Chapter 12 – MAN OF LAWLESSNESS

Faithful Christians in the apostolic era were in a high state of expectation of the return of their Lord. After all, Jesus and the apostles repeatedly exhorted believers to be watchful and ready for the Master’s untimely coming. That made them especially vulnerable, though, to the wiles of apostates who falsely claimed that the resurrection had already begun and that the day of Jehovah was imminent.

Imposters back then were apparently intent on even deceiving the brothers into believing that Christ’s parousia had already begun, which is evidently why Paul wrote the Thessalonians the following exhortation: “However, brothers, concerning the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken from your reason nor to be alarmed either by an inspired statement or by a spoken message or by a letter appearing to be from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here. Let no one lead you astray in any way, because it will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness gets revealed, the son of destruction.” — 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3

Just as in the original Christian congregations, for many decades, Jehovah’s Witnesses have also been in a heightened state of anticipation concerning Jehovah’s day. But again, that is not necessarily a bad thing since the Bible exhorts Christians to keep close in mind the presence of the day of Jehovah. But the danger is—as Paul emphasized in connection with the Thessalonians—Christians who are overeager to see Jehovah’s day may be vulnerable to being shaken from their reason and led astray.

The fact that the context of Paul’s warning strongly suggests that the man of lawlessness is the source of the seemingly inspired messages heralding that the “day of the Lord is here” should give Jehovah’s Witnesses reason to cautiously pause.

Although Jehovah’s Witnesses are laboring under the delusion that the clergy of Christendom constitute a collective man of lawlessness, it is undeniable that of all the so-called Christian groups in existence today, one organization stands alone as the source of presumptive Bible-based “inspired expressions” announcing the presence of Christ. That organization is, of course, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, also known as the Christian Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses!

Exactly as Paul foretold, through a variety of spoken messages delivered in public talks in Kingdom Halls, assemblies, conventions, Internet broadcasts, and through authoritative, apostolic-like letters and publications, the Watchtower is recognizably the undisputed fountainhead of a steady stream of messages heralding that the presence of Christ began in 1914.

As already noted in chapter nine concerning the day of the Lord coming exactly as a thief in the night, whenever they are saying “peace and security,” there is a valid reason to believe that Paul did not use the Tetragrammaton in the passage above, but intended to say “to the effect that the day of the Lord is here.” The context is the same as in his first letter to the Thessalonians, namely, the return of Christ and our being gathered to the Lord in the clouds. For the uninformed, the Watchtower teaches that the Lord’s day has already begun, exactly as Paul forewarned would be proclaimed among anointed Christians.

“THE APOSTASY COMES FIRST”

The apostle elaborates further, saying that the man of lawlessness “sits down in the temple of God, publicly showing himself to be a god.” The Scriptures reveal that God’s temple is the entire body of anointed believers at any given time. Jehovah’s Witnesses understand this. For instance, the apostle Paul wrote: “Do you not know that you people are God’s temple, and that the spirit of God dwells in you?” 1 Corinthians 3:16. 

Also, 2 Corinthians 6:16 says: “For we are a temple of a living God.” In view of this simple truth, it is evident that the man of lawlessness does not merely claim to sit in the temple of God, nor does he sit down in the midst of those who merely profess to be a spiritual temple of God, as the Watchtower claims is the case; no, but he actually sits down in the midst of God’s spiritual temple; that is to say, in the intimate group of the anointed sons of God. Eventually, the man of lawlessness will presumptuously exalt himself above everyone, including the head of the congregation—Christ himself.

The very fact that the apostle’s inspired warning is addressed to brothers in the faith who are susceptible to being seduced by the wiles of the man of lawlessness proves that the man of lawlessness exists within Christ’s congregation. And since apostasy is lawlessness, the man of lawlessness must be its source. And because the man of lawlessness is sitting in the very temple of God at the time that Christ exposes him, during the manifestation of his presence, the clergy cannot possibly make up a composite man of lawlessness who sit in the midst of the holy ones. It is impossible at this time for the clergy to hold any kind of ecclesiastical authority over the true sons of the Kingdom.

Yet, according to Paul, the man of lawlessness does have such authority over the brothers. His messages are viewed as “inspired expressions,” and his writings are perceived to be of equal authority as those written by the apostles themselves, which is why Paul warned the brothers not to give heed to such spoken messages and letters, even if they may appear “as though from us.” Since, as Paul indicated, the man of lawlessness convincingly speaks and writes with the authority of the apostles and he operates within the congregation, he must come from within the highest levels of the organization.

The apostasy that Paul said must come first is not the apostasy that began centuries ago and ultimately took the form of Christendom. The apostasy that immediately precedes the parousia takes place among Christ’s anointed followers and is presided over by the man of lawlessness.

In view of all that has been considered thus far concerning the erroneousness of the Watchtower’s 1914 doctrine, it would seem that Paul’s inspired warning to the Thessalonians was written specifically for Jehovah’s Witnesses at this critical juncture. But if that is true, then what about the foretold apostasy that must come first and the revealing of the presence of the man of lawlessness? According to the apostle’s revelation, the presence of Christ and his ultimate manifestation to the world will be preceded by an apostasy among true Christians. The apostasy is to serve as an indicator of the nearness of the day of Jehovah, or as Paul worded it, the Lord’s day “will not come unless the apostasy comes first.”

But according to the Watchtower’s explanation, the apostasy Paul foretold occurred shortly after Christianity was established. And while there is no question that the conglomeration of religions making up Christendom today originated in that great apostasy all those centuries ago, still, Paul’s warning intimates that there is to occur another apostasy; an apostasy that occurs immediately before the presence of Christ and the great day of Jehovah; an apostasy emanating from within the restored Christian congregation itself.

The Hebrew prophecies confirm Paul’s revelation in this regard. The 32nd and 33rd chapters of Isaiah, in particular, although written long before Jesus even appeared on earth, relate to Christ’s judgment of the congregation during the conclusion. For instance, Isaiah 32:1 foretells the rule of the righteous king, when: “For the senseless one will speak nonsense, and his heart will devise harmful things, to promote apostasy and to speak what is wayward against Jehovah, to cause the hungry one to go unfed and to deprive the thirsty one of something to drink. The devices of the unprincipled man are bad; he promotes shameful conduct to ruin the afflicted one with lies, even when the poor speaks what is right.” (6-7)

Significantly, the prophecy of Isaiah indicates that prior to the coming of the king who “will reign for righteousness itself,” the senseless one is considered to be generous, and the “unprincipled man” is thought of as being noble. Yet, he is said to promote apostasy and speak against Jehovah for the purpose of causing “the thirsty one to go without drink itself.” Isaiah’s prophecy relates to the exposure of the apostate man of lawlessness during the manifestation of Christ, in that Isaiah also indicates that the men highly regarded by God’s people are eventually denounced by the king who “will reign for righteousness.”

Noteworthy too, the “unprincipled man” is in a position of authority, since the scripture says he “has given counsel for acts of loose conduct.” Also, that he is in a position to deny the “thirsty one” drink indicates that he is looked to as one who can provide spiritual drink. The fact that the “unprincipled man” is regarded as being generous and noble, yet speaks what is wayward against Jehovah, certainly corroborates what the apostle revealed as regards the insidious influence of the man of lawlessness over the brothers.

In view of the fact that the leadership of the Watchtower Society is unquestionably teaching falsehoods as regards the parousia and the Lord’s day having begun in 1914, and they are generally regarded by Jehovah’s Witnesses to be generous and noble men and looked to for counsel and spiritual food and drink, it is the Society itself that is destined “to wreck the afflicted ones with false sayings.” Indeed, the Society constantly exalts itself before Jehovah’s Witnesses as the earthly instrument of God and the generous provider of the full measure of spiritual food.

But how might the Watchtower “speak against Jehovah what is wayward”?

By making the claim that Jehovah has already established spiritual paradise within an organization rife with child molestation and many other forms of wickedness and immorality, such men are indirectly attributing the evils within the organization to God, since, apparently, Jehovah cannot prevent or chooses to allow wicked men to prey upon children even in the trouble-free paradise he has supposedly provided.

Truly, those who make the claim that spiritual paradise exists within the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses are speaking sheer nonsense! “His instruments are bad” in the sense that he uses human reasoning and mere organizational decrees to establish the Kingdom of heaven over those under his influence.

“THE SON OF DESTRUCTION”

Paul also referred to the man of lawlessness as “the son of destruction.” Significantly, the only other place in the Scriptures where that phrase is used is in connection with Judas Iscariot. At John 17:12, Jesus said in prayer: “When I was with them I used to watch over them on account of your own name which you have given me; and I have kept them, and not one of them is destroyed except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.”

One scripture that was fulfilled in Judas was Psalms 41:9, which reads: “Even the man at peace with me, one whom I trusted, who was eating my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” Also, the 109th chapter of Psalms prophesies regarding the son of destruction. It reads: “Let his days prove to be few; his office of oversight let someone else take.”

Obviously, to betray another’s confidence, one must first win their trust. So, just as the original son of destruction was a trusted confidential associate of Christ and an overseer along with the 11 other apostles, so too, following the pattern of the original son of destruction, the man of lawlessness must be a man or group of men who are in trusted positions of oversight among Christ’s genuine followers.

Just as Judas reclined at the same table and shared the bread of the Passover meal with Jesus and the apostles, the man of lawlessness must likewise partake of the bread and wine along with the anointed brothers at the annual Memorial of Christ’s sacrifice. Being in a trusted position, the modern son of destruction stands poised to deal treacherously and eventually become an outright betrayer of Christ’s entire congregation during the hour of the authority of darkness.

Interestingly, some aspects of the 109th Psalm do not fit the man Judas; such as the 16th verse, which says: “But he kept pursuing the afflicted and poor man and the one dejected at heart, to put him to death.” The Psalms may well describe the result of the man of lawlessness’s destructive presence. During the outbreak of the time of trouble that lies ahead, no doubt confusion and discouragement will become widespread. Psalms 10:9-10 speak of the afflicted and discouraged one who falls prey to one who lies in ambush. The Psalm reads: “He waits in ambush near the settlements; from his hiding place he kills an innocent one. His eyes are watching for an unfortunate victim. He waits in his hiding place like a lion in its lair. He waits to seize the helpless one. He seizes the helpless one when he pulls his net shut. The victim is crushed and brought down; the unfortunate ones fall into his clutches.”

The Christian writers foretold that animalistic men would infiltrate Christ’s flock during the last days. Jude likened them to submerged rocks hidden beneath the water that lurk as potential stumbling blocks for unwary Christians. Just as the apostles were oblivious to Judas’ defection—even after Christ gave him the identifying morsel during the Passover meal—so it is, the one described as a lion lurking in his covert may well apply to the man of lawlessness, who up to this point has remained concealed like a nocturnal predator within the organization, waiting to pounce upon the hapless.

The point at which his net draws shut upon Jehovah’s unsuspecting people will be during the conclusion of the Christian system, when the foretold increasing apostasy and lawlessness within the organization causes the love of many to grow cold. Doubtless, when things do not proceed as Jehovah’s Witnesses have come to expect, many will become dejected and lose faith.

“ACCORDING TO THE OPERATION OF SATAN”

Returning to Paul’s prophecy, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 foretells the extent to which God allows Satan to fabricate “an operation of error.” The apostle wrote: “But the lawless one’s presence is by the operation of Satan with every powerful work and lying signs and wonders and every unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, as a retribution because they did not accept the love of the truth in order that they might be saved. That is why God lets a deluding influence mislead them so that they may come to believe the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.”

The scripture indicates that in order for a person to be saved from an adverse judgment, they must believe the truth. Jehovah’s Witnesses speak of being in the truth, but the truth may be whatever the Watchtower says is truth. In fact, there is even a saying that refers to ‘keeping up with present truth.’ A backhanded admission that what is truth today may not be truth tomorrow! To be sure, though, there is more to the truth than simply knowing God’s name or the condition of the dead.

The “deluding influence” that God lets “mislead them” must go forth among the people associated with the spiritual temple of God. And since the verse says, “in order that all may be judged,” it is evident that it is in connection with the future judgment of the house of God.

In context, then, those who “come to believe The Lie” are those under the influence of the teaching emanating from the man of lawlessness regarding the false parousia. As the apostle warned, to that end the Devil produces “lying signs and wonders.” And for what purpose? Again, in order to deceive Christ’s followers into believing that the parousia has already begun, and to give credence to the man of lawlessness as the exalted source of esoteric knowledge.

As stated previously, the fact that Paul exhorted true Christians not to be quickly shaken from their reason or unduly alarmed is proof that the Devil’s powerful works, lying signs and portents are intended to deceive anointed Christians. After all, since the entire world already lies in Satan’s power, it would hardly be necessary for the Deceiver to create powerfully deceptive works and portents to further deceive the deceived, would it? No. Satan is already “misleading the entire inhabited earth.” The “operation of Satan” is specifically intended to deceive those who belong to Jehovah. So, what, exactly, is the “operation of Satan”?

Consider the following question: Should it be considered any special feat for Satan the Devil, who has shown himself to be more than capable of shrewdly insinuating himself into the midst of Jehovah’s people in ancient times by employing a variety of machinations, to first implant the notion within the minds of the original anointed Bible Students regarding 1914 being a year designated in prophecy, and then—by means of “every powerful work”— orchestrate the outbreak of the First World War to coincide with the misguided expectations of the over-eager Bible Students?

Although there were dangerous political and economic rivalries between the European powers for decades leading up to the outbreak of war, the fact that the conflagration was ignited by the single spark of an assassin’s pistol in the summer of 1914 illustrates the relative ease with which the demonic rulers could have accomplished such a thing at a precise moment.

And although mankind has been periodically afflicted by pestilences and plagues throughout history, no one should naively suppose that it is beyond the Devil’s temperament or ability to conjure and disperse a loathsome contagion like the Spanish Flu to coincide with the outbreak of the Great War; thereby creating the illusion that the horsemen of the Apocalypse had been unleashed. As a consequence, the Bible Students were quickly shaken from their reason and excited in their expectations.

The trials and persecutions that then consumed the Watchtower headquarters, especially the wrongful imprisonment of J.F. Rutherford and company and their subsequent release from ‘Babylonish captivity,’ have served as “lying signs and wonders” that have been attributed to God, tricking the Watchtower’s leadership so that they have now thoroughly convinced Jehovah’s Witnesses that Babylon the Great has already fallen.

The Watchtower Society’s travail even lasted approximately three and a half years—from 1916 to 1919—mimicking the time, times, and half a time (1,260 days) designated in the inspired prophecy. How devilishly clever! The setting up of the League of Nations in 1919, which was then hailed by a few prominent clergy as the “political expression of the Kingdom of God,” even seemed to fulfill prophecy, too—another deceptive, lying sign.

Later, the Watchtower sponsored a series of annual conventions in the 1920s, and various resolutions and declarations of divine judgment against Satan’s world were issued. Although the declarations themselves have long since been forgotten, particularly by those against whom they were originally issued, nevertheless, those convention edicts continue to this day as “every unrighteous deception,” persuading gullible Christians that the earth-shattering trumpets of the Apocalypse had sounded back then.

With the rise of Nazism, the Holocaust, and the Second World War, Jehovah’s Witnesses became objects of vicious persecution. This was presented as a convincing sign that Satan and the demons had been evicted from heaven and cast down to the earth, where they then unleashed a “flood” of persecution against those who bear witness to the Kingdom.

HAS THE PEACE BEAST ASCENDED FROM THE ABYSS?

In September 1942, Nathan Knorr, the third president of the Watchtower, gave a convention talk that was later published as a brochure titled “Peace-Can it Last?” Knorr predicted that the then-defunct League of Nations would fulfill Revelation by reappearing—coming out of the symbolic abyss. Years later, the Revelation’s Grand Climax publication in the chapter titled An Awesome Mystery Solved, said the following:

Having failed to keep peace in the world, the League of Nations virtually plunged into an abyss of inactivity. By 1942 it had become a has-been. Neither before this nor at some later date —but right at that critical time— did Jehovah interpret to his people the full depth of meaning of the vision!

Jehovah’s Witnesses are given the impression that Knorr foresaw the establishment of the United Nations. But that is not true. In January 1942, seven months before the convention, Franklin Roosevelt coined the term. Here is what is stated on the government’s national archives website:

“The name United Nations originated with President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1941, when he described the countries fighting against the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy and Japan) in World War II. The name was first used officially on January 1, 1942, when 26 states joined in the Declaration by the United Nations, pledging to continue their joint war effort and not to make peace separately.”

Even though the United Nations was not officially established until after WW2, the foundation had already been laid during the war. So, the appearance of the “peace beast,” as Knorr called it, was a foregone conclusion. Even so, to this day, the Watchtower uses this as an example of its prophetic prowess and ability to foresee the future. But since, according to Revelation, the coming to life of the image of the beast from the abyss initiates the judgment for all peoples of the world, it is out of the realm of reality that the formation of the League of Nations or the United Nations could have fulfilled the prophecy of Revelation. Needless to say, no such judgment has taken place. Instead of the establishment of the UN fulfilling prophecy, the Watchtower’s assumed prophetic “insights” ought to be seen as another clever, unrighteous deception.

None of this is meant to suggest that the Watchtower Society has not also served Jehovah’s purpose or that Knorr himself was intentionally deceptive. On the contrary, the very fact that the organization bears the name of Jehovah and bears witness to Christ and the Kingdom of heaven in a way that is impossible for Christendom makes the Watchtower organization a top-priority target for subversion by enemy agents. And not to be overlooked is the fact that it is in keeping with God’s stated purpose to allow “a deceptive influence” to hold sway over the Christian congregation until Christ arrives with his army of angels to uproot all of the lawless ones within his Kingdom.

Paul’s warnings to his brothers concerning the powerful works, lying signs, wonders, and deceptions produced as “an operation of Satan” merely underscores the warning of the Lord Jesus himself, when he said: “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will give great signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the chosen ones. Look! I have forewarned you. Therefore, if people say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look! He is in the inner chambers,’ do not believe it.”

It is no exaggeration to say that the most prominent feature of the detailed sign of Christ’s presence is the repeated warnings to the chosen ones not to allow themselves to be deceived by the many false prophets and false Christs that Jesus said would arise and demonstrate wondrous signs.

Although the case has been made here that the satanic parousia deception is already in operation, it ought to be noted that the Lord’s warning pertains to an even greater deception that will occur during the actual parousia. The fact that Jesus said that the “great signs and wonders” accompanying the appearance of false Christs and false prophets would be so deceptive that the potential will exist to mislead even the chosen ones is a sobering warning to all who are in anticipation ofChrist’s return.

It is, however, a warning that up until this present moment is lost upon Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have been seduced into imagining that Bethel is their unfailing spiritual guide in all matters. The disarming notion that the clergy somehow comprise a composite man of lawlessness is no doubt also attributable to the Devil’s subtle influence over the organization. But obviously, the chosen ones are in no danger of being deceived by the clergy—not now, nor in any conceivable future scenario. However, virtually all of Jehovah’s chosen ones are under the influence of the organizational oracles associated with the Watchtower.

Does that fact not dramatically underscore the words of Jesus— “Look! I have forewarned you”?

Although Jehovah’s Witnesses are terrified of those considered to be apostates and opposers of the truth, the much greater spiritual danger is posed by the submerged apostates within the leadership of the organization.

As was the case with the superfine apostles, who, in imitation of their satanic master, disguised themselves as ministers of righteousness among the anointed congregation in Corinth, it would appear that the crafty Devil has once again masterfully disguised himself as an enlightening angel within the highest circles of the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Soberingly, as already stated, Satan’s greatest act of deception is yet to go into operation during the actual conclusion. At that critical juncture, false Christs and false prophets will then convincingly claim that the Christ is in the “wilderness” or in the “inner chambers.” (The “inner chambers” may prove to be the inner sanctum of the Society itself, when the man of lawlessness declares himself to be a god.)

The mystery of this lawlessness is already at work. It was on full display during the so-called pandemic, when the Governing Body coerced all special full-time servants to reveal their vaccination status in order to be approved to continue to serve Jehovah. The Governing Body has boldly claimed that Jesus has guided them in all of their pandemic response and that the “vaccines” were provided by Jehovah just for his people. It was all a lie.