Antichrist, the Mystery of Lawlessness, and what our Attitude Should Be Today

The world situation has always been an indicator of the Lord’s move on the earth, and God moves in a specific way in every age. Today there’s a mystery of lawlessness operating among men, and there’s something restraining it….

Among human society today there’s the mystery of lawlessness operating, and this lawlessness will culminate in the man of lawlessness, who is Antichrist (2 Thes. 2:3-12). The human society is getting worse and worse, and the way things are today are many times worse than when our parents were our age.

In 2 Thessalonians 2 we see that the man of lawlessness comes first, and then the apostasy. We all need to be sober and be prepared for the world order that will soon come and the human society that we will face.

Being kept out of the hour of trial (Rev. 3:10) is a reward for the overcomers in Philadelphia – it is for a select group, and it doesn’t come cheap. This word in 2 Thessalonians 2 is for all the believers – we all need to prepare, whether we like it or not, and whether we believe it or not. We do well to give heed to the prophetic word!

The Mystery of Lawlessness Operating Today

The Bible gives us many indicators concerning the mystery of lawlessness that is currently operating in the human society, and today all we have to do is just open the newspapers and we see the worldwide manifestations of this mystery. There are at least seven main items that are right now operating to a very wide extent in the world as part of the mystery of lawlessness:

1. Lawlessness – today there’s terrorism, cyber-crime, violence, senseless killings, financial scams, commercial scams, and all kinds of simple or sophisticated lawless deeds that men do. If you read the newspaper you will see a lot of lawlessness in every country, city, and even every street.

2. Satan’s Power – today there’s open Satanic worship, rock music, hip-hop, etc. Many of the “rock stars” and hip-hop singers openly admit that they consult mediums, they worship Satan, and they communicate with Satanic powers. There’s an unprecedented increase in supernatural seeking, worshipping spirits and demons.

3. Persecution – there’s persecution in restricted countries and there’s persecution in free countries. Christians are being persecuted in so-called “Christian countries” both by religion and by the government. If we want to live a godly life, we need to be prepared to be persecuted! If you are a God-fearing and God-man Christian working and living in the human society today, you will be persecuted!

4. Casting down truth – today there is a lot of falsehood, and everything is relative nowadays. There’s nothing and no one absolute; rather, the only thing people are absolute for is relativism. People bend the truth, they don’t admit there’s a truth. There’s post-modernism, post-Christianity, new philosophies, new age, new religions invented, etc. It wasn’t too long ago that the Bible was upheld and respected, but now people scorn at it!

5. Sharp insight – there’s an increase in the human knowledge, an explosion of technology  human science, astro science, internet, neuro science, bio science, etc. People are becoming smarter and smarter, and they are witty, smart, with a sharp insight and quick understanding and grasp of things.

6. The wearing out and the fatigue – people get worn out today, there is widespread sleeplessness and the taking of sleeping pills, there’s anxiety, suicide, loss of self-control, etc. Just as with a fish, if you put a fish in boiling water it will jump out, but if you gradually heat up the water in the bowl the fish will be boiled there without knowing it. Today there’s a drunkenness  a stupor, a drug addiction, and people love to be drunk and in stupor. We need to wake up!

7. Commerce with the souls of men – there is a wholesale of buying and selling the souls of men, people sell themselves to their jobs, there’s great psychological power, there’s psychic power, there’s unprecedented mental coercion (whether it is in restricted countries with no questions asked, or in free countries through brain washing). In the material Babylon they barter with gold, silver, and souls of men! There’s a lot of self-motivating techniques, and there’s an unprecedented emphasis and exercise of the human soul! There’s a force behind people’s mind, controlling it and them!

What Does the Bible Say About Antichrist?

Why do we as Christians need to study Antichrist? First of all, we need to know the principle of Antichrist, which is already operating in the human society today. Only the Lord restrains this mystery of being openly manifested, but it is right now operating.

Also, we need to know what the Antichrist is like because we need to be prepared to face the Antichrist. Throughout history many seeking believers and saints have studied what the Bible says concerning the Antichrist, and brother Witness Lee compiled and published many messages concerning the beast, the markers in 2 Thessalonians, Matt. 24, Daniel 2, 7, 8, 11, 12, 9, Revelation 13, etc.

Here are some of the things that the Bible tells us concerning Antichrist – things which are the culmination of the above mentioned manifestations of the mystery of lawlessness:

• Antichrist will be the power of Satan, the embodiment of Satan; he will persecute and destroy the people of God—both the God-fearing Jews and the Christ-believing Christians (Dan. 8:24; Rev. 12:17; 13:7). He will persecute God’s people, trying to destroy them and wipe them out.
• Antichrist will demolish and desolate the temple of God and the city of God; he will cast truth down to the ground (Dan. 9:27; 8:12). He will try to change the truth, the natural course of things, and he will cast the truth to the ground.
• Antichrist will have sharp insight to perceive things and will speak things against the Most High (Dan. 7:8, 20, 25). He will be the sharpest person and he will speak all kinds of things against God, who seemingly will not respond…
• Antichrist will wear out the saints of the Most High (Dan. 7:25; cf. Mark 6:45-52). He does it today, but he will do it in an intensified way when he will be on earth.
• Satan and Antichrist want the souls of men to be the instruments for their activities in the last age (Rev. 18:11-13; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; cf. Zech. 12:1). You could say that today he is operating in the mystery of lawlessness to “recruit” many of the people today to sell their soul to him!

The Lord Needs to Gain Lampstands in Europe Before Antichrist Comes

As we see that the European Union is being formed and coagulates, as we see the rising of the superpower of the united Europe, we need to realize that the Bible is being fulfilled in our eyes today.

There will be ten kings – typified by the ten toes in Daniel 2 – who will be under Antichrist (the last Caesar of the revived Roman Empire) (see Rev. 17:10-14). All this will take place in Europe.

Before Antichrist comes and before these things take place, the Lord needs to gain a strong testimony in Europe. The Lord’s recovery needs to be rooted here, and the high peak truths in the Lord’s recovery needs to be spread on this continent!

Actually, the spreading of the truths in the Lord’s recovery will be a preparation for the Lord’s coming back, since the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the whole inhabited earth (Matt. 24:14; Rev. 5:6). It takes the building up of a solid testimony of Jesus especially in Europe to set things in motion.

If you want to be one whom the Lord can use to hasten His return, you need to go to Him, be awakened by Him from any stupor or drunkenness in the world and Christianity today, and ask Him to give you a spirit of a martyr. If you love the Lord, you will not care about the price – it will be a privilege untold to lay down your life for His interest, be it where you are or in Europe!

According the Bible, the scene in Europe will be much worse than what we can consider now bad in the world (see: China, India, Myanmar, etc) – Europe will be a warzone both spiritually and otherwise!

But who will answer the Lord’s call? Who will be His overcomers today? Who will take care of their heart that it would not be weighed down with debauchery, drunkenness  and the anxieties of life? Who will be watchful, beseeching that they may prevail and escape all the things that are about to happen? Who will stand before the Son of Man?

We all need to tell the Lord,

Lord, as we live in these days at the consummation of this age, please rekindle our love toward You! Make us Your overcomers! Cause our heart to burn for You, for Your heart’s desire, for Your return, for the gaining of Your testimony on the earth – and especially in Europe. Lord, before the manifestation of the man of lawlessness, raise up many shining lampstands all over Europe! Lord, make us those who keep the word of Your endurance, those who do the work of preaching the gospel, and those who go in Your going today! Lord, we love You! Increase our love for You, that we may desire to see You even physically, in person! Make us those who live in the light of Your appearing today!

References and Further Reading

• This sharing is inspired from brother Andrew Yu’s sharing in this message and portions in, The World Situation and the Direction of the Lord’s Move (ch. 1), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on Crystallization-Study of Daniel and Zechariah, week 10 (entitled, A Word concerning the Human Spirit and Aspects of Christ Unveiled in Zechariah for His Move on Earth).
• Further reading:
  # The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 10, pp. 423-485.
  # Life-study of Revelation (msgs. 40, 42) by Witness Lee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  # Jesus Lord, my best love Thou art, / Thou hast fully captured my heart; / There is none in heav’n nor on earth like Thee, / With Thy beauty none can compete.
  # Who is on the Lord’s side? / Who will serve the King? / Who will be His helpers, / Other lives to bring?
  # Will you be an overcomer? / Will you make this choice? / Christ is calling, Christ is calling, / Listen to His voice!