'And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work:
only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed,
whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth,
and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming:
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and lying wonders,' ... '
(2 Thessalonians 2:6-9)
Hello
@Naomi25,
I would like to concentrate on this verse a moment.
It is obvious that
'someone' or '
something' is restraining or keeping check the revelation of the man of sin, and there have been several explanations given for this, but there is one which has a scriptural basis for it, which the others lack. Firstly the words, '
withholdeth' in verse six and
'letteth' in verse seven, are both translated from the same
verb:- Katecho, which means
'to hold firmly'.or, '
to hold fast'. It occurs 19 times in the New Testament
(ie., Romans 1:18; Romans 7:6; 2 Corinthians 6:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; Philemon 13; Hebrews 3:6; Hebrews 3:14; Hebrews 10:23).
1) Who holds fast the man of sin?
2) Who is it that hold something fast?
* The answer to the first question is found in Revelation 9:1,2, and Revelation 11:7. The man of sin is held fast by the 'bottomless pit' or 'abyss' until the 'appointed season', or the time of his manifestation to the world.
* The answer to the second question is found in Satan, who holds fast to his possessions in the aerial regions (Ephesians 2:2) until he is taken out of the way, or removed. How this happens Revelation 12:7-17 describes. There is a war in heaven: Michael and his angels fight against Satan and the fallen angels under his control, and the Deceiver is cast down to the earth with terrible results, leading to the Great Tribulation. When this happens, as a last desperate attempt, Satan calls up his man from the abyss, and for a short time he dominates the whole world, Satan receiving, world worship through the Beast.
* Isaiah 11:4 says,
'He shall smite the earth (or the oppressor)
with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked (one)'.
* It takes the glory of the Lord's Coming and His almighty power to destroy this superhuman being. It will be beyond the capacity of man to do this. Daniel 11:44-45, deals with his end, but gives no details as to how it achieved. It takes 2 Thessalonians to reveal that.
* In relation to this '
lawless one', Paul says,
'Even he, whose coming (parousia)
is according to the working of Satan, with all power, and signs and wonders of a lie (literally)'
* Satan is no creator, but he is an imitator. He travesties the truths of Christianity to ensnare and deceive the whole world at the time of the end. Christ's death, resurrection and coming again are copied by Satan acting through the Beast. See Revelation 13:3, and Revelation 17:8.
* Even the words of 2 Thessalonians 2:9 describing the advent of the lawless one are used directly of the Holy Spirit and His miraculous gifts: yes, Satan uses imitation and counterfeit in order to deceive.
* These Satanic happenings are the climax of the evil system described in the Word of God as
'the lie', originating from the Deceiver at his fall, and in direct conflict with God and the truth as personified in Christ. Those who think that miracles are necessarily a proof that a deed is of Divine origin are going to fare very badly at this period of history. Satan, to a certain extent can work miracles, but they are lying miracles with one object - to deceive. Hear the Lord's warning in Matthew 24:24.
Thank you
In Christ Jesus
Chris