Man of Lawlessness
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming (2 Thessalonians 2:3-8″).
I find Paul’s choice of wording there as a lesson for each of us. Paul has framed several situations in which the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS will finally be known. You see, Paul tells us something that most of us overlook, and that is the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is already here, he is just hidden, not revealed to the world yet. There is a rebellion within the ranks of believers that must occur before the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is finally revealed. However, we have a real clue concerning lawlessness, and that is, as lawlessness increases, we just may be nearing the time when the rebellion begins. What is this rebellion anyway? Well, in some translations the word used for rebellion is apostasy, and that means a falling away, or the abandonment or renunciation of faith. So, you see, there is going to be such deception that many will abandon the faith, and what would cause this abandonment is a mystery. Regardless, this falling away from the faith must occur first before the MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is made know. On top of this is there something holding things back, and that something will continue until sometime in the future where the one holding things back will be taken out of the way. When that happens, that is when the rebellion, or falling away from the faith will occur. Keep in mind that this MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is already present, and has been present since the beginning, he is not someone new or something new. The MAN OF LAWLESSNESS is a false light, a fake, fraud, imposter, antichrist who is against and instead of the true light—Jesus Christ.
Paul offers us several examples of what this lawlessness looks like in several of his letters, and that lawless look needs to be understood for any of us to remain faithful when HE WHO RESTRAINS is taken out of the way.
Titus 2:14 “who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.”
Romans 6:19 “I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, resulting in further lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, resulting in sanctification.”
1 Timothy 4:1-3 “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.”
2 Timothy 3:1-7 “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. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
Peter even lets us know what to expect as lawlessness grows:
2 Peter 2: 1-3 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.”
2 Peter 3: 3-4 “Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.”
We have plenty to show us what lawlessness looks like. Just imagine these things increasing and increasing, people falling away from the faith and suddenly, THE WHO RESTRAINS IS TAKEN OUT OF THE WAY and the lawless one if finally revealed. Well, I do feel as if we are beginning to witness these things now. There is an increase in lawlessness, and it is not subsiding, it is getting worse. Watch driving behavior today, there’s no regard for personal safety or anyones safety. Children on school buses is another area where there have been reports of stabbings, fights, disrespect for the driver etc.. Observe the riots our country and the world has experienced the past several years. There are even death threats to judges, politician’s, athletes, law enforcement officers, parking lot violence, stabbings, beheadings, unvaccinated people, parents, and the list goes on. We are definitely witnessing the rise of lawlessness all around the world.
Now we have the Holy Spirit with us to guide us, instruct us and mentor us in the faith. When the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, we will be on our own and if our faith was never truly in Christ Jesus alone, we will fall away from the faith we thought we had. However, if our faith is in Christ Jesus alone, not in ourselves, just in Christ we can make it through the period where we are on our own. Of course, my ultimate hope is that we will be protected by the blood of Jesus that is upon us spiritually just as the Hebrews were protected when the blood of a lamb was placed on their door stoop before the angel of death came during their time in Egypt. We live in unprecedented times. A time of testing, a time of reflection, a time of examination, a time of learning to live in God’s kingdom now, not after Jesus returns.
My prayer is we petition God for mercy on our nation, our leaders, and ourselves.
I put this together in a rush, and I hope there is something you can glean from what is here. Please, read the New Testament slowly so you can pick out information that you may have overlooked before. God has given us plenty of warning concerning what the world is about to face, and us along with it.
Mike Kovach
16 November 2021
The Christian Underground Journal
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