2 Thess. Lesson 4: The Great Lie & Rampant Lawlessness :: By Sean Gooding

Published on: January 23, 2022 by RR7

Chapter 2: 5-12

“Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way.⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Last week we talked about The Day of Christ; this is that day we are to be looking for, living our lives each day expecting the arrival of our salvation through the air. We looked at the 2 events that will encompass the return of Jesus. One is the saints going to meet Him in the air, and the next part is Jesus coming in the clouds to judge the world. Paul encouraged the Thessalonian Christians that they had not missed The Day of the Lord. And in the same breath, we are encouraged to know that Jesus is coming, and we should not be dismayed, discouraged and dismissive of this promise. As Jesus was leaving, we got a promise from the angels in Acts 1: 9-11.

“Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'”

We are promised that ‘this same Jesus’ will come back for us. This is the hope that we have that exceeds the evil and the trials and troubles of this world. Paul goes on to lay out for this sister church some more things that will happen as The Day of Christ comes closer and closer and he adds some more pieces that we are to look for. These things are not so much for the local church there in Thessalonica; as the Holy Spirit knew that Jesus’ return would be 2,000 years or more away, these are for us.

Lawlessness is already working, verses 5-7

As we have mentioned a few times, Paul was with this church for just a few weeks (see Acts 17: 1-10). Some commentators put him there for maybe three months, but the idea is that he was there with them a very short time. Yet, Paul made sure to teach prophecy. Notice verse 5: he calls to remembrance the things that he taught them. Paul taught them the prophecies about the end time. This was as important as understanding the purity and simplicity of the Gospel.

This should be a challenge to us about the need to teach the prophets, to teach from Daniel and Jeremiah, and to delve into Isaiah and Revelation. There are many Pastors that have been at churches for years, decades even and have not once really taught through the prophecies of the Old Testament, and they have not touched The Revelation. This is wrong; Paul makes it clear that even new churches need to hear the prophecies, they need to hear that Jesus is coming again, that we should live ready to meet him, and try to tell as many as possible about the generous grace of God in salvation. But too many shy away. We weaken our people and deprive our churches of much needed spiritual food.

There is lawlessness working right in front of our eyes right now. We can see, and I think more so in the past 24 months, the sheer evil that is parading itself into every aspect of our lives. The case of the rich socialite and his pimp girlfriend (who was just convicted- I don’t want to use their names and bring any glory to them), who were supplying underaged girls to other rich and elite men, including political, royal and financial figures is appalling. It reminds us how evil this world is. I have 2 daughters: one in her 20s, the other just aged 9; I cannot imagine them being stolen away and being used for sex.

These people who promote themselves to be our moral judges on Climate change and helping the poor, and on and on, are just hypocritical pigs. And sadly, as we saw in the court case, the women are just as bad as the men, if not worse. Many of our political leaders have had women charge them with assaults, and many have used the public purse to pay for their sins.

Another part of the Lawlessness is the wanton disregard for the laws of our land. The wealthy and political class do not need to follow the rules. Here in Canada just last year, our PM told us to stay home for Thanksgiving only to fly off and be with his family. Just recently, the British PM and many of the government were caught in a party, many maskless, while telling us not to attend family events and limiting access to weddings, funerals and even visiting loved ones in the Hospital. They remind us they are above us, the general public. Not long after the ’embarrassing’ revealing of this social event, the PM of England announced that COVID restrictions will be ending in the Spring.

There is lawlessness that has existed for millennia; and now, because of TV and cable shows, it is being exposed for all to see.

Paul goes on to tell this new church that even though the level of Lawlessness is shocking, they had not seen anything yet. There will come a time when the restraining power of the Holy Spirit will be removed and the lawlessness will be even greater than anything we have seen until now. There is one other curious point (notice in verse 8): ‘the lawless one will be revealed.’ This is a sobering thought – the Man of Sin, the anti-Christ, is already in place and ready to go. Thus, as soon as the restraining power is removed (the Holy Spirit), the anti-Christ will be revealed shortly thereafter. This is another way that we can know that Paul was not talking to the church in Thessalonica as much as he was talking to us. Don’t try to figure out who the Lawless one is; he is an unknown until his very revelation.

Evil to the Nth degree, verses 8-10

You and I have not seen evil yet. We have seen evil, as I talked about, with sex trafficking. If you take the time to get past the hype and study, you will see the evil in Hollywood, the sexual abuse of boys and girls, and the psychological pain inflicted by these moguls on the wide eyes and inexperienced youths that come seeking fame. When we see the financial abuse and the sheer abuse on children and adults alike, we think we have seen evil. But Paul tells us that this Lawless Man will bring a new level of evil accompanied by signs and wonders. Jesus warned the local church about seeking signs and wonders and tells us the only sign we need to be awed by in Matthew 12:38-40.

“Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, ‘Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.’ Jesus replied, ‘A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'”

All we need is the Resurrection; that sign outweighs all others. If Jesus did not resurrect, then no number of signs will bring eternal life. Sadly, we have many churches that still promote signs and wonders and the proof that Jesus is who He says he is. Jesus tells us that the resurrection is His proof.

The world will be awed by the signs and wonders of this Lawless Man, and they will follow him and empower him. This, in turn, will lead to even more evil and more destruction and death (see Revelation 6: 1-17). This will give you an idea of what is coming. By the way, as proof that Satan often takes the Bible more literally than we do, the Lawless Man will either die and be resurrected, or Satan will perform a great fake. See Revelation 13:3,

“And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.”

Somewhere along the line, the Lawless One will die or appear to die and resurrect; this is to offer the world proof that he is a god, and they will more readily follow him.

We need to preach the resurrection more and more; even the Devil knows this is the real proof of a deity. It will be a very sad time to be alive once the Restrainer is removed and the sum total of man depravity is left unchecked. I cannot imagine what the world will look like with evil unchecked and with man abandoned by God; it will be a living Hell on earth.

The Great Lie, verse 11-12

What we have seen firsthand in the last 24 months is that if you tell a big lie and tell it often enough, when the truth comes out, very few will believe it. Lest I look like an idiot, COVID is real; I just had it, and I have had many loved ones in Christ die in the last 2 years. No one in their right mind can think COVID is not real. However, we are now beginning to realize the truths, things like it’s most likely manmade. There are emails from some of the leading scientists in the world telling us that it looks manmade, but we were told the opposite. For 20+ months, they’ve pushed cloth masks, and billions of dollars have been spent by people and companies to get their families and employees outfitted – only to now be told these are useless.

We’ve had a vaccine promoted and weaponized against us. At first, we were told that once we are vaccinated, life will go back to normal. Then, oh yeah, you have some protection; then no protection. Then it mitigates the symptoms if you do get sick to, oh, you can still spread and get COVID, to now we need a booster; and on and on. Lies, lies, lies, and we can see how an entire world can swallow the lies. Even saved people have swallowed the lies, and there is so much division in our churches and families. Imagine what lies they will tell once the Holy Spirit is removed and God allows their sinful, depraved minds to simply accept and not question. The lie will be that man has achieved ‘peace and safety’ without God, 1 Thessalonians 5: 2-3.

“For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and security,’ destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.”

One of the great lies of our time is not that there is no God, but that you have all the time in the world to get right with Him – live your life; you have plenty of time to get right with God. But nothing could be further from the truth. Death comes to any at any age, and it comes often without warning. Are you ready to meet Jesus, or have you swallowed the lie as well?

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

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Flash Points 2022: Ukraine, Russia, & the Primakov Doctrine :: By Matt Ward

Published on: January 23, 2022 by RR7

The United States of America is no longer the undisputed hegemon of the Middle East. It is Russia, at the dawn of 2022, that is now the indispensable power in that region. Over the last decade, Russia’s political, economic and diplomatic footprint has expanded rapidly while that of the West has receded and is now deteriorating fast.

Russia’s return to the international community as an important global actor is no new phenomenon. It has been planned. For decades, Moscow’s foreign policy has been predicated upon Russia once again assuming the standing of a recognized, world-leading nation. Yet it has only been after the opportunities presented by the Arab Spring that those grandiose plans have moved towards fulfillment. Since the Arab Spring, it has become increasingly apparent just how far-reaching and wide those Russian ambitions really were and currently are.

It all began in 1996 with the appointment of a new Foreign Minister, Yevgeny Primakov. It was Primakov that first formulated a new Russian approach to international relations that now bears his name, the Primakov Doctrine. Essentially, this new doctrine charted a different path for Russian foreign policy ambitions, one that did not foresee Russia following the lead of its Western partners anymore.

Indeed, it was very much the opposite. According to the Primakov doctrine, Russia would now no longer follow the lead of the West in world geopolitics but would instead seek to reposition itself as an independent center of power on the world stage in its own right. Primakov was very deliberately setting Russia up as an alternative to the 1990’s US-led world order. To all intents and purposes, at the beginning of 2022, it would seem that this policy has been very successful.

Indeed, current Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov acknowledged this in October 2014 when he said,

“The moment he (Primakov) took over the Russian Foreign Ministry heralded a dramatic turn in Russia’s foreign policy. Russia left the path our Western partners had tried to make it follow after the breakup of the Soviet Union and embarked on a track of its own.” (1)

This guiding principle has commanded Russian foreign policy ever since. Now, some thirty years later, it has continued to evolve from what was an initial passive resistance to any Western initiatives to an active willingness of Moscow to take as much advantage as possible of any auspicious international events that could be exploited to the maximum advantage of Russia. The Arab Spring should be seen in this context, and take advantage of it, Russia surely did.

There have, however, been other successes that have only served to embolden Russia and her leadership, much to the exasperation of the international community. The annexation of Crimea, the war in eastern Ukraine and Russian meddling within it, the recent and ongoing standoff with the West in the Baltic and Black Seas, Russia’s substantial involvement in Syria and the rescuing of the Assad regime, and of course, the ongoing alleged Russian involvement in US and Western European domestic politics.

All these interventions should be seen in the light of the Primakov Doctrine. They are all efforts at extending Russian influence towards the Middle East and former Soviet republics. They are all efforts at destabilizing traditional Russian adversaries and enhancing Russia’s global position as a center of power in its own right, much to the detriment of the United States and NATO.

Yet it is not only Russia’s willingness to exploit opportunities that have enhanced its global standing in recent years; the West’s own ineptitude has contributed to it. When Russia intervened to annex Crimea, or in the war in eastern Ukraine, for example, it did so only after NATO had expressly stated beforehand that it would not risk open war with Russia over Ukraine. Such ineptitude only serves to dramatically embolden a Russian foreign policy machine that is already looking to actively exploit every opportunity in order to enhance its own global power base.

Events around the world have also increased Russian influence. The ruin left in the wake of Western interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, not to mention Libya, has allowed Russia to insert itself into these important spheres of influence and actively shape the new, emerging order there in ways very much beneficial to Russian interests alone.

Conversely, the epically inept recent US withdrawal from Afghanistan has also taught Russian decision-makers two important foreign policy lessons; firstly, that the United States is likely no longer prepared to back up policy with its military, and, more decisively, that America is currently being led by incompetent, unskilled, amateurish and a morally bankrupt leadership.

And so, we get to the current flash point of Ukraine. Over the past three months, Russia has moved in excess of 175,000 troops right up to, and all along, the Russian-Ukraine border. That they are intending some kind of invasion seems obvious. Any such invasion will likely have to occur in the next two months before the winter thaw makes efficiently moving such huge numbers of troops over boggy ground too difficult, if not impossible.

Russia is doing this because they sense an opportunity here and because they feel uniquely threatened by the encroachment of NATO into its former Soviet republics. Russia fears NATO expansion into eastern Europe and broods on the fact that there is no longer any effective buffer zone between NATO and the Russian border itself. As a result of this, current Russian policy is to aggressively assert itself into these former republics where possible, to “Balkanize” them, and thus create a bulwark and a barrier against Western militaries and their possible missile arsenals. It is in this guise that we should view what is happening right now in Ukraine.

Rapid de-escalation is necessary for any kind of conflict to be averted. At this point, no such de-escalation has occurred or looks as if it will. The United States and the EU have jointly threatened Russia with “massive” retaliation should Russia invade Ukraine. President Biden has gone so far as to say that should Russia invade, then the United States will impose upon Russia the harshest set of sanctions ever seen by the United States against any nation in the world.

If Russia does invade, it is likely that Russia would attempt to use its own version of “shock and awe,” as it has done so many times in the past. Using a mixture of massive cyber and electronic warfare attacks, it would likely seek to establish a quick victory in eastern Ukraine. However, Ukraine can fight. They have a military that is battle-hardened by seven years of fighting. In 2014, in eastern Ukraine, Russia sent in irregular forces who were beaten back by hastily organized Ukrainian citizenry. So much so that the Russians were forced to send in regular forces.

If Ukraine does not break quickly, Russia may pay a heavy price. Since 2014, the United States has provided Ukraine with $2.5 billion of military aid (2), with a potential in any conflict for much more, including helicopters, Stinger missiles, Javelin anti-tank missiles, armed patrol boats, hundreds of anti-aircraft launchers and substantial aid with intelligence, satellite imagery and analysis, and command and control capabilities.

The huge danger is that if Ukraine’s circumstances become truly dire in any conflict with Russia, then NATO allies might consider intervening with their own forces. A wider European war could easily begin in such a way. World wars begin in this way.

Ukraine today is one of the few places on Earth with the potential for a direct Russian-US confrontation. As such, it makes it one of the most dangerous flash points of 2022. The Kremlin is risking all on the huge pressure it is now exerting on Ukraine, resulting in it realigning itself with Russia, not the West. Putin is hoping to bring Ukraine firmly back within the Russian sphere of influence and to therefore keep NATO further at bay.

But will Vladimir Putin really begin a war with Ukraine? The short answer is that we cannot know; we can only hope that calm heads will eventually prevail. One thing is clear though; Russia, under Vladimir Putin, is increasingly expansionist.

The Bible tells us very clearly that Russia’s gaze will definitely move on from Ukraine to settle on Israel at some point in the near future. Approximately 2,500 years ago, Ezekiel foretold events that would occur in Russia’s as yet near future.

“You will come from your place in the far north, you and many nations with you” (Ezekiel 38:15).

Daniel, in Daniel 5:5-35, also describes an invasion of Israel with a “king of the North” as the commander. This invading army will arrive “from the far north.” Russia is the only modern nation that fits this “far north” description.

Vladimir Putin is aggressively seeking reunification of the former Soviet bloc in Eastern Europe. He is also proactively following the Primakov Doctrine in the Middle East in places like Syria, ever seeking to expand Russian power and influence. How long until his gaze falls upon the “Beautiful land,” Israel?

Looking at events currently unfolding in both Eastern Europe and the Middle East, my guess is, not too long.

Keep looking up.

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3: 5-6).

matthew.ward77@gmail.com

Sources:

“Lavrov Predicts Historians May Coin a New Term: The Primakov Doctrine,” TASS, October 28, 2014, http://tass.com/russia/756973
https://www.rand.org/blog/2021/12/expect-shock-and-awe-if-russia-invades-ukraine.html