INTRODUCTION
“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. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12)
We are continuing from last week…
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ANTICHRIST AT CHRIST’S SECOND COMING (OR SECOND ADVENT)?
In Second Thessalonians 2:8, Paul has jumped in his writings even further into the future and to the end of the seven-year Tribulation when Christ returns in His Second Coming (or Second Advent) with the saints who will accompany Him. He declared that when Christ comes in His Second Coming “…the Lord shall consume [the Antichrist with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” (KJV) The word “consume” is a form of the Greek word which means to abolish, destroy, kill, nullify, slay, or to take away the life of another. Thus, when Christ comes in His Second Coming, He will obliterate the Antichrist — and He will do it “… with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy [him] with the brightness of his coming.”
WITH THE SPIRIT OF HIS MOUTH AND THE BRIGHTNESS OF HIs COMING’
The words “spirit of his mouth” refer to the breath of Christ. The word “spirit” is interpreted from the Greek word pneuma, which is usually translated spirit. But here it means breath. Paul thusly declared that on that day of Christ’s Second Coming (or Second Advent) at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, the Lord will open His mouth and speak — and when He does, so much power will be released that it will permanently remove the Antichrist from the world scene. Although Satan will energize the Antichrist with demonic powers, this evil person won’t have enough strength to withstand one puff from the mouth of the Lord!
But Paul also said the Antichrist will be destroyed “… with the brightness of his coming.” Paul added that the Antichrist will be brought to nothing and put out of commission “with the brightness of His coming, referring to Christ. The word “brightness” is actually the Greek word which in classical Greece is used to describe the sudden and surprise appearance of the Greek gods.
DEMONICALLY ENERGISED SIGNS AND WONDERS
But Paul stated in Second Thessalonians 2:9 that the coming of the Antichrist on the world scene will be “… according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders…” The word “working” is interpreted from a form of the word which would be better interpreted as activity or operation. This immediately alerts us to the fact that the Antichrist’s activities and operations will be energized and dominated by Satan, who is the archenemy of God.
The word “all” in Greek is actually the word which implying that he will make his grand appearance with all kinds of power and supernatural displays. The word “power” is translated from a form of dunami, which carries the idea of explosive, superhuman power that comes with enormous energy and produces phenomenal, extraordinary, and unparalleled results.
Paul then stated that the world will stand in awe of these “signs and lying wonders.” The original text “lying wonders” is a word that pictures an act or event that leaves one baffled, bewildered, astonished, and at a loss of words. It was used to depict the astonishment, shock, or surprise felt by bystanders as they observed events that were contrary to the normal course of nature. Occurrences such as these were viewed as miracles, and people believed they could only take place through the intervention of divine power. This tells us that the Antichrist will come with every imaginable kind of shocking wonder that will cause the world to be awestruck and baffled at his powers that are designed to deceive.
The response of the world to the Antichrist’s power in the seven-year Tribulation Period is revealed in Revelation 13:3: “… And all the world marvelled and followed the beast.” The word “marvelled” is interpreted from a word similar to the word for “lying wonders” in Second Thessalonians 2:9 — means to be amazed, to be bewildered, to be at a loss of words, or to be in a state of shock and wonder.
In fact, the world will be in such a state of awe and wonder at the supernatural deeds they see the Antichrist perform that they will show great reverence for these wondrous displays of supernatural power. Revelation 13:4 says, “… they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?””
Although the world may not realize it, Revelation 13:4 says people will, in reality, be worshipping the “dragon.” The word “dragon” in Greek is drakon, and it is the word for a serpent or huge snake — it is a word used in the Bible to denote Satan and satanic forces.
The Antichrist Will Come with All Deceivableness’
Furthermore, Paul stated in 2 Thessalonians 2:10 that the Antichrist will come “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
The words ” all unrighteous deception” are very significant. As a phrase, the words tell us that the Antichrist will come with any and all methods needed to successfully seduce and deceive.
The word “deception” is translated from the Greek word that conveys a deep deception and highlights the depth of the deception involved. This meticulously planned deception is intended to lead a person or group of people into error. It is intentional trickery designed to deceive, seduce, and mislead.
Paul added that the Antichrist will come work his schemes of unrighteousness “in them that perish.” The word “perish” is translated from the Greek word that denotes destruction and waste. But when men and women refuse to accept the truth, they end up perishing and wasting away, and they are destroyed. Paul used this word to remind us that when a person rejects truth that has the power to save him, he places himself into the hands of the destroyer, who then destroys and waste the person’s life on Earth, as well as his eternal destiny. In fact, in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, Paul said, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” (KJV)
From Destruction and Decay to Damnation
Paul told us the result of all this in Second Thessalonians 2:12 where he wrote, “that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
The word “condemned” in Greek is actually from a word that refers to a jury who has handed down a final sentence in a court of law. It pictures a verdict or a final sentence that was pronounced as the result of a court trial. This describes a moment in which, after all the evidence has been presented, the judge and jury who have examined all the facts issue a final verdict. After all the evidence has been presented and the judge has examined all the facts, a final verdict will be issued by the court.
This brings to mind Romans 1:32, where Paul wrote about those who knew what was right and wrong and “who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”
But in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul laid out these end-time events and vividly foretold that society at-large will go completely awry once the Restrainer has been removed from the earth. Even though the world knows what is right and wrong, it will be a time of mass delusion. And because people will reject the truth, the delusion they embrace will be activated and empowered to radically take the world in a wrong direction. And all of it will take place under the rule of the Antichrist- that is, the long-awaited and predicted Son of Doom and Destruction, who brings rot and ruin to everything he touches.
