“Not one of them perished but the son of perdition” (John
17:12).
In the previous reflection I wrote that the Biblical
picture of perdition defies our understanding and is beyond our comprehension. I
am deeply thankful for this, for we are the children of God, we are not God, and
our dear heavenly Father wants the best for us; because He is our Abba, He
protects us. His protection includes guarding us from knowledge that would
poison us, warp us, and damage us. We do not have the capacity to know some
things, perhaps many things; when I write “capacity” I include the ability to
not be damaged by knowing and seeing certain things.
As it is, much of humanity already encounters evil on
an unspeakable scale, those of us who live in relative safety often ignore
this. Even within our own borders, within our own cities and towns and rural
areas, there can be unspeakable evil in myriad forms.
There are those who have encountered evil and have
no wish to know any more about it, then there are those who
haven’t encountered evil and tend to treat it as a theological or philosophical
plaything, then there are those who have encountered evil and desperately desire
to escape it, and then there are those who have sold themselves to evil.
The sons and daughters of God are called, in Christ,
to deliver others from evil (Isaiah 61:1 – 3). This means that those who have
no desire to know anything more of evil nevertheless continue to confront it as
it ravages humanity. I think of Doctors Without Borders, who place themselves
in the midst of the evil of war and genocide in order to save others, even though
they may suffer and die in the attempt – this should be a convicting example to
the Western church.
It is important to recall that we were all once dead
in our sins and were “by nature the children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1 – 3),
lest we become judgmental and not merciful. “You were formerly darkness, but
now you are Light in the Lord” (Eph. 5:8).
Jesus told a group of people, “You are of your father
the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” (John 8:44).
In 2 Thessalonians we read of the “mystery of
lawlessness,” and of “the lawless one” (2 Thess. 2.7 – 8).
We see glimpses of unspeakable evil in the Bible, yet
the Bible does not major on evil but on righteousness and love and mercy. In
Jesus Christ, we see that God has overcome, and is overcoming, evil with good. Unspeakable
evil is overcome by incomprehensive good in Jesus Christ.
We must not deny the existence of evil, and we must
not abandon those imprisoned within it; the “gates of hell shall not overpower”
the Church of Jesus Christ (Mt. 16:18), and greater is He who is in us, than he
who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Yet, our strength is not in looking into the
abyss and the ways of evil, it is not by being occupied with the mystery of
lawlessness and perdition, but by knowing Jesus, especially in community. Our
warfare is primarily engaged in as a people, we need one another in Christ – we
need the support, encouragement, and security of the Body of Christ.
However, when we live in a land with an
individualistic ethos, such as the United States, in which we are pretty much
on our own – within and without the church – our conflict with evil can be
especially challenging – isolation is a constant enemy (we can be among people
yet still be isolated).
(Bonhoeffer recognized the great need, the necessity,
for “life together” as darkness enveloped his nation and the church in his
nation.)
The lawless one is defeated by the appearance of the
Lord, the enemy is always defeated by the Lord’s coming – coming into our
lives, into the lives of others, making His appearance (2 Thess. 2:8). Darkness
is always overcome by Light.
2 Thessalonians Chapter Two is a passage for every
generation, including our own. The deception and “deluding influences” rampant
in the world and the professing church are exponential…many of which purport to
be Christian. This passage demonstrates what it looks like when the “son of
perdition” and the “mystery of lawlessness” are let loose in the world.
We can “see” these things, we can sense and even
understand some of their patterns and dynamics…but our eyes must always be on
Jesus, always on Jesus, for we are “hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:1
– 4; see 1 John 3:1 – 3 and its juxtaposition with 3:4 – 5; see Hebrews 12:1 –
3).
Our calling is to show Jesus to others, to be His
Presence in the world in the midst of unspeakable evil. Do we recognize that
the Sermon on the Mount includes the call to overcome evil with good so “that
we may be children of our Father in heaven” (Mt. 5:45)?
I do not understand much about “You are of your father
the devil” or of what Jude writes of those who have been “marked out for
condemnation…clouds without water…for whom the black darkness has been reserved
forever.” But I know enough to know that these things are a terrible mystery.
Our Father reveals enough to us to protect us, to warn us, and to help us help others;
He also hides enough to protect us, mindful of our frailty.
I am thankful that perdition is a mystery, that
whatever the “mystery of lawlessness” is that it is a mystery I do not need to
fully understand…for what I do know is bad enough, it is enough of a burden.
Christ Jesus is our Rock and Refuge; He is our Good
Shepherd protecting us; we have much to be thankful for…Jesus will lose none whom
the Father has given Him.
