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The meat of the word, part 13

We see from the examples of Absalom and Judas that not all of the types and shadows of the Old Testament point to Christ. Absalom was the prime type of antichrist, and Judas was the prime type of believers who (temporarily) support antichrist.

Absalom, being the usurper of David’s throne, set the pattern for the actions of Jewish leadership in usurping the throne of Jesus Christ. Absalom was, in effect, an anti-David. David was the true anointed one (messiah). A thousand years later, Jesus was the true Anointed One, the rightful Heir to the throne of David. That makes Caiaphas the centerpiece of antichrist, and his fellows in the Sanhedrin were part of his body.

Many Antichrists

We see this clearly in John’s description of antichrist in 1 John 2:18-24. The term seems to have been coined by John himself, as he is the only biblical writer to use the term. He does not limit antichrist to a single individual but speaks also of “many antichrists” (1 John 2:18) that had already appeared in the first century. He was not talking about Nero or Antiochus Epiphanes but about those who “went out from us but were not really of us” (1 John 2:19). Nero was a Roman emperor and Antiochus was a Greek king. Certainly, these share some common ground with the antichrists, but Absalom is the obvious biblical type of antichrist.

It appears that there were an unknown number of Jewish believers who had gone back into Judaism, thereby (in John’s view) rejecting Jesus Christ. Again, John describes them a few verses later in 1 John 2:22, 23,

²² Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. ²³ Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.

To deny the rights of Jesus as the Christ (Messiah-King) is to be part of the company of antichrists. Such people had sided with Caiaphas, who believed that he and his supporters could deny Jesus’ messianic calling while still believing that they were worshipping the Father.

This controversy, of course, simmered under the surface during Jesus’ ministry, because Jesus Himself spoke of it indirectly for as long as possible. John 10:24-26 says,

²⁴ The Jews then gathered around Him and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” ²⁵ Jesus answered them, “I told you, but you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.”

Jesus had “told” them who He was, not verbally but through His works. That is why the Jews wanted Him to give them a sound bite that they could quote in the Jerusalem press. He again refused to satisfy their curiosity, knowing that they were looking for evidence against Him. It was only after He raised Lazarus from the dead, two weeks before His crucifixion, that the people at large came to believe that He was indeed the Messiah. This controversy, then, broke out into the open afterward in the early days of the church.

During Jesus’ ministry, His primary claim was that He was the Son of God. That in itself had messianic implications, but Jesus avoided the label Messiah. Jesus said in John 5:22, 23,

²² For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, ²³ so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.

Again, we read in John 8:19,

¹⁹ So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.”

The bottom line is that one cannot claim to know and honor the Father without also knowing and honoring the Son that was sent by the Father. Those who disagreed with this assertion, John said, are antichrists, followers of the lead antichrist of the day, Caiaphas.

When Caiaphas and his supporters condemned the true Heir to the throne of David, they usurped power for themselves and became antichrists. In this way, they fulfilled the role of Absalom when he usurped power from David.

The Man of Lawlessness

In Luke 19:12-27 Jesus told a parable, where, in verse 12, “a nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.” This was a parable about Himself, when He was soon to ascend to heaven and return at the end of the age. The citizens (Jews) hated Him and appealed to God to give them a different messiah. This legal controversy would not be resolved until the end, after which time the “nobleman” would return to claim His kingdom.

This shows us that the legal controversy was not to be resolved legally for 2,000 years.

Paul picks up on this theme in 2 Thessalonians 2, when speaking about the second coming of Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 begins,

¹ Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. ³ let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

It seems that some believed that “the day of the Lord” was already past. Since this was written prior to the Roman war, it is likely that they believed that the day of the Lord occurred at the time of the crucifixion. (Some still believe this today.) But Paul says that “the apostasy” had to occur prior to the day of the Lord, and that this had not yet occurred, at least not on a wide scale.

The apostasy in question was linked to the revealing (or unveiling, exposing) of “the man of lawlessness.” This is not the rise of the man of lawlessness but rather his exposure to all. Meanwhile, this lawless one has taken his seat, as it were, in the temple of God in Jerusalem. Having overthrown the Son of God, he usurped not only the throne but the temple as well. The temple belonged to God, but Caiaphas’ rebellion usurped it for his own purposes.

Hence, Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:7,

⁷ For the mystery [secret, hidden] of lawlessness is already at work, only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

This is, I believe, a reference to Absalom’s antitype, Caiaphas, because it fits Paul’s description. It began with the revolt against Christ. As with Absalom, the lawless one was the one who had unlawfully usurped the throne of David. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 continues,

⁸ Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.

Apostasia and Apostasion

Yet the day must come when this usurpation of the throne and temple must be fully known—but not before “the apostasy” takes place. The Greek term, apostasia, which Paul uses, seems to include a double meaning. It means “a falling away, a forsaking.” By this meaning, it literally refers to believers falling away from the truth of the word. In my view it refers to Christian Zionism with all of its dependence upon the Old Covenant and its claim that the coming Kingdom will center around the earthly Jerusalem and Levitical priests offering sacrifices in a rebuilt temple.

The second meaning is seen in the neuter form of the word, which is apostasion, “bill of divorce, repudiation, casting away.” It is not merely a condition where one falls away but is cast aside.

https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g647/nasb95/mgnt/0-1/

In my view, this is a reference to Galatians 4:30,

³⁰ But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman.”

Hence, I interpret this to be a reference first to the apostasy of Christian Zionism which plays the modern role of Judas today—those who support and assist the usurpers of Christ’s throne. This apostasy had to come before the day of the Lord, Paul says. Today, as we come to the end of that time of apostasy, God is now revealing it to the world, exposing the lies through the Israeli genocidal policies upon Gaza, the West Bank, and now Lebanon.

The bondwoman, Hagar, the earthly Jerusalem, is about to be repudiated and cast out. The legal controversy over David’s throne and the Messiah’s position in the temple has been rendered in the courts of heaven, and this decision is now being manifested in the earth for all to see.

At the present time, this is still strong meat for many believers in Christ who fail to understand Galatians 4, the book of Hebrews, John’s description of antichrist, and Paul’s allusion to the Jewish high priest who had usurped the place of Christ in the temple.