2 Thessalonians 2:6-12

⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. ⁹ 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, ¹⁰ and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. ^[1]

“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work . . .” In the previous verses Paul addresses the question of the timing of the second coming of the Lord by saying that the “day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed.” Until that time God is holding him back, presumably from unleashing the entirety of his evil wrath. But “the secret power of lawlessness is already at work.” While we do not have access to all the knowledge about this teaching the Thessalonians must have had from Paul’s oral teaching, we can assume that they knew what Paul was writing about when he wrote, “And now you know what is holding him back.” Perhaps from our limited understanding we can presume a couple things.

First, while the man of lawlessness is yet to be revealed his power is already at work. It is a secret power in the sense that most do not know to whom to attribute it. This power can be seen in the darkness that is progressively overtaking our society. This darkness is dressed up in respectability accompanied by “counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,” but it is all a ‘shell game.’ These things do nothing but deceive those who are perishing because of their refusal “to love the truth and so be saved.”

Second, it puts us on alert to the truth that things will get progressively worse over time. No one can doubt the progressive growth of darkness all around us. Much of it today is manifested in language that has been redefined over time. The rationalization that has already deceived many in the church is that we are creating a more ‘just’ and ‘inclusive’ society. In the process, however, marriages are destroyed, families are broken apart, children are undisciplined, and all sorts of lifestyles that God calls abominations are accepted and celebrated. We do right to stand for the truth, but understand that this powerful delusion is not just allowed by God, it is sent by God to condemn those who do not believe “the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”

Lord, these verses are hard to accept. We have no delight in the condemnation of all the wicked. Some of them are our friends and relatives, people we love and care about. So help us today to be intentional in our prayer life, in our witnessing, and especially in the manner in which we live and walk before our lost loved ones. Help us to have a greater sense of urgency in proclaiming Your truth so that the lost may be saved. Amen.