LAWLESSNESS

 

LAWLESSNESS
The mystery already at work

Opening reading — 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work.”
— 2 Thessalonians 2:7, KJV

Paul told the Thessalonians that the mystery of lawlessness was already at work in his day. The lawless one was yet to be revealed, but the spiritual influence behind his coming was already active.

That raises a question for every believer today. If the lawless one appeared to defend things we care about, would we recognize his lawlessness? Paul’s warning calls us to examine what we already accept, what we excuse, and whose authority we follow when Scripture challenges a tradition we love.

1. The work is hidden, but its fruit can be seen

Paul describes a spiritual conflict involving unseen powers in Ephesians 6:11–12. Yeshua gives us a practical way to discern what is happening in the visible world. In Matthew 7:15–20, He warns that false prophets come in sheep’s clothing and says, “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”

We may never see the spiritual influence behind a teaching. We can examine what that teaching produces. Does it lead people to repent, love the truth, and obey Yahweh? Does it train them to explain away whatever He commands when obedience becomes inconvenient?

This is how lawlessness can take root in a religious setting. People can speak reverently about Yeshua, sing His praises, and sincerely believe they are serving Him, while learning to dismiss the very authority He taught them to honor. Yeshua describes that danger in Matthew 7:21–23. The people there appeal to their prophecies and mighty works. He calls them workers of lawlessness and says that entry into the Kingdom belongs to those who do the will of His Father.

2. A lawless age prepares people to welcome a lawless ruler

Paul says the lawless one comes “after the working of Satan,” with power, signs, lying wonders, and unrighteous deception (2 Thessalonians 2:9–10). Paul also says that those who perish “received not the love of the truth.”

Notice what makes people vulnerable. They have already lost their love for the truth by which they could test what they see. When people are accustomed to setting aside Yahweh’s instruction, a ruler who claims the right to stand above it can appear admirable. His defiance may be praised as courage. His promises may be welcomed as deliverance. His power may be mistaken for Yahweh’s approval.

A people trained by Torah would have a standard by which to judge him. Deuteronomy 13:1–4 says that even if a sign comes to pass, Yahweh’s people must reject a prophet who uses it to draw them after other mighty ones. The sign can be impressive and the message can still lead away from Yahweh. Torah had already taught Israel how to face the kind of deception Paul describes.

3. The falling away comes first

Paul opens 2 Thessalonians 2 by identifying his subject as the coming of Yeshua Messiah and our gathering together to Him. He then says that the falling away must come first and the man of lawlessness must be revealed. Paul calls him the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called Elohim or worshiped (verses 1–4).

Paul distinguishes between the mystery already operating and the person who will be revealed. In verses 6–8, he describes a restraint and says that then the lawless one will be revealed. The passage gives us the order of events without giving us a date or a way to measure when the falling away has reached its full extent.

Follow the thread through Scripture.

Passage	What it shows
Daniel 7:25	An arrogant power speaks against the Most High, persecutes His people, and intends to change times and law.
Daniel 11:31, 36	Daniel describes the abomination that desolates and a king who exalts himself above every mighty one.
Matthew 24:12, 15, 24	Yeshua says multiplying lawlessness will cause love to grow cold. He directs His hearers to Daniel and warns of false messiahs and deceptive signs.
2 Thessalonians 2:3–10	Paul describes the falling away, the self-exaltation of the lawless one, and his coming with deceptive signs through Satan’s working.

Daniel describes the defiance. Yeshua tells His disciples to pay attention to Daniel and watch for deception. Paul shows how the same rebellion can already be working beneath the surface before the lawless one is revealed openly.

4. Where has Christianity made room for lawlessness?

The warning applies directly wherever Christian teaching makes Yahweh’s commandments optional. Yeshua warned that religious tradition can make the word of Yahweh of no effect (Mark 7:8–13). That warning reaches any congregation, ministry, or home fellowship that gives inherited practice greater authority than Scripture.

Teaching or practice to examine	Passages to read	Question to ask
“The Torah has been abolished.”	Matthew 5:17–19 and Romans 3:31	How does this teaching account for Yeshua’s warning against breaking even the least commandments and teaching others to do so?
“The Ten Words are no longer binding.”	Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13, and Matthew 19:16–19	What authority do we have to dismiss commandments Yeshua Himself taught?
“The first day is now the Sabbath.”	Genesis 2:2–3, Exodus 20:8–11, and Luke 4:16	Where does Scripture transfer the blessing and sanctification of the seventh day to the first?
“Our customary holidays can take the place of Yahweh’s appointed times.”	Leviticus 23:1–4 and 1 Corinthians 5:7–8	What gives us authority to set aside the days Yahweh calls His appointed times in favor of observances established by religious tradition?

Paul explains the link between deception and delusion in 2 Thessalonians 2:10–12. People refuse the love of the truth and take pleasure in unrighteousness. Yahweh then sends strong delusion so that they believe the lie. The passage calls us to examine what happens when truth is made plain and people repeatedly choose what they would rather believe.

That same examination belongs in our own homes. A person can keep the seventh-day Sabbath and still excuse bitterness, dishonesty, or pride. Yeshua rebuked people who carefully observed details while neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness. He said to practice both (Matthew 23:23).

5. The deceiver will give people reasons to trust him

Satan disguises himself as a messenger of light, and his servants can appear as servants of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:13–15). So consider where we might be easiest to deceive. It may be through someone who speaks eloquently about issues we already agree with, promises to correct real wrongs, or presents himself as a defender of faith and order.

Yeshua warned that false messiahs and false prophets would show great signs and wonders, so persuasive that, if possible, they would deceive even the elect (Matthew 24:24–25). Agreement on a cause tells us little about whether a leader submits to Yahweh. Watch what he asks people to believe, what he asks them to excuse, and whether he demands an allegiance that belongs to Yahweh.

6. Which camp will we follow?

Yeshua leads His people in obedience to the Father. He says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). He also says that He has kept His Father’s commandments and abides in His love (John 15:10).

The lawless one exalts himself above what is worshiped. His coming is marked by deception and rebellion, and Yeshua will bring him to an end at His appearing (2 Thessalonians 2:4, 8–10).

Yahweh describes the heart of the obedient camp in Ezekiel 36:26–27. He promises Israel a new heart and says He will put His Spirit within His people and cause them to walk in His statutes. Paul gives the same pattern in Titus 2:11–14. Grace trains us to turn away from ungodliness, and Yeshua gave Himself to redeem a people from lawlessness and make them zealous for good works.

When we ask Yahweh to fill us with His Spirit, we should also ask Him to make us willing to obey when His Word corrects us. That is where the choice between the two camps becomes personal.

7. Few find the narrow way

Yeshua says the gate is wide and the way broad that leads to destruction, and many go in by it. The gate that leads to life is narrow, the way difficult, and few find it (Matthew 7:13–14).

There is reason to rejoice when Yahweh opens our eyes to His instruction. There is also reason to stay humble. Yeshua ends the same sermon with two people who hear His words. One acts on them and builds on rock. The other hears and fails to act, and the house falls when the storm comes (Matthew 7:24–27).

When Yahweh’s Word exposes something I have long believed or practiced, what will I do with what I have heard?

Questions for a home Sabbath discussion

1. In 2 Thessalonians 2:7–12, what is already at work, and what is still to come?
2. In Deuteronomy 13:1–4, what are Yahweh’s people told to do when a sign comes true but the message leads them away from Him?
3. Where have we accepted a religious practice because it was familiar? What do we find when we test it against the relevant passages?
4. How does Matthew 23:23 help us examine our own obedience while studying lawlessness in religion?
5. In Ezekiel 36:26–27, what does Yahweh promise His Spirit will produce in His people? Where do we need that work in our lives today?

Closing exhortation — Endure to the End

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
— Matthew 24:13, KJV

Yeshua gave us this promise immediately after warning that as lawlessness increases, the love of many will grow cold. So keep your love alive. Keep Yahweh’s commandments when obedience costs you something. Hold fast to the truth when a persuasive voice tells you to compromise. When you stumble, repent and return to the way Yeshua taught you to walk.

Yahweh has promised to put His Spirit within His people and cause them to walk in His statutes (Ezekiel 36:26–27). Ask Him for the strength to obey today, and trust Him for the strength you will need tomorrow.

“For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.”
— Hebrews 10:37, KJV

Brethren, it won’t be long now. Yeshua told us to lift up our heads because our redemption draws near (Luke 21:28). Until He comes, keep His commandments, hold fast to your faith, and endure to the end (Revelation 14:12).

IF YOU ARE NOT A LAW KEEPER, YOU ARE A LAW BREAKER

 

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IF YOU ARE NOT A LAW KEEPER, YOU ARE A LAW BREAKER

Torah, grace, and the falling away before Yeshua returns

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
— 1 John 3:4, KJV

Who would have thought it would be so difficult to tell people who believe the Bible that they need to obey it? Tell someone that Yeshua expects us to keep His commandments, and you may hear, “You’ve fallen from grace. You’re a law keeper.”

But if keeping Yahweh’s law makes a person a law keeper, what does breaking His law make him? Scripture gives a plain answer. Transgressing Torah is sin. And when people are taught to see obedience as a spiritual danger, they become easier prey for someone who presents lawlessness as freedom.

Breaking His law makes you a LAW BREAKER

1. Torah teaches us what sin is

Paul explains how the commandment exposed sin in his own life.

“I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.”
— Romans 7:7, KJV

Paul could have compared himself with others and concluded he was righteous. The commandment reached into his own heart and showed him what he needed to repent of. He went on to call the law holy and the commandment holy, just, and good (Romans 7:12).

James brings this down to everyday conduct. When believers favored the rich and dishonored the poor, James called it sin and pointed them back to the command to love their neighbor. He then told them to speak and act as people who would be judged by “the law of liberty” (James 2:1–13, especially verses 8–12).

Read also Exodus 20:17, Leviticus 19:15–18, Psalm 119:9–11, and Romans 3:20.

2. Yeshua taught obedience and called for repentance

In the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua said He came to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. He then warned against breaking even the least of the commandments and teaching others to do the same. He commended those who do and teach them (Matthew 5:17–19).

Later in that same sermon, Yeshua described people who would call Him “Lord, Lord” and point to remarkable works done in His name. He said that the one who enters the Kingdom is the one who does His Father’s will. He told those practicing lawlessness to depart (Matthew 7:21–23). A public profession of faith can coexist with a life that refuses Yahweh’s authority.

Yeshua also gave His disciples a simple way to express their love for Him.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
— John 14:15, KJV

John takes obedience seriously enough to call it evidence that we know Yeshua (1 John 2:3–6). In the same letter, he tells believers what to do when they sin. Confess it, seek cleansing, and remember that we have an advocate with the Father (1 John 1:8–2:2). The person who stumbles and repents is responding to the very commandment that exposed the sin.

Read also Luke 6:46–49, John 15:9–10, and Revelation 14:12.

3. What did Paul mean by “fallen from grace”?

Read the whole sentence in Galatians.

“Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.”
— Galatians 5:4, KJV

Paul was addressing people who were looking to the law for justification. In context, circumcision was being pressed on the Galatians as an obligation bound up with their standing before Yahweh (Galatians 2:16; 5:2–6). The words “justified by the law” tell us exactly what Paul was warning against.

Consider the difference in the life of a person who has stolen. Returning what he stole is an act of repentance. He still needs mercy for what he did. The mercy he receives gives him every reason to stop stealing and begin living honestly (Ephesians 4:28).

Paul makes that same point in Romans 6. He asks whether being under grace gives us permission to sin and answers emphatically, “God forbid.” He thanks Yahweh that believers who had been servants of sin had become obedient from the heart (Romans 6:14–18). Titus says grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and live righteously (Titus 2:11–14).

When someone says you have “fallen from grace” because you want to obey Yahweh, read Galatians 5:4 alongside Romans 6:15–18. One passage addresses how we are justified. The other addresses how we live after receiving mercy.

4. The falling away prepares people to receive the lawless one

Paul puts the falling away in the context of Yeshua’s coming and our gathering to Him. He says the falling away comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed. This figure exalts himself above what is worshiped and presents himself as divine (2 Thessalonians 2:1–4).

Then Paul explains why people fall for the deception.

“Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
— 2 Thessalonians 2:10, KJV

Paul says the lawless one comes with signs and lying wonders. He also says that the people who perish under the deception take pleasure in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:8–12). The deception appeals to something they already want.

If everyone were living by Torah and loved the truth it teaches, the anti-messiah’s claim to worship would be rejected. Torah commands exclusive worship of Yahweh (Exodus 20:2–5). It even tells us what to do when a sign comes true but the person who gave it urges us to follow other gods. Reject the invitation and hold fast to Yahweh (Deuteronomy 13:1–4).

That is how obedience prepares us to recognize deception. The person who already knows whom he will worship has a standard by which to judge even an astonishing sign.

Read also Matthew 24:10–13, 24 and 1 John 2:18, 22.

5. Religion will be at the heart of the falling away

Scripture portrays the final rebellion in explicitly religious terms. The man of lawlessness claims divine standing (2 Thessalonians 2:4). The second beast in Revelation performs signs and directs people to worship the first beast and its image (Revelation 13:11–15). Yeshua warns of the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place, drawing on Daniel’s prophecy (Matthew 24:15–16; Daniel 11:31).

These passages show why religious allegiance is central to the danger. The deception asks people to give worship that belongs to Yahweh to another. Revelation depicts people embracing that worship. Its warning reaches any religious community willing to accept a forbidden allegiance because it comes with impressive signs or the approval of its leaders.

Yeshua showed how that kind of compromise can begin long before the final crisis. In Mark 7:6–13, He rebuked religious teachers who used the tradition of Corban to let people evade their duty to care for their parents. A practice presented as devotion had become a way around a commandment. Paul likewise warns of people who retain a form of godliness while denying its power (2 Timothy 3:1–5).

When religious teachers call obedience a departure from grace, the question for their hearers is simple. Whose authority decides what is righteous?

6. Keep the commandments and hold fast to Yeshua

Revelation describes the faithful enduring the very pressure to worship the beast that it warns about.

“Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
— Revelation 14:12, KJV

The saints keep Yahweh’s commandments and hold fast to the faith of Yeshua. Both describe the same faithful people.

For a home Sabbath discussion, consider these questions.

1. In Galatians 5:4, what does Paul say the Galatians were seeking through the law? How does Romans 6:15–18describe the conduct of people who have received grace?
2. In Deuteronomy 13:1–4, why must the people reject the prophet’s message even when the sign comes true?
3. In Mark 7:9–13, how did a religious practice become an excuse to disobey a commandment? What excuses do we make when a commandment costs us something?

Transgressing Torah is sin. When Yahweh’s Word shows us where we have sinned, let us confess it and turn back. When someone calls us away from Yahweh’s commandments, let us remember Yeshua’s words and follow them.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
— John 14:15, KJV

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THE LAW STILL STANDS (SONG)

 

THE LAW STILL STANDS (SONG)

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[Spoken Intro]

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.”
— Matthew 5:17

[Verse 1]
When Yahweh blessed the seventh day,
Before the smoke of altars rose,
He set that Sabbath day apart,
And Abraham obeyed His voice.
When Cain rose up against his brother,
Yahweh called him to account.
His law had shown what sin would be
Before the thunder on the mount.

[Verse 2]
At Sinai Yahweh spoke the words
That made the trembling people stand.
He wrote His covenant in stone,
Ten commandments by His hand.
The tablets rested in the Ark,
The book lay by its side,
A witness to the sins of men
That none of them could hide.

[Chorus]
The law still stands, the debt is paid,
Yeshua bore the weight of sin.
The blood once offered year by year
Foreshadowed what He did for us.
The law still stands, and by His grace
I can rise and start again.
Write Your law upon my heart,
Yahweh, teach me how to live.

[Verse 3]
Because of sin, the offerings came,
And priests returned from year to year.
Each altar cast a shadow
Of the day Yeshua would appear.
He gave Himself once and for all,
And took the debt I owed away.
Now heaven stands and earth remains,
And every word He spoke still stays.

[Bridge]
When I have wronged my neighbor,
Give me strength to make it right.
When a lie would come more easily,
Teach me truth when it costs my pride.
When the seventh day comes round again,
Let me lay my work aside.
Let the faith I say I have
Be seen in how I live my life.

[Final Chorus]
The law still stands, the debt is paid,
Yeshua bore the weight of sin.
The blood once offered year by year
Foreshadowed what He did for us.
The law still stands, and by His grace
We can rise and start again.
Write Your law upon our hearts,
Yahweh, teach us how to live.

[Spoken Outro]
“Fear Yahweh, and keep His commandments:
for this is the whole duty of man.”
— Ecclesiastes 12:13

[Sung Outro]
This is the whole duty of man.
The law still stands.

THE LAW STILL STANDS (SONG)

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We Are Not Deceived Into Obedience

We Are Not Deceived Into Obedience

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Read 2 Thessalonians 2:1–17 alongside Daniel 11:31–36, Matthew 24:9–31, and Revelation 13:1–18.

When someone asks why you keep the seventh-day Sabbath, observe Yahweh’s appointed feasts, or wear tzitzit, how do you answer? Begin with Scripture. What did Yahweh command? How did Yeshua walk? And what does Paul teach about the kind of deception that leads people away from the truth?

In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul connects end-time deception with lawlessness, rejection of the truth, and pleasure in unrighteousness. That connection helps us understand both the order of events before Yeshua’s return and how to remain faithful while we wait.

1. Paul begins with Yeshua’s coming and our gathering to Him

2 Thessalonians 2:1–2 · 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18

Paul tells us what the chapter is about in its opening verse. He is writing concerning the coming of our Master Yeshua Messiah and our gathering together to Him. The Thessalonians had been unsettled by a message claiming that the day had already come. Paul tells them to stay steady, even if a message claims spiritual authority or arrives in a letter bearing his name.

In his first letter, Paul describes the gathering. Yeshua descends, the trumpet sounds, the dead in Messiah rise first, and those still alive are caught up together with them to meet Him. In his second letter, Paul explains what must happen before that day.

2. The falling away comes first

2 Thessalonians 2:3 · Daniel 11:31–35 · Matthew 24:9–13

Paul warns of a falling away and the revelation of the man of lawlessness. Read this alongside Yeshua’s warning in Matthew 24. Many stumble and betray one another. False prophets deceive many. Lawlessness increases, and the love of many grows cold. Yeshua then gives this promise:

“But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.”
— Matthew 24:13, KJV

Daniel 11 shows what such a falling away looks like under pressure. Some forsake the covenant and yield to flattery. Those who know their Elohim stand firm, and those with understanding instruct many. The study takes this earlier pattern as a picture of what will happen again. Pressure exposes where people have placed their loyalty.

3. The man of lawlessness exalts himself

2 Thessalonians 2:3–4, 9 · Daniel 11:36 · 1 John 2:18

Paul describes a man who opposes Yahweh and exalts himself above everything called divine or worshiped. Daniel describes a ruler who likewise magnifies himself. In this study, the anti-Messiah is the name we use for the individual Paula calls the man of lawlessness.

Paul says the lawless one’s coming is accompanied by satanic power, signs, and lying wonders. A display of power can impress people while the message leads them away from Yahweh. Deuteronomy 13:1–4 gives the test. Even when a sign comes to pass, examine where the person is asking you to place your allegiance.

4. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work

2 Thessalonians 2:7 · Matthew 24:12 · 1 John 3:4

The lawless one is revealed at a particular time, but the mystery of lawlessness was already at work in Paul's day. That is how the two ideas fit together. The influence is already at work before the man who embodies it is publicly revealed.

Yeshua tells us what increasing lawlessness does to people. It causes love to grow cold. John tells us how love for Yahweh takes shape in daily life. We keep His commandments, and His commandments are neither a burden nor a reason to boast (1 John 5:2–3). As people grow accustomed to setting Yahweh’s instruction aside, they become more willing to follow someone who openly exalts himself above it.

5. Yahweh gives His people the heart to obey

Ezekiel 36:26–27 · Jeremiah 31:31–34 · John 14:15 · John 15:10

Yahweh promises to give His people a new heart and put His Spirit within them so they will walk in His statutes. Jeremiah describes the covenant promise as Yahweh writing His Torah on the heart. Yeshua shows what this looks like in practice. He keeps His Father’s commandments and calls His disciples to keep His.

When Yeshua says, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15, KJV), He gives us a way to express that love. Obedience is what love does when it hears Yahweh’s instruction. This is the kind of faithfulness His people will need when obedience carries a cost.

6. What restrains, and who now restrains?

2 Thessalonians 2:1–8 · Revelation 13:1 · Revelation 17:15

Keep Paul’s opening words in view. The subject is Yeshua’s coming and our gathering to Him. The transcript reads verses 6 and 7 as describing two things that must happen in sequence.

Passage	How this study reads it
Verse 6 — “what restrains”	The falling away must take place before the man of lawlessness is revealed. The rebellion prepares the way for his public emergence.
Verse 7 — “he who now restrains”	The man of lawlessness himself must come on the scene before Yeshua returns. His appearance is an event that must take place first.
Verse 8 — “then the lawless one shall be revealed”	The lawless one becomes openly known. Yeshua then destroys him at the manifestation of His coming.

This shows, the anti-Messiah restrains in the sense that his revelation must come first in the prophetic sequence. Paul has already said that the day will come after the falling away and the revelation of the man of lawlessness. Verse 8 tells us why that order matters. Yeshua brings the lawless one to an end at His coming.

The transcript reads the expression in verse 7 as “comes out of the midst,” picturing the anti-Messiah emerging from among the people. Revelation 13:1 pictures the beast rising out of the sea, and Revelation 17:15 explicitly uses waters to picture peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages. These passages supply the imagery behind the study’s reading. The words of the people are supplied by that interpretation. Paul leaves the identity of “he who now restrains” unnamed in verse 7.

The sequence Paul states openly is that the falling away and the revelation of the lawless one precede the day, and Yeshua destroys the lawless one at His coming.

7. The deception works through unrighteousness

2 Thessalonians 2:9–12 · Genesis 3:1–6 · Matthew 4:1–11

Paul says those who perish refuse to receive the love of the truth and take pleasure in unrighteousness. That tells us where to look when we test a teaching. Where does it lead? Does it encourage us to hear and obey Yahweh, or does it give us reasons to set His words aside?

In Eden, the serpent questioned Yahweh’s instruction and persuaded Eve to disregard it. In the wilderness, the adversary even quoted Scripture while tempting Yeshua. Yeshua answered by holding to the Father’s instruction. The danger can come wrapped in religious language, which is why we examine the words, the context, and the conduct a teaching encourages.

8. We can show from Scripture why we obey

Exodus 20:8–11 · Leviticus 23:1–4 · Numbers 15:37–41 · Matthew 9:20–22

• Why keep the seventh-day Sabbath? Yahweh blessed and set apart the seventh day and told His people to remember it.
• Why observe the appointed feasts? Yahweh calls them His appointed times and gives instructions for observing them.
• Why wear tzitzit? Yahweh gave the tassels as a reminder to remember and do His commandments. Matthew describes a woman touching the fringe of Yeshua’s garment.

When someone says, “You’ve been deceived into obedience,” open the Scriptures together. Read the command, ask what Yahweh says it is for, and consider how Yeshua walked. The charge of deception deserves a Scriptural answer, and so does the practice itself.

9. Prepare to endure

Matthew 24:9–13, 29–31 · Revelation 13:16–17 · Revelation 14:12 · 2 Thessalonians 2:15–17

Revelation describes a time when buying and selling will be restricted. The transcript urges households to think ahead about practical needs, including food. Revelation also names the kind of endurance that will matter under that pressure. The faithful keep Yahweh’s commandments and hold to their faith in Yeshua.

Yeshua places the gathering of His elect after the tribulation in Matthew 24:29–31. Paul closes his warning by telling the believers to stand firm and hold to what they were taught. He prays that Yahweh will comfort their hearts and establish them in every good word and work. That is something we can pray for and practice now, in the ordinary decisions that teach us to remain faithful under pressure.

For discussion at your home Sabbath gathering

1. According to 2 Thessalonians 2:9–12, what makes people susceptible to the deception?
2. Which events does Paul explicitly place before Yeshua’s coming, and how does the reading in Point #6 connect the two restraining expressions to that sequence?
3. If someone asked why you keep the Sabbath, observe the feasts, or wear tzitzit, which passage would you open with them, and what would you say?

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