2 Thessalonians 2:9. “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,”
SIGNS AND LYING WONDERS. The reason for the signs and wonders when the Lord was here among men, Was to bless men and to get their attention, and point them to the God from heaven Who came to earth in the flesh to bless them and to save the lost. The signs and wonders He did prove He could pay sin’s awful cost.
He lamented that men would not believe unless they saw signs and wonders. No doubt those He did while here caused many to stop and ponder. But those acts did not save the souls of all who then looked on. The point was then that they would believe Jesus Christ is God the Son.
Counterfeits have tried since then to use the same technique. To get followers to come after them rather than the Savior seek. Even when the disciples did wonders after Christ was risen – The power of the Spirit to do those things ceased after the scriptures were written.
The lawless one will use demonic powers to attract people unto him. And because of lying wonders, will by deception take them in To his sphere of influence, where they trust him because of those signs – And many will follow him because they are like the blind following the blind.
Miracles and signs done by the Lord Jesus had a good purpose. They were to help and heal, and point men to God and the One who saves us. This counterfeit “Christ” will use satanic power to lead people away from God. We know that when this happens, such a one is not from the Lord.
Even today, in a lesser way, there are those trying to win each man By signs and lying wonders, which are done by the sleight of hand. But because of that, they increase wealth and achieve a following – Some of the same results they see now will be done by the man of sin.
“Father God, I know Thou art a prayer answering God and for Thy own reasons can heal or leave Thy people sick. For this, I give thanks and am assured that my prayers are not useless exercises. Help me- and all – to discern between a work of God that points people to Thee and a work of man that increases wealth and points people to a sinful man. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.”
The man of lawlessness is going to make evil attractive to unbelievers, and they will fall for his deception because they will not receive "the love of the truth." Truth is the message; love is the embodiment of Truth, our Lord Jesus Christ. To reject His message is to reject Him personally. We need to remember that when we preach the Gospel. God is good, everything He created is good, and His Gospel is good, but sin has ruined the world, and Satan will try to take advantage of that through the man of lawlessness. God has allowed mankind the power of choice, and men have, and will in the future, still choose his lies and evil instead of righteousness and truth. Deceit is a major device Satan uses. They will welcome the lie that is personified in the man of lawlessness. God is stronger than evil and will restore truth and mankind to its original purpose. Some assent to the truth but are not saved. When people receive "the love of the truth," they are accepting a Person.
To not receive the love of the truth brings judgment. God is going to make sure those who could have been saved will not be saved. They will believe the lie told by the antichrist that he is God. Not receiving the love of the truth is contrasted with what God will send. The delusion of the antichrist being "the Christ" will be believed by those who refuse the grace of God and refuse to be reconciled to God. The consequences of choice determine the results of that choice. People will choose darkness rather than light; will pay attention to lies instead of truth; will believe trickery instead of reality; will follow Satan instead of God; will go to hell instead of heaven; and have eternal death instead of eternal life. Satan focuses his energy on deception and outright lies.