II Thessalonians 2: 1-12 - An interactive presentation of its thematic structure

1) Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, 2) not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying 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.
5) Don`t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
6) And now you know what is holding him back,
so that he may be revealed at the proper time.
7) For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back
will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
8) And then the lawless one will be revealed,
whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
9) The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10) and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11) For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12) and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Directions:

  1. Grab the closest Bible and verify that the text here is indeed the passage it is claimed to be. (or click here to open biblegateway.com in a new browser window) Nothing has been added or removed - nothing changed - not one word. The version shown is the NIV, but it could just as well be any version or language. The nature of the pattern remains.
  2. Hover your mouse cursor over a line of text to see it highlighted along with its companion element(s).
  3. Hover over a bar to see that group highlighted along with its companion group(s).
  4. If your cursor changes from an arrow to a hand, click to bring up comments about the shared theme. You can drag the little presentation window around to place it where you like.
  5. Meditate prayerfully on what you see, seeking insight about each pairing. How are the elements alike? How do they differ. Why are they paired?
  6. Yes, it really is what it appears to be. It is a supernatural phenomenon! Praise the Lord, who has blessed us with great favor in these last days! His handiwork is beyond compare! He has magnified His Word above all His name!
Bob Schlenker - www.theopenscroll.com > more structures