That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 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... 2 Thessalonians 2:2-4a
In his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul wrote to encourage them to remain faithful in the face of persecution. That letter also contained a clear message of the Rapture.
Unfortunately, the Thessalonians misunderstood the message and assumed the Lord's soon return as Messiah. Some stopped working in light of this. Paul wrote this second letter to correct this confusion – to commend them for their faithfulness through persecution, to explain what must happen before the Lord's return, and to make sure the congregation continued to work.
In the verses above, the Greek word that is translated "falling away" is "apostasia", and that is more accurately translated as a "departure." So this is relaying that the second coming will not come until the "departure" (Rapture) takes place and the "man of sin be revealed."
Who is this man of sin? He is the Antichrist and he will rise to power and be part of a peace agreement with Israel. And he will then turn out to be one of the most violent, ruthless leaders the world has ever seen. He will appear to be a man of peace, a leader who will have all the answers to the world's problems. He will be possessed by Satan himself, demand to be worshipped as god, and spew violence, persecution, and death throughout his empire.
Where will the Antichrist come from?
Daniel 8:8-9: Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
[144]
Daniel 8:21-24: And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressions are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
These verses are speaking about Alexander the Great's empire. When he died, at the height of his power, his empire was split into four kingdoms – Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Roman – which we discussed in the chapter, Empires of the World. Daniel says that the Antichrist will rise from one of these empires. Today those kingdoms cover the area of Greece, Turkey, Albania, Bulgaria, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Israel, and a small corner in southwest Jordan.
