Who Is This Man Of Lawlessness? Series

Who is this Man of Lawlessness?

JCC 18.10.09 am

2 Thess 2:1-10

The end times began two thousand years ago

The Christian era is the last era and, therefore, it is the end times

1 Jn 2:18

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.

One event is the appearance of “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thess 2:3) or anti-Christ

The term ‘antichrist’ is unique to John’s epistles. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3 the antichrist is called “the man of lawlessness” and in Revelation 13 he is identified as “the beast”

A final personal incarnation of evil who will be overthrown “with the breath” of the Lord Jesus at his coming (2 Thess 2:8)

This event is still to come

Many films out about the end times, 2012 being the latest one

It’s as if the devil is making a mockery out of what will happen, but turning it into an event that man can control, and making everything ok to give a happy ending

What can we do to change or stop this lawless man? Nothing

How can we stop the end coming? We cannot

The power of lawlessness is already presents though not as obviously as it will be

If you think things are bad now, this is mild compared to what will be

“Lawlessness” is opposition to God

Everything that defies the purposes of God in creation - rebellion

Today, Christians are not allowed to pray, to wear a cross, to worship in a church if it affects the residents

Illustration:

A church in London sold off the manse house; the person who bought it sold it on to a Muslim; now that Muslim has just won a court action to stop the church singing praise and worship because he can hear it. Yet we are to put up with calls to prayer bellowing across Cities, street processions by the Sikhs’ etc

“Lawlessness” is at work wherever human beings “refuse to love the truth” (2 Thess 2:10) and “delight in wickedness” (2 Thess 2:12)

People do not want the truth today

The people live a shameful life

They have no need of God, they have everything

Jesus said it would be like in the days of Noah

Matt 24:36- 39 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The ark we now have is Christ; in Christ we are saved

Who closed the door? God did, ad he will again

Evil is rampant now, but will get much worse

It is being restrained at the moment

Who is, the one who now holds it back? The Holy Spirit

The Thessalonian believers are aware of whom he speaks about: “During my visit with you,” he reminds them, “I used to tell you these things” (2 Thess 2:5)

Paul’s veiled reference leaves us questioning whose identity it is

It is with the same questions we want to identify this man, beast or anti-Christ

Greek and Hebrew letters in their alphabets had a number value

For example: the numerical value of the name of Jesus in the Greek is "888."

Using that kind of reasoning, people have come up with a number of possibilities

E.g. Nero, Caligula, and Trajan as the Beast because their names could be turned into the number 666

The Reformers of the Middle Ages experimented with numerology and often taught that the Catholic church & the various popes showed the value of 666

The Reformers of the Middle Ages experimented with numerology and often taught that the Catholic church & the various popes showed the value of 666

It is not my intention to tell you who the man is, but to contend against the theology of fear that has been built around this passage by the followers of many popular Rapture teachers. They have often declared various things to be the mark of the beast

What difference would it make if we knew who it is? We cannot stop him

Much of what the Bible reveals is wrapped in strange symbolism:

· Beasts

· Horns

· Dragons

· Wheels with eyes etc.

We can understand the realities of what will take place by the clues

Though the Bible does not give us specific dates and detailed events, it does reveal general events and the kind of time during which these events will take place