Daily Writing

Thursday, 5 October 2017

…and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:10

The words, “and with all unrighteous deception,” are tied into the previous thought. Paul had just said that when the Antichrist comes, it would be with “all power, signs, and lying wonders.” Along with that, he will bring “all unrighteous deception.” The thought expands the previous three points. Everything about the Antichrist will be filled with unrighteous deception. In this, there is deceit being worked out, and that deceit is specifically for the purpose of committing unrighteousness. This will be evidenced, then, “among those who perish.”

This is speaking not of those who commit the deception, but of those who are the objects of it. They will be utterly deluded by the wiles of the Antichrist. Instead of looking for God, they will have their eyes fixed on this person, the one who most wholly manifests and embodies Satan. They will believe the lie and those who do not love the truth will be condemned for it. As Paul says of them, “because they did not receive the love of the truth.”

The “love of the truth” is speaking of the gospel of Christ which alone can save the soul. The word “because” gives the sense of judicial standing. They had, in fact, been offered the truth, but they turned it down. These people entered the tribulation period because they had refused to check on whether the Christian message was true or not. They will continue to refuse the message which will obviously be received by some who will not take the mark of the beast. A testimony to the truth will stand, but they will willingly refuse it. This is not at all a matter of predestination such as Calvin would teach, stating that they are condemned apart from hearing the truth. Rather it is a willing refusal of the truth.

This will be seen further as the next verse is introduced. For now though Paul simply declares the fact that those who follow Antichrist will not receive the love of the truth, “that they might be saved.” The obvious implication is that, if they did receive it, they would be saved. Salvation because of the truth of God in Christ does not end with the rapture of the church. Instead, it is that which alone can save, at any time and in any dispensation. However, these people will willingly receive error and falsity rather than accept the simple gospel – salvation is by grace through faith. Thus, their condemnation is just.

Life application: The words of this verse are true even today. There are countless false religions and cults out there who strive against God, introducing error and falsehood into their theology. But the truth of the message of Christ is available for any who will simply pick up the Bible and read it. But the general condition of man is to follow deception rather than truth. One must willingly put aside self, accept that we have no merit before God, and receive the simple gospel. If we fail to do this, we remain enemies of God, and our condemnation is just.

Lord God, it is pretty obvious that the natural human condition is to follow a path which is contrary to You. We tend to insert ourselves into any hope of salvation, as if we can somehow merit Your favor. But Your word shows that salvation is completely apart from our merits. Instead, we are to receive the work of Jesus by faith, and then to trust that it alone is sufficient for our salvation. May we never trust in our own merits. Instead, may we simply call out for Jesus, and continue to trust in His work to carry us home to You. Thank You for what He alone has done! Amen.

Wednesday, 4 October 2017

The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 2 Thessalonians 2:9

Paul now uses words which are more than just descriptive talk about the Antichrist. Instead, they are given as a contrast to the coming of Christ in His power. The Greek word for “coming” is the same often given concerning the second coming of Christ, parousia. It is a word which indicates an arrival, or an advent. Paul uses this word to contrast the two arrivals. The coming of Christ is according to the redemptive working of God; the coming of the Antichrist is according to the destructive working of Satan. One results in salvation for His people; one results in destruction for those who follow him.

It is a coming which Paul, as noted, does more than merely describe, but rather purposely contrasts to Christ. The Antichrist will be revealed “with all power, signs, and lying wonders.” Scholars argue over the placement of the word “lying.” Does it only describe “wonders,” or does it describe all three of the aspects given? The most likely answer is that it describes all three. This is how, for example, the Holman Bible translates it (translating the word as “false”) –

“The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders.”

As Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44), the working of Antichrist fits in perfectly with the one from whom his workings are derived. Each of these three descriptors has been used when speaking of Jesus, such as in Romans 15:19 (and elsewhere), and so applying them to the Antichrist as “false” workings, gives us the needed contrast to see how much greater Christ is.

Being God, and possessing God’s unlimited power, Christ Jesus displays that power perfectly. His signs are true, and they are a confirmation of His place within the Godhead. And His wonders are intended to bring glory to God. On the other hand, the power of the Antichrist is limited. It is a false power, merely granted to him until the fullness of judgment has come upon the world. At that time, it will be shown ineffective against Christ Jesus. His signs are false, proving that his power is not godly, but Satanic. And his wonders are intended for self glorification, not the glorifying of God. Everything about him is a cheap knockoff, and it will eventually be proven as such.

Life application: How easily people are deceived into believing lies. Even Christians are duped constantly by those who present false gospels (Galatians 1:6-8), false doctrines (Romans 16:17), false displays of power (Benny Hinn), and false predictions (the rapture did not happen on 23 September 2017). How easy then it would be for Christians to believe the false presentations of the Antichrist. But such will not be the case. God will keep His people from such lies. For now, the cure for being duped by false teachings is to KEEP YOUR NOSE IN THE BIBLE. Read! Study! Show yourself approved! KNOW YOUR BIBLE!

Lord God, Your precious word, and experience in life as well, shows us that even those who are saved can easily be deceived by false gospels, false doctrine, false displays of power, and false prophecies. It is a chronic problem as we fail to rightly apply the word to our lives. The cure is found there though. You have given it to us for right doctrine and holy living. What a shame we watch TV instead of reading Your word! Help us to get over the stupid, and hold to the good. To Your glory we pray. Amen.

Tuesday, 3 October 2017

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. 2 Thessalonians 2:8

“And then.” In Greek it is kai tote. It is correctly translated… “And then.” So here we have a clear sequence of events –

1) The Restrainer (meaning the Holy Spirit, and thus the body of believers whom the Holy Spirit has sealed) will be “taken out of the way.”
2) And then the lawless one will be revealed, which will be in conjunction with…
3) The tribulation period (the day of Christ/the Lord)

The timeline is set. There is no reason at all to debate who the Antichrist is, and there is no need to wonder if Christians will have to endure some (mid-trib) or all (post-trib) of the tribulation period. Paul is the one to define these things. Going to the words of Jesus in the synoptic gospels to determine the timing of these events is inappropriate, because Jesus is not speaking to the church about these things. He is speaking to Israel about things which will affect them, including the tribulation period.

In using the words of the gospels to form a prophetic timeline for the church, one mixes dispensations. In doing so, a convoluted theology will always result. Stick to the epistles of Paul for proper church-age doctrine.

It is only after the removal of the Restrainer that “the lawless one will be revealed.” It is this Satan-filled person “whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth.” This is alluded to by John in the book of Revelation –

“Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations.” Revelation 19:15

Isaiah 11:4, which Paul is actually loosely citing, is another reference to this –

“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.”

One can see that this doesn’t merely mean that Christ will exhale and the Antichrist will evaporate. Rather, the symbolism of the sword and the rod reveals a destroying weapon which will come against the forces of Antichrist and destroy them all. They will be destroyed so easily that it will be as if He simply breathes out and they are vanquished. The details are explained in Revelation 19:19 & 21. It also is further defined by Paul with the words, “and destroy with the brightness of His coming.” The supposed power and majesty of the Antichrist will pale in comparison to the glory of Christ Jesus. After defeating the armies gathered together to make war against Him, it then says in Revelation 19:20 –

“Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

Bad times lay ahead for this worker of iniquity. Instead of ruling the world, he should have been reading his Bible. Jesus said as much to us in Matthew 16:26. There he asked an obvious question, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” The answer is, “None.” This vile person will have gained the whole world, and yet his soul will be eternally condemned. Not a very bright choice in the end.

Life application: The words, “And then” which open this verse show us that the Antichrist will only be revealed after the rapture of the church. Let’s not worry about who he is. All the idle speculation in the world on this matter is simply wasted time. Instead, try something new and fun… try going on out telling someone about Jesus. The hour you spend watching a video about the Antichrist is an hour that may have made an eternal difference in someone’s destiny.

Heavenly Father, for those of us who are redeemed by the blood of Christ, should we keep this a secret? Should we fail to tell others about the very thing that brought us back to You? Help us to set our priorities properly, and to be willing to simply open our mouths and speak. A moment of sharing may make an eternal difference in the life of another. Help us to speak! Amen.

Monday, 2 October 2017

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. 2 Thessalonians 2:7

The word “For” is given based on the words of the previous verse. Paul said something was restraining the Antichrist. This was “that he may be revealed in his own time.” From this, Paul continues with “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work.” A mystery is something not revealed. There is a lawlessness which is working (and it has been working for 2000 years or more) which is not yet fully revealed. It has been slowly working out a plan. In the Greek, there is an article in front of both “mystery” and “lawlessness.” It reads, “For the mystery of the lawlessness.”

The state of lawlessness which is still not fully revealed is “already at work.” The idea of the work is that of an inward action, as if yeast causing bread to swell. As Charles Ellicott notes, “This is not a personal thing.” It is a state of lawlessness which is working, and which will eventually be revealed. This mystery is then sharply contrasted to the word “revealed” which is found in verses 6 & 8. There is a time when the lawlessness will come forth to effect its purposes on earth. It will be when the Antichrist is revealed, because he will then embody this lawlessness. This working of lawlessness, however, is kept in check until the appropriate time.

At some point, the restraining force of verse 6 will no longer restrain. As it says, “only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.” The words “will do so” are supplied by the translators for clarity. The use of the masculine word “He” is based upon the masculine, singular article in the Greek. In verse 6, the restraining force was described with a neuter article, “that which restrains.” That is converted now to a masculine noun. The question is, “Who is He?”

The NKJV capitalizes the word. This is a presupposition that it is speaking of the Holy Spirit. Others continue to translate this as “the one,” “he” (not capitalized), “that which,” “the person,” etc. Each translation is based on a best guess of the nature of this “restrainer.” But Paul uses the masculine here for a reason, and so it is not appropriate to continue to translate it in the neuter. Further, this cannot be a “person” in the regular sense. The restraining has gone on for millennia. It is also not something belonging to the lawlessness. To be restrained is an external force, not an internal one.

Therefore, it appears that the NKJV is correct in their translation. This is God who is restraining. However, and more specifically, it is the restraining power of the third member of the Godhead – the Holy Spirit. One analysis is that the restrainer is the church itself, but as the word is masculine, it is more appropriately the One who is intimately identified with the true church. The Holy Spirit is given to all who believe in Christ (Ephesians 1:13, 14). As this is so, the church is involved in the restraining process, but it is the Holy Spirit who is the one who actively restrains the lawlessness. And He will do so “until He is taken out of the way.”

What this means is that there is a time when the Holy Spirit’s restraining influence will no longer be effected. A releasing of the restraint will come about, and then only will the lawless one be revealed. What is certain then is that if the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, the church too must be taken out of the way. If the effect of the Holy Spirit is to end, and the church were to remain, then the “guarantee” of the sealing of the Spirit which Paul notes in Ephesians 1:14 would not be a sound “guarantee” at all. We would be left abandoned. This is completely contrary to the nature of God and His word. Thus, this taking “out of the way” of the Holy Spirit is simultaneous with the taking away of the church at the rapture. Both occur, and only then will the mystery of lawlessness (and thus the Antichrist) be revealed. This will be explicitly stated in the next verse.

Life application: Are you a believer in Christ? If so, you are sealed with the Spirit. There is a time when the Spirit will be taken out of the way. But God will never leave nor forsake His people. Thus, the rapture is implied in today’s verse. And it is a moment prior to the revealing of the Antichrist and the seven years of tribulation on earth. Why would you look to determine who the Antichrist is? He is a part of a mystery not yet revealed. Rather, look for Christ – our hope of glory.

Lord God, the promises of Your word are so very wonderful. You have, even from the first pages of the Bible, shown that we will someday be restored to a land of perfection and delight. How wonderful it will be. All the things that tire us and wear us out will be forever forgotten as we search out Your infinite glory. Surely You have wonderful things in store for those who trust in You as You have revealed Yourself in Christ Jesus. May that day be soon. Amen.

Sunday, 1 October 2017

And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 2 Thessalonians 2:6

Paul continues with his thoughts on the revealing of the Antichrist. He said that the Antichrist would not be revealed until after the rapture of the church. This is implied in the previous verses, and it will be implied again in the coming verses. Only then will Antichrist be revealed, and the world enter the day of Christ (the day of the Lord). But something is restraining that from occurring, something they have already been told about. This is reminded to them now with the words, “And now you know what is restraining.”

The words, “And now” are not speaking of anything he has said in this letter. Instead of being in a temporal sense, the word “now” is being used in an introductory sense. They are being asked to call to memory what had already been told them. The reason for explaining it this way is because the church had been fooled; they had been misdirected by false information claiming that “the day of Christ” had come. The reminder now is that the revealing of the Antichrist is actually purposefully hindered, and it would continue to be so until the right time arrived.

The words, “what is restraining,” are insufficient here. There is a definite article in front of “restraining” in the Greek. Therefore, this is not a mere doctrine that they are aware of, but rather of a specific and familiar object. Therefore, it should say, “that which is restraining.” A known entity is restraining the coming of the Antichrist, and the time for that entity to cease restraining will come as planned by God. And so there was absolutely no reason for those in Thessalonica (and thus us!) to speculate about having already entered into the tribulation period.

The truth holds for us even until this day. And yet, how many have claimed that the day of Christ (the day of the Lord) has arrived? How many speculations about the tribulation period have been laid out in chart upon chart! But there is one restraining, and that will continue to be the case so “that he may be revealed in his own time.” The “he” is speaking of Antichrist.

What is restraining the revealing of the Antichrist is not specifically mentioned, but it can be readily inferred based on several things. These will be looked at in the verses to come. But suffice it to say that 1) the Antichrist is one who stands in opposition to Jesus. If this must be restrained for even 2000 years now, it shows that even though Antichrist is a person, there is more involved. He is a person who will be specifically filled by Satan. And 2) if this could be at any given time, then there is a set time – known even 2000 years ago – when this would come about. What could could restrain Satan from so filling whatever person he chose for that long? Stay tuned.

The words, “that he might be revealed in his own time,” have the meaning of “with a view to.” What this means is that God’s purposes will come about because the power of Antichrist will stop being restrained when He sees fit. Just as God ordained Israel to be exiled to Babylon for 70 years, and then that exile ended as prophesied; and then just as the same is true with the ending of their second exile at a pre-prophesied moment to effect His purposes, the ending of the restraint of the power which will be given to the Antichrist is intended to meet God’s purposes for judgment on the unrepentant world.

The word translated as “time” indicates a set and purposeful time. It is a particular season. Just as Christ Jesus was said to have come in the fullness of the time set by God (Galatians 4:4), so Antichrist will come at a particular season to fulfill God’s purposes.

Life application: Way too many people focus on who the Antichrist is. That is a pointless venture. The Bible says he will be revealed at a particular time, and that time will not be until after the rapture of the church. If you are looking for Antichrist, you need to redirect and look for Christ. Stop wasting your time on useless videos about an already-defeated enemy. Instead, pick up your Bible and find Jesus.

Lord God, Your word does tell us that one known as “Antichrist” is coming. It also tells us that believers don’t need to worry about his identity. Instead of looking for that loser, we are asked to fix our eyes on Christ. Help us to remember this, to study Your word to see His glory revealed, and to set our hearts and affections on Him alone. Grant us the wisdom to seek the Lord and not futile speculations about things which You alone have the knowledge of. Surely knowing Christ Jesus in His fullness is enough! Amen.