Man of Sin
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In Christian eschatology, the Man of Sin, or Man of Lawlessness in some translations, is a person who, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, will be revealed before the Day of the Lord. The phrase "man of sin" appears only in this single verse, however, this individual is usually equated with the Antichrist.
| “ | 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; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. | ” |
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—2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 |
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[edit] Individual or composite "Man"
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Is this “man of sin” a single human who lives at some point in history?
The Greek word for man is: Anthropos. According to Strongs Concordance 444 it can have several meanings:
1:- a human being, whether male or female 2:- indefinitely, someone, a man, one 3:- in the plural, people 4:- joined with other words, merchantman 5:- A two fold nature of man
This “man” may therefore be either an individual or an esoteric group.
In the following verses Paul says that the “man of Sin/lawlessness” was already at work in his day (the first century) and yet was to be held back to be revealed at the proper time near the second coming of Jesus.
“Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day [the second coming] will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed … And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For 'the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so … And then the lawless one will be revealed”[1].
Since the life span of a single man is only some 70 year, this “man of sin” must either refer to a common human philosophy of life or some human group or organization, or be further evidence of the inaccuracies contained within the book(s) from which the passages are taken.
- "...that man of sin be revealed...so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God,..."[1]
The temple of God is rebuilt: Matthew 26:61 And said, This [fellow] said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.[2] John 2:21 But he spake of the temple of his body.[3]
Jesus Christ IS come in the flesh[4]: 1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?[5] A couple of examples of the man of sin revealed are Christians that suffer from multiple personality disorder, (PDF [6]) and Christians that channel untried, thereby risking unclean, tongues.[7]
Acts 17:24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;[8]
[edit] Antichrist
Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God[2].
[edit] Revealing of The Man of Sin
The revealing of this Man of Sin is a very important event as the scriptures indicate that it immediately precedes the coming of Jesus Christ. This is the intent of the 2nd Chapter of the bible book of 2nd Thessalonians to explain these preliminary events as identified in the first verses of this chapter.
This man of sin, this antichrist, will not appear evil to the majority of people on the face of the earth. In the last days the world will see this guy as a great guy, as the bible says even the demons appear as angels of light[3], so will this man of sin, this agent of the devil. The bible also states that people get mixed up on what sin and evil is "they will call good evil and evil good"[4] According to the word of GOD sin is the transgression of the Law of GOD[5], so this man of lawlessness must do away with the Laws of GOD and teach others to do so, the blind leading the blind. But of course it will be done subtlely he won't be saying go out and murder or steal he will be against breaking these aspects of the Law of GOD it will be things like it's okay to have an image to aid you in worshiping GOD, or you can assemble to fellowship and worship any day you want all days are holy (thus putting himself in the place of the true GOD). So chances are most people won't have a clue of this person's idenity other than he appears to them to be a good guy, very spiritual and doing many wonderful works. Even those watching for this man of sin to appear on the scene will be blind to who he really is, as the bible clearly states Satan has deceived the whole world [9]. There has been successors and trail blazers to the final and prophesied man of lawlessness, the world has probably already embraced most of the teachings and traditions of this man of sin.
So how can someone be more alert to Satan's counterfeit christ, truth, people, religion, laws and traditons? It's stated in Psalm 111:10 "a good understanding have all they that do his (GOD'S) commandments"
[edit] Identifying Features
[edit] Lawlessness
The lawlessness was already working in the 1st Century:
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work[6]
Exactly how this lawlessness was at work is not properly understood however, it probably was an insidious entity which was attempting to undermine Jesus Christ's law's and commandments. Jesus himself demonstrated this would be so through his admonishments to the disciples as follows:
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; [7]
[edit] Opposition
The Man of Sin will be in opposition to the will of God.
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God[8]
[edit] Exalted above God
The Man of Sin will also exalt himself above the position of God and Jesus. If the Man of Sin is lawless then he must regard the laws and commandments of Jesus with contempt and perhaps substitute his own in their place.
[edit] The Man of Sin is able to access God's Temple
The scriptures indicate further that the Man of Sin is somehow able to enter God's Temple:
so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.[9]
Showing himself to be a God infers that he is able to obtain worship or veneration from his subjects. None of the epistles mention the second temple's destruction in 70 AD by the armies of Titus in any manner, so it is only conceivable that the temple Paul refers to is the only temple of Jerusalem that was in existence, being the second temple of his own day. The fact that none of the epistles, including 2 Thessalonians, mentions the temple's destruction shows either a lack of knowledge of its destruction, or more likely, that the temple had not yet been destroyed. For if the temple were destroyed, surely Paul, who was constantly in the know of the major events of his community of Christians, Jews and Romans, would have mentioned such a monumental devastation at least once. But the fact that he, nor any of the other authors of the epistles, ever mention its destruction can only lead us to conclude that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians prior to 70 AD. As such, the temple Paul refers to seems to be a still-standing second temple. In this case, the Man of Sin Paul speaks of must have had access to the temple in some form or another.
Since the Antichrist can refer to individuals as well as groups, this may indicate Man of Sin as not solely one individual, but a representation of those attributing the realization of promises that only God's Kingdom can bring about to human leaders or groups, political, religious, or otherwise.
The way of entry into the temple is baptism. This is explained in a reliable source called the bible, which has a distribution of over 1 billion and without which this entire article would be redundant. Here is the scripture which explains how entry into the temple of THE God can now be obtained:
Hebrews 10:19-23:
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness for the way of entry into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 which he inaugurated for us as a new and living way through the curtain, that is, his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us approach with true hearts in the full assurance of faith, having had our hearts sprinkled from a wicked conscience and our bodies bathed with clean water. 23 Let us hold fast the public declaration of our hope without wavering, for he is faithful that promised.
To further understand who "the man of sin" is then the baptismal vows commanded by Jesus Christ should be carefully examined and compared to the actual vows said by each denomination!
[edit] First Century Disciples had been told about the Man of Sin
The Apostle Paul made a statement which indicated that the disciples should already be aware of what was happening to them in regard to the Man of Sin due to previous admonishments which, might be discernable through scriptures. That Paul needed to remind them indicates the relationship to what he had previously told them might not be easily discernable.
Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?[10]
[edit] Something is restraining the ability for others to discern him
And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.[11]
Chances are most people would not be able to identify the man of sin due to his appearance falling in line with what the majority of the world deems a Godly man. Just as tares look like wheat, they are not easy to identify for the novice farmer, until the time has passed and the time of harvest is at hand. Christ/GOD is the farmer in this parable, he is not a novice he has knowledge of what is the good wheat and which is the counterfeit wheat. Holman's Bible Dictionary defines TARES as follows: "TARES KJV term for grassy weeds resembling wheat, generally identified as darnel (genus Lolium)" It is pretty much accepted today that the tares Jesus spoke of are darnel
"Darnel is a weed grass (probably bearded darnel or Lolium temulentum) that looks very much like wheat until it is mature, when the seeds reveal a great difference. Darnel seeds aren't good for much except as chicken feed or to burn to prevent the spread of this weed" (World English Dictionary).
Easton's Bible Dictionary describes "tares" as follows: "the bearded darnel, mentioned only in Matt. 13:25-30. It is the Lolium temulentum, a species of rye-grass, the seeds of which are a strong soporific poison. It bears the closest resemblance to wheat till the ear appears, and only then the difference is discovered. It grows plentifully in Syria and Palestine."
When dealing with anything counterfeit, you often don't realize it is counterfeit until you've been deceived, in other words not until it's to late!
[edit] A mysterious iniquity is allowed to continue
The Man of Sin is allowed to continue with his mysterious iniquity however, the scripture indicate that he will be eventually taken out of the way.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.[12]
Do other scriptures indicate that an iniquity is allowed to continue inside of The Kingdom which, will eventually be removed? Yes:
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.[13]
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;[14]
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- http://bible.cc/2_thessalonians/2-3.htm - English translations of 2 Thessalonians 2:3
[edit] Notes
This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.
