Lot's of mystery and confusion surrounds the character known as the "Antichrist." Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians provides some focus on this subject. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NLT), Paul writes,
[Jesus' second coming will] not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction. He will exalt himself and defy everything that people call god and every object of worship. He will even sit in the temple of God, claiming that he himself is God.Paul warns us about the Antichrist not so that we might attempt to identify this person. Indeed, trying to do label a specific person as the Antichrist might create more problems that it solves! Rather, Paul wants us to guard against anything that might threaten our faith. That is, we need not fear the Antichrist is we follow the advice in Psalm 24:3-4 (KJV),
Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.
Paul notes that the Antichrist is already sowing trouble (2 Thessalonians 2:7, NLT),
This lawlessness is already at work secretly, and it will remain secret until the one who is holding it back steps out of the way.
But wait! Why will God let the Antichrist loose to sow even more trouble? The likely reason is to demonstrate what a world without God would look like. Civilization has a veneer of decency owing to laws, markets, science, and reason. It's tempting to place our trust in those characteristics of organized society, while discounting, or perhaps altogether ignoring, God. But what if the Antichrist brought those characteristics of organized society to complete chaos and lawlessness? All we'd have left is God.
So in our prayers, let us place our trust in God, and God alone. Then we have nothing to fear!
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