The Age or Period of the Antichrist
2 Thes. 2:3-4 “ Let 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; who 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, showing himself that he is God.”
The Antichrist is coming! The one that sets up the final onslaughter of Satan against Christ just before Christ establishes his Kingdom on earth. According to the bible three events must take place before the Antichrist makes his appearance on earth.
(1) Activity of evil powers evident throughout the world will increase until it reaches a strong disregard for any standards held sacred in the Bible., and the love of many will grow cold, this being called the “mystery of iniquity,” already at work in the world but it must intensify (2 Thes. 2:7 ). Still a faithful remnant will remain loyal to the apostolic faith as revealed in the New Testament, this church will remain a warrior church carrying the Sword of the Spirit until it is taken out of the world.
(2) A “ falling away” (2 Thes. 2:3) will occur in the last days. Multitudes within the professing church will depart from Biblical truth. False leaders will offer salvation and cheap grace and ignore Christ’s demand for repentance, and there will be a separation from immorality and loyalty to God and His standards. Human desires, needs, and goals of self-interest will become popular. Many churches will tolerate almost anything for the sake of numbers, money, and success, to radically renounce sin and to deny one’s self will become rare.
(3) A decisive event must occur before the “ man of sin” makes his appearance and the day of the Lord and it’s tribulation begins ( 2 Thes.2-3 ). When he who holds back the man of sin is taken out of the way, then the day of the Lord can begin ( 2 Thes. 2:6-7). “ He who now letteth” may be best understood as referring to the Holy Spirit, who alone has the power to hold back iniquity. At the beginning of the final seven years of tribulation the Holy Spirit will be taken out of the way. This does not mean that He will be taken out of the world but all restraints against sin will be removed, the Holy Spirit will remain on earth during the tribulation to convict people of their sins and convert them to Christ. The Holy Spirit’s being taken out of the way enables the man of sin to come on the scene. For all those who have refused to love the truth (2 Thes. 2:10-12) Quote, “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness”. As the day of the Lord begins the “man of sin” is revealed. I believe he will be a Jew that will make a covenant with Israel seven years before the end of age. His true identification will be confirmed three and one half years later as he breaks his covenant with Israel, becomes the world ruler, declares himself to be God as he desecrates the temple in Jerusalem and forbids the worship of the Lord. The man of sin will demonstrate genuine supernatural miracles that will deceive people into accepting a lie. At the end of the tribulation Satan will gather together many nations at Armageddon under the direction of the Antichrist and make war against God and his people that will involve the whole world. Christ will return and supernaturally intervene to destroy the antichrist and his armies and all who do not obey the gospel. Christ will then bind Satan and establish His Kingdom on earth. Salvation during the days of tribulation will be offered only to those who never had an adequate opportunity to receive the knowledge of the truth or to hear and understand the gospel. The tribulation will be so severe and much worse than our human minds can comprehend. My prayers for each of you today are simply this, accept Christ, change your lifestyle, be obedient to Christ and plan to make Heaven your eternal home. “Today is the day of salvation, tomorrow to many of us will never come”.
