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Sons To Glory
“Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch! (a term for the Messiah)
From His place He shall branch out, And HE SHALL BUILD THE
TEMPLE, Yes, He shall build the temple of the Lord. He shall bear the
glory, and sit and rule on His throne; So he shall be a priest on His
throne, And the counsel of peace shall be between them both (both
natural and spiritual governments - or kings and priests).”
The apostle Paul speaks of mankind as God’s temple often. A few
examples include 1 Cor. 3:16, 1 Cor. 6:19, and Eph. 2:21. Now that we
have established that Second Thessalonians 2:4 is referring to the
“temple of mankind,” rather than an actual physical temple in
Jerusalem, we can interpret the rest of this verse: The temple of
mankind, (or the arm of the flesh/self) rises up and declares itself as
God, instead of submitting to the will of God. Relying upon our own
strength and understanding to accomplish God’s purposes is one of the
meanings of “the abomination of desolation” spoken of by Jesus and
Daniel. Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus, is one foreshadow of the
“abomination of desolation” and “the man of sin” at the end of the age.
First John 3:18,19 describes how Judas is a perfect example of the
“man of sin” or “son of perdition”:
“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. THEY WENT OUT FROM US (like
Judas did), but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they
would have continued with us, but they went out that they may be
MADE MANIFEST, that none of them were of us.” (See also John
17:12 & Acts 1:16-20)
The antichrist comes out from among us (the temple of God) just like
Judas came out from among the disciples of Jesus, yet he was not
manifested (made known) until the end of Jesus’ ministry. Likewise,
“the man of sin” who has been among us for the past 2,000 years just
like Judas, will be made known (manifested) now at the end of this age
in a more obvious manner. This Judas spirit, which is the selfishness in
all of us, is being dealt with by God.
Without the mercy and grace of God, we are all capable of being like
Judas. Only by God’s mercy can our eyes be opened so we can see that
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