In order to fully understand “how not to be among the falling away” explained in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, that happens before the “man of sin, the son of perdition is revealed”, after which “comes the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together with Him in the air”; thus, then we can fully understand from Galatians 5:1-6 and 2 Peter 1:1-21, what steps of spiritual growth are necessary to move from “faith to love, where we can love everyone, with the same love God is and loves others through us.
In Galatians 5:1-6, the Apostle Paul uses “circumcision”; not as a health necessity, but to represent the entire Old Testament Law, as opposed to New Testament faith, grace, and truth in Christ Jesus.
Second Thessalonians 2:1-17 is Paul’s way of explaining the order of happenings before the “rapture”, the coming of Lord Christ to midair to call His bride-body-church, to come up to Him, to be forever with Him; thus, the “falling away or great rebellion (of hatred) against God, Christ Jesus, and the Holy Spirit” comes first; then next comes the revealing of the “man of sin, the lawless one, the destroyer” is revealed at God’s set time, and then at the right time “the rapture” will take place, just as Scripture indicates.
But before we examine 2 Peter 1:1-21, to understand the steps required to move from faith to love, we may first need to understand Hebrews 12:1-2 and Jude 1:1-4 and 17-23, to see the “faith that was once for all delivered to the saints; who by praying in the Holy Spirit move from faith to most holy faith, working through God’s perfect love to do miraculous things, for God’s glory and honor, because Satan’s multitude of false prophets are filling the world with hatred and lies about Christ.
Second Peter 1:1-21 fully explains the necessary growth steps required to move from faith to love, so faith can work through love, and the Apostle Peter keeps reminding every generation of these scriptural truths, even though the Lord took him from the earth many years ago, but we still have his words written in God’s Bible, to constantly remind us to keep moving spiritually from faith to love, so we remain fruitful and obedient to God; otherwise, we will be miserably blindsided by Satan and his wicked, demonic forces, and be part of “the falling away”.
These scripture verses show us what God, through Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, has already gives us, so we can “be like God or have His nature”, to overcome whatever we face, so it does not get into our human heart (spirit), through our mind and emotions, so we distrust God and His word, so we listen to and believe the satanic false prophets and teachers flooding the news today.
Romans 13:1-14 both commands and warns us the authority of government authorities are to be respected, for their authority is from God; thus, we are to obey them, as long as their laws match God’s word, but when their rules oppose God’s word, then we are to humbly and respectfully obey God and His word, without causing disrespect to the governmental authorities, for we must prove by our love we are Christians, members of Christ’s body, the church; therefore, never act rudely or above “the law” by being a Christian, a member of Christ’s body, the church, for this is not how Christians act, even when to obey God instead of men could be deadly.
God, through Christ Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, expects and even commands His children, Christians, members of Christ’s body, the church worldwide, to live and express God’s love by the holy, honest, pure lives we live, even in the midst of ungodliness, anger, hatred for Christians and Jews, and governmental authorities whose sole desire is to control us with fear, so we obey their satanic control over us, yet God commands us to genuinely love them, but obey Him, for all this is part of God’s plan, purpose, and timing for everything in these uncertain, end-time affairs.
Part of Simon Peter’s sermon, in Acts 2:14-41, is a quote from Joel 2:28-32, because in what Scripture calls, “the last days”, it is essential and not an options, to have a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit, for we must “understand end-time Scriptures”, in the way the Holy Spirit “explains” them, instead of the way those in earlier generations saw them, for we live in a time of anger, hate, murder, where people despise truth, true-committed love, and anything spiritual.
This is what God, through Joel and Peter, has promised us who live in “the last days before Christ’s coming” to midair, calling His bride-body-church to come up where He is, to be forever with Him.
Jim Nabors
