What is this mystery, if Paul calls it a mystery, then we should not believe the simple interpretations that we have been taught.

When Paul speaks the word mystery it’s not a statement he uses lightly.

There are two main interpretations of this in the church. The reformers believed that this was the Roman Catholic Church; and the man of sin was the pope.

This has shifted more recently with the establishment of the state of Israel.

Large parts of the church now believe that these events will take place once the temple is rebuilt, in which triggers the revealing of the man of sin.

Paul calls him the man of sin. This word man that he uses, is the same word in the Greek as he used when he says.

The first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15-45

The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.

As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.

And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15-47,48,49

Adam the man is a racial representation of a type of humanity.

Christ the man is also a representation of a kind of humanity.

When Paul is speaking of the man of sin, he is using the same kind of language as he uses in 1 Corinthians.

I believe Paul was not alluding to an individual character called the man of sin.

What I believe Paul was speaking of was a type of humanity.

The seeds of this humanity were already planted in the days of the Apostles.

John called it the Antichrist.

The leaven of this type of humanity was already in the early church well before the Roman Church came into being.

When the Lord was asked about the tares in with the wheat, Jesus didn’t say pull the tares out, he said let them grow together until the harvest, harvest time is when the difference will be known.

The Lord was asked were did these tares come from; the Lord said that the evil one planted them among the wheat.

So this leaven has been apart of the church since the time of the apostles.

What the end of the age does is, it matures the two kinds of humanities that are in the church.

These two types of humanity are not localized in one expression, they are scattered throughout the whole body of Christendom.

They grow together as one family until harvest time.

Then comes the end when the Lord sends his angels to separate the two, notice its not until the end of the age until we truly know what is what.

So in the main stream of the true church family is this kind of humanity, it looks like the real thing, acts like the real thing, even has spiritual power to show great signs and wonders, but inwardly they are false.

But there were also false prophets in Israel, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will cleverly teach destructive heresies and even deny the Master who bought them. In this way, they will bring sudden destruction on themselves. Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed. 2 Peter 2, 1-3

Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have come from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here. 1 John 4, 1-3

The problem is, they don’t know this, they think they are the true, they think that what is being manifested through them is truly the power of God.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception. 1 John 4, 4-6

The sad thing is the true sheep usually get fooled by them, Not knowing that Satan can, and does transform himself into an angel of light. 

These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. 2 Corinthians 11, 13-15

John said believe not every spirit, you have an anointing from holy one that should alert you to the thing if it truly is of God, or the evil one.

The really sad part is that there are so few who really question the things that are taking place in the name of Christ today.

We are in a state today, that if we feel some kind of supernatural power, then it must be of God.

This is the same condition that the Jews were in when Jesus was among then, always looking for signs and wonders, remember what the Lord said, a evil and adulterous generation seeks these things.

The word that the Lord gave them then, is the same word he is giving now, the only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah, the word of the cross, this is the place that we truly find the power of God, this is the place of true reality.