2 Thessalonians 2:6-12

6: And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.
7: For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 
8: Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;
9:  that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 
10: and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.
11: For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12: in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

*** 

Paul continued to reassure the Thessalonians that the Lord’s return had not yet come. The lawless one and apostasy must come first. The man of lawlessness—the one who will betray Christ and set himself up as a god of all gods to be worshiped by all—will display the power to do signs and wonders. As the dragon gives the beast its power (Revelation 13:2) so will his power be in accord with Satan. Yet he will deceive many.

There is something restraining him now and Paul said they knew what it was. (Most likely the Church). He will be restrained until the restrainer is "taken out of the way," and then he will be revealed. The restraining power is keeping the antichrist and the spirit of antichrist in check for now. Yet this "mystery of lawlessness" is already at work behind the scenes. The antichrist spirit is at work in the world now. This traitorous spirit may appear, at one point, to be of Christ, but will betray and oppose Him (1 John 2:18-22).

The antichrist will be destroyed with the breath of the Lord’s mouth (Isaiah 11:4, Revelation 19:19-20) and he will be brought to an end by the appearance of His coming. The very presence of the Lord will destroy him. 

Those deceived by the antichrist will fall because they do not love the truth. They will not believe the truth, preferring to believe what is false to take pleasure in wickedness. Those who choose wickedness over truth will fall to the deluding influence which God Himself will send upon those who reject truth.

We must buy the truth (Proverbs 23:23). We must value it enough to embrace it even if it costs us. Even if it’s the harder path. Truth is God’s way—the way to salvation and eternal life. We must develop a love of the truth ahead of time. This is why Jesus said He warned them of what was to come (Matthew 24:25). This is why Paul emphasized he’d already told this to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:5). Get ready, for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we believed (Romans 13:11).



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