Has The Kingdom of Christ Already Come?

Has The Kingdom Of God Already Come? Many believe the Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of Heaven, will come in the future, yet Jesus said it would come in the lifetime of his disciples. Did Christ establish his kingdom in the first century?

The Kingdom of the Lord is one of the most primary themes of the Bible. God desires to reign over the hearts and lives of men. It was rebellion against God’s authority that led to the fall of man and our ruined state from which Christ had to redeem us and to be restored and reconciled to God.

It means more than the forgiveness of sin and the promise of going to heaven one day, but it also means that we submit to God and his authority, which in this age has been given to Jesus Christ, his son, and therefore we honor Jesus as the Lord and as the king over all kings. There’s much confusion about the Kingdom of the Lord today.

What kind of kingdom is it? Is it here or is it yet to come? Are all men part of it or is it made up only of certain people?

Matthew 4:12-17 says, “Now when Jesus had heard that John was cast into prison, he departed into Galilee; And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.“

Jesus came preaching the good news of his coming kingdom, that it was at hand. Well, was it or are we still waiting for it?

Jesus came preaching the good news of the kingdom, the word kingdom merely referring to Christ’s reign in the earth or the rule of God over men. The message of John and Jesus was simple. The long awaited kingdom of the Messiah was at hand. That’s Bible language. The Rule of God was about to commence. It was imminent, but there’s a great deal of confusion about that. There was in Jesus’ day and people are still confused about it today. The confusion is not over the fact that the Messiah would rule over a kingdom. Nearly all who believe that Jesus is the Messiah believe that he is a king. The confusion is over the concept of his rule, the nature of his kingdom, and when the kingdom came or will come.

Well, let’s look at the great misunderstanding that people had about the kingdom and Jesus.

His own day. The prophets had all told of upcoming messianic king who would one day rule on the throne that David once occupied and the greatest hope of the Jews was that their king would come and deliver them. But what did that mean to them? David and Solomon represented the glory days of Israel to the ancient Jew. Israel was sovereign, secure, and prosperous during those early years, but it didn’t remain that way for long. After Solomon died and his son took over the throne, the kingdom was divided. You have the northern tribes, and then you had Judah. Well, trouble would follow God’s people from then on. Because they sinned and rebelled against the Lord, God handed them over to their enemies. God’s people became captives and servants.

There was, for example, the long period where the Jews were carried off to Babylon and held captive there and they’re beloved and holy city of Jerusalem was laid waste.The walls werebroken down and their temple destroyed. They eventually returned from Babylon. But it wasn’t the same during the intertestamental period. That is the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments, also called the “Second Temple Period”.

They came under the rule of the Romans. In fact, not very long before Jesus was born and their political fate shaped and molded their concept of the promised Messiah. In fact, it changed their concept of the Promised Messiah during that period of time, instead of anticipating a messiah who would break the fetters of sin from their hearts and souls, they were looking for a messiah or leader who would break the yoke of the Roman Caesar from off their necks. They resented the rule of the Romans, particularly paying taxes to the Roman government and tired of being subjects to other kings. They yearned to have their sovereignty back, so that was the mindset of the Jewish people during those last years of the intertestamental period and at the time that Jesus was born into the world.

It’s essential that we understand that historical basis.

That’s what they were wanting. That’s what they were expecting in a messiah, and in his attendant kingdom. They envisioned a powerful leader who would arise and lead their liberation from the Roman government and make them a sovereign nation, again. They misunderstood all of their prophets and God’s promises about a kingdom. So with these misconceptions in place when John the Baptist came before Jesus, heralding the soon coming kingdom, the news was met with excitement by many. John told the people to repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins in anticipation of the Messiah and his kingdom, for it was at hand. We read about how he baptized multitudes of people who responded to his preaching.

Notice in Matthew 3:1-6, the Bible says, “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the region round about Jordan, And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.”

John the Baptist preaching repentance. — Matthew 3:1

So John, being the harbinger of the Christ, says the kingdom is at hand. It is near, the long awaited promise is about to come to pass. Now, had you lived in John’s time and heard him preach, “the kingdom is at hand,” how would you have interpreted that?

And regardless of what you thought the kingdom represented, wouldn’t you have understood that whatever it is, it is about to be established. How else would they have interpreted John Statement? The kingdom is at hand.

It’s very hard to imagine them hearing John preach and then envisioning a kingdom that was still thousands of years away. In the lifetime of John, the kingdom was near and then John fulfills his ministry. He steps aside, he’s put into prison, and Jesus begins his ministry.

What did Jesus preach? Well, Mark 1:14-15, tells us, ” Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”

Repent and believe the gospel. So Jesus picks up the message, started by John. He says, “the time is fulfilled.” In other words, it’s now time. This kingdom that God has been promising you for hundreds of years is at hand. The time is right now.

There are many, many people who believe that the time wasn’t right. In fact, most preachers you hear today not only contend that the kingdom still has not come 2000 years after Jesus spoke these words, they’re even suggesting or implying that the rejection that Jesus faced by the Jews meant that God delayed the kingdom until another and still future time.

“If only the Jews would have received Jesus as their messiah, then he would have established the kingdom then,” they say. But because they instead rejected him all the time, while it just wasn’t right. And their doctrine of dispensational, pre-millennialism says that one day the Jews will receive him, and that will be the time that he finally takes up his rule and sets up his kingdom.

But what did Jesus say? He said, “the time is fulfilled. The kingdom is at hand.” Nothing takes God by surprise. Nothing caught Jesus unawares. He’s omniscient.

God knew that the Jewish nation would reject his son, and yet the apostle Paul would later say that, in the fullness of time, that is when the time was right, God sent his son into the world, made of a woman, Galatians 4:4.

So Jesus came exactly when God determined that he would come. God’s calendar was not off by one day, and when Jesus came, he said, it’s time. The time is fulfilled. Prophecy was being fulfilled, all of the pieces were being put into place and the kingdom he says is at hand.

Now again, would anyone listening to Jesus say, “the time is fulfilled, the kingdom is at hand” Would anyone walk away thinking Jesus was promising something that was still at least 2000 years away from fulfillment.

Who could believe it? No. They may have misunderstood what Jesus meant by a kingdom and they did, but they understood that whatever the kingdom is, it was very near. It was imminent.

Then we see in Matthew 10:5-7, that Jesus sent out the twelve “and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Well, there it is again. Nothing has changed. And then in Luke 10:1-9, Jesus sends the seventy out to preach from city to city and he instructs them in Verse Nine, to heal the sick, but are there in and say unto them, “the Kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”

Kingdom of God — The kingdom was prophesied by Daniel

Now the sad thing is most of them were going to miss out on the kingdom, but that didn’t prevent Jesus from doing what he said he would do. Over and over and over again. Inspiration says at that time, 2000 years ago in the first century, “the kingdom is at hand.”

The kingdom is nigh unto those people. Now, friend, think about how preposterous it is to suggest that the rejection of the Jewish leaders somehow took the Lord by surprise and that he had to alter the longstanding plan of God and put the church in the place of the kingdom. God sends Jesus in the fullness of time.

He comes saying, “the time is fulfilled. Get ready. The kingdom is at hand. It is nigh unto you or near you.” But all of the sudden things go sour and God has to back up and delay the promised kingdom.

I have more faith in the forknowledge and wisdom of God than to believe such a thing. Not only did John and then Jesus, and then Jesus’ disciples come saying “the kingdom was at hand,” but long before, the Old Testament prophets prophesied the timing of the kingdom.

Hundreds of years before Jesus even came, the Holy Spirit inspired them to write of the very seasoned in time when the kingdom would come and the Holy Spirit guiding the Old Testament prophets was very specific about this. And if they would only heed their own scriptures, they would have recognized what all was taking place when Jesus came.

For example, the prophecy of Daniel 600 years before Jesus was born, Daniel was carried off to Babylon. And while he was there, the king had a dream about this powerful man or great image of a man, that had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze legs of iron and feet of clay.

Well, that perplexed King Nebuchadnezzar, and so he called on Daniel to interpret this dream for him. In Daniel Chapter two, verses 31 through 44, Daniel explains that this man with five parts represented five great kingdom arrows that would arise and he begins by describing the Babylonian Empire that was in power at that time.

He said it was a powerful empire represented by the head of gold, but he said there was a kingdom coming after that one, a lesser kingdom. That according to Daniel Chapter Eight and verse 20 was Medo-Persian that later rose in 539 BC. That was the chest and arms of silver and Nebuchadnezzar his dream.

And then in 330 BC we see the rise of Greece.

What we learned, that’s the third kingdom. According to Chapter Eight and verse 20, one that’s the belly and the thighs of bronze, and then come the legs of iron. And in 63 BC, the Roman Empire emerges, which was empowered during the days of Jesus and which later divided into several parts, which is why he did represents the feet that were made of iron, and clay,the Roman Empire.

So what is the point in all of this? What did Daniel say would happen when these kingdoms arose in history? Well, listen to Daniel, those kingdoms’ days that he talks about there and the vision were numbered.

Daniel Chapter two and verse 35 tells us then was the iron and the clay, the brass, the silver, the gold broken to pieces together and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away. That no place was found for them.

And the Bible says, the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. Now look down at verse 44, he says, “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.”

Now, when would the kingdom come? In the days of the Roman Empire, a kingdom that will never be destroyed would come during the days of the Roman Empire. A kingdom that would be superior to all other kingdoms.

Fast forward more than 600 years and look at Hebrews 12:28 “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.”

Well, that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? A kingdom which will stand forever. A kingdom that will not be destroyed.

The writer of Hebrews didn’t say, “One of these days a kingdom will come.” The saints then to whom he was writing had received or were receiving a kingdom.

If the first century Christians were receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and Daniel says, the indestructible kingdom will come in the days of the kings leading up to the first century, the Roman Empire, can’t we conclude that the kingdom came during the first century? Yes, we can and if we believed the prophecy of Daniel, we must.

Jesus told the people in Mark 9:1, “Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.”

That which Daniel said would come during the days of those kings culminating in the Roman empire, Jesus said, “some of you which stand here will not taste death until they have seen the Kingdom of God come with power.”

When would it come? He says, in the lifetime of some of those to whom Jesus was speaking not thousands of years later, but before some of them tasted of death, some of them died before it came, but Jesus says, some of them did not. They were still alive. Well, that means it wasn’t very far away. So when did it come? When was the kingdom established?

Notice Jesus says that it would come during their lifetime and it would come with power. Do we ever read of any of these people to whom Jesus was speaking seeing power from heaven? Sure we do.

Let’s narrow it down. Jesus said the kingdom would come in their lifetime with power. We read in Luke 24:49 just before ascending back to heaven, Jesus told his same disciples who were with him, “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”

Well, when did that happen? Go forward a few days and one chapter to Acts 2:1-4 and Luke says, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Well, there’s your power that was brought by the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the promise of the Father. What did Jesus say would come with power? He said the kingdom would come with power.

When did it come? On the day of Pentecost. When was that?

In the first century around the year33 AD. What kingdom was in power at that time? Rome, Caesar, the fourth in this line of Kingdoms, of which Daniel said, and in the days of those kings, God would establish a kingdom that would stand forever, would never be destroyed.

So the Holy Spirit came with power upon the disciples on the day of pentecost. Jesus said, in your lifetime the kingdom would come with power, but some will say, “well, that was the church that came on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two.” That was the church. they say, not the kingdom.

Look at Matthew 16:18, Jesus said, “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” So yes, Jesus built his church and it came in the lifetime of his disciples, but then he goes on to say, “And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven,” v.19.

Christ’s church would be established and Peter would use the keys of entrance to the kingdom. Well, so you see the church and the kingdom are used in an interchangeable way.

Isn’t that exactly what happened on pentecost? The church was established and Peter preached the first Gospel sermon that saw more than 3000 people baptized into Christ, saved from their sins and added to the church. With that in mind, look at what Paul says in Colossians 1:12-13, because it is exactly parallel with what happened on pentecost in Acts chapter two.

Paul says, “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

When they were made free from sin, they were translated into the kingdom when they received the remission of their sins. In Acts Chapter 2, the Bible says, “the Lord added them to the church.”

You see, the kingdom came 2000 years ago and you can be in it today.

The doctrine of dispensational, pre-millennialism, which is so popular, so widely embraced, so often taught by the televangelists, is patently false. It misunderstands the very nature of the kingdom, just as the Jews in Jesus’ own day, misunderstood it.

Understand the kingdom. Don’t forget the Jews had a conception in their mind of the messianic kingdom, but that view, that concept was shaped and molded by the political landscape of their day and the oppression that they had suffered for so long.

So the kingdom that they were now hoping for was not necessarily the kingdom that God promised. Even his disciples did not have a very clear understanding of the kingdom and Jesus had to remind them in John 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world.” It’s not like other kingdoms.

The psalmist says, “Through thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way,” (Psalm 119:104). The Bible is the revelation of God to man and you simply can’t live for God until you know something about the word of God.

Be sure to join our mailing list to stay notified of new articles. See right hand column. We never sell your information.

5 Steps To Knowing The Will Of God In Your Life

How do you know the will of God? Anybody ever tried to figure that one out? How do I discern the will of God? How do you know of a will of God? That is a skill that you want to develop. That is a skill that you can learn.

Many of us have learned the hard way to be a bit more careful and develop this skill in our life because mistakes hurt.

And mistakes are humiliating. So we’ve learned, sad to say, too many times by trial and error. We’ve learned to develop this skill, how to know the will of God. Well, I wanted to give an expanded answer to this question this morning,

God has a will and desire and purpose for each one of us.

We must discern it and do it all the days of our life. In fact, if that doesn’t cross our mind. If that’s not a desire in our hearts, I think we’ll stumble around all our days because the reason why we are here is to discern and then do the will of God, the God who made us.

We must discern it and do it. I’m not sure if in all the minor details, whether God has a distinct wheel in every single thing we do. I kind of tossed that back and forth and sometimes I say Yay, and sometimes I think, well, maybe not. But as you consider the subject of walking by the promptings of the spirit of God, it gets down to some pretty small details at times.

But this I do know, I’m very sure on the major decisions that God has a will for me, that if I need to make a decision, I should not be making that decision without being able to walk through some clear steps that will put me in tune with the heart of God in his direction for my life and my family.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,” Matthew 6:10.

God's way or my way? — God’s way or my way

God has a will for our life, our desire and a purpose for each and every one of us. We must learn to methodically discern the will of the Lord for major decisions. Major changes in our line. I’ll move to another place, a change of jobs, a property to buy, our business to start or stop, our courtship.

These are just a few examples of things that I’d like to lay out that we dare not just go and do something. The Apostle Paul would not go to Rome on the good idea.
He wouldn’t do that. He knew that he was a man of like passions just like we are, and he knew that he had lots of good ideas or they were good things that he wanted to do.

Colossians 1: 9-10 we get a glimpse into Paul’s heart concerning the subject for the Colossians.

He says “For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

Paul is simply saying there in Colassians, “I want to see you live out the word of God, the of God for your life, and I’m praying with a great desire in our hearts that you will be able to discern the will of God, that God will fill your heart with his will, with the knowledge of his will, and you will increase in that knowledge of his will more and more.” That’s what Paul wanted for the Colossians.

Of one of his fellow travelers who labored together with him in his church planting work, Paul says, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God,” Colossians 4:12.

That was Paul’s desire. That is my desire, that each one of us would stay and perfect. Someone wisely said,”The will of God is the safest place where you could ever be.“

Doesn’t matter where it is, it doesn’t matter what the circumstances are. If you’re in the will of God, you’re in the safest place where you could be on this side of heaven. Your life may be in danger, you may be naked, hungry and without companionship, yet it is still the safest place you will ever be.

Paul said it this way, “Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,” Romans 15:30.

I want you to notice the flow of these words here. He’s coming down to the end of his epistle to the Romans, the church at Rome, and he’s beseeching them for prayers on his behalf. I want you to see how his desire for the will of God comes out in these verses.

Paul says, “That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints,That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed” Romans 15:31-32.

“By the will of God,” that was Paul’s burden. I want to come. Pray that I’ll be able to come to you by the will of God in God’s time and God’s way by God’s meeting. When God opens up the door, that I will come to you by the will of God. That was his desire.

Paul recognized that he could also do the same thing, not by the will of God. He could go to a certain place and be in the wrong place. There were places as you read through the book of Acts where he said, “we desired to go here, but the spirit wouldn’t let us. I think we tried to go over here and we were hindered by the spirit.”

“Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,” Acts 16:6.

Hebrews 13:20-21, “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.”

And Paul brings that out, “working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ.” We see this theme all the way through Paul’s writings. He keeps moving the people in the direction and creating a desire in their heart to do God’s will.

I want to be in God’s will. That’s the way we are. That’s our desire, but yet many times we make moves that we should remake and it’s something major. We shouldn’t do it until we have proved the will of God through good, clear principles revealed in God’s word. That’s my burden.

Consider David, “For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers,” Acts 13:36

By the will of God, not by the will of David, not by the good ideas of David, not by the desires of David, but by the will of God. David served his own generation. Every one of us are called to do the same thing. We may live in our generation. We are alive and well and God wants us somehow to serve our generation while we’re alive. We need to know what God’s will is so that we can serve our generation.

Every one of us are called to that. David fulfilled his responsibility while he was up on the earth. He served his generation by the will of God and fell on sleep, the Bible says. I want to do the same. Amen. Some day I’m going to fall on sleep.

In Acts 22 God is speaking to the Apostle Paul, when he met the Lord on the road to Damascus, he was speaking to him and revealing things to him. And in chapter 22 verse 14 we break into the middle of Paul’s testimony and find these words, “And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.“

He said “Paul, God arrested you on the road to Damascus and he has chosen you show that you might know his will.”

I would say to each and every one of us, it is no less so, for any of us. God has arrested us on the road of life. God has arrested our attention. He has grabbed us. He has gripped us for what? That we may know the will of God for our life.

We are here to do God’s will. We have been saved to fulfill God’s will in our life.

So how can I know the will of God? We’ve seen all these scriptures. We can see what God’s heart is by looking at these scriptures, but how do I get from point A to point B?

Yes, I have a heart. My heart wants to do God’s will, but how do I get that simple heart, this desire to do God’s will worked out in everyday life where I have decisions that I need to make, where I’m facing things that I’m not sure what to do about? How do I know the will of God?

There are five steps to this skill of discerning God’s will, and by the way, this is the method by which George Mueller used to discern the will of God in his day. Remember, he served God from his conversion at about 20 years old till his death at 95, discerning God’s will for his life. I think we ought to listen to him and this method that’s George Mueller used.

He got it out of the word of God because he was a man who read his Bible. He read it over and over and over and over again, and when he was done, he started over again and he didn’t get tired of reading it. It was always new and fresh to him and he read it over so many times in his 70 plus years of his Christian life that he’s heart was full of it.

George Mueller used these five points to discern God’s will in his orphanages and in every major area of his life.

Point number one, the foundation of knowing the will of God. This is number one. If you don’t get this, you might as well throw the rest of them away, you will end up in utter frustration. If you skip point number one, if for whatever reason you don’t want to reckon with point number one, you can skip the rest of them. It won’t come out right for you. Point number one, the foundation of knowing the will of God is an absolutely, totally surrendered life.

The foundation of knowing the will of God is an absolutely, totally surrendered life.

You cannot discern the will of God in any particular situation if you’re not all on the altar.

These verses in Romans are probably the clearest definition of discerning the will of God that you can find in the New Testament. They all packed together in two verses. We must begin here if we have a major decision that we need to make and we’re not willing to reckon with this point right here. It may be the reason why we are being frustrated and confused and just wandering around and wondering why this thing is so hard. We must begin here.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1,2

I want that good and perfect will of God for me. Listen to what God says. God was a thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in his sight for you. I’m not going to settle for anything less.

So what does that have to do with the will of God? Well, you know, sometimes, and it’s this way with God’s will. You look down the road with the eyes of your heart. You look down the road and you, you sense things, you see things, but there are a bit blurry and you’re not sure what it is. We want to know the ending of the journey. We want to know where God is taking us, but sometimes, it is not clear.

So we have to walk today in the known will of God and two months from now, we will see where this was leading. That’s number one – a surrendered life.

Number two, this is the tough one. “Not my will, but thine be done,” Luke 22:42. This is the hardest part.
Many times God’s will is tainted by mine. Will George Mueller said, “My will was 90% of the problem of discerning God’s will.” That was George Muellar.

Ninety percent of the problem of discerning God’s will was my will, and again, we’re talking about a godly man, a dedicated man, a man who was filled with all kinds of good desires. But good desires are not enough. It’s got to be God’s desire for my life, and Muellar testified that his will was 90% of the problem.

Many times we desire something with sincere hearts. It’s not an evil desire. It’s a good desire, but good desires are not enough. When we are are discerning major changes in our lives. A good desire is not enough. There’s lots of good desires. There’s lots of things we can do, but I don’t want to just do lots of things. I want to be in the will of God.

Let me say this. God does not hide his will from his people. How many ever felt like God was hiding his will? God does not hide his will, but sometimes we think, “Lord, what’s the deal? How come this is so difficult?”

God is not hiding his will from you. It’s because of my own desires that are in there that it becomes a bit grey to see exactly what God is saying to do. We look a long time to try to see exactly what God wants us to do, but our vision is blocked by our own will, desires and ideas. It’s what God says and what God wants versus what do I want.

On this second point, Muellar was saying that he cannot go any further until he gets his heart to the place where his heart is totally, absolutely given up on everything that he may want.

“Not my will, but thine be done,” is the greatest challenge of discerning the will of God for our life.

Remember, God does not hide his will. He is not in that business. He’s not holding it over here and watching you run around in a frustrated way trying to figure out what you’re supposed to do. God does not do that. He is not that kind of a God.

Point number three, the witness of the spirit. What is the spirit of God’s saying in my heart?

With these next few points, we’re talking, about checks and balances. None of these stand all by themselves. And if you let one stand all by itself, you will stumble and fall, but if you will bring all of them together, you will find that God in his wisdom from his word, has given us a checks and balance to see if we are properly discerning his will.

What is the witness of the spirit in my heart concerning the will of God?

Romans 8:12-14 “Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Now here we see very clearly in the word of God that God leads his people by his spirit. God’s spirit bears witness with our spirit. This is usually how the will of God begins to unfold. Maybe we’re sitting in our quiet time, maybe we’re having a time alone and then we’re driving somewhere and, it’s quiet and we’re just thinking and we hear the voice of God begin to speak to us about a change of direction in our life.

What is the spirit of God saying in my heart? And it’s at this point, that it’s not what I think in my head. There is a difference between what I think in my head and what the spirit of God is saying in my heart. And the difference is 18 inches.

My head might be saying many things, but I must be wise enough to stay clear enough with God and get alone with God long enough to hear the voice of God above all the other voices saying, “this is the way. Walk you in it.”

I know how Christians can be. Lots of Christians would just as soon go ask the pastor and then just do what he says. That’s safer than just shooting out all on your own and skipping many of the points that I’m sharing, but you know God would have you discern from the depths of your own heart, by the voice of his spirit, speaking to you personally about God’s direction for your life.

Some of us need to grow up a bit. The witness of the spirit of God in our hearts, George Mueller discerned God’s will this way, hundreds of times. God used him to channel $50 million through his hands, $50 million. Why would God channel $50 million through his hands? Because God knew that George Mueller is not going to get a big pile of money in his hand and say, “Oh, now let’s put it over here, or let’s give it over there, or let’s send it here.” George Mueller didn’t do that. When he found a big pile of money in his hand, he fell on his face before God and said, “what is the spirit of God’s saying to do with this money?” He supported tens of thousands of bibles and supported missionaries all over the world.
He did.

What is the spirit of God’s saying in my heart? That’s point number three.

Point number four, the witness of the word.

What does the word of God say about this direction that I think that God wants me to go. What does the word of God say? These two points, number three and point number four agree in one. The witness of the spirit and the witness of the word are one. You can count on that.

God’s spirit will never lead you to do something that is contrary to God’s word. Many a young lady felt God was leading them by his spirit and married an unbeliever, hoping, trusting, that they’ll be able to win them to Lord afterwards. That was not God’s spirit, but it happens all the time. Sometimes it turns out all right. Most times, though, it’s a life long spanking.

God’s Word and God’s spirit witness together concerning the direction we should go in our lives. So if you find yourself in a place where you are needing to discern the will of God immerse your heart and mind in God’s word. While you are discerning God’s spirit through his word, he will speak wisdom and direction to your life.

When it’s time to discern the direction in our lifeit’s time to come to the word of God with a searching heart. I’m searching God’s heart concerning the direction that I need to take. If you come to the word of God that way you will be amazed how many verses God will speak to you out of in every different place in the Bible. That’s why I like to be reading in different places at the same time. God brings them all together and you begin to see what the will of God is concerning a decision you need to make. Stay in the word of God. If you’re trying to make a decision and you don’t take time to read the Bible, I think you’re gonna make a mistake.

Sometimes when I need to make a decision and I’m searching the heart of God through his word, I’ll sit down and read the Bible several hours a day, for several days. That’s a long time. So are the mistakes we make when we don’t. They’re long too. And I don’t want to make a mistake.

Please don’t get me wrong. I’ve got my share of mistakes behind me, I’m just saying, there’s wisdom in God’s word. There have been times when I went to the word of God to discern the will of God and I thought I had it all straightened out myself and by the time I finished, I discovered I was wrong and God was right and he changed my whole perspective on some dumb thing that I was going to do.

The witness of the word, God’s word will check you. Remember we spoke about checks and balances.

If you just take point number three and skip the rest of this study, you can really sound spiritual. The spirit of God said to me today, “Do this and this.” I don’t feel that’s very spiritual if you don’t back it up with some checks and balances. If you don’t compare it to God’s word.

I’ve watched a lot of shipwrecks in the last 20 years of my ministry where the spirit of God told someone to do something, but there were no checks and there were no balances. People, good-hearted Christians, even pastors and missionaries wanting to do God’s will felt the Holy Spirit was directing them, but they didn’t spend time in the Bible before making their decision. Something sounded good, it felt good and they mistook it for God’s will. We need those checks and balances. God has put them right here in the Bible.

So what is the spirit of God saying and how does the word of God witness in my heart? It’s about seeking out his will for me and discerning that direction from the principles in the word of God. That’s a wise thing to do.

Number five, the witness of godly counselors.
I want to remind you now, George Muellar, this man who heard the voice of God above so many other in his day, never made a major move without the witness of godly counselors.

Proverbs 11:14, “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.”

The Book of Proverbs says you need to hear what somebody else has to say. You know who your counselor is. Your ministers, mature Christian friends, your husband or your wife; these are your counseling team. We need to go to them and say, “here’s what I think I’m hearing from the Lord. What do you think?”

Go to people who know you. Go to people who love you. Go to people who want the best for you. Don’t make the mistake of going to those who will tell you what you want to hear. You will always find somebody who will tell you what you want to hear.

That really seems spiritual. You go there and you get your catalog of those who will say, “Yes, do that.” But the ones that you know will probably say, “I don’t feel good about it.” You don’t go to them. Don’t do that. You’ll never discern the will of God that way.

I’ve learned through the years, God’s spirit bears witness in the hearts of godly men and women and lays out a clear path of God’s will and direction in my life.

The witness of Godly counselors? You say, “I don’t want to go there. He, he won’t tell me what I want to hear.” You should go there. Absolutely. If you know someone who disagrees with what you’re doing, that should be one of the first places you go. Hear another side, be sure you are not missing something.

So we have five things to guide us as we seek God’s will in our life. And there is great blessing in finding and abiding in God’s will: 1 John 2:17 “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”

False Prophets, False Doctrines and Apostasy

False prophets, false doctrines and apostasy. I know that every one of our hearts are very alert to these things in these the days that we live in. Many of you have gone through experiences yourself where you can speak firsthand, having had to wrestle through many things, trying to find your way, wondering if you’re doing rights, wondering if you are all mixed up trying to figure out what’s going on in this church.

This subject of false prophets and false doctrines and apostasy is one of the major themes of each one of the pastoral epistles. So surely we shall look at it as we are studying the pastoral epistles.

In 1 Timothy 4:1,2 Paul he speaks these words, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.“

These two verses cover all three of the words in the title for the message.

It’s all in those two little verses. Paul wants Timothy to see and hear some warnings about the purity of the church, warnings about the expression of Christ upon the earth, warnings about what’s going to happen to this beautiful faith that he’s been over flowing with.

These latter times, of course, are the times Timothy is living in. This is a warning to Timothy about what he will encounter as a minister of the word. Paul is not talking about today. He is talking about the last days of the Old Covenent that was ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD.

But, this same warning is applicable to all Christians since that time. Men have conitnued to take heed to seducing spirits and false teachings. The warning was specific to Timothy, yet universal to the church.

Paul says, “the Spirit speakseth expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith. Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, Speaking lies and hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with a hot iron.”

That’s what Paul says. Seducing spirits. You know what a seducing spirit is. You know what seduce means? Surely you do. Every one of you men know. It’s a spirit that draws you into error and into sin.

Paul says in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith. I don’t know what your theology is and all of that, but plain sense tells me that you can’t depart from something that you don’t have.

Plain sense tells me that these verses mean what they say, that in the last times, some shall depart from the faith. The faith that Paul got a hold on that changed him from a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious man. Paul says they will depart from the faith. How could this be?

They will give heed to seducing spirits and they will give heed to doctrines of devils or doctrines that devils teach. Doctrines of devils teach doctrines that seducing spirits teach.

They teach new revelations. Something that church never saw before. Men are sedueced and see something that the church has never seen before. Seducing spirits say, “Nobody will understand you. Nobody will understand you. Watch it. Watch it.”

That’s what seducing spirits say. “You are a special messenger. I’m giving you new revelations that the church has never seen before. No one will understand you. Be careful who you share it with. You’re getting new revelations from God that the church has never had before.”

I tell you, that’s a dangerous place to be in and I’ve seen many a young, sincere man fall into that very trap. And they’re still wandering in a maze of spirits. Still 10 years later, they wander in a maze of spirits thinking that they are special prophets. I’ve seen men who have been in the faith 40 years also give heed to these doctrines.

Some will give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines that devils teach, and because of that, they depart from the faith. That would be a tragedy if that’s all that happened, but that isn’t all that happens through them. They don’t just depart from the faith. Verse two says, they become false teachers. They become teachers of these new spirits and these new doctrines. They become teachers speaking lies and hypocrisy. Having their conscience seared with a hot iron.

We live in a day when these things are happening all around us, just as they did in Timothy’s day.

“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee,“1 Timothy 4:16.

“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables,” 2 Timothy 4:1-4.

Paul instructs Timothy to preach the word. Stay on the word, be instant in season, out of season. Use the word to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.

The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers having itching ears. They will have ears that they will want to be tickled. They shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned to fables.

Each and every one of us can be tempted to turn to false teachings. They are by their very nature seductive. They sound good. We see books put out by “Christian authors,” some very well-respected, that teach error.

We need, like Timothy, to stay focused on sound doctrine. We need to study the word of God. But we need not be fearful.

2 Timothy 1:7 “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”You don’t need to be afraid. God did not leave us here to let us be afraid. Fear and faith don’t go together. Those two walk very far apart. We don’t need to be afraid.

Paul has clearly defined for us how to discern a false teacher and false teachings and the apostasy that comes from it. We are not left in the dark about these things.

We’re gonna take a few exercises here. We’re going to take these things, these beautiful tools of discernment that God has given us, and we’re going to look at them and put them in modern day context and help you to see you truly can discern. Your certainty does not come by what you get in your heads. It comes by what you have in your hearts and what you have in your life. The greatest discernment that you will ever have is a life that is hidden with Christ in God. Ifou don’t have that, you don’t have any discernment. The greatest sermon that you’ll have is the living reality of a Christ living inside of you.

How do you know what is right and what is wrong? The teaching must be Christ centered. It must be after Christ, not after any other thing. It must be Christ centered. You must see the simplicity that is in Christ. It must be that kind of teaching. Not complicated, but the simplicity that is in Christ.

Discernment is knowing the difference between right and almost right.

It must be grace that flows from a relationship with Christ Jesus. It must be that, and it must be after godliness. It must be after godliness. It must line up with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ according to godliness and the doctrine that is after godliness. It must be both of those.

It must be sound according to the word. It must agree with scripture and come from scripture, not be read into scripture. Most false doctrines start with a premise. Then that idea is read into selected verses to support that premise. It will sound good. It will sound Biblical, except, instead of originating from the scripture and flowing into the man, it originates with the man and is poured, even forced, into scripture.

What about the teacher? He must be full of the doctrine of Christ first. John says he must be full of the doctrine of Christ. He must be full of the love of Christ. He must be full of the character of Christ. He must be walking with Jesus Christ in a very clear and evident way. He must be living a clearly godly life that his word center in its expressions. You must be able to see that in his life.

“Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father,” 1 John 2:24. A godly teacher will have sound doctrine.

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous,” 1 John 5:3. A godly teacher will love God and walk upright with God.

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world,” 1 John 4:1. Like Paul, John warned bout the false prophets and seducing spirits that were already at work in the first century. We must try, or judge, the spirits, the teachers, according to the doctrine they teach and the lives that they live.

Jesus also warned his listeners, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves,” Matthew 7:15

They come in sheep’s clothing, they’re deceitful. They’re crafty. They’re going to look like sheep. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening. Oh, that’s enough to make you afraid, isn’t it?

Look what he says in verse 16, “You shall know them by their fruits.” You shall know them by the way they live. And then he said some things which seem a bit absurd to us, but you know, it seems like God needs to say absurd things to us Americans, because Americans seem to run after every fellow.

“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them,” Matthew 7:16-20.

He is evil. I don’t care what he said. I don’t care how you say it. I don’t care what miracles he does. If a tree is bringing forth evil fruit, it’s a corrupt tree, no matter how he looks or what he says, it’s a corrupt tree.

“Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Then you shall know the teachers, you shall know them by the way they live. We can do that. It’s okay to be a fruit inspector.

Don’t sit yourself down at the feet of somebody that you don’t know. There’s so many opportunities and so many tapes and videos and radio programs and TV programs and all those things. Don’t sit yourself down at the feet of somebody that you don’t know how they live. Which way are the people going? Are they vibrantly in love with the Lord Jesus Christ? Is he their all in all? Are they excited about their relationship that they have through the blood of Christ Jesus and do they live a God’s word centered life, a life that is manifested in godliness?

I’m not saying that they’re perfect, but that you can see it in their home and you’re seeing in the children and you’re seeing it in their work and you’re seeing by the way they talk and you see it by the way they live and you see it by the way they act.

You can tell which way they are going, whether it’s moving more and more toward the Lord Jesus and godliness or other sliding slowly, so slowly away. There are many examples of that today. Aren’t there people who would say all the right things and they wouldn’t have some of the right things. Yet you can see in their lives and if you watched them for years, there’s this departure, little by little by little.

And know this for sure. When there is a departure from the living word, there will also be a departure from the written word. It’s always there. You have you ever been to a dead liberal church? That’s a very interesting combination, but there are many of them. There are many of them in this America that we live in. Liberal churches who departed from the living word and then departed from the written words.

Now they’re dead. They’re dead. It’s like a Bible says, “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth,” 1 Timothy 5:6

It’s not enough to have some right things in a life. You must also have him. How do we discern all these things? It is not enough to say, “Jesus, Jesus, I love Jesus.” You must also have a godly life. There must both be there. You must have them both to be sound.

You know Jesus spoke in the sermon on the mouth about the straight and narrow way. What is narrow way? The narrow way is a highway up above everything else around it. The Bible even talks about the highway of holiness, (Isaiah 35:8). The straight and narrow way is a highway. As with all highways, there’s a place on this side where you can fall off and there’s a place on this side that you can fall off and there’s a place right in the center where you can stay on the road. We have to stay on the straight and narrow way. We have to walk the narrow way. There’s a highway to walk on.

You know, you can get off both sides. You could fall off the one side and think they are in the center. They know the right things to do and do them. Many people do that well. That’s not the straight and narrow way and many people will do that. They will do many right things. They will put upon themselves many acts of self denial. They will make many acts of separation. They will have many things that they say that you must do and then they will lift that up and say, “this is the narrow way.”

That’s not the narrow way. That my friend, that’s a ditch.

But others make just as big of a mistake and walk off in the ditch on the other side. They sing, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, and Jesus was wonderful to me.”

Did you look at the life and there’s nothing there. There’s no substance, there’s no sadness, there’s no godliness, there’s no beauty of holiness there, and yet they’ll take that and they’ll lift it up and say, “this is the straight and narrow way.”

That’s not the straight and narrow way. You’re in the ditch and how how often they do it. One’s in this side of the ditch. We’ll look at the ones in that side of the ditch and say, “we’re on the road.”

The ones over here on the liberal side of the ditch look at the ones over there, on this religious side of the ditch and they say, “we’re on the road.”

The fact of the matter is, they’re both in the ditch. The straight and narrow away is a strength in a narrow way. You won’t walk on that one unless you are totally unreservedly sold out to the Lord Jesus Christ with a whole heart desire to live and walk a godly life upon this earth. That’s the only way he would walk on the highway.

It’s the challenge of every one of us and for every generation that we make the choice that we’re going to walk on the straight and narrow way.

Every single one of us have the same challenge and it never goes away. You may think you can sit down and decide, okay, this is what we’re going to do and this is how we’re going to do and this is what we’re going to believe, and you’re going to write it all down. Then you may think, now we’re safe. We got it all figured out.

The straight and narrow way is more than a system of doing. The straight and narrow way is a holy walk with a holy God through the blood of Jesus Christ, our Lord. That’s the straight and narrow way and it produces a life of godliness and discernment.

You’ll be able to discern the right from the false. You’ll be able to see you all understand what a false prophet is. If you just get there on that road and stay there on that road and walk there, you will understand everything else that doesn’t line up to that. That is the discernment that we need and that’s what Paul is saying in first and second Timothy.

It’s not enough to have some right things. It’s not enough to say you love Jesus. No. Think about some examples of how this has worked out. We will take Paul first since we’re in the pastoral epistles. Paul and the Judaizers. They came along after him. They came along after Paul was there.

Here comes Paul to a new city and he goes to the synagogue. He preaches Christ Jesus and him crucified to the people. The glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. God in some mysterious, miraculous way starts working. People start getting born again as they hear the of the good news that Jesus Christ will save them.

You see their lives transformed by that simple gospel. He preached to them there. Then he has to them together into a little group and he begins to preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ. He begins to preach to them the unsearchable riches of Christ at all. They become established in Christ and he sees a relationship coming into their lives and then they become. They begin to have a sweet fellowship with God. He sees them growing and the spirit of God working in their lives.
He goes his way to the next city. He leaves them all. They’re gazing on the him, the finisher of their faith. Who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross despising the shame and is now sat down at the right hand of the throne of God on high. They’re looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of their faith. And then here come the Judiaizers after him.

Many false prophets shall arise and lead many astray.

They say, “Hey Man, I believe in Jesus. Jesus is God. That’s right. That’s right. But watch it. Watch it.
Oh listen, you got to keep the mosaic law. You guys don’t understand all of this. You’ve got to keep the mosaic law. The sabbath keepers. Get this and do that. Don’t eat this. Eat this. Keep this feast. Keep that feast.”

And they come in and what they do is they pull those sweet, tender hearts, the focus of their hearts on a bunch of things, as good as they may seem, but a bad thing.

The writer of Hebrews 13:8,9 says it better than I can say. He says this, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.”

That’s exactly what happened. Judaizers came in and the focus of the hearts of those tender new Christians was put on meats and fish and circumcision and new moons and service keeping and all of that stuff.

Notice now how Paul corrects the problem. He can’t run there. He can’t get into play like we can fly there for the weekend and straighten everything out. So he write a letter. What does he write in there? He preaches Christ Jesus to them and him crucified. He tells them what Christ has done. He speaks to them about Christ being their all and all. He tells them that Christ is in him, is all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He tells them that they are complete in him and he goes on and on, and what does he do? He pulls their focus back on Jesus. That’s what he does.

You see how he discerned the false. They come with their bags full of religion and try to set up a new system at a new way to do it. After Paul has already established them in Christ. And so what does Paul do? He takes care of religion. He preaches Christ. Christ and only Christ. Christ in Him, crucified over and over again. He begins again to speak to them about the glories of Christ and the unsearchable riches of Christ, and he draws their hearts focus back there. That’s how he took care of it.

“Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ,” Ephesians 3:8,9.

We need to get in right relationship with the Lord Jesus. Get right with God. Get in the word. Stay there. Hebrews 3:14 “For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end.” That’s the standard, a hot, vibrant, loving relationship with Jesus Christ that works itself out, because of a love for truth, into a holy life. If you have this, you’ll have all the discernment you need. You will not be deceived.

Join our mailing list to get notifications of new articles. See upper right hand column.

Disproving The Sethite View Of Genesis 6: The Sons Of God Were Angels

Were the “sons of God” men or angels? The Bible is clear about this. My desire is to study it out so you can properly understand Genesis 6.

The Sons of God are often referred to as angels.

I’ve come across a lot of people who do not think that the sons of God referenced in Genesis Six were actually fallen angels at all, so I thought it would be a good idea to show why I believe that the sons of God are in fact fallen divine angelic beings. The common accusation towards this view is that books like the book of Enoch and Jashar are used to prove the fallen angel view, and thus it’s unfounded in the Bible. To combat that view. I will only be using biblical references along with some relevant commentary to prove that the sons of God in Genesis six are fallen divine angelic entities.

The section in question is found in Genesis 6:1-4. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.”

There are two main theories regarding the identity of the sons of God and the daughters of men.

The first is that the sons of God, we’re fallen divine, angelic beings and the daughters of men, human females. This is the view that I hope to demonstrate here. The second view is that the sons of God are the human godly line of Seth and the daughters of men, the human ungodly line of Cain. This is a popular view that is taught in most seminaries today. There is a third view that these sons of God were dynastic kings or rulers and the daughters of men, simply commoners. However, I will not specifically address this theory here because it falls closely in line with the Sethite view.

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia references the Sethite view as quote, “some commentators hold that by sons of God is to be understood as the pious race descended from Seth and by daughters of men, the daughters of worldly men. These commentators connect the passage with Genesis 4:25 where the race of Seth is characterized as the worshipers of Yahweh and is designated as a holy seed. “

Genesis 4:25 “And Adam knew his wife again; and she bare a son, and called his name Seth: For God, said she, hath appointed me another seed instead of Abel, whom Cain slew.”

This argument says that because Seth was the replacement child of Abel, as mentioned in Genesis 4:25, they were the worshipers of Yahweh. This is not accurate. The passage in question is Genesis 4:26 which states, “Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord,” is a very poor English rendering.

The Hebrew word châlal (Strong’s 2490) means to bore, that is, (by implication), to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane, to break one’s word, to defile, to pollute, to stain or wound.

So if we render this properly, we can translate this as “men defiled the name of God,” quite different from what we read in the English and a blow to the idea that the sons of God are the sons of Seth whose descendants worshiped Yahweh properly.

An objection to this concept of men defiling or profaning the name of God is that the word châlal does not refer to profaning the name of God, but rather the state of mankind. Thus, the argument follows that it was profaned or fallen humanity that began to call upon the name of the Lord at this time, giving them the title, sons of God.

There are a couple of problems with this idea. First we see in places like Leviticus 19:12 where it states “And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.” Here the word for “profane” is the same word used in Genesis 4:26, châlal, demonstrating that the use of the word can certainly be to describe a negative attribution to calling upon the name of the Lord.

Second, we read in Exodus 6:3, “And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them.”

The phrase God Almighty in the Hebrew is El Shaddai and Lord is translated Yahweh, (Jehovah), the proper name for God and the same name used in Genesis 4:26, (translated “the Lord”), thus the idea that Genesis 4:26 is referring to men beginning to worship the name God Yahweh is unfounded. In fact, the word for men in Genesis 4:26 does not appear in the original Hebrew text.

Thus, we can conclude that at the very least the name Yahweh was invoked at this point in time for some reason, but to suggest it was to worship his name is not found in the text.

Were “the daughters of men” descendants of Cain?

Next, the Sethite view declares that the daughters of men were simply the daughters of Cain. This is a problem. Again, when looking at the original Hebrew words, the daughters of men are translated as hā-’ā-ḏām, or more directly the daughters of Adam.

The distinction is that they are literally daughters of humanity or man. Why would there be a distinction made between the sons of Adam and the sons of God? Wouldn’t the line of Seth also be considered sons and daughters of Adam?

One must read into the text what’s not there to derive that the sons of God are the sons of Seth. It’s simply not found in the biblical account.

The Sethite view also fails to address one very important factor. The offspring that results from the union between the sons of God and the daughters of men were giants, Nephilim. It’s another strike against a Sethite view since clearly the union between the sons of God and daughters of men caused the corruption of flesh we read in Genesis 6:12. “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.“

The word for flesh in the Hebrew is bā·śār and literally means flesh. Soft tissue, meat or skin. The word for corrupt is niš·ḥā·ṯāh and means corrupt, ruined, marred, or spoiled.

It is quite clear that the literal flesh of humanity became corrupt, ruined, marred, and spoiled at this time. This makes sense, when we considered that just a few chapters back, God declared that the seed of Eve would triumph over the seed of the serpent or Satan because of the Messiah was promised through the seed of Eve.

It became the goal for Satan to destroy the human lineage in order to prevent the messiah from being born.

This idea also makes sense when we consider the fact that God flooded the entire earth except Noah, who was described as being perfect in his generations. The Hebrew word used perfect in his generations is tā·mîm and is defined as being without blemish, without defect, blameless or perfect.

Genesis 6:9 hebrew interlinear — Interlinear translation of Genesis 6;9

So for the Sethite theory to hold up to this scrutiny, they would have to show that the marriage between godly human men and ungodly human women produced a race of giants, but also caused a complete corruption of the flesh of humanity to the point where God had to flood the earth.

A common objection I often hear to the fallen angel view is that angels do not procreate. The passage often used to make this argument is Matthew 22:30 which states, “For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven.”

Let’s take a look at a parallel passage in Luke 20:34-36 – “And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

Jesus clarifies that it is those who are worthy to attain the resurrection from the dead who won’t marry nor be given in marriage. This is because we will have eternal life. Procreation will not be necessary.

In other words, the passage from Matthew 22:30 and subsequently Luke 20:34-36 has nothing to do with the ability of angels to procreate or not, but rather it is Jesus stating that procreation will no longer be necessary in the future state of eternal life.

The confusion may be with the fact that Jesus refers to us who are saved as sons of God. I will address this a little bit later when we look at the phrase “sons of God” in the New Testament, but what these passages do show us is that angels and equally the sons of God are eternal beings.

It would logically follow that there are passages like 2 Peter 2:4 that states, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, (Tarturus), and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”

And this subsequent verse, Jude 6 states, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”

In other words, these angels who left their rightful domain of the spiritual dimension took on fleshly bodies. We read in Galatians 5:19 quote, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness.”Once these angels took on human flesh, it logically follows that they did what the flesh desires as alluded to in Galatians 5:19.

We read in 1 Corinthians 11:10, “For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.”

It is very peculiar that in a chapter that speaks about the role of women in Church, Paul encourages women to have some form of covering over their heads because of the angels. This is logically a reference to Genesis 6.

In conjunction with the argument the angels cannot procreate, is the argument that angels do not have physical bodies. We just saw how the Bible describes angels that left their own habitation and committed sins that landed them in the dark prison called Tartarus, but this idea is further verified when we consider the reality of angels appearing in physical form in the Bible.

First. It’s fascinating to consider the possibility that angels actually have food. In Psalm 78:25 it states, “Man did eat angels’ food: he sent them meat to the full.”

Here King David is referencing the manna that was provided while Moses and the Israelites were wandering in the desert during the exodus from Egypt. The Hebrew word for angel here is ’ab·bî·rîm and is translated in various places in the Bible as “mighty, powerful, strong animals, social leaders, and angelic beings.”

It’s fascinating to consider that manna was in fact food for the angelic beings, but there’s more. We read in Hebrews 13:2, “Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”

While this is startling and serves as enough evidence, there are even more verses that allude to the physicality of angels.

In Genesis 19:1 we read, “And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground.“

We go on to read about the people in the town lusting after these two angels. In Genesis 19:5 it states, “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came into thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

This event is also referenced in Jude 7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Passages that allude to men going after strange flesh are often thought to have been a commentary about homosexuality, especially pertaining to Sodom and Gomorrah. While it is true that there was homosexual activity in Sodom and Gomorrah, the word for strange in the Greek is Heteros and means of uncertain affinity other or different.

If homosexuality were the only point, why would the word reflects something different? I believe it’s because the point here was that men lusted after these angels, so the argument the angels do not or cannot have physical bodies is once again unfounded in the Bible. So it logically follows that since they can manifest with physical bodies, they have the capacity to commit sinful acts right here on earth.

In my opinion, the historical origin of the Sethite view provides a nail in the coffin. The first person to popularize this idea with Augustine of Hippo in the fourth century AD. Augustine’s commentary on the Genesis 6 account has become the predominant view adopted by familiar names such as Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century, and John Calvin in the 17th century.

In an article entitled “Sons of Seth and the Daughters of Cain,” reputed author and Hebrew scholar Douglas Hamp states, “Augustine says, ‘by the daughters of men, the scripture designates those who sprang from the race of Cain.'”

We must ask the important question, where in scripture does it say such a thing? Augustine makes the claim above that scripture designates those daughters as coming from the race of Cain, but just where do we see that? The answer is that we simply do not. It was first tentatively considered by Julius Africanus and then completely invented by Augustine and then repeated by all who would follow in his footsteps ever since.

If the term “sons of God” refers to the sons of Seth as so many suggest, why does the text not simply state it. Prior to Augustine inventing the Sethite claim, the common view held was that the sons of God who had unlawful relations with the daughters of men were in fact fallen divine angelic beings.

The phrase “sons of God” in the Hebrew text is bə·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm and appears in the Bible five times in the Old Testament; six if you include the proper translation of Deuteronomy 32:8.

The first two times we see the phrase is in Genesis 6. The next three appear in the book of Job. Job 1:6 states, “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them.”

Job 2:1 “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 finally in Job 38:7, “When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.“

In all of these instances, in the Book of Job, it is quite clear that the sons of God are angelic or divine beings. We know this because first they present themselves before the Lord and his throne. We know that in the Old Testament Times, no human can see God’s face without losing his or her life. We see an example of this in Exodus 33:18 when Moses asks God, “ I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” God replies in Verse 20, “Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”

Furthermore, Satan, a spiritual being is among them in this heavenly meeting also presenting himself before the Lord. This clearly shows that the entities described as sons of God, here in the Book of Job, are in the spiritual realm.

In a commentary by John Brown of Job 1:6, he writes, “the scene changes from Earth to heaven and we see God’s angels gathering for a meeting with Jehovah.”

Matthew Henry commenting on Job 2:1 says, “The angels attended God’s throne and Satan was among them.“

The account of Job 38:7 is especially intriguing because here God is describing the creation account of the earth. At the end of God’s decree of how he created the earth, ee proclaims that the morning stars and the sons of God shouted for Joy. If the sons of God here are humans, how would they be present in the time before humans were created? The point of reference is clear.

“The Sons of God” in Job 1:6, 2:1, 38:7 all derive from the Hebrew bə·nê hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm. The same Hebrew phrase that is used in Genesis 6 translated as “sons of God.” While many who hold the Sethite view do agree that the sons of God in Job references divine angelic beings, they deny it when it comes to the same phrase in Genesis 6, thus exposing their inconsistent hermaneutic.

There is another element to help us understand what is going on in the Old Testament and the divine angelic beings or gods. In Psalm 82 we see a classic example of what is called “the divine council.” Dr. Michael Heiser is the leading authority on this topic who has helped me and many others to understand this idea that the “sons of God” mentioned in the Old Testament are not human but divine beings.

In Psalm 82: 1-2 it states, “God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?”

Later in the same chapter we read, “I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes,” Psalm 82:6-7.

This passage in Psalm 82:6 is quoted by Jesus himself in John 10:34-36, after the Pharisees accused Jesus of blasphemy because he claimed to be equal with God. “Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”

In other words, Jesus was declaring his divinity in this passage by claiming to be equal with God who in Psalm 82 is described as judging the “lowercase g” gods.

This is confirmed when we read a few verses before where Jesus declares in John 10:30, ” I and my Father are one.”

The objection often heard is that the gods in Psalm 82 are not in reference to divine beings, but rather human judges, but a passage to lay this idea to rest is found in Deuteronomy 32:8, “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the sons of God.”

Many translations of Deuteronomy 32:8 may read, “When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.” Instead of “sons of God,” we see the sons of Israel.”

However, Dr. Michael Heiser in a document entitled “Deuteronomy 32:8 And The Sons of God” clearly demonstrates why the text should more accurately read “sons of God.” This passage is alluding to God assigning divine angelic beings who rejected him to take dominion over the various regions of the earth.

Doctor Heiser makes the connection between the passage here in Deuteronomy 32:8 with the table of nations that we see in Genesis 10. In short, there is no way this can be the sons of Israel when Israel had not yet become a nation.

Getting back to the issue of Psalm 82 in John 10, in another document by Doctor Heiser called “Jesus’s Quotation of Psalm 82:6 in John 10:30,” for a different view of John’s theological strategy, Heiser states, “John Wants his readers to know that Jesus was making a divine claim consistent with sons of God being used of divine beings. The mortal view of Psalm 82 therefore does nothing to assist the claim of Jesus’s deity, whereas the view offered here makes, the inclusion of Psalm 82:6 consistent with John’s rhetorical goal. Thus, there is another example of divine angelic beings being present in the Old Testament referred to as the sons of God.”

Part of the reason why there is so much skepticism for the sons of God in Genesis 6 being angelic beings is because the text doesn’t come out and directly say they were angels or divine beings. If the text had, there would be no debate to begin with.

To help clarify what the sons of God really meant and why the fallen angels theory best fits, let’s look at what the phrase actually entails from what we can gather from the New Testament.

To put it simply, the sons of God represents a direct creation of God. In other words, they were not born from another being or have human parents but are created deliberately and directly by God.

The best example while it shows in the singular son of God is in Luke 3:38 which states in the genealogy quote, which was the son of Enoch, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God. Here, Adam is clearly stated as the son of God. This makes sense because Adam did not have a human parent but was rather created directly by God. This is why Jesus is called the second Adam.

According to 1 Corinthians 15:47 where it states, “The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.” The rest of humanity, including you and I, apart from Jesus are born as sons and daughters of a fallen Adam.

But this brings up an important question. Does this mean that Jesus who is also referred to as the son of God is equal with Adam and the angels?

No, this is because Jesus is the uniquely begotten son of God. Let me explain the key to understanding how the title “Son of God” is different when it refers to Jesus can be understood. In the most popular verse in the entire Bible, John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” the word begotten in the Greek is monogenē. It is a combination of two words, monos which means only solitary alone and genē, which means offspring or kind. So Jesus was the one and only begotten son.

The idea of “begat” was a well understood concept in antiquity as a reference to producing the same kind. We read in Genesis one, in several places that each plant and animals were made after their own kind. It’s common logic that a human begets a human or a dog begets a dog. A cat begets a cat. In the same way when God begets a son, Jesus, he is just as much God as the Father. (Jesus was NOT created, but he was unique.)

This also serves as an example of why the corruption of all flesh in Genesis 6 grieved God who sent the flood. While Jesus is the only begotten son of God, the rest of us who are saved are also called “sons of God” in the New Testament. This is to identify the new nature of those of us who are saved.

Jesus tells us in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

So in light of all these verses, it becomes clear that in Christ we have given up our nature of being sons of Adam and are now direct creations of God. And therefore the sons of God.

We see direct evidence of this when we read in John 1:12-13 where it says, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Romans 8:14 “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Again in Luke 20:36 it says, “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.”

This plays right into the well understood Christian theology of adoption. While we are born as children or descendants of Adam, those of us who are saved in Jesus Christ are adopted into the family of God first, spiritually, and then eventually physically.

We see evidence of this in 1 Corinthians 15:53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”

This is the hope we have in Jesus Christ. While we are saved spiritually, the ultimate fulfillment of his promise is to have new immortal bodies so that we may live in the presence of God. In fact, Paul even tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:3, “Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life?”

So how does this entire concept deny the Sethite view and help us understand the identity of the sons of God mentioned in Genesis 6. Whoever those sons of God were in Genesis 6, they had to be a direct creation of God. Since Adam, the first son of God, as mentioned in Luke 3:38 fell in the garden, all those who were born from Adam are sons and daughters of Adam, or in the case of Genesis 6, daughters of men.

If we go back to Genesis 6 and read the passage again, it might become clear why the sons of God can not be of human descent. “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose,” Genesis 6:1,2.

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown,” Genesis 6:4.

There are many avenues of inquiry that can come from this study, but I hope this demonstrates that the “sons of God” mentioned in Genesis 6 were in fact rebellious divine beings and not the sons of Seth or dynastic kings.

I do want to clarify one thing before we end. The phrase “fallen angels” that is often referenced to as “the sons of God” in Genesis 6 is more of a title rendered in the modern vernacular, rather than any clear translation from the Hebrew or Greek word for angels. The more precise description maybe phrased “divine beings” or gods with the lower case g, hence my use of fallen divine angelic beings as a description of who the sons of God in Genesis 6 were.

Nevertheless, the case for the sons of God being nonhuman is quite evident. I also hope that I was able to demonstrate our identity as adopted sons and daughters in Christ and why we are given the title “sons of God” in the New Testament.

Three Reasons To Disobey God / Standing On The Promises Of God

Three reasons to disobey God. A message on walking in obedience with joy. When was the last time you disobeyed God? When was the last time you knew that God wanted you to do something and ultimately you did something else?

Some people might say, “well, I’m born again. I’ve been sanctified. I disobeyed God,” and then somebody else might say, “well, you know, we’re all saved by the grace of God and yet we’re still in these vessels of clay. We sin every day.”

When we know that God wants us to do something and we put it off, we don’t respond with obedience. Why did you disobey him? What were the reasons for that?

I’m going to look at three reasons to disobey God from a story in the Old Testament. There is no happy ending in the story here, at least not for those men and women in the Old Testament. Three reasons to disobey God might not sound like a very inspiring title. But I believe if we look at this and we think, can we consider why did these people this obey God?

This might give us some insight and help us again to overcome and to walk in victory. Three reasons to disobey God. I’ll be in mostly in the book of 1 Kings.

First Kings starting in chapter 11, we are wanting to look at three people. There are three reasons why they heard the voice of God and they turned away. This is at the end, after David’s dynasty, and then Solomon’s Dynasty is starting to come to an end. And Solomon in all his grandeur and glory, we all know that he still had problems, but we’re going to pick it up when Solomon is being unfaithful to God and God has to do something about it.

God has to do something about Solomon’s wickedness and frankly some of David’s compromises.

“And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon’s servant, whose mother’s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father,” 1 Kings 11:26,27

Why did Jeroboam rebel against Solomon? Because he did some construction projects? No, he rebelled because as we know from reading a few different places, Solomon was using slave labor. Solomon was oppressing his own people to do his big building projects and so Jeroboam stands up and says, I don’t want to take this. This isn’t right, and actually that was a good thing. His rebellion was good as we’ll see as we continue reading.

“And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph,” v. 28

And notice the young man because he was getting things done. This man Jeroboam, who was about to rebel against Solomon, he kinda liked him because he got things done. So he appointed him over the entire labor force at the house of Joseph.

“And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field,” v.29

Ahijah met this young go getter. Ahijah had wrapped himself with a new cloak and the two of them were alone in the open field. Then Ahijah took hold of the new clothes he had on and tore them into 12 pieces, “And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:(But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father,” 1 Kings 11:31-33

The prophet continued to share the word of God. “Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee,” 1 Kings 11:34-38

God chose Jeroboam. This is the first thing we need to recognize. Jeroboam’s rebellion was ordained of God and he had a call on his life. His call that God placed on his life was different from the call he gave David. “You’re going to be the anointed one. You, you’re going to be the chosen one.” God called him and he gave him this promise. “If you will listen to all that I command you. If you will walk in my ways and do what is right, I will be with you and that will build you a share house. I will give you a dynasty.”

So let’s think about this for a minute. Jeroboam has God’s promise. Obviously. He’s kind of in the inner circle with Solomon. He knows about David and God. The prophet is specifically saying, “you know how Solomon blew it? You’re going to become king. Jeroboam walk in my ways.”

Well with the example of Solomon, with the clear words from God with this promise, there is no way Jeroboam is going to blow this opportunity to start a brand new family dynasty, right?

“Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon,” 1 Kings 11:40.

Solomon is unhappy with this prophecy and decides to kill Jeroboam. Nobody learns do they? The only thing we learned from history is that we don’t. Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, Jeroboam fled to Egypt where he remained until Solomon’s death. We see very clearly that saw that Jeroboam feared Solomon. He’s a brave man. He’s a go getter, initially Solomon liked what he found in this guy, but he also has fear. Brothers and sisters, each of you in a position of influence, in a position of leadership. People look at you and they see you as a leader, as a mom, as a dad. Your children look up to you when you’re invincible,

But we all know, however much of a go getter you are, many of us still struggle with fear. We have God’s promises. We have God’s commands. We’re go getters. We’ve been recognized, but we still have fear. This was Jeroboam and we’ll see that fear comes back to define his legacy. As a king, we see that fear infects everything. That’s terrible.

“And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed,” 1 Kings 12: 1-5

This is so interesting. I like this Jeroboam. He’s taking leadership, but he’s actually doing it under the authority of the new king. He says, “we will serve you, but I’m going to advocate for these people.” Jeroboam defended the people. Jeroboam listened to the people. He hears what’s going on. He understands and he goes and he stands between the people and the new king.

“And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: And he said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father’s loins. And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions,” 1 Kings 12:6-11

Rehoboam listens to advice from old people and then just rejects it, and then he goes and listens to the advice of his peers and he says, “yes, I’m going to be a cruel tyrant.”

This is where the split starts. These people rebel against Rehoboam. They say, no, we’re going to stand on our own two feet and they leave.

“So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only,” 1 Kings 12:19-20. Just like God had promised.

“And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord,” 2 Kings 12:21-24.

This is like one of the little tiny bright spots of light in this whole period of history. They listened to the word of God. They listened to the word of the Lord and went back according to the word of the Lord. That doesn’t happen much. That doesn’t happen much. After David died, they actually listened to God’s voice. And now we have two kingdoms.

So far Jeroboam is off to a good start, right? He’s heard the voice of God, he advocated for the people, and then they rise up against the wicked rule of Rehoboam. Jeroboam is king now. “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel,” 1 Kings 12:25.

Jeroboam said to himself, how much trouble do we get in brothers and sisters from saying to ourselves, from these little dialogues in our head? Has anybody else talked to themselves? You know, even if you don’t raise your hand, you probably do even if it’s not out loud and that’s where Jeroboam is. He’s thinking about a problem. The kingdom.

“And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah,” 1 Kings 12:26.

Now it’s not a problem to talk to yourself, but listen to what Jeroboam did. He allowed a lie to enter into his mind. How do we know this is a lie? Because God promised that he would have a kingdom forever. “If you walk in my ways, I will bless you. I will give you this and you will have all that you desire.”

But Jeroboam started talking to himself and Jeroboam says to himself, “all these people might rebel against me. I’m kinda new at this king business and I’m not really sure.”

He thinks about it, he talks to himself and then he does something. He seeks advise. That is not necessarily bad, in this case it is.

We don’t need to seek advicewhen we have a clear promise from God. We don’t ask for advice whether or not we should obey God, whether or not we should take him at his word. Sometimes we need to get encouragement and it’s fine to say, “hey brother, I am struggling. I know God says this. I know I should do this, but I need your prayers. Can you encourage me?”

But Jeroboam is seeking advice. What should I do to make sure something happens that God already promised to me? We know well that the advice you received wasn’t any better than the advice Rehoboam received that causes the split in the kingdom.

Jereboam built altars to false gods — Jereboam erected idols and false worship.

“Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made. So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense,” 2 Kings 12: 28-33

Now, whose job was it to make festivals? It was God’s job to set up festivals, but Jeroboam doesn’t want his people to go down to Israel. He takes the place of God and creates his own festival and creates idols to be worshipped.

He offered sacrifices on the altar. Whose job was it to offer sacrifices on the altar? The priest. He made the offering in Bethel to sacrifice to the calves he had made. He also stationed the priest in Bethel for the high places he had made. He offered sacrifices on the altar.

Jeroboam did ot trust God’s promises and set up his own religion.

What do you think about his plan? Did he obey God? No. Why didn’t Jeroboam obey the Lord? What was his reason for disobeying the Lord? He wanted the people. He didn’t want the people to leave him. He feared that the people would leave him.

The first reason that I see for disobeying God from Jeroboam is fear. People disobey God because of fear.
Now let’s look at the second reason.

Jeroboam was a leader. He had people following him. Was he a good leader? No, but he was successful. He was effective in his leadership. The people followed Jeroboam. They even went to Dan to worship a golden calve.

Now, if we read this quickly, if we think about this story, we might think the people of Israel weren’t really responsible. They weren’t really culpable like Jeroboam was because it was their leader that established the new religion. Certainly, leaders carry a greater responsibility.

We saw that Israel was willing to rebel against physical slavery, right? They had just rebelled against Rehoboam for putting them into physical slavery, but they weren’t willing to rebel against spiritual slavery.

We read in 2 Chronicles chapter 11, there were some from Israel that obeyed the one true God, even though it meant that they had to leave their home and go down to Jerusalem to worship the one true God. They said, yes, we will worship the god of our ancestors.

“For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto the Lord,“ 2 Chronicles 11:14

We see in 2 Chronicles they did rebel against the spiritual slavery, but here’s the truth that Israel found out, and here’s the truth, that those faithful Levi’s and priests found, out it is sometimes hard to obey God, and Jeroboam knew this.

He’s like these people. If they want to obey God to worship, they have to go down to enemy territory. They have to go down to Jerusalem. That’s a long hike. If you’re way up in Bethel, most of them, rather than doing that, which was difficult or inconvenient, they just blindly accepted Jeroboam leadership.

And this leads to our second reason. Why did Israel disobey God? What was their reason for disobeying God? It was inconvenience. It was easier to stay and worship Jeroboam’s idols. Do you know what a great big reason for people disobeying God is? Plain old, good old fashioned laziness.

It’s inconvenient. So much of what we do is based on convenience, and I’m not saying that’s wrong, but when it comes to obeying God, so many people don’t obey him. Their reason for disobedience is because it’s not easy. Because it’s inconvenient and because they’re lazy.

Let’s read our third story here so they continue to worship in Bethel. They continue to follow their leader because it’s easy to do that. God in His grace sends a prophet. He sends a prophet.

A man of God came from Judah to Bethel. Remember he had to come all the way down from Judah, all the way up to Bethel because the prophets, the Levites, the faithful men and women of God, for the most part had left town.
So he leaves Judah and goes up to enemy territory by the word of the Lord. Jeroboam is standing beside the alter to burn incense and this man of God from Judah walks up to the king, to the ruler, to the man with the authority to chop off his head. While he’s offering the sacrifice, this is what the man of God says, “against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men’s bones shall be burnt upon thee,” 1 Kings 13:2.

He is anthropomorphizing the alter to make a point. He’s talking to the altar. Maybe he’s too scared to even talk to Jeroboam. Jeroboam is there in the act of worship. He gave the sign that day. He said, “This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.
And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the Lord thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before,” 1 Kings 13:3-6.

Jeroboam begged the prophet to ask God to restore his hand. And the prophet did just that. This man of God, this prophet, he’s not going to disobey God out of fear. That’s not his reason for disobeying God because this man has no fear, at least not in the story.

The king responded to the man of God. Verse 6, “please plead for the favor of the Lord.” Now notice verse 7, “And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward.”
So Jeroboam is apparently trying to bribe the prophet. Bribe him to save him from the coming judgement.

“And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the Lord, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel.”

Now, a certain old prophet was living in Bethel. Now we’re getting to the twist.

“Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah,” 1 Kings 13:11,12

Remember, this is an old prophet. Why is he an old prophet? Well, he’s an old prophet because all the young prophets had enough strength to go across the border and serve the Lord in Israel or in Judah.

His sons had seen the way taken by the men of God who had come from Judah. Then he said to his son, “Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am,” 1 Kings 13:13,14

It’s interesting that already the news has spread already. I think the old prophet had a good motive. He wanted to meet this man of God. He wanted to fellowship. He offered an invitation.

“Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: For it was said to me by the word of the Lord, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest,” 1 Kings 13:15-17

We know this man’s problem wasn’t fear. We know it wasn’t laziness because he had to go all the way across the border to give this message. He was also a go getter and we know that he heard God’s message. He understood God’s command to him. He repeats it at least twice.

But his stomach is grumbling. Don’t drink water. Don’t eat food. Don’t drink water, don’t eat food. The word of the Lord, the command of the Lord. He’s not forgetting it. It’s not a problem with hearing,

But this old prophet said to him, “I am also a prophet like you.” And again, isn’t it nice when somebody puts their arm around you and says, “Oh, I’m a prophet too. I’m a Christian too. There’s a connection in our hearts and I imagined that they had that connection and he puts his arm around him and he said, “He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water,” 1 Kings 13:18,19.

Now here’s where it gets really crazy. The young prophet with the message for Jeroboam, he delivered the message. The old prophet deceives the young prophet by giving him a false message.

While they were sitting at the table, another message comes, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had deceived him, who had brought him back and the prophet cried out to the man of God who had come from Judah.

The prophet killed by the lion. 1 Kings 13:21-26

“And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the Lord, and hast not kept the commandment which the Lord thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the Lord:” 1 Kings 13:21-26

Is there a more sad sentence than that in the Bible? “He is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command.” What an obituary. The man of God who disobeyed the word of God, who disobeyed the Lord’s command. What kind of man or woman will you be known as? What will they say when they find your corpse? What do you think about the story? Is this fair? The deceiving old prophet who wasn’t willing to stand up to Jeroboam. He gets off with his life and the faithful prophet, who in a moment of weakness allowed himself to be deceived. He’s killed by a lion.

This is the man of God who disobeyed the Lord’s command. Is it fair? But maybe it doesn’t feel fair to us, but what would have happened if this young man of God, this prophet had been allowed to go on his way? What would have happened if God had said, “but he was mixed up and I’m going to let him go. I’m going to go back on my word.”

The deception of the old prophet would have trumped God’s word. The deception of one man over another would have been shown to be more powerful than the word of God that the young prophet knew by heart.

Note that the Prophet said, “an angel came and told me.” That’s not actually the voice of God. Think about what Paul told the Galatians. “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.,” Galatians 1:8. Yes, even if an angel tells you something. if it is contary to the word of God, do not believe it.

We don’t merely take whatever someone says. There are lots and lots of people who have God’s word, God’s word, or so they claim. They have a message for you. The Lord laid something on their heart. They’ve written a book, they’ve preached sermons, they’ve done DVD series, and they have a message for you,

But just because someone says it’s God’s word doesn’t mean we accept it. Why did this man disobey God? It’s easy for me to kind of guess his motives and try and say, “well, you know, he was just really hungry, so he just kinda gave in, even though he knew it was wrong.” Maybe that’s true, but scripture doesn’t tell us for sure. It doesn’t tell us what was going on in this man’s heart.

Let’s review again. Jeroboam disobeyed God’s word because of fear. The Israelites disobeyed God’s Word because of laziness, because it was inconvenient.

The prophet of Judah disobeyed God’s word. Why? He was deceived. Was it carelessness, peer pressure, compromise, another voice?

Hath God said? It was the age old question. The young prophet was confused. He obviously was. Even if he knew what was right and wrong, when that guy says, “well, the angel of the Lord told me this.” This old white haired prophet says, “the angel of the Lord told me that you should come and eat with me.”

Well, who should he believe? Have you been confused? Does confusion, hearing from another voice, hearing from somebody else, just confusion ever cause you to hesitate in obeying God’s word?

Whatever the reasons were for his confusion, we know that he was guilty. No matter how inconvenient it was to go all the way from the top of Israel down to Jerusalem, we know that laziness is an excuse and Israel was guilty. We know that Jeroboam lost out on his dynasty because of fear.

These reasons might seem legitimate at times. They definitely feel legitimate in the moment. How can I be held responsible? If I’m confused about something? You know, it really is hard. I don’t think I can quite do that much. I’m scared. These are reasons that feel legitimate, but the truth is whatever reason we have, each one of us have rebelled against God’s word.

There is no excuse. We don’t trust his promise. It’s inconvenient. We don’t understand. We all have reasons and excuses, but the truth is we’ve rejected his word and it’s clear enough. We’ve turned aside, we’ve gone to our own way. Well, here’s the good news, and the people of Israel had to wait a long time to hear it.

Jesus obeyed God’s word. Jesus set a perfect example for us. He provides the answer for our rebellion. He provides the answer for our excuses to disobey his father. He came down to earth and for the joy that was before him, he did something very inconvenient. He took that scary cup and he drank that scary cup down despite his fear for the joy that was before him. He overcame and he is seated at the right seated at the right hand of God. Jesus shows us how to live in obedience, tempted in all ways like we are tempted with the same reasons, to disobey.

There we have three reasons to disobey God. When I think about obedience, I think about the word of God in 1 John. Some verses that give answer to Jeroboam’s fear, they give a solution to the laziness of Israel, that bring clarity to the confusion of the prophet.

“Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love,” 1 John 4:15-18

There is no fear, Jeroboam in love. Instead, perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love. Jeroboam’s fear overwhelmed him. Rather than allowing his confidence in God’s goodness and God’s promises to overwhelm him.

Now the application I’m driving isn’t just love God. I need to love God more. If I just love God a little bit more then I’m going to obey him. But the application here is that we trust in the love God has for us. There is no fear in love. If I look at that and I say say, I need to love God more, I think we’re maybe missing it and we’re being a little bit man centered in our approach.

No, I need to trust God’s love for me more and if he calls me to do something, if he tells me to obey him, then I know that it’s good and I don’t have to be afraid because he’s going to be with me. There is no fear in love. When God gives a command, he gives it in love, and if I have fear, that means they need to understand his love of it more. If I have fear, I need to remember that his commands are good.

This leads to our second application. Laziness. “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandment: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith,” 1 John 5:2-4.

Listen to this you Lazy Israelites. We know his commands are not a burden, are not grievous. His commands are not a burden because everyone has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world. Our faith. Did you catch it?

John tells us that his commands are not grievous. His commands are not a burden. It’s a good thing. It’s a happy thing if I have to make a trek all the way from Judah. John says, “you’re all the way down in Israel and need to go Jerusalem. I’m gonna love that trip because his commands are not grievous. My yoke is easy. My burden is light.”

The rich young ruler comes to Jesus and he says, “Jesus, how should I receive eternal life? What do I have to do? I’ve done a lot of good things. Have I made it?” Jesus loved him and said, “you lack one thing? Go sell all you have. Give it to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.” Our rich young ruler, our friends, say the same thing the Israelites said, “Whoa, that’s hard. That’s a lot.” He was dismayed by this demand and he went away grieving because he had many possessions.

Once we get a hold, first of all of the love of God, that will overcome our fear. Then we get a hold of the goodness of his commands. It’ll overcome our laziness. His yoke is easy and his burden is light.

What if we’re confused? What is that? What’s holding us back from obeying God’s word? We have questions.

John says, “These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you,” 1 John 2:26. Well, that qualifies for this Prophet in the Old Testament.

“These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him,” 1 John 2:26,27

Abide in him. “But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it,” Deuteronomy 30:14.

You don’t have to get in a boat and go across the ocean to find God’s word. It’s near you. It’s in your heart. Even in the Old Testament, God’s word had sufficient clarity. If they would only let the spirit guide them.
So to our friend, this prophet who ended up being eaten by a lion, we can say, “you don’t need anyone to teach you. The annointing you have teaches you all things. And it’s true and it’s not a lie. Just as it has taught you remain in him.”

So here’s my application from this text. The spirit illuminated word of God brings clarity to your confusion, so if you’re confused, you abide in him, you wait on him until there’s clarity. What does it mean to wait on God? A lot of answers to that, but I want to zero in on one application especially when we’re trying to discern God’s will.

Waiting on God means to do what you know now, to do what you know to do and to do it now. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul says, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is saying, “I haven’t achieved everything. There are still things I’m learning. I’m still growing in obedience to God. I haven’t reached perfection yet, but the one thing I do, I forget what is behind and I reach forward to what is ahead. I pursue as my goal the prized promise by God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.”

Here’s some real wisdom for us from brother Paul. “Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing,” Philippians 3:15,16.

Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way, and if you think differently about anything, if you think differently about anything, you have questions, you’re confused. You think, “is this really the way it is? Maybe I should change.” If you’re confused. If you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, brothers and sisters, in any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.

Our prophet’s problem was he had been given a truth from God, a command from God. Don’t drink, don’t eat, go back a different way, and then he received another potential truth and rather than saying, “well, this is my foundation, what I already know for sure,” it led him to reexamine the foundation that had been previously laid.

Are you following me? In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained. You know there’s lots of good teaching out there. There are good biblical teachings that you haven’t heard and you will come across them and say, “wow, this is good stuff and you’ll bring it into your life and God will bless you.”

But if you hear something new that causes you to question the foundation that has already been laid for you, you’ll reject it. That is confusion that leads to disobedience. There’s nothing wrong with building on what we have already attained, but we’ve got to stay faithful, stay solid on what we know.

I don’t want to pretend that being in a place of confusion, of fear or even discomfort, inconvenience, that it’s easily fixed, but we dare not abandon what God has shown us.

I have friends, and you probably have friends, who change their minds on a clear biblical teaching and it’s usually chalked up to either a new explanation of scripture. Well, the Greek says this, or this teacher said this, or maybe it’s a feeling that they get that they attribute to the Holy Spirit.

Have you heard this? Oh, well, you know, I just got a hold of the Gospel in a new way and the head covering, you know, that’s, that’s kind of salvation by works and I want the Gospel so I’m going to set aside the head covering so I can love Jesus more. Or somebody explained to me that the original Greek actually says this, therefore I’m going to set aside another practice, another foundation that’s been laid. Because I’m confused, because I’m lazy, because I have fear.

In conclusion, I started off by asking, when was the last time you disobeyed God? Let me ask now, when’s the next time you’re going to disobey God? When’s the next time it’s possible? It’s even likely that you are wrestling with something and you have fear. I’m supposed to do this. Maybe it’s confessing something. Maybe it’s adopting a practice. Maybe it’s going back to something you’ve compromised in.

Has God given you a command you’re struggling with? Is there a scripture that seems unclear? Are you living in fear about what will happen if you actually take him at his word? You’re reading something or you’re watching something that’s not his will and it doesn’t edify him. He is speaking to you through his word, through the spirit that you need to stop or you need to go.

When’s the next time you’re going to disobey God? What are your reasons for disobeying God? He has answers for those reasons. His love answers your fear. His commands aren’t a burden. The spirit guided word will provide clarity if we wait on him.

Jesus Christ provided the perfect example for our rebellion, the perfect counter example. He showed us that in his power, it is possible to obey him no matter what good reasons you may have.

One more time, we can overcome these three excuses: fear, laziness and confusion.

Number one, perfect love casts out fear, so believe in God’s love for you. Perfect love casts out fear, believing God’s love for you. That reason is gone. That lie has been questioned by perfect love.

Number two, his commands are not a burden. They’re not grievous, so love God by your obedience. That attack from Satan that says, “this is too hard.” It’s done away with when we understand that his commands are a good thing, that there are a blessing.

Number three, I’m confused. I’m not sure what to do. I’m hearing a teaching that’s coming in and I feel like maybe this is good. The spirit illuminated word brings clarity. So wait on him. Wait for that anointing to teach you all things abide in that anointing.

Who Is The Man of Lawlessness, The Son of Perdition?

Who is “the man of lawlessness” or “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2? He is not what the majority of Christians today believe.

What I have found is not what the majority of evangelical teachers teach today. It’s certainly different from the more popular approach of dispensationalism. Second Thessalonians 2 is the prophecy of the man of lawlessness, the son of perdition.

“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 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 worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:” 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8

This is a very interesting and much debated passage in scripture. It is one of the more difficult passages regarding Paul’s writings. In fact, the early church father Augustine said, “I confess that I’m entirely ignorant of what he means to say.” Leon Morris, wrote in his commentary on the Thessalonian epistles, that “this is a notoriously difficult passage.” Consequently, I’m not going to pretend that I my understanding is flawless. Rather, my wish is that you will consider my view and compare scriptures to see if I am on target. Remeber though, we must consider what scripture says, and not read our pre-concieved ideas into the scripture.

Now, despite popular opinion, I do believe that even though some of the details might be difficult for us, that despite popular opinion, that I can demonstrate sufficiently well that this passage, this prophecy regarding the man of lawlessness is not a prophecy that’s in our future, but it refers to events that are well in our past and has already transpired. As is so often in the case when we’re studying biblical passages, it is important for us to look at the historical setting.

The New Testament letters are often called occasional epistles. That means that they were occasioned by some circumstance in the life of the church. Generally the occasional epistles are not just a generic platitudes, but they’re responding to particular issues that the churches are facing. Think of the Corinthian epistles where they talk about the man who had his own father’s wife for his own wife and all of these various things that don’t go on in the church universal, that’s something particular for that church at the current time. So it’s an occasional epistle written upon a certain occasion and an uncertain need. While the same thing is true for the Epistles to the Thessalonians. Consequently, it’s very important for us that we understand the historical setting of an occasional epistle. Otherwise we’ll just bypass the reality of the situation and develop our own thoughts about it without reference to what’s really going on in the region.

Now, to give you a little historical bearing about where the testimony and epistles arose and when they arose, you could look up Acts 17 through 18. This is a very important historical setting. Paul was in Thessalonica ministering to the people there and in Acts 17 and 18, he leaves Thessalonica. He goes to Berea and ministers there for awhile. Then he goes to Athens, just for a little while and then he goes onto Corinth, where he stayed for 18 months. It’s while he is at Corinth that he writes the first and second epistles to the Thessalonians, and this background is very important. When we look at the historical setting we’re going to see, as is so often in the New Testament, the historical background shows a Jewish opposition to the budding Christian faith and this Jewish opposition is going to affect how we understand the man of lawlessness.

Acts 17:1-7 “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.”

We read here, that when he went to Thessalonica, Paul preaches that Jesus is the messiah the Jews were expecting. Instead of accepting this, as you well know from your general understanding of New Testament history, the Jews turn to mob action. In fact, Paul escapes, but when the Jews did not find them, that is Paul and the others with him, they they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities shouting, “these men who have upset the world have come here also and Jason has welcomed them and they all teach, act contrary to the decrees of Caesar saying that there’s another King Jesus.” So the Jews are trying to use the Roman authorities to support their actions, saying, “these people are turning the world upside down there teaching that there’s another king other than Caesar.”

The Jews are stating the Christians are a political threat, but the authorities released Jason and his group. Then the Jews follow Paul to Berea.

“But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people,” Acts 17:13.

The Jews are vehemently opposed to the Christian declaration that Jesus is the Messiah and they’re following around the leading Christians causing them trouble wherever they go. Paul then goes from Berea to Athens, where he’s there just a brief time and then on to Corinth where he stays for 18 months. You can read about that in acts chapter 18. Now, remember, he wrote the first and second epistles to the Thessalonians while at Corinth.

What’s going on in Corinth while he writes these letters? Acts 18:1,2 “After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.”

Now, why have Claudius commanded that all the Jews leave Rome at this time? Well, it seems obvious to historical and Biblical scholars that the Jews were driven out of Rome because of the riots being caused by the Jews and the agitating against the Christians. The Roman biographer, Suetonius, who lived and wrote not too long after the New Testament era, says in his book ‘Divus Claudius 25,’ “as the Jews were indulging in constant riots at the instigation of Christus, Claudius banished them from Rome.” Roman authorities tell us that Christus is the Latin way of referring to Christ.

There are riots being caused because of the name of Christus, that is Christ. And because of that, the emperor Claudius drove the Jews out because they are causing so many riots and so much trouble. So again, Paul is being chased around by the Jews from city to city. He goes to Corinth. He meets up with Priscilla and Aquilla who have had to leave Rome because they’re Jewish converts to Christ. They’ve had to leave Rome because Claudius is sick of the Jews causing trouble regarding Christ.

And in Corinth, the Jews again, are angered. “And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles,” Acts 18:5-6 Paul went to the Gentiles with the Gospel after all this continuing persecution.

We read in Acts 18:12, “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat.” The Jews were constantly agitating, constantly seeking to get Paul and trouble with the legal authorities of Rome. Because of all this Jewish antagonism, because they’re chasing him from city to city, because of the danger there presenting Paul with imprisonment to Rome, Paul uses very hostile language against the Jews and he even equates them with Satan.

Remember what Jesus said in John 8:44 to the to the Jews, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do.” Remember, Jesus sees an apostate Judaism, a resistance to him that is so Satanicly inspired, that he says, “you are of your father, the devil.” They always claimed, “we’re of our father Abraham.” Jesus says, “no, you are of your father, the devil.” John in Revelation 2 talks about those who call themselves Jews but are really the of the synagogue of Satan. The Bible has some very strong words to say about apostate Judaism. Well, Paul’s doing that here in 1 Thessalonians too.

Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16,18, “For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.”

He has just said that Jews have hindered him from doing his ministry, and then he says, “I wanted to come to you again, but Satan thwarted us.” Thinking of the Jews, Paul associates them with the activity of Satan.

Now in 2 Thessalonians 3:2, right after our texts that we will be studying, Paul prays for deliverance from perverse and evil men. (2 Thessalonians 3:2 “And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not faith.”) Given the history of Acts 17 and 18, and given the comments of Paul in 1 Thessalonians 2, it is clear that these evil and perverse men are the Jewish people who are resisting the gospel, who both killed our Lord, Jesus Christ and drove us out.

That’s the historical background backdrop to this occasional epistle and 2 Thessalonians 2. This epistle is written to a people for particular reason. That’s very important for us to understand who the man of lawlessness is and what it’s all about.

Despite the fact that this passage is often projected into our future or something that is coming in the last days at the very end, just before the rapture or whatever. The text itself clearly gives us information that demands that the prophecy be something current to the day in which Paul wrote. I’m going to give you four evidences that Paul is writing about something that is currently going on and it’s about to come to pass and therefore it’s almost 2000 years in our past.

Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and see that this man “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” What is the temple of God? That is the temple in Jerusalem and it’s the temple that was destroyed in age 70 AD. So this has to have reference to something going on prior to the destruction in 70 AD.

The temple of God has not been rebuilt since the year 70. That’s evidence that Paul is dealing with an issue that has some sort of reference to the temple of God, which was still standing at that time. Furthermore, notice verse 6 says, “And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.” Paul is writing about the man of lawlessness being presently restrained when he wrote the epistle. Is that restraint going on for 2000 more years?

Third, notice also in verse six, he says, “you know what restrains him.” The Thessalonians knew what was restraining this man of lawlessness. So the man of lawlessness was something they knew about. Now what in the world, how could they know the man of lawlessness is if he’s coming 2000 years in the future. So not only was he being restrained in their timeframe, they knew the man of lawlessness. And then finally notice verse 7, he says, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.” This man of lawlessness, somehow in a mystery form, is already at work. Paul is dealing with contemporary issues relevant to that era.

Let’s now consider the judgment coming of Christ. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,” (2 Thessalonians 2:1). This is a crucial statement and this is a statement that can be easily misunderstood. I believe that this coming that he’s talking about is not his second coming at the end of history, which I believe will occur, but this is another kind of coming. His coming in judgment against the Jews in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. The destruction of the temple is often spoken of as a coming.

In Revelation 1:7, it says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” I believe that that’s a reference to Jesus coming and judgment upon the Jewish temple. Now, the reason I say that is Revelation 1:11 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Shortly take place. Then Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Why? For the time is near, he tells the people in the opening of Revelation these events are shortly to take place, because the time is near and then he gives the theme of the book which is he is coming in the clouds of judgment against those who pierced him, the Jews who caused his death. And the tribes of the land will mourn because of it. Their temple is going to be destroyed and their city, their holy city, will be laid waste.

Revelation 1:7 speaks of a judgment, coming of christ that was near at hand in John’s day. I’m saying that 2 Thessalonians 2:1 is speaking of that same judgment coming.

Matthew 24:30 says, “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Four verses later, verse 34 says, “Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” He is talking to the disciples who in verse one point to the stones in the temple. The disciples who heard him say in verse two, not one stone will be left on another. Who had been warned in verse 16 to flee Judea when you see these things happening. Then he says the Jews, they will see the coming of the son of man in the clouds of heaven.

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down,” (Matthew 24:1,2).
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory,” (Matthew 24:30)

That is the judgment coming of Christ. They will see that he is judging and then just four verses later he says, all these things will happen to this generation. Not some of these things, but all of these things. So again, this idea of coming can refer either to the physical coming of Christ at the end of history or it can refer to a spiritual judgment coming of Christ in providence, in history before the end. I think that’s what Paul is dealing with here.

I’m going to expand on this. The judgment coming of Jesus Christ against the Jews, for rejecting him is what it means, but what does it mean when he goes on to say, “by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,” (2 Thessalonians 2:1).

The Greek word for “gathered together” Here is ἐπισυναγωγῆς (episynagōgēs) and you will recognize the word synagogue in there. This word ἐπισυναγωγῆς (episynagōgēs) is only found one other time in scripture and that’s in Hebrews 10:25 which reads, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Those people were seeing the day of judgment against Israel approaching and they were not to dissimulate. They were not to avoid gathering themselves together as the body of Christ, to worship Jesus. Hebrews is warning Jews who have converted to Christ, who are beginning to go back into Judaism, don’t. Hebrews is warning them, don’t do it. Now’s the worst possible time. The temple is about to be destroyed. These Jewish converts were going back into Judaism and he’s warning them, don’t forsake the assembling of yourselves together. Don’t forsake the episynagōgēs of yourselves together, especially as you see the day of judgment approaching.

The episynagōgēs is the gathering of Christians in one body. The synagogue is a place that you went as a crowd of Jews. They went to worship and study the word of God. That’s synagōgēs, synagogue. The Greek prefix epi intensifies it. Don’t forget that you are to gather as one body in Christ. One of the gathering together to him, I believe, refers to the fact that prior to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, as we see in Acts, the Christians frequented the temple. When Paul went anywhere, he always went to the synagogue first and began his evangelism. Their Christianity was really considered a sect of Judaism, which was one reason the Jews were so furious at them, because they didn’t like that sect.

Here Paul is warning, when Jesus comes in judgment against the Jews and their temple, we will be gathered into a separate and distinct body. Christianity will have its separate and distinct standing in the world and will no longer be considered a sect of Judaism. After the destruction of the temple, when the, when the Christian Jews did not help in defending the temple and they fled to Pella, then at that time it was very clear the Christians, were not going to be helping the Jews and keeping up the Judaic practices.

Remember in Acts 10, Peter received that vision just before he goes out and talks to a gentile. He would never have gone out and associated with gentiles previously, but he received that vision of the unclean animals and he is encouraged to go talk to the gentiles. “But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean,” (Acts 10:14). “I’ve always kept the Judaic ceremonial law.”

We see how Christianity is so tied up in Judaism at that time that they’re even keeping the Judaic laws. And in Acts 15, some of the pharisees who had converted to Christ say, “except a man be circumcised and cannot be saved.” Christianity is considered a sect, a subset of Judaism, but after the destruction of the temple, no more. There’s no more either in the eyes of Rome, in the eyes of Israel or in the eyes of the Christians.

So this gathering together, this coming Judgment of Jesus and their gathering together means Jesus is going to destroy the temple. The Christians will be very clearly a separate and distinct gathering of people. They will have their own ecclesia, which means a called-out assembly.

Paul is warning them that the destruction of the temple is coming and it hasn’t happened yet. Now notice in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul writes, “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 is at hand.” Now he’s talking about the day of the Lord and he says, don’t let anybody fool you and say, the day of the Lord has come. Because if it has come and they don’t see anything that looks like a day of the Lord type event, then it looks like Christ’s prophecy regarding the day of the Lord has failed or it means something altogether different than what they were taught. So Paul is warning them not to be fooled by these agitators who say the day of the Lord came and nothing happened.

What is the day of the Lord in Acts 2:19-21? When Peter standing up and preaching at pentecost warns that the episode of the pouring out of the spirit upon the church at that time shows that God is moving in history in a different way than he had in the past and with the giving of the spirit to his people. And he says, in conjunction with that coming of the spirit, “And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

The initial speaking in tongues were a sign that there was a judgment coming, the day of the Lord and that came in 70 AD.

And then he preached own a little further down in the passage. And he says, “before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come, and it shall be that everyone, not just the Jews, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” The giving of the spirit at that point in time was an indicator that God was coming in judgment. There will be blood, fire, vapor, smoke, and the destruction of the temple so that the whole world can now be reached out to with the gospel, rather than just narrowly confined Israel. Then he says in verse 40, to the Jews gathered there, “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”

This generation is the one that’s going to see the day of the Lord. You need to be saved out of this or you’re going to be judged with it. That’s why the Christians sold their property in Jerusalem. They knew that zero value is what’s coming for their property because it was going to be destroyed by Titus. They didn’t know exactly when, but they knew it was in their generation, so they freely gave up their property. Only in Jerusalem. It’s the only place it ever happened. I’m not diminishing the fact that Christians were doing something noble, but it’s a matter of fact. They had a prophecy that said, get out of Jerusalem.

In Thessalonica, some unscrupulous people had begun saying that the day of the Lord had already come. “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 is at hand,” (2 Thessalonians 2:2).

The word troubled is the Greek word throeisthe and it’s only found one other place in scripture. It’s found in Jesus’ prophecy regarding the destruction of the temple. Mark 13:5-7 “And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled (throeisthe): for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.”

And here we can look back to Jesus. He said, “don’t let anyone mislead you. Many will come in my name saying I am. He and will mislead many. And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened.” Those things must take place.

Paul is urging that the Thessalonians not be confused by false reports that the day of the Lord has come. Christ has not yet come in judgment against the Jews to separate christianity finally, from Judaism, for the rest of human history. If the day of the Lord has come and the Jews are still doing just fine, then the day of the Lord was nothing to worry about. That’s the thought behind all of this.

Paul says in verse 3, “let no one in any way to save you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness be revealed, the son of destruction.” In other words, these are signs that the day of the Lord is coming, and until you see those signs, that day of the Lord can’t come. You haven’t seen those signs. Therefore the day of the Lord hasn’t come. You see the logic of Paul there?

So let’s look now at the apostasy in the man of lawlessness. He says, “the day of the lord cannot come until the apostasy comes and the man of lawlessness be revealed,” be known and open to all. Both of these must occur before anyone can say the day of the Lord has come, but what are these things?

What is the apostasy? The Greek word for apostasy, is apostasia and it means to stand away from. Apo means away, and stasy means to stay in. So apostasy means to stand away from and in religion. It’s when you have the main body of religious faith over here and the apostate is one who stands against it and is separated from (stands away from) the majority body. This is an important term. In fact, the word apostasia in Greek can be used in two separate contexts. It can mean either religious defection from the body of truth, which we know of as an apostate action, but it also can be used for a political revolution, a political action, or revolt. Josephus, the first century Jewish historian who saw the temple destroyed with his own eyes, in his biography called The Life of Josephus, paragraph four, he wrote, “And now I perceived innovations were already begun, and that there were a great many very much elevated in hopes of a revolt from the Romans.”

The word revolt there is apostasia, so he’s using it in a political context. We tend to think of apostasy in the religious context, but they both had the same idea of standing against the main body either politically against Rome or religiously against Judaism. The man of lawlessness cannot be revealed until the apostasy comes. The day of the Lord, can’t come until the apostasy comes. I believe that Paul is here merging both the religious and political into one thought and that both of these converge in 70 AD and the destruction of the temple. He combines them both, I believe in 1 Thessalonians 2:16,. When he says the Jews are hindering us from speaking to the gentiles, that they might be saved with result that they “always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!“

That’s religious apostasy, their sin against God. But wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. Since they’ve sinned against God, they will politically be destroyed by the Romans in their apostasy from Rome. It’s ready to break out upon them so that religious apostasy and political apostasy are merged in this thought pattern. The priority I believe goes to the political apostasy itself. The Jews falling away from God led to their revolt against Rome so that God could judge their temple and remove it from history. Because “He came unto his own, and his own received him not,”(John 1:11). Because they cried, “his blood, be upon us and our children away with him, give us Barabbas and crucify him,” (Matthew 27:25-26).

Because they did that against God’s son, their Saviour, their messiah, God has now turned them over to Rome to be destroyed. In fact, in Matthew 22:2-7, we have a Parable of Jesus that speaks to this very thing. “The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son, And sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding: and they would not come. Again, he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise: And the remnant took his servants, and entreated them spitefully, and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”

That parable is a clear prophecy regarding the fact that Jews are rejecting jesus and their city is going to be destroyed by some armies who are going to burn it. That’s exactly what happened in 70 AD. In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul is emphasizing the revolt against Rome because the revolt against Rome, will lead you into apostasy. It is cumulative, and there’s not one event that makes them apostatize, but it’s a series of defections from God. And so it’s not something you could date. But as soon as the Jews revolt against Rome and Nero Caesar commissions Vespasian to send his armies down there, that’s datable. In fact, it occurs in 66 AD when the Jews revolt, and then in early 67, Nero commissions Vespasian to go in and conquer them. That’s datable.

Everybody knows when the Jewish War erupts. Sitting in a narrow timeframe there that you can put these events together and say, this is it. It’s coming.

Nero is the man of lawlessness.

What is the man of lawlessness? The apostasy is the Jewish revolt against Rome, the day of the Lord will not occur until that happens. The Jewish revolt against Rome broke out in late 66. And it’s that datable. The man of lawlessness is not the pope. It is Nero. He is the one who is lawless and who desires to sit in the temple.

Now look at verse four. “He opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” If you know anything at all about first century imperial history, you will have heard of emperor worship. Nero thought of himself as Apollo. He minted coins that had his head on it with the rays of the sun going out from it to emulate the god Apollo, who is the Sun God.

When the Parthian king Tiridates came before Nero, he bowed before him and laid crowns at his feet and said, “Master, I have come to thee, my god, to worship thee as I do Mithras. The destiny thou spinnest for me shall be mine, for thou art my Fortune and my Fate.” (Payaslian, 29). Nero thought of himself as god. And when it says so that he takes a seat in the temple of god that doesn’t require that he actually sat in god’s temple, but the Greek language there is such that he desired to do so.

For instance, in Luke 4:29, it says, the Jews “led him (Jesus) unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” And if you read the story, they didn’t cast him down, he eluded them, but that was their intent. And that same grammatical structure is found in this passage in 2 Thessalonians. It is Nero’s desire to present himself as god and he would even desire to be in the temple and to be worshiped as god.

We need to go to point of the restrainer that is already working. “And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time,” (2 Thessalonians 2:6). Paul is writing in the year 52 AD. Nero is not yet the emperor. Claudius is the current emperor.

As long as Claudius is alive, Nero can’t do any evil trouble or show himself to be any danger to anybody. But once Claudius dies, then Nero seizes the throne and he can soon thereafter begin showing himself to be the evil man that we know him to be. Nero’s mother Agrippina is married to Claudius. Claudius is not his father, but she’s married to Claudius. She poisons her husband so her son can come to the throne. So the mystery of iniquity is Agrippina working in the background to kill Claudius so that Nero can come to the throne. It’s only when Nero ascends to the throne that the mystery of lawlessness is revealed. He can now act and show himself to be the danger that he is. He couldn’t do it in 52, but just a few years later, he comes to the throne.

We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 “And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” In scripture, the coming of God, like in Isaiah 19:1 and other passages is a judgment coming against the particular people. Nero died in the year 68, just before the temple was destroyed. Nero, died providentially under the governance of God. His imperial guard killed him or caused him to kill himself. Instead of looking at it secularly, Paul a interprets it in terms of religious reality, Jesus destroyed this evil man. And even though he used Nero’s own sword in a suicide to do it, it’s Jesus destroying him just before he comes in judgment upon the temple.

Second Thessalonians chapter two is a passive event, contemporary with Paul’s ministry. We saw in the first place that there are obvious parallels with Matthew 24, which we know was to occur in this generation. We saw a reference to the temple standing in verse four. We know it was destroyed in 70 AD. We saw a reference to the present restraint of the man of lawlessness. We saw that the Thessalonians knew the restrainer in verse six. How could they have known the identity of someone living 2000 years in the future? We saw the mystery operation of the man of lawlessness was working during Paul’s day. He says it is already at work.

The mystery is what’s going on in the court. Intrigue in the background of verse six or verse seven, for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. In other words, Agrippina is in the background plotting the death of Claudius so that the lawless one, Nero can come forth.

This my understanding of that passage. I am open to correction in some of the details, but one thing we definitely know from scripture is that the “man of lawlessness,” “the son of perdition,” was contemporary to the time of Paul’s writing.

Go Deeper Bible Study