Many Christians, today, look for the Antichrist, also known as the Man of Sin (2Thessalonians 2:3), to arrive on the scene, sometime before the eminent return of Christ, which they believe will occur sometime soon. In fact, many believe the Antichrist is alive and living in Europe, today. While there certainly isn’t a lack of movie producers, who are willing to invest in the idea of such an event in order to produce the next blockbuster that would rake in huge profits for their investments, there always seems to be a problem with actually producing a real Man of Sin to assume the role that has been described by so many of today’s evangelical mythologists.
The historical orthodox view of the coming of Christ simply doesn’t work. It never had in the past (see “List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events”), and it never will work in the future. It is a failed doctrine of man. It never has and never will be true. The absurdity of the doctrine is obvious in the fact that someone could convince other folks that it had occurred when it wasn’t true (2Thessalonians 2:1-2). If the orthodox view of the coming of Christ is true, namely, that it is a time-ending, earth burning event, it would be impossible to convince anyone that such an event took place when it hadn’t. Therefore, the orthodox view of the coming of Christ is a false doctrine, and believing in such a myth encourages such a one to reject the word of God (cp. Mark 7:9-13). Consider Paul’s words about the revealing of the Man of Sin:
Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; (2Thessalonians 2:5-8; emphasis mine)
According to Paul, the so-called Man of Sin (aka Antichrist), was already present in the first century AD. He was being restrained, perhaps by the preaching of Paul and the other Apostles, until they would be taken out of the way. Then the lawless one would be revealed, and the Lord would slay him at his coming! If the Lord hasn’t come, and the Man of Sin wasn’t slain yet, he must be about 2000 years old by now! Moreover, those folks who were restraining him, must also be alive, today, but where are they?
The problem, as I understand it, is that folks are more willing to believe a lie than they are the truth. This is simply a fact of nature. Adam was a liar from the beginning, remember he lied to Eve, telling her she would die if she touched the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:2-3). Which of the prophets under the Old Covenant were believed by the Jews? Did the Jewish nation believe Jesus or their spiritual authorities who denied Jesus was the Christ? So, although the orthodox view of the Day of the Lord / Coming of Christ has been proved false throughout our 2000 year history, there are still folks, today, who are willing to believe the lies of the spiritual authorities within the modern Church. Nothing has changed. The truth is the same truth, and the lies are the same lies, the same truth-rejecting doctrines they were in the first century AD. The only question for today is: who is willing to believe Jesus (Matthew 16:27-28; 23:34-36)?
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