LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Thessalonians 2:7-11, For the mystery of unrighteousness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way, and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all the power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

 

A few days ago, I wrote about the “mystery of unrighteousness” in the world right now.  I would like to continue this today. The “man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, will be empowered by Satan to do signs and lying wonders to deceive many. Those deceived will perish because they have not received the truth of Jesus Christ to be saved. With all the power this individual will have, he and his terribly wicked ways will be defeated when the King of kings and Lord of lords descends from heaven to earth to “consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming”. You can read about this in The Revelation 19:11-21.

 

Paul tells us that it is Satan that brings this man into power and enables him to do false signs and wonders. Again, The Revelation tells us what these signs and wonders are in chapter 13. These things are counterfeit given to cause people to believe this man is the Messiah. Satan has always tried to deceive people. He has been too successful beginning with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden; his deception has caused many to perish and will continue to do so until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have been saved have received the Holy Spirit to help them discern evil and defend them against Satan’s deception. 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us that Satan “has blinded those who do not believe to keep them from seeing the gospel of the saving power of Jesus Christ”; only the grace of God can open the eyes of the blindness in unbelievers.

 

Paul tells us what happens to those who refuse to believe, those who are left behind when the rapture occurs and are left to face the tribulation. This is a time of great rebellion against God when the man of lawlessness will rise to power. To those who are not Christians, God will send a strong delusion so they will follow the false teachings of the man of lawlessness. The rejection of truth will always cause sinners to accept false teaching; here Paul is telling us that those left behind will accept the lie that the man of lawlessness is the Messiah.

 

How does the truth reach those left behind if Christians are taken out of the world? God will raise up 144,000 Jews who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ to evangelize the lost. He will also send two faithful witness to evangelize for three-and one-half years. They will be killed and raised from the dead. Yes, people will be saved during the tribulation. Yet, those who refuse to believe show the condition of the human heart. The destiny of those who refuse to accept the Lord and His teaching after the rapture are condemned. Because they delight in unrighteousness, their destiny is one of suffering – for eternity. We must continue to pray for those who continue to live in deception that their eyes would be open and would pray for God’s forgiveness. Time is running out!