The Mystery of Lawlessness

Its all over and you missed it! That's what some of the Jews were saying to the new congregation in Thessalonica when the Apostle Paul heard from them. And they were nearly in despair. Is it really so? Did Jesus already come to take His chosen ones with Him to heaven—and we weren't in that crowd? Have we nothing but death and darkness before us now? Please, Paul, please tell us it isn't so.

So the Apostle responds:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 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. - 2Th 2:1-2 ESV

Somebody was really being deceptive. They had written a letter as if it were from the great Apostle himself. And in that letter was a statement about the day of the Lord. It came. You weren't chosen. So Paul continues,

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, 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. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. - 2Th 2:3-6 ESV 

OK. Thank you Paul, but that still leaves a bunch of questions. Who is this man of lawlessness, this son of destruction? And what temple of God are you talking about? Yes, now that you mention it, we do indeed remember you telling us about these things when you were with us, but we'd like some further clarification.

We read on,

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. 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. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. - 2Th 2:7-10 ESV

Whenever you read the word mystery in Paul's writings you realize that this is something unknown to the unbelieving world. Believers know about it only because God's Spirit reveals it to them. So Jesus says to His disciples who wondered why he spoke to them in parables,

"To you it has been given to know the secrets (mysteries) of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. - Mat 13:11-13 ESV

Again Paul writes of himself and the other Apostles,

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. - 1Cr 4:1-2 ESV

So when we read about the mystery of lawlessness we must understand that this is insider information, known only to those in whom the Spirit of Christ dwells and to whom the Spirit speaks.

OK, so what is lawlessness? Basically it is what has been going on all through the years since the coming of Christ. Men everywhere ignore and mock God's laws, God's ethics and morals, God's way of life. We see it going on today, for instance, in the way that marriage is being completely redefined, especially here in the United States. We see it in the way that human life is being mocked and murder is made legitimate, a right guaranteed by the American constitution and Supreme Court. I speak, of course, about the millions of infants murdered every year through abortion. The Lord Jesus spoke about this when he taught us what to expect from the mouths of false prophets in the last days.

And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. - Mat 24:11-13 ESV

It can get worse, warns the Apostle, but the Lord restrains it. Behind it all is the lawless one who has yet to be revealed. And who is that? More about that one in my next post. 

Secrets Of The Secret Kingdom

In my previous post I wrote about the secret kingdom known only to believers in Christ. Today I want to point out how things work in that kingdom of God.

The crowd that followed Jesus across the Sea of Tiberias did not know about this secret kingdom. Their focus was upon themselves and their needs for food and healing. To obtain these they, like all outside Jesus' secret kingdom, believed they had to do something to obtain God's good will. So they wanted to know how to do the works of God. Jesus answered them,

"This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.  

So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 

Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 

They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always." 

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. - Jhn 6:29-35 ESV

Believing doesn't sound like a work, does it? Believing seems to be passive, whereas working is active, something one does. How indeed can believing be the work of God? Aha! That is indeed the very thing the crowd missed and still misses to this very day. Faith, believing in Jesus, the bread of life, is indeed the work of God. It is not the work we do for God. It is His work, God working in us. The Apostle Paul puts it this way,

But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. ... For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ... So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. - Rom 10:6-10, 12-13, 17 ESV

Read the whole chapter very carefully. Throughout it Paul emphasizes that faith comes from hearing the word of Christ. The Gospels make the same point. The Word was with God and the Word became flesh and blood in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (John 1:1; 1:14). Whoever believes in Jesus, the Word, and in the words he speaks has eternal life. He is righteous and forgiven in God's eyes. Jesus' disciples abide in his word (John 8:31). That word is seed planted in their hearts. It takes root and grows, producing a life of faith, love and obedience to God (Luke 8:11-15). Jesus' disciples cling to this word he has planted in their hearts and put their trust in it. This faith is the work of God, God's gift to his children.

But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. - Eph 2:4-10 ESV

Word, Seed, Bread of life—these images all speak of Jesus through whom we daily receive forgiveness for our sins and through whom we are richly filled with abundant life of Christ (John 10:10). If you know about these things then you both know about Jesus' secret kingdom and you know some of the secrets of the kingdom. You know that Jesus, the Word made flesh, does everything in his kingdom through his Word. Through his Word he creates and sustains faith. Through his Word he fills the hearts of his disciples with love for one another. Through his Word he moves them to love, forgive, feed, clothe and care for those in need even as he does. As John writes in his epistle,

We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. - 1Jo 4:19-21 ESV

That's how things work in the secret kingdom of God. It is not how they work in all other kingdoms. We'll finally have to take up that topic next time as we look into the kingdoms of this world, how they work and how God uses them to maintain outward peace and order.