2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 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. 3 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, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
The Church age, and the Gospel of Grace, with all who will accept Jesus, is now. The anti christ will come. He will exalt himself above God thinking himself above all.
2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Revelation 12:7 -12 And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, 8 but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”
The one who accused the believers constantly will be overcome by the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus, and will be destroyed in the wrath of God for his lies and his deception of His creation.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
John 3:18-19 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
There will be those who chose to believe the lies and deceit of the anti christ and those who choose to accept him will condemn themselves.
Revelation 13:1–2 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
Revelation 19:15-16 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
Daniel 11:21-24 And in his place shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the force of a flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
Daniel 11:36-37 “Then the king 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. 37 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.
The anti-christ will be a tremendous world leader but he will be taken out, not by human means, but by God almighty. There is no power, no one who has ultimate control of this world, but our triune Godhead. The deceiver will prosper for a while and deceive many BUT JESUS, all-God, all man, will put an end to him. In Jesus the world will finally have the peace that our Godhead intended from the beginning of the world. Carla
Although the man of sin will be revealed as extremely powerful (Revelation 13:7), he will be destroyed by Christ and cast into the lake of fire when the Lord comes (Revelation 19:19, 20).
The power, signs, and lying wonders of the lawless one will be overshadowed by the glory and brightness of Christ in His Second Coming.
It is significant that Satan, in order to promote his lie at the end of the age and pass himself off as a god, will use the same kind of power, signs, and wonders that the Spirit of Christ used at the beginning of the age to authenticate the truth about Himself as God (2 Corinthians 12:12; Hebrews 2:4).
Unbelievers will share the condemnation of those with all who reject the truth and took pleasure in their own unrighteousness. Rejection of the truth of the gospel always results in condemnation. Even those who never hear the gospel can reject the revelation of God in nature (Romans 1:18–21). The NKJV Study Bible
Believers should not fear the “man of lawlessness” because the Lord will easily destroy Him at His second coming. (Isaiah 11:4 )
Paul’s description of the “man of lawlessness” echoes Jesus’ prediction in the Gospels (Mark 13:22; Matthew 24:24). The Greek word used here for the truth, alētheia, stands in contrast to the deception of the “man of lawlessness” and probably refers to the gospel message here.
A powerful delusion is part of God’s judgment: He gives His enemies over to their own sin. They already regarded His truth as a delusion; now they will become even more convinced of it (Romans 1:28; 11:8; 2 Timothy 4:4).
Paul’s language recalls Old Testament passages that also mention divine retribution for sin (Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 6:9–10). This includes those who persecute the Thessalonian believers. Faithlife Study Bible
Isaiah 11:4
But with righteousness He shall judge the poor,
And decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,
And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked.
Matthew 24:24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
Romans 1:32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.
1 Corinthians 13:6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
John 4:48 Then Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe.”
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justly, To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God?
The Talmud reminds us, "Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world's grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."
A “work” that is fueled by, and sustained by, courage.
This week, I choose to invite this self, this vulnerable broken Terry, to the table to speak. The sacrament of the present becomes a place for the “work” of honesty, and confession and learning, and empathy and mercy, and healing.
And here’s the good news: we will not lose laughter, or wonder and awe, or gratitude and gladness, or empathy and compassion. They will all be strengthened. And the gift? Courage spills when we embrace and reassure the joy in our soul. Sabbath Moments
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