First, let me say that it is very possible that the Antichrist is alive on earth right now, awaiting his time to be revealed.  So, let’s begin by reading 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit, or a message, or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.” (NASB).  There were those in the early church that were teaching that the “day of the Lord had already come.”  What is the day of the Lord?  It is that day when the Lord Jesus will come in judgment upon the earth and to establish His kingdom on the earth.  We read about this day in 2 Peter 3:10 which says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”  1 Thessalonians 5:2 similarly describes this day.  “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”  While some people mistake the day of the Lord as the same as the Rapture, we can see the characteristics are vastly different.  For the believer, the Rapture is something to be looked forward to, not to be dreaded, like the dread of a thief in the night.  In the day of the Lord, we see that “the heavens shall pass away with a great noise…”  This day will come at the end of the Tribulation Period, which begins with the Rapture of the church.  So, the Apostle Paul is assuring the Lord’s people here that this day of the Lord has not come.

Let’s continue by reading 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5, “No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”  This “man of lawlessness” must be revealed before the day of the Lord will come.  This is the Antichrist, the one who is called “the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself about every so-called god or object of worship…” The Apostle John mentions this man of sin in 1 John 2:22, “Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son.”  Before the Lord returns to set up His kingdom, this Antichrist must be revealed.  When will that happen?

Let’s go on in 2 Thessalonians and read verses 7-10, “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is removed. Then that lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved.”  Right now, this wicked one is being restrained (is being stopped from exercising complete control), and the Lord will continue to restrain him until this great restrainer is taken out of the way.  The restraining One is a power and a person. It is the Holy Spirit of God.

When the Lord raptures the church from the earth, then this restraining Person (the Holy Ghost), who indwells every believer (read Ephesians 1:13) and so is here on earth now, will be taken out of the way. The Holy Spirit, who came down from heaven on the day of Pentecost to form the Church, the body of Christ, will be withdrawn when the body is taken to glory to be joined to the Head, the Lord Jesus Christ.  This is the rapture!  As a result, this lawless one, this man of sin, this man of lawlessness, this Antichrist will be revealed. So, I think we can easily see that the Antichrist will NOT be revealed until AFTER the Rapture of the church.  Like I said at the outset, it is very possible the Antichrist is on the earth right now, which would mean the return of the Lord (the rapture of the church) is very near.  Are you ready, dear reader?  Are you saved?  Are you ready to be raptured when the Lord comes or will you be left behind to fall under the spell and power of the Antichrist?  (CC)  (729.4)