"7 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. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."
Good Morning my beloved,
Welcome to worship this Lord's Day!
We are so glad to welcome our brothers and sisters from all around the world who come to join us today.
Before we get into our message today, I'd like to share with you a few concepts of what God has revealed
to us through His word regarding Bible prophecy, that has become
abundantly clear to me in my years of ministry. I have discovered that most
Christians, tend to know very little about what is ultimately going to happen. In
fact, it is the proclivity of our flesh, we have become so preoccupied with things
that are eternally insignificant. We have a tendency to pursue things
that are downright sinful, but things that insignificant and meaningless. Possessions, money, and in many cases, power.
One of the enemies plans, is to distract us from worshiping the Lord. Busying our lives with things that are, in fact, ungodly. Just ask the average person, if they would rather watch television, or a movie or would they like to hear the Word of God! I believe we already know the answer to that, it's more than evident.
God has revealed to us in His Word, many prophecies regarding what is going to happen through the end of the age, when Christ returns as Lord of lords, King of kings, to reign and rule forever. As I have previously told you, Bible reveals to us, roughly 2,500 prophecies and we know that 27 of
those prophecies were fulfilled precisely, on the day Christ died. More than 300 prophecies about Jesus the Messiah, have already been fulfilled
to date. Therefore, I believe that it is not unreasonable that the rest of
those prophecies are also going to be fulfilled, as promised,
especially those with respect to His second coming. In fact, I believe it affirms it!
I know that many of you have been praying, that things are going to get better, however, Scripture teaches us that they are only going to get worse as "the ancient serpent," as John called him in Revelation 12:9,
"And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him."
The devil or Satan, "who deceives the whole world," he says, continues to
lead his demonic horde to carry out his nefarious plans. And his sinister plan includes his effort to deceptively replicate the person
and work of Christ through a man that will one day come onto the scene
who will essentially be half demon and half human; a man who will be able
to "that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders," as we will see when we get to
II Thessalonians 2:9, including, by the way, a pseudo-resurrection from the dead according to Revelation 13:3. "I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast."
Daniel tells us in chapter 7 and verse 25, that this will be a man and "He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time." In other words, three and half
years.
This will be a man, that according to Daniel 11:36,
"Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done."
This is a man who the Apostle Paul described
as the man of lawlessness who will be revealed, the son of destruction,
in II Thessalonians 2:3. This is obviously referring to the Antichrist.
Beloved, God has revealed to us, through His Word, a precise chronology of the pre kingdom judgments in
Daniel's prophecy of the 70 weeks, which by the way, are perfectly paralleled in
the Apostle John's chronology in the Book of Revelation. A time when the false messianic ruler will appear upon a world that has rejected the true messianic
King, Jesus Christ. God will then allow Satan to do this and this Antichrist is
going to rise to a place of political, military and religious power
in the space of three and half years and he is going to dominate the
world with wickedness like we have never seen!
Daniel prophesied in chapter 9 verse 26, in which
he is described as a prince and he will be a future prince, who will rise from out of the revived Roman Empire, and will
"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined." However, in the
middle of this period, he will violate that covenant. He will
stop the sacrificial system that had been inaugurated with the new
temple on the Temple Mount with the Jews. He will desecrate that temple
and he will demand that the world worship him. And at that time, he will
inaugurate a time of persecution that will last to the end of the
seven years and then he will be completely and utterly defeated and destroyed by the
second coming of the true Messiah, King Jesus.
Now, as we prepare to get into our message today, I want you to understand, that every heresy contains 99% truth! It is twisted and turned, in order to validate it's claims. Remember, Satan, in the garden of Eden, manipulated God's Words, to confuse Eve. And, in the wilderness, he tempted Jesus, with God's Words. Heresy is like snake venom, which is 90 - 95% protein, however, it is that remaining 5 or 10% that will kill you.
Matthew 4:6, "If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: "‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." And, of course, we know Jesus' response to that! "Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test." Satan is a master manipulator, a deceiver and a liar, therefore, we must always be alert to his wicked wiles and evil schemes.
Let us bow our heads in prayer.
Heavenly Father,
Father, we just thank You for this Word that You have for us today. Grant us the wisdom and knowledge needed, that we would not only understand the truth, but that we would obey the truths as You have so graciously chosen to reveal to us today. Thank You for the clarity. Lord, we thank You for all of those You have gathered here together with us. We pray that You would bless them through Your Word as Your Holy Spirit speaks Your message through me. Thank You for calling me, though I am unworthy and enabling me to lead Your flock.
In Jesus' name
Amen
Today's Message: The Man Of Lawlessness
I do not believe there has ever been, throughout history, a more confusing time than that which we are
living in right now. Nations and governments are perplexed, unable to solve their problems. Crises after crises come so quickly
that there is no time to recover from one before the next strikes and
each one brings the world closer and closer to the brink of economic
meltdown, anarchy, and military confrontation.
I believe that any true follower of Christ, can easily see that the spirit of the antichrist is working overtime to destroy and deceive
the hearts and lives of people at an unprecedented rate. Yet, as bad as it all appears to be right now, this
deception will only grow much before Jesus returns to set up His
kingdom. Even though the currents events happening in our society, and things seem to be spiraling out of control, the restraining hand of Almighty God is
still at work. Even in these last days, God will act with deliberate purpose in
holding back Satan's workman in order that he may be revealed at the proper
time.
Though Satan is ruler of this present world system, his activities are restrained by our Sovereign God.
I am compelled to tell you, that only God can rescue you from the coming judgment, when you come to saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Open with me your Bibles to the second chapter of the Book of II Thessalonians. In our on going study of this wonderful epistle in God's rich Word, we come to verses 7 through 10. I would like to encourage you to follow along with me as I read to you to set our text in our minds. II Thessalonians 2:7-10.
"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. Then
that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the
breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."
The first thing I'd like you to notice in verse 7, is Paul says, "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at
work." This lawlessness, referring to the open rebellion against the Most High
God. He says, "For the mystery," the mysterion, and this speaks of that
which has been kept secret in the past and cannot be known until the time that God
reveals it. I believe that we can all see, that some of that is already at work in our society today.
We know from Scripture, that I John 3:4 teaches that "Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness." We also know that as we approach the end of the age, there is going to be an escalation of defiance. Jesus Himself told us in Matthew 24:12 "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold," And, as I have stated previously, we see this increasing lawlessness at alarming rates in our culture today.
I John 4:3 tells us "and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world."
So, we can see some of that work happening today, however, the ultimate manifestation, the full expression of this lawlessness, which we see
is already at work, is not going to happen until the restraint is
removed and Satan is allowed to present his great champion, his
counterfeit Christ, the final antichrist himself. While Scripture doesn't tell us exactly who is restraining Satan, we know that it is the same force that has restrained him and restrained total lawlessness
from the earth since the very beginning, in the Garden, and that is the
supernatural force exerted by the person and the work of the Holy
Spirit.
I believe as we look at Scripture, that there is only one force capable
of restraining Satan, the same force that has restrained him and
restrained total lawlessness from the earth from the beginning, from the
Garden, and that is the supernatural force exerted by the person and
the work of the Holy Spirit.
However, exegetically, which is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, this is not without precedent. Jesus used a masculine
pronoun with the neuter noun translated "Spirit" on three occasions.
First, in John 14:20 "In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you."
Then again in John 15:26, "When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me."
And in John 16:13, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will
guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own
initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose
to you what is to come."
Beyond the exegetical precedent, throughout redemptive history, one of the great works of the Holy Spirit, has always been to battle sin and Satan! I believe, that whenever we sin, we have a resistance the work of the Holy Spirit. I believe that this is clearly demonstrated in the Book of Acts 7:51, in Stephen's rebuke of the wicked leaders of Israel. "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did."
Beloved, this is quickly coming a day, when the Holy Spirit's supernatural restraint of sin and Satan is removed. I'd like you to also bear in mind, the antichrist will be simultaneously revealed. This unprecedented event will be incomprehensible, far beyond anything we have ever seen. However, this too is not without precedent. Did God not promise the wicked inhabitants of this earth this very thing in Genesis 6:3? "Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever,because he also is flesh; nevertheless his days shall be one hundred and twenty years."
However, we must be careful with the Apostle Paul's words when he says "until he is taken out of the way." The presence of the Holy Spirit himself is not going to be removed from the earth during the
time of the tribulation. How can we know this? Because the Holy Spirit is omnipresent and
there will be many people are going to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ during
those pre kingdom judgments, so the Holy Spirit must be here in order
for them to be born again. What this does mean is that His supernatural restraint will be removed.
Romans 1:29-31 says "being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."
Here God describes the removal of divine restraint that occurs when a man continues to sin with impunity. God gives them up to a debased mind that will pursue every imaginable form of evil. While I know there are some who disagree, however, I believe that we are witnessing this moral free fall in our nation and in our world already today. The region where the history of man began, will also be where it will end where Satan first introduced sin, since the beginning this has been a land of defiance against God!
In Revelation 9:15, he goes on to say, "And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they would kill a third of mankind."
The Lord leaves no ambiguity concerning His sovereignty over all of these
things. However, He has His timetable. Keep in mind, again, this is all going
to happen at the same time the Spirit of God lifts His restraint and
Satan unleashes that man of lawlessness, the son of destruction.
John tells us in verse 16-18, "The number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which proceeded out of their mouths."
In verse 19, John provides us with further details, on these wretched demons. "For
the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for
their tails are like serpents and have heads, and with them they do
harm."
This is but a preview of hell before the final judgment of the wicked. Yet, during this time, the majority of the world will worship the
beast and the antichrist, and not the Lord Jesus Christ.
In verses 20-21, John concludes this chapter with what I believe is absolutely staggering statement. "The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts." They "Did not repent of the works of their hands."
Beloved, all of these forms of evil that are available today, are in Satan's
smorgasbord of idolatry, all of which are part of the coming mystery of
lawlessness! I find it to be terribly disturbing that you see millions of people mindlessly moving toward Mecca. Millions of Roman Catholics worshiping the Pope, millions more with all of the pagan religions.
Now, I know I have again gotten a bit carried away with these prophesies, however, I believe we are in dire need of awareness in this crucial matter of the end times. So, let begin again in verse 8. However, given the context of Paul's letter, fair warning, it is highly likely I'll return to the Book of Revelation. Because I believe, with all of my heart, it's just that important!
Just a quick refresher of what we've already covered, I'm sure some of you are now lost. Paul reminded them in the first five verses of chapter 2, that the day
of the Lord, he says will not occur until the apostasy brought on by
the man of lawlessness, the antichrist, is revealed. Then, in verses 6
through 7, Paul went on to explain that the Holy Spirit is currently
restraining the full manifestation of what he called the "lawlessness
that is already at work" in the world today.
Now, here in verse 8. Paul says "Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;"
When we examine what Paul says, with reference to other Bible prophecies, we learn that
in the middle of the tribulation the Holy Spirit's restraint will be removed
and then the rebellion that we see in some form today against God, will be unleashed. And, as I showed you earlier in our message, God is going to release a vast horde of demons to kill 1/3 of mankind according to Revelation 9,
which will be the sixth trumpet judgment. All of this and much more
awaits those who reject the Gospel and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Now, I have had a number of people ask, "If we aren't going to be here when this happens, why does it even matter? "Beloved, I believe the answer is quite simple. Because it unveils the glory of our
God. It unveils the majesty and the triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore it comforts and encourages the saints.
In Matthew 24:37-39, Jesus told us that " For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be."
In other words, they will be doing just what they have always done, living life as "normal," completely unprepared for what was to come, sound familiar? I frequently receive messages from believers in other parts of the world, telling me how they have lost their family members, while others are being tortured for their belief in Christ. And, the people in our nation are going about their lives "business as usual!"
Even some of you, here today, do not have an appetite for Bible prophecy, that speaks of all of those glories. and the great prophetic truth. Christians are taking their Bibles for granted! Are you completely unaware of the explosion of Islamic terrorism against Christians?
Is it any wonder why Revelation 1:3 says "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near."
Beloved, the blessings that await us far out weigh any of the temporal stuff people are focusing on here on earth! Prophesy foretells the last chapter of human history. It gives us a detailed account of the consummation of all things. And clearly what the Apostle Paul wrote in his epistles parallel all of the other
prophecies in Scripture, because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, who wrote it all. We have in the Book of Revelation, Christ himself glorifies Himself when he
pours out his wrath. We read of the judgment upon the nations, and the vivid
chronology of the unprecedented judgments that will fall upon the earth. We see what is going to ultimately happen to Israel, including the final fulfillment of His promises in the Abrahamic and Davidic
covenants. The second coming of Christ and the Battle of Armageddon, the establishment of the Millennial Reign, it's all there.
Beloved, may I just encourage you to take your eyes off your screens and set aside all of the things
that are distracting you from the reality of what is really happening in the
world?
The Apostle Paul is alluding to a messianic text that was very important to the early church, we see in Isaiah 11:4, "But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked." This is what is Paul is thinking of as he writes this. In other words, when the Lord returns to slay His enemy, He can just speak it and it is done! In light of all we're seeing happening in the world today, I not only find this to be exhilarating, but absolutely refreshing, just knowing with all certainty how it will all end up!
Now, just to bring this into perspective, I'm sure most of you remember on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter, James and John saw
the Lord and the Lord briefly peeled back some of His flesh in some miraculous
way that we can not understand, and the effulgence of the Shekinah glory
of the living God blazed forth and it terrified them. They described His appearance as brighter than the sun and it just an amazing, amazing sight. We may not be able to fully comprehend it, however, I believe this is going to be so amazing, magnificent and so powerful.
Keep in mind, that verse 8 spans the seven-year career of the Antichrist from the time
he makes a covenant with Israel soon after the Rapture, till his
overthrow by Christ at His second coming at the end of the Tribulation. To some the duration of his rule and power is uncertain, but most agree
that it will not be an extensive time.After strengthening
himself in the worst of evil this powerful person will be destroyed by
the mere breath of the Lord Jesus. Antichrist may control mankind, but
he will be no match for the Messiah. Jesus is Lord indeed. "The very
breathing of the glorified Jesus will slay the lawless one like the
blast of a fiery furnace."
Satan has been forging forward toward this time of rebellion when he can hurl
his evil in the face of God and His creation. But this will be over
simply by the breath of Christ's mouth.
This will not be a long, drawn out battle. It will not be some back-and-forth wresting contest, where the good guy fights the bad such as we see in many of the movies today.
Satan's chosen wing man will be quickly destroyed by Jesus. He will be killed and his
works will be destroyed, reduced to nothing. The shining forth of
Christ’s presence when He comes to earth will immobilize the antichrist’s program as certainly as the revelation of the glorified
Christ on the Damascus Road stopped Saul in his tracks and terminated
his program and plans of persecuting the people of God. The world systems, the power structures,
the religious perversions the antichrist created will crumble with
Christ's second advent.
Verses 9-10 tells us "that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved."
In verses 9-10, we see the activity of this lawless leader, we see that Satan is the orchestrator, who assigns the power behind the antichrist. The Apostle Paul employs three terms in order to describe the supernatural power this man
will demonstrate. Miracles, the Greek word "dunamei," or power emphasizes the supernatural
power behind the works he will perform. Signs, or the Greek word, "sēmeiois," refers to the
fact that they will have significance or authenticate of his claims for
worship and obedience. Wonders, which is the Greek word "terasin," which indicates the effect that they
will evoke when people behold them. A sensation of awestruck. In short, he
will perform such powerful miracles that it will be evident
to all that he has supernatural power, and people will stand in awe of
him. He will be admired and treated with reverence and honor.
Christians must be cautious, so that we are not taken in by so called signs and wonders, even in this day. Because Jesus Christ performed miracles, signs, and wonders, we know that the lawless one will imitate this as well. The difference, however, is that the antichrist's miracles and signs are designated as false, which is the Greek word "pseudous," meaning untruth. Since the antichrist's miracles originate from and are empowered by the father of lies, Satan, the realm of falsehood and lies, the antichrist and
Satan have no legitimate claim to authority and worship. Signs and wonders do not produce faith! The issue today is that those who believe are following after signs and wonders. Only the Word of God, can produce faith.
Romans 10:17 says "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
The portrayal of the man of sin has parallels to the Son of
Man. Both have a coming and a revealing, when people become
aware of what is already in their midst. Only One proclaims the truth and the
other proclaims a lie. Both demonstrate power through signs, miracles,
and wonders, however, one from the truth and the other; a counterfeit. Both claims
exclusive worship. Both are empowered; Christ by God and the antichrist
by Satan. Satan's biggest desire is to exalt himself above the throne of God and to be worshiped. Those who do not fully worship God in spirit and in truth, leave themselves open to give worship to another. That is why I believe the safest place for a follower of Christ, is in the Word of God, living in the will of God!
In Closing...
Evil, in all of it's forms, are being used to ensnare people, to lure them away from what is
true, in exchange for a lie. Most likely this is the evil which attracts the base and natural
inclinations of fallen humanity such as the love of money, power to control, narcissism,
sexual immorality and degradation, and moral blindness that elevates egotistical self centeredness and selfishness, et cetera. Satan's appeals are enticing because they offer wisdom, autotomy, and life. Beloved, allow me to just state the obvious here, the
tempter is not so stupid as to try to lure us with offers of ignorance,
evil, and death. The appeal of sin is that it promises so many wonderful
things, however, can only deliver dissatisfaction and destruction.
The greatest power of deception that Satan has is to confuse and compromise a
Christian’s convictions concerning the truth in God's Word. I am not sure if I know
anyone whose convictions have never compromised, this does occur from time to time, so we continue to ask God to reveal His truth to us.
However, there
are some who seem to be constantly living under this deception and have been in that place for
so long that they no longer realize it, failing to recognize just how far they have fallen from God's truth.. There was a
time when righteousness and holiness were the rule in the church but
now it is the exception.
I pray that before Christ's glorious return, we will return to righteousness and holiness.
May it be so...
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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