II Thessalonians 2: 8 “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: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 13 But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.”
Why study something we won’t be a part of? Even with this study I’ve just touched on part of it. This is focusing on the coming of the anti-Christ. The judgment is already in the working, and the anti-Christ is only one part of what the Bible says is a time that has never been or will be again. Why do it? Satan has launched a massive effort to keep the unsaved from God. He’s done this through conditioning. He’s also powerfully working to deceive you and me. The Bible calls this the “falling away from the truth.” We see it already—the backsliding, the turning to other religions, and the believing of something/someone other than Jesus. We’re all vulnerable. It doesn’t matter how long we’ve been saved, the devil can and does work on us. We need to stay focused; we can’t be caught unprepared. Jesus told the disciples to be prepared “lest that day come unawares.” This is the most dangerous time for our soul. Satan is turning the screws. Why study it? It should inspire and show us how important it is to pray, live consistently, and attend church to help us stay in the truth.
Satan makes righteousness seem unrighteous and right seem wrong. Verses 10 and 11 say “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” It’s not God’s fault if people are left behind. They will have allowed themselves to believe the delusions of Satan. God allows them to believe the lies; it’s their choice, and no one else is the blame. Verse 12 says “That they all might be damned who believed not the truth.” All who believe the lies will be damned.
Satan is ready for the coming of the Lord. He believes in the rapture. He believes the Bible and that Jesus is the Son of God. He wants to mix it all up. We see the growing evidence everyday. All that’s left is for the trumpet to sound. A good question to ask: are we as ready for the rapture as the devil is? He’s ready for Christians to be taken out of the way so he can have his way. Satan wants to get back at God by deceiving Adam’s race. Be on your toes. Keep in mind that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
Verse 8 calls the anti-Christ ” that Wicked”. Notice it is capitalized. It’s a noun. That’s his name. He’s the lawless one, the personification of sin. He has no morals. He’s his own being and will create his own rules. We see this reflected in society today. Morality is interpreted as whatever a person thinks it is. He’s the Desolate One who is beyond redemption; he has no chance to be saved. Revelation 12 says he knows the time is short for him to work his deception. Revelation calls him the Beast; he’ll come across as the most human of humans. He’ll have absolute authority and project himself as God. The people will title him and embrace him as deity. People want a super-leader. We’re being maneuvered already. First, he’ll subtly take the whole global system into crisis. No one will know what to do. The time will be right for the anti-Christ to step up. Satan laughs as every trick in the book is launched against us. Jesus is the first and last to caution us not to be deceived. He said “many will come in my name.” The anti-Christ will show miracles and sign of lying wonders. He’ll have the new approach to solve the social, economic, and spiritual problems of the world. We can see it coming together. We’ve probably seen his face on television. We can’t search him out; we don’t know who he is. We need to seek God while he is near and do our best not to get caught up in the strong delusions. When it all begins the age of grace will be over. With the exception of the 144,000 Jews, no one will be saved. Who can be saved, how can someone be saved, if the Holy Spirit has departed with the church in the Rapture; if the true church has left, along with it’s witness?
Are we ready for the coming of the Lord? Multitudes already believe the lies. Why does God allow this? The Truth is there as well as the lies. It’s the freedom of choice that God has given to us all. We have to stay clear minded. Verse 8 is such an encouragement when it says “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.” The same Truth that keeps us ready will destroy the devil. During the temptation of Jesus, the devil couldn’t do anything with the Word of God. By that very Word he’ll destroy it all.
Notice that verse 8 also mentions the “brightness of his coming.” The second coming of the Lord will be in His brightness and glory. All the darkness of Satan will be gone, and there will be one eternal day. Verse 13 says “But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth.” The Lord is our salvation. We’re saved by the sanctification of the Spirit. We are his chosen ones. Verse 14 says “Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We have the gospel of Jesus not the anti-Christ. What better advice can we find than what is in verse 15? “Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.” STAND FAST. HOLD THE TRUTH OF GOD.
We need the encouragement of verses 16 and 17 after all that we read in the other verses about the coming of the dark son. “Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.” Jesus is also working overtime to establish and keep us ready for the sounding of the trumpet. Our prayer should be “Lord, help me be ready.”
In the daily confusion of the world, stay under the shadow of the cross and pray He will keep you safe till the storm passes by. Be ready to meet the coming KING, not a coming anti-Christ. You’ll get one or the other. Seek the real Christ.
Adwolfe Freewill Baptist Church 