City Life Starter

By Stefan Johnsson

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 (NIV)

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Revelation 22:6-7 (NIV)

John and the Angel

6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

Romans 13:1 (NIV)

Submission to Governing Authorities

13 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

We often forget within our short-sightedness the big picture and the overall goal of God. The prophecies that God has provided us for the end-times will come true. Not maybe, but will. There is no such thing as partially completed prophecies. God stands outside of time and He sees all things and He will be victorious over Satan and has already overcome his power through Jesus’ death on the cross. We forget this and sometimes fail to see the bigger picture.

Our aim is to reach out to as many as we can regarding the gospel message because we do not know when Jesus will come back.  Though, instead, we bicker and fight over political issues and what denomination is the correct one and has the best interpretation of scripture. In all this, we lose sight of the main goal of God and what His kingdom is. All the people in power, whether they are good or evil in how they rule, are put there by God for a reason. This reason is that it will accumulate to the final battle, to the end of times which is prophesied through the apostle John in Revelation.

Just like Jesus submitted to the Father while here on Earth, we too need to submit to the Father during our time on Earth. Let us live outside of the political bickering and aim instead to bring people to repentance and salvation. If God puts us in a position to stand up for social justice, we should do so, but this cannot be our idol or our end goal. Our end goal is the eternal kingdom where there will be no more tears, mourning, or pain. We will have the perfect, just, righteous, and merciful ruler. Yet, somehow we still think it is something we will achieve here on Earth. It cannot happen in a fallen world!

Remember, God is on charge. Know and understand that you can find rest and find security in this.