Hello, John and Doves,It is written,"1Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessnessa is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God."Imho, verse 3 is before the Rapture, and verse 4 is after.Let's look at the next few verses."5Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness."The latter part of verse 7 indicates that the Holy Spirit has been withdrawing His influence in the world at large for some time already, since there has been a huge increase in candidates for the AC.Lawlessness--as it is defined by decent church-going Southern Baptists, sticklers for the P'shat of the Word [I was immersion-baptized as an adult in the First Southern Baptist Church of Selma, California on September 3, 1978]--is becoming more and more overt. Witness the POTUS almost worshipping gay marriage as a cure to all our ills. [Snarky LOL]Verse 8 is the whole of Daniel's 70th week in a nutshell. Verse 9 is a recap, just as verse 5 was.This is the Jewish way of teaching--something like painting a house. It takes a few back and forth strokes--even with a paint gun--to cover the whole surface.Verse 10 includes our time and continues until Jesus comes to destroy His enemies. Verse 11 is a recap in a spiritual sense that furthers the meaning of verse 7, "till he is taken out of the way." Verse 12 is a direct warning to all generations [no one knows the day nor the hour] to avoid wickedness at all costs. Don't delight in others doing your dirty deeds [like a Capo might].Now, as if Rabbi Shaul were speaking to the Five Doves community, he says,"13But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose youb to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachingsc we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.16May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word."
[Of course, he means sisters in Christ, as well as brothers in Christ!]
Baruch HaShem Adonai Roi,
Mike C.