Short study notes

Who is the Son of Perdition?
(the anti-Christ, the false Messiah.)
Part 1a

No, Yahuah didn’t give me his name last night in a dream, but I’m still listening, waiting, and expecting to find out.

This short study is meant to glean from the scriptures that which is hidden, but is being made known for the sake of the elect. So that those who love the truth, should see it and believe.

"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 be revealed, the son of perdition." — 2 Thess. 2:3.

Thomas Manton, a 17^th Century Puritan preacher had a very practical thesis about the anti-Christ or more precisely, "the Son of Perdition."
Although during his time, reformers of the Protestant Reformation mostly saw the Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy as the universal apostasy and decay of the Christian religion, Manton did not necessarily see the RC Church as the beast (or false) religious system of the anti-Christ but, neither did he rule it out.

The reason for this is, "the man of sin" may not only mean just a single man, but it can also mean a succession of men, who belong to a certain "office" or perform a certain "duty." For example Manton points out;

'The high priest every year entereth into the holy place;' meaning not one, but the succession of the order; and in reason it must needs be so here [refering to the man of sin]. Because Antichrist, from his beginning to his end, from his rise and revelation, till his ruin and destruction, will take up such a long track of time, as cannot fall within the age of any one man, even from the time of the apostles till the end of the world. Antichrist is the head of the apostasy; for here the apostasy and the revelation of the man of sin are tied together; now the mysterious apostasy could not be perfected in a short time."

For the next title, "the Son of Perdition," Manton draws the comparison between the anti-Christ and Judas Iscariot, who Yahuahshua himself refers to as "the Son of Perdition." [John 17]
This is an important comparison because it is a clue to his identity. 
Manton draw certain parallels between the personal character of Judas Iscariot, compared with the Son of Perdition:

(1.) Judas was not a stranger, but a pretended friend and apostle: Acts 1:17, 'He was numbered with us, and obtained part of this ministry.' Turks and infidels are enemies to Christ, but Antichrist seeketh to undermine him, under a pretence of friendship; anticristoV is one in show for, and in effect against Christ, and the beast in the Revelation is said to 'push with the horns of the lamb,' Rev. 13:11. If he were a professed enemy, what mystery were there in it? But mystery was written upon the woman's forehead, Rev. 17:5; and here, ver. 7, 'The mystery of iniquity.' It is wisdom to discern the false prophet, Rev. 13:18, but there needeth no great wisdom to discover an open an professed adversary.

(2.) He sold Christ for a small matter. Omnia Romæ venalitas (In Rome everything is for sale): pardons, indulgences, freedom from purgatory, all to be bought with money; and it is a small matter, considering the things put to sale, the pardon of sins, the souls of men redeemed with Christ's precious blood. The antichristian state maketh a market of religion; truth is made to yield to commerce and profit.

(3.) Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss, under a pretence of honouring him: Luke 22:48, 'Jesus said unto him, Judas, betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?' Antichrist is a true adversary of Christ, though he pretend to adore him; as those that murdered the present prophets would by all means beautify the tombs of the prophets deceased, and bear a respect to their memories, Mat. 23:30. He pretendeth to be his servant, yea, a servant of servants, but is really his enemy.

(4.) Judas was a guide to them that came to take Christ; and one main work of Antichrist is to be a ringleader in persecuting for religion. Christ is in heaven, death hath no more power over him; his natural body is above abuse, but his mystical body still suffereth: Acts 9:6, 'Why persecutest thou me?' Antichrist is the head of the persecuting state, others are his emissaries and agents, to take Christ in his members. It is a political religion, that must be carried on with worldly artifices, with power and cruelty.

He makes a very important point in the last two sentences (above). "Anti-Christ is the head of a persecuting state......it is a political religion...."
It has been theorized that the ulterior motive of the apostle Judas Iscariot was that he would rise within the ranks of a new Political-Religious State that Christ would bring about. Judas did not see Christ as the promised messiah of Yhwh. He saw him as someone he could use to gain political power and social standing. The next Son of Perdition will do the same.

As Thomas Manton explained; "the apostasy was made for anti-Christ; with anti-Christ rising upon the apostasy he becomes the man of sin, and the man of sin is also the son of perdition."

As a side note:
Because we live in a time of genetic and bio-engineering, another question we must ask is this, Is Judas Iscariot coming back? Since he was the first Son of Perdition, is he the one to be resurrected as the anti-Christ or last Son of Perdition? 
Consider this scripture verse, which contains (at least in my mind) a curious statement:

[Matthias takes Judas Iscariot's place] "That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place." Acts 1:25 (KJV)

What does that mean exactly, "that he might go to his own place?" Did he not go to death, the grave or Hades (which are the usual locations mentioned)?
In NT Greek, the words are translated as;

he might go -   4198 poreuomai, to traverse, i.e. travel (KJV-depart, go)

to -1519 eis (ice); a primary preposition; to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose. 

his own - 2398 idios (id'-ee-os); of uncertain affinity; pertaining toself, i.e. one's own; by implication, private or separate: 

place - 5117 topos (top'-os); apparently a primary word; a spot (general in space, but limited by occupancy; whereas {in contrast} 5561 is a large but participle locality), i.e. location (as a position, home, tract, etc.); figuratively, condition, opportunity; specifically, a scabbard: 

So then, did Judas Iscariot  "travel to a separate spot" to be recalled later?

Continuing with Thomas Manton; Then what is the falling away?

The scriptures say:

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of Yhwh.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
And those who are Mashiyach’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Gal 5:17-26 (NKJ)

So then in order to become a true believer, and be lead by the Spirit of Yahuah, we must put away all of the lusts of the flesh that would rule over us. We must walk with Yahuah and not in our own way. Once we, as a body of believers, have learned to walk in this way, what would the "falling away" be but a reversal of our commitment to Yahuah and a subsequent return to living life according to the flesh.

These are some of the causes and reasons for leaving:

A Lack of Faith

A Lack of Love

A Love of the present world

The Love of Money

The Love of Pleasure

The reason I wanted to use Thomas Manton’s analogy of the Son of Perdition is because in our day, I’ve seen a number of people draw the conclusion that Anti-Christ will bring together the world’s religions; perhaps even forming a hybrid religion, from a mixture of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Manton saw this quite differently by assessing that the imposter would arise within Christianity, appearing to be a servant of Christ, just as Judas Iscariot played the same role.

As I touched on in my other writings (named above) I am personally convinced that the work of the Son of Perdition, which is describe in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 as the "strong delusion" sent by Yahuah himself, will be much more than a mere man walking into the rebuilt stone temple of Solomon, and declaring himself to be "a god," or "the god." But rather, he will "prove" himself to be "a god."

"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 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. II Th 2:3-4

Look at a break down of the original Greek word meanings of 2Th 2:2, it reveals the truth.

so that he [ a reflexive pronoun]

as God [theos, a deity]

sitteth [kathiz, to seat down, to sit, to settle (hover, dwell)].

in the temple [naos, to dwell; a fane, shrine, temple].

of God, [theos, a deity]

shewing [apodeiknumi, to show off, exhibit; to demonstrate, accredit, prove, set forth, shew.

himself [ a reflexive pronoun]

that he is [eimi, emphatic, I exist (as)]

God [theos, a deity]

The important distinction made here (in the wording) between the Son of Perdition and those who merely claim to be " a god" (like Antioch Epiphanies) is that the Son of Perdition (the anti-Christ) will prove it! How can someone prove they are a deity, or even the Creator? The answer is, he will be immortal, and he will be able to impart this immortality to others if they will but worship him.

This is Satan’s Genesis temptation presented all over again:

".... in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods,...Gen 3:5

If you have read my other writings, you know then that I believe the scriptures draw a distinction between an "immortal body" (one that does not have to die, but can) a "mortal body" (one that will die) and an "eternal body" or one that can never die, because eternal life can never be taken away.

The eternal body is the one Yahuahshua received when he presented himself before the Father, perfect and sinless. This will not be the body offered by the Son of Perdition. Through genetic engineering (and Bio-Chemistry) scientists will discover the gene sequencing that produces an immortal body, or a seemingly immortal body. I say seemingly because I believe once a person begins the gene therapy, and starts down the road to procuring the alleged immortal body, those men who do so will become dependent upon some type of pharmaceutical drugs or therapy that can't be stopped. As I mentioned before, I believe this therapy will even begin to noticeable reverse the aging process, making those who use the drug (therapy) look and feel younger. It may even improve intelligence, perception, and especially, spirituality (in an evil sense).

In my opinion, all this will be going on before the temple is rebuilt. I say this because if the temple were being rebuilt at this time, most Christians (even the general public) would know the medical procedure/therapy was a deception from the anti-Christ.

I could probably visit any number of Churches in town, walk up on the stage and declare "the anti-Christ has been revealed" and most if not all of the congregation would say I was lying because Solomon’s temple has not yet been rebuilt.

Since part of the delusion suffered by the apostate Church is to not recognize their own condition, that they are indeed apostate, what sort of counsel or wisdom have  they have relied upon to make the rebuilding of Solomon’s temple the primary indicator for the revealing of anti-Christ and the start of the tribulation? 
The Son of Perdition will live before the temple is rebuilt (if it is rebuilt). He is most likely walking among us today.

The greater deception (abomination) will be the immortal life he creates (through science) that lives in the polluted sanctuary of his devoid body, devoid of a spirit because he will be a clone, or some type of biologically engineered creature.

Look and see!! The scriptures reveal openly the role that Pharmaceutical companies will play in the delusion, which is the immortal life deception.

Rev 18:23 (KJV)

And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee:

were the great men [3176 megistos (meg'-is-tos); superlative of 3173; greatest or very great:]

for by thy sorceries [5331 pharmakeia (far-mak-i'-ah); from 5332; medication ("pharmacy"), i.e. (by extension) magic (literally or figuratively): KJV-- sorcery, witchcraft. 5332 pharmakeus (far-mak-yoos');from pharmakon (a drug, i.e. spell-giving potion); a druggist ("pharmacist") or poisoner, i.e. (by extension) a magician: KJV-- sorcerer.

[That is - all nations were deceived. This is worldwide distribution]

Some people have asked me, what of Ezekiel’s prophecy about the third temple?

I believe Ezekiel’s temple, or the third temple is the temple and tabernacle of Yhwh that is part of the New Jerusalem. By his own measurements, Ezekiel’s temple is 5 miles wide and 8 miles long. It is much bigger than Solomon’s original Temple, and would certainly not fit atop Mount Moriah.

And then there is this verse:

And he [the Son of Perdition] shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. Dan 11:45 (KJV)

Between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, in the glorious holy mountain, could that be Zion?

I wonder about this because the scriptures show us that David built his Palace first, on Mount Zion. Solomon built his Palace on Mount Zion before he built the temple of Yahuah on Mount Moriah. Herod also had his palace on Mt Zion. If by example the scriptures are showing us that the Palace gets built before the temple does, the Son of Perdition may also build his Palace first (Dan 11:45) while promising to build the temple next. 

[Mount Zion is only several hundred feet away from Mount Moriah].

I ask you to reconsider your position regarding the rebuilding of the temple, because it could all be a ruse orchestrated by the Son of Perdition. If it is, the usual timetable assigned to the tribulation, as it relates to the rebuilding of the temple, will be miscalculated. 

The people will be deceived into accepting the "immortal life therapy" and mark of the beast (the two are inter-related) because the temple has not been rebuilt, yet the timetable may have in fact started, right underneath everyone’s eyes.

PS - Some have asked me to clarify my position, asking me why I don't just outright say that Solomon's stone temple will NOT be rebuilt, instead of saying "it probably or most likely" will not be rebuilt. Simply put, I see a political tool much too powerful not to be utilized in some way by the Son of Perdition. The temple is something most (if not all) Jews want, and over 250 million Arab neighbors do not want. A large number of Christians want the temple to be rebuilt because they see it as a pivotal factor in the return of Christ. Politicians worldwide consider Jerusalem and Mount Moriah a symbol to be used in weilding their power and influence. All of this is just too much for the anti-Christ to ignore. The bottom line is though, Christ said the new temple is the body. 

go to Part 1b

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