2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.  The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

Paul continues his teaching about the end times by teaching more about the “lawless one”, or Antichrist.  He has established that the day of the Lord, which I believe to be the seven-year Tribulation, will come after the Antichrist has been revealed.  Even though the “mystery” or philosophy of Antichrist was present in Paul’s day as it continues to be today.  The true revelation of the Antichrist will only happen after the removal of the restraint and then the day of the Lord will become a reality.  The Lord wants us to know this important information about the Antichrist.

     

THE DEATH OF ANTICHRIST IS CERTAIN: We must never think of the battle between Christ and Antichrist as some sort of epic struggle between two equal powers.  Our Lord Jesus will kill the Antichrist with His breath.  All the power and grandeur of the Antichrist’s reign will be brought to nothing.  It will be blown away as chaff at the second coming of Christ.  All human achievement that is focused on the glory of man instead of being consecrated to the glory of God will be worthless.  The Antichrist will be the most powerful and influential political leader this world has ever seen up to this point in history.  However, his reign and life will be immediately blotted out like a candle when confronted with the glory of Jesus.

 

THE POWER OF ANTICHRIST IS SATANIC: The Antichrist will perform miracles that defy the rules of science.  The power to do these miracles comes from Satan.  It seems that the Antichrist will be possessed by Satan.  This will give him the ability to perform false signs and wonders.  Satan is a powerful being and he will be given great freedoms during the day of the Lord.  However, it is important to remember that the power of our Lord is far greater.  Human achievement and satanic power can be impressive, but they are no match for the glory of God.

 

THE GOAL OF ANTICHRIST IS DECEPTION: God loves truth and has revealed the truth in His Word and by His Son.  Antichrist will do all in his power to distort the truth so he can deceive as many people and nations as possible.  God’s truth has the power to free mankind of sin and all the consequences of sin.  Antichrist will try to deceive so that people will refuse to love truth and find salvation.  The result of this deception is destruction.  Mankind apart from the Gospel and forgiveness through faith in Christ is under the wrath and condemnation of God.  Those who reject Christ will be judged by God.  He will send them into delusion so they will believe in false religions and worship false gods.  They will be condemned because they hated truth and loved sin.

 

APPLICATION: Don’t live in fear of Antichrist or even the power of Satan because the Lord Jesus has complete power over them.  He alone is worthy of our fear and worship.  Don’t be impressed by human achievements.  Love the truth revealed in God’s Word.  Study the Scripture and don’t be deceived by human or demonic philosophies.  Warn the people around us of the dangers of being deceived and remaining under the condemnation of God.  Believe the truth and love righteousness.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more

1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and   dignified in every way.    This is good, and   it is pleasing in the sight of   God our Savior,   who desires   all people to be saved and   to come to   the knowledge of the truth.    For   there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,   who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is   the testimony given   at the proper time.    For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying),   a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.   Prayer is one of the greatest privileges believers have and it should be one of our greatest priorities.  Too often our lives are more often marked by complaining about our circumstances and our political leaders than by prayers for them.  The government in Paul’s day
Read more