Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3
The coming of our Lord Jesus Christ mentioned here should not be mistaken for the second coming, which will happen in the closing of the Great Tribulation period. In his first epistle to them, Paul had told them of the rapture of the saints, and asked them to comfort one another with that knowledge. In this second epistle, he addresses a problem that the brethren had because some people had told them that the rapture, which is a gathering together unto the Lord, had taken place. So, naturally, they were distressed because, if that was true, then, they had missed what was supposed to be their comfort.
In Paul's response to their distress, he wrote to remind them of what he had taught them about the day of Christ. This day of Christ pertains only to the believers, it is a day in which He will come to take to Himself His church. He told them not to be deceived because that day will not come unless the falling away first comes. What Paul called the falling away must happen before the man of sin is revealed. In other words, the falling away will be the cause of the revelation of the man of sin and not the effect of the revelation of the man of sin. To fall away implies that the one who falls away was once standing, because one cannot fall away from what he never belonged to.
Let's consider the use of the word, revealed, and understand that when something is revealed, it becomes openly known to all. So, when the man of sin is revealed in any age his identity will cease to be a secret. If we bear this in mind, then, we can rightly ascertain whether or not he has been revealed in our time. This man who the apostle Paul called the man of sin, has not been revealed in our time, therefore, any speculation about who he may be is a vane endeavour. Very clearly, from what Apostle Paul said, in the age that he is revealed, all know him.
Toni
