2 Thessalonians has wonderful scriptures outlining the Rapture, or extraction of the church from the earth, the body of believers in Jesus Christ. But it also covers the Day of the Lord which occurs after God’s children are removed from the earth, as after the seven years of the Tribulation and God’s wrath in judgement, the Lord Jesus Christ returns to the earth to conclude His judgement of unbelievers and usher in the Millennial Reign with believers left in the world, fulfilling all those promises made to Israel.
2 Thessalonians 2:3–12
[3] Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, [4] who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. [5] Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? [6] And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. [7] For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. [8] And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. [9] The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, [10] and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. [11] Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, [12] in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (ESV)
So the man of lawlessness is the final Antichrist indwelled by Satan himself, who will commit the abomination that causes desolation in the Jewish Temple at the halfway point of the Tribulation period. Worth pointing out that the antichrist will be mimicking Christ as deity, and many believe this to be the Muslim Mahdi, or Islamic Messiah. So in the Jewish temple he will claim to be God accompanied by the False Prophet with signs and wonders of supernatural power by Satan. Consequently, the interesting part of Islam is that their Mahdi will be accompanied by the prophet Isa, or Jesus, who will tell the world they were wrong about Jesus Christ, His deity and resurrection, and that Christianity is a lie.
So the two religions the Antichrist rebels against are Judaism and Christianity, and of interest is the Abraham house in Abu Dhabi of the United Arab Emirates, which features houses of worship for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And, I came to suspect the prince of Dubai (UAE) as possibly being the Antichrist from scriptures in Revelation, further reinforced by how he came to be heir by the suspicious death of his older brother at age 33. And I’ve come to believe the suspicious use of 33 has to do with a third of the angels rebelling against God, and a clue referring back to Satan like in Freemasonry you learn at level 33 you serve Satan.
But the whole reason for the post is the extremely scary verse about not only Satan using his power to deceive the unbelievers on the earth, but that God sends a strong delusion so they believe what is false, or you could equate this to God sealing their eternal destruction because they refused to love the truth and be saved. So in the Tribulation, the rebels against God reach a point where they lock in their choice with no further opportunity to be saved. It’s a terrifying place to be in that living in rebellion, you reach a point where your choice is locked in with no hope of reconciliation to God, no hope of adoption into the family of God, and no hope of receiving eternal life with God. That is a tragedy of tragedies, but it will be just.
2 Thessalonians 2
The Man of Lawlessness
[1] Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, [2] not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. [3] Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, [4] who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. [5] Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? [6] And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. [7] For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. [8] And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. [9] The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, [10] and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. [11] Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, [12] in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm
[13] But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. [14] To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. [15] So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
[16] Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, [17] comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. (ESV)