That Man of Sin Revealed

2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4 “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

This passage from Paul’s letter to the Church in Thessalonica leads into a discussion of “the lawless one” or “the man of sin” or “the son of Perdition.” This “man of sin” is one of the signs many of the Churches of God are watching for; because according to the teaching of some ministers, he is to sit in a newly erected Temple of God in Jerusalem proclaiming that he is God!

Notice carefully that “the day of Christ” will not come until the falling away and the revealing of the man of sin! It is my belief that the day of Christ refers to the actual day of the ascension of Jesus to His throne -- the day when Satan has been removed from his seat of power and Jesus will be anointed to rule over the kingdoms of the Earth.

Paul specifies two events which must precede the day of Christ; they are the falling away; and the revealing of the man of sin! It could be argued that through the dissolution of the Worldwide Church the “falling away” has already taken place. However, I recognize that the lack of accuracy in biblical truth being taught by many of the latter-day Churches of God is setting the brethren up for yet another rude awakening. If an outsider should begin to show them how much of that which they believe is wrong, another great “falling away” would be a distinct possibility.

When the prophesied “falling away” has taken place, the revealing of the “man of sin” becomes of increased importance. However, in order for him to sit in a newly constructed Temple in Jerusalem such a temple must first be built. It is therefore the building of a new Temple that the Churches would be looking for -- not that man of sin!

But what if there is to be no new Temple? Consider the following:

1. Jesus is known as the Son of Man, the Son of God -- who then is this “man of sin” who is also called the “son of perdition”? The phrase “man of sin” uses the Greek word “anthropos” meaning “human” as opposed to a “spirit being” but I want you to consider whether this “man of sin” may still refer (in type) to Satan the Devil.

2. This man of sin, the son of perdition, “opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshiped.” Throughout the Scriptures there is only one individual described in this way. The Archangel Lucifer (now referred to as Satan) is the only one who has ever openly opposed God and has tried to “exalt himself above all that is called God or is worshiped.”

3. This man of sin, the son of perdition, wants to “sit as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Throughout the Scriptures there is only one individual who has openly proclaimed his desire to rival the position and authority of God. In the original rebellion Lucifer led one third of the angels in an attempt, by force, to set up his own throne in heaven. He failed; but he has been steadily gaining confidence in these latter days and will soon be ready to try one more time. God will even allow him to “overcome the saints” in what we have come to refer to as the “Great Tribulation” and in so doing Satan may begin to believe that he finally has the power to complete what he started so very long ago.

2nd Thessalonians 2:5-8 “[The Apostle Paul said:] ‘Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 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.’”

As difficult as this passage may be to understand grammatically, the familiarity of repetition may help you to better understand. It is God who withholds understanding from mankind. He has even kept many of His truths from the ministers of the Churches of God -- but only because they have chosen not to believe! God is the one who restrains [withholds understanding] and He [God] will continue “to restrain” until he [Satan] is taken out of the way.

Satan is the one who has always been the only true adversary of God. Satan is the one upon whom the sins of mankind will be placed at the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Day of Atonement. Satan is the author of the “lawlessness [which] is already at work” in the world; and God will allow this “spirit of lawlessness” to continue until He decides it should end. This will almost certainly be on the day when Satan is chained and locked away in the “bottomless pit” -- for is this day not referred to in Scripture as the “Day of At-one-ment” with God?

2nd Thessalonians 2:9-12 “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan. With all power, signs, and lying wonders; 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 a lie; that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Over the past few years I have tried to get various ministers of the Churches of God to consider the possibility that they may have allowed error to form part of their doctrines -- so far not one of them will even enter into a reasoned discussion of this possibility.

I will be the first to admit that many of our ministers have an excellent understanding of the Scriptures! I will even go so far as to say that some of them come close to having 96% perfection in their understanding and their teaching. Unfortunately, this means that at least 4 % of what they teach is wrong! If that 4% contains information “we could have had, and should have had,” then we may be furthering and nurturing a problem which we ourselves created. If the strength of our faith has been weakened by accepting error where truth should have prevailed, I cannot believe God will honour that faith!

Very few people truly understand and accept the existence of the Almighty Creator God. Scriptural reference to a created being named Lucifer, an Archangel of God, is seen by many as too fantastic to believe. For them to accept that Lucifer, now referred to as Satan the Devil, may be responsible for the vast majority of the sins and horrors in the world today is simply too fanciful for them to accept. Even members of the present-day Churches of God have a less than perfect understanding of the workings of Satan.

When we watched and experienced the dissolution of the Worldwide Church did we not blame the ministry and the executives of the organization? When we see the breakdown of our society, and the political dissention which threatens to destroy our very way of life, do we not blame our politicians and the political process in general?

When we see the spread of terrorism, do we not blame it on an ideology based on a perverted understanding of religion? When we see the fouling of our natural resources; our air, our water, the arable land from which we grow our food, do we not blame it on individual or corporate selfishness, arrogance, and greed?

We need to continually remind ourselves of the meaning of the rites once followed on the annual Holy Day knows as the Day of Atonement. Notice:

Leviticus 16:21 “Aaron [the High Priest] shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.”

On that future day which shall fulfill (at least in part) the prophecy of the Day of Atonement, God will send an angel to remove Satan to the place known in Scripture as “the bottomless pit,” where he will remain for a period of 1,000 years. On that day, all who are alive and remain upon the Earth will be fully aware that Satan is real -- God will have revealed to all mankind the identity of the “man of sin,” the “son of perdition”!

Actual or Spiritual Temple

Any discussion concerning the prophetic “man of sin” must include an attempt to more perfectly understand the biblical meaning of the end-time Temple of God. As is so often the case, to come to that more perfect understanding we need to return to the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong.

Towards the end of his life and his ministry, Mister Armstrong believed and taught that the Messiah would not return to any physical, material temple, but to a spiritual one:

Ephesians 2:19-22 “Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.”

Those of you, who are aware of the history of the “church” and the Churches of God over the past few decades, will recognize the name Joseph W. Tkach (Sr.). He was the one Herbert Armstrong chose as his successor to lead the Worldwide Church of God; and as such, Mr. Tkach was as much or more responsible for the dissolution of the Church and the scattering of its membership as any one man could be.

At least one of our ministers refers to Mr. Tkach as the one who fulfills the prophecy of “the man of sin” in that he “sat in the Temple of God (i.e. the Church of God) showing himself that he is God.” This minister goes on to say that when the majority of the brethren were cast off from the main body of the Church it fulfilled the prophecy of Jesus in his pronouncement of events concerning the “last days.” Notice:

Matthew 24:1-2 “Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, ‘Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.’”

Anyone who has followed the weekly messages presented on this blogsite will be well aware of my belief that the Worldwide Church of God (of and by itself) was not at any time the true “church” of God; but that in the days of the strength of the Worldwide Church, the “church” of God (i.e. the “ekklesia” or the “called-out-ones” of God) were a major part of that Worldwide Church. Without endorsing the beliefs and the teachings of this or any other minister, I can readily believe that the actions of Mr. Tkach led to the scattering of those who comprised the “Spiritual Temple of God” and as such could be seen as having fulfilled that part of the prophecy of Jesus where the “stones” of the Temple were thrown down.

Note: For a more definitive discussion on this point I would suggest that you go to the “Archives” of this blogsite and read the essay on “Why God Scattered His Church.”

I want to leave you with the following thoughts:

Q…Do you believe that the Feast of Trumpets presages the return of the Messiah? If you do, then I agree -- for I also believe!

Q…Do you believe that the Day of Atonement presages the incarceration of Satan? If you do, then I agree -- for I also believe!

Q…Do you believe that the first day of the Feast of Tabernacles presages the setting up of the Kingdom of God and the beginning of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren? If you do, then I agree -- for I also believe!

However, what you need to very carefully consider is that these three annual Feast Days are three separate and distinct annual Holy Days presaging three separate and distinct events in fulfillment! Our ministers would have us believe that these three events will all take place on one and the same day, at the sounding of “the last trump”!

It is my fervent belief that these three festivals (Trumpets; Atonement; and Tabernacles) are shadows of events which shall each take place at separate, specific, and distinct times in the great and wonderful plan of Almighty God! To assume that the return of Christ, the removal of Satan, and the beginning of the Millennium will all take place at one and the same time, on one and the same day, is in my opinion a horrendous error of understanding!

Q…If the Feast of Trumpets foretells the blowing of a series of trumpets, can it be that Christ will return to gather together His brethren at the sounding of the first trumpet; at the beginning of a three-and-a-half year period, towards the end of this present age?

Q…The Day of Atonement foretells the incarceration of Satan and the at-one-ment of the “church” with God. Is it possible that this event may take place during the third of the final three-and-a-half years?

Q…When Satan has been removed to the bottomless pit, and the Saints have received their promised salvation, what cataclysmic event must yet take place? Is it possible this event may take more than one full year to complete?

Psalms 110:1 “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool.’”

Do we truly understand this statement? I have come to believe that Jesus and His brethren will be made to sit back and wait while God their Heavenly Father puts down all opposition on the Earth. Just as the reign of Solomon began in an atmosphere of relative peace following the victories of his father David over their enemies; so shall the reign of Jesus and His brethren begin in an atmosphere of relative peace following the outpouring of the “Wrath of God.”

Note: Next week I hope to discuss Satan’s imprisonment in the bottomless pit; (as well as a more perfect understanding of each of God’s Autumn Holy Days.) According to your understanding; when can we expect these events to take place? Will Satan be imprisoned for a full 1,000 years; or less than 1,000 years? Will he be released from the pit before, or after, the end of the 1,000 year reign of Jesus and His brethren?