“For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.” (2 Cor. 11:14-15, NKJV)
In an attempt to understand what grants access to the spirit of perversity, our previous teaching spent some time explaining end-time mythology. Our point of departure was 2 Thess. 2:6-12, which speaks of “he” who is being restrained, but who will ultimately be “revealed”. There is a mysterious reference to the “mystery of lawlessness” which is “already at work”, which “only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way”, and then “the lawless one will be revealed”. We came to the following conclusion: WITHIN you there is a collective being that is known by many names – the man of sin, the son of perdition, he who opposes, the old Adam, the old nature, and then of course, the Antichrist. 2 Thess. 2:2-3 states that “that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition …” We explained that apostacy, to fall away from faith, is to leave one’s faith behind, or to secularise one’s faith. It is in truth the unregenerated self of the old man, the first Adam, that still lives and rules within us.
What does indeed bring about a change of perspective on the whole matter, is that the apostasy first needs to take place before the unholy trinity (the man of sin, the son of perdition, and he who opposes), can be revealed WITHIN US! Before this happens they hide within us like a corporate “many-membered man”.
In order to correctly understand the section from 2 Thess. 2:6-12 it is necessary to rewrite Paul’s complex syntax. In this section Paul showcases different facets of this matter, but unfortunately does not offer a perspective in which the historic and future unfolding (the timeline of events following one another) is clear. We can unpack the chain of events as follows (the verse from which it is taken, is placed in brackets – the first part of the verse = a, the second = b, etc), so that it reads like a narrative (my additions, for the sake of the narrative, are placed in capital letters in large brackets, and the colours are used to focus attention on similar terms, themes or references):
- [BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD] God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth (13b)
- He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (14)
- Let no one [NOW] deceive you by any means (3a)
- [Do] not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. (2a/2b)
- For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work (7a)
- “And now, ye know what hindereth his being manifested in his time.” (6a) (Murdock Translation)
- for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first (3b)
- “only he who restrains it until now will develop from the midst” (7b), (ACV Translation)
- that he may be revealed in his own time (6b) And then the lawless one will be revealed, (8a): and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped (3c/4a)
- The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders (9)
- and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved (10)
- so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (4c)
- who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped (4b)
- And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie (11a)
- [THEN] the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ [WILL TAKE PLACE] (1a) and our gathering together to Him (1b)
- 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 (8)
- that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness (12)
Now the million-dollar question is, of course – who/what is spoken of in points 6, 8 and 16?
The uncomfortable use of the word hinder creates the main problem of interpretation. This word, katechō in Greek, is used 23 times in the New Testament, almost always used to indicate that something is irrevocably bound (as is seen for instance in Heb. 3:6), in the widest sense of the word. In Rom 1:18, for instance, it is translated as suppress; in Rom 7:6 as held; in Phil 1:13 speaks of chains; in Luke 4:42 it can be paraphrased as keeping something at all cost. It is he who does this, and so it is imperative that we found out who/what he is.
The key to the identity of the fundamental element which keeps things in bondage, is 2 Thess. 2:9 – it is the institution that “with all power, signs, and lying wonders” accommodates and maintains a false anointing. Throughout the new covenant we are warned against this institution:
- 24:24 – “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
- 2 Pet. 2:1-3 – “But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words …”
- 2 Cor. 11:13-15 – “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.”
The institution that, “with all power, signs, and lying wonders” accommodates and maintains a false anointing, is the institutionalised Babylonian church system. Strong translates apostasy as ‘falling away’, as “defection from the truth”. Falling away from the true faith, or then the secularising of faith, takes place within the visible church, not outside it. This move towards the carnal has a long historic origin, but gains strength over time. Natural man, with his carnal manner of thinking, is still the enemy of God – Rom. 8:7 makes it very clear: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God.” The Christian vineer can no longer hide the demonically driven system of religiosity, corruption and unrighteousness. “Much of what Jesus did and taught only makes sense when we realize that his stated goal of offering salvation to the world also included the abolition of religion as a competing system.” (Brain McLaren: The Secret Message of Jesus. p. xi).
While the apostles were still busy laying the foundations of the church, their false brothers were already secretly slipping in to preach a different faith system that wears the Babylonian coat of carnal religion as its outer garb.
- Preston Eby encapsulates it in a very apt manner, and thus I quote extensively from his writing: “They were instituting rules and regulations, laying down laws, formulating creeds, observing days, establishing sacraments and ordinances, elevating human government, becoming disciples of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas, and of many others. The Babble had begun and the mysterious MAN OF SIN was raising his ugly head. Before too many years had passed men began to set themselves up as ‘bishops’ and ‘lords’ over God’s heritage in place of the Holy Spirit. Instead of conquering by the power of the Spirit and truth – as in the early days – men began to substitute THEIR ideas and THEIR methods. Soon the glory and power, the presence of God in the morning time Church began to be eclipsed, and the power of carnal minded men gradually TOOK THE PLACE of the awesome presence of God. Consequently, man’s carnal understanding was put upon the Scriptures, and as the Spirit of Christ fled from their midst, men established a vast and elaborate system of SUBSTITUTES to take the place of reality. A ‘falling away’ of a massive and dreadful nature arose until the religion of Christ became gradually the religion of antichrist. That which had been visibly known as the body of Christ BECAME THE BODY OF ANTICHRIST where carnal observances replaced spiritual reality, the ceremonial took the place of His indwelling life, human tradition obscured the Word of God, human authority usurped the leadership of the Holy Spirit, and idolatry replaced true and spiritual worship.”
The reason apostasy exists, or that we have a secularising of the church, is because man exalted himself. The ego and the old nature of the unregenerated self took God’s place in the temple – his own body.
Now that we understand who the enigmatic “he” is in this section, it is easier to place the rest of the role players, and to understand the events within the right context and perspective. This happens in the next few teachings.
- Selah: Read the unpacking of 2 Thess. 2 again.
- Read: 14-15; Ps. 90; Num. 16-20
- Memorise: 90:4
- For a more in-depth understanding: Read Brain McLaren’s The Secret Message of Jesus
