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behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is hidden from thee;
2 Thessalonians 2
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Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
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to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
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let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition,
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he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
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Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
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And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
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For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only [there is] one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of the way.
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And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;
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[even he], whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
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and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
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And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
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that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
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But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
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whereunto he called you through our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.
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Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,
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comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
Apocalypse Revealed # 206
206. "'Because you say, "I am rich and wealthy."'" (3:17) This symbolically means, because they believe they possess in great abundance concepts of goodness and truth having to do with the church and heaven.
To be rich and wealthy means, symbolically, nothing else here than to have full knowledge and understanding of such things as have to do with the church and heaven, things which are called spiritual and theological, because they are the subject here. Spiritual riches and wealth are nothing else.
People who base their beliefs on their own thinking, and not on the Lord through the Word, also believe that they know and understand everything. That is because their spiritual mind is closed and only their natural mind open, and without spiritual light the natural mind has no other sight.
That riches and wealth in the Word symbolize spiritual riches and wealth, which are concepts of truth and goodness, is apparent from the following passages:
By your wisdom and your intelligence you have gained riches for yourself..., gold and silver in your treasuries; by the increase of your wisdom... you have increased your riches... (Ezekiel 28:4-5)
This is said of Tyre, which symbolizes the church in respect to its concepts of truth and good. Similarly:
The daughter of Tyre (the daughter of the king) (will bring you) a gift; the rich among the people will seek to placate your face. (Psalms 45:12)
...(Jehovah) will impoverish (Tyre); He will destroy its wealth in the sea... (Zechariah 9:4)
They will plunder (O Tyre) your riches... (Ezekiel 26:12)
(Asshur said,) "By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am intelligent...; (therefore) I... will plunder the treasures of the peoples... My hand will find... the wealth of the peoples...." (Isaiah 10:13-14)
Asshur symbolizes the rational faculty - here that it perverts the goods and truths of the church, which are the treasures and wealth of the peoples that it will plunder.
I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places... (Isaiah 45:3)
Blessed is the man who fears Jehovah... Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalms 112:1, 3)
(God) has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. (Luke 1:53)
...woe to you who are rich, for you have received your joy. Woe to you who are filled, for you shall hunger. (Luke 6:24-25)
The rich here mean people who possessed concepts of truth and good because they had the Word, namely the Jews. So, too, the "rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen" (Luke 16:19).
The rich and riches have a similar meaning elsewhere, as in Isaiah 30:6; Jeremiah 17:11; Micah 4:13; 6:12; Zechariah 14:14; Matthew 12:35; 13:44; Luke 12:21.
