THE LAWLESS ONE (Part 1)
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 13, 2019 under PM Bible Study |
PM Bible Study Group: March 13, 2019 from 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5
Theme: Comfort comes from having correct biblical knowledge about the events of the last days.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
The first chapter of this remarkable little book had to do with words of greeting and encouragement to persecuted believers in the ancient city of Thessalonica. But now, with Chapter 2, we come to the practical purpose of the letter. Chapter 2 is primarily concerned with doctrine; and Paul—along with Timothy and Silvanus—wrote in order to correct some misunderstandings that the Thessalonians had about the end times.
As Christians, we’re naturally interested in the events that concern the coming of our Lord. He is our great hope; and we look forward to entering into the glories of His promised reign on this earth. But because of the importance of this doctrine, it is easy for Christians to get confused by sloppy theology or false teaching. Distortions in end-times theology can cause great harm to the peace and to the practice of the Christian life.
Apparently, the Thessalonians were being victimized by someone who was packaging and spreading false teaching about the end times as if it had come from Paul and his associates. Paul wrote to first warn these Christians not to be easily thrown off by such false doctrine; and then to give them correct doctrine about the matter.
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Now; If we think back to Acts 17:2, we’ll recall that Paul had taught the believers in Thessalonica a significant amount of doctrine within only approximately three weeks time. Among the many things that he taught them—as we can clearly see from the things that he wrote in his letters—is the doctrine of events that surrounded the promised return of the Lord. His careful instruction regarding end-times events served as the basis for much of his encouragement to these persecuted believers.
That encouragement is very much worth protecting. It would not be right to avoid talking about end-times theology because of the potential misunderstandings and controversies. That is what some people do; but doing so ends up robbing God’s people of the encouragement and motivation that such prophetic truth is meant to give them. It is best, however, to stick carefully to the truth that is clearly revealed to us in God’s word, to avoid trying to obtain more than what God has said, and always to keep Jesus Christ at the center of our focus.
Paul begins then by giving a warning …
1. LET NO ONE DECEIVE YOU (vv. 1-3).
Paul had just told the Thessalonians how he prayed for them to keep worthy of God’s calling upon their lives and that the name of Christ would be glorified in them. It’s then that he addressed a situation that may have potentially caused them to stumble from their stability. He wrote,
Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come (vv. 1-2).
Notice that the people were thinking about two things: (1) the coming of their Lord to judge the earth, and (2) their being gathered together unto Him. These are subjects that Paul already addressed in the previous letter (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11). But apparently, the careful instruction that Paul had given them was being distorted by a false teacher—or perhaps by several false teachers. These false teachers had been presenting their falsehoods in the form of faked correspondences as if from Paul, or by making the pretense of having written to them as if under Paul’s authority. It may have come in the form of a letter (which was why Paul, at the end of this particular letter that we’re studying, was careful to give his own identifying signature), or in the form of a series of teachings (that is, a ‘spirit’ of teaching), or as if offering a prophetic revelation approved by Paul. The church has always been in danger of such things. It’s part of the tactic of the devil. If he cannot persuade the people of God to turn away from Christ through persecution, then he will switch his method to that of confusing them through false doctrine.
The particular method these false teachers were using was to get the people to believe that ‘the day of Christ’—that is, the day of His return for His people and to judge the unbelieving world—had already come upon them; and that they had been, as it were, left behind. Perhaps they were trying to persuade them that this was so because of the persecutions they had been suffering. The effect of this false teaching was to disturb the people’s confidence and to trouble them about their present situation. What would happen to them now? What would their future be? Would they now miss out on the promises of kingdom glory? How could they now live devoted lives for the Lord Jesus if they had no hope in Him? Paul wrote to them;
Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition … (v. 3).
Notice here that Paul gives the Thessalonians two clear pieces of evidence regarding the coming of that day. These two pieces of evidence are objective; and would enable them to know that the day of the Lord had not yet come. The first is that “the falling away” must occur. This ‘falling away’ is a great apostasy from the faith on the part of those who had claimed to believe on Jesus. It is described for us in horrifying detail in 1 Timothy 4:1-3;
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth (1 Timothy 4:1-3).
The character of people in those times is described to us in 2 Timothy 3:1-7;
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:1-7).
This great ‘departure from the faith’ will involve not only a turning away from the Christian faith (which would necessarily have been well-established in the world by that time), but also doing so in favor of turning instead to “deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons”. Clearly, that had not happened in the time of these Thessalonian believers; and so, they had objective evidence that the day of the Lord had not yet come. (Although, we today have do cause to wonder if that time is drawing near for us! We are living in a time when almost all of what was once called ‘Christendom’ around the world has—over just the past few decades—self-consciously and forcefully abandoned the Christian faith that it once held.)
Another clear sign that would have indicated to the Thessalonian believers that the day of the Lord had not yet come—one that is closely associated with the other—is that ‘the man of sin’ had not yet been ‘revealed. This is a clear reference to the antichrist (or the ‘against-Christ’ one). In some ancient texts, he is referred to in this passage as ‘the man of lawlessness’ (which is as much as saying the same thing; because, as the Bible tells us, “sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).
And so, the important thing to note in these first three verses of Chapter 2 is that we are not to be troubled, or distracted from our faithfulness to Christ, or somehow ‘shaken’ from our stability by false teaching about the end times. Jesus Himself gave us remarkable clarity on the matter when He taught His disciples;
“Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.
“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:4-14).
So then; that’s Paul’s warning. The Thessalonians were to be careful not to be shaken by false teaching about end-times events; and thus, were to remain stable in their faithfulness and obedience to Christ.
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But what was the truth that they should remember instead? Paul then goes on to remind them of some things that he had already taught them. He reminds them first of …
2. THE MAN OF SIN’S CHARACTER (vv. 3b-5).
Paul gives the Thessalonians five aspects of the character of this coming ‘antichrist’ that they could easily recognize (and by doing so, know that the day of the Lord had not yet come because this man had obviously not yet been revealed).
First, Paul tells us in verse 3 that he is “the son of perdition”. The word here for “perdition” (apōleia) means ‘destruction’ or ‘ruin’ or ‘utter loss’. To call him the ‘son’ of destruction’ may mean that this man is one who is—above all else—destined for destruction. Perhaps it means, in fact, that he is the first to experience it in a final way. This is, in fact, what we’re told about the antichrist in God’s word; because in Revelation 19:20, we’re told that he—along with the false prophet—are the first to be cast into the lake of fire at the Lord’s second coming. But it may also mean that he is the ‘chief’ of destruction; and the cause of it for everyone who follows him; because the Bible also teaches us that all who will pledge allegiance to him are destined to be destroyed along with him. One aspect of his character, then, is that—in a profound and unique sense—he is the cause of destruction who, himself, is destined for destruction. He is a singular man who, with powerful influence, will turn many around the world away from the truth and will lead them unto himself and into apostasy and loss.
Second, in verse 4, Paul tells us that he is remarkably ‘anti-theistic’. We’re told that he “opposes” all that is called “God”. In Daniel 11:37, we’re told that he will “regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women [which is an reference to the Jewish prophetic hope for the birth of Christ Himself]. But we shouldn’t assume that this means he will not be ‘religious’. Instead—thirdly—he will exalt himself above God. Daniel 11:36-38 says;
Then the king [that is, the antichrist] shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things (Daniel 11:36-38).
In other words, he will seek to use powerful political influence and military force to establish himself to the world as being the ‘god’ of a new religion.
Fourthly, we’re told that he ‘sits as God in the temple of God’. This would be a piece of evidence of his presence in the world that would be unmistakable. It assumes that the temple of God is in existence at the time and is in operation; and that this man of sin then dares to take the seat of God in the temple. The prophet Daniel spoke of a similar event—one that was a reference to the 4th Century B.C. King Antiochas IV—in which we’re told that that ancient king would take away daily sacrifices from the temple and “place there the abomination of desolation” (Daniel 11:31). This, however, was a mere picture of what the antichrist would later do. The Lord Jesus spoke of this long after Antiochas had come and gone—and also made it a very clear indication of the coming of the Day—when He told His disciples;
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:15-22).
The exact nature of this ‘abomination of desolation’ is left as something of a mystery to us today; but it is very clear from our Lord’s teaching that when it occurs, everyone will know its meaning!
And finally, notice that in all of this, he is found “showing himself that he is God”. The man of sin is not God, of course; but he presents himself as God and calls for worship as God. It may even be that we’re to understand that he actually will have come to persuade himself that he truly is God. What a horrifying thing—all the more horrifying because people will respond to his blasphemous falsehood by worship him as such! Revelation 13:3-8 seems to speak of this when it says;
And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:3-8).
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And in conclusion, note what Paul tells the Thessalonians in verse 5; “Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?” In that short amount of time that he was with them, Paul had explained these things carefully to them—so much so, in fact, that he could say that they should have already known them. What a great teacher the apostle Paul must have been—to be able to communicate so much in so little a time!
From what biblical source did Paul draw to get his teaching? Much of what follows in this passage sounds very much like the things that are told us in the Book of Daniel—along with the teaching of our Lord when He walked the earth. Some of it, however, clearly is new revelation that was given to Paul. In our next couple of times together, we’ll consider some of the things that Paul tells us about the career of this ‘man of sin’; and of the ultimate end of that career in the coming of our Lord.
But for now, let’s learn the basic lesson. Let’s be careful not to be thrown off in our devotion to the Lord by false or faulty teaching regarding the end times, or by human speculations about its timing. The doctrine of the end times is not meant to scare us or to simply fascinate us with signs and wonders. Rather, it is meant to give us a stability of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ and in our destiny in Him. It is meant to keep us faithful, prayerful and watchful.
Such encouragement from the Bible’s teaching about the day of the Lord is very much worth protecting!
EA
