THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS
Thursday, 21st July 2016
2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12 (NKJV)
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2. not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.
3. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4. who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6. And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
7. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He[e] is taken out of the way.
8. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10. and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12. that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Here in this passage, Paul deals with a very complicated matter. In response to their anxiety that they may have missed the rapture of the saints, he teaches the Thessalonians and us that certain things must happen before Jesus returns to claim His own. According to Paul, before the “Day of the Lord”, there would be a time of organized rebellion against God. This will work towards bringing about the appearance of “The Man of sin” (The Son of Perdition) who will be the incarnation of Satan just as Jesus Christ is the incarnation of God.
The force restraining this Satan-incarnate (generally believed to be the Holy Spirit) will be removed, and this anti-Christ will gather to himself those who have refused to accept Jesus Christ. He will perform miracles, do great wonders and sway many after him. After this there will be a great battle between him and the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, this “Man of lawlessness” will be completely destroyed together with all those who choose to accept and follow him. Good (represented by the Lord Jesus Christ) will ultimately triumph over evil (represented by Satan).
The sum total of what Paul is saying is this: no matter how long it takes, the powers of darkness and evil and all the afflictions they unleash on God’s people, will, at God’s appointed time, be subdued by our Lord Jesus Christ. The question, therefore, is, are you on the Lord’s side or on the side of the “Man of lawlessness” – Satan? In case you are not sure where you are, why not seize this opportunity to take the all-important decision that will determine your eternal destiny?
Prayer: Pray to receive Christ today.