“Don’t you remember that I told you about all this when I was with you? And you know what is holding him back, for he can be revealed only when his time comes. For this lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way. Then the man of lawlessness will be revealed, but the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth. As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. With all these things in mind, dear brothers and sisters, stand firm and keep a strong grip on the teaching we passed on to you both in person and by letter.”
2 Thessalonians 2:5-15 NLT
As described by Paul, a time is coming when many will be deceived by an individual. This places has come to colloquially be known as the The Anti Christ. Paul describes him as The Man of Lawlessness. This isn’t so much a warning to Thessalonica, as it is an admonishment. The church should continue to stay its course because judgment is coming. It is coming for those who have persecuted them, but also those who might fall away. Paul describes the simple recipe for how this will happen by citing two main ingredients. Firstly, they will believe his lies because they do not love or accept God’s truth. Second, it will be because they stray from the disicpline given in teaching by the Elders. We can see this truth, even today. Hoards of people who have called themselves Christians have moved further away from God because of their lack of adherence to his teachings and love for the actual truth. Paul elucidates that this is not without personal consequence, nor cosmic one. We should be ready to stand for what is right, lest these consequences fall upon us. It is not merely a matter of of falling to the pressure of persecution, but also complacency of the truth that we must be wary of as believers.
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