~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: In my Bible, 2 Thessalonians 2:3, it refers to our Lord's coming but not before the great revolt. Do you have more references to this passage or maybe you can tell me what the revolt is about?Answer: "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" (2 Thessalonians 2:3 NIV).
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thessalonians 2:3 AV).
The key to understanding what is meant by rebellion or falling away is in understanding the nature and purpose of the one called "the man of lawlessness" or "son of perdition."
The lawless man is the Antichrist and his spirit is at work already, although he will not be revealed as a personality until the Holy Spirit allows it.
"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" (verse 7).
"But every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world" (1 John 4:3).
This is his nature and work:
"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" (verse 4).
"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" (verses 9-10).
This rebellion then, is a manifestation of the spirit of the Antichrist. This spirit opposes everything that is godly and right. It opposes Christ and tries to substitute worship of man for the worship of God. It tries to make a god out of man. It is a rebellion against God's laws and ways.
The Antichrist will be the embodiment of this rebellion because he will be the representative of Satan on earth. Satan, of course, is the original rebel against God and the cause of all rebellion.
The remedy and prevention to this rebellion is to believe the truth as revealed in Christ. Paul says we are saved through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit and our belief in the truth.
"...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. But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth" (verses 10-13).
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