In  our previous issue, we commenced a short study of those who falsely claim to be the recipients of the Covenants which God made with our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  I believe that this knowledge is essential to the proper understanding of the fulfilment of these great promises.  To apply them to the wrong people is to cause utter confusion in the understanding of God’s Word.

We mentioned that there were three entities spoken of by our Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles John and Paul; namely “anti-Christ” as mentioned by John, “the Man of Sin” as mentioned by Paul, and “the synagogue of Satan” as mentioned by our Lord.  We also suggested that these were different titles for the one entity, and commenced with the study of “anti-Christ”.
So we now turn to the second of these entities, namely:-

We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12;
 

“Let no man deceive you by any means.  For that day (the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ of verse 1) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Remember ye not, that when I was with you, I told you these things?
And now that ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work.  Only he who now letteth (i.e., restrains), will let (restrain), until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders.
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
That they might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

 The second thing that we need to understand is the timing involved.  A study of verse 7 reveals that the ‘man of sin’, under the title of ‘the mystery of iniquity’, was already operating at the time Paul wrote his epistle.  Then in verse 8, under the title of ‘that Wicked’, we are informed that this entity will continue to operate until the second advent of our Lord Jesus Christ when he will be destroyed by the brightness of Christ’s coming.  Thus we find that the time frame of ‘the man of sin’ is from a time prior to when Paul wrote, up to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, the exact same time period as for the operation of ‘anti-christ’.  Again, as we found for ‘anti-christ’, this phrase cannot be restricted, at least in its fullest sense, to the Roman Catholic Church, because that particular church did not come into operation until many years later.  However, we must not overlook the fact that it does have a very pertinent application to the activities of this particular church.

 The third point to be noted is that Paul was referring to something that was known about at the time of writing, in just the same way as ‘anti-christ’ was known about at the time of John’s writing.  In verse 5 he reminds the Thessalonians that he told them about this on a previous visit.

 The only way to understand what God is telling us in this passage is to study the words used in the original language.  The authorities I am using are:-

1. “A Critical Lexicon & Concordance of the English and Greek New Testament” by E.W. Bullinger, D.D.

2. “Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words” by W.E. Vine, M.A.

 So as an example, let us study the words of verses three to seven.
 

"Falling Away"

 “Apostasy, not only religious.  It covers all aspects of both individual and national life, including finance, politics, morals, religion, and faith.  It means a collapse, or falling away from what should be.  It covers not only the structure, but includes the FOUNDATIONS.”  Thus, not only is TRUTH destroyed, but THE FOUNDATIONS ON WHICH TRUTH IS BUILT.
 

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"        (Psalm 11:3)

“Man” = mankind.  A group of people, as distinct from a special   or particular person.

“Sin”        Lawlessness.
 

“Sin is the transgression of the law.”          (John 3:4)

“Son of Perdition”

“Son”     Not necessarily a descendant.  It refers to the origin and nature which determines the character of what is being referred to.  For example:-
 

“The field is the world.  The good seed are the children of the Kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one.”      (Matthew 13:38)

“Exalteth”           To lift oneself up in arrogance and conceit.
 

“The Temple of God”

 God’s People, not only individually, but nationally as applying particularly to Israel.
 

“And what agreement hath the Temple of God with idols?
FOR YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD.
As God hath said, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them.  And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ ”                     (2 Cor. 6:16; quoting Lev. 26:11-12)

“Revealed”    To remove the veil or covering away from, and so to expose to open view what was previously hidden,
(and obviously in existence).

“Mystery”    That which is known to the initiated.  In the ordinary sense it is equal to ‘knowledge withheld’, but in the Scriptural sense, it means, TRUTH REVEALED.

 Let us remember that all these aspects which we have just studied were already in existence, and already operating when the Apostle Paul wrote these words.  Paul describes the Man of Sin and the way in which it operated as “The Mystery of Iniquity”, and went on to say that ‘it was already working’.

 It was only left for the IDENTITY of this power to become manifest just prior to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 So applying the above word studies, we arrive at the following amplified paraphrase of Paul’s statement:-

 “Just prior to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, the wise shall understand the revealed truth that there will be a collapse, not only of truth, but of the very foundations of truth, which will include all aspects of our society and way of life.  This collapse will be motivated by a group of mankind who will not only be lawless, in terms of their disobedience to the Laws of God, but who will be dedicated to the very evil principle and intent of the heart to promulgate evil.  Its aim will be the absolute, final and irreversible destruction of everything pertaining to God.  It will be arrogant, conceited, and repugnant to God.  It will be utterly deceitful, in that it will represent itself to be what it is not, and hide its true identity by focusing peoples’ attention elsewhere, and it will operate within God’s people."

 We now ask the question.  Who is this group who is so ruthlessly opposed to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom here on earth?

 Who is this group of mankind who are so dedicated to the propagation of everything that is evil, that it will do everything in its power to destroy the mind and the will of God’s people through constant brain-washing, falsehoods, and deceits?

 Who is this group who are the self-confessed enemies of God?

 They were operating in Paul’s day, and they are still operating today!

Their aims are still the same!

 A study of verses 9 to 12 of 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, gives us the information we need in order to decide this question.  Remember as we study that it is God’s stated intention to reveal its identity prior to the return of the Lord.  Verses 9 and 10 tell us:-
 

“Whose coming, (i.e. ‘that wicked’ of verse 8), is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.”

“Doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do . .”

And I'm sure that it absolutely coincidental that the official symbol of the "Fabian Society"
is a sheep draped in wolve's clothing!!!!

 But I feel that we should not overlook the statement contained in Revelation 13:13 which says that “they make fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men”.  No doubt, many will be wondering what this means.  Once again, we go to the Scriptures.  In Leviticus 9:24 we read that after Aaron had properly prepared and offered the sacrifice to God, then a fire came from God and consumed the sacrifice upon the altar.  This was a very special fire, being the evidence of God’s acceptance of the offering.  As a matter of fact, Deuteronomy chapters 4 and 5 make mention several times of the fact that the Lord God of Israel dwells in the fire.  The use of this statement that the ‘beast’ of Revelation 13, (being another expression of ‘the man of sin’ of 11 Thessalonians 2), makes “fire come down from heaven” is very interesting, because it is identifying the fact that this entity is deliberately presenting itself as being blessed by God, and having the power and authority of God to pass judgment on all other people by putting their seal of approval on whatever they choose.

 Verse 10 also tells us:-
 

“They received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

“Ye are from beneath.  I am from above.  Ye are of this world.  I am not of this world.
I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins.  For if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.”                  (John 8:23-24)

“I told you, and you believed not.  The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
But ye believe not,      BECAUSE YE ARE NOT MY SHEEP!”       (John 10:25-26)

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.
That they might be damned who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

 
 

Blindness to the existence and identity of the enemy
makes it impossible to conquer him.

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