“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.”
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come,] except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin (man of lawlessness) be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.“
“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?“
“And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.“
“For the mystery of iniquity(lawlessness) doth already work: only he who now letteth (restrains) [will let (restrain),] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked (lawless one) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:“
“[Even him,] whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-12
The mystery of iniquity or lawlessness was already at work when Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonian church. He said, “for the mystery of iniquity doth already work“.
On a timeline this would be sometime before 100 AD.
The working of the mystery of iniquity is what was going to lead to the revelation of that wicked once the restrainer was removed. And once that wicked was come he was to continue and only to be destroyed at the coming of Christ by Christ’s brightness.
Let us think about this for a little bit here.
If this wicked one was to appear in 200AD. It would mean from that time he was to exist until the second coming of Christ. As of the writing of this article it is 2024. That would mean the man of sin would continue or be in existence for over 1900 years.
Again if this wicked one was to appear in 500AD it would mean that from that time he would continue until the second coming of Christ. Again that would be over 1500 years of continued existence.
Finally if he appeared in 2024 AD that would mean from that time he would continue until the coming of Christ would be in the future. How many year from the current day no one know. This also means that for the past 1900 years we were in the phase where, as Paul stated over 1900 years ago, the mystery of iniquity was at work.
Now having these scenarios in mind let us ask a few questions that would guide our study in this article, Is the mystery of iniquity still working till today? Are we still waiting for the revelation of that wicked one? For sure we know we are still waiting for the second coming of Christ. That has not yet come. Nonetheless, in the past 1900 years are we sure the man of lawlessness has not appeared? Have we looked through the pages of history to ascertain this? Or are we resting on the presumption that he has not without doing our due diligence to confirm it?
Armed with these questions in mind that we turn to the testimonies of the early fathers to get their understanding and expectation concerning these things and see where they lead us.
The Testimony of Ignatius ~ AD 98 – AD 117
“The last times are come upon us. Let us therefore be of a reverent spirit, and fear the long-suffering of God, that it tend not to our condemnation.” {PFF1 209.1}
“Weigh carefully the times. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible, yet who became visible for our sakes.” {PFF1 209.2}
“Let not those who seem worthy of credit, but teach strange doctrines, fill thee with apprehension. Stand firm, as does an anvil which is beaten. It is the part of a noble athlete to be wounded, and yet to conquer. And especially we ought to bear all things for the sake of God, that He also may bear with us, and bring us into His kingdom. Add more and more to thy diligence; run thy race with increasing energy; weigh carefully the times. Whilst thou art here, be a conqueror; for here is the course, and there are the crowns. Look for Christ, the Son of God; who was before time, yet appeared in time; who was invisible by nature, yet visible in the flesh.” {PFF1 209.3}
Weigh carefully the times was the admonition of Ignatius to the saints of his time. And whilst they looked for Christ they were not to be filled with apprehension over those that taught strange doctrines.
Please note that as early as the times of the Ignatius there were strange doctrines being taught in the church. (The times of the early church were not as pure in terms of doctrine as often assumed.) This is consistent with the Scriptures themselves. See 2nd Tim 2:17, 18; 1st Cor 15:12; 3rd John 1:9, 10; 2nd John 1:7-10.
There were corrupting influences upon the church already at work which the people needed to be guarded against. Truly the mystery of iniquity was at work.
The Testimony of Barnabas ~ AD 70 – AD 150
“For the Lord made known to us by His prophets things past and present, giving us likewise the firstfruits of the taste of things future. And seeing each of these things severally coming to pass, according as He spake, we ought to offer a richer and higher offering to the fear of Him. But I, not as though I were a teacher, but as one of yourselves, will show forth a few things, whereby ye shall be gladdened in the present circumstances.” {PFF1 210.2}
“It behoves us therefore to investigate deeply concerning the present, and to search out the things which have power to save us. Let us therefore flee altogether from all the works of lawlessness, lest the works of lawlessness overpower us; and let us loathe the error of the present time, that we may be loved for that which is to come…,” {PFF1 210.4}
“The last offence is at hand, concerning which the scripture speaketh, as Enoch saith. “For to this end the Master hath cut the seasons and the days short, that His beloved might hasten and come to His inheritance.” {PFF1 210.4}
And the prophet also speaketh on this wise; “Ten reigns shall reign upon the earth, and after them shall arise a little king, who shall bring low three of the kings under one.” {PFF1 210.4}
In like manner Daniel speaketh concerning the same; “And I saw the fourth beast to be wicked and strong and more intractable than all the beasts of the earth, and how there arose from him ten horns, and from these a little horn, an excrescence, and how that it abased under one three of the great horns.” {PFF1 210.4}
Ye ought therefore to understand.” {PFF1 210.4}
“Wherefore let us take heed in these last days. For the whole time of our faith shall profit us nothing, unless we now, in the season of lawlessness and in the offences that shall be, as becometh sons of God, offer resistance, that the black one may not effect an entrance.” {PFF1 211.2}
But he continues his exhortation…
“Let us flee from all vanity, let us entirely hate the works of the evil way …. Let us become spiritual, let us become a temple perfect unto God. As far as in us lies, let us exercise ourselves in the fear of God, (and) let us strive to keep His commandments, that we may rejoice in His ordinances.” {PFF1 211.2}
“For he that doeth these things shall be glorified in the kingdom of God; whereas he that chooseth their opposites shall perish together with his works. For this cause is the resurrection, for this the recompense. I entreat those of you who are in higher station, if ye will receive any counsel of good advice from me, keep amongst you those to whom ye may do good. Fail not. The day is at hand, in which everything shall be destroyed together with the Evil One. The Lord is at hand and His reward:” {PFF1 211.6}
Let us break it down.
Firstly, it should be noted that Barnabas is reasoning from the words of 2 Thessalonians. Such phrases make that evident:
- “Let us therefore flee altogether from all the works of lawlessness, lest the works of lawlessness overpower us; and let us loathe the error of the present time” – “For the mystery of iniquity(lawlessness) doth already work”
- “…we now, in the season of lawlessness…” – “For the mystery of iniquity(lawlessness) doth already work”
- “The day is at hand, in which everything shall be destroyed together with the Evil One” – “And then shall that wicked (lawless one) be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.”
In addition, when speaking of the present time as a time of working of lawlessness, he understand that there is something coming or is at hand, which he calls the ‘last offence’. In the context of the coming of this last offence, he cites a prophecy concerning the reigning of ten kings and the rise of a little one before whom three are plucked up.
Similarly from another angle, when speaking of being in the season of lawlessness or when the mystery of lawlessness is working he exhorts the saints to mount up a resistance against the coming ‘black one’ that he may not gain an entrance.
“For the mystery of iniquity(lawlessness) doth already work: only he who now restrains [will restrain,] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that wicked(lawless one) be revealed“
Based on correlation, there is good ground to see that the ‘black one’ being referred to by Barnabas is the ‘that wicked’, and is also the ‘last offence’. The last offence was also seemingly understood to be connected with rise of little one.
This would effectually connect ‘that wicked’ that Paul speaks about to the little horn of Daniel 7.
Now let’s turn our minds to another early church father.
The Testimony of Iranaeus Of Gaul ~ AD 130 – AD 202
Iranaeus picks us up at Daniel 7. Just where Barnabas left us. He goes into more detail respecting Daniel 7 fourth beast where the little horn is found. He speaks thus…
“Daniel too, looking forward to the end of the last kingdom, (i.e., the ten last kings, amongst whom the kingdom of those men shall be partitioned, and upon whom the son of perdition shall come,) declares that ten horns shall spring from the beast, and that another little horn shall arise in the midst of them, and that three of the former shall be rooted up before his face.” {PFF1 246.4}
He says: “And, behold, eyes were in this horn as the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things, and his look was more stout than his fellows. I was looking, and this horn made war against the saints, and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came and gave judgment to the saints of the most high God, and the time came, and the saints obtained the kingdom.”
“Then, further on, in the interpretation of the vision, there was said to him:”
“The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall excel all other kingdoms, and devour the whole earth, and tread it down, and cut it in pieces. And its ten horns are ten kings which shall arise; and after them shall arise another, who shall surpass in evil deeds all that were before him, and shall overthrow three kings; and he shall speak words against the most high God, and wear out the saints of the most high God, and shall purpose to change times and laws; and [everything] shall be given into his hand until a time of times and a half time,” that is, for three years and six months, during which time, when he comes, he shall reign over the earth.” {PFF1 248.1}
“Of whom also the Apostle Paul again, speaking in the second [Epistle] to the Thessalonians, and at the same time proclaiming the cause of his advent, thus says: “And then shall the wicked one be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the spirit of His mouth, and destroy by the presence of His coming; whose coming [i.e., the wicked one’s] is after the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and portents of lies, and with all deceivableness of wickedness for those who perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And therefore God will send them the working of error, that they may believe a lie; that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but gave consent to iniquity,” {PFF1 246.4} {PFF1 248.1}
Upto this point, let us state a few things before we carry on.
The little horn was to appear towards the end of the fourth kingdom.
It was to appear when the fourth kingdom have divided into 10 parts having 10 kings ruling over it.
When the little horn appeared he was to reign over the earth for three years and 6 months. In Hebrew days that would 1260 days.
Again, just like Barnabas, Iranaeus matches this little horn to that wicked in 2nd Thessalonians.
There seems to be an understanding among these early church fathers that when Paul spoke of that wicked in 2nd Thessalonians he was making reference to Daniel 7 little horn that came up on the fourth beast.
This has the following implications. They understood they were living during the period of the fourth beast. Essentially three kingdoms had already come and fallen, they were under the rule of the fourth beast and they were currently waiting for the manifestation of the little horn.
So upto this point we see that Iranaeus had brought us back from Daniel 7 to 2 Thessalonians. Let us see where he takes us from here.
“For when he (Antichrist) is come, and of his own accord concentrates in his own person the apostasy, and accomplishes whatever he shall do according to his own will and choice, sitting also in the temple of God, so that his dupes may adore him as the Christ; wherefore also shall he deservedly ‘be cast into the lake of fire:’ [this will happen according to divine appointment, God by His prescience foreseeing all this, and at the proper time sending such a man, ‘that they may believe a lie, that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but consented to unrighteousness;’ whose coming John has thus described in the Apocalypse: ‘And the beast which I had seen was like unto a leopard, and his feet as of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon conferred his own power upon him, and his throne, and great might.”’ {PFF1 247.2}
Let us crunch this paragraph. More verses have been tied in the topical discussion of the antichrist or that wicked, namely;
- “be cast into the lake of fire” – Rev 19:20
- “And the beast which I had seen was like unto a leopard, and his feet as of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion; and the dragon conferred his own power upon him, and his throne, and great might.” – Rev 13:2
The destruction of the man of sin based on 2nd Thessalonians is said to be like so
“whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:“
Iranaeus alongside this description of the destruction of the antichrist brings in another from the book of Revelation, “be cast into the lake of fire” Rev 19:20
In addition, he ties the first beast of Revelation 13 to the description of the that wicked or antichrist.
In effect this would mean that they understood, Daniel 7’s little horn, that wicked in 2 Thessalonians and the first beast in Rev 13 to all be speaking about the same power or entity.
Now let us turn to yet another church father…
The Testimony of Tertullian AD 160-240
“‘For that day shall not come, unless indeed there first come a falling away,’ he [Paul] means indeed of this present empire, `and that man of sin be revealed,’ that is to say, Antichrist, ‘the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or religion; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, affirming that he is God. Remember ye not, that when I was with you, I used to tell you these things? And now ye know what detaineth, that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now hinders must hinder, until he be taken out of the way.’ What obstacle is there but the Roman state, the falling away of which, by being scattered into ten kingdoms, shall introduce Antichrist upon (its own ruins)? ‘And then shall be revealed the wicked one, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish.’” {PFF1 257.3}
“There is also another and a greater necessity for our offering prayer in behalf of the emperors, nay, for the complete stability of the empire and for Roman interests in general. For we know that a mighty shock impending over the whole earth—in fact, the very end of all things threatening dreadful woes—is only retarded by the continued existence of the Roman empire. We have no desire, then, to be overtaken by these dire events; and in praying that their coming may be delayed, we are lending our aid to Rome’s duration.” {PFF1 258.5}
The restraining power in his day that prevented the revelation of the man of lawlessness or anti-christ it is stated was the current pagan Roman state. He urged people to pray for its continuance and stability because once it fell and was broken up into 10 smaller kingdom, the anti-christ would rise upon its ruins.
This church father gives us a better understanding of the phrase,
“For the mystery of iniquity(lawlessness) doth already work: only he who now letteth (restrains) [will let (restrain),] until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked (lawless one) be revealed“
And not only so but he ties it into the passage of Daniel 7 when he reference Rome falling and divided into 10 parts. The later of end of the fourth kingdom there were 10 kings that rose.
He also makes marks this pre-requisite of the fall of Rome and its division into 10 parts as necessary before the revelation of that wicked.
It also becomes clear that in their day the Roman state had not yet fallen and divided into 10 kingdoms but they understood that in the future the Roman kingdom would fall and divide into parts with 10 kings. After this happens they knew the anti-christ would rise on the ruins of the divided Roman state for Daniel 7 prophecy said he would rise after the 10 kings and pluck up three.
Understanding this they prayed for the continuance of the Roman state so far as to delay the revelation of the man of sin.
Now let us look at our final early church father
The Testimony of Hippolytus AD 236
“1. In speaking of a ‘lioness from the sea,’ he (Daniel) meant the rising of the kingdom of Babylon, and that this was the ‘golden head of the image.’ … Then after the lioness he sees a second beast, ‘like a bear,’ which signified the Persians. For after the Babylonians the Persians obtained the power. And in saying that ‘it had three ribs in its mouth,’ he pointed to the three nations, Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were expressed in the image by the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, ‘a leopard,’ which means the Greeks; for after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast ‘had four wings of a fowl, and four heads,’ he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander, when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, ‘The fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws of brass.’ Who, then, are meant by this but the Romans, whose kingdom, the kingdom that still stands, is expressed by the iron? ‘for,’ says he, ‘its legs are of iron.”” {PFF1 272.2}
“Let us look at what is before us more carefully, and scan it, as it were, with open eye. The ‘golden head of the image’ is identical with the lioness,’ by which the Babylonians were represented. ‘The golden shoulders and the arms of silver’ are the same with the ‘bear,’ by which the Persians and Medes are meant. ‘The belly and thighs of brass’ are the ‘leopard,’ by which the Greeks who ruled from Alexander onwards are intended. The legs of iron’ are the ‘dreadful and terrible beast,’ by which the, Romans who hold the empire now are meant. The ‘toes of clay and iron’ are the ‘ten horns’ which are to be. The ‘one other little horn springing up in their midst’ is the ‘antichrist.’ The stone that smites the image and breaks it in pieces,’ and that filled the whole earth, is Christ, who comes from heaven and brings judgment on the world.” {PFF1 272.4}
Hippolytus gives a quick ran down of the kingdoms in the book of Daniel. He show that both Daniel 2 and Daniel 7 address the same subject; the kingdoms to reign on the earth until the second coming of Christ. He traces exactly where he stands in history and tells us of the events that he awaits to be fulfilled, as can be seen in the following words:
“The legs of iron, and the beast dreadful and terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present; the toes of the feet which were part clay and part iron, and the ten horns, were emblems of the kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their midst; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the world was Christ.” {PFF1 273.2}
Summary
Through the testimonies of these early church fathers we get a glimpse into the prophetic understanding of their time. It is clear they knew of the present apostasy in their day, “the mystery of lawlessness doth already work”. And strove to resist it lest they be overcome by the man of lawlessness who was coming because of lawlessness.
There was with some an understanding that the restraining power was the Roman state (pagan Roman state). They understood that the fall and division of the Roman state would usher the little horn power upon its ruins. The little horn Roman power they knew to be the man of sin that Paul talks about in 2nd Thessalonians which would be destroyed at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Following this understanding, we ask, is the Roman state still reigning? We answer, No. We go further and ask, Did the Roman State really disintegrate into 10 kingdoms? If yes, were three uprooted? Upon the ruins of the Roman state was the little horn of man of sin to arise, did this really happen? Do we know?
“These things, beloved, we impart to you with fear, and yet readily, on account of the love of Christ, which surpasseth all. For if the blessed prophets who preceded us did not choose to proclaim these things, though they knew them, openly and boldly, lest they should disquiet the souls of men, but recounted them mystically in parables and dark sayings, speaking thus, ‘Here is the mind which hath wisdom,’ how much greater risk shall we run in venturing to declare openly things spoken by them in obscure terms!” {PFF1 273.3}