While writing to the followers of Christ at Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul told them that Christ would not return until a falling away occurred and the church became corrupted. Why would anyone turn away from the life-giving teachings of Christ and worship falsehood? In chapter 2, verses 7 through 12 of his second inspired letter Paul explains, “For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming; even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie; that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Paul writes of the ‘mystery’ of lawlessness. This is a counterpart to the ‘mystery of God’s will’ which Paul writes about in another place (Ephesians 1:9). The reason the word ‘mystery’ is applied to both lawlessness and God’s will is that, at one time, neither of them had been made plain. Just as at one time God’s will had not yet been revealed, the “lawless one” had not yet been revealed at the time Paul wrote. In the same way, just as God’s will has been revealed through Jesus Christ, the “lawless one” will be revealed for who he is when “the one who restrains” is removed. He will no longer be able to conceal his identity and character.
The followers of Christ at Thessalonica were already familiar with what Paul was saying. Lawlessness was already at work though it was being restrained. What was it that holding lawlessness back? The early Christians believed that it was the Roman Empire. The fall of the Roman Empire allowed the “lawless one” to openly declare himself. It is also helpful to remember that the phrase “lawless one” does not refer to a particular person, but a system. History tells us that when the Roman Empire fell, the particular church of that era which was based in Rome seized political power. In doing so, it moved away from the teachings of Christ and used its power to persecute those who remained faithful.
Though the “lawless one” might seem all-powerful and unstoppable, Paul reminds us that he cannot stand before Christ. Even if he were to have all the power and resources of the earth at his command, Jesus will destroy him with the merest breath. Though from a human point of view he is great and majestic, the splendor of Christ will destroy him. The glorious light of Christ will reveal his pomp and pretension for the sham it is.
If this system has no standing when compared to the splendor of Christ, then why would anyone accept or follow it? One reason is that this system is based on deceit. It shows itself as one thing when it is another. This system pretends to be from God, but in reality, is energized by, and does the work of, Satan. It should not surprise us that people can mistake the work of Satan for that of God. Scripture says, “…Satan masquerades as an angel of light. It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness…” (2 Corinthians 11:14-15)
Many people have the idea that miracles are a sure sign that someone is doing God’s work. It is true that the Apostles used miracles to confirm that the message they were preaching about Christ was approved by God. However, one needs to be careful. Paul makes it very clear that many of the things which appear to be miracles, signs and wonders are actually counterfeit. Even those miracles which are genuine might be performed through the power of Satan. How, then, can one tell the difference? Jesus gave us a very important principle, “By their fruits you
will know them…” (Matthew 7:16) In other words, we can tell whether someone is from God by whether his life promotes godliness. The way we can distinguish between miracles which are genuinely from God and those which are from Satan is to look at the character and methods of the people who perform them. Paul not only attributes miracles to the “lawless one” but “all deception of wickedness” (NIV, every sort of evil). Therefore, if someone performs a fraudulent miracle we can be sure that he is from Satan. If someone performs a genuine miracle but uses it to deceive; if he uses miracles to gain power over others; if he uses miracles for personal gain, that person is doing Satan’s work. If one allows himself to be deceived by such miracles and signs, it will lead to his destruction.
What causes someone to be susceptible to deceit and, therefore, destruction? Paul writes that people perish because they refuse to love the truth. If one turns his back on the truth, then what is left but to accept falsehood? When we accept falsehood then we play into the hands of the devil because, as Jesus said, the devil is “…is a liar, and its father.” (John 8:44) In contrast to this Jesus said of himself, “…I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6) The meaning is clear: If we reject truth, we reject Jesus as well. If we reject Jesus, then we cannot be reconciled to God. If we are not reconciled to God, there is no option left open to us but destruction.
Paul goes on to say that God sends “a working of error” (NIV, a powerful delusion) to those who do not love truth. We need to make something very clear. Scripture says that “…it is impossible for God to lie…” (Hebrews 6:18) Therefore, Paul is not saying that God lies, or that God deceives. That is how Satan works, not God. What God does do, however, is confirm the choice which someone has already made of his own free will. If someone deliberately chooses to reject the truth and follow a lie, then God will make his rejection of truth obvious. Another Scripture says that God does not want, “…that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) But, if we deliberately choose to reject the salvation God offers us in Christ, we will reap the consequences. At first, this may seem harsh, but Paul explains that those who refuse to love the truth also delight in wickedness. What other choice does God have but to destroy those who hate His very nature of holiness? In view of this, we all need to ask ourselves whether we are among those who love the truth, or whether we delight in wickedness.