THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS

This man’s image is already badly tarnished even before he is revealed to the world. When we look at the Scripture where this figure is described through a prophet’s eyes a totally different picture unfolds, like it is with so many other places in the Bible. But let us take this pericope verse-by-verse to see what the Bible wants to teach us. Where the going gets tough I will use the Strong’s number and explain. We will do this in the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible.

2Th 2:1  Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 
gathering together unto him: Here Paul refers to what some people call the “rapture” (see 1The.4:13-18)
 
2Th 2:2  That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
the day of Christ: This is the Day of the Return or 2nd Coming of Christ
 
2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there comes a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
falling away: The NIV translates this word a “rebellion”, and this is exactly what happened in 1517. The Greek word (G646) is “Apostasia” and means “defection from truth, to forsake”. The word “Apostasia” is only used once more in the Bible where Paul asked the believers from Judaism to stand away from the circumcision and other Jewish customs. (Acts 21:20-21)
 
This reminds of the Reformation where the Reformers asked of the faithful to defect from the “truth” of the Roman Catholic Church, to forsake those false doctrines. This means there is a similar “rebellion” on its way for Christianity, this time asking the faithful to defect from the different “truths” of the different Denominations and sects and reunite by returning to the single Truth for which Christ was born, lived, and died.  
man of sin: This means just what it says. To make better sense just switch the words around. Then it says ”sinful man”, in other words, not an angel from heaven, but a human of flesh and blood.
revealed: Nobody is going to stand on a pedestal and proclaim he or she is this end-time figure. This person will be revealed by God to the world.
son of perdition: This man will be the “son of utter destruction, of death (the end)”. Shortly after he is revealed and finished with laying the foundation of his commission, this world will be struck with the deadliest event in its history, namely the “great tribulation” Jesus prophesied nearly 2000 years ago. (Mat.24:21) This “great tribulation” in no uncertain terms spells out the end of the 5th Generation, which makes this man the “son of the end”. Son in Chaldee is “bar”, so the phrase “son of perdition” even spells out the name of this man: “bar-end” (Barend)
 
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 
This verse looks like a tough nut to crack, but not to a true prophet. Who is this person who “will oppose and exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, even sets himself up in the (soon to be built) temple, proclaiming himself to be God?” Who else but a person with the name of ELIJAH!
 
Elijah means “God Jehovah” (H410/H3050) This is the choice Elijah I put before Israel: to choose between the Lord (Jehovah) God and Baal. (1Ki.18:21) Elijah II will take the meaning of his name literally to a different level. He is the first Divine end-time Ambassador on earth, (Mal.3:1) representing God on all levels. This means that he actually stand “in the place” of God. The Greek word “anti” (G473) has a dualistic connotation, meaning both “opposing” and “in place of” (e.g. see Mat.2:22 NIV)
 
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
The Thessalonians received the explanation for this pericope directly out of the mouth of Apostle Paul, just like the believers at the end of the end-time will receive it from Elijah II.
 
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 
This verse explains itself. It was not “chronos time” (time as indicated on a clock and calendar) that prevented the Lawless One from being revealed at any time, but “Kairos-time”, which is the “opportune time”, the Greek word that was translated here as “time” (G2540).
 
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 
The “mystery (G3466) of inequity (G458): The “secret power of lawlessness” as the NIV correctly translates is simple to understand. Ever since the Christian Church started, the chasm between Judaism (the Law) and the Gospel were forged. For the Apostles, the changes came at a snail’s pace, while the speed with which Apostle Paul reformed the law was a source of worry for the other Apostles, telling Paul that “thousands of Jews” have come to believe in Christ but are still “zealous for the Law” and, what must they make of Paul’s instructing the Jews living among the Gentiles to “turn away (apostasia) from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to their customs.” (Act.21:20,21)
 
Yet after so many centuries the correct balance between the physical law and the spiritual law (the Gospel) is far from being attained because God’s blueprint for mankind is subjected to the opportune times. This hindrance will be lifted as soon as the time is right.
  
2Th 2:8  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:
When the time is right the Lawless One (that wicked) will be revealed and he will stay in the Ambassador’s seat until the "great and dreadful day of the Lord," when he will be succeeded by another "lawless one" infamously known as the Antichrist.
 
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
The coming of the Lawless One will be inundated with acts of power, signs, and wonders for all to see, but why would it be “in accordance with how Satan works?” (NIV) The Bible says: “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” (2Cor.11:14) Similarly the Lawless One will operate as an “angel of light.” The big difference is that Satan is really an angel (fallen), while the Lawless One is human. Satan “masquerades”, but the Lawless One do not have that power out of himself. The angel-of-light-hat was put on his head by none other than Him who called him to be His Ambassador: Jesus Christ!
 
Why “lying wonders?” Are the signs and wonders the lawless One will apparently perform really be false or counterfeit? No, not at all! The only reason why it is called that is only because the Lawless One cannot perform these things out of his own power. The same Power that was behind the miracles of Moses and Joshua will be the Power behind him, as Zerubbabel was told: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty.” (Zec.4:6)
 
2Th 2:10  …And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
This one is tricky. We have to start with “love (G26) of the truth (G227)” The is agape love and point a finger to the Love Feast (a feast of charity). Truth here refers to the Truth that was the Testimony of Jesus Christ (Joh.18:37) These are the elements that constitute Holy Communion.
 
Now to understand who these people are that perish one must fully read the Epistle of Jude. He writes: “For certain individuals who were marked out for condemnation… have secretly slipped in among you… ungodly people who pervert the grace of our God into a licence for immorality and deny Jesus…” (v4) Then he add: “These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm…” (v12)
 
2Th 2:11  And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 
The delusion was sent right at the beginning when the Church started to split up because of false doctrine imported into the ranks, setting up the “lie” they believed. So, what is the “lie” these deluded people believed? To answer this one, we need to go to 1Cor.11:17-34 (please read this whole pericope) where Apostle Paul addresses the abuses of the Lord’s Supper. We need a whole chapter to look into this. Here we will look just into one aspect of it.
 
The Apostle writes: “in the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.” (v18) These divisions were mostly kept under the surface in Paul’s time, but eventually burst onto the surface and in no time became rigid boundaries between thousands of different Sects and Denominations, especially since the Reformation in 1517.
 
This means that in the very first place the lawless One need to address the divided universal Church. At this time, every different “church” believe they sit at the Lord’s Table when they have their different “Holy Communion” gatherings, but THAT IS A LIE and Paul confirms this: “So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat.” (v20) Please refer to the article The death and resurrection of Holy Communion.

Just think about it: For nearly 2000 YEARS the Church have been led astray by the Satan to believe this lie! They BELIEVE that they sit at the Lord's Table when they have their individual "holy communions", yet where they in fact sit is at their separate denominational tables. By no means is it the Lord's Supper they eat, but their particular church's supper. 
 
2Th 2:12  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 
Time has brought the Church of Jesus Christ to the Rubicon of Truth. She needs to be led across to forever leave the lie behind.
 
IN CLOSING
 
For this reason God will reveal very shortly who will be His Second Elijah, the One who will “turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents.” (Mal.4:6) In this way the divisions in the Church will be destroyed and Holy Communion will once again become the most potent weapon in the arsenal of Christianity, and the most Glorious Love Feast Christ intended it to be.
 
Amen.