2Th 2:8-9 | KingComments | STEP | . In the previous verses Paul actually did not do much more than remind the believers in Thessalonica of what he had told them earlier. Apparently this subject belongs to the basic equipment of each believer. He will not have gone deeper into that, for he only stayed with them for a short time. Nevertheless he points out to them what he had then said and in that way wants to refresh their memory. It is surely not the case that Paul has mentioned this subject just in passing. You cannot see it in this translation, but he says that he has repeatedly mentioned this subject. Therefore it includes an undertone of reprimand. If they had understood what he had said, they would not have had the difficulties that they now have in the circumstances they found themselves. Due to the ‘forgetfulness’ of the Thessalonians we may now profit from the teaching on the future. . Paul continues with his teaching. He thereby connects to the knowledge he assumed they had. They knew that the revelation of the antichrist was being restrained. This being restrained happens by a “what” ( ) and a “who” ( ). There is ‘something’ that restrains and ‘someone’, a person, who restrains. The question is to ‘what’ and ‘whom’ we should think of, what is meant by it. Several interpreters put forward several solutions. I would like to tell you which one appeals the most to me and why. “What restrains him” is the church. Paul has said that as long as the church is on earth, the day of the Lord could not possibly have already come. He has also said that, before the day of the Lord comes, the apostasy, which is in relation with the public revelation of the antichrist, must come first. But the presence of the church on earth means that there is still no general denial of God and Christ. “He who now restrains”, is the Holy Spirit. That it is a reference to the Holy Spirit, is clear to me because following that is written “until he is taken out of the way”. When the church will be taken out of the way, the Holy Spirit also will be taken out of the way. Will He then be no more on earth? He surely will, but not in the same way as when the church was on the earth. Then He dwelled in the church. On the day of Pentecost, at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, He came to dwell in the believers. Before that time He worked on earth. You can already read about that in the first verses of the Bible ( ). Each work of God on earth happened, and is still happening, by the Holy Spirit. But only after the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven after the accomplishment of the work on the cross, the Spirit came to dwell ( ) on earth. How that has happened you can read in Acts 2 ( ). His coming to the earth was the beginning of the church. His dwelling place is the church ( ; ). You see how much the church and the Holy Spirit are related with each other. Due to the presence on earth of both the church and the Holy Spirit, the full revelation of the evil is still being restrained. An example of that restraining is the failure of spiritualistic manifestations due to the presence of a praying believer. What also can happen is that an ungodly or nasty conversation stops when a committed believer joins the talkers of whom they know that he is a committed believer. This ‘restraining’ stops when the church has been caught up to heaven. And when the church is caught up, it cannot be otherwise than that the Holy Spirit leaves the earth. The church is His dwelling place forever. A proof of that is to be found in what the Lord Jesus has said of the Holy Spirit, that He abides with and will be in the believers forever ( ). When the church has been caught up into heaven, the Holy Spirit will not dwell on earth anymore. As far as His work is concerned, it will be again as it was in the time before the church was on earth. The full revelation of evil is therefore being restrained. But “the mystery of lawlessness” is already at work. To those who are blind to it, the unbelievers, it is still a ‘mystery’. The unbelievers even cooperate massively with the lawlessness. To you it doesn’t have to be a mystery. You may take to heart what Paul says here about this phenomenon. The reason that it unfortunately is still a mystery to many believers is because they do not read the Scripture. If you do read the Scripture, then this increasing lawlessness doesn’t have to be surprising to you. With lawlessness you must not think just of breaking the law. Lawlessness goes far beyond that. Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” ( ). It is the complete denial of any form of authority. Is that not what you observe around you? Do you not notice that man wants to be autonomous, independent, self-reliant more and more? He is less and less willing to subject himself to authority and certainly not to God’s authority. . This work of ‘the mystery of lawlessness’ goes on until the man of sin, the lawless one, can fully reveal himself. Therefore, don’t let yourself be deceived by voices who want to make you believe that the world will be won for Christ through the gospel. That is a great error. You read here what the future of the world looks like. That doesn’t mean that you should not proclaim the gospel. On the contrary, it is exactly an exhortation to do that. However, the gospel is for the individual and not for the mass. As it is said, the mass will fall away, will turn its back on God and worship the antichrist. “Then”, this is how begins. That means: at that moment and not earlier, the lawless one will be revealed. The lawlessness which is already at work mysteriously, will at that moment take shape in a person. It is the same as John writes about the many antichrists, while there is just only one who is the antichrist ( ). Everything happens according to God’s plan. Satan and his demons can in no way change anything about that. No, the fact is even that they cooperate against their will to the fulfillment of it. Once the lawless one has been revealed, it will be the beginning of a time of unprecedented terror on earth. You don’t read anything about his rule of terror here. You can read it in the book of Revelation. Here you read briefly, and therefore impressive, about his inglorious, humiliating and horrible end. He does not come to an end by being defeated in a fight of life and death. The Lord Jesus will personally slay him by nothing more than the breath of His mouth (cf. ). You can also think of His Word, a word of power ( ; ). Imagine: There you have the lawless man who exalts himself above everything and has made himself God instead of being subjected to God. This puffed-up, bragging blasphemer will be slain by a simple – but oh, how full of power! – act. And by Whom? By the Man Who has first humbled Himself on earth and became obedient until death and Who afterward was glorified by God and became Lord of lords. His appearance, so when He comes visible on earth, means the end of the lawless one. “To slay” and “bring to an end” do not mean the end of his existence. These words indicate that it is finished with his position and the exertion of his power. In Revelation 19 you see how that will happen ( ). There the lawless one is called “the false prophet”. Together with the beast, that is the dictator of the restored Roman Empire (the united Europe), he is thrown into the lake of fire without trial. These two monstrous persons will come into hell as the first ones. They will also be the only ones there during the thousand years of peace that will follow on earth after their condemnation. When the thousand years will be over, then the devil will be thrown into it ( ) and ultimately all the unbelievers ( ). Now read 2 Thessalonians 2:5-8 again. Reflection: Mention situations wherein the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

‏ 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9

That Lawless One

2Thes 2:5. In the previous verses Paul actually did not do much more than remind the believers in Thessalonica of what he had told them earlier. Apparently this subject belongs to the basic equipment of each believer. He will not have gone deeper into that, for he only stayed with them for a short time. Nevertheless he points out to them what he had then said and in that way wants to refresh their memory.

It is surely not the case that Paul has mentioned this subject just in passing. You cannot see it in this translation, but he says that he has repeatedly mentioned this subject. Therefore it includes an undertone of reprimand. If they had understood what he had said, they would not have had the difficulties that they now have in the circumstances they found themselves. Due to the ‘forgetfulness’ of the Thessalonians we may now profit from the teaching on the future.

2Thes 2:6-7. Paul continues with his teaching. He thereby connects to the knowledge he assumed they had. They knew that the revelation of the antichrist was being restrained. This being restrained happens by a “what” (2Thes 2:6) and a “who” (2Thes 2:7). There is ‘something’ that restrains and ‘someone’, a person, who restrains. The question is to ‘what’ and ‘whom’ we should think of, what is meant by it. Several interpreters put forward several solutions. I would like to tell you which one appeals the most to me and why.

“What restrains him” is the church. Paul has said that as long as the church is on earth, the day of the Lord could not possibly have already come. He has also said that, before the day of the Lord comes, the apostasy, which is in relation with the public revelation of the antichrist, must come first. But the presence of the church on earth means that there is still no general denial of God and Christ.

“He who now restrains”, is the Holy Spirit. That it is a reference to the Holy Spirit, is clear to me because following that is written “until he is taken out of the way”. When the church will be taken out of the way, the Holy Spirit also will be taken out of the way. Will He then be no more on earth? He surely will, but not in the same way as when the church was on the earth. Then He dwelled in the church. On the day of Pentecost, at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, He came to dwell in the believers.

Before that time He worked on earth. You can already read about that in the first verses of the Bible (Gen 1:2). Each work of God on earth happened, and is still happening, by the Holy Spirit. But only after the Lord Jesus had ascended to heaven after the accomplishment of the work on the cross, the Spirit came to dwell (Jn 7:39) on earth. How that has happened you can read in Acts 2 (Acts 2:1-4). His coming to the earth was the beginning of the church. His dwelling place is the church (1Cor 3:16; Eph 2:22). You see how much the church and the Holy Spirit are related with each other.

Due to the presence on earth of both the church and the Holy Spirit, the full revelation of the evil is still being restrained. An example of that restraining is the failure of spiritualistic manifestations due to the presence of a praying believer. What also can happen is that an ungodly or nasty conversation stops when a committed believer joins the talkers of whom they know that he is a committed believer.

This ‘restraining’ stops when the church has been caught up to heaven. And when the church is caught up, it cannot be otherwise than that the Holy Spirit leaves the earth. The church is His dwelling place forever. A proof of that is to be found in what the Lord Jesus has said of the Holy Spirit, that He abides with and will be in the believers forever (Jn 14:15-17). When the church has been caught up into heaven, the Holy Spirit will not dwell on earth anymore. As far as His work is concerned, it will be again as it was in the time before the church was on earth.

The full revelation of evil is therefore being restrained. But “the mystery of lawlessness” is already at work. To those who are blind to it, the unbelievers, it is still a ‘mystery’. The unbelievers even cooperate massively with the lawlessness. To you it doesn’t have to be a mystery. You may take to heart what Paul says here about this phenomenon. The reason that it unfortunately is still a mystery to many believers is because they do not read the Scripture. If you do read the Scripture, then this increasing lawlessness doesn’t have to be surprising to you.

With lawlessness you must not think just of breaking the law. Lawlessness goes far beyond that. Lawlessness is the essence of sin, for “sin is lawlessness” (1Jn 3:4). It is the complete denial of any form of authority. Is that not what you observe around you? Do you not notice that man wants to be autonomous, independent, self-reliant more and more? He is less and less willing to subject himself to authority and certainly not to God’s authority.

2Thes 2:8. This work of ‘the mystery of lawlessness’ goes on until the man of sin, the lawless one, can fully reveal himself. Therefore, don’t let yourself be deceived by voices who want to make you believe that the world will be won for Christ through the gospel. That is a great error. You read here what the future of the world looks like.

That doesn’t mean that you should not proclaim the gospel. On the contrary, it is exactly an exhortation to do that. However, the gospel is for the individual and not for the mass. As it is said, the mass will fall away, will turn its back on God and worship the antichrist. “Then”, this is how 2Thes 2:8 begins. That means: at that moment and not earlier, the lawless one will be revealed. The lawlessness which is already at work mysteriously, will at that moment take shape in a person. It is the same as John writes about the many antichrists, while there is just only one who is the antichrist (1Jn 2:18). Everything happens according to God’s plan. Satan and his demons can in no way change anything about that. No, the fact is even that they cooperate against their will to the fulfillment of it.

Once the lawless one has been revealed, it will be the beginning of a time of unprecedented terror on earth. You don’t read anything about his rule of terror here. You can read it in the book of Revelation. Here you read briefly, and therefore impressive, about his inglorious, humiliating and horrible end. He does not come to an end by being defeated in a fight of life and death. The Lord Jesus will personally slay him by nothing more than the breath of His mouth (cf. Isa 11:4). You can also think of His Word, a word of power (Psa 33:6; Rev 1:16).

Imagine: There you have the lawless man who exalts himself above everything and has made himself God instead of being subjected to God. This puffed-up, bragging blasphemer will be slain by a simple – but oh, how full of power! – act. And by Whom? By the Man Who has first humbled Himself on earth and became obedient until death and Who afterward was glorified by God and became Lord of lords. His appearance, so when He comes visible on earth, means the end of the lawless one.

“To slay” and “bring to an end” do not mean the end of his existence. These words indicate that it is finished with his position and the exertion of his power. In Revelation 19 you see how that will happen (Rev 19:20). There the lawless one is called “the false prophet”. Together with the beast, that is the dictator of the restored Roman Empire (the united Europe), he is thrown into the lake of fire without trial. These two monstrous persons will come into hell as the first ones. They will also be the only ones there during the thousand years of peace that will follow on earth after their condemnation. When the thousand years will be over, then the devil will be thrown into it (Rev 20:10) and ultimately all the unbelievers (Rev 20:11-12 ; 15).

Now read 2 Thessalonians 2:5-8 again.

Reflection: Mention situations wherein the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.

Those Who Perish

2Thes 2:9. In these verses Paul tells some particularities about the antichrist. The antichrist is not only wicked and focused on himself, he is also the great deceiver. By displaying “power and signs and false wonders” he deceives those who have no life of God.

God also gives these observable manifestations. You can see them in the life of the Lord Jesus and His apostles and in the first church (Acts 2:22; Rom 15:19; 2Cor 12:12; Heb 2:4). The antichrist is therefore also a great imitator of the Lord Jesus. The source from which he draws his displays, is the lie. That means that satan is his inspirer, for satan is the father of lies (Jn 8:44). Satan tries everything to tempt people.

It is important to keep in mind that what at the beginning was meant for the benefit of the believers, served to emphasize the Word of God. The Word of God was not complete then. Now it has been completed we need no more confirmation through signs and wonders.

We are living in the time of faith, not of sight (2Cor 5:7). God is asking of each individual to have faith in His Word. You know that the period of faith is coming to an end. We are living in the later days. The coming apostasy is becoming more and more sharply outlined. A sign of that is the declining interest in God’s Word. That a huge number of people is buying modern, freely translated, easy reading Bible translations, is not a proof of a revival. It is rather a satisfaction of the human spiritual need. You are allowed to read the koran as well next to it. The language usage has been adjusted to the requirement of the time. And do you remember which particular time that is? Right – the end time.

Just take a look around you. The demand for visible and tangible elements that could be of help for the faith experience, is increasing. Christians, even true Christians, start to attach more and more importance to rituals and relics. It paves the way through which ‘power and signs and false wonders’ can enter into the professing church. The spirit of the antichrist is very busy.

Movies, in which the so-called good or white magic is used to conquer the evil, are watched by a huge number of people. Such movies are ‘sold’ to Christians as inspiring, in order to do the good. What a deception that is! The opposite effect is happening. Christians are sold to the magic! And let this be clear: there is no such thing as good or white magic. Magic comes from the lie.

2Thes 2:10. Satan uses “all the deception of wickedness”. Nothing is too foolish for him. Everything is useful, as long as it serves his intention. There is no trace of uprightness in him. He will absolutely manipulate people without conscience and drag them with him into destruction. That is his goal, because he thinks to hit God the most in such a way. But also here it appears that he doesn’t know God.

His deception only eagerly finds entrance with “those who perish”. Those are the people to whom the word of the cross is foolishness (1Cor 1:18). The gospel, the truth, has been offered to them, but they have rejected it as ridiculous. There is no love for the truth. They refuse to open their heart to the truth; the preaching leaves them cold. They do not want to be saved.

2Thes 2:11. “For this reason”, or ‘on this basis’, God will make sure that they believe the lie. You see that they owe it to themselves. Their attitude toward the truth is what causes them to perish. God wants to save them (1Tim 2:4), but they refuse. Many times He has begged them through His servants to be reconciled to Him (2Cor 5:20), but they reject Him, again and again. They perish because they have not obeyed the gospel (2Thes 1:8) and because they have not accepted it, which the Thessalonians and you have done (1Thes 1:6 ; 1Thes 2:13).

Therefore it is about people to whom the way of salvation has been presented, but who did not accept it. It is therefore not about people who have never heard of the gospel. That means that this judgment of hardening will come upon our Western world especially, where the word of the gospel has sounded so clear. Although they have not died yet, it will be too late for them to repent. They have let the appointed time pass by, as did Pharaoh (Jer 46:17). The judgment of hardening will strike the wicked (Rom 1:22-32), will strike Israel, with the exception of a remnant (Rom 11:25) and in this section it will strike professing Christianity after the rapture of the believers.

What will remain as Christianity on earth after the rapture of church is a Christ-less Christianity. Christianity will then exist of people who maintain their confession as Christians without any connection with the Christ of God. They will be an easy prey for the work of error that will then be sent by God.

It will then be made impossible for them to still repent. After the rapture of the church, there will be no more opportunity for those who have not believed the truth before that moment. For those who have ever heard the gospel and rejected it, there will be therefore no second chance! Because they refused to believe the truth, they will believe the lie.

God uses satan to execute the judgment that He has determined. God has sovereign power in His use of satan and his demons. He has used satan to test His servant Job. He has used a spirit of lies to tempt Ahab, so that he would be killed in the battle (1Kgs 22:19-23).

2Thes 2:12. The revenge that God brings on people is closely related to the violation that they have committed (Eze 14:9). Have these people preferred the lie of the devil above the love for the truth? Then God will make sure that they will embrace the lie of the devil to their own judgment. The lie which they will believe is the claim of the antichrist that he is God (2Thes 2:4). You see today how God is being excluded further and further from society and that man becomes the center more and more. Well, soon man’s admiration for man will receive its unreturnable completion as man pays all his homage to the man of sin.

This is the result if the truth is not believed. It comes down to faith in the truth. That is not a matter of the intellect, but of the heart. Therefore you read earlier about ‘love’ of the truth. Love is something of the heart. Therefore the truth has got nothing to do with a theoretical, theological knowledge of the head, but a relationship with a person. That Person is the Lord Jesus.

He is the truth (Jn 14:6). Do you want to know the truth about God? Then you will learn to know it if you are occupied with Him. Do you want to know the truth about man? Then you must look at Him. What man is supposed to be before God you see in Him. What man is as a sinner, is missing completely with Him. Every deed, every word, every thought of God, becomes completely visible in Him and it is also the test for everything that you as man do, say and think.

Whoever does not believe the truth and has no inward relationship with it nor feels any love for it, will set his own standards. Those are by definition standards which allow the sinful man to live as he pleases. Such a life shows “pleasure in wickedness”. Such a person deliberately and consciously chooses to fulfill the desires of his own ‘I’. It does not arise in his mind what God wants and what is to the honor of the Lord Jesus. God’s judgment on him will be righteous.

Now read 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 again.

Reflection: What do you do with what you have learnt about the terrible future of the unbelievers?