“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,” II Thessalonians 2:3 NKJV
Reflection: who is the “man of sin”, the Antichrist?
In close competition with 2 Thessalonians 4:17, the focus verse today has caused controversy and endless speculation among Bible scholars. If you look up Bible commentaries on this verse, you can read for hours. The central topic that Paul is dealing with in the paragraph of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, is Antichrist. And not just the “spirit of antichrist”, but what will culminate in a person, known as “the man of sin”, “the man of lawlessness”, or “the man of perdition”. And, of course, there has been speculation for hundreds of years who this will be, even to this day. Let’s read a few things about how Paul describes him, but starting from our focus verse.
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” II Thessalonians 2:3-4, 9-10 NKJV
I find the most concerning in the entire description from Paul is his opening warning, “Let no one deceive you by any means;”. Keep in mind Paul is writing this to the faithful Christians, the followers of Christ. But when we read the description of this “man of sin”, how in the world could followers of Christ be deceived? How could they be fooled by a man? We see that he will have “power, signs, and lying wonders,” given to him by Satan, and is showing himself to be above God. This warning by Paul is not unique; even Jesus gave the same warning as he talked about this “And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.” Matthew 24:4 NKJV.
Let’s remember again the greater context of what Paul is writing about. We saw in chapter 1 he covered the coming of the Lord Jesus, and therefore the judgement on those who have rejected Christ. In chapter 2, he addresses more about the sequence of the end times, as he starts out “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.” II Thessalonians 2:1-2 NKJV, and it is after this he gives them the warning to not be deceived.
Now, notice something very important and interesting in the sequence of events from our focus verse, that might explain Paul’s warning. We see “that Day [Jesus’ coming] will not come unless the falling away comes first”. The “falling away”, or apostasy, indicate many believers leaving the faith, or becoming “lukewarm” as in the last church of Laodicea in the book of Revelation. And, in a way it looks like Paul is warning the church not to be among those who are part of the falling away. And this will be what enables “the man of sin”, Antichrist himself, to take power. It is of course deeply concerning, as we think about us living possibly in the end times. Because, that means many
have fallen away and perhaps even are falling away,
who will be deceived by this man of sin. And, for decades now we have seen the washing out of morality, the blurring of right and wrong, even the introduction of all sorts of idol worship and wickedness into many churches. We see many churches and pastors replacing the study and adherence to the Word of God with feel good experiences. And, if you think about it, how easy it will be then to fool people then with signs and wonders, if the people don’t know the Word of God. If they lack spiritual discernment. Paul’s warning is so important for us today, to study and know the Word of God, and to stay true to the gospel of Christ and all His teachings.
And in that light, let’s receive Paul’s encouragement, “not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter”.
