In 2
Thessalonians 2, Paul found it
necessary to clear up some confusion that existed in the minds of the
new converts in Thessalonica. First, the topic he wished to reference
was “the coming (parousia)
of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to
Him” (2
Thess. 2:1). By his description, Paul obviously meant the
Rapture,
about which he had written in 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18, as
opposed to the Retribution, which he had just finished discussing in 2
Thessalonians 1:7-10. Second, Paul was obviously very
concerned about
the Thessalonians’ frame of mind. He described them as having been
“quickly shaken” from their composure and “disturbed” (2
Thess. 2:2).
This frame of mind can hardly have been beneficial to the
Thessalonians, so
Paul requested that they discontinue their needless alarm. Third, Paul
identified the source of their lack of composure. Someone had
misrepresented Paul’s position to the Thessalonians (2
Thess. 2:2).
There may well have been more than one instance of misrepresentation,
so he covered three possibilities: (a) A demonic spirit had spoken
through some false teacher and had misrepresented Paul; (b) Someone had
delivered an oral message to them, misrepresenting Paul. (c) Someone
had forged a letter from Paul, misrepresenting his position. Fourth,
Paul identified the untruth that had so upset the equilibrium of the
Thessalonians: Someone was teaching them that the Day
of the Lord had
already come!
What
was it in their experience that made the disinformation they had been
hearing believable? Constable (2 Thessalonians, The Bible Knowledge Commentary
(TBKC), NT volume) states it this way: “It must have seemed
to some of them that the day
of the Lord had already come. After all,
the persecutions they were experiencing seemed to be what the prophets
had predicted when they wrote about the great calamities coming on
God’s people and the world in the day
of the Lord.”
Now
if Paul had taught the Thessalonians a Post-Tribulation Rapture,
they
would not have been troubled at all. They might have had a grim sense
of joy, for they would know that Christ’s Second Coming was, at most,
only seven
years distant. I use the word “grim” because they would all know the
horrors that they would have to pass through. Obviously, Paul had not
taught them a Post-Tribulation Rapture.
He had taught them a
Pre-Tribulation Rapture, one which would precede the Great
Tribulation,
also known as “The Day
of the Lord.” (1
Thess. 4:13-18, the Rapture,
comes before 1
Thessalonians 5:1-11, (See the two passages back-to-back
as Paul wrote them.) The Day
of the Lord, also known as
the Tribulation.)
Only a belief in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture
could
account for their having been shaken from their composure when someone
told them they had already entered the Tribulation
period. They were
upset because they thought they had missed the Rapture
and were already
in the Tribulation
period! That would be enough to cause any Christian
to lose his composure!
Paul
proceeded to tell the Thessalonians three things that needed to happen
before the Day
of the Lord (the Tribulation)
began (2
Thess. 2:3). (Note that in 2
Thess. 2:3 he identified only two of the three events.) We
will identify these three factors in the order that Paul presented
them. But we must remember that he did not present them in the order
that they would occur. First, Paul said that there would be an apostasy
(2
Thess. 2:3). Second, someone identified as “the man
of lawlessness”
would need to be revealed (2
Thess. 2:3). Third, “the man
of
lawlessness” would not be revealed until the one who
restrains him
“is
taken out of the way.” (2
Thess. 2:6-8). Let us examine each of these
factors one by one. I discuss these events in the order in which Paul
discusses them, but I have numbered them in the chronological order in
which they will actually occur. I do that because Paul himself dictated
that order.
2. The
Apostasy.
What is meant by “the
apostasy” (hē
apostasia, 646)
(2
Thess. 2:3)? The NASB footnote here
reads “Or falling away from the faith.” Of course, the words “from the
faith” do not appear in the Greek text. If the NASB footnote
accurately
reflects the meaning of Paul, this could refer to a significant and
perceptible falling away of the global church
from the faith prior to
the Rapture,
and thus prior to the Tribulation.
Elsewhere (1
Tim.
4:1-3), Paul certainly did speak about a falling away from
the faith in
later times:
But
the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from
the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of
demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own
conscience as with a branding iron, men who forbid marriage
and
advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully
shared in by those who believe and know the truth.
Notice
that in 1
Tim. 4:1 Paul said that “some will fall way from the faith.”
That of which Paul speaks in 2
Thess. 2:3 is, in my view, more
universal in nature. After all, he calls it "the apostasy"
(emphasis mine). And I suspect that the falling away is meant to
apply more to humanity in general than it is merely to the Church.
In 2
Timothy 3:1-5, for example, Paul spoke about a generalized
departure from good:
But
realize this, that in the last days difficult times will
come. For
men
will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers,
disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving,
irreconcilable,
malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of
good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure
rather
than
lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they
have
denied its power; Avoid such men as these.
What
could precipitate that kind of societal departure from good to the
embracing of evil? I believe it will be the removal of “he who now
restrains” (2
Thess. 2:6-7). I take the restrainer as referring to the
Holy
Spirit’s influence through the Church.
When the Holy
Spirit in the
Church
is gone
from the scene, there will be nothing left to brake global
society’s rapid pursuit of evil. The brakes on the world's freight
train of moral fiber will be removed, and the train will pick up speed
rapidly heading downhill. The Apostle John saw a vicious world
ruler who appeared to him as a beast (Rev.
13:1-10). With the Holy
Spirit in the Church
gone during the Tribulation
period, Satan
will
empower this evil ruler, and he will take the world by storm. The whole
world will worship Satan
and worship his false messiah (Rev.
13:4, 8,
12, 15).
So I take the apostasy,
the falling away, to mean a
global descent into evil by society in general. In my view, this is the
more likely meaning rather than limiting it to the apostasy
of the "professing
Church."
This view fits in neatly with the removal of the restrainer spoken of
in 2
Thessalonians 2:7. And of course, the unregenerate,
institutional
church, not having been raptured,
will participate in the general
apostasy
after the Holy
Spirit in the true Church
will have been
removed.
It
should be noted that, as the text reads, the arrival
of the apostasy
and the revelation of “the man
of lawlessness” are a
matched pair. They go together. The apostasy
will arrive first, and will precipitate the
revelation of the man
of lawlessness; yet the revealing of “the man
of
lawlessness” will yield greater apostasy
and lawlessness.
When
will this apostasy
take place? We do not know precisely, of course. But
it makes the most sense to believe that "the
apostasy" will take place
after the true Church
has been removed. Nowhere in Scripture is it revealed
that the Tribulation
must begin the day after the Rapture.
It seems
logical to believe that there will be a period of transition as the
world recovers from the stunning disappearance of Christians all over
the world. With their absence, there will be no brake for the evil
plans of the world's rulers and their citizens. The ensuing time of "the
apostasy" will be the perfect time for the rise of the "Man
of
Lawlessness." He will step into a global power vacuum and
captivate a
world hungry for a leader who will guide the world into Utopia.
3. The
Revealing of The
Man of Lawlessness (2
Thess. 2:3, 6, 8).
Who
is “the man
of lawlessness” whom Paul says will be revealed? He is to
be identified with the person known as “the Antichrist.”
This term
is used only once in Scripture in relation to a specific person (1
John
2:18), and it refers to the individual at the end of the age
whom Satan
will use to impersonate the true Messiah,
Jesus of Nazareth during the
Tribulation.
How will he be revealed, or unveiled? The term Paul used is the
verb apokalupto
(601),
used 26 times in the NT. Paul used it three times in 2 Thessalonians
2:3,
6, 8 to refer to the revealing or, literally, unveiling of
the
"man
of lawlessness." Elsewhere Jesus used this verb to speak of
His
own unveiling at His Second Coming (Luke
17:30), and Peter seems
to hint at the yet future unveiling of Christ in glory as demonstrated
in His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (1
Pet. 5:1). Paul used
the related noun apokalupsis
(602)
to speak of the revelation or unveiling of Jesus at His Second Coming
for Retribution (2
Thess. 1:7). Paul used the word epiphaneia
(2015)
"appearance" in reference to Jesus' future coming (parousia,
3952)
(2
Thess. 2:8). Clearly, the unveiling of the "Man
of Lawlessness", the
pseudo Messiah, is Satan's malevolent
attempt to duplicate the
revealing, or unveiling of Jesus!
As revealed in Scripture, this
man will be the consummate politician who will enjoy a
meteoric
rise to power in global politics. According to Daniel
9:26, he will
have a connection with a revived Roman Empire. He
will apparently
succeed in solving the Arab-Israeli conflict, guaranteeing Israel
peace and security in terms of a seven-year peace treaty (Dan.
9:27).
To do that, he will have had to mollify the Arab bloc in some way. He
will be hailed around the world as the messianic figure who can bring
peace to the world, and will undoubtedly receive the Nobel Peace Prize
for his accomplishment. That diplomatic success, I believe, will signal
the unveiling of the “man
of lawlessness” for those at that time who
are following the Scriptures.
But
that is not what Paul spoke of here. He rather picked out that
climactic event when the Antichrist
shows his true colors. According to
2
Thessalonians 2:4, this Man
of Lawlessness will actually enter the
Holy of Holies of a yet-to-be-rebuilt Jewish Temple. He will identify
himself as God-come-in-the-Flesh, the ultimate Pseudo Messiah or
Antichrist.
That blasphemous, provactive, in-God-face gesture is what
both Daniel and Jesus referred to as "The
Abomination of Desolation"
(Daniel
11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). That signal event
will mark the Revealing of the Man
of Lawlessness.
4. The
Arrival of the Day
of the Lord.
The Day
of the Lord, in the context not only of the
Thessalonian
Epistles, but also in the great bulk of the Old Testament, is that time
of great trouble inflicted upon those who dwell upon the earth. In
non-technical terms, it refers to the whole of the seven-year time
frame of Daniel's 70th Week, dominated by "the prince who is to come"
(Dan.
9:26-27). In technical terms, however, "The Day of the Lord"
as a
time of great judgment will not arrive until the mid-point of the
Tribulation,
the time at which the "Man
of Lawlessness" breaks his
treaty with Israel and enters the Holy of Holies, proclaiming himself
to be God.
As
stated earlier, he will be identified by his apparent success in
solving the Arab-Israeli conflict. However, he is a man who is characterized
by
lawlessness (anomias). By that is meant that his whole existence is
directed at defying God and His authority and laws (see Dan.
7:25;
Rev.13:5-6). He will break the seven-year peace treaty he
engineered
with Israel in the middle of the term (Dan.
9:27). Thus it is no
surprise that Paul also characterizes him as “the son of destruction”
(2
Thess. 2:3), meaning that he is irreversibly doomed to
eternal
destruction in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone (Rev.
19:20). Let us itemize what Paul says about this future,
Satan-empowered
ruler who will gain control of the entire world in the
Tribulation
period. Paul's description of what this man does is also a
description of what happens during the Tribulation
period as it relates
to the most significant man during that time.
(1)
He is “the man
of lawlessness” (2
Thess. 2:3) who is bent on opposing everything that
God stands for. There will be no law of God or law of man that will
deter him from his diabolical plan of gaining global control of every
person (Rev.
13:16-18), even exercising tracking and veto power over
their financial transactions. He is also called “ that
lawless one” (2
Thess. 2:8).
(2) He is called “the son of
destruction”, meaning that he is doomed to spend eternity in the lake
of
fire and brimstone (2
Thess. 2:3; Rev. 19:20; 20:10).
(3)
He will make himself out to be God-come-in-the-flesh (2
Thess. 2:4). So
he will set aside every religion, false or true. He will exalt himself
above Buddha, above the gods of Hinduism, above Mohammed and Allah,
above the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, above Jesus Christ.
(4)
He will actually enter the Holy of Holies of the rebuilt Jewish temple
in Jerusalem. He will seat Himself there and claim to be God, accepting
and demanding worship (2
Thess. 2:4; Dan. 9:27; Rev. 13:4, 8, 12, 15).
His entrance into the Jewish temple will mark that which Jesus
characterized as “ the
abomination of desolation” (Matt.
24:15; cf. Dan.
9:27).
(5) The lawless
one’s coming will be energized and authorized by Satan
himself (2
Thess. 2:9; Rev. 13:1-2, 4).
(6)
Because he is empowered by Satan,
the lawless
one will be able to
perform miracles, signs and false wonders – (lit., wonders – of a lie!)
(2
Thess. 2:9; cf. Rev. 13:3, 13-15).
(7) His
regime will be characterized by “all the deception of wickedness for
those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so
as to be saved” (2
Thess. 2:10). Because people in the Tribulation
will
not love the truth, God will give them a huge personified lie, the
Antichrist
himself, in whom they will believe!
“For this
reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that
they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be
judged
who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness” (2
Thess. 2:11-12).
(8) When the Lord Jesus
returns (Retribution, not Rapture),
He will slay the “ lawless
one” with
the breath of His mouth, and bring him to an end “by the appearance of
His coming” ( parousia)
(2
Thess. 2:8; cf. Rev. 19:20).
(9)
A thousand years after the “ Lawless
One” and his right-hand man, “The
False Prophet” have been consigned to the Lake of Fire and Brimstone,
Satan,
who energized both, will also be cast forever into that same
fiery lake (Rev.
20:10). The Antichrist
and his lieutenant will still
be burning there, and they will be joined by Satan
himself. That will
be a particularly joyless reunion, to be sure.
We close this
particular section by reminding the reader that the apostasy
and the
Lawless
One are a matched pair. They go together. The apostasy
facilitates the acceptance of the Lawless
One, and the arrival of the
Lawless
One facilitates even greater apostasy.
1. The Removal of the One Restraining (2
Thess. 2:6-7).
Who or what is “that which restrains” (2
Thess. 2:6, author’s
translation) and “he who now restrains” (2
Thess. 2:7)? (The article
appears in the neuter case in 2 Thess. 2:6
and in the masculine case in 2 Thess. 2:7.)
There is something or someone who presently, in Paul’s day was
restraining the appearance of “The Man
of Lawlessness,” even though the
“mystery of lawlessness" was already at work. Paul had already told the
Thessalonians about the evil world ruler who was to come (2
Thess.
2:5). Furthermore, he had already told these new Christians
what was
restraining his appearance, for he wrote, “And you know what restrains
him now, so that in his time he will be revealed” (2
Thess. 2:6). The
Thessalonians knew, but most Christians today have no clue what Paul is
talking about. What did Paul mean when he stated that “the mystery of
lawlessness is already at work? Thomas Constable in his commentary on
this passage (The Bible Knowledge Commentary
– TBKC, NT
vol.) states the
following:
A mystery in
the New Testament is a new truth previously unknown before its
revelation in the present dispensation. In this case the mystery is the
revelation of a future climax of lawlessness in the world. Then and now
a movement against divine law directed by Satan
was and is operative.
But it is being restrained somewhat, and this restraining will continue
until the time appointed for revealing the man of sin and the climax of
lawlessness.
So who or what
is the restrainer? Some say it was the Roman Empire. But the Roman
Empire long ago disappeared, and yet the “Man
of Lawlessness” has not
been revealed. Another suggestion is Satan,
but why would he restrain
sin? Others suggest that the restrainer is human government. But human
governments will not disappear to permit the Antichrist
to rule. He
will embody the ultimate in (merely) human government. He will achieve
a one-world government, exactly what today’s elite rulers across the
globe hope and plot to achieve. Furthermore, as Constable states, not
all human governments restrain sin. In fact, many encourage it!
The
best understanding is that “he who now restrains” refers to the Holy
Spirit abiding in the Church.
Reference to the Holy
Spirit would
explain the use of the neuter case article in 2
Thess. 2:6 and to
masculine case article in 2
Thess. 2:7. Spirit
(Pneuma) is neuter in
gender, and we find that sometimes neuter gender articles are used and
sometimes masculine gender words are used in relation to the Holy
Spirit. But who else but God Himself can restrain evil in the
world?
When
the Holy
Spirit, indwelling the Church,
is removed from earth, who will
be left to restrain evil upon this world. Christians around the world
work to limit evil in their own families, in their own towns and
villages, in their own regional and national governments. When all true
Christians are gone, removed from the earth in the Rapture
(1
Thess.
4:13-17), who will be left on earth to discern truth from
error? Who
will be left to restrain the evil descent of all humanity from
worshipping the False Messiah? The answer is, “No one!”
So the
Restrainer is best seen as the Holy
Spirit in the Church.
Until the
Church
is removed from the scene, the False Messiah cannot be revealed.
When the Church
is removed (the Rapture),
the Apostasy
will begin. At
or about the same time, the False Messiah, the Lawless
One, will be
revealed. The apostasy
will facilitate belief in the Antichrist,
and
the Antichrist
will promote the Apostasy.
Comfort for
the Thessalonians (2
Thess. 2:13-15).
In the closing paragraphs of Paul's clearing up of the confusion of the
Thessalonians, who believed they were already in the Day
of the Lord,
Paul offers them comfort. Here is what he writes to them:
But
we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the
Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for
salvation
through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the
truth. It was
for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and
hold to
the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by
letter from us.
Paul
seeks to comfort these worried Thessalonians by assuring them that from
the very beginning, God had chosen them for salvation through the Holy
Spirit. In the context, this salvation means not only
eschatological
salvation, but salvation from the wrath of God during the Day
of the
Lord, also known as the Tribulation.
Paul closes by exhorting them to
hold to what he personally had taught them, rather than being swayed by
false teaching from another source.
Concluding Prayer (2
Thess. 2:16-17). Paul concludes this section of his letter
with a prayer:
Now
may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us
and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort
and
strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
Even
though they are presently enduring persecution and affliction (2
Thessalonians 1:4), he requests that both Jesus the Messiah
and God the
Father comfort and strengthen their hearts to be able to persist in
serving both by what they do and what they say. Part of the comfort
that they can enjoy is that, "No, they have not missed the Rapture."
"No, they are not presently in the Day
of the Lord." They are enduring
hard times, but their eschatology can remain fixed in the foundation of
"Rapture
before Wrath."
Will Church-Age
Christians be forced to
endure the Tribulation?
The answer is a resounding "NO!" The
Tribulation
is a manifestation of the wrath of God, from which
Church-Age
believers are specifically exempted (1
Thess. 1:10; 5:9). As
Jesus Himself phrased the issue in words addressed to the Philadelphian
church
(Rev.
3:10), but words whose language indicates they apply to
the Church-at-large:
10‘Because you
have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the
hour of testing, that hour
which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on
the earth.
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