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(3) let not any one deceive you in any manner, because -- if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed -- the son of the destruction, (4) who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God -- `the day doth not come'. (5) Do ye not remember that, being yet with you, these things I said to you? (6) and now, what is keeping down ye have known, for his being revealed in his own time, (7) for the secret of the lawlessness doth already work, only he who is keeping down now `will hinder' -- till he may be out of the way, (8) and then shall be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the manifestation of his presence, (9) `him,' whose presence is according to the working of the Adversary, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders, (10) and in all deceitfulness of the unrighteousness in those perishing, because the love of the truth they did not receive for their being saved,
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(8) `I was considering about the horns, and lo, another horn, a little one, hath come up between them, and three of the first horns have been eradicated from before it, and lo, eyes as the eyes of man `are' in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.
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(21) `I was seeing, and this horn is making war with the saints, and hath prevailed over them,
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(25) and words as an adversary of the Most High it doth speak, and the saints of the Most High it doth wear out, and it hopeth to change seasons and law; and they are given into its hand, till a time, and times, and a division of a time.
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(11) And I saw another beast coming up out of the land, and it had two horns, like a lamb, and it was speaking as a dragon,
(12) and all the authority of the first beast doth it do before it, and it maketh the land and those dwelling in it that they shall bow before the first beast, whose deadly stroke was healed,
(13) and it doth great signs, that fire also it may make to come down from the heaven to the earth before men,
(14) and it leadeth astray those dwelling on the land, because of the signs that were given it to do before the beast, saying to those dwelling upon the land to make an image to the beast that hath the stroke of the sword and did live,
(15) and there was given to it to give a spirit to the image of the beast, that also the image of the beast may speak, and `that' it may cause as many as shall not bow before the image of the beast, that they may be killed.
(16) And it maketh all, the small, and the great, and the rich, and the poor, and the freemen, and the servants, that it may give to them a mark upon their right hand or upon their foreheads,
(17) and that no one may be able to buy, or to sell, except he who is having the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
(18) Here is the wisdom! He who is having the understanding, let him count the number of the beast, for the number of a man it is, and its number `is' 666.
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(20) and the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet who did the signs before him, in which he led astray those who did receive the mark of the beast, and those who did bow before his image; living they were cast -- the two -- to the lake of the fire, that is burning with brimstone;
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Paul wrote II Thessalonians to correct a false impression held by the members of the church in Thessalonica. He did this by telling them what Christ had revealed to him regarding the "gathering together with Christ" of those dead in Christ and those remaining alive when He returned. He opens by foretelling, first of all, that Christ's return will be preceded by a period of apostasy that could include anything from a falling away, a departure from doctrine or teaching, all the way to and including an outright political rebellion. The second sign would be the appearance of the man of sin. This person has four different names or titles, but all of them are described similarly: the man of sin (II Thessalonians 2:3-10), the little horn (Daniel 7:8), the two-horned lamb who spoke like a dragon (Revelation 13:11-18), and the false prophet (Revelation 19:20). The description in each location is not exactly alike, but each adds to what the other gives. Consider this summary of comparisons. In each case, the person described appears at the time of the end. This is the one piece of information that every one of them has in common. In three of the four, his end—his destruction or annihilation—comes at the return of Jesus Christ (Daniel 7:8-9; II Thessalonians 2:3; Revelation 19:20). In three of the four, it directly states or strongly implies the person speaks with great pompous words (Daniel 7:8-9; II Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 13:11-14). In three of the four, it directly states the person does miraculous, supernatural signs (II Thessalonians 2:9; Revelation 13:13-15; Revelation 19:20). In two of them, the signs are done in the presence of the Beast, showing they are not the same figure (Revelation 13:13-15; 19:20). In two of them, he deceives and leads people into idolatry (II Thessalonians 2:4,9-10; Revelation 13:12,14). In two of them, he either makes war against the saints or causes those who would not worship the beast to be put to death (Daniel 7:21; Revelation 13:15). In two of them, he either thinks to change times and law—suggesting the law of God—or he sets himself in the Temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. The implication is that he has the authority to do these things (Daniel 7:25; II Thessalonians 2:4). In two of them, his period of greatest influence is three and a half years (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5). All of these scriptures are describing the same person. The Bible shows that this person—the man of sin—has a direct connection to a large political power and has a religious influence. It should be understood that we are dealing with a personage and with prophecies of global significance.
— John W. Ritenbaugh
To learn more, see:
A Place of Safety? (Part 4)
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