The Mystery of Iniquity
63
1 We ask you, brothers, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling with him, not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly, or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," 2 or by an oral statement, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand. Let no one deceive you in any way. For unless the apostasy comes first and the lawless one is revealed, 3 the one doomed to perdition,who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so as to seat himself in the temple of God, 4 claiming that he is a god-- do you not recall that while I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, 5 that he may be revealed in his time. 6 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord (Jesus) will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming, [...].
(2 Thess 2: 1-8)
The mystery of iniquity is one of the central teachings of Revelation concerning the end times. At the core of it, stands the man of lawlessness, the man of sin who is to take his place at the top of the world governmental superstructure.
As the Apostle St Paul states, in the end times the mystery of iniquity, of man's lawlessness and rebellion towards God will be revealed, and the seal to be broken so to speak. It signals the time of the final and complete understanding of the plan of salvation. At the heart of this rebellion, stands the man of sin, who elevates himself above all that is God.
In the current times, many are the voices that purport to see in the happenings of the post-modern world, signs of the End and of the imminent Second Coming of the Christ. In many respects, the signs have always been there, have always been part of humanity. However, it is in their degree of malice and pride that they are currently reaching the paroxysm of the Evil that must make part of the Last Days of Evil on the earth.
Thus, mankind is in all respects, living in its last moments on the plane of earthly reality. One can tell even as the rhythm of life seems to increasingly speed up, as civilization lunges ever forward towards that uncertain goal that is Progress and a life of happiness and commodity on earth. The signs are thus, here, visible for the eyes to see and available for scrutiny.
For the man of lawlessness to appear, the restrainer is to be lifted. In truth, the man who holds back his appearance, is the representative of faith, the representative of God and thus the embodiment of God's Divine Presence and Solicitude. For the man of sin to appear, the Great Apostasy, the falling away of the faithful must occur. And it is precisely the Faith of the 'restrainer' which prevents it and holds it back from its full gravity. Once this restrainer, this mystical shield is lifted, the final Apostasy occurs, preparing the way for the Son of Perdition.
As the current socio-political climate is examined, it can be seen that the Apostasy already is taking place. In fact, the conditions for the man who is Anti of Christ to appear, are already present. Most of all, the possibility of a real and tangible global super-structure to exist may now be an achievable reality. All in all, man is preparing and yearning in his desires, his passions and his way of life for the appearance of this man, who will appear to emancipate humanity from the enslavement of its passions and the cursedness of ignorance. The man of Sin will not only be a Super-man but also a Man of Peace.
He will propose solutions, in a time of ecological and socio-economic distress, in order to bring order to a disordered world, in search of its identity, in need of solutions, in quest of a savior. He will be the savior, the messiah of a world in agony. In truth, he will be just what the world has been yearning for, at first ...
