The Man of Lawlessness

“The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan, displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so to be saved.” – 2 Thessalonians 3:18

I know many who wonder,”Are these the ‘End Times’?” Is the world about to come to an end? Is evil triumphing everywhere? Are we all going to burn up in a fiery Nuclear Holocaust? Is the Lord planning on sending plagues upon His enemies? Should we build family bunkers, store food, buy gold, turn inward and not look outward? Should we now prepare for the worst?

In the New Testament Bible passage above, Saint Paul [Saul of Tarsus] was admonishing the early Christian Church in Thessalonica to stay focused on the truth, to be prayerful, to avoid idleness, and to stand firm in the teachings of the Christ. By staying focused on their Faith, Paul promised that no matter what happened, the Lord of Hosts would strengthen them and protect them from the “evil one.”
Many would be tempted today to say we are in the “last days.” Indeed, each generation has some or many causes to believe that their era represents the last days. This has a very great danger of becoming a logical fallacy called petitio principii, “assuming the initial point” … or, more commonly, “begging the question.” [“Begging the question” does not mean that we are begging that a question be asked as is commonly thought.] Petitio principii is sometimes called circular reasoning. The premise would take the form: “We are in the Last Days because we are in the Last Days.”
And because such a premise is unsupportable, a second fallacy, post hoc ergo propter hoc, usually follows. This fallacy essentially says “after this, therefore because of this.” Because one event followed another, that subsequent event must have been caused by the first. The first thing you know, we are in the last days! The confusion is understandable in an environment where lies and deceit abound.
I wish to make clear that I do not believe these present times are the “Last Days.” And, while I do believe that President Obama is a huge fraud, an unmitigated liar, and a deceiver, I do no believe him to be the anti-Christ … at least not yet. No. Even though his idolizing followers may believe Obama to be a messiah, he is not. Nor has the Prince of the Air empowered him with any miracles, signs and wonders that I can detect.

The Man of Lawlessness