Posted by Elana Janson on August 19, 2011 at 05:35:23:
The Man of Lawlessness
Because I believe that it was made known to me that we are near the end time and because I believe that I was given the insight into the understanding of Revelation I believe that the prophetic words of the Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians has direct bearing on what is taking place at the present time.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-13 (King James Version)
1Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
13But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
The New International Version (NIV)uses the words “man of lawlessness” for “man of sin” in verse 3.
I have decided to use the NIV for the translation of this section (2 Thessalonians 1-13) for this version seems to very vividly reveal what is taking place at the present time.
NIV
1 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.
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 how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness 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. 13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
I wish to show in this post how accurately the words of the Apostle Paul prophesy what is taking place at the present time.
Verses 1and 2
1 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.
In the above two verses Paul assures believers that the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ will happen and believers should not become unsettled by those that say that the end time has already come. He then continues to prophecy what must happen in the future in order that Christians can know that the Return is at hand.
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.
The rebellion
Paul says that the “rebellion “must occur and the “man of lawlessness” (“man of sin” KJV) revealed. There is no doubt in my mind that these words refer to the understanding of the “beast out of the sea “and the “beast out of the earth” in the prophecy of Revelation. The “rebellion” is the revolt of the ordinary man in the street against the tyranny of kings and rulers. This “rebellion”, I believe is what is revealed in the symbolism of the “beast out of the sea” in Revelation. This “rebellion” started in the twelfth century and after centuries brought about the rule of the people. It also brought the separation between the Christian Church and the Christian State in previous centuries. The “rebellion” continues even to-day.
The “rebellion” brings with it ‘freedom’, and unfortunately for some a freedom from the laws of God.
Paul warns about this in the above verse: The "man of lawlessness” (overtaken by the deception of evil)regards himself as free from the laws of God. Such an individual (or collectively all such persons) is “doomed to destruction”; “he will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped”.
I believe that individual freedom that was attained over centuries and is enjoyed by modern society as well as the mindset and lifestyle of the twenty-first century brought with it the delusion that there is no greater power. We have seen it in newspapers of the past few weeks. Individuals that have killed, injured, robbed, burnt and looted without regard for the laws of God.
Many will not agree with me that I believe this “man of lawlessness” that Paul speaks of is already “revealed”. I believe he is revealed because we can understand what Revelation reveals as ‘the beast out of the earth’. Revelation 17:17 reveals that God would allow “the beast” to rule for a certain period of time: “For God has put it in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of god shall be fulfilled.”
Some will say but who stands in the Church and exalts himself above God? I say they would not do it literally for that would render them insane. By their actions and taking the laws of God into their own hands they deny the existence of a God and regard themselves as greater than God. Therefore we should not be misled as to how near we may be to the Return.
In the following section Paul elaborates on the appearance of the lawlessness that overtakes mankind.
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.
In verses 5-8 Paul covers the entire period from the first century to the Return.
Paul says that even in the first century the power of evil was already at work. This is also the message of the book of Revelation. In Revelation, chapter 12, the “dragon” pursued the “child” from the time “woman” gave birth (verse 4). Collectively the followers of Christ were pursued from the very beginning of Christ’s ministry. As Revelation revealed the power of the beasts of Revelation grew through the centuries. Paul says “but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.” This is what Revelation also revealed, through centuries God preserved his Church and the power of the beasts or the forces of evil held back. After that when the lawlessness of man is revealed then the Return will happen and as Paul says ”the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.”
Verses 9 -13
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness 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. 13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
“signs and wonders”
The words ”signs and wonders” should be noted for these are the same words that are used in Revelation to describe hoe the “beast out of the earth” will deceive mankind. Rev 13:13 “And he (the beast out of the earth) performed great and miraculous signs”. Those who have studied this website will know that these “miraculous signs” are the great achievements of man and the power of man’s intellect to understand the intricacies of the earth and the universe. These have misled man in thinking that he is in sole control of his destiny and that there is no God. This is the “powerful delusion” that Paul speaks of.
No love for the truth
Of all that Paul says the greatest insight into why man was deceived lies in the words “they perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”
When one sees on TV and in the newspapers killing, robbing and looting one realizes how modern men and women have forgotten to love that which God prescribes. If only they would realize that where God is there may be no evil and no lawlessness. If you choose God you choose love and adherence to the laws of God. If you choose lawlessness you choose your own destruction. The choice is yours. You do however not stand alone in this choice for there is a greater God.
Tragically on TV and in the papers we witnessed what Paul describes as “delighted in wickedness”.
“And so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. 13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”
In this time of lawlessness we should bear in mind that it is God’s wish that all mankind should be saved. Even at this late stage God still works through the Spirit to bring the lawless to love the truth and do God’s will.