In doing some exegesis of 2 Thessalonians for a Greek Exegesis class, I was pondering 2 Thessalonians 2:6-12, specifically verse 9.
The coming of the lawless one (the man of sin -ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας) will be marked by “all power and signs and false wonders” (πάσῃ δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις καὶ τέρασιν ψεύδους).
In the end, a man will show up and perform lying/false miracles and have much power and perform many signs.
Recently listening to debates between theists and atheists, I’ve heard the theist (or the Q&A people) ask the atheist “What WOULD be reason enough for you to believe?”
The atheist seems to always say, “well, if god were to show up right now, and perform a miracle, like make the pulpit fly around the room or lop off my arm and re-attach it, I would believe.”
Ironically, in the end the atheists will all get exactly the “proof” of the existence of God that they’re looking for. Ironically, that “proof” will be the powerful deception of 2 Thessalonians 2:11 that will lead them to “believe” in Satan’s false workman.
In the end, all the atheists WILL be converted…to belief in the workman of Satan as the Messiah.
If some dude were to show up in a debate and perform miracles like that, the one thing I know is that he IS NOT Jesus, or God.
The same data that would hypothetically convince the atheist would utterly not convince the biblically informed Christian.
Just a little point of reflection.
Until Next Time,
The Armchair Theologian
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