The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie...2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 (my emphasis)
Something I've overlooked for years is found at the very beginning of this passage by Paul in his second letter to the Thessalonians. Notice it doesn't say at the arrival of, or after the arrival of the lawless one, but at his coming (Greek- parousia) as in prior to his arriving fully) in conjunction with his future arrival. With his (the antichrist) coming, or in the process of his coming/manifesting, the lawless one will do so according to the supernatural outworking or power (Greek- energeia) of Satan.
I like to think of this supernatural process of manifesting as that of a plough wind or outflow boundary that precedes a major storm front. It kicks up the wind something fierce and drops the temperature so you know that a storm is on its way. This is what we're seeing today with regards to this Luciferian zeitgeist sweeping the planet. Common sense and reasoning are tossed out the window for those who did not receive the love of the truth. They are being given over and will come to embrace the great delusions when it arrives. As I've often said, a global-level crisis requires a global-level distraction.
And Satan intends on putting on one heck of a light show in the moments after the Rapture of the Church. But before we get to that, let us do a quick overview of the differing, yet overlapping constructs which presently exist, and upon which this great delusion will be placed.
Geopolitical
The times of the Gentiles
The times we are in now were called by Jesus, the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24). This would speak to the ongoing Gentile domination which would basically control the earth in the interim between Christ's first and second coming. However, it also includes the following major gentile powers that preceded the days of Christ, according to both Daniel chapters 2, 7-8, and Rev. 17:10. These are Egypt, Assyria (included in Rev. 17:10's 'eight'), Babylon (gold/lion), Persia (silver/bear), Greece (bronze/leopard), Rome (iron/ferocious beast), and a future revived Roman empire (iron mixed with clay).
Rome was the dominant world power in Jesus' day, and in truth, has never fully lost its power and influence. Western Rome collapsed politically/culturally /militarily/economically around 476 AD, but Eastern Rome (vis a vis the Byzantine Empire) continued on until the 15th century. Western Rome was revived under the guise of the Holy Roman Empire in 800AD (the Frankish king Charlamagne), and has since morphed into varying colonial empires until it culminated with the founding of the United States of America, which is a product of the English, Dutch, French, Italian, and Spanish. It's interesting to me how invested Satan is in keeping this particular empire intact.
Birth Pangs
Addressing the question of the last days, Jesus referred to the horrendous lead-up to the final moments of human history as being similar to that of 'birth pangs' (Matt. 24:8). Paul uses a similar metaphor in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Since the signs Jesus mentions pointing us towards the end are fairly common main-stays throughout the human drama (earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, pestilences, deception, etc.) what He was referring to was not that they happen, but how they happen. He said they would increase in both frequency and intensity like birth pangs until reaching a crescendo point at the very end of time. One could conclusively argue that the 20th century certainly achieved that crescendo status as being the most violent and transformative century in history.
Spiritual
The fullness of the Gentiles
Paul spoke of national Israel's spiritual blindness being in place until the fullness of the Gentiles has fully come in (Rom. 11:25). While Jesus' comment regarding the Gentiles was referring to the geopolitical domination, Paul here is referring to the populations which Jesus would use to build His Church from (i.e., the Gentile populations) as the Gospel continued to spread around the world. Like a beautiful mosaic, the Church is being built into a singular, yet corporate body of believers from all tribes and tongues during this particular age. The fullness will continue until the fullness is complete and reaches a point known only to God.
Perilous times
Here there is a paradoxical relationship of sorts, where on the one hand, Jesus refers to these as the 'days of Noah' and 'Lot,' speaking to the seeming normalcy bias which will be prevalent upon the earth. On the other hand, Paul referred to these same days as perilous times (2 Tim. 3), meaning wickedness would continue to escalate globally until it reached unprecedented and unbearable levels. So the evil and wickedness that would continue to fester would be so commonplace, is to be accepted as normal, or just "the way things are." But even then, it would rise so noticeably toward the end, that it becomes unbearable to the righteous (similar to how Lot's soul was vexed daily in 2 Peter 2:7).
The other writers of the New Testament make similar sentiments about the rising tide of evil in the last days (James 5:1-6, 2 Peter 3:3-7, 1 John 2:15-19, Jude 1:14-19). The truth is, we are at the tail-end of this two-thousand-year stretch since Christ first walked the earth. It should not surprise us that we are seeing the escalation in both wickedness and entropy as we draw near to the conclusion of the convergence of Bible prophecy.
Technology
Having briefly discussed both the geopolitical and spiritual conditions of the world upon reaching the last days, let us move on to events now that are moving us even faster into the final moments. Now, think about all of the recent 21st-century concepts that have been introduced into our modern lexicon of common knowledge through pop culture, academia, science, and even government sanctions. These are things that are redefining reality for many people and are expanding (IMHO) the venues upon which Satan will use to introduce delusion and confusion.
The Internet of Things
Blockchain
The Metaverse
The Multiverse
Cryptocurrency
AI Cloud Services
5G Bandwidth
Graphene
Singularity
Quantum Computing
Artificial General Intelligence
UAPs (Unidentified Aerial Phenomena)
Critical Race Theory
Multi-Domain Operations
The Gray Zone
Now, most of these things are not necessarily evil in and of themselves. But they are tools that will be used to enslave humanity. Prior to the year 2000, I would venture to say none of these things on this list were either commonly known or understood outside of a small, select group of either military, scientific, or academic professionals. Even then, it was almost always in the theoretical sense, never as an 'actual' or 'physical' reality. For instance, we've known about Quantum physics since Albert Einstein walked the earth, but it was only a theory that seemed plausible. It wasn't until 1998 that there was an actual, physical, quantum computer, even if that computer was a rudimentary version of what we have today.
The term "Internet of Things" (IoT) was first coined/defined in 1999, but wouldn't begin any kind of real implementation until 2002-03. Again, its beginning was embryonic. Blockchain technology (as a reality) was unheard of until 2008. If you'd gone up to someone prior to the advent and development of smart devices and asked them about cloud services, very few (if any) would understand what that meant. Graphene was discovered to be a by-product of graphite in 2004. They found it to be harder than steel, thinner than paper and conducted electricity extremely well...even presumably for the three18 GHz pulse blasts (see my ZAKS article for further clarification).
Artificial Intelligence was popularly known long before the year 2000, but only as a category of science fiction, never in reality. Certainly, things like "Singularity" were theoretical concepts prior to the turn of the century, but its reality seemed about as distant as putting men on Mars. Now it is within man's reach.
The same idea goes with things like the Gray Zone. Obviously, people knew what irregular, guerrilla, and hybrid warfare meant prior to the turn of the century, but the Gray Zone definition (the space between peace and war) took on a whole new meaning when multidomain operations came to be. It expanded conflict beyond simply land, sea, and air. The multi-domain operations now include space, cyber, information, and the subterranean for which we must contend with and in. Now mankind must also contend with the very real cyber world of the metaverse (adds complexity), as well as the fictional yet delusional concept of the multiverse (adds confusion).
Speaking of confusion, UAPs (formerly known as UFOs) became the official government definition that describes the unknown entities gallivanting across our atmosphere while breaking the laws of physics, unchallenged. Clearly, the presence of UFOs had been common knowledge during the mid-late 20th century but was a thing the government either profusely denied existing, or at least denied admitting publically until 2017. Now that the governments of the world have officially acknowledged their existence, you can bet this information will be used in the future to muddy the waters surrounding the Rapture of the Church.
Assessment
Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Revelation 13:1-4
What do all of the aforementioned 21st-century technologies and realities have in common? Well, as Dr. Andy Woods has often said, these things always point toward the fulfillment of bible prophecy; never away from it. Just as the geopolitical unwinding and cultural wickedness points mankind toward the end of the age, so too has the rise of these advanced digital, economic, scientific, and military concepts and technologies thrust us into the conditions necessary for the final week of years to manifest- the dreaded 70th Week of Daniel.
When that final Gentile kingdom (aka...the Beast) comes to power, it will be the first since Nimrod who is able to physically control the entire human population all at the same time. Many powerful empires have come and gone, but none were able to do that. In Nimrod's day, his absolute control was due to the limited population (descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japheth) and the confined geographic location (plains of Shinar) in which the entire human population lived that enabled him to do it. In our day, it will be the aforementioned technologies that will entrap humanity under an authoritarian system so brutal and wicked, that there will be no escape (save death) for those who seek freedom (Rev. 13:7). Indeed, people around the world will marvel at the power of this final kingdom and ask, "who is able to make war with him?"
As with this particular scenario, we are going to focus on the brief period of time between the Rapture of the Church and the start of the 70th Week of Daniel. We don't know how long that gap of time is, but knowing what will need to transpire, may help us better understand a general time frame.
The battle of Gog and Magog
The coalescing of the ten-nation/region empire
Rebuilding the Third Temple
(Re)Building the city of Babylon
These are things that must happen and yet, don't seem to fit wholly within the confines of the 70th Week proper. We know (or at least, strongly presume) that the Rapture event itself will throw the world into chaos. We know (or presume) that the Ten Kings, the False Prophet, and the Antichrist (whoever that may be) will use that time to consolidate their power. While chaos in and of itself is a powerful enough catalyst to consolidate power, it's not enough to assuage the growing panic that will consume the nations of the world, particularly those with Christians in them. For example, there is presumably more residual knowledge of what the Rapture is in say, Australia, versus Nepal. The reason is fairly simple. One nation has more Christians talking/discussing/arguing about the Rapture versus a nation with hardly any Christians at all.
For those nations that had a decent-sized population of born-again Christians, there needs to be a satanic excuse prepared for what just happened. Whether that excuse is extra-terrestrials, Gaia cleansing the earth, or a zombie apocalypse (or a combination of the three), those reasons cannot exist in a vacuum. There is required both the preparatory groundwork (where we are now), as well as a sufficient enough illusionary façade or charade to deceive the left-behind masses. It doesn't need to be enough to overwhelmingly convince everyone, but it needs to be enough to either introduce enough reasonable doubt or confusion into the situation that nobody really knows what to believe. Whatever deception it ends up being, as long as it's not the Rapture, Satan will use it. This confusion/deception will become particularly exacerbated if this can also coincide with a Singularity-like event. Imagine the following scenario.
The Rapture of the Church happens on a particular day. In the hours following the event, city and state law and emergency officials quickly become inundated and then overwhelmed with calls and responses to fires, vehicle crashes, and looting. The states appeal for federal aid, but the federal government is thrown equally into the chaos as numerous politicians, judges, and federal officials are missing.
The executive branch approves a hasty Dept. of Defense request to initiate martial law, which is quickly adopted by each of the fifty states. In the interim, the United States government shuts down and moves its executive branch operations to Camp David. Simultaneously, nations around the world begin to initiate varying forms of martial law, lockdowns, and complete news blackouts.
Within a week of the event, most major cities are burning and had been looted to the point of insolvency. The government (or what remains) initiates its ZAKS program in predetermined locations (with 5G access) to neutralize/minimalize the lawlessness in those major urban areas. They hand over much of the day-to-day functioning to the new Quantum AI program that keeps the major nuclear and other highly sensitive facilities running unmanned. The remaining government also institutes safe havens at hundreds of newly built FEMA camps strategically located outside of major urban areas. Military bases, which have suffered significant loss of personnel already, have been converted to housing for any survivors that can make it there.
The Internet is not entirely shut down but is being throttled and censored to such a degree that it makes its use impractical. Meanwhile, network communications (radio, broadband, and even some satellites) are either not working, or are being so heavily censored by the backup Artificial Intelligence 'bots' that communicating is at a standstill. Information is the new currency and no one seems to know what really happened, or is happening. A new broadcast, designed to calm the masses, begins to make hourly reports that a new regional government is forming and nations around the world are signing on. Information was still forthcoming but it appears that people are moving toward the coasts and being resettled into sanctuary communities.
In the meantime, the skies overhead have turned kinetic, with a marked increase in frenzied activities of UAPs and other anomalous events causing people to become panicked and increasingly frightened. The rural areas have been given over to the gangs and criminals, who have set up mobile 'Mad Max' fiefdoms with cruel efficiency. However, as locations begin to run scarce with food and fuel, the gangs move on spreading like locusts. Those who have chosen to remain in the country, are increasingly faced with the rapid entropic effect of both nature's reclaiming of towns and the increase and brazenness of wild animals.
Cities and states less impacted by the Rapture (the Pacific Northwest and North Atlantic) remain more intact for longer than those in what was dubbed, the "Bible Belt." Still, everywhere is impacted equally by the loss of children and babies causing immediate and profound angst and misery amongst the left-behind communities. Utah and other heavily Mormon areas are regions that seem both the most perplexed, and yet, best prepared for the ensuing lawlessness as they declare their independence from what was the United States of America.
As the United States rapidly disintegrates along ethnic and racial lines, tribalism sets in, and once-vibrant communities quickly escalate both violence and threats of violence. Likewise, this disintegration also becomes evident at the national level as Europe, Africa, and Asia quickly succumb to tribalism as their respective governments collapse economically. The United Nations calls a number of emergency meetings and it is decided that the most-intact nation for each of the ten regions is given charge to begin reorganizing into a regional authority.
Satan realizes several things up front. First, he has no idea when the Rapture will happen, so he must always maintain a heightened state of readiness at all times. This is a tremendous argument in favor of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, since, if the Rapture were to occur within the confines of the 70th Week itself, it could be figured out rather easily. All Satan would have to do is wait for the mid-point, or this Seal, Trumpet, or Bowl Judgment, and then it would happen. But since it happens prior to any of the 70th Week, and the crisis which the Rapture produces serves as the trigger for the rest of the ensuing events to occur, Satan doesn't know. Neither does anyone else, except God Himself. That is why John writes in his epistle,
Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18
John distinguishes between The Antichrist who is coming, and the many antichrists who have already come because again, Satan doesn't know. He has to continually put forth antichrist candidates that turn out not to be The Antichrist because the time was not yet. But the moment the lightning-fast Rapture occurs, Satan will have to have his man in a position to assume authority quickly. That is why even now, he is wasting no time in prepping the world to be ready for his final kingdom. He is enabling mankind to speed up technology. He is opening Pandora's Box of the occult, supernatural, and the metaphysical so that mankind is desensitized to its presence once it manifests. He is darkening men's minds to embrace and normalize wickedness so that its arrival will seem normal and commonplace, instead of shocking.
Secondly, Satan must frontload (or preload) as much of this final kingdom into our current construct today, so that he can save time on the back side (post-Rapture). The problem he is continually running into is the Restrainer (the Holy Spirit-infused body of Christ upon the earth) who is serving as salt and light in an increasingly darkening world. As soon as Satan has some major gain in one part of the world, revival breaks out in another. Satan rushes in to crush or corrupt that movement and another divine event happens that disrupts his plans. In other words, Satan has been stuck in the "whack a mole" business for the past two thousand years which has been effectively disrupting and slowing down his plans of global domination.
Conclusion
Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” Luke 4:5-7 (my emphasis)
Although Satan spoke truthfully (albeit selectively) in his conversation while tempting Jesus in the wilderness, his ability to control the flow of kingdoms is still at the discretion of God's timing and purpose (Dan. 4:17, Acts 17:26). God determines their times and boundaries and has decreed through divine judgment (the Flood, Babel, Babylon, etc.) the who, what, when, where, and why humanity progresses or stalls in its inevitable march towards the end.
To this point, Satan has overplayed his hand over and over with regard to rushing ahead of God's timing. But the fact it is all seemingly coming together now, in our day, reinforces this idea put forth by Paul of being eyewitnesses to the Antichrist's parousia (coming) and the level of preparation requires for this final kingdom to become a reality. This is why it is not just the threats of violence and the wickedness that is skyrocketing now, but the distractions of pop culture and modernity as well.
In the US Army, almost every command is made up of different sections that handle everything from personnel and logistics to operations and information. The operations cell is usually broken down into two components- Current Ops and Future Ops. Current Ops is everything within the next 48 hours. Future Ops is everything beyond that. The world right now (to include you and me) is being so inundated with Current Ops (work, family, bills, careers, news, politics, etc.) that we can't really see the forest for the trees any longer. It's moving from crisis to crisis without really being able to connect the dots.
As watchmen though, we are peeking beyond the daily grind to the big picture of what is transpiring. We are seeing the Luciferian mosaic coming together and are doing our best to warn our lost family and friends about what is coming. The sad truth is, while most will admit that something is not right in the world, most are either not willing to hear, while others are not ready to hear what is coming upon the earth. People have become addicted to this reality and to this world that is quickly passing away.
Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 2 Thess. 2:5-8 (my emphasis)
If God is not actively handing over the domains and nations of this world to Satan in the present, then He is at least, tacitly allowing the Antichrist's kingdom to come to fruition in so much as the Restrainer allows it. Nevertheless, as ominous and encroaching as this Antichrist kingdom appears on our horizon, it cannot come into its full manifestation so long as the Church physically remains on the earth. While that is encouraging news, it is also news that hearkens us to ramp up our evangelism efforts to share the Gospel and the prophetic truths with a lost and dying world.
Yes, salvation is the chief aim here, but if they will not listen, or heed to the Holy Spirit's persistent drawing to Christ, then they should at least know what's coming. They should know what's coming in the same vein as Christ's foretelling of coming events to His disciples so that when it happened, they would believe (John 13:19, 14:29, and 16:4). I do not think it's any mistake or coincidence that at precisely the same time the Antichrist's kingdom is on the verge of physical manifestation, the Gospel has found its greatest avenue in the form of the Internet. One preacher now is able to minister not just to those in his congregation, but to people around the world. Bible teachers are finding enormous online audiences around the world who are starving (locally) as a spiritual famine comes upon the land. This article will be shared by many, and reach many more people around the world far beyond what even I know.
I tell you all this not to woo you with my intelligence, knowledge, or writing skills, but to urge you to get busy sharing the Good News of not just salvation, but of Christ's soon return. Get busy in your own circles of influence, whether that be at work or home. Be bold(er) and do not care what the world says. If the world had its way, the Gospel, the Bible, and Bible Prophecy would be banned entirely from every channel and every pulpit. Don't wait for permission, because the world will never give it...or if it gives it, will come with strings attached. Be bold for the sake of Christ, because we are quickly running out of daylight.
And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake. Be at peace among yourselves. Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all. See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it. 1 Thess. 5:12-24