Tag: naming

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; however, only when restraint is removed shall the lawless one be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the Spirit of his mouth.

In The Glory of Kings I mention that not only does grace abound where sin abounds, but sin abounds where grace abounds. If we are now living in Zechariah’s capstone generation, those to whom is given the declaration of, “Grace, grace“, then it makes sense that this is also the generation to whom the Man of Sin is revealed.

Previously we examined the concept of God forming, with the thought that this forming produces boundaries. Boundaries can also be thought of as restraints. They keep what is inside separate from what is outside. They also bind to a specific shape. When this barrier of forming is removed, things which have been previously kept from men will be released – both the good and the evil.

This assault on forming happens as a series of five elements. These elements are also known as the first five of the Ten Commandments.

1. You shall not alter that which fills God.
2. You shall not form nor worship created form.
3. You shall not fill with unrighteousness.
4. You shall keep the seventh holy.
5. You shall honour God and the Jewish people.

The most recognizable sign of this man of sin is that his power comes out of breaking these restraints, and, as we have just looked at in the last post, relationship is created by a process of coming out of. So his relationship and that of those that follow him is established and fixed by this breaking. Let us make a quick examination of these five restraints.

That which goes before is that which fills. In God’s case we find this in the description He Who Is, and Was, and Is To Come. Was determines form – read the last post for more info. That which goes before are Is and Is To Come. This man of sin is described as he who was and is not. That Was is the form of God, but that which fills has been altered.

Forming is solely the occupation of God at present. We are told that the inhabitants of the earth are deceived and they form an image of the man of sin. This image is filled with an unrighteous spirit through the misuse of the power of naming, and those who will not worship this created form are put to death. This man of sin blasphemes God, and brings upon the Jews a time of anguish the like of which has never been seen before, as the Holy Spirit tells Daniel.

In the case of the course of human history, the seventh is the millennial period. The purpose of this breaking of restraint is an attempt to control the seventh. It is out of the seventh that the eternal comes, and this man of sin desires to put his stamp on eternity by bringing about form out of himself. We also know that this is the time of the revealing of the man of sin, for it is the time when the threshold into the seventh is being crossed (see The Glory of Kings for details).