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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