEGOD or order online at lwf.org slash radio. Or write us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You may also purchase our new Bible studies much like this message at the online store.

For more information, go to the website again, lwf.org slash radio. Knowing our Lord is returning soon, there are a few things to remember as we hold on to our hope in a shaky world, pray continuously, witness to anyone and everyone, worship God as a family. Don't be dismayed by what you see on the news and know that your hope is in Jesus Christ, steadfast and sure.

We hope you'll join us next time for more from Adrian Rogers right here on Love Worth Finding. Here's an encouraging message we received online recently. When I came to know Jesus three years ago, I'd never read the Bible before or been to church. I thank the Lord so much for ministries like Love Worth Finding. These messages have made such an impact on my faith.

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