Lesson for November 1, 2020
The Book of II Thessalonians
Chapter 2:6-12
Verse 6-7
“And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he (the Holy Spirit) who now restrains will do so until he (the Holy Spirit) is taken out of the way.” As long as the restraining ministry of the Holy Spirit operates during the Church Age, the Antichrist who is the man of lawlessness cannot exist and cannot be revealed. He will however be revealed once the restraint of the Holy Spirit is removed. During the Church Age which is the intensified stage of the Angelic Conflict, God the Holy Spirit restrains (not eliminates) all satanic activity. So, at the Rapture of the Church, the Holy Spirit who indwells believers and restrains satanic activity is removed. Immediately after the Rapture, the Tribulation begins and the Antichrist can then be revealed. Jesus Christ still controls history and Satan cannot overrule the sovereignty of God regarding the time in which the Antichrist will be revealed.
Lawlessness means the defiance of God’s Laws of Divine Establishment, which include God’s laws, governmental laws, societal laws or any law that the Antichrist deems contrary to his ultimate objective, which is to be worshipped in place of God. The mystery of lawlessness simply means that the full realm of the Antichrist’s attack on God and His people will not be revealed until the dispensation of the Tribulation. Using rebellion of authority and revolution to attack the Laws of Divine Establishment and the suppression of truth by religion, the Antichrist will unleash a reign of terror like this world has never before experienced.
Verse 8
“Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.” During the Tribulation Satan will be in full control of two beings, the Antichrist and the False Prophet. The Antichrist will dominate the world political system like never before in the history of man, and will duplicate the ancient Roman Empire in many ways. This is why many theologians refer to this period as the Revival of the Roman Empire.
The False Prophet will represent the false religion of worshipping the Antichrist and will attempt to convince the world that the Antichrist is the true messiah. Revelation 13 describes these two beings, who with Satan, form an unholy trinity, mimicking the true Holy Trinity.
The first beast rises out of the abyss (sea) and is described as having seven heads and ten horns. On the heads will be “the name of blasphemy” and upon the horns will be crowns. The “name of blasphemy” could be anything that dishonors God but will most likely be a counterfeit name for the Antichrist used to deceive people. The crowns represent kingly status or high rank. This beast is the Antichrist and he will cause people to worship him and Satan as God.
The sea out of which the first beast arises is a reference to the abyss (bottomless pit). Therefore, we know that this is the same beast referred to in Revelation 11:7, who makes war with the 144,000 witnesses. This beast will be the Antichrist who conquers all the nations (seven heads and ten horns) of earth and dominates the political scene. In many ways the Antichrist’s kingdom will duplicate the ancient Roman Empire politically (ruling with an iron fist). The seven heads and the ten horns represent kingdoms that are controlled by Satan.
In Revelation 13:1-18 some of the activities of this beast are given. He will be a persuasive speaker, as he speaks against God, the Temple and all who live in Heaven, which would include elect angels and believers from previous dispensations. This beast also engages in war with the earthly believers who have not yet fled to the wilderness. This beast will overcome the saints and he will have authority over the entire world system. Everyone on earth will worship him as if he were God, with the exception of the faithful believers who are left on earth at this time. The patience and faithfulness of the believer will be tested severely during the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation period.
Revelation 20:5-10 records the final doom of the satanic trinity. At the end of the Tribulation, after Jesus Christ and His army have conquered His enemies and the Antichrist and the False Prophet have been cast into the Lake of Fire, Satan will be bound for a thousand years in the Abyss (we know this is temporary because of Revelation 20:7-10). Revelation 20:1-3 describes what is going to happen. An angel from Heaven will come to earth, seize Satan, put him in chains, cast him into the Abyss (bottomless pit) and seal it for a thousand years. This event marks the beginning of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ and those who reign with Him. Those who reign with Him include believers from the Old Testament, Church Age believers and tribulational believers.
Verse 9
“That is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders.” The Antichrist sets himself up as God and draws attention to himself by counterfeiting the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Remember that he is the false Christ and performing this miracle will cause people to think of him in terms of deity, though he is not. People will worship him and Satan as gods. The Antichrist will perform miracles by the power of Satan and does so in order to deceive people. The people of the world are duped into building an image to him for the purpose of worshipping it. He will also cause this image to come to life and speak. Those who refuse to worship him will be killed.
Verses 10-12
“And with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. For this reason, God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” In verses 10-12 we have the followers of the Antichrist. Verse 10 is a continuation of verse 9 referring to the method by which the Antichrist will come. He will use signs and false wonders for the purpose of deluding unbelievers (those who perish). The Greek word for deception is “apate,” which means delusion, which is a little stronger than deceit. Deception is being fooled on one or two occasions; delusion becomes a way of life in which one is perpetually deceived. Wickedness is the Greek word “adikia,” which means unrighteousness or injustice. The Antichrist will deceive the masses when he comes with flattery and religion. Both are unrighteous acts because his ultimate goal is to dupe the masses into following him. Once he has established himself as the savior of mankind, he will turn on them and rule with a cruel “iron fist.”
Because the masses will reject the truth of the Gospel they will not be delivered from the schemes and deceives of the Antichrist. They follow him like sheep to the slaughter and ultimately end up in the Lake of Fire with the Antichrist, the False Prophet, Satan, all fallen angels and all unbelievers. During the Tribulation people will be totally taken in by religion, and completely destroyed by religion. This will be God’s demonstration that religion can only completely destroy those who follow its false teaching and that the greatest enemy of mankind is the satanic attack upon the human race called religion. Religion is contrary and in opposition to God and Bible doctrine.
The word religion itself comes from two Latin words, “re,” meaning “back” and “ligio,” meaning “to bind.” Religion is man’s attempt to bind himself back to God by his own efforts. Since this is an impossible task, religion actually makes a person antagonistic toward God and His plan. Christianity teaches that it is Jesus Christ Who binds us back to God by means of our faith in His death, burial and resurrection. It is therefore God’s plan to provide for mankind something that he cannot provide for himself. God provides this plan in three stages. (II Corinthians 5:17-21)
Because of negative volition, because of embracing falsehood instead of truth, God will send these unbelievers delusion, the inevitable result of their love of falsehood. It will be the reality of the blackout of the soul based upon reversionistic hardness of heart. This refers to the unbelievers of the Tribulation who will come under the ecumenical religious leadership of the dictator of the Revived Roman Empire. However, God will not send them strong delusion until they have made it clear they are totally negative toward the truth of the Gospel. This will not be a violation of their volition since they are the ones who chose the path of deceit. So, God gives them what they want. God will never violate a person’s free will.
In order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness. Taking pleasure in unrighteousness keeps people from believing the truth of the Gospel. Some people will not trust Christ as their Savior because they think that by doing so, they will have to give up all pleasures in life. Pleasure in wickedness can also include any activity that is anti-Christ, anti-God or anti sound Bible doctrine. Pleasure in wickedness or unrighteousness is very temporal. Spending eternity in the Lake of Fire is going to be a horrendous experience for those who reject the Gospel because they chose the temporal pleasures of unrighteousness to faith in Christ.