The Finished Word

The Spirit of Antichrist is working to destroy the church through deceptions spread by false teachers and charlatans . In popular preaching, the Antichrist is a political tyrant determined to conquer the world. However, only the Apostle John uses the term ‘Antichrist’, and he applies it to false teachers who originated in his congregations.

Believers prepare for the Apostasy and the coming Man of Lawlessness by committing themselves to the traditions received from the Apostles . After explaining the coming “ Apostasy ” and the “ Man of Lawlessness ,” Paul instructed believers on how to avoid the coming deception and thereby find themselves standing “ blameless ” before Jesus when he arrives on the Day of the Lord. We must “ stand fast ” by adhering to the teachings and “ traditions ” the Church has received from the Apostles.

The New Testament warns that false prophets will appear, causing many believers to abandon their faith and betray Jesus Christ . Jesus warned his disciples to beware of deceivers, the false messiahs and false prophets who are determined to seduce his followers and thus destroy the Church from the inside. These warnings are reiterated and expanded in the writings of the Apostles.

Followers of Jesus must cling tenaciously to the Word spoken in the Son or they will drift away from God’s gracious salvation . The Letter’s first literary section concludes with an exhortation and warning. The disciple of Jesus who fails to heed the far “ better word ” God is speaking in His Son will suffer an even “ sorer punishment ” than the rebellious Israelites when they disobeyed the Mosaic Law. The  Torah  was delivered to Moses by angels. Nevertheless, it was God’s word, and therefore, lawbreakers received severe punishments – (Hebrews 2:1-4).

The New Testament warns of a future apostasy caused by deceivers and the Son of Destruction, the Lawless Man, before the Day of the Lord arrives . The New Testament warns us that before Jesus returns, his Church will be attacked from within by deceivers, “ false anointed ones ,” and “ false prophets .” Before the “ Day of the Lord ” begins, his disciples will be confronted by the “ Man of Lawlessness , ” whom the Apostle Paul links to the “ Apostasy ,” the final great “ falling away ” from the faith.

Jesus will not “ arrive ” to gather his “ elect ” until two events occur - The “ Apostasy ” and the “ Revelation of the Man of Lawlessness ,” and they are inextricably linked. It is not just the presence of this figure but his unveiling in the Assembly that will signal the imminence of the “ Day of the Lord .” Not only will he cause many to apostatize, but his identity will be unveiled when he “ sits down ” in the “ Sanctuary of God .”

Paul warned of the coming Apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man of Anarchy when he seats himself in the Assembly . Paul responded to false reports about the “ Day of the Lord ” by pointing to the expected Apostasy and the “ Man of Lawlessness .” Jesus will not “ arrive ” until the “ Apostasy ” occurs and the “ Lawless One ” is revealed. Rumors claiming that the “ Day of the Lord had set in ” were circulating in Thessalonica, disrupting the Assembly – (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

( False information about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion among the believers of Thessalonica  – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2). The Apostle Paul addresses false claims about the Day of the Lord in his second letter to the Thessalonians. Incorrect information concerning Christ’s return is disrupting the congregation. Paul attributes the source of the disinformation to either a “ spirit ,” a word (‘ logos ’), or a letter, “ as if from us ”; supposedly, from Paul and his coworkers .

The first chapter of  Hebrews  emphasizes the supremacy of the High Priest who now sits at the “ right hand of the Majesty on High .” In the chapter’s second half, the eternal sovereignty of God is described (“ Your throne, O God, is to times everlasting ”), then the qualifications of the Son for the priesthood are stated (“ You loved righteousness and hated lawlessness ”). This leads to the exhortation at the beginning of Chapter 2.