Chris Katulka: Thanks for joining us today for The Friends of Israel Today. I'm your host and teacher, Chris Katulka. And before we get started, I want to encourage you, get to our website, foiradio.org, and there you can listen to over nine years worth of content and teaching right on that site, biblical teaching from The Friends of Israel. That's all free for you. Insightful interviews with a host of great guests concerning events that are happening in Israel and antisemitism that is growing around the world and how we can combat it as Christians.

Again, I want you to get over to our website to find out more information. That's foiradio.org. Now, today we're going to be wrapping up our series on 2 Thessalonians. We've been looking all through the book at what's going on and Paul's heart to minister to the church in Thessalonica, and really the big issue was this. A false teaching had creeped into the church that was teaching them that the Day of the Lord had already happened in some way.

And so Paul's going to speak into this issue and give the Thessalonians a confidence, a reassurance that the Day of the Lord is still coming and to continue to persevere and endure despite the suffering that they were facing at that time. So again, you're going to want to stick around because we're going to be diving in and wrapping up our series here on 2 Thessalonians. But before we get to that, let's see what's going on in the news.

The Jerusalem Post reports that former Israeli Defense Force General Israel Ziv believes Israel is close to a regional war as tensions with Hezbollah and Iran intensify. During Ziv's radio interview, the former general says Israel is coping with the intensity of Hezbollah, but argues that political and economic prices are high. Well, here's my take. Former General Israel Ziv is right. In addition to the intensification of Hezbollah and Iran is the uncertainty of when they will act.

Israel is fighting Hamas. Israel is fighting Hezbollah and Iran and the critics all around the world as well who wish to hamstring them. The Jewish state will need help from its allies, but most importantly, it will need help from above for protection from a potential regional war. Continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. 

Chris Katulka: We've been talking about prophecy in the Bible as we are closing out our last segment here, our last part of the series on 2 Thessalonians.

And you've heard me say this in the last three episodes, that many people claim that one-third of the Bible is prophecy. And they do that for a good purpose, to show the significance, the weight of God's prophetic word. That one-third of the Bible is prophecy. But I've been telling you this, I want to go further. For me, I see the whole Bible, the whole thing, 100% of it as prophetic.

When we say that only one-third of the Bible is prophecy, we only tend to look at the events that will unfold in the future. And that's true. That's good. But see, if we see the entire Bible as God's prophetic word, it's going to do something different. It's not only going to show us what events are to unfold in the future, but also to show us how we as Christians should think about today and how we should live our lives in relationship to the Lord.

And I've been sharing with you, to me, Genesis 3:15 is the launch pad of prophecy that really gives the entire Bible a prophetic understanding of what God is doing from Genesis to Revelation. Genesis 3:15 is often called the protoevangelium, which means the first statement of the gospel, the prophecy of the gospel, when God says this to the serpent and prophesies his demise.

He says this, "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." Again, that verse right there becomes the launch pad of all prophecy that moves forward from Genesis 3:15. The unfolding revelation of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation based on that prophecy alone is prophetic.

It accomplishes the prophecy that God has set forth. That a descendant of Eve, who we know is Jesus, will crush the serpent's head once and for all, bringing an end to Satan's dominion. And that serpent will only take a strike at Jesus' heel. Again, this picture of the cross. Death did not overtake Christ. The grave did not overtake Christ. After the cross, what happened?

Jesus rose victoriously. Satan only got a nip, a strike at his heel. But my point again is that from Genesis 3:15 flows out this unfolding prophecy of God's plan to take back what is rightfully his from Satan. Not just one-third of the Bible. The entire thing. That's why we're going through 2 Thessalonians. A false teaching about prophecy concerning the return of Christ had crept into the church in Thessalonica.

And Paul was there to write back and to share with the Thessalonians the importance of persevering, enduring as they're suffering, but also to set the record straight about the false teaching that had embedded itself, woven itself into the church. Now, last week we looked at 2 Thessalonians 2 where Paul wants to give more definition to the events that were leading up to the Day of the Lord, which is the return of Jesus Christ.

The Thessalonians were led to believe through false teaching that the day may have already come. And even worse, that the Day of the Lord was probably more spiritual in nature than a physical one. But Paul's writing to assure the Thessalonians that this isn't the case and proceeds to share the events that lead up to the return of Christ. Last week we examined the rebellion that must occur.

Now today we're going to turn to the man of lawlessness. If you didn't get a chance to listen to last week's program, you can go to foiradio.org. Not only can you listen to all the episodes in this series, but so much more. Be sure to go to foiradio.org. Now, another event that's going to take place before the Day of the Lord is the revealing or the revelation of the man of lawlessness, as Paul writes.

The man of lawlessness is another name for the Antichrist. Paul uses a tense for the verb, that verb revealed, which explains that this revelation, this revealing of the Antichrist, will be a decisive act that will take place at a specific moment in history. The Apostle John says in 1 John 2:18, "Children, it is the last hour. And just as you heard, the Antichrist is coming." So now many Antichrists have appeared.

We know from this that it is the last hour. So if you heard the Apostle John, he's saying that there are many Antichrists, but that there is only one Antichrist, and that Antichrist is coming, John says. Well, Paul is going to pick up on that and highlight that the Antichrist revealing, this one particular one that the Apostle John was talking about, looking forward to this one Antichrist, his revealing will be a decisive act, that it will take place at a specific moment.

It lets us know that this is the one Antichrist who is coming according to how the Apostle John saw it as well. The character of the Antichrist is described in his name. Did you hear that? He's the man of lawlessness or the man of sin. He's also known as the man who's doomed to destruction. Well, if the man of lawlessness is the Antichrist, then he is the one that the Prophet Daniel details in Daniel 9:27, the one who makes a covenant with Israel at the beginning of the tribulation period, but then breaks that covenant three and a half years later.

Again, the Apostle Paul says that the man of lawlessness will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. He writes that in 2 Thessalonians 2:4. But what's interesting is that Paul probably imported this from the Prophet Daniel in Daniel 11:36-37, which says this, "Then the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity, and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods.

He will succeed until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been decreed must occur. He will not respect the God of his fathers, not even the god loved by women. He will not respect any god. He will elevate himself above all of them." Paul says that one of the ways he exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship is that he takes a seat in God's temple displaying himself as God. So what does this mean?

Well, first of all, if this is supposed to happen before Christ's return, the Day of the Lord, as Paul has been arguing, that he's saying that there will be a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. That's what the Apostle Paul is seeing. That future temple will be used as a specific place where the Antichrist will reveal himself for who he actually is all during the tribulation period. Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he already explained these things to them when he was with them.

Before the Day of the Lord, the Antichrist, Paul is saying, must reveal himself in a temple in Jerusalem. Okay, so when we return, we're going to conclude this letter to the Thessalonians, how it should compel us to live in light of the return of Christ.

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 free will today, go to foi.org/yourfreewill. Again, that's foi.org/yourfreewill.

Chris Katulka: Welcome back, everyone. We're talking about the prophetic events that must take place before the return of Christ. Now, listen, before we go on, Paul in 1 Thessalonians encourages the church in Thessalonica to understand something. These events that we're talking about, the rebellion, the revealing of the man of lawlessness, which is the Antichrist, we were not meant for these events. These are events that will take place during the tribulation period.

Paul says this in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, "For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come. He delivers us from the wrath to come, which means these events were not meant for those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus.

So why does the Apostle Paul focus on this in 2 Thessalonians? Well, the Thessalonians, despite learning from Paul in person, were being influenced by false teaching, of course, that the Day of the Lord had already come, probably in some spiritual form. But Paul wanted to remind them, no, it's a physical return of Christ. The Day of the Lord hasn't happened yet.

Before he comes, a few events must occur. Number one, an apostasy must happen, and then the revelation of the Antichrist will take place. Again, these are events that happen during the tribulation period. Paul does pull back though and share in verse seven. He says this, "For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work." Paul says that in 2 Thessalonians 2:7.

That means the spirit of the Antichrist, you ready, it's already at work today. But Paul is saying that someone is holding him back. That spirit of the lawless one, something is holding him back from its full potential. In verse seven, in its entirety, it says this, for the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way.

Paul writes in Ephesians 2 that the world is under the control, under the dominion of Satan. But as Paul says in Thessalonians, the lawless spirit, think about this, is already at work in the world today, but that one thing is holding it back from that full potential, as I said. Who or what is it that's restraining the satanically empowered movement against God's law and postponing the revelation of the man of sin?

Well, some scholars argue that it was the Roman Empire in Paul's day. But listen, Rome has long vanished and yet the one holding back is still at work. Others suggest that other man-made governments are holding back sin and the revealing of the Antichrist. But human governments will not end prior to the Antichrist's unveiling. Also, just think about this, not all governments restrain sin. In fact, I'll argue, some encourage it. So who could be the restrainer?

The Holy Spirit is the only one with the supernatural power necessary to restrain lawlessness. He accomplishes this through Christians who are indwelt by the Spirit and serve as his instruments to curb the rising tide of immoral behavior in society. However, this restraining influence will be removed when the church is taken up in the rapture. At that moment, the Holy Spirit's unique role in holding back lawlessness through God's people will cease.

This removal of the restrainer before the Day of the Lord is a strong argument for what we call a pre-tribulational rapture as indicated that the Thessalonians were not in the Great Tribulation since the rapture had not happened yet. Remember, that's what Paul is arguing in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. Look, do you remember in the beginning I told you that all of scripture is prophetic?

You see that right here in Thessalonians, Paul is reminding his brothers and sisters that their present suffering as followers of Christ has not been neglected by God. But that in God's prophetic plan, the righteous in the future, the righteous will no longer suffer. The script will be flipped at the coming of Christ when God will vindicate those who have placed their faith in Christ. Hey, look, that's prophecy for today.

And look, sometimes understanding the signs of the times can be difficult. So what does Paul do in 2 Thessalonians? He encourages Christians to know the specific events that are yet to unfold before the coming of Christ to strengthen them in their relationship with the Lord and to deepen their faith in the Lord Jesus. And finally, Paul lets us know that even today, the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, that's right, right now, today is the restraining force against the hidden power of lawlessness that's already at work. Did you ever think about that as the Holy Spirit is working in your life today?

Even as we are talking right now, your presence in this world as a follower of Christ indwelt by the Holy Spirit is a force against Satan's power. I'm reminded of Paul in Ephesus. When so many were coming to faith in Christ, it frustrated the idol makers and the economic systems that profited ungodliness. Paul wasn't trying to change governments in Acts when he was in Ephesus.

He wasn't out protesting Caesar with signs. Paul changed the entire system by doing one thing, by inviting people into a relationship with Christ and the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. What did it do? It upended the spirit of lawlessness that was already at work in Ephesus. This is why Paul prays that the Thessalonians' hearts will be directed to the love of God and the endurance of Christ.

God's prophetic word isn't just about the events that will take place in the future. God's prophetic word is shaping us now for the events that are coming. Even today, our eyes should be fixed on the author and perfecter of our faith, who through the power of the Spirit is changing us. He's changing us into the image of his Son and promised to come back again. That's where our eyes should be fixed, on Jesus, our Savior.

Steve Conover: Now, Apples of Gold, a dramatic reading from the life and ministry of Holocaust survivor Zvi Kalisher.

Mike Kellogg: Recently I found work in a Jerusalem hospital as a handyman. The day after I started working there, something happened that was a clear sign of the Lord's guidance. When I walked into one of the wards, I saw a Polish Jew, a man about 50 years old who had been in Israel for 35 years. He was in critical condition. I felt led to witness to him. The man told me the tragic story of how his family had been killed during the Arab pogrom in 1930 in Hebron.

"When my family perished," he said, "I was left alone, a teenage boy. I soon got into bad company with a gang of Arabs who smuggled morphine across the border. It was risky work, but they paid me well. In a short time, I became addicted to the dope. I was smuggling and would do anything to get it. My companions took advantage of this and sent me to the most dangerous assignments, mostly to Egypt and Lebanon.

Only one day the British police caught me and I was imprisoned for a year, desperately sick and craving morphine. After my release from prison, I had nowhere to go, so I returned to my old gang in Jaffa. They received me gladly and assigned me a new job. They bought camels from Bedouins and instructed me to drive the animals across the border into Egypt. At first, I could not understand why they were doing this, but I soon learned the reason.

They were inserting in each camel's stomach 15 bottles of morphine worth about $4,500. The cost of a camel was only about $25 to $30. When I took the camels to Egypt, their Egyptian partner would pay the high price of the morphine and kill the poor animals right away. By now, I had enough money to indulge my vice, but I was caught again and handed over to a British court in Jerusalem.

The judge was Jewish. I confessed everything and told them about my partners in crime. He sentenced me to three years in prison. All together I've spent 10 years in prison. And now I am on my deathbed and no one cares to speak to me to relieve my anxious soul. You are the first person to listen." I told him that I believed in the living God, the judge of the living and the dead.

And that because he loves us, he sent his only Son to save sinners like us. All of a sudden, he began crying and said, "I'm unworthy of anyone telling me about God and his salvation." I told him, "Christ died for sinners that they may have eternal life. It's up to you to receive the Lord Jesus as your Savior so that you may have that eternal life. This may be your last opportunity." He then said, "Please pray for me," which I did.

Then he looked at me and said, "Now I am ready to receive the Lord." He was very weak, but I was sure that he truly believed. I asked, "Do you believe that Jesus is your Savior?" In a soft voice he answered, "Yes, and I'm ready to be with the Lord Jesus. I am no longer afraid because I will go home to him." When I said goodbye, his last words to me were, "You saved my life." The next morning I was told that my friend had gone to his eternal home.

Chris Katulka: Thanks for joining us on today's episode of The Friends of Israel Today. Before we continue, during these challenging times in Israel, it's crucial to deepen our understanding of biblical teaching about Israel and the Jewish people. God loves his chosen people, and he told us, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those that curse you." That's a promise that God made to Abraham for his people.

I hope that you believe FOI Radio provides the essential teaching of timeless truths and support for our Jewish friends to live up to that Genesis 12:3 promise that God made. Would you please consider making a donation to help us continue this vital work and to more lives with the Biblical message of God's heart for Israel and the Jewish people? To give, please visit foiradio.org and click on the donate button.

Again, that's foiradio.org. Our mailing address is FOI Radio, P.O. Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Again, that's FOI Radio, P.O. Box 914, Bellmawr, New Jersey 08099. Our web address is foiradio.org. Again, that's foiradio.org. Or you can call our listener line at 888-343-6940. That's 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, and Steve Conover is our executive producer. 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.