The Man Of Sin And The Second Coming. Series

Christians have not been the least among the gullible who have

fallen for all kinds of gimmicks. One could write a lengthy history

on the nonsense of the way Christians have been duped. A man in

Fort Worth, Texas is giving away flat gold plated two inch nails. All

you have to do is pound it in the wall of your home and leave it

there, and your prayers will be answered. For five dollars more he

will send you one of his “miracle billfolds” which he claims has been

a financial blessing to thousands. Sincere believers are constantly

being exploited, and deceivers actually make a fortune. Getting a

believers money by deception is bad enough, but when the deceiver

begins to peddle false doctrine, then it is very serious, for then he is

in danger of perverting God’s revelation.

The fact that Christians fall for so much makes it clear why all

the warnings are in the Bible to be cautious in following any other

authority than the Word of God. There is no other foundation

which is safe, for even the most godly and intelligent have

demonstrated their ability to be deceived. The Christian must

recognize this, or he will be a victim who ends up believing many

things that are only the conjectures of men. Conjectures about the

unknown may or may not be true, and there is way to prove or

disprove them, and so in the realm of speculation on is free to think

as he pleases as long as it is consistent with what is known. It is

wisest, however, to be silent where God is silent. If God has not

spoken, it borders on presumption for men to speculate. What God

has revealed is enough, and so let us be content with clear revelation

and listen to Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonians, who were all to

ready to listen to men.

In verse 3 Paul warns them not to be deceived by the self-

appointed prophecy experts of his day. It is well to note that Jesus

gave His disciples the same warning in Matt. 24:23, “Then if any

man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show

great signs and wonders; in so much that, if it were possible, they

shall deceive the very elect.” Paul is only following the advice of

Christ, for Jesus made it clear that there would be a long period of

history before He came again. They were to go into all the world

and preach the Gospel. Meanwhile there will be false prophets who

will seek to deceive you and proclaim that His coming has already

taken place. Paul is now dealing with Christians who have been

shaken up by just such false prophets as Jesus said would come.

Paul says do not believe them. There are definite signs to guide the

believer so that he is not at the mercy of every prophetic fanatic that

appears on the stage of history. Paul says not to be deceived by any

who say the Day of the Lord has come or can come before these

signs are evident.

Unfortunately, Christians have not listened to Jesus and Paul,

but they have followed fanatics that have brought disgrace on the

church of Christ. Many Christians are eager to swallow anything

that tickles their ears or pleases their prejudices. They are almost

superstitious in their craving for information on what has not been

revealed. The wise test everything by the Word of God, and if it is

not in harmony with God’s Word they reject it. It is important then

that we listen to Paul and avoid being deceived. He is making it

clear that the Day of the Lord will not and cannot come until there is

a falling away and the man of sin is revealed.

Unless it can be shown that these two things have already been

fulfilled, and that the man of sin is already here, then I must reject

all ideas that indicate Christ could come at any moment. If He could

not come to the Thessalonians without these clear signs in that day,

it is inconceivable to me that these things could be fulfilled in the

modern world without us knowing it. The result is, I do not believe

Jesus will come again until I see these two things fulfilled. If an any

moment coming was rejected by Paul, and if he could urge these

Christians not to believe it, then it can hardly be a sign of superior

piety to believe it today. In fact, it is the Christian’s obligation to

recognize Paul’s point here, and not be deceived. Until these two

things he mentions are fulfilled, that day will just not come. They