#4 - Evil in the Temple? 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 - A Future Man of Lawlessness? Or Maybe Not.

  

  As I mentioned in my previous blog, there are three New Testament passages that are interpreted as speaking of a future Temple in Jerusalem (i.e. Matt. 24:15, 2 Thess. 2:4, and Rev. 11:1-2). The second of three New Testament passages that have been interpreted as predicting the rebuilding of a future temple is 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 which states,

1 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.

The Future Temple View 

    It is most commonly understood that this temple is placed somewhere in the future because the other events tied to this include the coming of one who is thought to be the Antichrist, a great falling away happens (i.e. "the apostasy"), and probably most weighty in this view is the coming of Christ. This is where many assume their interpretation and try to formulate and connect other passages to this text to build an end-time events calendar and as a result they build their theology and hope around those events. For example, John Schmitt and Carl Laney write in their book Messiah's Coming Temple, 

"The problem, as I see it, is that we have come to the premature conclusion that there can only be one more Temple in the world's history. That is not necessarily true. Scriptures such as Daniel 11:31 and 12:11, coupled with such verses as Matthew 24:15 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4...have caused many of us to conclude that there is a future Temple coming; this will be taken over by an evil man called in Scripture "the Antichrist". Many have just stopped there, assuming the Temple desecrated by the Antichrist will be the last Temple in the biblical scenario. However, there is more information given in the Scriptures that...indicate Jesus the Messiah will be the prominent figure in a future Temple as He reigns as the Priest-King over all the earth. Thus, the possibility of another future Temple that differs from the Tribulation Temple becomes very real."

 Thomas Ice and Randall Price echo this same end-time scenario in their book Ready to Rebuild, stating,

"We have already noted the first two, Solomon's temple and Herod's temple. The final two have yet to appear. The tribulation Temple (the third Temple) will be next, while the millennial Temple (the fourth Temple) will appear after Jesus the Messiah returns to planet Earth and builds it to use during His messianic kingdom."

So then, as this interpretation unfolds, it becomes more elaborate with not just one future temple but two more future temples built in Jerusalem as the center of worship. 

Some Overlooked Features from the Text

    Contrary to the future view, the text specifies much more about the timing of the events in 2 Thessalonians 2 and the Temple that is mentioned there. It pictures the temple not in the future but in the past. Let's take a look:

1. In both verse 6 and verse 7, Paul tells the Thessalonians that the man of lawlessness (who was to settle in the temple) was being restrained "now", meaning at the time of Paul's writing. 

2. Verses 5 and 6 pose the Thessalonians as already knowing who this man of lawlessness is and what is restraining him. He states "Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now"

3. Verse 2 speaks of "the apostasy" coming first (not just an apostasy but THE apostasy). The Thessalonians knew also what this was, specifically, the Jewish rebellion against Rome. This event began to occur late in 66 AD and continued until the end of the Judeo-Roman war. Many candidates could be named for this man of lawlessness in connection with this apostasy and whom would sit/settle in the Temple of God.

4. The fact that the Thessalonians are so intensely concerned about the subject matter, which must be repeated back to them and given specific signs (i.e. the apostasy and man of lawlessness), indicates that Paul intended this scenario to come upon them at some point in their lifetimes. 

5. If these events were not to come upon those living at the time of Paul's writing, then why not just say that this is something you, the Thessalonians, don't need to worry about? We must consider that Paul is not writing to us living today but to those that lived in the past. As James Stuart Russell puts it in his book The Parousia,

"Besides, if we suppose 'the apostasy' and 'the man of lawlessness' to lie far beyond the times of the Thessalonians, what would be the use of giving them explanations and information about matters which were not at all urgent, and which, in fact, did not concern them at all? Is it not obvious that whoever the man of sin may be, he must be some one with whom the apostle and his readers had to do?" (pg. 179)

The overlooked details seem to indicate a framework that could only be a prophecy fulfilled in the past. Scripture also states that if a prophet speaks and it does not come to pass that we should not revere him (Deut. 18:22), meaning we should not accept his words. The fact is that Paul's writing exists in our Bibles, and which includes a prophecy, indicates that it must have already been considered a prophecy that has come to pass. If his prophecy about the apostasy and the man of lawlessness sitting in the Temple have not come true yet, what is the basis for testing his authenticity? (Remember, we as Christians are to test every spirit of prophecy, 1 John 4:1.)

A Lesson on False Teachings

    Jesus makes some similar statements regarding such false teachings that would come upon those of His day when He states,

"Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit." (Matt. 7:15-17)

Jesus makes this statement about false prophets and this would include false teachers as well. He uses the metaphor of words equated as fruit in Matthew 12:3-34,

“Either assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart."

This is echoed in Proverbs as well,

"A person will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, and the deeds of a person's hands will return to him." (Prov. 12:14)

"From the fruit of a person's mouth he enjoys good, but the desire of the treacherous is violence." (Prov. 13:2)

Unfortunately, for the listener, the fruit of a teacher is actually realized in the lives of those who follow the teaching of that person whether for good or bad. Their lives will either produce good fruit or bad depending on how they are being taught. Jesus warns against the scenario of those that appear religious but bore the fruit of false prophets, the most deceptive type of falsehood. This deception injures those that need the most help and direction in life, and even more importantly, in the world to come. 

A Personal Testimony

Ashamed to say, I have been a part of a community that has bore the fruits of strife, dissension, and even apostasy from Christ. Arguments arose over who is Jewish or Gentile, who should keep the Law of Moses, pronunciation of God's sacred name, and specifics on how to follow one commandment or another. All of this has led to strife and disfellowship, fruits of the Devil. I have seen this first hand. Since 2002, I have attended small congregations within a movement that confesses Christ but produces bad fruit. I have been a part of and seen at least 15 people that I could call by name leave their faith in Jesus for a set of morals and laws. Moreover, I would say that there are probably twice as many that have left faith in Him whom I could not keep track of, and I have seen a characteristic in this movement that I don't even find in the unbelieving world, people coming in the door for a couple weeks, months, or even a year for service and then just walking out one day without a trace, never to be heard of again. This is a breakdown of relationship and accountability, characteristic of not caring for our Master's sheep. Still, I would say that the leaders in this movement are not intentionally seeking to connive and deceive, they root themselves on the basis of the false teachings handed down to them which systematically bear further bad fruit. I will unravel more of this as I continue these blogs but I would like to point out that the basis of this false teaching is that Christians will one day observe the Law of Moses in its entirety and as it is written. This movement references Jesus' words in Matthew 5:17-18 to support this claim,

“Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets... not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished!"

It should be noticed that this passage in Matthew 5:17-18 was spoken of by Jesus at a time when the Law of Moses was fully in effect yet with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 AD we must admit that some major pieces of the Law have fallen out of use and thereby qualify this statement as a completed prophecy in the past not one that we are still waiting for. Specifically, the Law of Moses includes an animal sacrificial system with many working parts such as an operating Levitical priesthood, handwritten genealogy to tribal lineage, and an edifice to house those sacrifices which has come down to us as being the temple which was at one time built in Jerusalem. So then, the question that awaits is whether or not a temple will be built in the future, the movement I have just described believes this to be true yet the absence of a temple for the last two millennia speaks otherwise. This passage from 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 is a popular passage for this movement to go to when speaking of the coming Temple built in Jerusalem and a full return to the Law of Moses. In other words, without a future temple, this movement within Christianity cannot foresee a full return to the Law of Moses. This teaching is fast becoming accepted within many circles of Christian thought and has opened a door right before my eyes for some to leave the saving faith in Jesus for a set of morals and laws. 

Below is a video that gives more detail on 2 Thess. 2:1-12 for those who are interested. Please stay tuned...I will cover the Temple mentioned in Revelation 11:1-2 next!