The Mystery of Lawlessness

Why does chaos strike us as such a mysterious situation? What is it about creation that seems to suggest order is the best way for humans to flourish?

The old Chinese curse says, “May you live in interesting times.” Call me old-fashioned, but now qualifies as an “interesting time.”

When your life or mine is surrounded by chaos, confusion, disappointment, or unmet expectations, the temptation to panic or thrash about can certainly take over, and my life becomes intoxicated with fear, anger, resentment, or even hopelessness.

Just look at the identity craze so in vogue now. If chaos is at the heart of how I know myself, that will translate into societal chaos.

The Supreme Court in the US is being asked to step into this chaos to protect children from life-altering medications and surgeries with a dubious track record of being helpful.

But we, followers of Jesus Christ, aren’t meant to have intoxicated lives gripped by chaos or “lawlessness.” We were meant for the freedom of a sober heart SO THAT the present moment doesn’t crowd out the Light of eternal wisdom.

Look at our lesson today in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12:

BRETHREN, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Of course, these Apocalyptic worries have been around forever, so that makes me stop and wonder if I am overreacting!

And the truth is I probably am overreacting.

But it is this tendency of overreacting by we humans, no matter what our politics or our societal beliefs that is a symptom of what St. Paul calls “the mystery of lawlessness.”

The abandoning of timeless wisdom and the false notion that “we are going to destroy ourselves” reveals the one common trait in all this “lawless” mystery: We don’t love and trust God.

Look at what happens when we fall into this “mystery of lawlessness. " We abandon both the timeless wisdom of morality and the ability to trust that God controls History (His Story!). Notice that the Apostle calls this lawlessness by the same word we Orthodox call the Divine Mysteries. He does this precisely because we are dealing with the primary Sacrament of Satan. The Sacrament that defies explanation is always beyond our control or understanding.

Just look at the speed of societal changes over the last 20 years! I never imagined we’d be advocating, asking questions, or changing such clear moral wisdom that we have done at breakneck speed!

And that’s what happens when humanity’s sanity slips into lawlessness by losing the ability to tell right from wrong.

It happens when societies forget why timeless morals are best. It happens when modern men claim that they have “discovered” new rights for this behavior or that behavior, all in an attempt to normalize their own out-of-control passions! They have been captured by the “mystery of lawlessness.”

But those who say they love and follow God are not immune to this “mystery” either.

When the faithful panic and lose their sobriety and peace, when we fall for the delusion that this politician or that politician can rescue us from the confusion of the times, we display that we have also become victims of this “mystery of lawlessness.”

We forget that none of the events of our day surprised God or have caught Him unaware. We forget that the moments we live are all invitations to embrace the sober and peaceful life of confident Faith in the God Who made the world. We become “lawless” in our panic and lack of faith!

No wonder the Church gives us such stark and unbelievable saints like the “Stylites” to remember. The shocking stories of these radical practices are meant to wake us up to the dangers of complacency in remaining faithful to the wisdom of the Church. One such story is given to us today in the life of St. David, the Stylite of Constantinople. This man became a monk at age 12 and was moved by the piety and seriousness of St. Symeon the Stylite. Desiring to follow his example, St. Daniel lived the last 33 years standing on one of three pillars outside the Capital. Once, some of his disciples found him standing and covered with ice after a winter storm! He stood immovable in all kinds of weather and became the counselor of Emperors, hierarchs, priests, and laypeople. He reposed in peace at 84 years old in 490.

Today, there is no use browbeating your political opponents, thinking that your rhetoric or your powers of persuasion are enough to turn them from their chosen “mystery!” We who claim to love God must abandon the “mystery of lawlessness” for the sure and sober life of living a Normal Orthodox life!

P.S. With longing and zeal for things on high, O righteous one, you left behind all things that are found here below, when you built your pillar as another Heaven where you did flash with the light of wonders and signs. Do you ever pray Christ that our souls be saved.

Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV