Paul told the
Thessalonian church member “the mystery of iniquity” was
“already” working which means people are “already”
drawn to wickedness and evil, and when “he who now lets will
let” or when the Holy Spirit allows it, the “son of
perdition” will be revealed and people will follow him as well.
In chapter two and verse eight of this second letter to the
Thessalonians, Paul continued with his thought as he shared
concerning “that Wicked” being “revealed” and
subsequently destroyed where we read:
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 verse begins, “And
then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
the spirit of his mouth,...” Paul
began with the phrase, “And then”
or “also, even and indeed at that time” “shall
that Wicked be revealed”
which is the Greek phrase “apokalyptō
anamos apokalyptō” which
means
“the uncovering, unveiling, disclosing and making bare of the one
who is destitute, departing and a violator of the law ”, “whom
the Lord”
which refers to “he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which
he has power of deciding; master and the title given to God, the
Messiah” “shall consume”
which means “expend, use up and destroy” “with
the spirit”
or “wind and breath” “of his
mouth”
which refers to “the opening in the front of the face through which
a person speaks”. In other words, when the Holy Spirit of God
“allows” this “man of sin”
and “son of perdition”
to be revealed, the Lord will shortly thereafter “consume” him
with the simple “breath” of his mouth.
The
verse goes on to say, “...and shall destroy with the brightness
of his coming:” Paul added, “and shall destroy” or
“render idle, unemployed, inactive, inoperative and deprive of
force, influence and power” “with the brightness” which
means “appearance” “of his coming” or “presence,
arrival and advent”. Paul's idea is that Jesus' coming and
appearance will cause to cease, put an end to, do away with, annul
and abolish any power the “son of perdition” may have on
the earth.
When
we think about Paul's words, we should rejoice over the power of the
“coming of the Lord”. No matter how powerful the “man
of sin”, “son of perdition” and “antichrist” may
be upon the earth, the simple “breath” or “word” of
God shall dispel him. Jesus will come again, and all the power that
has been gained by this “man of sin” will be gone in an
instant. The Lord will “destroy, annihilate and abolish” all that
he is and gains with His appearance, and the earth shall again be
under the complete control of Jesus. As we ponder these glorious
thoughts, let us with John the apostle echo the words, “even so,
come, Lord Jesus”.
Next
time Paul tells the Thessalonians how the “son of
perdition's coming” “is after the working of Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders”,
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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