2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 ~ Beware of Lawless Men

One of the reasons Paul wrote a second letter to the Thessalonians was to clarify a rumour that the day of the Lord has come (verse 2). But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only (Matthew 24:36). As such, all predictions regarding the end of the world are merely false reports.

Paul went on further to point out that this day has yet to arrive unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction (verse 3). This man of lawlessness is a false Jesus who claims divinity as he opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or onject of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God (verse 4). This is supposed to be the honour belonging to the one true Jesus, and so, it is just when we read on in verse 8 that the Lord Jesus will kill the man of lawlessness with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of his coming.

This man of lawlessness is one empowered by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders (verse 9) - these are done to remind people of Jesus Christ, but it is no less than mere trickery as these signs and wonders are performed with all wicked deception (verse 10) that people may be taken away from the truth to follow Satan instead.

While there are many speculations out there as to who this man of lawlessness may be, we do not yet have sufficient information to accurately point out any individual. It suffices to say that the identity of this man of lawlessness is not the most important of matters but what is more crucial is the right response. Paul warned the Thessalonians (as well as us, the readers) to not be deceived while taking pleasure in unrighteousness but to instead love the truth and so be saved (verses 10-12).

The lesson here is to pick the right Jesus. There is no assurance of knowing what exactly will happen if we use the buffer of the appearance of the man of lawlessness before deciding whether to follow Christ. It could be that this individual may never appear at all during our lifetime here on earth. Our hearts may also be hardened to make any changes after waiting for a long period of time. And even if the man of lawlessness is to appear anytime soon, Paul forewarned us that his appearance will be accompanied by a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false (verse 11) - such deception may prevent us from following the right Jesus.

Whose team will you be on? The true Lord Jesus Christ? Or the false Jesus in the man of lawlessness?