Great post! After I left behind dispensationalism, the view you articulated made so much more sense. And yet, I was challenged by something John Stott wrote in his 2 Thessalonians commentary: "Yet all these, together with evil leaders down the centuries, have been forerunners or anticipations of the final 'man of lawlessness,' an eschatological yet historical person, the decisive manifestation of lawlessness and godlessness, the leader of the ultimate rebellion, the precursor of and signal for the Parousia. I agree with Geerhardus Vos that 'we may take for granted. . .that the Antichrist will be a human person. And whether we still believe in the coming of Antichrist will depend largely on whether we still believe in the coming of Christ." I'm not sure I agree with him but it's stuck with me.
Yeah, I agree. I don’t rule out that possibility, either. It’s hard to say much with certainty because the New Testament simply doesn’t give an entirely clear picture, mostly hints and guesses that the original communities probably had more context regarding it. I think we just need to be honest about how speculative all this is.
Great post! After I left behind dispensationalism, the view you articulated made so much more sense. And yet, I was challenged by something John Stott wrote in his 2 Thessalonians commentary: "Yet all these, together with evil leaders down the centuries, have been forerunners or anticipations of the final 'man of lawlessness,' an eschatological yet historical person, the decisive manifestation of lawlessness and godlessness, the leader of the ultimate rebellion, the precursor of and signal for the Parousia. I agree with Geerhardus Vos that 'we may take for granted. . .that the Antichrist will be a human person. And whether we still believe in the coming of Antichrist will depend largely on whether we still believe in the coming of Christ." I'm not sure I agree with him but it's stuck with me.
Yeah, I agree. I don’t rule out that possibility, either. It’s hard to say much with certainty because the New Testament simply doesn’t give an entirely clear picture, mostly hints and guesses that the original communities probably had more context regarding it. I think we just need to be honest about how speculative all this is.