People are enamored with the subject of the Antichrist and his identity, and the Bible has much to tell us about this evil world leader, but before his identity is revealed, authentic Christians will be supernaturally removed from the earth, as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:8. He clearly states that when the restrainer, the Church, is removed, “…then shall that Wicked be revealed….” The word “then” in Greek is tote (τότε), and it means exactly then or precisely then. Thus, immediately after the restrainer has been taken out of the way is the exact time when the Antichrist will make his grand appearance and will rule for seven years.
Many speculate about whether or not the Antichrist is alive right now. The answer is that he may well be, but as noted, no one will know who he is until the Church has been raptured or evacuated from the world scene. When the Antichrist finally does step onto the stage to take the leading position, he will falsely lead the world to believe that he is the long-awaited, one-of-a-kind, unique, marvelous leader who has finally emerged to lead society universally into a new age. However, 42 months later — about three and a half years into the Tribulation — is when he will begin to show his true colors.
Before I dive into the reign of the Antichrist, I want you to be fully aware that his power is nothing compared to our Savior. In the second half of verse 8, Paul suddenly jumps in his writing to an even further point in the future — the end of the seven-year Tribulation when Christ returns in His Second Coming (or Second Advent) with the saints who will accompany Him. Paul declares that when Christ comes in His Second Coming (or Second Advent), “…the Lord shall consume [the Antichrist] with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
The word “consume” is translated from anelei (ἀνελεῖ), a form of the Greek word anaireo (ἀναιρέω), which in this case means to abolish, destroy, kill, nullify, slay, or to take away the life of another. Thus, when Christ comes in His Second Coming, He will obliterate the Antichrist — and He will do it “…with the spirit of his mouth and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
The words “spirit of his mouth” refers to the breath of Christ. The word “spirit” is interpreted from the Greek word pneuma (πνεῦμα), which is usually translated spirit but can also refer to breath. “Mouth” is from the word stomos (στόμος), which is simply the Greek word for the mouth. Paul thus declares that on that day at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, the Lord will open His mouth and speak — and when He does, so much power will be released that it will permanently remove the Antichrist from the world scene. Although Satan will energize the Antichrist with demonic powers, this evil person won’t have enough strength to withstand one puff from the mouth of the Lord!
Paul also said the Antichrist will be destroyed “…with the brightness of his [Christ’s] coming.” The word “destroyed” is interpreted from a form of the Greek word katargeo (καταργέω), a word that Paul uses 25 times in his epistles. Paul consistently uses it to mean to abolish, to bring to nothing, to put out of commission, to reduce to waste, or to render inactive.
In other words, the Antichrist will be brought to nothing and put out of commission, and this will happen “with the brightness of his coming,” referring to Christ. The word “brightness” is actually the Greek word epiphaneia (ἐπιφανείᾳ), and it is wrongly translated in the King James Version. In classical Greece, the word epiphaneia was used specifically to describe the sudden and surprise appearance of the Greek gods. Paul was adeptly reaching into classical literature to borrow this word to tell us that Jesus’ Second Coming will take the Antichrist by surprise and that this evil world leader will be utterly disabled by His coming with splendor and glory.
We do not have to be worried, friend, because that God, the true God who is greater than even this evil world-leader, is the one who we believe in, and if we keep the faith, He will protect us from this evil.
The Power of the Antichrist
In verse 9, Paul returns to the time of the Antichrist’s reign. He states that the coming of the Antichrist on the world scene will be “…after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders” (2 Thessalonians 2:9).
The word “after” is translated from the word kata (κατα), a word that carries a sense of domination. The word “working” is interpreted from a form of the word energeia (ἐνέργεια), which would be better interpreted as activity or operation. This immediately alerts us to the fact that the Antichrist’s activities and operations will be energized or dominated by Satan, who is the archenemy of God.
Paul adds that the Antichrist will come “…with all power and signs and lying wonders.” The Greek emphatically declares that the Antichrist will come with all power — implying that he will make his grand appearance with all kinds of power and supernatural displays. The word “power” is translated from a form of dunamis (δύναμις), which carries the idea of explosive, superhuman power that comes with enormous energy and produces phenomenal, extraordinary, and unparalleled results.
In the New Testament, the word dunamis often depicts mighty deeds that are impressive, incomparable, and beyond human ability to perform. It denotes miraculous power or miraculous manifestations. Thus we find that Paul has already informed us that when the Antichrist comes, his activities and operations will be dominated and energized by Satan, and when the Antichrist makes his appearance to the world, he will come operating in all types of supernatural activities that are way beyond the ability of mere man to perform. The Antichrist will come with every imaginable kind of shocking wonder that will cause the world to be awestruck and baffled at his powers that are designed to deceive. In fact, the world will be in such a state of awe and wonder that they will show great reverence for these wondrous displays of supernatural power. Revelation 13:4 says, “…They [the entire world or the whole world] worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast….”
The word “worshipped” is translated from the word proskueno (προσκυνέω), which depicts one who is collapsed or fallen to the ground or who bows prostrate before a superior. It means to adore on one’s knees, or to worship with all the appropriate physical gestures of worship. Although the world may not realize it, Revelation 13:4 says they will, in reality, be worshipping the “dragon.” The word “dragon” in Greek is drakon (δράκον), the word for a serpent or huge snake — it is a word used in the Bible to denote Satan and satanic forces.
The word “power” in Revelation 13:4 is translated from exousia (ἐξουσία), which implies delegated authority and great influence. Thus the devil will delegate authority to the Antichrist and give him a position of great influence before the world. Furthermore, Revelation 13:4 refers to the Antichrist as a “beast,” a form of therion (θηρίον), which pictures a brute beast or a savage animal, which reveals the real nature of the Antichrist. Although he will project himself as a great progressive leader of a new world, at his very core, he will be beastly, brutish, and savage.
Those Who Are Deceived
Returning to 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul continues his warning, saying that those whom the Antichrist leads astray will be led astray “…because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (2 Thessalonians 2:10).
Paul is describing those who had an opportunity to receive the love of the truth, but instead of welcoming its saving and transforming power, they chose to reject it. Had they received the truth, Paul said they could have been “saved.” The word “saved” is sothenai (σωθῆναι), which implies eternal life, but it also includes deliverance from evil in this life. It encompasses the meanings of being kept from evil or of being saved, rescued from harm, or delivered from danger. Embracing the truth would have assured these people eternal salvation and temporal safety, but because they chose to reject it, they will be wasted and destroyed.
In fact, in 2 Thessalonians 2:11, Paul said, “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” When the people during the Tribulation — who are living in the epoch of the Antichrist — choose not to receive the truth, but to believe a lie, God will release to them “strong delusion.” The word “strong” is a poor translation of a form of the Greek word energeia (ἐνέργεια), which we’ve already discussed means activity, energy, or an operation of some type. This word was used in the Greek and Roman world to depict an energy that brought about changes and results.
Rather than producing good results, however, this verse speaks of an activity, energy, or operation that will produce “delusion.” The word “delusion” in verse 11 is from the Greek word plane (πλάνη) and describes a deception, a moral wandering, or a person or nation that has veered morally from a solid path and is now adrift. This word plane or “delusion” depicts the behavior of one who once walked on a solid path but is now drifting and teetering on the edge of a treacherous route. This person has either already departed from his once-solid path and has lost his bearings as a result or he is in the process of departing from it. The word “delusion” means he is going against all that was once a part of his core belief system, and he is deviating from his formerly solid moral position to a course that is unreliable, unpredictable, and even dangerous.
Paul further says in Second Thessalonians 2:11 that these delusions will come, “…that they [the people at that time] should believe a lie.” The word “believe” is from pistis (πίστις), which is the Greek word for transforming faith.
We must remember that our faith empowers what we believe to become a reality. If we believe the truth, the truth will become a manifested reality in our lives. If, however, we believe a lie, that lie will become a manifested reality. Our faith empowers whatever we believe, and Paul says that the generation that is led astray by the Antichrist will believe a “lie,” which is the Greek word simply meaning that which is bogus, false, or phony, or an outright lie. The generation at that time will be fed a lie — and because they choose to believe it instead of the truth, the lie will become their reality.
The culture most of us knew as we were growing up was established on Judeo-Christian values, but now, as the winds of change are blowing, we are witnessing a near abandonment of truth and a throwing away of moral foundations. As a result, confusion abounds, and society is teetering on a treacherous path. The spirit of this world is working furiously to eliminate all remnants of a godly foundation from society and replace it with a last-days deception that will ultimately usher in a time when the Antichrist rules a lost world.
We are already living in the day the prophet Isaiah warned about when he said, “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20). People are approving of and celebrating what is abominable in the sight of God. It already seems as if a tsunami is sweeping over our culture, attempting to eradicate all evidence of a spiritual and moral framework. But what is being experienced now is only a foretaste of the disappearing of all barriers and restraints that will occur when the Church has been removed at the end of this age.
During the seven-year period of the Tribulation — when the Church is gone and restraint has been removed — even though people will recall the truths of what is right and wrong in biblical terms, they will freely practice what is morally vile and will approve of those who celebrate and practice it along with them. Spirits of delusion will stealthily, methodically, and seductively entice people into doctrines and concepts that are advanced by demon spirits. The devil has been looking for a way to unseat God’s authority in the earth. Satan has been conspiring to enact a master plan — a hidden and long-laid agenda, plot, and conspiracy — intended to clandestinely lead the entire world into the lap of the Antichrist. This operation is so stealthy that the population of the world will bite the bait without comprehending that it is being led astray. And because people reject the truth, the delusion they embrace will be activated and empowered to radically take the world of the Tribulation period in a wrong direction, and all of it will take place under the rule of the Antichrist — the long-awaited and predicted Son of Doom and Destruction.