In verses 6 and 7 we see two things. First the man of
lawlessness will be revealed in time, but currently he is being restrained. So
there will be a time when evil is let loose on the earth on a scale that has
never been seen before. Secondly, the principal of lawlessness is already at
work. So we see evidence of it already. And in the past there have been extreme
example, like Hitler, Stalin etc. This is one reason why last day nutters can be
so successful, there will always be some things going on that have some
characteristics of the real thing. But we need to read the Bible carefully.
We then come to the reason for all this, and the reasons are
multi-faceted. The first, and foremost, is that He will be destroyed by the
coming of Jesus Christ. This again is consistent with Revelation (17:14,
19:19,20).
When the man of lawlessness comes there will be many false
signs. Yet again this is consistent with what Jesus said and with Revelation.
Then we come to a very interesting point. Who causes this?
This is a question we ask about many things. Is it God? Is it the devil? Is it
man? We want the answer to be just one of these, but the truth is that it is
all three! Verse 9 says it is Satan. Verse 11 says it is God who sends the
delusion, and then it says it is because man chose to reject the truth. So if
we seek to find one simple solution we will miss something. We should always
read the Bible from all the angles that it gives. Note also that God is
actively involved in all things. In the OT we see God being active in sending
lying spirits and things like that.
The coming of the man of lawlessness is a judgement on man,
on our rejection of God.
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