The Thessalonian Epistles
The Antichrist I
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Lesson XXII
Written: July 15, 2005
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
(3) 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;
(4) 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, shewing himself that he is God.
1 John 2:18
(18) Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have
heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby
we know that it is the last time.
1 John 4:3
(3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that [spirit] of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is
it in the world.
2 John 7
(7) For many deceivers are entered into the world, who
confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an
antichrist.
We
believe this man of sin, yet to be revealed, is the antichrist spoken of by
John (1 John 2:18). The spirit of
antichrist has been manifest in this world since the days of John (1 John 4:3). Whenever and wherever there has been a denial
of the bodily resurrection of Christ it has been a manifestation of the spirit
of antichrist (2 John 7).
2 Thessalonians 2:6
(6) And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be
revealed in his time.
In
2 Thessalonians 2:6, we learn this man of sin will be revealed in his
time. Thus there is a set
time for his revelation so do not endeavour to reveal him now. Because he is called ‘the son of perdition’
in verse 3, some teach that Judas will be restored to life as the
antichrist. We do not agree with this
teaching because it would mean that antichrist has already been revealed.
John 5:43
(43) I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me
not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
In
2 Thessalonians 2:4, of this man of sin we read, “who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God.”
J.B. Phillips translation reads: “he sets himself up in opposition to
every religion.” This does not agree
with other Scriptures. We believe he
will fit in with all religions. The great
leap in evolution will be made when men, who have rejected the truth that in
Jesus God became a man, will believe the lie that man has evolved to become
God. Jesus said in John 5:43 “I am come
in my father’s name, and ye received me not; if another shall come in his own
name, him ye will receive.”
In
October 1957, Henri Spaak, who was then Secretary-General of NATO, said in
Paris, “We do not want another committee; we have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature
to hold the allegiance of all people and to lift us out of the economic morass into
which we are sinking. Send us such a man
and be he god or devil, we will receive him.”
Prior
to that, Belgium’s Premier P.H. Spock, said in LaSeur, “The truth is that the
method on international committees has failed.
What we need is a person, someone of the highest order, of great
experience, of great authority, of wide influence, of great energy. Let him come and let him come quickly; either
a civilian or military man, no matter what his nationality, who will cut all
the red tape, shove out of the way all committees, wake up all people and
galvanise all governments into action.
Let him come quickly. This man we
need and for whom we wait will take charge of the defense of the West. Once more I say, it is not too late, but it
is high time.” (Frank. A. Tatford).
Those
words spoken fifty years ago describe the man the Bible foretells will
come. And now, with the new terror
created by suicide bombers the need for such a man has become more urgent. Such
a man is coming, and note the words in our text, “He as God.” We believe reference is made to the same
person in Revelation 13.
Daniel 7:3
(3) And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse
one from another.
Daniel 7:23
(23) Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth
kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour
the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
Daniel 7:17
(17) These great beasts, which are four, [are] four
kings, [which] shall arise out of the earth.
When
we study the book of Daniel, we learn that the word ‘beasts’ as used in the
Bible may represent Kingdoms (Daniel 7:3, Daniel 7:23) and also Leaders of
kingdoms (Daniel 17:17).
Revelation 11:7
(7) And when they shall have finished their testimony,
the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them,
and shall overcome them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:2
(2) But the court which is without the temple leave out,
and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall
they tread under foot forty [and] two months.
Revelation 13:1
(1) And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast
rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns
ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
Revelation 17:15
(15) And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest,
where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Isaiah 57:20-21
(20) But the wicked [are] like the troubled sea, when it
cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
(21) [There is] no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.
Isaiah 48:22
(22) [There is] no peace, saith the LORD, unto the
wicked.
In
Revelation 11:7, the beast-kingdom is first mentioned. It is connected with a time period of 42
months (Revelation 11:2). Then in
Revelation 13:1, more details are given. This beast-kingdom rises out of the
sea. In Revelation 17:15, we are told
that the waters represent people and Nations. Therefore this beast is a Gentile
kingdom. We read in Isaiah 57:20-21,
“But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters
cast up mire and dirt. There is no
peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
Again in Isaiah 48:22, “there is no peace saith my God to the wicked.” All one has to do is look at TV news to see
the unrest among the Nations of the world.
Revelation 13:5
(5) And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty [and]
two months.
Revelation 13:12-14
(12) And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast
before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the
first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
(13) And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire
come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
(14) And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by [the
means] of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast;
saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Revelation 13:11
(11) And I beheld another beast coming up out of the
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Revelation 19:20
(20) And the beast was taken, and with him the false
prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had
received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both
were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
In
Revelation 13:5, to this beast-kingdom of the Gentile Nations, is given a
“mouth”. Evidently this can only mean a
Leader of this Kingdom. Later in the
chapter, verses 12-14, the term ‘beast’ refers to both a Kingdom and a
Leader. In Revelation 13:11, a second
beast arises, evidently another Leader.
He is identified in Revelation 19:20 as the false prophet. His work is to magnify the first
beast-leader, whom we identify as antichrist.
We
read in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 of this person, “…he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, showing himself that he is God.”
The pronouns in the verse, “he”, “himself”, “he”, certainly indicate the
passage is talking about a literal person.
Some
believe that this temple referred to is the Church. But surely, if the individual believer who is
part of the Church is “the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you,” (1 Corinthians 3:16), and the corporate body “…is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in
you” (1 Corinthians 6:19), that temple will never be the residence of the man
of sin, the antichrist.
1 Corinthians 3:16
(16) Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and
[that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
1 Corinthians 6:19
(19) What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Demons
and Devils can only enter ‘empty houses’ and the Church is not an empty house!
(Read Matthew 12:44).
“…
now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his” (Romans
8:9).
Matthew 12:44
(44) Then he saith, I will return into my house from
whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth [it] empty, swept, and
garnished.
Romans 8:9
(9) But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so
be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of
Christ, he is none of his.
Christ
dwells in the true Church and there is no place for antichrist in it.
We
believe 2 Thessalonians 2:4 implies that another temple will be built at
Jerusalem for or by antichrist.
Revelation 11:1 speaks about ‘measuring the temple of God.”
Revelation 11:1
(1) And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and
the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar,
and them that worship therein.
When
Christ began his ministry on earth he called the temple that was then standing
“my father’s
house” (John 2:16). Before he returned
to Heaven, nearing the end of his ministry he said, “your house is left to you
desolate” (Matthew 23:38), then went on to predict the destruction of the
temple at Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1-2).
This prediction became history in A.D. 70.
John 2:16
(16) And said unto them that sold doves, Take these
things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
Matthew 23:38
(38) Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
Matthew 24:1-2
(1) And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and
his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
(2) And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these
things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon
another, that shall not be thrown down.
The
new temple Ezekiel foretells is to be built for the throne room and place for
the feet of Jesus when he returns to earth (Ezekiel 43:7). It is an amazing fact that in his vision
Ezekiel saw a temple (Ezekiel 41:1), he also saw a wall with a shut gate
(Ezekiel 44:1), when there were none of these things in existence. He was in Babylon after the city and the
first temple had been destroyed. A
second temple was built since Ezekiel and it too was destroyed.
Ezekiel 43:7
(7) And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my
throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst
of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel
no more defile, [neither] they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the
carcases of their kings in their high places.
Ezekiel 41:1
(1) Afterward he brought me to the temple, and measured
the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other
side, [which was] the breadth of the tabernacle.
Ezekiel 44:1
(1) Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the
outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it [was] shut.
Today
there is a wall around
2 Thessalonians 2:5
(5) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I
told you these things?
Paul’s
words in 2 Thessalonians 2:5, “Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you,
I told you these things”, should be a challenge to those who think it clever
not to preach Bible prophecy.
To
call oneself a “pan-millennialist”, meaning, “it will all pan-out-all right” in
order to leave the subject alone, is not as smart as it sounds.
All
Scripture is writhen by inspiration and all is profitable. We neglect Scriptures to
our hurt.