Somehow, at least some in the Thessalonian church had come to believe that the future ‘day of the Lord’ (when Jesus returns to judge the earth) was already upon them. Understandably, they were perturbed about this. Paul addresses this in his follow up letter to the Thessalonians and the result is a remarkable description of things to come. Jesus predicted (Matthew 13) that, in this age, the Kingdom would spread throughout the world like yeast through dough. He predicted a time when, to use another of his metaphors, the Kingdom of God would grow to full fruition in the world like a plantation of wheat. But he also foresaw a great polarisation in the world which would result from the spreading of the Kingdom of God. As the wheat grows so too will the weeds. At the end of the age both the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan will become fully manifest. Paul speaks here in 2 Thessalonians of the manifestation of the Kingdom of the evil one that is already present and growing in the world alongside, and in reaction to, the Kingdom of God. The two Kingdoms are by no means equal. God’s Kingdom is infinitely greater but the more the Kingdom of God comes to fruition the more Satan rises up to try and choke what God is doing. The appearing of the man of lawlessness will be the culmination of this reaction. He will further polarise the world. But God will use this situation to bring evil to a head, and this will occasion his final judgement and victory.
Reflect on how that evil power might be working today to undermine what God is doing in you.
Read 2 Thessalonians 2
