As Paul the
apostle began to share with the Thessalonians about the “man of
sin” or “son of perdition” who is the “antichrist”,
he reveal that Jesus will “consume” him “with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy” him “with the
brightness of his coming”. This “antichrist” will be
allowed on the scene by the Holy Spirit before “the day of
Christ”, and many will follow after him. In chapter two and
verse nine of this second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul tells how
this “man of sin” has “all power and signs and lying
wonders” because his “coming is after the working of
Satan” where we read:
with all
power and signs and lying wonders,
The
verse begins, “Even him,
whose coming is after the working of Satan...” Paul
began with the words, “Even him
whose”
which is one Greek word “hos”
and refers to “the man of sin who is” “coming”
which means “will arrive, be present or advent” “is
after” or
“down from, through out, according to, toward and along” “the
working”
which is the Greek word “engergeia”
and means “efficiency, energy, operation and strong working” “of
Satan” who
is “the adversary of God and Christ and the name given to the
prince of evil spirits”. “Satan incites apostasy from God and to
sin, circumvents men by his wiles, causes the worshippers of idols to
be under his control, and by his demons he is able to take possession
of men and inflict them with diseases”. The “son
of perdition”
will have efficiency and energy from
“Satan”
himself when he is revealed upon the earth.
The
verse goes on to say, “...with all power and signs and
lying wonders,...” Paul added,
“with all power”
which means “each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone of
the inherent powers to perform miracles, influence through riches and
wealth, armies, forces and hosts”
“and signs” or
“marks or tokens portending remarkable events soon to happen and
miracles” “and lying”
or “conscious and intentional falsehood, perversity, impious and
deceitful precepts” “wonders”
which are “things which are strange as to cause it to be watched or
observed, a prodigy, portent or miracles”. This “man of
sin” will have the “workings”
of “Satan” and be
able to demonstrate them with powerful miracles, predictions and
deceptive “wonders”.
When
we meditate upon these words of Paul, we may wonder about the “power”
given to this “man of sin”. The “antichrist” will be
revealed before “the day of Christ”, and his purpose will
be to “deceive” as many people as possible. Those who are prone
to evil will follow after him easily because this “man of sin”
through the power of Satan will be able to perform great predictions
and miracles which cause everyone to “wonder”. The bride
of Christ, which means those who “rely upon, trust in and cling to
Jesus Christ”, will not be on the earth to see the unveiling of
this “son of perdition”, however, there will be people who
will believe in, trust in and rely upon this “man of sin”.
“Satan” will give this man his power, and those who follow
after him are destined for eventual and eternal doom. We must warn
everyone concerning this “man of sin”, and as Paul the
apostle described him to the Thessalonians, let us not only warn, but
also lead people to a relationship with Jesus Christ which will keep
them from being deceived by him.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians why people follow this “man
of sin”, so read ahead, and we
shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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