Two Kings are Coming! (2 Thess. 2:1-12)

What do Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin and Ronald Reagan have in common? Each of them has been identified as the Antichrist, although for a variety of reasons. After all, Reagan was a very different man from the other two. What do the Caesars and the Popes have in common? Several of them have been called the Antichrist. Of course, they may have been an antichrist (with a small ‘a’), but whether any or all of them are the Antichrist is debatable. The apostle John reminded his readers towards the end of the first century that ‘children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come’ (1 John 2:18).

The fact is, one of the permanent distractions that affects some Christian churches is the desire to identify the Antichrist. All the attempts so far have been wrong, which is not surprising since Paul says in this passage that the man of lawlessness will be destroyed at the second coming of Jesus, which means probably that he comes to a place of prominence shortly before Jesus arrives. Having said that, it is also the case that Paul gives us some details about this powerful figure, which means that we should know what they are just in case we happen to live in the period of time in which he will appear.

The first detail that we can note is that the appearance of the man of lawlessness is connected to the coming of the Day of the Lord. Verses 1 and 2 make it clear that the Day of the Lord refers to the day when Jesus returns. The point that Paul makes is that the Day of the Lord will not occur until after the appearance of this individual, the man of lawlessness. In other words, his appearance is one of the signs that will indicate that the second coming of Jesus is near. As far as I can see, there are three events mentioned in the New Testament that must precede his coming. One is the man of lawlessness, a second is the preaching of the gospel throughout the world, and the third is the conversion of the Jews.

In a strange way, the coming of this future evil person enables us to remain orthodox. Paul mentions in verses 2 and 3 that wrong ideas were circulating in the church in Thessalonica about the second coming. He says that the wrong ideas came from three sources: one was through a demon, another was through a human, and the third was through a letter pretending to be from Paul. The thrust of the wrong idea was that the second coming had already taken place. It is not really possible to say what that idea was like. Yet there was this unusual protective, the fact that the man of lawlessness had not yet been revealed. So if someone says to you tomorrow, ‘Jesus could come today,’ ask yourself if you have seen the man of lawlessness walking around.

This leads us to ask, What will this man do when he appears? He will lead a rebellion that will be religious in nature (v. 3). Paul informs us that the man of lawlessness will manage somehow to replace all other false religions. He exalts himself against every possible god. In order to do this, he must have global power. Imagine all the false religions in the world and then imagine someone who can take over all of them. That man is coming, says Paul.

Again we can ask, what will he do when he achieves this position? Paul writes that this individual will have a throne in the temple of God (v. 4). We have to work out what Paul means by the temple of God. Generally, there are two options. One is the temple in Jerusalem, which was still standing when Paul wrote this letter. The other is the visible church of Jesus on earth. We know that Paul was not referring to the temple in Jerusalem because it was destroyed centuries ago and was not followed by the second coming. So it looks as if Paul is saying that, somehow, even the professing church will come under the influence of this man shortly before Jesus comes. We should not be too surprised by this possibility because there have been many antichrists in the church, as John mentions in his first letter.

A further question that we can ask is, Who will he claim to be? An answer is given to that question in verse 4. He will claim to be God. Of course, he will need some evidence to back up this claim and it is detailed in verse 9: ‘The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders.’ He will be able to a variety of impressive things, including the miraculous and the supernatural. We should not be too surprised at this ability because we know, for example, that the magicians of Egypt were able to imitate some of the signs that Moses did, and they received that ability from the devil. So people will look at the achievements of this man and say that he proves he is divine.

Why will they do this? One answer is that everyone wants to worship something. This desire is a basic feature of our humanness. A second answer is that the devil deceives them into thinking the man of lawlessness is true, and it is not hard for him to do this. And the third reason is that God uses it as a judgement on those who refused to respond properly to the gospel of Jesus. Of course, those three details happen all the time with regard to the gospel. People have to worship something, they are blinded by Satan and refuse to love Jesus, and therefore God judges them by sending in his sovereignty this delusion to them.

What is stopping him? In verse 6, Paul writes that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, which is a way of saying that people are already working towards the goal of having this form of government. Yet something or someone is restraining or hindering the arrival of the man of lawlessness (vv. 6-7). A lot of suggestions have been made as to what or who is preventing this man from appearing. One suggestion was the Roman Empire, but it has long gone and the second coming has not happened. Another suggestion is opposition to worldwide dominion, but that is not a description of an individual. We have to ask who has the power and the ongoing existence to prevent the appearance of this person, and the answer would seem to be God. The problem with this answer is that the restrainer is said to be there ‘until he is out of the way’ (v. 7), unless we see it as describing the activity of God in a particular way, such as when the Holy Spirit ceased to strive with humans before the flood. Is Paul saying that a time is coming that will be so bad because God has ceased to work in a gracious manner?

Who are his followers? Paul uses several words to describe them. They don’t love the truth and don’t believe what it says – the truth may be a way of referring to the gospel. This response is a reminder that they have been deceived or blinded by the devil, but Paul also points out that this deception is a divine judgement. They are judged because they are responsible for their response – they refused the truth. The situation is that they are perishing because God is against them already. This is a solemn description of the followers of the man of lawlessness when he comes. Yet it is also a description of those who refuse the gospel today.

What is he called? In verse 3, he is given two titles – the man of lawlessness and the son of perdition. The first describes his character and the second his destiny. We can see by looking at them that he is the exact opposite of the Saviour. Jesus loved the law of God and his destiny is glory for ever. The man of lawlessness may imagine that he is God but when he meets the One who is God we are told what will happen. When Jesus returns, it will take him one word to overcome the most powerful of rebels and bring him to nothing. Why should we pay an interest in this predicted individual? Because his overthrow will bring into focus the triumph of Jesus over the powers of evil, and that is one reason why we should long for the second coming.

Gathering with Jesus

What will it be like? Paul tells us in verse 1 when he refers to ‘the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him.’ We can think about this beautiful description briefly.

The word translated as coming means ‘presence’ rather than ‘travelling towards’. If I was on a train, those waiting for me at the station could say that I was coming. But that use of coming has not the same meaning as when it would be used to describe my arrival. While the word is used in the New Testament of the arrival of ordinary believers in a locality, it is mainly used in connection with the second coming of Jesus. This usage fits with a common manner of using the word, which was in connection with the arrival of an important person.

Usually when an important person came to a place, certain questions would dominate the minds of the inhabitants: ‘Why has he come? What is he here for?’ It is appropriate to ask such questions as we think about the future coming of Jesus. And we can see that Paul provides one answer for us – Jesus is coming to gather his people to himself. So he is coming as a shepherd to find his flock.

Where are the flock? Before he comes, they are in two places. Some of them have died and others of them have not. So we can deduce that the gathering involves resurrection for those who have died. Some of them will have been dead for centuries and maybe some will have died on the day before, or even on the day itself. So as the Shepherd comes for them, he comes with love and with power. Love and power are seen in his ancient promise that he would be the destroyer of death, and now he comes to fulfil it. What an amazing experience this will be for those who have gone down into the valley! Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4 that the dead in Christ will rise first, which means that both the dead and the living will Jesus together.

Something happens to the living believers at the same time as the dead saints are raised. Those alive will be still sinful right up to the moment when Jesus comes, but at that moment they will be renewed in his likeness and glorified. So as the Shepherd comes for them, he comes with love and power. He has looked forward to this day with all his heart and by his tremendous power he by the Holy Spirit totally sanctifies them and they are perfect. Resurrected, renewed and transformed into the likeness of Jesus, the saints welcome his arrival.

This occasion is the fulfilment of Jesus’ own prayer that his people together would see his glory (John 17:24: ‘Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.’  The sight of his glory will be transforming: ‘we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is’ (1 John 3:2).

This gathering will be the start of endless explorations. Once they have been gathered to him, they will remain with him for ever. We cannot imagination now how that will be the case. Paul assures the Thessalonians in his letter to them that when Jesus returns all his people will be with him forever (1 Thess. 4:17). Nor can we begin to anticipate what he and they will be doing. The one thing that we do know about is the competency of Jesus to continue satisfying the longing souls of his people throughout the endless ages.

For the believers, the gathering will be great in number (all believers will be there), will be gracious (all will have been saved from sin), will be grateful (gratitude to God), will be glorious (they will all be like Jesus), will be one of greetings (with those we knew and those we did not), and will be one of gain (rewards from the King)

So two kings are coming. With regard to one, his reign although terrible will be very short. The reign of Jesus in contrast will be eternal and blessed for all his people. Is he the King we want to come with his kingdom?