I want us to see what this man who is completely under the control of Satan does. It’s very important to know how you recognize the activity of Satan. What does a man who is completely under the control of Satan do? Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick. And Colin, those are heavy questions and they grab our attention. Can we go back and pick up on one of them? How do you recognize the activity of Satan? Well, we’re in 2 Thessalonians and chapter 2 and we’re looking at the man of sin, sometimes referred to by John as the Antichrist. And the question you’re asking is a very, very practical question. How would I recognize the activity of Satan? Well, here’s how to approach it. Let’s look at what the Bible says about the activity of the person who is more full of Satan than any other person who has ever lived. The man of sin, the Antichrist. And if we can discern from the Bible, as we can, what the marks of that person are, then the traces of what is seen in its fullness in him will be the evidences that we may expect to see today of Satan’s other works. And we’re going to see a couple of things. One, this is a person who exalts himself, which of course is what Satan himself did, and tries to take the place of God, which is what Satan himself did. So, it’s not surprising that the man of sin does that. And we’re beginning to get some lines now as to how we can recognize the activity of Satan today. So, let’s jump right into the message, the Antichrist exalting himself. We’re in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 2, and here’s Colin. Now, I want to attempt two things today. The first is that I think we need to know something about the man of lawlessness. Who is he? What does he do? But then secondly, I want you to see today what all this has to do with us. Because what we learn here will give you wisdom for discerning the battles and struggles in which you find yourself today. So, if you’re thinking at this point, this sounds like we’re getting a little remote here. I promise you, we’re not. It’s coming right back to discerning the battle in which you find yourself today. So, please hang in with me. Let’s look first then at the man of lawlessness, who he is, what he does, and then we’ll see what it’s got to do with us. The man of lawlessness, who he is. Let me just describe it this way, and then we’ll look at the words that are used in Scripture here. In summary, the man of lawlessness is a person who will appear on the scene shortly before the day of the Lord. Evil will come to its head in this person. Human rebellion against God will climax itself in him, and it will climax itself through him and under his leadership. We are told three things, three very important words are used about this man. First, verse 9, his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan. Second thing we’re told about him is that he will be revealed. Most distinct word that’s used there, verse 3. The day of the Lord will not come until the man of lawlessness has been revealed. The lawless one has been revealed. Thirdly, we’re told about his counterfeit miracles. I’m looking at verse 9 here. The work of Satan will be displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles and signs and wonders. Now, who do you think of when you think of someone who’s coming, and someone who’s revealed, and the one who does miracles? There’s only one who comes to your mind, isn’t there? Coming, revealed, miracles, Jesus. Jesus, chapter 2 and verse 8. The Lord Jesus will destroy the lawless one by the splendor of his coming. Chapter 1 and verse 7 speaks about the day when Jesus Christ is revealed. And you read through the Gospels, and Jesus is the one who works true miracles, true signs, and true wonders, and still does today. Now, you see the point of this. This man, therefore, is a parody of Christ. He will be the antithesis of everything that is in our Lord Jesus Christ. Which is why when the apostle John writes about this same person, he gives them a different title. Paul calls him the man of lawlessness. John calls him, are you with me, the Antichrist. The Antichrist. That’s 1 John chapter 2 and verse 18. Dear children, this is the last hour. And as you have heard, the Antichrist is coming. That’s John’s way of saying the same thing. Even now, he adds, many Antichrists have come. So, let me just read this comment from William Hendrickson that I found very, very helpful in summarizing who this man of lawlessness, the Antichrist, is. Hendrickson says, Satan cannot become incarnate. That’s worth thinking about, by the way. Satan cannot become incarnate. Only the Son of God can do that. Satan cannot become incarnate, but he would like to imitate the second person of the Trinity as far as he possibly can. He yearns for a man over whom he will have complete control and who will perform his will, that is Satan’s will, as thoroughly as Jesus performed the will of the Father. Now, that is precisely what the man of lawlessness is. The Antichrist. The parody of Jesus. The antithesis, the dark antithesis, of everything that is in our Lord and our Savior. That’s who he is. Now, secondly, I want us to see what this man, who is completely under the control of Satan, does. Very important to know how you recognize the activity of Satan. What does a man who is completely under the control of Satan do? And we’re given two answers to that question in verse 4. Here’s the first. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshipped. Now, notice that it does not say that he exalts himself over God. He can’t do that. He might think he can, he might try to, but nobody ever exceeds in exalting themselves over God. That’s impossible. What he does is he exalts himself over everything that is called God, over everything that is worshipped. In other words, over everything that is worshipped, everything that is called God in the world, he exalts himself, in other words, over all religion. That is really the only way to understand that phrase. Now, folks, have you noticed in our culture, and not only in our culture, but much more widely across the world, that many people are buying into a growing consensus that religion promotes intolerance and intolerance promotes violence. That is a growing consensus that is widely felt and increasingly felt throughout our world. You hear it all the time. How many problems in the world today have at their root religion, you see? And so a growing number of people are coming to believe that religion, in and of itself, as a category, irrespective of which religion we’re talking about, all religion, any religion, is actually a force for evil, a root of violence in the world. One of the ways that you hear that is when people say this. I’m interested in spirituality, but I’m against organized religion. Has anyone not heard someone say that? It’s all around us. Not just I take a pass on organized religion, I’m against organized religion. Now, that is the mood of our time across many cultures. And I have no doubt, therefore, that our time is ripe for a leader who will exalt himself against everything that is called God or is worshipped. In other words, a leader who will exalt himself against Islam, a leader who will exalt himself against Christianity, and against Judaism, and against Hinduism, and against Buddhism. And he will say, a plague on all your houses. Religion is the source of intolerance and violence in the world, and we must break its power. It’s religion that’s dividing the world. Let’s get rid of all of it, and then we’ll have peace. Not that hard to imagine, is it? That message will resonate with people cross-culturally across this world. People who are desperate to throw off the shackles of their religion. And as he brings forward that message, he will gather people cross-culturally to himself on a worldwide basis. Folks, just as I think about that, I do not find that at all hard to imagine, do you? Really? Doesn’t seem that far off to me. Our time is ripe for it. We’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and the message, The Antichrist Exalting Himself. And if you’ve missed a broadcast, come and listen online. Come to openthebible.org.uk. You can listen again to any of our previously broadcasted messages. You can also find them as podcasts on your regular podcasting site. Search for Open the Bible UK. Back to the message now, here’s Colin. Now, notice what he does next. The first thing is that he exalts himself against all religion. Plague on all your houses. The second thing is he sets himself up in God’s temple, verse 4, proclaiming himself to be God. Now, if you want to understand the core of how Satan works, it’s right here. It’s right here. Please follow me carefully. If he sets himself up in God’s temple, what does he replace? To answer that question, you simply have to think, what is in God’s temple? He comes into God’s temple. Whatever is in God’s temple is what gets pushed out. So what is in God’s temple? Many of you know this. At the center of the temple, there was a room 30 feet long, 30 feet wide, 30 feet high. And it was called the most holy place. In the center of that room, what was there? There was a box, a wooden box, the Ark of the Covenant. In Old Testament times, in the ark was what? A copy of the law of God. So when we read about a man setting himself up in God’s temple, we are to understand that he is replacing the law of God with himself. That is why he is called the lawless one. What else is in the temple? On top of the ark was a lid. And that was the place where once a year, you remember in the Old Testament, the high priest came in and had the blood of a sacrificed animal and he sprinkled that blood on the lid, on the cover of the ark. And the sprinkling of blood was to atone for the sins of the people. So when we read about this man setting himself up in God’s temple, we are to understand that he is replacing New Testament terms, the sacrifice, with himself. In other words, he is proclaiming himself as the savior. He has obliterated all religion, a plague on all your houses. Around me, we will find world peace once we got rid of all the rest. Third, in the Old Testament, we read about how the glory of the Lord came into the temple, filled the temple. The presence of God on a number of occasions came down in a great cloud. 1 Kings chapter 8 tells us about the time when the priest could no longer fulfill their service because of the cloud, the glory of the Lord filled his temple. So when we read about a man who sets himself up in God’s temple, we are to understand that he is attempting to replace God with himself. That is why it says here, he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. Now Paul is saying in verse 7, understand this, that the spirit that leads the man to do this is already at work in the world. When you think about that, it becomes very obvious. This is what sin does. At its core, this is what Satan’s work looks like. It is putting yourself in the place of God. It is putting yourself in the place of God’s law, and it is putting yourself in the place of Christ’s sacrifice. And you know what the spirit looks like. It’s about me. That’s putting yourself in the place of God. No one tells me what to do. That’s putting yourself in the place of God’s law. I’m a good person. That’s putting yourself in the place of Christ’s sacrifice. You’re a great person. You don’t need it. Do you see the spirit at work in the world today? I mean, just to say it is so obvious, isn’t it? Here’s the bigger question. Do you see it in yourself? Do you see it in yourself? You say, now I’m a Christian. Yeah, I know. I’m talking to you. I’m talking to myself. You have faith in Christ. But your own experience is that you find something, this impulse rising up within you. It’s a mystery to yourself. You do not understand what rises up from within you. It distresses you. Here you are. You’re in Christ. Your sins are forgiven. The power of sin over you is broken. But its presence is not yet removed. There’s some kind of an abyss within you. And the mystery of sin remains within you. There are hidden depths of pride and of self-righteousness that lurk in your soul and lurk in my soul. And they’re there in the soul somewhere of every person you meet. And this is our battle. It really is. See, here I am a pastor. And, you know, at least some people have excessively kind thoughts about pastors. Most of them are little children. I had a little girl who was saying to me the other week that she thought that I sleep here in the church. Isn’t that a wonderful thought? Just last Sunday, a little girl came up to my wife and she said, can I ask you a question? She said, does Pastor Colin ever read any other book except the Bible? Isn’t that wonderful? It’s wonderful, you see. But listen. Would it be possible for a pastor to succumb to a spirit that says it’s all about me? You’re nodding already. Would it be possible for a pastor to develop a spirit of nobody tells me what to do? Well, if you can see how that could happen in a pastor, can you not see why it’s precisely the same for you? This is the reality for all of us, folks. This is our battle. The secret power of sin is already at work in you. It is. And it destroys. Here’s a marriage this weekend in the orchard and it’s crumbling. And why is it crumbling? Right now. Because someone is saying, it’s all about me. Someone is saying, I decide what’s going to happen. Someone is saying, I’m right. I’m a good person. And it is the mystery of sin that destroys marriages. It destroys businesses. And folks, it destroys churches. And it’s looking to destroy you. So this is the great battle of your life as it is the great battle of mine. And it will be until the day we die because we’re right at the core of what sin is, the mystery of sin. This is what sin is made of. Putting yourself in the place of God. Putting yourself in the place of his law. Putting yourself in the place of Christ’s sacrifice. That’s the battle. Now that leaves us with the question, how do you overcome that? That’s the battle. How am I going to make progress? How am I going to prevail? Well, I have to tell you, that’s what we’re going to look at next week. But I thought, I can’t leave you hanging there. So let me just give you the headline. It’s in verse 8. See, work backwards. We’ve said there’s the man of sin, the man of lawlessness. And behind him, there’s the spirit of lawlessness. And that’s with us even now. Let’s just ask this question, how is the man of sin destroyed? Because if we know how the man of sin is destroyed, then we will know how the spirit behind him that we’re up against is going to be destroyed. Are you with me? So look at verse 8. How is the man of sin destroyed? The Lord Jesus will overthrow him by the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. That is an amen moment, is it not? That is an amen moment. The Lord Jesus Christ will overthrow him, how? By the breath of his mouth. In other words, when Christ appears, you know, it’ll be, you’re gone. That’s how the sovereign power of Jesus Christ will be exercised. And he will destroy him by the splendor of his coming. Now take that in and follow the path. If the man of sin is destroyed by the breath of Christ’s mouth and the splendor of his coming, it follows that the secret power of sin will be destroyed in the same way. How? By his breath and by his splendor. His breath, his life, his spirit. That is how you will prevail in your battle. By the breath of God, by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in your life. Breathe on me breath of God. Fill me with life anew that I may love what thou dost love and do what thou wouldst do. And not only his breath, his splendor. See, when you see his splendor, you will not be taken up with your own. It’s this huge principle in the Christian life. You cannot be taken up with your own splendor while you are looking at the splendor of Jesus Christ. If you’re taken up with your own splendor, your own glory, your own achievement, your eye at that moment is not on the Lord Jesus Christ. And the way that Christ delivers us from the deadly destruction of preoccupation with our own glory is by showing us his. Which is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 18 that it is as we behold the Lord’s glory. That’s how we are transformed into his likeness. Which is why gathering for worship every weekend is of such huge importance for the dynamic of your spiritual life. Your hope of overcoming the secret power of sin in your life lies here. That Christ breathes his life into you. And your hope of prevailing in the battle lies in seeing and beholding his glory. That will transform you into the likeness of Jesus Christ. I love that line. Your hope in overcoming the secret power of sin in your life lies in the life Christ breathes into you. You’re listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and our message The Antichrist Exalting Himself, part of the larger series Staying the Course When You’re Tired of the Battle. And we do sometimes get weary of the battle against sin while we’re following Jesus. And this series can be a great encouragement. And if you ever miss any of the series, why not go online? Come to our website openthebible.org.uk You can listen again or go back and listen to any of the series that you might have missed. You can also find our messages as podcasts on your regular podcasting site. Search for Open the Bible UK. Subscribe to the podcast to receive regular updates. Open the Bible is supported by our listeners. That’s people just like you. If you feel that’s something you’d like to get involved in, you can do that by going to our website. That’s openthebible.org.uk If you’re able to set up a donation in the amount of £5 per month or more, we’d love to thank you by sending you a free gift. It’s two copies of a book called More Than a Carpenter, written by Josh McDowell. Colin, why is this book so important? Well, I’m always drawn to books that are tried and tested. And God has used this book, More Than a Carpenter, for more than 40 years. And it has been a means of God’s work in many, many people’s lives. But I think it’s perhaps a book that many today are not aware of. And so I’m just delighted that we’re making it available. More Than a Carpenter deals with real questions that a sceptic might have in regards to the Christian faith. So Josh McDowell deals with questions like, what about science? And what about the new atheism? And how do we know that the Bible is reliable? So this is a really helpful book for believers to help us be clearer and more confident in our witness to Jesus. And it’s also a marvellous book to give to anyone who’s asking honest questions about the Christian faith. And that’s why we’d like to send you two copies, one for you and one to give away, in return for setting up a new donation to the work of Open the Bible for £5 per month or more. Details on our website, openthebible.org.uk. For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith, I’m David Pick, and I hope you’ll be able to join us again soon. What does the secret power of sin look like in the life of a friend, neighbour or relative who does not know Christ? Find out next time on Open the Bible.