"The Man of Sin" (Part One) -- The Latest Episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast Is Up As We Tackle 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and the Doctrine of the Antichrist!
Episode Synopsis:
There is little doubt that one of the most interesting, controversial, and a constant source of on-going speculation is the doctrine of the Antichrist.
Indeed, there has been so much written about the Antichrist by Christians–both ancient and modern–and so many references made to the Antichrist in film and popular culture, it is vital that we go back to the biblical accounts of this mysterious and evil figure to separate biblical fact from speculative fiction. What does the Bible actually say about the Antichrist?
Paul tackles the subject head on in his second Thessalonian letter. Soon after completion of his first Thessalonian letter, Paul received news that someone in the Thessalonian congregation was teaching that the day of the Lord had already come. If true, this meant that all of Christ’s promises to his people have already been realized. It also reminds us that Bible prophecy pundits and speculators have been around for a long time.
Paul exhorts the Thessalonians not to listen to such wild speculation because the day of the Lord had not yet come. Two things need to happen first. One is a great apostasy, and only then comes the revelation of a figure whom Paul identifies as “the man of sin.” Either the apostasy creates the conditions necessary for the man of sin to be revealed, or the apostasy is closely connected to the man of sin’s appearance. But Paul is clear that the day of the Lord has not come because these two things have not yet occurred when he writes his second letter.
Paul also tells the Thessalonians that something is preventing the appearance of the man of sin, a mysterious “restrainer” who, at some point, will cease to hold back the revelation of the man of sin (the Antichrist), who then will be destroyed by Jesus when the Lord returns.
Join us then, in this, part one of our discussion of the “man of sin,” as we tackle 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
Show Notes:
My book on the Antichrist, The Man of Sin
KR: Hitler as an Antichrist Figure
The Church Fathers, Origen, and Augustine on Antichrist
Louis Berkhof on the Historical Devopment of the Church's Doctrine of the Antichrist
KR: 666 and the Mark of the Beast
Antichrist -- He's Not Nice There are not words . . . A Riddleblog favorite!
Bibliography for Season Two of the Blessed Hope Podcast, “When the Lord Jesus Is Revealed from Heaven: Paul’s Thessalonian Letters”
A History of the City of Thessalonica Important background to our series
F. F. Bruce's "Paul: The Apostle of the Heart Set Free" The Life and Times of Paul—Still the best biographical study of Paul
G, K, Beale, 1-2 Thessalonians (IVP NT Commentary) The best all around commentary on the Thessalonians letters (strong on eschatology)
F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Word) One of the better technical commentaries—Bruce is especially strong on background, setting, and historical matters
Gene Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians (Pillar) A very good scholarly evangelical commentary
John Calvin, 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Crossway Classics) Calvin’s insights into this letter are still worth consideration
Music:
(Shutterstock): Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op 92m, second movement, Allegretto (A minor)