For the mystery of lawlessness already works; only [there is] he who restrains now until he be gone,
Paul has just told the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord cannot come before the falling away and the appearing of the man of sin. Here he explains why that man has not yet come. The evil is already running underground. Someone is holding back the moment it breaks the surface.
The word behind "lawlessness" links this verse to the person described a verse later. One writer says the two differ only as a thing differs from a person.
Here it is a question of this mystery of lawlessness; the apostasy or falling away is not a mystery. There is no need of a revelation to inform us that a man who denies Jesus Christ is not a Christian; he says it. But here it is an evil that has begun working inside the Christian world, in connection with Christianity. The lawless one will be the full revelation of that mystery. In most versions the words are translated "iniquity" and "wicked one." In the original they are the same word. One points to the thing, the other to the person.
The last words of the verse matter too. One writer compares the older English versions and finds "taken" too strong.
The Geneva Bible set the pattern in substance for the Authorised Version, but in both "taken" goes too far. "Till he withdraws" is perhaps acceptable, or "be out of the way."
In Scripture a mystery is something you could never guess. Someone has to tell you. That is why this evil can work for centuries and escape notice.
The mystery of iniquity is evil at work in a hidden way inside the church. It is like a seed meant to grow until the revolt. That revolt will run its course until it rises up openly against Christ shown in glory. While men were sleeping, the enemy sowed the weeds. God does not judge what is still only in the state of a mystery. A mystery is known only when it is revealed. Without that it stays hidden from all human understanding.
Paul does not put this in the future. Other New Testament writers say the same of their own day.
John tells us that the last time has already come. Paul says that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Peter says the hour has arrived to judge the house of God. Jude says that those who would be judged at the end had already crept in unnoticed.
Paul does not name the restrainer. An early view pointed to the Roman Empire. One writer treats it as an outward hindrance that could be replaced, while the restrainer stays.
While the Roman empire lasted, it might be — and was — an outward hindrance. When it fell, other rulers appointed by God stood in the way. To have named only the Roman Empire would have been a mistake which divine wisdom avoided. The particular barrier might vary, and it did. But the restrainer remains, using "the powers that be" in providence.
Another writer argues from the size of the task.
Clearly the one who restrains must be a power greater than man and Satan. This power is completely different in nature from the man of sin. The restraining one is a power and a person. It is the Holy Spirit of God.
His removal does not bring the end at once. One writer sees a gap between the church's departure and the lawless one in full view.
I have no doubt at all that the hinderer is the power of the Spirit of God. He does not only live in the church; He acts to control the world. Suppose it were only the Holy Spirit living in the church. Then the man of sin would appear the moment the church was taken away. But it seems the lawless one will not reach his full growth and open display as soon as the saints are caught up. There will be an interval and a testimony which God will give. When this testimony disappears, or is put down by violence, the man of sin comes out fully.
The verse that shows evil at work also shows evil held back. That steadies the believer who feels its pressure.
We are aware of the growing power of evil in man's world, and of his complete inability to deal with it. How thankful we are to know that one result of the Holy Spirit's presence is His ability to restrain evil. However great the power of violence and corruption, all is under divine control. This truth brings comfort and assurance to the believer.
- Hidden — the evil is a mystery. It works inside the Christian profession, and only revelation exposes it.
- Present — it was already running in Paul's day, and John, Peter and Jude all say the same of theirs.
- Restrained — someone greater than man and Satan holds the man of sin back. The outward barrier has changed over the centuries. The restrainer has not.
- Released — when He withdraws, the restraint ends. After an interval of testimony, the lawless one stands out in the open.
- Reassuring — until then every outbreak of violence and corruption stays under divine control. That is why Paul tells us this.
and then the lawless one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall annul by the appearing of his coming;
The verse names the moment when hidden evil finally takes a face and a name, and then, in the same breath, names its end. Who is this figure? What does it mean to be killed "with the breath of His mouth"? And why does Paul say the appearing of His coming, not just His coming?
Paul has just spoken of lawlessness working secretly. The verse marks where that secret work surfaces in one man.
Here we see the link between the mystery, or secret, of lawlessness already at work and that result. It was going on when the apostle wrote. The hidden leaven of evil, the mystery of lawlessness, will keep working until it comes out in this person, the lawless one. Then it will be secret no longer. It will be out in the open, defying God and trampling on all truth in the world — a complete abandonment of all revelation, and a rising up in personal pride and hostility against the Lord Himself. This is the lawless one or the Antichrist of John.
Some translations read "that wicked one" here. That word is too weak, and the difference matters.
I fully agree with those who find the word "wicked" far too weak. It should be "that lawless one." All lawlessness is wickedness. But not all wickedness takes the shape of lawlessness. An unfaithful person may behave badly and still acknowledge a real authority above him. Lawlessness means not only evil, but the complete rejection of every authority above him.
The first half of the sentence describes the character of the judgment, not a weapon the Lord picks up.
The first of these two means — the breath of His mouth — marks the character of the judgment. It is the word of truth applied in judgment according to the power of God. In the Revelation, it says that the sword proceeds out of His mouth. Here He is not spoken of as a man of war, as in Revelation 19. The breath of His mouth is that inward and divine power which kindles and executes the judgment. It is not an instrument, it is the divine source of power which carries out its purpose by a word (compare Isaiah 30:33).
Some have read "the breath of His mouth" as the gospel gradually wearing the evil power down. The wording itself rules that out.
To consume is not to weaken. Analisko, the word here translated "consume," strictly means to take away, to destroy. It is the word used in Luke 9:54. There the disciples ask our Lord if they may call fire down from heaven to consume the Samaritans. Surely that means no slow weakening, but utter and sudden destruction. Nor does the phrase "breath of his mouth" mean the gospel, or the gracious influences of the Spirit… Look at Job 4:9 and 15:30; Isaiah 30:28 and 33; also Isaiah 11:4. They show that this phrase expresses judgment on the wicked, not the saving work of the Spirit of God.
Verse 1 of this same chapter speaks of the Lord's coming and the gathering of His people to Him. Verse 8 adds a word that verse 1 never uses.
The apostle does not say "the appearing of His coming" when Christ gathers the saints… Here the subject is the destruction of the man of sin. So he speaks not just of His coming, but of the appearing — the brightness — of His coming. If the Lord appears when He comes to gather His saints, why is His appearing not brought in there? He might come and be seen only as far as He pleased. But here we have the open showing of His arrival… When He comes to take up His saints, what has the world to do with it? They belonged to Him, not to the world. He does not make the world a spectator before He appears in glory to destroy the antichrist.
This verse settles what an older prophecy meant, and it marks off the age that follows from the one we live in now.
There is no dispute here: Paul gives Isaiah 11:4 its authoritative meaning. The Lord Jesus destroys the lawless one with the breath of His mouth, and annuls him by the shining forth of His presence or coming. The Lord's appearing will bring in and keep up a wholly new age of triumphant power in righteous government. That age stands apart from this day of grace, when Satan reigns, and those who are Christ's suffer, yet overcome by faith.
Two men meet here, and their histories run in opposite directions.
One Man once obeyed and humbled Himself on the earth. God has exalted Him and made Him Lord of all. He is the one who destroys the lawless man — the man who lifted himself above everything and made himself as God, instead of obeying God.
- Then — what has worked in secret since the apostle's day comes out in the open, in one man.
- Lawless — his sin is not just bad behaviour. It is the total refusal of any authority above himself.
- Breath — no weapon, no war, no campaign: the inward divine power that carries out its purpose by a word.
- Appearing — he falls not at the coming that gathers believers, but at its public shining out, which the world will see.
- After — his end is the door into a new age of righteous government, the one Isaiah promised.
whose coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood,
Paul now turns from the lawless man himself to the power behind him. Two hard questions follow. Will his miracles be real or fake? And why will so many people believe them?
Something holds this evil down for now. One event will take that restraint away.
The Church will be caught up to heaven. The Holy Spirit will then no longer have a house on earth. The results will be very serious and very immediate. The lawlessness now held down will burst out in the lawless one. For a brief moment Satan's working will have full scope. Satan will inspire this coming lawless man, and he will show Satan's energy in every detail. Notice how sweeping the expressions are. Satan will support him with ALL power, even to signs and wonders of falsehood.
"Lying wonders" does not mean stage tricks. The marvels will really happen. They are called lying because they deceive people.
These powers and signs will not be the trickery of some man-made priest, or the sham healings of men. They will be terribly real. They are called "lying wonders" because they will deceive men. So Satan's supernatural power will come with the lawless one. Men forget that spiritual beings exist — "angels that excel in strength." Satan is a fallen angel, but his powers are immense, far beyond the powers of man.
The three terms are not repetition. Each names a different effect on the person watching.
His doings are called "powers," because they are clearly beyond man. They are called "signs," because they carry meaning and teaching. They are called "wonders," because they are meant to attract attention and admiration. Among other marvels, he will be allowed to use the very miracle Elijah used on Mount Carmel. Elijah used it there to call Israel back to the Lord. Compare Revelation 13:13 with 1 Kings 18:24. This evil age is marked by unbelief in miracles. Even our Lord's miracles are doubted. How strange that it should end with a general and eager belief in them!
Paul's wording is not new. Peter used the same terms at Pentecost about Jesus of Nazareth. This man is a forgery of Christ, not just a rival.
The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell. The man of sin, the son of perdition, is the enemy's terrible counterpart. The picture would not be complete without the dark addition of the unseen power of evil at work in him. The Holy Spirit gives it here in a few forceful words, and falsehood marks the whole thing: "in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood." These are the very terms Peter used of the Messiah, with the unquestionable contrast of grace and truth: "a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs" (Acts 2). How very solemn that this verse describes the anti-Messiah beforehand in such similar language!
If Satan can produce real marvels, a marvel on its own settles nothing. Test the message it backs against the word of God.
So reject at once any pretended miracle or apparent work of power that supports what is not the truth of the word. I may be unable to explain it: that changes nothing; it is not of God. He can only give testimony to the truth.
This test is not new. God warned Israel long ago about a sign that came true but led them away from Him.
Even miracles must not be taken as proof beyond question that those who perform them are sent by God. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 warns us about this. It supposes someone giving a sign or wonder that really came to pass, aiming to turn men away from their loyalty to the true God… So we must test miracles by where they lead before we accept them as tokens from God. And what keeps the soul safe? Paul's charge to the Ephesians in Acts 20:32: "I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."
This man is still future. The pattern still warns us now.
The three things mentioned here — power and signs and wonders — are striking. They were the exact three things that proved the ministry of the Lord Jesus and His apostles when Christianity began. (See Acts 2:22; 6:8; Rom. 15:19; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:4.) What men saw in truth at the beginning they will see in falsehood at the end of the Christian age. We live at that end now. Anything claiming to revive these things should warn anyone who wants to be faithful to Christ.
- Source. His coming runs on Satan's energy. Once the restraint goes, that energy has full scope — "all" power.
- Substance. The wonders are not tricks. They are the real strength of a fallen angel, and they are called lying because they deceive.
- Shape. Peter used these same three terms of Jesus in Acts 2:22, so this man is a forgery of Christ, not just an enemy.
- Standard. A real miracle is not the test of truth. Deuteronomy 13 tells us to judge the miracle by the message, not the message by the miracle.
- Safeguard. Your safeguard is the word of God's grace. A wonder you cannot explain changes nothing if it contradicts that word.
and in all deceit of unrighteousness to them that perish, because they have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved.
Paul has just described the coming of the lawless one in Satan's power. Here he names the people who fall for it, and the reason they fall. Everything turns on one phrase: they refused to love the truth.
The deception mirrors the work of Christ — in reverse, and on people heading the opposite way.
His presence, too, is by the power of Satan. Just as Christ comes in truth of righteousness to those who are to be saved, so the man of sin comes in deceit of unrighteousness to those who are to be lost.
This is not about people who never had a chance to hear.
Who are the ones who perish here? They are all who had the truth presented to them, but did not care about it. The truth of God is found in the Bible, and everyone in the Christian world can reach it. If people neglect to read or search it, or refuse to hear it preached, they are, as Peter says, "willingly ignorant."
Paul does not say they failed to know the truth, or to profess it. Older translations read "they received not the love of the truth."
This is a very striking expression — "they did not receive the love of the truth." It is a word for the heart and conscience. It does not say, "because they did not claim to be Christians," or "because they did not take the sacrament." It does not say, "because they did not know the way of salvation." No, God searches the heart. Whatever knowledge they had, whatever profession they made, they had no love of the truth, that they might be saved… Notice, it is "the truth" — not people's opinions, but God's word… The message of His gospel is the ministry of God's perfect love. And the soul that receives this wonderful love of God in Christ His Son "receives the truth in love."
If love of the truth was what they lacked, it is also what keeps a person safe.
People will be deceived by the signs and lying wonders of that wicked one because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. It is the love of the truth that keeps a person from error — however persuasive it is, however fascinating, however strongly backed by the powerful evidence of "great signs and wonders." It is not cleverness, brain power, mental grasp or wide learning. All of these are powerless before Satan's tricks and schemes. The greatest human mind must fall an easy prey to the tricks of the serpent.
God Himself then sends the delusion. Is that fair?
Those who fall prey to all this deceit of unrighteousness are exactly the people who did not love the truth when they heard it. Not loving the truth, they did not believe it. Instead they took pleasure in unrighteousness. Now the deceit of unrighteousness captures them. They believe the lie, and they all fall under the judgment of God. Once God sent them the truth… Now God sends them a strong delusion… Is God unrighteous in doing this? Far from it. He is acting in righteousness of the strictest and most exact kind.
Can anyone still be saved after the Lord takes His people away? One writer answers straight from this verse.
Where people "have not received the love of the truth that they might be saved", God will send a working of error. People often ask whether anyone "gets a second chance" after the rapture. The answer here is clear. No! Nothing is said here about those who have never heard the truth. But those who have heard it and have not received it get no second chance. God Himself steps in, so that they come to believe what is false.
Paul also gives the reason some are saved. The two reasons are not the same shape.
If you, the reader, perish forever, then remember: it is because you did not receive the love of the truth. Yes, God is love, and you would not believe Him. You may ask: if I am saved, is that reason stated just as plainly? It is: "God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." So all supposed merit is taken away from man.
- Love, first. What decides everything is not knowledge or profession. It is whether a person loves the truth — a word for the heart and conscience.
- Love refused. Those who perish here are not the unreached; they are those who had the truth within reach and cared nothing for it.
- Love replaced. Refuse the truth, and a lie takes its place. God Himself sends the delusion — strict justice, not cruelty.
- Love protects. Cleverness, learning and mental power are no defence against signs and wonders. Only love of the truth keeps a person safe.
- Love now. Those who heard and refused get no later chance. So today, not some future day, is the time to receive the truth.
And for this reason God sends to them a working of error, that they should believe what is false,
This verse says that God Himself sends the delusion. That raises three questions: who does it fall on, why is it just, and what is "the lie" they believe?
Some translations render the phrase as "a working of error." What kind of act is this, and where does it lead?
The apostle then gives the moral reason for so stern a judgment. God's sending a working of error is judicial hardening. Satan follows with his deceptive miracles of power to drag all its followers down to ruin. It is divine retribution. They renounced the truth and salvation with it; they loved the lie. They must perish. Those God chooses in that day escape by His grace alone, as all His chosen do in any day.
The words "for this cause" point back to something that came first — they heard the truth and did not love it.
Notice how just all God's dealings with men are. The people who fall prey to all this deceit of unrighteousness are exactly those who heard the truth and did not love it. Not loving the truth, they did not believe it; instead they had pleasure in unrighteousness. And now the deceit of unrighteousness captures them; they believe the lie, and they all fall under the judgment of God. Once God sent them the truth: men preached the gospel in their hearing "by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven" (1 Peter 1:12). Now God sends them a strong delusion.
Another writer answers anyone who calls this unfair:
At times God gives people what their hearts really want… If people will not have the truth when it is put before them, they will certainly have a lie. If they will not have Christ, they will have Satan; if they will not have heaven, they will have hell. Will the unbelieving mind find fault with this? Before it does, let it prove that everyone dealt with in this way has fully met their responsibilities.
Why is this God's own act, and not just Satan's? One writer answers by setting it beside faith:
As faith in Christ is the free gift of God in grace, so will belief in Antichrist be His work in judgment. Those who resist the one must come under the other. They may resist God now, but they will not be allowed to resist Him then. He has said, "My Spirit shall not abide in man forever."
What they receive matches what they refused:
God sent His beloved Son, the faithful witness, and men rejected Him. So, in just retribution, they will receive a false witness. They refused the truth, so now they will believe a lie. They saw no beauty in the true Christ, so they will marvel at a false one… The fact is, that God has given His truth not to amuse the intellect, but to win the heart; not to exalt man, but for the glory of Christ. There is reason to fear that many still trifle with God's truth. They talk about it, raise questions about it, but do not receive it in the love of it.
One writer compares this judgment with the blindness that once fell on Israel:
A more fearful delusion followed by a heavier judgment will come on Christendom, and for the same reason, because they will not hear. In the past time God called by judgment and by mercy. Now He calls by mercy alone; the message sent is God's love and free salvation… With Israel the wording is more negative (though just as fatal): their heart is made dull, so they will not turn and be healed. With Christendom it is more positive: not only are they unable to see the truth, they positively accept a lie.
Does anyone get a second chance later? One writer answers straight from the verse:
Where men "refused to love the truth and so be saved", God will send a working of error. Many ask whether people "get a second chance" after the rapture. The clear answer is given here. No! Nothing here is said about those who have never heard the truth. But for anyone who has had it put before them and has not received it, there is no "second chance". God Himself will step in, so that they are conditioned to believe what is false.
That day is still ahead, and the appeal now is different:
Up to now God has sent them His message of strong comfort and richest grace, so that they all might be saved. But then — what a dreadful prospect for everyone who keeps refusing the gospel! … Now God is begging you to be saved. But if you make light of the invitations of His grace, you do not know how soon you may be allowed to fall under "strong delusion," which ends in complete ruin.
- Truth offered. God's first sending was the gospel, preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, so that men might be saved.
- Love refused. They heard the truth and did not love it. They took pleasure in unrighteousness instead.
- Delusion sent. Then comes judicial hardening. God gives people what their hearts already wanted, so this is retribution, not cruelty.
- Lie believed. They rejected the faithful Witness, so they receive a false one. Faith in Christ is God's gift in grace; belief in Antichrist is His work in judgment.
- Judgment sealed. This falls on those who had the gospel and would not have it. The warning stands while the invitation of grace is still open.
that all might be judged who have not believed the truth, but have found pleasure in unrighteousness.
This verse states the outcome of everything the chapter has just described. It raises two hard questions: what does "condemned" mean here, and is God unjust to send the delusion that comes just before it?
Some older translations use the word "damned" here. One writer says that word is wrong — but the outcome behind it is no lighter:
"Damned" in the Authorised Version is a false rendering. But the result of being "judged" is damnation, because only unbelievers come into judgment. That is why the Psalmist pleads, "Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you." Salvation is by grace through faith. God has already pardoned the believer. He has also condemned sin in the flesh by Christ as a sacrifice for sin. So there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
The people in view are not those who never heard. They are people who once held the message and let it go:
God punishes them for not believing the gospel, which they must have known. He punishes them for not loving the truth, which could have saved them. They are not judged for ignorance, like people who never heard. They are apostates — judged for giving up what they once professed to accept as the truth. God's gospel leads to God's Christ; their gospel leads to antichrist... Truth that is not loved is sure to become distasteful and opposed.
The verse names two things: not believing, and taking pleasure in unrighteousness. One writer traces both back to something earlier — they heard the truth and did not love it.
Those who will fall prey to all this deceit of unrighteousness are the very people who heard the truth and did not love it. They did not love it, so they did not believe it. Instead they had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now the deceit of unrighteousness captures them. They believe the lie, and they all fall under the judgment of God. Once God sent them the truth... Now God sends them a strong delusion. He does for them what He once had to do for rebellious Israel, when He "blinded their eyes and hardened their heart." Is God unrighteous in acting this way? On the contrary; He is acting in righteousness of the strictest and most exact kind.
One writer answers a common claim: that what a person believes is his own business:
Men may say they have a right to believe what they please, but it is false. We have a right to believe only what is right. Those who refuse truth on purpose and choose falsehood are plainly the people who "have pleasure in unrighteousness." Grace may bear long with them, but the end must come in judgment.
The delusion of verse 11 and the sentence of this verse belong together. God's answer matches a choice people have already made — and the same writer shows why anyone escapes at all:
The apostle then gives the moral reason for so stern a judgment... God's sending a working of error is judicial hardening. Satan follows with his deceiving marvels of power to drag down all his followers to ruin. It is divine retribution. They renounced the truth and salvation with it; they loved the lie. They must perish. The elect of that day escape solely by divine grace, as is true of all the elect in any day.
This verse describes people who already heard the truth. So writers use it to answer a common question: is there another chance later?
People often ask whether they "get a second chance" after the rapture. This gives the clear answer. No! Nothing here is said about those who have never heard the truth. But take any to whom it has been presented, and who have not received it. Not only will they "not get a second chance" — God Himself will step in, so that they are conditioned to believe what is false.
One writer turns it into a question for the reader today:
Suppose you have not believed God in the day of the Holy Spirit. Suppose you have not believed the gospel now, in the day when God is telling of His love... Then every possible influence and power under heaven, out of hell, and on the earth will be against you. Do you suppose you will believe the truth then? ... Far better to have the truth now. Christ is the truth.
- Love — the trail starts in the will, not the mind. They did not love the truth, so they never believed it.
- Refusal — they heard the truth and let it go. God judges them not for ignorance, but for giving up what they once professed.
- Retribution — the delusion God sends is judicial hardening. It answers a settled refusal exactly, and it is not cruelty.
- Judgment — "judged" is the better word, but the result is still condemnation. Only unbelievers come into judgment.
- Grace — anyone who escapes, escapes by grace alone. So the moment to receive the truth is now, not later.