“Revelation and God Revealed in It ”

Insights #02 Oct. 13, 2012

Fourth Quarter 2012 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“Revelation and God Revealed in It ”
For the week of Oct. 13, 2012

 
 
Revelation and God Revealed in It

                My first and still fondest memory of my early experience in the Seventh-day Adventist Church, in the middle 1980’s, was the degree of intensive Bible study I encountered amongst the members who befriended me, shared with me, and led me further in the church.  We cannot afford to lose that zeal, focus, priority, and valuing of God’s Word.  We ought to be studying our Bibles as never before, and to be searching, most of all, not for doctrinal truth, but for the “matchless charms of Jesus Christ” revealed throughout the Scriptures.
                The word “Scriptures” refers to the Written Word, and it is the Scriptures that Jesus quoted and utilized in his teaching and preaching.  Some cite the text in Thessalonians that says we should heed to the “traditions”, whether written or spoken, to refer to the dual channels of the Word of God written, and that of the “sacred traditions” of the church.  However, as we understand in our Protestant heritage there must be a test or standard to measure all truth, and that standard is the Word of God.  If all that was said or preached was also considered equal to the Bible, then there would be no standard to test those teachings and preachings.  The Spirit of Prophecy is also to be measured against the Scriptures, as the “lesser light” leading us to the greater light.  As Ellen G. White said near the end of her life, “I commend to you this book.”  We need never to lose such a heritage from the Protestant Reformation, but more importantly, as we have such access to the Bible and other Christian materials, to be diligent to be found approved in our knowledge of God’s Word to us.
                God communicates to human beings in many ways, such as His “small still voice”, nature, divinely inspired personal experiences, etc. but His greatest revelation, other than the obvious of Jesus Christ Himself, is His Word which is our guide and standard throughout our lives. 
                The Bible proclaims that it was not given merely by men, but men moved by the Holy Spirit.  God inspired their minds to communicate His message, and it is infallible in its message, intent, and plan of Salvation. 
                As II Timothy 3:16 states, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, or “god breathed”, and is profitable for every aspect of the Christian life, thoroughly perfecting us unto every good work.  A Roman Catholic apologist would argue that the text states that the Bible is “profitable”, but not sufficient, and thus we need additionally the “Sacred Traditions” of the church to fill out all that is needed.  Yet the text itself argues against such a conclusion.  The text is saying that “all” Scriptures are inspired by God, thus every verse in the Bible is inspired, and is profitable towards correction, instruction, etc.  The total effect of the profit of each individual passage is that we may be thoroughly perfected unto every good work, and thus, the total Bible is sufficient, from the benefits of all those profitable verses.  If we can be perfected from the Bible, then there is no other writings that are necessary. 
                That of course begs the question of Ellen White’s writings.  She herself stated that we did not need her writings if we really knew the Scriptures.  Yet, because of our fallen condition, and the human tendency to become entrenched in traditional patterns of thinking, the prophetic gift is of great value to us in showing the depth of meaning in the Scriptures.  They are truly a “lesser light” leading us to the greater light.  My experience with the Spirit of Prophecy has led me to want to study the Bible ever more.  Mrs. White’s writings are “authoritative”, as we state in the Fundamental Beliefs, but that does not mean we consider her writings to be equal to Scriptures, but that the prophetic gift lends an authority and power to her writings, as she speaks with conviction of her understanding of the total revelation of God’s character, will, and plan revealed in Scriptures. 
                There are those who argue that Jesus Christ, rightly seen as the center and ultimate focus of all Scriptures, for they “testify” of Him, and His matchless love, holiness, righteousness, justice, mercy, and truth, eliminates the need for study of other issues such as prophecy, doctrine, etc.  Yet, Matthew 4:4 calls us to live by “every word of God”.  This protects against the ecumenical tendency to “unite on the doctrines held in common”, and to essentially disregard or discount the rest.  We could never sanction such an ecumenical unity, for to do so would be to betray the Bible and the Word who gave it to us. 
                We understand that the nature of inspiration in the Bible is that of thought inspiration, as God moved upon the minds of the writer to communicate as God desired.  We do not hold to a verbal inspiration model because we recognize that God worked with men of varying experience, education, and understanding of truth.  God works through fallible human beings to accomplish His infallible will. 
                The prophetic gift operates in the same fashion as the writers of the Canon.  God worked to reveal thoughts and ideas, occasionally through visions and dreams, and then led the prophet to write or have transcribed the intent that God had through the revelation. 
                It is important to express the central truth that the primary objective of all of God’s revelation is to reveal Christ, the Gospel, the “righteousness of God”, and the plan God has to restore us to His glory, or character.  Jesus Christ is the center of all the Bible, and we should be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  By beholding we become changed.  The Bible is not, as some claim, a “dead letter”, but a living organism, worked by the Spirit to move on the human heart, if open, to receive Christ and His love.
                We hold to the truth of the Godhead, the unity of three co-eternal persons, who are all deeply invested in our salvation and redemption.  Some of the early Seventh-day Adventist pioneers held to a different view, avoiding the errors they felt were understood in the idea of the “Trinity.” We were moved over time to develop a correct view of the issue. We do not teach the same position as the Roman Catholic, and our view today is completely correct and Biblical.  (I would urge you to read a book entitled, Defending the Godhead, by Vance Ferrell.  He has done a good job in the discussion.)  The fact that some of the early SDA pioneers taught differently is often used as a criticism against the adventist church.  Yet God takes people as they are and then leads them into all truth by His Spirit, and the reality that the church grew in their understanding should not be used as a criticism, for growth is a positive outcome, and obviously the church was being led by the Spirit of God.
                One of the central truths of the Bible is the truth that God is Creator.  It doesn’t attempt to prove God’s existence, leaving the responsibility for God’s revelation to fallen man to God, in the remaining beauties of His creation, in the dealings He has with each human being, in the work on the heart by the Holy Spirit.  As the lesson states, “Conviction about the existence of God cannot come from rational arguments alone. The Bible teaches that a person is convinced of God’s existence through personal experience with Him as the Holy Spirit impresses one’s heart and mind with the fact of His existence. In many cases, people may come to believe in God first; only after, then, do they start to build a logical and intellectual foundation for faith in a God whom they cannot see.”  Without doubt, the Bible reveals a God who is greatly involved with humanity. The whole great controversy scenario is, really, about how the Lord is working to save humanity from the clutches of sin and Satan. From the first act of the earth’s creation (Gen. 1:1) to the cross (John 19:18) to the recreation of the earth (2 Pet. 3:12, 13), the Bible shows us unequivocally the Lord’s intimate activity with humanity.”
                “In His word, God has committed to men the knowledge necessary for salvation. The Holy Scriptures are to be accepted as an authoritative, infallible revelation of His will. They are the standard of character, the revealer of doctrines, and the test of experience. ‘Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness; that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.’ 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.”-Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, pp. 8, 9.  These words from the Great Controversy are a deep study for us, to be intimately involved with the Word of God, and allowing the Spirit, or the life of Christ, to live out that Word of Life in us.  The Word of God is to become “engrafted” into our minds, characters, lives, forever.

-Thomas R. Cusack

“The Great Controversy: The Foundation ”

Insights #01 Oct. 6, 2012

Fourth Quarter 2012 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“The Great Controversy: The Foundation ”
For the week of Oct. 6, 2012

The Great Controversy: The Foundation

During this quarter we will study some of the “28 Fundamental Beliefs” of our Church. We need to keep in mind what the author’s introduction states regarding these fundamentals. They “are not a creed in the sense that one could not expect any further development of the truths expressed in them (or that even more teachings could be added).” [1]

This quarter’s first lesson is about the Great Cosmic Controversy theme as revealed to us in Scripture. This theme is foundational for the entire quarter and should be remembered as we study the lessons, especially, for this quarter. The Great Controversy theme truly is predominant in the Bible. This conflict is about the prolonged cosmic contention existing between the former covering cherubim, Lucifer, and his Creator. Central to the conflict is God’s love.

The founder of this dispute is Lucifer. No sane reason can be presented for the existence of his opposition. This is an unexplainable mystery. How could a perfectly created being, made in God’s image, become a devil (Eze 28:15)? It is the “mystery of iniquity.” He turned against God who loved him with an everlasting love. In turning from God’s love, Lucifer made choices that led to his diabolical hatred of God. Had he been able to do so, he would have torn God from His throne and would have placed himself there because this was the meditation of his heart (Isa 14:12-14).

There is another “mystery” infinitely greater than the “mystery of iniquity.” It is the “mystery of godliness.” This mystery is about God, His character of love, and His plan for our redemption. The plan of redemption is simply the carrying out of God’s original plan in the creation of mankind – that they are to be in the image of God (Gen 1:26, 27; Rom 8:28). The plan involved the suffering of “Seed of the women” and the eventual destruction of the devil including all evil (Gen 3:15). The plan of redemption also promises forgiveness to all who have faith in Christ alone. And it promises to restore the image of God in those who have a heartfelt appreciation for what God has done for them, in Christ.

The Great Controversy began in the mind of Lucifer and this while he was in the very presence of God. He undoubtedly knew God better than any other created being. He would have revealed God’s love, throughout the far flung universe, in all the power of his angelic majesty and ability. But, in time, through his God given ability to choose, he became the creation of his own confused and perverted imagination.

Before war broke out in heaven, it raged within the mind and heart of Lucifer. The conflict between good and evil first began there; then worked its way out in his life and in the lives of others such as Adam and Eve and one third of the angels. “The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords” (Psalm 55:21). Out of the abundance of his heart he spoke and acted. That war continues. What was, still is. “Perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord.” (Proverbs 6:14)

Lucifer, the morning star, closest to the Source of Light, began to think that he was the source of his own light. But his taper came from God – from the blazing glory that radiates from His person. The Bible pictures the glory of God as fire (Dan 7:9,10). He is called a “consuming fire” (Ex 24:17; Deut 4:26; Heb 12:29). But He “fireproofed” Lucifer before he sinned. God continues to give him existence. This is essential because every intelligent person in the universe, one day, will be fully convinced and will acknowledge that Lucifer was wrong in starting his controversy with God.

The word “consume” means an intensive and complete destruction. This consuming fire of God is the source of energy millions upon millions of times more intense than all the combined power of all the atomic bombs of mankind. The atomic bomb cannot vaporize everything. But the fire of God can. Although Eze 28:12-17 informs us of the time when Lucifer was “fireproof,” the time is coming when he will be flammable – at the end of the millennium (Rev 20:7-10).

This Great Controversy involves all of us. We will either fight God or accept Him. In either case we will be involved in God’s fire. Either you and I will be refined by His fire (Mal 3:2; 1 Pet 6,7), or like Lucifer, flammable, at the end of the millennium (Matt 25:41; Rev 20:15).

The choice is ours.

Today Jesus invites us into His sin consuming fire. He offers us His faith and His garment of righteousness (Rev 3:18), both of which were tempered by the fierce fires of temptation when He dwelt on earth (Heb 4:15,16; 5:7-9; 2:18; Rom 5:19). Consequently the “faith of Jesus” and His righteousness are now eternally fireproof.

We need to remember that the everlasting fire is in heaven and not in hell (Isa 33:14). In heaven, God’s people will be forever “fireproofed ” (Isa 33:15). God has sent His message that, if believed, will both purge and make us “fireproof.” It is the message of His righteousness presented in the most alluring terms in His counsel to Laodicea (Rev 3:18). Those only who are made righteous by faith in Christ alone will be made fireproof that will last throughout eternity.

The ongoing cosmic conflict between good and evil – the Great Controversy – is described accurately in the books we know as “The Conflict of the Ages.” This series begins with Patriarch’s and Prophets and ends with The Great Controversy. Patriarchs and Prophets begins with three words and The Great Controversy ends with the same three. The first is a declaration. The last is the affirmation formally and explicitly of those three words. We will close this Insight with the last paragraph of the series and the three words:

“The great controversy is ended. Sin and sinners are no more. The entire universe is clean. One pulse of harmony and gladness beats through the vast creation. From Him who created all, flow life and light and gladness, throughout the realms of illimitable space. From the minutest atom to the greatest world, all things, animate and inanimate,  in their unshadowed beauty and perfect joy, declare that God is love.”[2]

-Jerry Finneman

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[1] Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide, October – December, 2012,  pp 2,3.

[2] Ellen White, The Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan, p. 678.

“Keeping the Church Faithful”

Third Quarter 2012 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“Keeping the Church Faithful”
For the week of Sept. 29, 2012

 
 
Keeping the Church Faithful
 
“Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev 14:12.
 
Faithfulness in the members of the church starts with the Author and Finisher of faith (Heb. 12:2).
 
God has exercised faith toward humanity in having Jesus die for all men (2 Thess 2:13; Jn 3:16). From the SS teacher’s edition:
 
“Our salvation resides in the fact that God took the initiative to save the human race. And that means that God is not going to let anyone be lost easily. A person will be lost only because he or she deliberately and persistently refuses to respond to God’s grace.... God is determined to save us as long as we are willing to let Him.”
 
It is this faithfulness of God that gives us hope, comfort, consolation, and the ability to stand fast in the “good traditions” of the gospel - in word and deed (2 Thess 2:15-17). We should be speaking of the faith of Jesus as we share the gospel. And we should be demonstrating the faith of Jesus in all our relationships.
 
This is what Paul was doing for the Thessalonians - “We have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command you.” 2 Thess 3:4 (cf Phil 2:13).
 
Tradition is mentioned in both 2 Thessalonians 3:6 and Colossians 2:8, but there is a clear distinction between traditions based on the teaching of scripture and those of the world. In modern medicine there is a great push to use “evidence-based” treatment for disease. We could say the same for tradition - we want evidence-based traditions of faith, not doubt. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”  “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Heb 11:1,6.
 
As Paul’s fellow apostle James indicated, faith is active. Even our modern beggars tacitly recognize this principle. You have seen the signs - Will Work for Food - or something of the sort, though not all appear really willing to work. But a willingness to diligently seek, to exercise faith, is integral to the belief that help is on the way.
 
For Paul, following Matthew 18 should demonstrate faith in action, a willingness to hold people accountable (even to the point of avoiding their company) without attacking them as enemies. How often do we think it an exercise in faith to warn and exhort as brothers and sisters those who are going astray? Do we express words of confidence that they can and will do better? This is the faith of Jesus applied: “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.”
 
From A.T. Jones:
 
"THE just shall live by faith." 
 
Who are the just?—They are only those who are of faith; because men are justified only by faith. For though we all "have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," yet we are "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
For "to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Those who are of faith, and those alone, are the just in the earth.

Now faith is entire dependence on the word of God, that that word shall accomplish what that word says. "It shall accomplish that which I please." Isa. 55:11.

To be justified by faith, then, is to be justified by entire dependence upon the word of God. The just are those who are of the word of God. This is how men become just.

Men must not only become just by faith,—by dependence upon the word of God,—but being just, we must live by faith. The just man lives in precisely the same way, and by precisely the same thing, that he becomes just.

We become just by faith; faith is entire dependence on the word of God. We, being just, must live by precisely the same thing by which we become just; that is, by entire dependence upon the word of God.

And this is exactly what Jesus said: Man shall live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." When Jesus said that, it is perfectly plain that he simply said, in other words, Man shall live by faith.

There is no other way truly to live than by faith, which is simply living by the word of God. Without faith, without the word of God, men only die.

Indeed, without the word of God everything only dies; for in the beginning everything came by the word of God. The word of God is the origin and life of everything; for, "He spake, and it was."

All things animate and inanimate,—sun, moon, and stars, animals and men,—all are entirely dependent upon the word of God for existence. Only in the case of men, God has bestowed upon them the wondrous gift of choice as to whether they will do so or not. This gift opens the door of faith. And when a man does choose to live by the word of God, which is the only means of life, faith—entire dependence upon the word of God—is the means by which he lays hold on the means of life.

Thus "the just shall live by faith," and thus "whatsoever is not of faith is sin;" which is simply to say, The just must live by the word of God; and whatsoever is not of the word of God is sin.

"We can not have a healthy Christian experience, we can not obey the gospel unto salvation, until the science of faith is better understood; and until more faith is exercised."

"Hast thou faith?" Have the faith of God. Here are they that keep "the faith of Jesus." 
(March 7, 1899 ATJ, ARSH 152)


"Such is living faith"
 
...the faith that comes from the living God; the faith of which Christ is the Author; the faith which comes by the word of God; the faith which brings life and power from God to men, and which works the works of God in him who exercises it; the faith which receives the Holy Spirit that brings the living presence of Jesus Christ to dwell in the heart and manifest Himself still in mortal flesh. This and this alone is living faith. By this Christians live. This is life itself. This is everything. Without this, everything is simply nothing or worse; for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

With such faith as this, that is, with true faith, there never can arise any question as to works; for this faith itself works, and he who has it, necessarily works. It is impossible to have this faith and not have works. "For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love." Gal. 5:6. This faith being a living thing, cannot exist without working. And coming from God, the only works that it can possibly work are the works of God.

Therefore anything that professes to be faith which of itself does not work the salvation of the individual having it, and which then does not work the works of God in him who professes it, is not faith at all, but is a fraud that that individual is passing off upon himself, which brings no grace to the heart, and no power to the life. It is dead, and he is still dead in trespasses and sins, and all his service is only a form without power, and therefore is only a dead formalism.

But on the other hand, the faith which is of God, which comes by the word of God and brings Christ, the living word, to dwell in the heart and shine in the life—this is true faith which through Jesus Christ only lives and works in him who exercises it.

Christ Himself living in us; Christ in you the hope of glory; God with us; God manifest in the flesh now, to-day in our flesh, by the faith of Jesus Christ—this and this only is living faith. For "every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, is not of God; and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:2-4. Therefore, "Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves." Jesus said unto them and to us all: "Have the faith of God." Mark 11:22, margin.
A. T. JONES. (January 14, 1895 ATJ, BEST 10)

-Todd Guthrie

“The Antichrist”

Third Quarter 2012 Adult Sabbath School Lessons
“The Antichrist”
For the week of Sept. 22, 2012

 
 “The Antichrist”  2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
 
      In 1378 there was a breakdown in relations between Pope Urban VI and the cardinals who elected him. They soon regretted their decision. What they next did gave rise to what is known as the “Great” or Western Schism (which lasted 92 years) in the Church of Rome. Even though Urban was still reigning, the same body of cardinals elected a rival pope who took the name Clement VII on September 20 of that same year. This started a line of popes who reigned in Avignon, France. This second election of a pope threw the Church into turmoil.
     There had been antipopes – rival claimants to the papacy – before, but most of them had been appointed by various rival factions. In this case, however, a single group of leaders of the Church created both the pope and the antipope with each pope calling the other “antichrist.” Needless to say, the simultaneous claims to the papal chair of two different men, in two different cities, damaged the reputation of the “infallible” papacy. The rank and file church members were faced with the comic-tragedy of one pope in Rome excommunicating another pope in Avignon. The spectacle of two rival popes excommunicating each other was a confirmation for all to see of the spiritual bankruptcy of the papacy and the need to put something else in its place.
     This idea to of the antichrist as a bishop is traced centuries earlier. Pope Gregory I (reigned from 590-604) wrote that whoever claims for himself the title of “universal priest” is a forerunner of antichrist. He made this statement in a letter in which he denounced the claims of the Patriarch ofConstantinople at the time, who said he was a universal bishop. Gregory held this title for himself alone! and wanted no competition. He wrote that the teaching coming from the spirit of Antichrist is as follows: “I confidently affirm that whosoever calls himself – sacerdos universalis – [universal priest or bishop], or desires to be so called by others is in his pride a forerunner of Antichrist”[1] (This argument, intended to defend Gregory’s papal office, was in itself its condemnation. And this same Pope also wrote that Sabbath preaching pastors were “preachers of Antichrist.”[2]).
    So, in 1378, when the two rival popes were charging each other as being the Antichrist, John Wycliffe in England agreed with both. Wycliffe, a Roman Catholic priest and a Reformer, upon learning that the two antipopes were contesting the right to be recognized as the only valid pope  declared, “The fiend no longer reigns in one, but in two priests that men may the more easily overcome them. Now is antichrist divided, and one part fights against the other.”[3] 
     In 1888 Ellen White wrote about that papal schism and quoted Wycliffe’s observation:
“The schism, with all the strife and corruption which it caused, prepared the way for the Reformation, by enabling the people to see what the papacy really was. In a tract which    he published, ‘On the Schism of the Popes,’ Wycliffe called upon the people to consider whether these two priests were not speaking the truth in condemning each other as the antichrist. ‘The fiend,’ said he, ‘no longer reigns in one but in two priests, that men may  the more easily, in Christ's name, overcome them both.’ ” [4]
     To further complicate the situation regarding the papacy, a church council was held at Pisa, Italy, in 1409 under the auspices of the cardinals who again tried solving the dispute between the two popes. But instead, they added to the problem by electing a third pope named Alexander V who reigned briefly from June 26, 1409, to his death in 1410, when he was succeeded by John XXIII.
     This third election threw the Church into more turmoil. There had been antipopes—rival claimants to the papacy – before, but most of them had been appointed by various rival factions; in this case, a single group of leaders of the Church had created both popes and antipopes. The conflict quickly escalated from a church problem to a diplomatic crisis that divided Europe. Secular leaders now had to choose which claimant they would recognize. The situation created by the cardinals and their antipopes helped prepare the way for the Reformation 100 years later.
     The teachings of Scripture that define Antichrist and his spirit are found in only four places:  three in the first epistle of John and one in his second (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:2-3; 2 John 1:7).
John indicates to us that the Antichrist possesses the following characteristics: 1) Antichrist is a liar, 2) denies that Jesus is the Christ, 3) denies both the Father and the Son, 4) denies that Christ has come in the flesh, and 5) is a deceiver. Obviously, the spirit of antichrist was present in the time of John and continues to our day. 
     Later, after John wrote about the antichrist, Tertullian (A. D. 155-222), two centuries prior to the fall of the Pagan Roman Empire spoke of the future antichrist who would come after Rome’s fall, and “whose separation into ten kingdoms will bring on Antichrist.”[5] This idea seems to have been generated from Daniel 7 and 8 and from Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica (in our lesson today on Thess 2:1-12). Many of the features in Paul’s description of the Antichrist are derived from the book of Daniel:
(1) “The man of lawlessness,” cf. Dan 7:25; 8:25.
(2) “the son of perdition,” cf. Dan 8:26.
(3) “the one who opposes,” cf. Dan 7:25
(4) “and exalts himself against everything (that is) called God or worshiped,” cf. Dan 7:8, 20, 25; 8:4, 10, 11.
(5) “so that he seats himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God,” cf. Dan 8:9–14.
     This is not surprising because “the little horn” of Daniel 7, the one which came up after the ten horns, is the Antichrist and “the little horn” of Daniel 8, the one which came out of the west, became the Roman papacy. With respect to the antichrist as pictured by Paul, the passage in 2 Thess 2:3b, 4 states the following: “the man of lawlessness.” This is a man or a system whose opposition to God’s law. The man of sin is the adversary of God’s law, of God’s people, of God Himself. This system is the very personification of rebellion against God. It is also called “the son of perdition” the final Judas (cf. John 17:12). The man of lawlessness is pictured here as utterly lost, designated unto perdition, the system of spiritual darkness. This is in contrast with the “sons of light” in I Thess 5:5. Children of the day are ones who receive Christ, the Light of the world. Christ is the “Sun of Righteousness.” Children of Light involves the message of grace.
    Paul wrote of the almost overwhelming delusion in the last days concerning Antichrist. “God will send them strong delusion” (2 Thess 2:10). The reason for the strong delusion is because people will refuse to “receive the love of the truth” but instead find their “pleasure in unrighteousness” (v 12). Pleasure takes place in the mind. The “pleasure of unrighteousness” takes the place of the pleasure of Christ and His righteousness.
     The term antichrist is made up of two words anti which means “in place of” or “against” and Christ. The end-time “Antichrist” is against Christ and His righteousness. He does this by presenting himself as Christ and the only means of salvation. Historically, the Papacy’s teaching was essentially that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Pope Gregory I (cited above) wrote, “The holy universal Church … asserts that all who are outside of her will not be saved.”[6] Given the fact that only 17.2% of the world population is Roman Catholic, this position seems to say about 83% of the world is condemned.
     The gospel of salvation by grace is at stake here. God’s word says that those who do “not receive the love of the truth” will not be saved. While it is true that Christ is “the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14; John 4:42; 1 Tim 4:10), those who refuse the love of this truth “as it is in Jesus,” as the only Savior of the world, reject this gift of salvation in Him. The delusion is that those who believe the lie about salvation choose Antichrist and his spirit of unrighteousness. Those who receive “the love of the truth, that they might be saved” will not be deceived. Have you received the “love” of the truth, the truth as it is in Jesus? To receive this is to be protected from the strong delusion that will overwhelm every person in the world who refuses the love of truth.
     The “Pleasure in unrighteousness” can be likened to a psychotropic drug such as alcohol that acts on the mind by giving an illusion of pleasure. Some people like the false feeling alcohol gives them. Habitual use of alcohol leads to stronger desire, even compulsion, to use it along with other drugs. Criminal activity can result because persons under the control of the power of alcohol can produce unpleasant or even dangerous behavior.
     There is a spiritual drink called the “wine of Babylon,” of which the book of Revelation warns. This metaphor represents the false teachings of Antichrist. Those who partake of these mind altering doctrines enjoy false feelings of “peace and safety.” They become drunk, dangerous, devilish. The “Loud Cry” message as recorded in Rev 18:1-4 declares the fall of Antichrist. Rev 17:2 specifies leaders of nations along with “the inhabitants of the earth (who) were made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” The whole world becomes drunk by imbibing this wine. “All the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
     And Rev 18:23 says that “all the nations” are deceived by her “sorcery.” In the original language the word “sorcery” is pharmakia from which comes the term pharmacy. Remember, Antichrist is a drug pushing dealer of illicit pharmaceuticals – the mind blowing doctrines of spiritually fallen and occult infested Babylon.
     But Before its destruction (2 Thess 2:8), God’s people will be called to separate from this Antichrist system by the true Christ through His message of grace and righteousness (Rev 18:4).

-Jerry Finneman

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[1] Cited by Robert Godfrey in the “What Still Divides Us?” debate and in his chapter in the book Sola Scriptura:     The Protestant Position on the Bible edited by Don Kistler (Soli Deo Gloria Publications, 1995), p. 14.

[2] Gregory I. Registrum Epistolarum, Book XIII, Letter 1. The Catholic Encyclopedia.

[3] Emma H. Adams, John Wycliffe, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Oakland, 1890.

[4] The Great Controversy, 1888 edition, p. 86.

[5] (Samuel J. Cassels, Christ and Antichrist, p. 12, Presbyterian Board of Publication, Philadelphia, 1846; extracted from De Resurrectione Carnis, ch. 24).
 

[6] Gregory the Great, quoted in Summo Iugiter Studio; The Papal Encyclicals, Vol. 1 (1740-1878), p. 230.
http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/Glossary.pdf