"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 ...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 by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness" (II Thes. 2:3-4; 6-12).
In Matthew 24 and in Luke 21 Jesus warns His followers that in the last days they must be prepared for a universal sweep of deception driven by hosts of evil spirits designed to snare both sinners and saints, even "to the very elect." "For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth," He said (Luke 21:35).
The apostle Paul wrote his second epistle to the Thessalonians from Corinth only a few months after he wrote the first. He wrote the second time to correct their misunderstanding of his first letter. Paul had learned that many of the Thessalonian believers had taken his teachings on the imminence of the Second Coming of Christ so seriously that some had quit their jobs, grown antisocial and gone into hibernation to await the coming of Christ. Paul wrote his second letter to tell them to come out of hiding, rejoin the body of Christ in worship and loving fellowship, go back to work and prepare more responsibly for the Second Coming of Christ.
But Paul also wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians to brace them for the darkness and deception that would sweep all nations and cultures in the last days preceding the revelation of the AntiChrist.
The Gospel of Grace
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is such a powerful force that once it has been proclaimed, human hearts cannot remain the same. Those who hear the Gospel, who believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that the Risen Christ is the Son of God are born anew, regenerated in nature, justified freely, adopted into the family of God's redeemed children and become indwelt by the Holy Spirit. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of true believers to convict and cleanse them from sin, counsel and guide them in all truth, comfort them in daily experiences including all crises in life and empower them to live out the Christian life. The Spirit helps them worship and pray, witness and serve, resist temptation and live in holiness of heart and life.
The Holy Spirit indwells the heart of the believer not as a dictator or tyrant. He will lead the believer in "paths of righteousness," but the believer remains a free agent. If he chooses to ignore or reject the leadings of the Spirit and go his own way, he is free to do so. The Holy Spirit will be faithful to correct and convict an erring child of God. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). But what if we decide to ignore the Holy Spirit's call to repentance and reconciliation? Then read the next verse: "If we claim we have not sinned, we make him (God) out to be a liar, and his word has no part in our lives" (v. 10). This writer takes this to mean that the backslider is given a margin of grace for repentance, during which time God deals with his erring child through longsuffering, patience, even chastisement. But eventually if repentance and confession are not forthcoming, willful and presumptuous sin will replace faith and the backslider will forfeit faith and slip back into an unregenerate state.
Let us now consider what happens when a nation or an individual hears the Gospel, but rejects it. God in His mercy may allow the people to hear the Gospel again and again. Sooner or later, however, communities and individuals who do not believe the Gospel will find that the light of the Gospel to which they have been exposed again and again will harden their hearts in unbelief. Thousands of cities in North America are now so Gospel-hardened that they do not want to hear, and some cannot hear it. Many who have heard the Gospel and made a confession of Christ and went on to be baptized and joined the church, have lost their devotion to Christ so that they are now lukewarm in their faith, though they go on professing to be a Christian but they have little or no power. There is a warning in Heb. 3:12-15 for such backsliders: "See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, so long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. We have come to share Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As he has said, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.'" But let us know that when we turn away from the Lord, He still loves us and calls us back to reconciliation and fellowship. The backslider is a candidate for revival. But he/she is also a candidate for the coming deception driven by the forces of hell that have been reserved for the last-days invasion of planet earth in an all-out effort by Satan to entrap billions in darkness and delusion.
The Judgment of Delusion
There is a noticeable increase of hostility toward God and Christianity in these times. It seems that evangelical Christians are being targeted in university classrooms, on television talk shows, along the political campaign trails and even in the pulpit. We evangelicals need to admit that some of the charges made against the church by atheists, cynics and secular humanists are true. But I have personally challenged some of the charges made against our Lord and Savior. After stating what I believe to be the truth about who Christ is, and having given a word of personal testimony about my relationship with Him, I have walked away from futile arguments and emotional hotheads who have not even a trace of objectivity when it comes to considering the love of God and the purpose of our Lord coming to earth. I know in my own heart that those who oppose Jesus Christ will come under the judgments of God, some in this life and all in the next. But I shall continue to pray for such opposers that they might turn to the truth.
It is my prayerfully considered opinion that we are now in the build-up period of the apostasy that leads to the coming of the AntiChrist. Paul the apostle mentions "rebellious ones" (apostates) who are used of Satan to help "delude" those not anchored in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of "the lawless one" coming in the power of Satan displaying "all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, with every sort of evil that will deceive those who are perishing" (II Thes. 2:9-10). It is interesting to compare the method Satan uses to attract the masses to his powerful Deceiver with the method God used to attract people to His Son, Jesus Christ the Savior. On the Day of Pentecost, following Christ's death, resurrection, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter spoke to the multitudes, saying, "Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22). But there is one great difference: in the case of the AntiChrist, he comes with "all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonder." (my emphasis) whereas Jesus' miracles, signs and wonders were not contrived to enchant and manipulate the multitudes. The Man of Sin's counterfeit miracles (physical healings, political strategies, financial gimmickries and personal mesmerizms) will spellbind millions and cause them to believe his lies and come into eternal condemnation - all because, said the apostle Paul, "they refused to love the truth (Jesus is the way, the truth and the life, John 14:6) and would not choose to be saved" (II Thes. 2:10). Too late they will learn that they put their faith in a wicked destroyer instead of a Loving Savior.
The Restraining Force of Hope
In II Thes. 2:7, Paul speaks of "a restraining one" against the workings of the AntiChrist. Evangelical theologians for over a thousand years have identified the Restrainer as the Holy Spirit.
How do we suppose the Holy Spirit will work to restrain the operations of the wicked one? I think He just might work against Satan in his final assault through the AntiChrist just the way He has always worked against evil: through Spirit-anointed prayer!
Presently, we are seeing the most phenomenal prayer movement in the history of the church. I am convinced that Christian leaders and churches and individuals who will respond to the Spirit's most urgent call at this hour - the call to prayer - will see revival and be numbered with the overcomers. There is no doubt in my mind that the Lord Jesus Christ, our Commander-in-Chief in spiritual warfare has given the Archangel Michael (Heaven's Spiritual Warfare Czar, see Daniel 10) his orders to match the heavenly hosts with earthly warriors to "struggle not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, authorities, powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the unseen spirit world" (Eph. 6:12).
My Christian brothers and sisters, the final war is raging, the war that will end all wars. I am talking about spiritual warfare, the final one. Let us enlist and become a part of the Restrainer's army of spiritual warriors who will set the stage for the final great outpouring of the Spirit in revival and the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will destroy the AntiChrist with "the brightness of His coming."
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