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Why
Anti-Christ Must Appear
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The rumor mill among
Christians in Paul’s day worked very well
– perhaps too well. One persistent rumor
that went ‘round and round’ during the
first 20 years of the church’s existence was
alleged sightings of Jesus. The Bible student has
to understand that communication in those days
between distant places was very slow and subject
to distortion. So, rumors originating from
Jerusalem about a “Jesus sighting”
could have taken several weeks to reach
Thessalonica with a probability of being enhanced
by a dozen people along the way. Further, the
only way to verify whether a rumor was fact or
fiction was to travel to Jerusalem, and that was
out of the question because of time and effort.
Consequently, correcting a rumor was practically
impossible. Add to this dilemma the vacuum
produced by the persecution of early Christians,
and any word concerning a possible fulfillment of
Christ’s words regarding His return for His
followers became “truth.”
Finally, the apostle Paul
addressed this issue and brought rumors and the
appearing of Jesus to an end for the last time.
Paul stated that Jesus would not return to Earth until
two events occurred: “Concerning the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered
to him, we ask you, brothers, not to become
easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy,
report or letter supposed to have come from us,
saying that the day of the Lord has already come.
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. 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.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)
Until
the Rebellion Occurs
Many people poorly
understand the awesome significance of the phrase
“until the rebellion occurs”. The
rebellion that Paul is referring to is the
forthcoming wholesale rejection of the gospel by
the vast majority of Earth’s inhabitants.
When the Great Tribulation begins, God will
empower 144,000 men and women in every quadrant
of Earth. These will speak for God and proclaim
three clarion messages (described in Revelation
14). The 144,000 will proclaim, “Submit to
God and comply with His commandments: “Do
not submit to the authority of Babylon”; and
“If any man submits to the authority of the
Antichrist, he will be tortured to death with
burning sulfur.” (Revelation 14:10)
Jesus has made it clear:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in the whole world as a testimony to all
nations, and then the end will come.”
(Matthew 24:14) Consider this: The events
associated with the Great Tribulation provide the
only scenario in which the gospel can be preached
throughout the whole world as a testimony
for salvation. Many church groups are doing their
best to broadcast their version of the gospel,
but when Jesus was looking 2,000 years in the
future, He was not speaking of a denominationally
oriented broadcast of the gospel on radio and TV.
Instead, He was referring to a penetrating
presentation of the gospel that transcends every
religious barrier. At this moment in time, three
billion people have not heard of Jesus Christ!
Even worse, those people who may have heard of
Jesus do really understand their need for Jesus.
For example, the devout Hindu does not
thoughtfully consider the gospel presented by a
devout Baptist. Nor does a devout Church of
Christ member thoughtfully consider a religious
message presented by a devout Moslem. Even among
Christians, a devout Catholic does not
thoughtfully consider the gospel presented by a
Protestant, ect. The problem is that devoutly
religious people cannot discuss differing
“gospels” because their paradigms about
God have little, if anything, in common.
Therefore, broadcasting the gospel, in the manner
that is being done today, is the best thing that
can be done right now. However, understand that
broadcasting the gospel to the whole world (as
Trinity Broadcasting Network and many other
religious groups claim they do) is no substitute
for what god is about to do. God will open every
heart and mind of every sincere person with
displays of incredible power and authority by
sending judgments upon the Earth. God will stop
the world in its tracts with a global earthquake,
meteoric showers of burning hail, two asteroid
impacts and great darkness. This will get
everyone’s full attention so that His
eternal gospel can be delivered by the 144,000
and thoughtfully considered by all people,
regardless of religious background!
In this setting, the
rebellion that Paul speaks about comes into sharp
focus. As the truth about God’s will, (the
gospel) is being forcefully and clearly set
before every person on Earth, a decision will be
required. The forces of Babylon (the crisis one
world government that forms in response to Gods
judgments) will be aligned against the gospel.
Decisions made for God during the Tribulation
will not be easy. Much of the world’s
population will reject the truth about God and
will stand in direct opposition to the clearest
evidences of truth. Notice what Paul says about
the wicked: “…They perish because they
refused to love the truth and so be saved. For
this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so
they will believe the lie and so that all will be
condemned who have not believed the truth but
have delighted in wickedness.” (2
Thessalonians 2:10-12)
Notice: The wicked will
perish because they refused to love the
truth and be saved. God does not hold a person
responsible for something they do not understand.
God does hold a person responsible when the Holy
Spirit brings conviction about the truth and the
truth is rejected. In other words, how can we say
that a person has refused the gospel until he or
she hears and correctly understands the
terms and conditions of the gospel within his own
religious reality. For example, how can the
Catholic condemn the Hindu when the Hindu cannot
honestly see things in the same way the Catholic
does, or the Hindu condemn a Baptist because the
Baptist cannot honestly see things the same way
he does. In His great mercy, when God initiates
the Great Tribulation, He will open every mind
for a short season to thoughtfully consider the
truth about His will. Every person will be
forced, under dire circumstances, to give due
consideration to the terms and conditions of His
salvation – every person will understand the
consequences of refusing to believe the truth.
Then, the end will come, just as Jesus predicted,
because every person will make his or her
decision for or against the gospel.
God
Sends a Powerful Delusion
Paul is very specific
about the basis for the appearing of the man of
sin (the Antichrist). He wrote: “For this
reason God sends them a powerful delusion.”
What reason is Paul referring to? When a person
rejects the Holy Spirit’s strongest
influence that can be exerted within the soul to
submit to the will of God and rejects the
clearest evidences of truth that God has set
before him, God can do nothing further to save
that person! This is amazing, so pay attention to
how this unfolds during the Great Tribulation:
The Holy Spirit will be poured out to every
person, good and bad, (Joel 2:28) stirring the
soul of every person in a manner never seen
before. Further, the global devastations of
God’s wrath (the first four trumpets of
Revelation 8) will cause everyone to consider the
presence of the Almighty and the principles that
govern His Kingdom during a short period of time.
The 144,000 will clearly and powerfully present
the terms and conditions of salvation. As Babylon
inflicts persecution, everyone will be forced to
make a decision to either submit to God’s
truth or rebel against it. Unfortunately, most of
the world will reject the terms and conditions of
salvation, crumble under the pressure of
persecution and side with Babylon. This wholesale
rebellion produces the global rebellion
that Paul predicts. When God has done about all
He can to save souls, the Antichrist will be
released from the spiritual dungeon to accomplish
his heart’s desire. God will allow the
Antichrist to have great miracle working powers
so that those who delight in wickedness will be
quickly deceived and thus destroyed.
A
Six-Step Process
God always follows a
consistent pattern when dealing with mankind.
This pattern can be seen clearly as God dealt
with ancient Israel. There is a process that is
illuminated in the Old Testament that the reader
needs to be aware of:
- When
a group of people becomes corrupt and
degenerate, god sends warnings through
His servants, the prophets.
- History
indicates that typically the degenerate
group rejects God’s messenger and
His message.
- God
responds by sending a destroyer.
- Then,
after the dust settles, God begins the
process of restoration.
- When
the destroyer becomes proud and arrogant,
then God brings destruction upon the
destroyer.
- It
is God’s ultimate purpose to bring
about everlasting life and joy in Earth
made new.
Notice how this six-step
scenario played out in ancient Israel:
North
- The
ten northern tribes of Israel became
corrupt and degenerate. God sent warnings
of reproof and correction through eight
prophets.
- Israel
rejected God’s message and His
messengers.
- God
sent the king of Assyria as “His
club of wrath” to destroy Israel in
722 B.C. (Isaiah 10:5)
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