The Great Counterfeiter

In 2 Thessalonians 2 Paul is writing about the end times, the coming of Jesus and the revealing of the “lawless one” whom I think most bible interpreters understand to be the Antichrist. There are many interesting things in this chapter. One that sticks out to me is verses 3-4: 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, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Perhaps the devil’s most effective strategy is that of counterfeiting. Satan has not ever had an original thought. Rather, he takes the good things that God gives and counterfeits them, making them sin. He does this with sex. God gave it as a gift to a man and a woman in marriage and Satan counterfeits that blessing and causes incredible suffering and pain because of it. Here, we read that the man of perdition wants to be God. He sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. He knows that he’s not God…but he wants to be God.

Please be careful not to fall prey to the counterfeit schemes of the devil. Don’t allow him to steal your real joy by pretending to offer you joy in some other way than what God has prescribed. Satan’s “joy” doesn’t last and it doesn’t fulfill…and it can often be very, very dangerous.

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