The apostle Paul expressed his joy in writing his beloved brethren at Thessalonica because their faith was growing exceedingly, evidenced by their love for each other. He takes this occasion to warn them of the dangerous false teaching being circulated about the Day of the Lord—the time when righteous judgment will come upon the ungodly.

Lawlessness, or iniquity, was already working in its secret or mystery form in the apostle’s day. There was an attempt to undermine the truth and unsettle the saints at Thessalonica by trying to persuade them that the Day of the Lord had already come. Paul assures them, however, that their present sufferings at the hands of unrighteous men were not the Day of the Lord. After the true Church of God has entered its rest at the Rapture, then the unrighteous ones left behind will suffer God’s just judgment.

After the saints are caught away at the Rapture, restraint will be removed and lawlessness will come in like a flood. Then the “lawless one” will be revealed, exalting himself as God, sitting in the temple of God, and assuming to be God (2 Th. 2:3). This is the climax of evil summed up in one man, the man of sin, “whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

As we see this day of lawlessness approaching, we are comforted by these words: “We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth … Therefore, brethren, stand fast” (2 Th. 2:13, 15).