Good morning, brethren. Let's
turn in our Bibles to 2 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians. And we'll go to the Lord before
we begin. Our great God and Father, we
ask that you would bless us this morning, that Christ would be
our teacher, that we would hear this word in spirit, that you
would comfort and settle our hearts. and keep us looking to Christ
alone. Lord, it's in His name we ask it. Amen. Now this word
that Paul is going to give us here is for the comfort of God's
people. That's the purpose of it. He
prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ, even God our Father, who gave
us good hope and consolation through grace, would comfort
our hearts in every good word and work. That's how he ends
the chapter. Every word is to comfort His
people. He said in verse 1, Now we beseech you, brethren, by
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and by our gathering together
unto Him, that you be not soon shaken in mind or be troubled,
neither by spirit nor by word nor by letter as from us, as
that the day of Christ is at hand. You know, our Savior is
faithful and true. And we've seen this happen many
times in the past where men tried to predict the day and the hour
that Christ would return. But that shows us how our Lord
is faithful and true because our Lord said that would happen.
He said, Somebody says, lo, here is Christ,
or there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs
and false prophets, and she shall show great signs and wonders,
insomuch that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
We've seen men try it. We've seen men do things like
this many times. At the day that Paul wrote this,
men were already saying Christ had already returned. And we've
seen it again and again. That shows us our Lord's faithful.
Look at verse 3. 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. The Spirit of God tells us here
that before Christ returns, there will come a falling away. a falling
away. Men will fall away from a profession
of Christ. No man ever falls away from Christ.
Those Christ calls and saves, he keeps. And so this is not
so of those that have truly been called to faith in Christ and
sanctified by our Lord, but this is true of those who appeared
to believe, they made a profession of faith in Christ, and they
will come a falling away To fall away, they have to first appear
to be faithful. And he's saying here, men and
women who appeared faithful will be deceived and they'll leave
Christ and they'll leave the church. Now, it doesn't say they'll
become vile, obvious sinners like the sodomites and the wicked
folks of this world. It doesn't say that. Turn over
to 1 Timothy. Just a few pages there to chapter
4. They will be very religious.
They'll be very religious, but it's a vain religion of touch
not, taste not, handle not of the commandments of men. 2 Timothy
4 verse 1, Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith. giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies and hypocrisy,
having their conscience seared with a hot iron. See, they're
going to be religious, right? Forbidding to marry and commanding
to abstain from meats which God hath created to be received with
thanksgiving to them which believe and know the truth. They're religious,
but it's a false religion of do and don't do. Men and women
that appeared faithful, They'll still have Christ on their lips.
They'll still have grace on their lips. They'll still have faith
on their lips. And speak of those things. But
their confidence will be in touch not, taste not, and handle not.
The doctrines and commandments of men. Look back to, look over
to 2 Timothy 3. Look at verse 1. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 1. He said, This also know that
in the last days, we've been in the last days since Christ
came, in the last days perilous times shall come, for men shall
be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection,
truth breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good, traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God, having a form of godliness,
but denying the power thereof from such turn away. Christ is
the power of godliness. He's the only one that makes
his people godly and keeps his people loving godliness and walking
after godliness. He's the power of godliness.
But these, at least partly, make themselves godly. They deny Christ
as the power of godliness. They look to themselves as by
their strength making them godly. Look at verse 6, for this sort
are they which creep in the houses, lead captive silly women laden
with sins, led away, they lead away with different lust, ever
learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
But as Janus and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist
the truth. Christ is the truth. He's the
power and He's the truth, and that's who they resist. They
resist Him of being all in salvation. Men of corrupt minds reprobate
concerning the faith, but they shall proceed no further, for
their folly shall be manifest unto all, unto all His saints. It'll be known. Christ said,
when He said you shall know them by their fruits, He was talking
about the Pharisees who, because they had a wicked heart, couldn't
speak the Gospel. He said, how can you be an evil,
speak good things? And he said his people will recognize
that. They have discernment. They won't
follow the voice of a stranger. Look here in 2 Timothy 4.3. For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine,
but after their own lusts, those lusts to have a part in the glory
of God and part in salvation. After their own lusts, they shall
heap to themselves teachers having itching ears, and they shall
turn away their ears from the truth. and should be turned to
fables. But brethren, every bit of that
is under God's sovereign rule. It's under God's sovereign rule.
Satan is on a chain. That's what Revelation 20 says.
He's on a chain. Christ has him on a chain. He
can't deceive the nations right now. But in the end, for a little
season, Satan shall be loosed. He must be loosed for a little
season, Scripture said. He'll be loosed and be permitted
to deceive the nations. Now, back in 2 Thessalonians
2, verse 3, he says, there shall come a falling away first. There's
going to be a famine of the gospel. There's coming a day before Christ
returns when the gospel's going to be hard to find. Value the
gospel now. and rejoice that the Lord gave
you the gospel now, because there's coming a day when it's going
to be hard to find. The Lord will leave himself a witness in this
earth, but there's going to be a great falling away from the
truth of the gospel. Religion won't cease. Religion
will be far and wide. but it won't be the religion
of God's grace, it'll be the religion of man's works and man's
will. And he says, and that man of
sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, the son of destruction,
the son of ruin. He's called here that wicked.
He's called the one that works the mystery of iniquity. Now
the man of sin, Antichrist, he says shall be revealed. Not to
the world, He's going to be revealed to His people. His people are
going to know the Antichrist. Christ said if it were possible,
they would deceive the very elect, but it's not possible. The Lord's
going to make sure His people know. Now here's the subject.
I figured this would get some downloads. The Antichrist Revealed. That's our subject. The Antichrist
Revealed. And here's what I want you to
get. The Antichrist, the son of perdition, the man of sin,
is not one person. It's the whole body of will worshipers
and will workers described here as one man. That's what I want you to see
from this. First of all, let's just look at that very point.
Antichrist, the son of perdition, the man of sin, the wicked, is
not one particular man. Now, to understand this, remember
Christ declared the church is His body. His elect, that He
redeemed, that He's regenerated, they're His body. They're His
body, one body. Christ is the head, each member,
He's a member of that body and makes up that body. And Christ
will keep sending this gospel forth until He calls out every
single one of His lost sheep. And He calls every member into
the body and then the body will be full. Listen, He said in Ephesians
4.13, Till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the
knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man. unto the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ, till his body's complete.
And he's describing it as one man. Christ is the head, his
people are in him, and we're one new man, one body, one man. Well, that's how it is with the
man of sin, the son of perdition. Satan is the head of that body.
He's the head of that body. And all antichrist men and women
are members of that one body. They make up one man of sin.
All of them. Now, without a doubt, the Pope
is Antichrist. And all the secessions of Popes
are Antichrist. Catholicism is full of people
that are Antichrist. That's what it is. The whole
thing. But Antichrist is not one man. All through generations,
people have tried to say one man was the Antichrist. Mussolini
was the Antichrist. Hitler was the Antichrist. I
heard Brother Henry, I forgot about this, in the 80s, people
thought Ronald Reagan was the Antichrist because his name was
Ronald Wilson Reagan. It had six letters in each name. 666. He's the Antichrist. That's all just ignorant. The Apostle John said, already
in his time, there were many, many antichrists going out into
the world. Many. And there are many today.
That man of sin was revealed to John. And the saints knew
that man of sin, that all these antichrists, they were made to
know him in John's day. And will be made to know him
in our day. John said they were manifest in that they fell away. He said in 1 John 2.19, they
went out from us. They fell away. But they were
not of us, for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have
continued with us. But they went out that they may
be made manifest. They were not all of us. You
see, works and grace are never going to mix. They're never going
to mix. So the son of perdition, he's
not one man. He's made up of all will, works,
religion, and he's spoken of as one man. One man. They're
one in that no matter what flavor it is or what it is that they
hold up as their banner, it's all Antichrist. That's why they're
one in that regard. Now secondly, we see the message
of the man of sin. We see the message of Antichrist,
the son of perdition. This is the message of all Antichrist
combined right here. This is what they're doing. 2
Thessalonians 2.4. who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that
he is God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that
he is God. Every antichrist, man and woman,
opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that
is worshiped. We know these are natural, unregenerate,
reprobate sinners. They profess to believe, but
they've fallen away from that original profession. They're
still in religion. Or if they were never in true
religion, they just are well-worshippers, but they're in religion. And
they They do the opposite of what
God's people do. What does the gospel make us
do? Paul said, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They're
mighty through God. It's this gospel, and here's
what it does. He said, it casts down imaginations. He said, and everything that
exalteth itself against the knowledge of God and brings into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ. The way up with God
is first down. Christ Jesus first descended
into the lowest parts of the earth. The Son of God came down,
took flesh. The Son of God made Himself the
least. The Son of God submitted to be
the servant of the Father and the servant of His people. And
that's how He redeemed us. That's how He saved us. He submitted
Himself to God His Father. And God's elect are proud. We're
self-exalting by nature. We're just like every other sinner
by nature. But the Lord sends the Spirit and through this gospel,
He brings us down. He brings us down. He casts down
our vain imaginations. He casts down our self-exalting
thoughts wherein we were opposing God. He brings you down, down,
down. He brings every thought into
captivity to the obedience of Christ and makes you know we're
made righteous only by the obedience of Christ. Faith trusts the obedience
of Christ. That's what it is to bring your
every captivity and obedience to Christ, is to bring us to
trust Christ's obedience for righteousness. But every antichrist,
Every Antichrist are one in spirit in opposing and exalting himself
above all that's called God or that is worshiped. Men who exalt
man's worth, God chose me because of something, that's Antichrist.
That's Antichrist. Men who exalt man's will, the
power of man's will, that's Antichrist. We're saved by Christ's will.
Men who exalt man's works, that's Antichrist. We're saved by the
works of the Lord Jesus. Man who exalts salvation dependent
upon man in any way is Antichrist. They're opposing God and exalting
themselves above all that's called God. They're very religious. They're zealous. Paul said that. He said that they have a zeal,
but it's not according to knowledge. but in exalting himself against
God, this antichrist, each one of these men that make up this
man, every false religionist, every will worshiper, he as God,
sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
We see this going on all around us every day. God's whole creation
is his temple. Men don't have to be in a church
to do this, and men that are irreligious do this same thing.
But we're talking here about men who are religious. I've told
you this before. My pastor made this observation
one time that the mark of the beast is the number of man. That's
what scripture says, 666, but there's three digits in there.
Well, there's three persons in the Godhead. And the man who's
Antichrist is trying to usurp God's authority and power and
salvation in every one of the persons of the Trinity, in all
three. God the Father chose us in Christ,
not based on anything in us. He chose whom He would and He
passed by whom He would. He chose us. In Christ, all is
in Christ. He blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in Christ. But Antichrist says either that
he chose his God and let his God save him, or he says God
saw something good in me, that's why he chose me. That's to exalt,
a man to exalt himself over God. That's for a man to make himself
to be his God. Christ the Lord redeemed his
people. He made us righteous and he sanctified
us by his one offering. We're sanctified by his will,
not our will. We're sanctified by his blood,
not anything we do. We're made holy by him being
the perfection of God. We're justified from all our
sins by his righteousness. But Antichrist says, He made Himself righteous by
something He did. Or He made Himself holy by something
He did. Or He adds to Christ's righteousness
and Christ's holiness by His works. That's to... A man can't
do that. Only God can make a man righteous
and holy. That's for a man to make himself
to be his God. That's to exalt himself above
God. Christ our Lord is the substitute.
He's the substitute, and all antichrists try to take that
glory for themselves. The Spirit of God must regenerate
us, we must be born. The Lord Jesus said you must
be born of water, that's the water of the word, that's the
gospel of Christ Jesus. Please God to save through the
foolishness of preaching, and you must be born of the Spirit
of God. Antichrist says, They look back to when they were in
the free will works religion and they walked their aisle and
gave their heart to Jesus and prayed through and they look
back to that and made their decision for their little Jesus and that's
their refuge. They say that's how they were
born again. That's how they started out in this thing. And I'll tell
you what they'll do. They'll try to alter the truth
of God They'll try to alter the truth of God and say that God
doesn't serve through the preaching of the gospel to protect that
false refuge because they know they was in a free will false
religion. They may, you know, there's a
whole brand of religion that says now, we started out in Arminianism,
but now we've come to the knowledge of the doctrines of grace, and
that's more of the same works. And a man that's in that place,
he's still looking back to that former profession. He's looking
back to what he did when he was in free will works religion.
So he's going to have to change the doctrine of God and say God
doesn't save through the foolishness of preaching. To say God's not
able to send his preacher to his man and to call him out and
to save him by grace. He's going to have to change
that and make it into being, well maybe, like Paul said here about
his letters, we can just read the Bible and be saved. If that
were so, we'd just drop Bibles out of the sky in countries. But he's trying to protect, he's
trying to protect false refuge. If he was really saved, he would
have been brought out, and he would have renounced everything
about that as a lie, and he would have done so by publicly identifying
with Christ and believing baptism. But instead of renouncing their
vain refuge, Antichrist is going to oppose God. He's going to
exalt himself against God. He's going to try to change the
Word of God and make it mean something it don't mean to protect
his own refuge. Our triune God in Christ is preserving
his people, and he won't lose one of his people. But the Antichrist
is saying he keeps himself. He keeps himself. That's how
come the wicked one touches him not. You know where he gets that?
He gets it out from the Apostle John, who said that very thing.
But until a man's born of the Spirit of God, he don't understand
a thing about what this word says. That's not what John, John's
not saying that you by your strength keep yourself and that you can
wrestle against the devil and you keep the devil from touching
you. That's not what John's saying because that disagrees with the
rest of the Word of God. Peter said the only way we resist
the devil is steadfast in the faith. It's Christ and it's looking
to Christ alone. He is casting all your care on
Christ. He's the one that's going to
keep you. The only way we keep ourselves is by the Spirit of
God making us trust Christ to keep us. But the Spirit of God's
got to give you an understanding to know that, and believe Christ,
and trust Christ. Verse 5, 2 Thessalonians 2, 5.
Remember ye not, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
And now you know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in
his time, for the mystery of iniquity doth already work. That's
another word for Antichrist, the mystery of iniquity. It's
already working, he said. Only he who now letteth will
let until he be taken out of the way. Christ is the way. He's
the way. Men, they come under the sound
of the gospel of Christ the way, and they're pretty soon taken
out from under that gospel. Following man's ways. There is
a way that seems right unto man, but the end thereof are the ways
of death. Now thirdly, I want you to see this delusion of Antichrist,
this delusion of men and women who are Antichrist, Get this
now, it's by the sovereign, just judgment of God. God did it. God did it. Christ looses Satan
for this season. And he comes in verse 9, it says,
with all power and signs and lying wonders, and he'll make
men He'll make men think they're blessed, the devil will. He'll
make men think they're blessed. You look at churches that preach
a lie and they look like they're really blessed to the Lord. There's
a lot of folks in those congregations. And a man individually, his life
will be good, he'll have an abundance of children, he'll have a peaceful
home, he'll just have all these, his business will be good, his
religion just makes him feel so good, and maybe he does some
great wonders and works in his religion. But it's this devilish delusion
that's created it. And it says, with all deceivableness
of unrighteousness in them that perish, Satan deceives them into
thinking that their unrighteous works are righteous and holy.
We're not talking about base, immoral, vile sins. We're talking
about men believing that the things they do in their religion
makes them righteous and holy. That's the deceivableness of
unrighteousness. But God did it. That's what the
Lord sent him, but God did it. Christ slew Satan to deceive
men. Why? Why did God justly do this to
men? Because they received not the
love of the truth that they might be saved. God is love. And his love's manifest in that
he sent Christ, the propitiation for our sins, the sin-atoning,
justifying mercy seat, who himself, by himself, put away all the
sins of his people. And when you're born of God,
the love of God fills your heart by the Holy Spirit. and you behold
God's love manifest in what He did, and you know it's not that
we love God, it's that He loved us and sent His Son who saved
us, and you love Him, and you love the truth, and you're united
to Him and can't be separated from Him. He won't let it happen.
But antichrist receives not the love of the truth that they might
be saved. They speak of grace, they speak of righteousness,
they speak of good words, they speak of God's sovereignty, They'll
preach doctrine that sounds so true, that everything about it,
you just look at a Bible and say, that looks like that's true.
But somewhere in there, they're putting it in man's hand every
single time. From the beginning, I've said
to you, and they end up departing. I've seen this a bunch of times.
I've seen whole churches. The church I was in, when I came
from here, The church I was in before I came here, the reason
that church exists is the church they were in decided they were
going to go this way and start preaching works instead of preaching
Christ. But the Lord is going to spare
His people. He's going to spare His people
and so they'll depart from the preaching of the gospel of Christ
that message that gives Christ all the glory. And I'll tell
you something, that's the first step to apostasy. I've said that
from the beginning so many times over and over. The first step
to apostasy is to leave the gospel of Christ where Christ is given
all the glory and man's given none. That's the first step to
apostasy. But God's just. God did it. God turns men over to reprobation.
Look at verse 11. And for this cause, because they
received not the love of Christ, the love of the truth, Christ
is the truth. Men will ask, what's the truth?
A man that asks that question is betraying a lot about himself
because Christ plainly declared He's the truth. He's the way,
He's the truth, He's the life. We can't come to God any other
way but by Him. And that's what men receive.
They receive the love of the truth by His grace. But a man
that can depart from that or not receive it, not love Christ,
not give Christ all the glory, not be shut up to Christ alone,
he's never known Christ in the beginning. He's never born of
the Spirit of God. Why can't he depart? God said, because
he received not the love of the truth. He said, for this cause,
God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie.
that they all might be damned, who believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness." I tell you what, that don't sound
like the God this world's preaching, does it? That don't sound like
the God that loves everybody and wants you to be saved. That's
the God who's just, who says, if you won't bow to my Son, that's
the same God who walked this earth, who said, be careful how
you hear. He said, the man it seemeth to have, from him it'll
be taken from him. Men that don't receive Christ
and bow to Christ and look to Christ only, he said, I'll take
my gospel from them. Either make them depart from
it or I'll move it away from them. The unrighteousness they
have pleasure in, it's not that immoral sin, it's the unrighteousness
of trying to do something themselves to come to God. Men will say,
I'm not trying to make myself righteous by my works. It's just
sanctification. There's no difference. Man's
still looking to himself. He's still anti-Christ. He's
like Cain. Cain rejected Christ. He didn't
come with the blood of the Lamb. What did he come with? His fruits!
He came with his fruits that he produced. That's what men
are trying to do. They're trying to show you their
fruits they produced and come to God with their fruits they
produced. Proverbs 1.31, here's God's justice. If man's doing
that, here's God's justice. Therefore shall they eat of the
fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices. God will send them strong delusion.
God's righteous in all His works. God gives His elect eternal life
because Christ is our righteousness, worked out a perfect righteousness
for us. And God damns men because they will not fall down and confess
Christ, but have pleasure in their unrighteous, vile, self-justifying,
self-righteous works. God's just. He's just. You're not going to convince
a man that's in that shape that he's deluded. You're not going
to convince him. God gave him that delusion. And
I'll tell you something, how many times have you tried to
depart? How many times would you have fallen away if it wasn't
for the saving, preserving hand of God? And if God's kept you
under the gospel and kept you loving the truth of Christ and
wanting Christ to have all the glory and wouldn't let you fall
away, we ought to hit our face before God and thank Him because
He's done you a tremendous favor by not letting you depart with
those that He gives delusion to. I'm telling you, God is,
it seems to me we're in this little season. It looks to me
like we're in this little season. I know probably every generation's
thought that, but man, it's just come on so much. But I don't
think it just because of all the world embracing sodomy and
the alphabet people and all of that that they're doing. I don't
believe it just because of that. Here's why I believe it. There
is more people in this world right now who claim to believe
the doctrine of the sovereign grace of God in Christ Jesus,
more than there ever has been, who claim to believe the gospel
and truth. And they'll sound like they're declaring the very
truth we believe, but they get to sanctification and they're
putting it back in a man's hand. Arminian free will works religion,
it's not possible that's going to save God's elect, that's obvious.
Sodomy, that's not going to save God's elect, that's obvious.
But that stuff right there that's so subtle that they just bring
in some works just a little bit. If it were possible. Sounds good. It peels the man's flesh. But
it's not possible. God won't permit his elect to
be deceived. Now lastly, here's the good news.
I'll be very brief. Christ will win. Christ will
win. Look here in verse 8. Then shall
that wicked be revealed, that's the son of wickedness, whom the
Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy
with the brightness of his coming. The wicked is one with the devil.
They're all one cut from the same cloth. And when the Lord
comes, he'll consume with the spirit of his mouth and destroy
with the brightness of his coming. See, nothing's out of the control
of our sovereign Savior. He's working all this. And when
the little season comes and there's a great fall in the way and the
gospel's hard to find, His people are going to have the gospel.
He's going to keep you under it. But while all that's going on,
He's bringing everything to pass exactly according to His purpose.
He told us it would come to pass. And I'll just read this for now.
Next time this is going to be our whole focus. But let me just
read this. Here's why none of His people
are going to perish right here. Verse 13. But we're bound to
give thanks always to God for you, brethren beloved of the
Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,
whereunto he called you by our gospel to the obtaining of the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, brethren, stand fast
and hold traditions which you've been taught, whether by word
or whether by epistle. You just keep looking to Christ
and trust Him alone. And I'll tell you this, if He's
worked this work of grace in you, if He chose you and He sanctified
you by the Spirit and Christ has given you the glory so that
you know that Christ said in John 17, I've given them my glory
that they might know that thou has loved me from eternity and
has loved them like you loved me and made us one, perfectly
one. If God's worked that in you,
I'll tell you what you'll do. You'll stand fast and you'll
hold the tradition of this gospel you've been taught and you won't
move away. You're looking for Christ and
when he's returned, you'll be with him. Father, we thank You
for this Word. Thank You, Lord, that You comfort
our hearts, showing us everything that will come to pass. Even
if it's wicked and it's frightening to us, You show us beforehand
and make us know You're ruling it and working it, and it'll
be good. Lord, keep us in Christ. Don't
let us depart. We beg of You. If You left us
to ourselves for a minute, we certainly would depart. We would
look to our own way. Look to our fruits and Lord keep
us knowing we don't have any fruit but what the Spirit produces
and we don't have any righteousness or holiness but You. Keep us
following You, trusting You, resting in You. And Lord do this
for Your people everywhere. Do this for Your people everywhere.
If your people are mixed up, Lord, and trying to depart with
those that depart, Lord, we pray You save them, preserve them,
bring them back into Your fold wherever You're pleased to do
it, and keep them by Your grace. We know that's what You'll do
for Your people. You'll find that lost sheep and
bring him home on Your shoulder. Lord, we pray You give Yourself
the glory and give Yourself the glory in our heart. In Christ's
name we ask it. Amen.