Question about The Antichrist

[oxstrong]

First, let me say that I’m relatively new to the scriptures. This could very well be a stupid question.

I’m reading 2 Thessalonians and Paul is talking about the antichrist. Specifically, the prerequisites for the Day of the Lord.

After “rebellion” (of humanity against God) ensues, the first prerequisite, I learn that the antichrist is sent by God (“Therefore God sends them a strong delusion…”), the second prerequisite.

I also learn that after the antichrist has done his job (unbelievers and antichrist advancing the rebellion even further), that Jesus will return and kill him "with the breath of his mouth ".

So I guess my question is: why would Satan allow himself to be used like that? Surely, he must know about these verses. Why must he participate? Is simply God’s will binding him to partake? Lets say that God sent this antichrist, but Satan refused to give him any of his power. It would certainly not exacerbate the rebellion any further and would essentially amount to Satan sabotaging God’s plan. Doesn’t that sound more like something he would do?

So I’m just a little confused about these verses.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mintaka]

First off, Satan isn’t the Antichrist. The Antichrist is just some guy, you know? (Okay, sorry, had to get a Hitchhiker’s Guide quote in there…) As you will read in 1 John 2, “He who denies that Jesus is the Christ – he is the Antichrist, denying the Father and the Son.”

Second, God doesn’t send the Antichrist. God allows the Antichrist to exist and do stuff, giving him enough rope to hang himself and “those destined to ruin because they have not opened their hearts to the Truth in order to be saved.” (2 Thes. 2:10)

The passage continues that, because they have not opened their hearts and because therefore, they are destined to ruin, “God is sending upon them a perverse spirit which leads them to give credence to falsehood; so that all who have not believed the Truth, but have delighted in evildoing, will be condemned.” If you don’t want Truth Himself (that is, Jesus) and you love doing evil, you have chosen lies and evil for yourself. And at a certain point, God may just give you what you’re asking for.

This idea that God gives more rope to hang themselves to evil people who don’t want help, is pretty much the same thing we see in Exodus, where God helps Pharaoh harden his heart and make things worse. If Pharaoh had wanted to do the right thing, God would have helped him. But since he didn’t, God gave Pharaoh what he thought he wanted – stubborn evil pride, and plenty of it.

Btw, conmen have a saying that they can only trick someone who’s already crooked, especially people who think they’re the ones taking advantage of the conman. That’s probably not true in all cases, but it is true that people who hate Christianity are often very easy to fool with ideas from religions that aren’t Christian, or with totally made-up religions.

 

[jcrichton]

Hi, Oxstrong!

This is complex reading…

Let’s see if we can tackle it… the Anti-Christ is set to appear at an appointed time… there’s something that holds him back… here’s what I am thinking:

25 For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, (lest you should be wise in your own conceits), that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in. (Romans 11)

3:9 The Lord is not being slow to carry out his promises, as anybody else might be called slow; but he is being patient with you all, wanting nobody to be lost and everybody to be brought to change his ways. (2 St. Peter)

So at the appointed time the anti-Christ will be allowed to overtly challenge God, however, he is doing so covertly (this of course does not mean under God’s nose and without God’s Knowledge; rather, it means that what the world is made to know/understand).

Now, being allowed to operate does not mean that God sends him.

…all this is like a bad plot of an E movie (extremely stupid and boring without an ounce of credibility…); but we are creatures of our own demise, even Satan. We hurl ourselves to destruction in spite of the foreknowledge that our victory in gaining destruction is, well, destruction.

Satan wants to oppose God… he knows that he will end up in the lake of fire… ‘so why not challenge God, what’s the worse that could happen?’ (or some other similar thought); we see that in our everyday life… people reject virtue because it is virtue and they embrace folly because it is folly.

Maran atha!

Angel

 

[Athanasiy]

The discussion about the Antichrist is rather complicated, but interesting and important.
After some not stupid but even quite educated people began to refuse biometric passports, many of them puzzled some Christians with their fears.
Here in the Еast of Europe, supporters of Russian Orthodoxy are very fond of interpreting the Antichrist. Most of all, the religious common people, the so-called “Orthodox Taliban” live this topic.
For example after the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church said that he himself has a biometric passport and in this there is nothing wrong, for many it was an important encouragement. What is interesting is that Putin’s supporters use apocalyptic interpretations in their favor.
But I noticed that the Orthodox followers of the Putin’s Russian Myr, warring against the Antichrist, are superficial and often low-minded people,
with them one can never build a rule of law, a developed economy, or democracy.