The Invisible Deception
Ξ January 8th, 2008 | → | ∇ Prophecy, Christian Living |
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
Most people that I know (okay, probably ALL people I know of) interpret this passage in a secular way. That is, they do so from an earthly standpoint and put earthly limits on things. I imagine that is because:
a)they are simply reasoning with their minds so they compare physical things with physical and try to make them spiritual. [I know this is all too common. I have been guilty of it countless times and am probably guilty of it more than not. It’s something that needs to change. We need to compare spiritual things with spiritual. And we know that the natural man doesn’t receive spiritual things. But at least recognizing that it doesn’t is a start.]
AND
b)think that if they are to understand the passage, then they must be somewhat immune from it applying to them (in this case, the falling away and deception by this “man of sin”).
If, instead, the mind didn’t put any limitations or a priori restrictions on the text, we might have a clue as to what is really being said. So to break down the important part that will inform the rest of the text, consider only the 4th verse. There are 3 important aspects to this.
1. To whom is Paul talking? He has been sent to the Gentiles and his ministry has been (as far as I know) exclusively to the Gentiles. And given that this is an epistle to a church in Thessalonica, the passage here is clearly to those who are not of Israel. As such, his terms are to be understood in that way.
2. Realizing that, what can we say about the term “the temple of God”? In ALL instances (4 total) where Paul uses that phrase (1 Corinthians 3:16, I Corinthians 3:17, 2 Corinthians 6:16 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4), it is clearly in the spiritual sense. There is never any building in view when Paul speaks of “the temple of God”. There is no reason this case should differ from the others. We might even note that Jesus used the term to apply to His body in prophesying His crucifixion and resurrection (Matthew 26:61). Were we to look at Revelation, we would probably be justified (I speak only from a point of reasoning - this must be revealed to anyone who wants to know) in reading it that way again. Revelation 21:22 speaks of a physical temple not appearing but God being the temple thereof. Also, we read (e.g. in Revelation 15) of God entering heavenly places as being prophetical of things happening to the church - not to a building. The book, after all, IS a “revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him”. And Jesus referred to His body as the temple of God.
Even if we were to assume that it were possible - though I don’t believe we can as evidenced by the things here written - to assume “the temple of God” were a physical temple in physical Jerusalem for the purposes of this passage, how is it that such a thing would matter to non-Israelite or non-Jewish believers in a risen Christ? How would such an act show that he is God? And the position that this is only for those after some “secret rapture” is untenable because Paul is using this to show the believers in Thessalonica that THIS (in this passage) is to happen BEFORE the day of the Lord. In other words, Paul is clear in letting them know that if they are to live to the day of Christ, they must FIRST see this happen.
Again, let us reiterate, this begins to fulfill the deception that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24:24 and Mark 13:22. It is deception that transcends man’s intellectual capacity even to comprehend on its own. That’s why it is only by the grace of God that the deception does not come upon the elect. For, even if unregenerate men were told of the deception ahead of time (which all men are in scripture), in clear terms, they would not be able to escape it without the Sovereign Grace of God. Such is the deception that would deceive even the very elect.
3. We now look at the verse from the standpoint of worship. We understand that the temple of God goes beyond the physical (though we can’t say there won’t be different physical outworkings of it). So, in looking at what Paul says about this man of sin being worshipped, we must notice how emphatic Paul seems to be. This “man of sin” exalts himself above all that is called God OR WORSHIPPED! How much more all-encompassing can Paul be? I can see how some would say this refers to a global religion. And, in some ways, it is true. But the way it is presented is always very fleshly, very natural. This is to be expected from the natural reasonings of men that have some understanding of scripture. But unless they can compare spiritual things with spiritual, they are just as prone to succumbing to the delusion of the global religion that they themselves teach. What are we coming to? We are coming to this:
The delusion and deception that embodies a so-called one-world religion is far beyond what any man has the capacity to imagine. Man thinks in terms of clear dividing lines between things. Buddhism is not Christianity. Islam is not Confucianism. Black is not white. Men are not women. All these things are true. Very true. But they are also very natural. The heavenlies are full of powers and principalities and it is against them that we war. If we make the war against something that we can see, then we have ceased to be spiritual. We don’t fight against men - even the men that may be part of evil plans. Our struggle is with the wickedness in high places that inspires men to rebel against their Creator. So when we are told that someone sits in the temple of God, showing himself to be God, we are speaking of a change that is imperceptible to any who have not the Spirit of God. But it underscores a time when ALL true faith is being copied by a “man of sin”. Not a single man walking this earth, but a deception that covers the entire earth. It is as though one day any man can pray and the prayer is delivered to the Most High - but the next day, those same prayers are delivered to the imitation, the ANTICHRIST. The change is not so much in the earthlies (though it comes) but primarily in the heavenlies (which ultimately affects the earth).
Before you discount this as mere fancy or ridiculous (I know, in some ways, it may sound odd to most of you if not all that read it), consider the way the verse reads. One more (not insignificant) indicator of all this being a spiritual prophecy is the small phrase “so that”. It isn’t written that the man of sin sets himself up in the temple of God “so that” he is worshipped. That would be how we would expect it to read if the temple were a physical temple. No. Instead Paul tells us that he exalts himself above all that is worshipped “so that” he, as God sits in the temple of God. This is not a man pretending to be God by being in a temple. This is a spirit wanting to deceive the nations and rob men of the gift of salvation and fellowship with God by making them worship him. And BY DOING THAT, that “man of sin” enters into the temple of God and shows himself to be God.
The deception is mind boggling. Even knowing that it were to happen, what defense does a man have if he doesn’t know God? Even if he believed what was said, how much more important is it that that man seek God with ALL of his heart and mind and soul and strength and not be attached to ANYTHING that might hinder him. How important is it that he turn over every rock, search out every statement, try every spirit, be absolutely sure of everything that is proposed to him in the name of the Holy One of Israel - lest he instead allow himself to be taken in by the spirit of Antichrist. The world cannot know the difference because they do not know God. The believer is the target. The believer who doesn’t put all his trust in God and who leans on his own understanding will be deceived. The deception is in the heavenlies. Miracles in the natural are nothing in themselves. The men who followed miracles when Jesus walked the earth wound up leaving off following the Savior. So miracles as a sign are only as good as what they point to. And unless we know to what they point, they are just another physical occurrence.
This Antichrist goes beyond the Papal power (though the global religion that can be seen in the natural certainly does center much of its power in the Vatican). It is more than just the Eastern Mysticism that has so much of India in its demonic grasp (though the Eastern influence seems to grow daily - see Ezekiel 8:16, for example as pointing to what seems to be that same spirit) but it can be seen in the church in things like so-called “Christian Yoga” (which any real yoga teacher will tell you is a total contradiction). It transcends the Anti-God spirit of communism (though this darkness is still prominent in places like China and Russia and growing here). It is even far more than the darkness of self-mastery that is delivering most of the Western world to total destruction. The spirit of Antichrist exalts himself SO THAT he is worshipped. In various ways and forms, the natural religions and beliefs of a people are used against them so that they are blinded against the Truth of the gospel. The North American church is blinded because it adopts a spirit of ecumenism and takes on the traditions and trappings of Roman Catholicism but also because it bears a spirit of pride. And pride goes before destruction.
That leads me to what I think is the final thought I have on this passage as it relates to us today. The scriptures are replete with messages that declare that the humble man will be exalted. They abound with lessons on the wisdom of the wise of this world being as foolishness to God - and the wisdom of God being as foolishness to the world. It doesn’t take much to see the excesses that the church in North America has engaged in. But the most heinous and destructive one is that of pride. Satan exalted himself in his heart and said “I will ascend and be as the Most High”. Adam, in taking Satan’s counsel, did the same. Satan’s temptation of Jesus was always aimed at exalting either himself or the flesh and bringing down the glory of God. In all cases, Jesus rebuked Satan with a scripture that reflected the humility which accompanied His entire ministry. The result was that the devil fleed. Merely by rejecting pride did the Lord win the battle over the enemy. The AntiChrist exalts himself by any means. By miracles, by externalities, by deceptions.
And the spirit of pride that is at the heart of the “man of sin” (which should be clear is not a single being, but a type of man which is a follower of AntiChrist), infects the church when men prophesy great things that are false and that false prophet is not dealt with properly. Pride infects the church whenever false doctrine is allowed to perpetuate and grow - thus leading many away from the truth of the gospel. Pride infects the church whenever man’s ideas about spiritual things are given the pulpit. Pride infects the church whenever the church is more concerned about itself (money, numbers, activities etc…) than it is about the glory of God. All these things bring dishonor to the name of the Lord. And repentance is never an option to the proud. That’s another mark of pride (and a cause) - that sin is diminished in importance and repentance is made secondary. It isn’t altogether done away with, but it becomes a trite phrase or a fleshly effort. Today, in the church, self-esteem is one of the factors in ministry. If we realized what the bible said about how we should esteem ourselves - and actually did so (with a mind to mourning over our sin), we would stay as far away from that notion as possible. Sure, it is possible to revel in one’s own dishonor - and that is done - but far more prevalent is not wanting to do anything to harm one’s self image. That is idolatry.
This has become more than just a short exposition on a verse or two. But I want to make sure the central thought is clear:
The setting up of this man of sin in the temple of God is a heavenly thing that is imperceptible in earth as natural effects go. But it results in mass deception and perversion of the truth so that even supposed believers follow a lie. The lie is that man of sin that causes men to worship him. And why is it so deceiving? Because he (it?) is in the very place God “usually” is. And in taking God’s place, the whole world (save the elect) is deceived into following him instead of the True God. There is no easy natural way to tell the difference - but rather it is necessary that a man humble himself and examine the very foundations of his faith and that nothing of his own life go unexamined. The soul is at stake and nothing in the flesh can be trusted to follow or even be inclined to follow the truth.
And if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? The implication is “nothing”. The foundations are critical so that if they are gone, no matter how “good” the person who rests upon them, they have no hope.
