Chris Katulka: Thanks so much for joining us for the Friends of Israel Today. I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher. I want to encourage you to go to our website, foiradio.org, and there you can listen to over nine years' worth of Friends of Israel content, right on that website that features biblical teaching and insightful interviews with a host of great guests concerning issues happening with Israel and the Jewish people from a biblical perspective. Again, that's foiradio.org.

Now, today we're going to be continuing our series on 2 Thessalonians. We're looking at the fact that the Bible, a lot of people say the Bible, one-third of it is prophecy. My argument is that the whole Bible is prophecy, and today, Paul is going to be alleviating the fears of the Thessalonians that they had missed the Day of the Lord. We're going to unpack that and look more into what Paul was speaking to to give the Thessalonians an encouragement of what's coming in the future.

But before we get there, let's look at what's happening in the news.

The Jerusalem Post reports that Iran could attack Israel in the coming days. Officials believe that the international pressure on Iran was the force restraining Tehran from striking sooner, but this recent intel has shifted their approach and understanding.

Well, here's my take. Iran has set its target on Israel because of the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. He was killed in the heart of Tehran in a sensitive area during a very high-profile visit, sending a direct message to the Ayatollahs of Iran to back down. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied being behind Haniyeh's assassination.

Chris Katulka: I've heard it said many times, and I've been saying this over and over again, that one-third of the Bible is prophecy, in order to highlight the significance of prophecy in the scriptures and why we should study God's prophetic word. But you know, I want to go one step further. See, I believe every bit of the Bible is 100% prophetic. The whole thing, from Genesis to Revelation, is pushing us forward into God's prophetic plan.

When we say that just one-third of the Bible is prophecy, we tend to see prophecy as just the future events that await us, and that is true, but if we see the entire Bible as God's prophetic word to us, then prophecy not only is the way that we see the future unfold, but also the way as Christians we should think about how we live our lives in relationship to the Lord today. The moment Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered the world, God immediately turned all of scripture into prophecy. In Genesis 3:15, God set forth the prophecy of the serpent's demise. That's Satan. He said, "And I will put hostility or enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring, and he will strike your head and you will strike his heel."

Look, everything in the Bible stems from that prophecy. The unfolding revelation of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is absolutely prophetic. It's accomplishing the prophecy God set out to show us right from Genesis 3:15. "A descendant of Eve," who is Jesus, "will crush the serpent's head, bringing an end to Satan's dominion, and that serpent will only take a strike at his heel." To me, that's the image of the cross. Death did not overtake Christ in the grave. After the cross, after His death, He rose again victoriously. Satan only got a strike at His heel.

But my point is that Genesis 3:15, from that point, flows out the unfolding prophecy of God's plan to take back what is rightfully His from Satan. It's not just one-third of the Bible that's prophecy. It's the whole entire thing. Prophecy is in the stories of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. It's in the prayers that were prayed in the Psalms. Prophecy is seen in the Gospels as Jesus walked the Earth, and in the Book of Acts as the early church is established. Prophecy is embedded in the words of Paul, Peter, and John and all the rest of the New Testament writers. And then the Bible ends with Revelation giving us a picture of what's to come.

100% of the Bible is prophetic. This is why we're going through 2 Thessalonians. Why? Because a false teaching about prophecy concerning the return of Christ has crept into the church in Thessalonica. Paul had recently heard news about the conditions in the church, and this news probably came to him from the messenger who delivered Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians and returned to Corinth.

Now, some of the news about the church was good. We said this before, the Thessalonians were continuing to grow and to remain faithful in spite of persecution. They endured, they persevered in Christ. But some of the news concerned Paul. False teaching about the Day of the Lord, which is a prophetic event, had entered the church and was causing confusion and even leading some of the Christians to quit their jobs in expectation of the Lord's return. In view of these reports, Paul felt compelled to write this epistle.

Now, last week, we looked at 2 Thessalonians 1, and what we saw was how the Apostle Paul connected the suffering of the Thessalonians to prophecy. You know, "It can certainly feel as though God doesn't hear our cries or complaints," as the prophet Jeremiah says, "but Paul shares that God does hear us in our suffering and we will be vindicated by Him in the future." God's going to flip the script. No longer will the righteous suffer and the wicked prosper.

Now listen, if you didn't get a chance to listen to last week's program, you can go to foiradio.org to listen to that program and more.

Today, we're turning to 2 Thessalonians 2. In Chapter 1, Paul commended the church in Thessalonica, but now he's going to correct some false teaching concerning the return of Christ that creeped into the church. So Paul opens this chapter in 2 Thessalonians 2 by saying this, "Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, do not be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us to the effect that the Day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way," Paul says. "Don't be easily shaken or deceived concerning false teaching about prophecy."

Look, this is an important word from the Lord concerning the study of prophecy even today. If there was anyone anxious to see the Lord return and to establish His kingdom, it's the Apostle Paul. You can hear the urgency in his letters to the churches and in his ministry in the book of Acts. For Paul, Jesus is coming back to Jerusalem. Get the gospel out now because judgment is coming. That's Paul. Just like he said in 2 Thessalonians 1, "God's going to bring His divine justice and judgment to the world for their sin."

Paul's heart and passion for seeing Christ return, oh, it's palpable when you read through his letters, but he's telling the Thessalonians something that we need to hear today, "Don't let false teaching about prophecy tickle your ears." My friends, this is a real issue in the church today. It's our desire, I believe that, to see Christ return just as Paul did, but we can easily be pulled into the orbit of false teaching if we're not careful.

One of the reasons I love serving with the Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and hosting the Friends of Israel Today is because if somebody is teaching prophecy that has no biblical grounding, if it's not in the Bible, then guess what? We don't teach it here. We want to be responsible when we're teaching God's prophetic word, not Chris's prophetic word, God's prophetic word.

Paul is concerned for the Thessalonians because somebody has gotten into the church and taught them through spoken word or letter or a prophetic spirit, as Paul says, that the Day of the Lord had already come. In what sense then might the Thessalonians have thought that the day had already arrived? Those who had succumbed to the false teaching could not have understood the concept in a physical or cosmic way as Revelation shares and Jesus teaches. It would be impossible to confuse that with any other event, no matter how traumatic. Somehow they must have either spiritualized the event or misunderstood its character, almost adopting a form of gnosticism, teaching that the resurrection had already happened.

Paul wants to build on his first letter to the Thessalonians where he talks about the Day of the Lord because he wants to let the Thessalonians know what will happen before that day so they can be confident knowing the imminence of Jesus's return.

So first, let's define the Day of the Lord. This becomes important in Paul's letter here. It's an Old Testament phrase often used by the prophets concerning a future event. Here, Paul uses that Old Testament future event as the return of Christ. The Day of the Lord in the Old Testament often has to do with God's judgment for sin, either dealing with the sin of His own people, Israel, or dealing with the sin of mankind globally. Prophets would use the phrase with urgency that the time is near, it's happening soon. Malachi actually ends the Old Testament for us when he cries out and calls out about "the great and terrible Day of the Lord." Paul's about to ease the fears and confusion concerning the events that would take place prior to Christ's return for the Thessalonians.

So when we come back, we're going to see how Paul eases the Thessalonians' fears and ours as well. Stick around.

Steve Conover: Hey, Chris, did you know that August is Make-a-Will Month?

Chris Katulka: Believe it or not, Steve, I did, and that's why it's so important to make time to consider your future planning, especially since it's so easy to put off until another day.

Steve Conover: I agree, Chris, and it's why it excites me that the Friends of Israel has partnered with the online estate planning tool FreeWill to enable you to write your legal will for free. In as little as 20 minutes online, you can create an estate plan to protect your assets, support the people and organizations that you love, and have the opportunity to include a legacy gift in your plans.

Chris Katulka: When the Katulka family was planning our will, I wish I would've known about FreeWill, and so we hope that you'll join us on Make-a-Will Month.

To get started on writing your legal FreeWill today, go to foi.org/yourfreewill. Again, that's foi.org/yourfreewill.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back, everyone. We're in the middle of our 2 Thessalonians series here, and so far, we have seen Paul commend the Thessalonians for their endurance in the faith, Paul telling them that, "The day is coming when God will vindicate their suffering. You know what? He hears you. That's right. And though they're suffering now, just wait," Paul is saying, "just wait for that day when God flips the script."

Well, that day is the day, the Day of the Lord, when God's wrath is poured out on Earth at the return of Christ, but the Thessalonians thought that they missed it or they thought by false teachers these events had already been realized in some spiritual sense.

To give the Thessalonians comfort and confidence, Paul's going to lay out the sequence of events that must unfold until the Day of the Lord comes. So first, Paul highlights events which include a rebellion, it includes a man of lawlessness, and the revealing of that man of lawlessness.

So first, let's talk about the rebellion. Paul's saying that there's a falling away that will happen first. It's actually where we get the English word apostasy. An apostasy will happen. This is a revolt or a departure, an abandoning of a position that was once held. That's what apostasy means. This rebellion or apostasy, which many believe takes place within the professing church, will be a departure from the truth that God has revealed in His Word.

It's true that apostasy has characterized the church almost from its inception, but Paul is referring to a specific and distinguishable apostasy that will come in the future. Paul writes about this in 1 Timothy 4 when he says, "Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the latter times, some will desert the faith and occupy themselves with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings influenced by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared. They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from food that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth."

Paul goes on in 2 Timothy to say this in 2 Timothy 3 starting in verse 1, "But understand this, that in the last days, difficult times will come, for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers without self-control, savage, opposed to what is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God. They will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. So avoid people like these," Paul says.

Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4 starting in verse 3, "For there will be a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching, instead following their own desires. They will accumulate teachers for themselves because they have an insatiable curiosity to hear new things and they will turn away from hearing the truth, but on the other hand, they will turn aside to myths."

There is a falling away from the truth of God's Word, an embrace of worldly passions, as Paul says, within the church, and I actually would argue that this is common in the church today, but an apostasy happens in the future, Paul says.

Now listen, next week, we're going to pick up on the events that precede the coming of the Lord, but I want to say this to end here. When you hear about the apostasy that happens, the rebellion, I want to say look at the state of the church when it comes to biblical literacy.

Just listen to this. A study by Barna found that more than two-thirds of Americans identify themselves as Christians, yet only 6% of that group embraced the great majority of principles and commands from the Bible. Boy, that sounds exactly like what Paul was saying. Right before our very eyes, we are seeing the vast majority of those who claim to be followers of Christ neglect the truth of God's Word. Rebellion and apostasy has always occurred within the church throughout its history. The one Paul shared about will lead those into the arms of the man of lawlessness who we'll talk about next week.

Steve Conover: Israel, on the verge of becoming a state, a teenage Holocaust survivor arrives on her shores alone. His name is Zvi Kalisher. Little did he know his search for a new life in the Holy Land would lead him to the Messiah. Zvi, enthusiastic to share his faith, engaged others in spiritual conversations, many of which can be found in our magazine, Israel My Glory. While Zvi is now in the presence of his Savior, his collected writings from well over 50 years of ministry continue to encourage believers worldwide.

Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life of Zvi.

Mike Kellogg: I recently was walking in the Old City of Jerusalem and I saw two young Orthodox Jewish students carrying a very heavy package. When I asked what was in the package, one answered, "This is a package of good deeds. What we have here are holy commentaries for the ultra-Orthodox students," and I heard that.

I said, "Then you hold a big package of misdeeds. Which is more important, the Mosaic Law or the so-called laws contained in your package?"

"That is a very hard question," one boy said. "Come with us and we will ask our rabbis."

I agreed to go with him, and as we walked, I shared God's Word with him. When we arrived at the yeshiva, one of the students said, "This kind man has asked us a question we would like you to answer."

The rabbi asked, "What would you like to know?"

So I asked, "Rabbi, why do you spend all your life and encourage your young students to spend their lives studying these books that have no value?"

"Who are you to speak to me like that?" he demanded. "Do you have anything further to say?"

"Yes," I replied. "I am sorry to see such young boys following after false teachings."

"What do you mean?" the rabbi asked.

I then took out my small Bible and said, "You do not even know what is written in this book. 

Deuteronomy 6:16-17 says, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God. You shall diligently keep His commandments,' but instead of keeping God's commandments, you have spent your entire life studying commentaries, casting away the Word of God. You have tempted God because what you are doing is against His will."

By this time, others had gathered around us. They angrily asked, "Are you an apostate?"

"No, I have been a complete Jew since I came to know the Lord according to the way He has instructed us in the Bible. I am sorry for you because you have been living in darkness and you are taking these young boys with you. As we say, when the shepherd strays, the sheep will stray after him, and you have all gone astray. But there is a way to escape the darkness and come into the light."

I then read Isaiah 53, emphasizing verse 6. "All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way." I then asked, "Now tell me who are the apostates?"

One man responded. "We are Jews, but you're not a Jew because you believe in another God."

I asked, "How is it possible for one who believes and follows all that is written in the Bible to believe in another God? I have shown you facts from God's own Word, facts to show you that you are apostates. If you will study with an open mind and heart before God, He will show you the truth."

They all became very quiet and I added, "If you put your trust in the Lord alone, He will give you what you can never receive by studying these false teachings. Think about this."

"You have certainly given us much to think about," they admitted.

I pray these students and rabbis will close the commentaries and open God's Word, which alone has the answer to life's questions. Through His Word, they can find the real way to God and the salvation He freely gives to all who receive His Son and our Messiah, the Lord Jesus.

Chris Katulka: The impact of Zvi's life in ministry in Israel, it didn't end when he went home to be with the Lord. In fact, Zvi's legacy lives on. Our Friends of Israel Ministry representatives continue to share the gospel in Jerusalem, Israel, and really all throughout the world. We also serve Holocaust survivors and their families. We provide free food, medicine, and clothing, and we even promote the safety and security of the State of Israel and the Jewish people everywhere.

So when you give to The Friends of Israel, your donation actually allows us to advance the gospel of our Messiah Jesus. You can give online by visiting foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. You can click right there on our donate link. Also, be sure to let us know where you listen when you contact us.

Thanks so much for joining us for today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Now, listen, during these challenging times in Israel, it's absolutely crucial to deepen our understanding of biblical teaching about Israel and the Jewish people. I hope that you believe FOI Radio provides the essential teaching of timeless truths and support for our Jewish friends, especially today.

Would you please consider making a donation to help us continue this vital work and to reach more lives with the biblical message of God's heart for Israel and the Jewish people?

To give, visit foiradio.org and click on the donate button. Again, that's foiradio.org. Our mailing address is FOI Radio, PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio, PO Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Our web address is foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org, and you can call our listener line at (888)343-6940.

Today's program was produced by Tom Gallione, engineered by Bob Beebe, edited by Jeremy Strong, who also composed and performs our theme music. Mike Kellogg read Apples of Gold, Steve Conover is our executive producer, and I'm Chris Katulka, your host and teacher.

The Friends of Israel Today is a production of The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry. Passion for God's Word. Compassion for God's Chosen People.