This series is called “Hot Topics.”

This is where I take your requests for sermon topics.

It can be a question that you have, a Scripture that you find to be difficult or a topic that you just wish someone would preach on.

I have had a number of topics come in, probably enough for about a month of sermons. I could use some more … and there’s always next year.

This week’s topic came as a suggested Scripture from 2 Thes. 2:1-12. It’s about the man of lawlessness.

Who is this man of lawlessness? Is he the antichrist?

I think just about every major world leader has been suspected of being the antichrist.

I suppose the goal for some people is to figure out who is the antichrist and then be sure not to follow him …or her.

If you are following Jesus closely, then you won’t be deceived into following the antichrist because, by definition, he’s the opposite of Jesus.

And then as I was considering these various topics in light of what is going on in our country, that word “lawlessness” kept playing in my mind.

For anyone who has not turned on the news in the past few weeks, a black man, George Floyd, was killed by a police who knelt on his neck while trying to arrest him.

Protests erupted in Minnesota where the incident happened.

But since then, the protests have turned into riots in cities all across the nation. With vandalism, looting and arson.

The riots were originally supposed to be peaceful protests to draw attention to the problem of racism.

But to most observers they seems to have gone far beyond the issue and are simply an expression of collective anger and frustration.

Next week I will be addressing the subject of Racism and how the church should be responding.

However, this week I would like to talk about the lawlessness that we are seeing because I believe it is a sign of the end times.

Paul explains to the Thessalonian believers that in the supernatural realm there is a plan afoot to overthrow God's rule. That plan is going to come to light in the last days as God's plan is also reaching it's climax.

The man of lawlessness

2 Thessalonians 2:1–5 ESV

1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 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, 4 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. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?

God’s plan is moving toward a climax.

The believers at Thessaloniki are wondering when Jesus is going to return.

Perhaps there are rumors that He has already returned?

Paul was only in their city for a short time, but he already covered this subject with them, so it must be important.

Believers throughout the centuries have thought that Jesus would come in their lifetime.

Now, more than ever, we see things aligning for the return of Christ.

It is good to think that Jesus may come in our lifetime, but we should also prepare for future generations to come.

Paul refers them back to a teaching, presumably on the Kingdom of God and its fulfilment.

Jesus defeated the powers of darkness at the cross.

Jesus gave power and authority to the church and commanded them to multiply and increase.

The last 2000 years has been the church age, a time where the church has been learning, growing, developing and influencing.

At the culmination of the church age, Jesus is going to come back and usher in an era where we reign with Christ.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 ESV

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

So what needs to happen before this takes place?

Paul says there is going to be a rebellion.

The Greek word is apostasis from which we get apostasy.

Pre-trib, pre-millenialists say that this refers to the rapture. Because it literally means to move to another position.

However, the word is normally used in a figurative sense of having a change in relationship.

And just looking at the immediate context, the most natural translation is rebellion.

Paul recognizes that although evil has been defeated at the cross, it has not been eradicated.

Jesus told the parable of the tares (Matthew 13) to say that evil would be allowed to exist alongside good so that there could be a proper sorting at a later time.

So for now, good and evil, the rule of God and the kingdom of this world coexist and wait for a time when the real difference will be apparent.

So where is this rebellion happening?

In the heavenly realm there is a divine council.

While there is only one God who is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent; there are many other beings which the Bible refers to as gods.

Psalm 82:1 ESV

1 God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

These gods are the territorial spirits that influence nations.

They are not equal to God but they are divine in that they have power which is beyond what we commonly know on earth.

Psalm 86:8–9 ESV

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours. 9 All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.

God’s rule and authority is going to be established in the earth, but first there is a matter that needs to be settled.

There has been a rebellion in heaven, and it has impacted the earth and the human race.

The satan exalted himself against God and was cast down to the earth where he caused man to sin.

Jesus became human to redeem the human race and to reestablish the rule of God.

Now what’s left is for time and history to play out and see what happens when the human nature (sinful nature) and the divine nature (redeemed spiritual nature) are each allowed to propagate.

Paul is saying that before Jesus comes back, this process needs to reach it’s conclusion.

What do we need to know to help this process reach its conclusion?

For every spiritual reality there is a counterfeit.

God is the creator who made order out of chaos.

Evil cannot create, it can only distort.

Just as it is God’s nature to bring good things out of bad things; it is the nature of evil to reduce order back to chaos.

So wherever there is peace and beauty you can be sure that God, the Creator is at work.

And wherever there is disorder and destruction it is the spirit that opposes God.

So these opposites are at work in the world and most of us find ourselves somewhere in the middle.

That is why it is so important that as believers we learn to recognize the difference between the two in our own hearts.

If we “sow to the flesh” (Gal 6:8) as the Bible says, we could unwittingly be working for the wrong side.

If we do not judge our own hearts, we may be lured into apostasy. Apostasy is like treason; it means you’re working for the wrong side.

In order to get people to switch sides, the satan makes counterfeits.

He doesn’t create; he can only distort. So his counterfeits are distortions of what God has intended.

The “man of lawlessness” is a counterfeit messiah whose appearance or rise to power corresponds to Jesus’ second coming.

Paul is telling us what is going to happen.

Before Jesus comes again, the tactics of the enemy need to be exposed.

The man of lawlessness is going to look like the messiah, uniting the world in worship of himself.

But you will know better because his nature is not that of God (who humbled Himself); but just the opposite. He’s a counterfeit!

So what is going to stop him?

The restraining influence

2 Thessalonians 2:5–8 ESV

5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 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. 8 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.

Lawlessness is a spirit that has been operating throughout history.

The man of lawlessness is also called “antichrist” meaning literally “false messiah.”

So does this false messiah just show up out of nowhere?

John tells us that the spirit of antichrist was already at work in the first century.

1 John 2:18 CSB

18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. By this we know that it is the last hour.

What if antichrist isn’t a person? What if antichrist is a demon and the person through whom it manifests is just the host?

In fact, there are numerous persons throughout history who have manifested the spirit of antichrist.

John may have been thinking of Nero the Emperor who seemed to take great delight in persecuting Christians.

Or a more modern example could be Hitler or Stalin.

Prophetic teachers will sometimes claim that the antichrist may already have been born.

The truth is that the spirit of antichrist never left the earth. It has been here all along.

The question is: at what point will the spirit of antichrist be exposed so that people can see it for what it is a let it be eradicated!

Lawlessness thrives when it is hidden.

The reason evil is allowed to exist is because it stays hidden.

Nobody comes right out and says that they are for lawlessness, they just act like the laws don’t apply to them.

No one would admit to being dishonest or corrupt in their thinking (unless they are repenting).

They have to believe that they are working for some greater good, even if that greater good is just their own survival.

The enemy deceives us into thinking that we are entitled. - We’re only doing what was done to us. - We are taking what is owed to us.

The only way to overcome evil is to expose it.

Expose it in your own heart and mind.

James 5:16 The Message

16 Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with.

If you really love someone, sometime you have to expose what is going on to save them from themselves.

We pray that corruption be exposed in our society and in our government.

Paul alludes to a force that is restraining the forces of evil? What could this force be?

Some commentators say Paul is referring to the government that is appointed by God.

A more popular view is that Paul is referring to the Holy Spirit working through the church.

Perhaps it is God’s government? When believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit exercise their God-given authority in their spheres of influence that keep evil at bay.

2 Corinthians 4:2 ESV

2 But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God.

Lawlessness cannot do what it wants to do because of people who exercise Godly authority.

Evil has to hide because if people knew the truth they wouldn’t tolerate evil.

We have seen this in our society, special interest groups constantly pushing the envelope to get us to accept as normal things that used to be considered wrong.

We have leaders who are afraid to speak out because they can be blackmailed and bought.

Good people don’t want to run for office in America anymore because they and their families are going to be slandered in the media.

As long as the people of God remain silent, evil will flourish. But if we call it out; it will be exposed.

God has this restraining influence in place to eventually bring evil to an end.

We need to be careful about judging peoples’ hearts and motives. But neither should we neglect to tell the truth that is evident when it in in our power to do so.

1 Corinthians 4:5 ESV

5 Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

At some point God will remove the restraint (possibly the rapture?) and evil will be seen for what it is.

The ultimate victory

2 Thessalonians 2:8–12 ESV

8 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. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Expose evil!

The only way to deal with the problem of evil is to bring it into the light.

Don’t wait for your sin to be exposed. You expose it!

If there is something that you wouldn’t want anyone to know, confess it!

Have you made a mistake in your life that you deeply regret? Work toward making amends.

Love the truth!

Learn to love God’s law and you won’t be lawless.

Psalm 119:97–104 NIV

97 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. 98 Your commands are always with me and make me wiser than my enemies. 99 I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. 100 I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. 101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. 102 I have not departed from your laws, for you yourself have taught me. 103 How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! 104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

Maybe lawlessness seems extreme.

Lawlessness begins with moral relativism.

We see in our society today that people look to the end to justify the means.

If it seems like the goalposts are constantly moving it is because the rules are constantly changing according to the desired outcome.

Law is not legalism.

Legalism holds you to the letter of the law regardless of the intent of the law.

But relativism looks not at the intent, but the outcome. The law is them manipulated to say what we want it to say.

For example, when you read the Bible are you trying to prove your point of view or are you asking God to change your mind?

Trust God’s character.

So how do we sort it all out? How can we avoid the extremes of legalism and lawlessness?

Consider this: God love you so much that He humbled Himself to become a man. He did’t go around trying to prove that He was right. He just did what was right and He showed us what love looks like.

Philippians 2:4–6 ESV

4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,

Deception comes in many forms, but the thing that they all have in common is pride.

There are going to be people who have supernatural power and who can do miracles. But if they don’t have the character of Christ, they are not the ones you should follow.

The man of lawlessness is trying to be God. And by trying he becomes the opposite of God.

God doesn’t have to try to be anything, He simply is.

Questions for reflection:

When you think about these days possibly being the end times, are you afraid? Or, are you excited? What do you think you should be feeling?

Is there anything in your own life that you need to bring into the light? Is there any way that you have partnered with the enemy by hiding sin either your own sin or someone else’s? Can you find an appropriate way to expose it?

How is God using you as a Holy Spirit filled believer to restrain evil until it is time? Are your prayers powerful and effective? Are you taking action along with your prayer?

“If you are following Jesus closely, then you won’t be deceived into following the antichrist because, by definition, he’s the opposite of Jesus.”