II Thessalonians 2:7 "For the mystery of iniquity [lawlessness] doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."
There is no mystery around when this will take place, for we will know his methods of operation [withholdeth], and the signs, the seasons, and the times of Satan's arrival to earth. If you are in the Word of God and not following these "one verse preachers", you will know when to expect the Antichrist. You will also know within hours of when to expect our Lord Jesus Christ's return. Satan's reign on earth is not seven years because God reduced that time to five months for the
"elect's" sake, as Jesus told us in
Matthew 24:22. Jesus also revealed that the time is shortened to five months, to John in
Revelation 9:5, and 10.
The "
mystery of lawlessness" is the mystery of iniquity. "
He who now letteth will let"; in the Greek should be translated;
"He who holds fast [ketcho] will stand." The ellipsis, or
"omission from an expression of a word clearly implied";
"There is one who hold's fast", instead of by repeating the verb,
"will let". However,
"katecho" is a transitive verb, and an object must be supplied also. So if the subject in verse six is Satan, then the object must be his position in the heavenlies [see
Ephesians 6:12], from which he will be ejected from heaven by Michael [
Revelation 12:7-9].
"Out of the way", in the Greek is "
out of ek", or "
the midst". It is the same expression used in
Acts 17:33, and
I Corinthians 5:2.
Many "rapture theorists" claim this one who
"letteth" is the Holy Spirit, and they claim that when He is "
taken away", then the Antichrist will come. By reversing the role of the characters in the verses here, and attributing what is Satan's to the Holy Spirit, you have a whole new doctrine called the "Any moment doctrine". This false doctrine is better known as the "rapture theory". It is dangerous to play around with a foreign language; and when the flock relies upon their shepherd for the truth, and the shepherd is assumed to be correct; in ignorance it is accepted just because he said it.
It is Michael who "holds fast" on to Lucifer [the Antichrist], and Michael will continue to keep Lucifer held until the appointed time, spoken of above. That time is appointed by God. Then at the appointed time God will give Satan the keys [authority] to release his fallen angels and they will be cast to the earth [see
Revelation 9:1-10]. Let's take a look at the one [Michael] who holds on to Satan now.
Revelation 12:7; "
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels," Michael [that is who the
"he" is in
II Thessalonians 2:7 and his [Michael's] angels fought against the dragon [another name for Satan] and his [Satan's] fallen angels.
Revelation 12:8;
"And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven." This war took place in heaven, and that is where Satan and his angels are now; though Satan's spirit, and demonic spirits are all over the earth today. Now we will see what Michael does with Satan, in fulfilling
II Thessalonians 2:7.
Revelation 12:9;
"And the great dragon [Satan]
was cast out [that is the transitive verb of verse seven],
that old serpent [this is the role Satan played in the Garden of Eden],
called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world [except for God's elect]:
he was cast out onto the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."
This is when Satan will physically appear on earth as a man with his angels. This is the time of the Antichrist's coming, and we must know when this time is by when these events takes place, for Satan comes at the sixth trumpet.
Then the verse picks up where Satan is standing in the holy place. Satan's object is to deceive all the world, and have the world take his markings in their minds. God's Word thus says that Satan will come to earth and stand in that Holy place,
before Christ will come and gather anyone back to Himself.
II Thessalonians 2:8 "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit [breath] of his mouth, and shall destroy [bring to naught] with the brightness [manifestation] of his coming:"
"The wicked" is better translated,
"wicked one": What comes out of the Lord's mouth? It is the Truth. That is also the Word that God put in the mouth of Paul in this writing. Satan shall then be destroyed after being cast out, and also after standing in the holy place. After this is the time of Jesus Christ coming and gathering of His saints. There is no "anytime doctrine" here. It is in the course of certain events, and God lets us know clearly the order of these events, and exactly what to expect. In
Matthew 24:15 Jesus is saying exactly what Paul is saying, Satan will come first and reign before the gathering of the saints.
Then Christ will destroy Satan.
II Thessalonians 2:9 "Even him, whose coming is after the working of Sa'-tan with all power and signs and lying wonders,"
"Even him" also includes Satan's religious beast system. Satan's religious system will be present with Satan. The religious beast is discussed in
Revelation 13, and this the religious role that gives support and authority to Satan. If you believe in the Rapture theory, you will take part in that role. Many Christians will assume Satan to be Christ when they visible witness the supernatural powers he possess, and the deceptions that will take place, all except God's elect.
II Thessalonians 2:10 "And with all deceivableness [deceit] of unrighteousness in [for] them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth,"
God is writing this letter to us personally, and we are responsible for understanding it. We are accountable to God to give answer for our actions. It is you and I, individually, that will stand before God and give our personal answer for the personal handling of His Word. There will be no preacher, friend or family member with you on that judgment day, for they will all be explaining and accounting for their own words and actions. If your pastor is one of the false shepherds, and led many saints astray, his ignorance won't help him or you.
This is something we must think about, our souls are at stake here.
II Thessalonians 2:11 "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion [send them a working of error], that they should a lie;"
If you want to believe a lie, God will allow it; in fact he will help you into the system of deceptions Satan will bring on the earth. Do you really think God will come here and personally show you, and talk to you when you refuse to believe His Word, when He gave it in such detail through the prophets and His Son. If you desire to believe that your going to fly out of here, and refuse His word, He will so block your mind that you will not be capable of understanding truth. God will send the "strong delusion" over your mind. The strong delusion is an act of love given by God for your protection.
II Thessalonians 2:12 "That they all might be damned [judged] who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
This is the reason for the
"strong delusion" of verse eleven; "
That they might be damned", it would be more accurately translated "
condemned". Condemned for not believing the truth in God's Word when given to them. They had the warning, but still followed Satan, and partook in his religious system.
"Pleasure in unrighteousness" is not referring to drunken brawls, or whore houses, but it is a continuation of the subject here at hand. That subject is "worshipping the Antichrist [Satan] as the true Christ." You will take pleasure in that damnable sin; that unrighteous act will be done in your total ignorance. It's easy to say "I'm saved", but saved from what? The subject here has changed from that of verse eight, to
"being damned through deception." The traditions of men will change this subject, from "being deceived by Satan, and enjoying it" to petty activities of the day.
http://www.theseason.org/2thess/2thess2.htm
