The Thessalonian
Epistles
The Antichrist II
2 Thessalonians 2:6-12
Lesson XXIII
Written: July 21, 2005
2 Thessalonians 2:6-12
(6) And now ye know what withholdeth
that he might be revealed in his time.
(7) For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only
he who now letteth [will let], until he be taken out
of the way.
(8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness
of his coming:
(9) [Even him], whose coming is after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
(10) And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in
them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved.
(11) And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie:
(12) That they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Paul
has been inspired to write about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Here, by the same inspiration he writes about
the coming antichrist.
Of
this one he makes this statement: “And
now ye know what withholdeth that he might be
revealed in his time.” Let me try and
put that in my own words, as I see it.
Someone
is coming. He cannot come now because he
is being restrained. He will come in his
time when the restraint is lifted. “His
time” certainly must mean a specific period of time. He will not come now because his time is not
now.
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.
1 Timothy 3:16
(16) And without controversy great is the mystery of
godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into
glory.
Paul
continues, “The mystery of iniquity doth already work: ….” This we understand to be the spirit of
antichrist which is already in the world (1 John 4:3). In 1Timothy 3:16 we read
about the ‘mystery of godliness’ explained to be the life and ministry of Jesus
Christ. Now if the mystery of godliness
is Christ, we therefore believe the ‘mystery of iniquity’ will be manifest in
the person of the antichrist.
“Only
he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of
the way.” To ‘let’ when translated in
1611 meant to ‘restrain.’ So we
understand the passage to mean that there is a Person who is holding back the
coming of the man of sin. That Person is the Holy Spirit who resides in the
Church.
Genesis 6:3
(3) And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive
with man, for that he also [is] flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and
twenty years.
John 16:8-9
(8) And when he is come, he will reprove the world of
sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
(9) Of sin, because they believe
not on me;
The
Holy Spirit was at work at the very beginning of human history.
Genesis 6:3 “My Spirit will not
always strive with man…” The Spirit
continues to strive, to convict men today.
John 16:8-9 “When He is come He
will convict the world of sin …” The Holy Spirit anointed men for special
service in the days of the Old Testament and He is still doing the same
today. The Holy Spirit came upon men in
Old Testament days and they prophesied, and so He does today.
1 Corinthians 12:13
(13) For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body,
whether [we be] Jews or Gentiles, whether [we be] bond or free; and have been
all made to drink into one Spirit.
Ephesians 1:22-23
(22) And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave
him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church,
(23) Which is his body, the fulness
of him that filleth all in all.
But
there is a unique ministry of the Spirit now, not found in Old Testament
Scriptures. Today the Spirit is
baptizing people into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). And that body is the true Church of Jesus
Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23), “…the Church which is his body…”.
But
here in 2 Thessalonians we find another work of the Spirit. The Spirit in the Church is restraining the
coming of the antichrist. Although the
Spirit will continue ministering in the world as in Genesis 6:3, the ministry
of baptizing into the body and restraining the coming of antichrist will cease
at the time of the Rapture.
Acts 2:47
(47) Praising God, and having favour
with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be
saved.
Matthew 16:18
(18) And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail
against it.
The
Church can be likened to a baby in the womb. Members are still being added and will be
until the Lord comes, when complete and fully developed, when the last member
is added for the Lord is adding to the Church (Acts 2:47).
He
is still building the Church (Matthew 16:18) and the building will be complete
when the Rapture takes place.
2 Thessalonians 2:8, 3, 6
(8) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming:
(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;
(6) And now ye know what withholdeth
that he might be revealed in his time.
We
personally do not expect to see the antichrist, because we expect the Rapture
before he is revealed. Verse 8 says:
“Then shall that wicked be revealed….”
The same word ‘revealed’ is found in verses 3 and 6. The text says “then” and we add not until
then. Only the removal of the Church will
make possible the revelation of the man of sin.
“Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and
shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” If this wicked one is to be destroyed by
Christ at His Second Coming, this wicked one, this antichrist, must
be on earth when Christ returns.
2 Thessalonians 2:9
(9) [Even him], whose coming is after the working of
Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
Then
in verse 9 we have more detail about this person. This wicked one will receive his power from
Satan. He will manifest “all power” with
“signs” and “lying wonders.”
There
seems to me to be an unhealthy interest in signs and wonders. People want to ‘see” before they believe,
when the Bible teaches we hear before we see.
But what I call ‘unhealthy interest’ will make it easy for people to be
led astray. Remember “lying signs and
wonders” will prepare the way for the acceptance of the antichrist.
He
comes “with all deceivableness of
unrighteousness because they received not the love of the truth that they might
be saved.” Do not these words teach
that people will be deceived because they have not believed Christ and the
Scriptures?
As
a judgment, “for this cause (God always has a reason for what He does) God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.” In this context the word “delusion” suggests
real reasons
to believe the lie, who is the antichrist.
John 6:19
(19) So when they had rowed about five and twenty or
thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and drawing nigh unto the
ship: and they were afraid.
John 14:6
(6) Jesus saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Today,
man’s responsibility is to believe.
John 6:19 “This is the work of
God that ye believe on him whom He hath sent.”
In
John 14:6, Jesus claimed to be the truth.
Men who have rejected Christ, will be given, in judgment, reasons to
believe the antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:12
(12) That they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
What
a sobering, serious statement is found in verse 12, “That they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
That
is God’s Word!
John 8:24
(24) I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your
sins: for if ye believe not that I am [he], ye shall die in your sins.
Also
in John 8:24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins; for
if ye believe not that I am
he, ye shall die in your sins.”
Revelation 14:9-10
(9) And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud
voice, If any man worship the beast and
his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
(10) The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of
God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and
he shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.
We
conclude with the warning that will be given to humanity when the beast, the
antichrist, appears.
Revelation 14:9-10 “And the third angel
followed them, saying with a loud voice,
(he will be heard) If any man worship the beast and his image,
and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of
the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup
of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the
presence of the lamb.”
Matthew 25:46
(46) And these shall go away into everlasting punishment:
but the righteous into life eternal.
Matthew
25:46 speaks of those “who shall go away into everlasting punishment.”
They
are not sent away, they go away from the Divine Presence, the searching eyes of
a thrice holy living God. On the day of
judgment men will want to flee from His Presence. Like things of darkness which
shrink from the light and retire for comfort to the murk, rejecters of the
gospel will flee the blaze of His light.
In
Christ who is the image of God, we see God’s love, God’s patience, and God’s
wrath.
Romans 1:17-18
(17) For therein is the righteousness of God revealed
from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
(18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against
all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in
unrighteousness;
A
gospel that only preaches the love of God without the wrath of God is only a
partial gospel.
The
same gospel that reveals the righteousness of God (Romans 1:17) also reveals
the wrath of God (Romans 1:18). To deny
one is to deny both.