The man of lawlessness

Passage for today

3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this?
6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders,
10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
2 Thessalonians 2:3 – 10  Revised Standard Version

Today in my devotion, I am reminded of the Day of our Lord — the day of His second coming when He will take all of us to be with him forever (1 Thess 4:17).

However, before that day arrives, there will be a rebellion, a world-wide rebellion against God. At that time a "man of lawlessness" (also called the son of perdition) will appear, calling himself god and deceive "those who are to perish" by the power of Satan, even with signs and wonders.

Brothers and Sisters in Iesus the Anointed One, let us be watchful against the appearance of the man of lawlessness and the great rebellion he brings along. Verse 7 in the passage above tells us that this lawlessness had already begun to work, even in those early days of the Apostle and the Thessalonian Church. Let us beware of the son of perdition who comes to deceive many.

Let us wait for the Day of our Lord.

Wed 21Aug2024

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We can turn to our Lord Iesus to guide us, to teach us, to comfort us and to make us steadfast as we wait for the Day of our Lord. Below is a short devotion I wrote about two years ago, in December 2022.

• May our Lord help us

You received the Anointed Iesous as Lord

Passage for today

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him,
strengthened in the faith as you were taught,
and overflowing with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6, 7  New International Version

This afternoon during my reading of the New Testament, I came across for the first time the expression, "receive Christ as Lord". It is found in Paul's Epistle to the Colossians, chapter 2 verse 6.

This expression "receive Christ as Lord" forms the basis for the Apostle's discourse in the rest of the chapter. I'd like to post the passage from Colossians 2:6 - 12 NIV, with key words underlined for emphasis, for us to ponder over as a devotional reading.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,
rooted and built up in him
strengthened in the faith as you were taught
and overflowing with thankfulness.

See to it that no one takes you captive
through hollow and deceptive philosophy
which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world
rather than on Christ.

For in Christ all the fulness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.
He is the head over every power and authority.

In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands.
Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ.

having been buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through your faith in the working of God
who raised him from the dead.