The Coming of the Lawless One

“For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist ” (2 John 1:7, ESV)
“Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son.” (1 John 2:22, ESV)
“Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 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.” ( 2Thessalonians 2:3-12, ESV)
Some of the questions that have perplexed Christians since the time of the apostles are these: just who is the lawless one? Who is the antichrist? Are we in the last days? Is the breakdown in society around the world a sign of the coming of the lawless one? And so forth.
I don’t pretend to know the answers to all of these questions but I would like to offer some thinking that may help the Christian to remain strong in these troubling times.
First of all, there is confusion between who the antichrist is and who the man of lawlessness is. Are they one in the same person? Is that talking about the end times? While it is true that the man of lawlessness or the lawless one is definitely antichrist, it does not follow that all who are antichrist are the man of lawlessness. Why? Because the apostle John makes it quite clear that many antichrists had already gone out into the world when he wrote his letters. He speaks of antichrist in the plural, not just simply one person. He further explains that anyone who denies that Jesus Christ came in the flesh is antichrist. There is a deep mystery about the incarnation, or God becoming flesh, but it is so paramount to our faith that to deny this one point puts a person at odds with God. To deny that deity came and dwelt with men as a man is a false teaching and earns a person who believes in this way the title of “antichrist.”
The lawless one or man of lawlessness, which ever term you prefer, is more than just antichrist. This is the manifestation of the evil one in a last ditch attempt to deceive men and women. It would appear from the Thessalonian letter that prior to the return of Christ, there will be a visible manifestation of Satan, probably as a human, in his attempt to take control of every last individual who can either be shaken in his faith or thwarted from belief in Jesus. I personally do not relish the prospect of being on this earth when these final events take place. Those who are His will not be taken from God’s Hands. This is the promise that was made while Jesus was still on this earth and He never breaks His promises. But to watch the delusions and lies and deception that will be a part of the coming of this lawless one will be to witness the destruction of souls, those who refused the opportunity to turn and be saved by our Savior.
Right now we see a spirit of lawlessness in country after country, city after city. One is reminded of the verses in Genesis chapter 6 where the Spirit of God says, “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” The only thought that people had, man or woman, was evil and that was non-stop or 24/7 as we like to say. The Christian cannot imagine people so filled with evil that their minds are constantly fixed on how to commit sin, to do evil acts. The Spirit of God lives in us and so our hearts are fixed on the heavenly home that God has prepared for us. We are separated from the world so our hearts are not on worldly things.
Are we in the last days? A definite, “yes” and an indefinite, “perhaps.” What do I mean? We are in the final age of the world. God revealed Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ and Christ is the last spokesman for God (Hebrews 1:1-2). There will be no further word from God beyond the Word that He has already given, His Son Jesus Christ and the Holy Word of God, the Bible. That’s it. There are no fresh revelations, no new prophecies, nothing. Period. If a person cannot or will not believe the eyewitness testimony of those who walked and talked with Jesus while He was on the earth, no further word from God would change his mind. Yes, we are in the last days as far as the ages of the world are concerned. Global warming? You bet. God plans to roast the entire planet. He made it, He will destroy it. He compares Himself to a potter who has the rights over the clay. God made the world for a specific purpose and when He decides that the purpose has been completed, He will destroy what He made.
But are we in the last days of the last days, so to speak? Perhaps, perhaps not. I, for one, really don’t know. God isn’t willing that any should perish and He is still populating heaven with those who love Him. God is infinitely patient and will be patient until He decides the curtain should come down.
So how should we live our lives in times like these? As Christians have lived down through the ages. We should be firm in our resolve to follow Him. We need to spend time in prayer, lots of time. Jesus asked the apostles to pray for Him when He most keenly felt the attacks of Satan, in the Garden of Gethsemane. So with the world in the mess it is in right now, prayer is our greatest weapon. Let’s be people of prayer. And we should be regular readers of Holy Scripture. To be filled with the words of God is to grow stronger in faith and be ready for the attacks of the unholy one. Finally, we need to serve others, to stop being selfish and try being selfless, just as the Christ was. Selfishness accounts for most of the problems we see in the world today. If Christians will show an attitude of selflessness, they will truly live their lives incarnadine, the color of the blood of Jesus. Through our lives we pray that others will see Jesus. By doing these things, we will be best prepared for the attacks of the evil one.