The Man of Lawlessness

Finding the Antichrist

Have you ever given consideration to who the Antichrist might be?

I suspect many of you have. Some of you might even have thought about it quite a bit.

This mysterious end times figure looms large in the imagination. But who is he?

There certainly has not been a shortage of suggestions. Depending on which part of history we go to, we can rattle off a number of suggestions, some, you might even think being quite convincing.

If you go back to the first century, all fingers were pointing to the Emperor Nero.

If you were living in say the 12th or 13th Century, there was a popular opinion that it was Islam as leader rose up and started conquering the world.

When the reformers such as Martin Luther came around in the 16th century, they were pretty convinced that it was the pope, or perhaps the office of the papacy that embodied the idea of the antichrist.

In the 19th Century, some suggested it might have been Napoleon Bonaparte.

Then we entered the 20th Century, and let’s just say there have been a lot of names thrown around. Adolf Hitler of course loomed large.

At the start of that last century, some were even suggesting Henry Ford as the antichrist, being the symbol of a rapid change in the world and his massive global influence.

But one of the bigger suspects for the antichrist was Henry Kissinger. He was the US Secretary of State during the cold war, and was involved in much of the middle east peace negotiations, especially after the 1973 Yom Kippur war.

Various presidents of the United State of America have also become contenders.

So what do we make of all this discussion? Many of the nominated contenders for Antichrist have come and gone. If the antichrist was meant to usher in the return of Christ, well… that hasn’t happened yet.

So presumably, we’ve mostly been getting it wrong. Or maybe we’ve misunderstood the nature of the antichrist. Is there even only just one antichrist?

Well, as we come to the second chapter of second Thessalonians, the topic of the antichrist is going to loom large.

Understanding the term antichrist

But before we get into this, it’s worth noting that if you were listening carefully during the bible reading, the term “antichrist” was not used.

We may use the word “antichrist” to refer to a final end times figure, but there is only one section of the bible where this word is used, and it’s used quite differently. Antichrist, as a specific term, is only used in 1 and 2 John. In this passage, it is introduced as an endtimes figure, but actually talks about many antichrists, and even at the time 1 John was written, which was some time during the first century, we’re told that many antichrists had already come. 1 John talks about the spirit of the antichrist, one in which the person stands opposed to what God is doing.

So as we look at 2 Thessalonians 2, although it doesn’t use the phrase antichrist, the person who is being pictured certainly has this same spirit of the antichrist that John talks about in his letter.

Now, while I’m giving some consideration to other parts of the bible, the other place people turn to to think about the antichrist is the book of Revelation. This book also doesn’t specifically use the word antichrist.

In Revelation we read about the beast. Actually, there are two beast described for us in Revelation 13. It’s the second beast that’s described as coming out of the earth and performs all sorts of signs and wonders. The description goes on to say that this beast forces people to receive a specific mark on their right hand or forehead, otherwise they won’t be able to buy or sell. And just for some further intrigue, we’re told we can calculate the number of this beast, because it is 666.

So we’re going to see that the person being described in our chapter for today is going to seem like the beast in Revelation 13.

So we’ve got ourselves a very interesting task today as we try to unpack who this person is and what we are to make of them.

Now the person in our chapter today is called the man of lawlessness and so I’m going to mostly stick to this term throughout this message.

Thessalonian context

So, as we come to our letter today, what quickly becomes apparent is that people have started to become unsettled and alarmed.

We’ve seen throughout this series on 1 and 2 Thessalonians that the topic of the second coming of Jesus has been sitting pretty much front and centre in their thinking.

You might also recall how we’ve discussed how Paul’s time with them was cut short after he was run out of town by some rather angry Jews. Well, as we’ll see in our passage today, in the short time he wa there, he did speak to them about the return of Jesus and what sort of things they can expect.

But here’s the thing, when we know a little information, it is very easy to extrapolate and end up in a rather wrong place.

After Paul left, people made assumptions about the end and then spoke, probably sounding like they knew what they were talking about.

While we might not know exactly what they said, it would certainly appear that they were making suggestions that Jesus must have already come back.

Don’t be unsettled

And so as Paul addresses them in this letter, he has a word for them concerning this matter - do not become easily unsettled or alarmed.

Why? Because Jesus hasn’t come back yet.

Now, I know I’ve said this already in previous messages, but I think it need to be made very clear - you will not be left wondering whether Jesus has actually come back or not.

When Jesus returns, it will be a clear and decisive day. You will know.

So they didn’t need to be unsettled or alarmed because the teaching was clearly wrong.

But while they were not to be unsettled in thinking that the return had already happened, in the context of the passage, I think we can suggest that should also not be unsettled or alarmed about teaching on this end times figure - the one we call the antichrist and is here referred to as the man of lawlessness.

And I think this is an important lesson for us as well.

You see, unfortunately, when we start thinking about the antichrist, the way it is discussed can easily leasd to feeling unsettled.

We’re usually picturing some world leader, or at an influential person on the world stage, and we’re alarmed by this person. It’s scary to think what might eventuate.

But don’t be alarmed.

We’re not warned about this person because we need to be alarmed, I believe we’re warned for another reason - but I think this will become more apparent as we go through the passage.

The Man of Lawlessness

But first, let’s just see what the passage itself says.

So if we start in verse 3, it tells us that the day of the return of Jesus will not occur until the rebellion occurs.

Now you might ask - what is this day of rebellion?

Well, Paul didn’t need to spell it out because as might notice in verse 5, he just has to remind them that he’d already told them when he was with them.

Well, that might be nice for those who were hearing this letter being read for the first time… for us some 2000-odd years later, well… we don’t really have the luxury of knowing what he said.

We might assume that this rebellion perhaps is some form of time of tribulation.

Whatever the rebellion is, according to verse 3, this is the time that the man of lawlessness is revealed.

The title itself kind of gives him away - he’s someone who has a disregard for the law. I’m going to suggest that the law he has a disregard for is both God law, but also the law of the land. The title suggest he’ll become somewhat of a law unto himself.

But he gets another title: the man doomed to destruction.

We kind of gloss over this title, but it’s important for us to recognise. This man may cause a lot of upheaval, but he has his own destiny - and it is ruin.

Verse 4 continues to describe him. He is going to set himself up against God - in fact, it even says at the end of verse 4 that he will proclaim himself to be God.

Now you might notice in verse 4, it describes him setting himself up in the temple - and it is a little uncertain what temple is in picture here. Given that the church is sometimes described as the temple in which God dwells, could it be that this man of lawlessness is infiltrating the church?

Now, just as a bit of a warning, you’ll notice that I’ll raise a lot of questions, and perhaps not really answer them satisfactorily - but I’ll come back to why I think we need to be okay with not having definitive answers.

So, we got pictured a man who has a disregard for the law, and possibly infiltrating the church to the point that he is seen as somewhat of a god… and as I alluded to earlier, verse 5 suggests that all of this is something that Paul had previoiusly taught them (… it really would have been nice if he had left his notes for us!)

Verse 6 then tells us that something is holding him back. Actually, he says that they know what is holding him back - again, it might have been nice if Paul was a little more specific here for our sake.

But there is a proper time at had, and he’s being held back till that time.

Verse 7 tells us that even though he is being held back, there is a secret power of lawless which is already at work. There’s an undercurrent, and it has been there from the time the devil was defeated on the cross, and continues to this day.

But verse 7 tells us that a time is coming when the one who holds him back will be taken away.

So who is the one who holds him back?

Another question that people have pondered over a lot and there are a few different options.

One suggestion is that the one holding him back is the church and the power of the Holy Spirit.

In this idea, a time will come, when the Holy Spirit and His church stop acting as the barrier, and the man of lawlessness is essentially allowed to be free in these final moments.

Another suggestion is that the one who holds him back is essentially the power of the state. In the day this was written - it would have been Rome. In days since, it’s the various nations and their laws. In this view, at some point they will stop holding the man of lawlessness back, and he will do his thing.

Whatever it is, with this barrier out of the way, verse 8 tells us that the lawless one will be revealed.

Now verse 8 also describes his overthrow, but let me briefly jump to verse 9. Here we’re told that the coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works.

Now this is important for us to take note of. He’s going to use displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie.

He is going to be a deceiver.

And just to make it super confusing (because it’s not confusing enough), verse 11 tells us that it is God who is sending a powerful delusion so they believe the lie. It might be confusing as to why God is involved here - but I’d suggest what we should really be focussed on is the phrase towards the end of verse 10 that describes people who refuse the love the truth. This is the real issue here, and one I’m going to come back to very soon.

But let me just summarise what we’ve learnt here - someone or something is holding this person back. At some point, they’ll stop holding him back, he’ll be revealed and cause significant deception - but then the part of skipped over in verse 8 - the Lord Jesus will overthrow him with the breath of his mouth and he’ll be destoryed with the splendour of the coming of Jesus. This all ends with the coming of Jesus.

Our response

Well… what do we make of all of that hey?

There’s a great temptation whenever we start exploring this - it’s the temptation that people in every age of the Christian church has faced, and one I talked about at the start of the message… that is, the temptation to try and identify who this man is.

Maybe even as I’ve gone through this, a particular person might have come to your mind - and I suspect we might all be thinking about the same person right at this point.

But is this helpful?

I’m going to suggest it’s actually not helpful.

I’m going to suggest that when Paul taught about this topic, both when he taught them in person, and when he taught them when writing this letter, his purpose was not to provide clues for figuring out who it is.

To the contrary, I think he’s trying to tell them to love truth and don’t be deceived.

There’s thiss irony that in our temptation to figure it out definitively, we just make ourselves to become easily unsettled and alarmed, and this is the very thing that Paul was warning them against at the start of this chapter. Don’t do it!

So what’s the lesson in all of this?

Well, this is where I want to turn to the last few verses of this chapter, because I believe this describes how we should respond.

Be encouraged

Firstly, be encouraged, because as scary as the man of lawlessness might sound, you are loved by God and have been saved through the spirit.

The gospel has been given to you so that you might share in the glory of Jesus.

As it says in verse 16, you have been given an eternal encouragement.

This talk should not discourage you - rather the opposite, because God is alwasy with you.

Hold fast to truth

But there is another lesson: stand firm and hold fast to the truth.

Right throughout the chapter is the concept of truth.

As verse 10, those who get caught up in the ways of the lawless one are those who refused to love the truth.

If you look at how we are saved in verse 13 - it’s through belief in the truth.

But there is a trap here. Because what becomes so easy to do is to extrapolate from the Bible to the point that we form a conclusion which we then hold as the truth.

When our extrapolation becomes the truth we hold to, we have a problem.

And this chapter gives us a good example of how such an extrapolation is done. You see, we read some of the elements of this lawless one that I’ve just gone through, with our extrapolation we come to the conclusion that it is a particular person - perhaps even that particular person I might have alluded to a moment ago. We go even further describing all the events that will take place around this. This becomes our truth.

Can I suggest that what I’m calling an extrapolation - that is, a theory based on some verses we’ve read… that this should not be the truth we hold firm. This is a flimsy truth and it can very easily crumble before us - just like many prediction have done before us.

Rather, look at verse 15. The truth we hold fast to is the teaching that has been passed on to us, which for the Thessalonians who first heard this letter was by word of mouth, but for us is by the letters we now have in the bible.

The truth is the core gospel message - that Jesus came. That he died and rose again. That we can have new life in him. That he has given us the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us. And that he is coming again.

By all means we can think and discuss about how all of this might play out - but just know the difference between the core truths of the Bible and the possible outworkings that we might imagine.

Conclusion

The whole point of what Paul is trying to tell us with all of this, is that we can be easily fooled and we need to avoid this by holding onto truth.

And yet we’ve taken his message and turned it into a guessing game we’re we start believing a flimsy theory.

We live in an age where we’re being constantly decieved.

The irony with this is that in this current age, we actually have more information at our fingertips then we everr have before, and yet are deceived more than ever before.

Jesus is coming again. An end times figure will appear. But rather than spending all our energy figuring out who it might be, let’s spend our energy on loving truth to safe guard us from being decieved by this end times figure - whoever that might be.

Let me pray...