“And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:8
Have you ever read a verse that stopped you? Made you really think about something in a way you hadn’t before? As our Youth Group read through the New Testament this year, it was good to study the Gospels, Epistles and Revelation. A few months ago, I read the above verse and like I said, it stopped me. The chapter talked about the end times (eschatology); it described the Antichrist and the return of Jesus. But the phrase, “the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth” stopped me.
When I think of Jesus, I generally think of many things: Lord, Savior and Messiah. I know He’s merciful and forgiving. Frankly, killer is about the last word that comes to mind. But this verse clearly teaches that Jesus will kill the Antichrist.
Jesus is More
We often tend to focus on the “loving” aspects of Jesus. However, the Bible makes it clear that death occurs from Jesus’ hand as well (Isaiah 11:4, Revelation 19:15, 21). The Thessalonians’ passage teaches that the Antichrist is doomed and Jesus is his killer. Imagine, just a word from Jesus will bring the Antichrist’s wicked reign to an end. Jesus will kill him with incredible ease.
We must absolutely not create Jesus into a God of our making. He is more loving, merciful and tender than we can comprehend. Additionally, Jesus is more holy, righteous and wrathful than we can comprehend. As a consequence, we cannot read our Bible with just our love or holiness “glasses” on. Both aspects of who Jesus is are contained in Scripture and both aspects are critical to understand. We worship a loving and holy Savior. Certainly, we must see His complete nature in the Bible!
Looking,
Josh
Posted in A Word from the Pastor