The final deceiver will use “lying signs and wonders” to deceive and cause many saints to depart from the faith – 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9.
When this “son of destruction”
occupies the “sanctuary,” it will be his own “arrival” or
‘parousia.’ On some level, it will counterfeit the “arrival”
of Jesus. Fortunately, he will be destroyed when Christ “arrives to
render vengeance against all who disobey the gospel.” Unfortunately, in the
interim, the “lawless one” will cause some, perhaps many, believers to apostatize.
- (2 Thessalonians 2:8-9) – “And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and disable by the appearance of his arrival, whose arrival is according to the energizing of Satan with all power and signs and wonders of a lie.”
ENERGIZED BY SATAN
And while Jesus will “arrive” in a
great “appearance” of glory, the “lawless one” will “arrive”
with signs, impressive works, lying wonders, and other forms of deception “energized”
by Satan and designed to mislead Christians.
His deceptive activities will be welcomed by those
who reject the truth, therefore, God will send them “energizing
deception.” Put another way, God will allow the “lawless one” to
deceive those men who refuse to welcome His word.
“Energizing” translates the Greek word energeia,
the source of the English verb ‘energize.’ It refers to “energy, effectual
working, operation.” Thus, the works and “signs” performed by this
creature will be empowered by the Devil.
“Powers, signs, wonders.” Elsewhere in the
New Testament, all three Greek nouns are applied to the miracles of Jesus and those
of the early church. And while this may be coincidental, more likely, it means this
figure will counterfeit Christ’s deeds -
(e.g., Hebrews 2:4. dunamis, sēmeia, terata).
“Lying wonders.” This clause more accurately reads, “power and signs and wonders of a lie.” All three are characterized by the term “lie,” and all three propagate deception.
The point is not that these will be counterfeit miracles,
rather, their function will be to deceive. This understanding is confirmed by
the next clause, “and with all manner of
deceit of unrighteousness in them who are destroying themselves.” Many believers will be deceived by these
miracles because “they welcomed not the love of the truth.”
OLD TESTAMENT BACKGROUND
Paul bases his description on the figure called the “little horn”
in the book of Daniel, the “king
of fierce countenance” and the “contemptible person”:
- “Mighty power, but not by his own power; and he destroyed wonderfully, and he succeeded and acted with effect, and destroyed mighty ones and the saints. And by his understanding he also caused deceit to prosper in his hand” - (Daniel 7:7-8, 8:23-26, 11:30-38).
So, likewise, the “lawless one” will be “energized
by Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders, and with all manner of deceit.”
He will not operate under his own power.
Paul’s words also echo several sayings of Jesus given on
the Mount of Olives. Already, Paul has alluded to the first words of that discourse
when he exhorted the Thessalonians not to be “troubled” by false
information about the “Day of the Lord,” and to let “no man deceive”
them.
Likewise, Jesus warned about coming “deceivers”
who would “deceive many” by raising false expectations about the end.
Disciples were not to be “troubled” by “reports of wars” and other
catastrophes. Such things “must come, but the end is not yet” - (Matthew
24:3-6, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).
LAWLESSNESS
The Lord also
warned of coming “lawlessness” when the “love of many would grow cold,”
and of “false prophets” who would “deceive many…and show great
signs and wonders to deceive even the elect.”
Most probably, Paul’s description of the “lawless one” who will
perform “signs and wonders” alludes to this saying of Jesus - (Matthew
24:9-13, 24).
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Paul’s description also echoes the warning by Moses. Regardless of how impressive or real a miracle is, if the man performing it steers saints to follow gods other than Yahweh, his “ministry” and miracles must be rejected:
- (Deuteronomy 13:1-3) – “When there shall arise in your midst a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder shall come in whereof he spoke, saying: ‘Let us go after other gods’, which you know not, ‘and let us serve them’; you will not hearken to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams, for Yahweh your God is putting you to the test, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Likewise, in Revelation, the “beast from the earth,”
the “false prophet,” performs “great signs, so that,
even fire he causes to descend to the earth before men, and he deceives the
inhabitants of the earth through the signs that were given him to do.” As with the “man of lawlessness,” so this one’s power to
perform “signs and wonders” will come from an outside source, namely, the
“Dragon.”
While God certainly does provide
supernatural miracles, by no means do “signs and wonders” guarantee the
genuineness of anyone’s ministry or words, nor do they demonstrate that he speaks
for God. Satan himself is perfectly capable of “appearing as an angel of
light.”
None of this means that Christians will be
powerless before the deceptive activities of the “lawless one.”
Paul concludes on a positive note. He is persuaded that the Thessalonians will “stand firm and
hold fast the traditions they were taught,” rather than reject the truth
and “welcome the unrighteousness.”
Likewise, in the future, those disciples who “hold
fast” to the traditions received from Jesus and the apostles will find
themselves “chosen for salvation, in sanctification of spirit, and belief of
the truth.”
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