James O. Davis is the founder and president of Second Billion (TM). You are invited to learn more about Second Billion by visiting www.billion.tv.
INTRODUCTION
In this passage the Word of God shows us truth concerning the treachery of those things that are going to take place immediately after the Lord Jesus Christ comes for the Church. The Thessalonians were being told that the day of the Lord had already come. They had this information on what seemed to be excellent authority. It was confirmed by spirit utterance, a prophetic word and a letter supposedly signed by the Apostle Paul. They were thoroughly ensnared by a three-fold deception.
It was confirmed by a spirit utterance, for that is the force of the word “spirit” here. It was also confirmed by a prophetic pronouncement. Paul says, “a word.” This was the gift of prophecy. The work of a New Testament prophet was to convey to a local gathering of believers, by a direct Holy Spirit illumination, truth that was already apostolically revealed.
Last, there was a forged letter which confirmed the deception was being foisted upon them. They had received a letter supposedly from the Apostle Paul. The letter was masquerading as a Pauline epistle. Paul takes this incident to unmask the deep things of Satan and incorporates them into Scripture.
FIRST, THE MAN OF SIN IS REVEALED
Paul relates three chronological events that will happen after the Rapture of the Church. First, the man of sin is revealed. This is found in verse three of our text. Paul said, “Let no man in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy come first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.” Notice two major areas concerning the man of sin being revealed.
A) First, the Climate of His Coming -- The double negative in the Greek is used for emphasis. By using this, Paul is saying: “Let no man deceive you by no means.” In English we would not say it that way because a double negative equals a positive. For example, we would not say, “I do not want to hear you talk to me no more.” In other words, we would be saying, “I want you to talk to me.” What Paul is saying is, “Let no man deceive you by no means.” In other words, the coming deception will be so intense that we need to be doubly on guard against it.
There will be a falling away, a literal apostasy. There will be a forsaking of the faith. Many marks of this coming apostasy are already evident in our society today. Jesus directed us to Noah in Matthew 24:37-39, and Lot in Luke 17:28, as illustrations of what the world will be like in the end times.
Noah’s time represented a permissive society, the kind found in Genesis, chapters 4-6. But not only will the climate of the antichrist’s coming be a permissive society, it will also be during a perverted society. This is illustrated in Lot’s time in Genesis 19. That is the kind of society in which we live today. What used to be right is now wrong; and what was wrong is now right. What used to be good is now bad; and what was bad is now good. And it is not getting better; it is getting worse. Paul is saying that this is going to be the kind of climate that will be penetrating our world when the antichrist appears. Today, our society accepts God-dishonoring, God-daring, and God-defying practices.
B) The Clues to His Character -- Not only do we need to investigate the climate of his coming, but also the clues to his character. About his personality, Paul says he is the “man of sin” and the “son of perdition.” The antichrist will be the embodiment, the incarnation of sin itself. In fact, he will be the second person in a satanic trinity. As the Lord Jesus was the visible expression of the invisible God, so the antichrist will be the visible expression of the invisible devil. All the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily in Jesus, so much so that He could say to people that whoever had seen Him had seen the Father (John 14:9). The beast will likewise be the bodily manifestation of Satan on earth. He will be the man of sin glorifying incense, sponsoring sin, popularizing sin, enthroning sin, living in sin, and embodying sin. Sinful men will be drawn to him.
Notice also his appearance. Paul says in verse three, “…the man of sin will be revealed.” The phrase, “to be revealed,” comes from the Greek word “apocalypto” which literally means “to unveil so as to be visible to the eye.” “Apocalypto” is where we get the English word “apocalypse” today. Paul is saying that the antichrist is going to be unveiled and made visible to the eye. Who knows but what the antichrist could be right now plotting, planning, scheming, and putting together this system to eventually rise to the top to rule this world?
SECOND, THE MYSTERY OF INIQUITY IS RESTRAINED
The second chronological event that Paul shares with us is that the mystery of iniquity is restrained. I am focusing on verses four through seven. I want to discuss with you two major areas as they relate to the mystery of the iniquity being restrained.
A) Satan’s Plan Exposed by the Holy Spirit -- It is here that Satan’s most secret plan is unmasked. His goal is to be openly worshipped by all mankind. As the Lord Jesus is the One through Whom we worship God, so the antichrist will be the one through whom people will worship Satan himself. Satan’s plan is to exalt man to the highest pinnacle of worship. This is found in verse four, “Who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.” Satan will exalt his man so that all worship might be channeled through the one evil mediator to himself.
The antichrist will be an attractive and charismatic figure, perhaps a genius, a demon-controlled, devil-taught, and an irresistible charmer of men. He will have the answers to the horrendous problems of mankind. He will be all things to all men: a political statesman, a social lion, a financial wizard, an intellectual giant, a religious deceiver, a masterful orator, and a gifted organizer. He will be Satan’s masterpiece of deception, the world’s false messiah.
Satan’s plan is to also exhibit his man in the holiest place of worship. The Bible told us in verse four that, “…he will sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is god.” The Jews by this time will have rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem and restored the sacrificial system under his protection, but once the Jews have served his purposes, he will brush them contemptuously aside, garrison Jerusalem with his troops, and seize their temple. He intends to put the beast’s image in the temple as a further object of worship and as further provocation of the Most High.
B) Satan’s Plan Opposed by the Holy Spirit -- Satan’s plan is not only exposed, but it is also opposed by the Holy Spirit. Paul said in verse five, “Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?” Paul was faithful to instruct and warn believers of the intentions of Satan.
Now what else did Paul say? “And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” The word “work” here is the word from which we derive our English word “energy.” It means to work actively, to work effectively, or to be actively in operation. The leaven of sin is preparing the loaf of human society for the final outburst of wickedness. Satan is not on vacation. He is working overtime and he is furiously working to deceive. He is setting the stage for his man to be ushered in as ruler of this planet.
Not only is there vigorous activity by Satan, but there is the victorious activity of the Spirit. Remember what Paul said in verses six and seven, “And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.” Now this passage has been discussed and debated and investigated time and again. Paul could be dealing with two identities, or two different objects.
First, he could be dealing with the Church. We know that the Church is in this world at this time, but it will soon be raptured away. This will happen prior to the man of sin being revealed. So he could be referring to the Church.
Or, he could be talking about the Holy Spirit. Let me clarify that to a degree. God is omnipresent. He is in all places at all times. He is just as much where you are as He is where I am. He is everywhere. During the Tribulation, the Holy Spirit will be here, but His function will be different. The Holy Spirit will come upon individuals, but rarely will abide in individuals, similar to how He worked in Old Testament times. The Holy Spirit will come upon people to prophesy or to speak, but He will not reside within men as He does now.
And so Paul says, “Ye know what withholdeth...” They knew exactly what he had in mind. “Only He who letteth (or hinders or holds fast) will let (hinder or hold fast) until He be taken out of the way…” We do know that the Holy Spirit and the Church are involved here. And when these are removed the man of sin will be revealed.
I mentioned at the beginning of this message that there are three chronological events involved in the treachery after His coming. We have looked at two of them. We have seen the man of sin being revealed and the mystery of iniquity being restrained. Third, we see the might of Satan released.
III. THE MIGHT OF SATAN IS RELEASED
A) A Sovereign Destruction -- This is found in verses eight through twelve. Now first of all, I want to deal with the fact that there’s going to be a sovereign destruction. Verse eight tells us, “And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring an end by the appearance of His coming.” Paul here is talking about the end of the Tribulation. We need to keep in perspective that one verse can take us through several years of time. Paul is talking about when Jesus comes at the end of the Tribulation, when the brightness of His coming will be so great that He will destroy and crush the wicked one that has been revealed.
B) A Satanic Deception -- Before there is a sovereign destruction, there will be a satanic deception (verses 9-10a). The Bible says, “Even Him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish…” Paul uses the word “perusia”, the same word used in the New Testament to describe the Coming of Christ. Just like Jesus is going to have a perusia in His coming, Satan is also going to have a perusia. There is going to be mighty power and signs and lying wonders that deceive people into believing that he indeed is to be worshipped.
Even now, people are being swept into the arms of Satan by all kinds of occult phenomena produced and promoted by the devil himself. The deception has already begun and will continually grow until Satan is fully revealed and mankind is totally deceived. Satan will perform mighty signs and great wonders. People will be mystified and mesmerized and they will be deceived into worshiping him.
C) A Strong Delusion -- But not only is there going to be a sovereign destruction and a satanic deception, there is also going to be a strong delusion. Now notice what the Apostle Paul said in verse ten, “and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish…because they receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved. For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” The worldliness of man is shown because he is scripturally perverted. He rejects the truth and therefore cannot be saved.
Paul is talking here about people who have heard the Gospel, about Jesus dying as a substitute for the sinfulness of man, hanging on a cross, going to the grave, coming out of the grave, and returning to heaven. They heard the true message but chose to reject it. They did not receive the truth. They did not love the truth that they might be saved. They wanted their sins, not the Savior. They wanted their worldliness, not the Word. They wanted their rebellion and not Christ’s redemption. They wanted to serve Satan, not surrender to the Savior. Not only are they scripturally perverted, but they are spiritually perverted because Paul says, “them that perish”. He’s talking about those who are on their way to a devil’s hell as a result of not finding Christ as Savior.
Not only are they scripturally perverted and spiritually perverted, but they are socially perverted. He said they “had pleasure in unrighteousness.” Not only did they practice sin, but they had pleasure in sin. And more than that, they loved unrighteousness. They came to the place in life where they hated the right and loved the wrong. It’s similar to what the Apostle Paul was saying in Romans chapter one, where the people had a reprobate mind, and they did wrong instead of right.
The Bible tells about the worldliness of man, but also about the work of God. Paul writes, “And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
There is a fallacy that says, “If you miss the Rapture, just hold on to your faith during the Tribulation, even though you may have to die for your faith, and you will still go to heaven.” I contend, if we cannot serve Jesus in the church, we most likely will not be able to serve Him after the Church is gone. The Bible says people will be deceived and then they will be lost.
I repeat what Paul said, “And for this cause shall God send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie…” It is one thing for man to give up on God; it’s another thing for God to give up on man. Those who slight God’s grace will be handed over to Satan’s grip. People are deceived very easily today. How much more so when strong delusion is poured out by God and the antichrist is performing mighty wonders? Mankind is blind to the truth. How much more is he going to be blind when the Church is gone and Satan has free liberty upon this planet? I tell you; today is the day of salvation. This is the time for us to make sure we are on the right track serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION
I heard the story about an elderly blind man who wanted to go to the movies. Standing on the street corner with his tin cup, a kindly man passed by and dropped in some coins. After walking on a few steps, the donor turned and saw the blind man had pushed his glasses to his forehead and was squinting at the coins.
The donor said to the elderly man, “I thought you were a blind man.”
“Oh no,” he said. “I am only substituting for the regular blind man today. I’m not really blind at all.”
“Well, where is the regular blind man?”
“Oh, he’s gone to the movies. It’s his day off.”
If we are deceived today by such little schemes, how much more are people going to be deceived when strong delusion is poured out by God and Satan is performing his mighty wonders? I challenge you to get right with God right now. There is going to be treachery after the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ!
