A link to the audio can be found at the bottom of this article.
2 Thessalonians 2:4-7. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on Sunday, November 8, 2026.
We are in the middle of Paul’s warning about deception in the last days. In this chapter and in other New Testament passages, we are warned about characters that will arrive on the world scene in the last days, i.e., in the Great Tribulation. They will deceive the world and lead it in rebellion against Jesus Christ and in service to Satan.
The main characters are a political beast found in the first part of Revelation 13 and a religious beast revealed later in the same chapter (he is called the False Prophet in Revelation 19). Satan works particularly through these two to deceive the world into worshiping the Beast. Paul uses different terms for the Beast in this passage. They are the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Perdition and simply the Lawless One.
It does not take much cross checking to see that Paul is speaking of the same man as the Beast of Revelation and as the Antichrist of 1 John 2:18.
Deception is the hallmark of this individual and those who are in league with him.
Let’s get started with a reminder of what we talked about last week.
Paul wants these believers to understand that the coming of Christ, particularly our being gathered to him (also called the Rapture), is a logical ground for not being deceived about the Day of the Lord. Somehow, they had been convinced that they had missed the “gathering together to [Jesus]” and were now in the time of judgment that Jesus had warned us to pray that we might escape (Luke 21:34-36).
Furthermore, Paul points out that the Day of the Lord cannot be present until The Apostasy comes first, and the Man of Lawlessness (the Antichrist / the Beast) is revealed. The Rapture followed by the Apostasy and revealing of the Antichrist signal that the Day of the Lord has begun.
Throughout his letters Paul had emphasized that Christ comes to save us from the wrath that is coming upon the world during the Day of the Lord (1 Thessalonians 1:10. He also emphasized that Christians are not destined for wrath but salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:9). In light of his Last Days theme in that letter, it is clear that he is not talking about being saved from the Lake of Fire alone. The wrath of God was always connected to the Day of the Lord and judgment upon the nations for rejecting Messiah.
Thus, Paul is telling them they had no reason to be troubled about this.
The man of lawlessness is described by Paul in verse four. He is to lawlessness what Jesus is to righteousness, the epitome of it and the very definition of it.
Weare told that he opposes and exalts himself above every “so-called god” or object of worship. In some ways, we might think that this is a good thing. As Christians, we oppose every “so-called” god and point people to Jesus Christ. The early Christians were maligned as “atheists” because they did not worship all the gods of the nations. More importantly, they revealed that the spiritual entities behind these false gods were rebellious, created beings with propagandized histories intended to keep humanity in service to demons.
Yet, this man is not working on behalf of God. He wants all worship of fallen spiritual beings to be centered upon himself. He is not presented as Satan in human form. Rather, he is presented as a kind of son-figure mimicking Jesus and the Father. Revelation 13 tells us that humanity will worship the Beast and the Dragon (Satan) who gave him his authority.
Verse four gives a specific event that becomes the apex of this opposing other gods and exalting himself. He will take seat in the temple of God displaying himself as being God.
In Paul’s day, there was a temple, but it was destroyed in AD 70 and has never been rebuilt. It can be easy to treat this as only metaphorical. Even now, we can agree that the Church of God (the temple of God) has major parts of it that are being taken over by spirits of rebellion against Jesus.
However, this is going to literally happen as well. Israel is eventually going to rebuild a temple (at least to some degree). They will reestablish the sacrifices. It is believed that this man will be instrumental in working out the agreement that allows Israel to build a temple. However, this man will eventually go into that temple and somehow reveal himself as being God. This most probably involves miraculous signs and wonders. Paul speaks of that in this passage as well as John in Revelation 13.
The Day of the Lord and the Great Tribulation are not for God’s Church (true believers). Those who have kept their eyes upon Jesus will be removed prior to that time in the Rapture. Then, God’s judgment will be poured out upon the earth in successive waves involving seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders and seven bowls.
The Great Tribulation is about God judging the nations while bringing the people of Israel to repentance and faith in Jesus.
Could the world really embrace a man who said he was God?
In verse five, Paul reminds them that he had taught them these things while he was with them. This is a gentle rebuke. They had not kept these things in their heart like they should have and have been easily misled.
Paul explains that the Man of Lawlessness is being restrained. In other words, he would have appeared earlier, but he can’t. Notice that Paul says, “You know…” Apparently, he had taught them just what was restraining the Antichrist from coming forth.
Just as a side note, we can see that the first generation most likely had a better understanding of end time prophecy than we do. However, not all of it was recorded. We can feel like this has us short-changed. However, we need to trust that the Holy Spirit was intimately involved in what teachings did not make it down to us. We don’t have to know exactly what and who is restraining the Antichrist to live lives that are prepared to be raptured before he arrives.
Definitely, we can say that God is ultimately restraining the Antichrist. He cannot come forth until God allows. However, this passage speaks of the restraining thing (neuter form) and as a restraining one (masculine form). This can be confusing, but the best solution may just be the Holy Spirit. The word “Spirit” is a neuter word and would take a neuter description. However, the Holy Spirit is not just a word. He is also a spiritual being that could properly take a masculine description. This restraining work can be done by the Holy Spirit in many ways. I do believe part of this restraint (maybe the majority?) is being done through Spirit-filled believers following Christ and preaching the Gospel. When we are led by the Spirit of God, we become a part of the work of restraining wickedness on this planet.
Let me also point out that Paul is saying that the restraining work was already happening in the first century. The purpose of the restraining then as well as now is so that he will be revealed “in his time.” This is from God’s perspective, not Satan’s. If it was up to Satan, this would have happened long ago. Yet, God has a timing for everything which includes a long period of grace to the Gentiles. This grace is in the form of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the offer of inclusion in the Kingdom of God. However, it is also in the form of God’s restraining of the full weight of what the devil would do if allowed.
This period of grace to the Gentiles has an ending point that is mentioned in several passages. Jesus spoke of Jerusalem being trampled by the Gentiles until “the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” He also said in Matthew 24 that the Gospel would be preached to the ends of the earth and then “the end would come.” These triggers involve a certain amount of time but also a certain extent geographically. In Romans 11, Paul mentions that “blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” This seems to point to a particular number whether in total or from each people. Eventually these three triggers, and any others that God has in mind, will be achieved. Then, The Restrainer will cease its (His) restraining work. More on this in a bit.
Verse 7 mentions the “mystery of lawlessness.” In the New Testament, a mystery is something that was not clearly revealed in the Old Testament era but has now been revealed by Jesus and his apostles via the Holy Spirit. Christians have become the recipients of things that used to be mysteries, but now they have been revealed to us. Other mysteries revealed in the New Testament include: the offer of the Gospel to the Gentiles, Israel’s rejection of Messiah, partial blindness and exile from the land, and many others.
Lawlessness is another one of those mysteries. This end times deception would not be understood simply by studying the ancient religions. Lawlessness through the ages may seem to be aimless. However, the rebellion of Satan does have a specific desire and work it is trying to bring about. Why has Satan promoted so much lawlessness and worship of all kinds of gods, even atheism? He is making sure that all who are left will fall into worship of his beastly representative when the restraint is lifted by God.
Paul states that the mystery of lawless was already working. It was working to lay the foundations of a great apostasy from God and towards him. This mystery of lawlessness is similar to John’s “spirit of antichrist” in 1 John 4:3. The spirit of antichrist was already in the world in the first century preparing the emotional, religious, and spiritual way for people to worship The Antichrist when he eventually shows up. This is exactly why God needed to restrain it throughout the last 20 centuries.
Verse 7 speaks of The Restrainer again, but this time it uses the masculine form. He who restrains, or the restraining one, is the idea. It is a common misconception that this passage says the restrainer will be taken out of the earth. This is not stated at all. In fact, the verb is not a verb of being “taken out of the way.” It literally says “until he becomes out of the middle of the way.” This is not a passive thing that happens to the restrainer. It is an active response to the command of God. He moves out of the way and allows the dogs of the end times to rush forth. Or should I say horsemen? The Holy Spirit does not leave the earth. His work only changes at this point. The Church is removed and the Holy Spirit stops restraining the great, evil forces that have long lusted over the earth and its kingdoms.
Let me close with a reminder of Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10. “For they themselves declare concerning us what manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
We are not waiting or looking for the Antichrist. We are waiting and looking for Jesus who rescues us from the wrath that is coming. Don’t kid yourself. The Antichrist and the False Prophet, among others, will be a part of the wrath of God upon this planet. He is not going to be revealed by some Christian who figured out his name using gematria. The mark of the beast, 666, will be an authenticator after the fact once the man of lawlessness is revealed.
Christ rescues us from the wrath of God in the Great Tribulation, but he doesn’t always stop evil people from doing evil things to us. Yes, He will rescue us from those things too, but in a different way. We join Christ in his sufferings in this life so that we can share the Good News with the lost. By faith, they can be removed from the realm of wickedness and be transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of God’s love!
Let’s keep working while we still have light!