We've all read it:
LAKE OF FIRE, part XIV:
THE PARENTHETICAL STATEMENT IS FOR BELIEVERS ONLY
(whom [the beastly man of sin/son of perdition] the LORD shall consume with the spirit of His mouth [IN US-WE, believers and lovers of the Truth] , and shall DESTROY (caps are mine) with the brightness of His coming [IN US, making His presence known IN US, destroying the beastly man of sin/son of perdition IN US, making the 'Day of the Lord to be at hand' FOR US, and IN US] )!
And this:
BEFORE THE DAY OF THE LORD CAN COME TO YOU
Here then is what must be accomplished in your life before you die:
Let no man deceive YOU by any means: for that day shall not come [TO YOU...] except there come a FALLING AWAY FIRST [BY YOU...] , and the man of sin be revealed the son of perdition [IN YOU...TO YOU...] ; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped [IN YOU ...] ; so that he as God sits in the temple of God ['which temple YE ARE' II Cor. 6:16] showing himself that HE IS [YOU ARE / I AM] a god.
And this:
"And then shall that Wicked [Lawless One] be revealed [opening parenthetical statement] , (whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming) [closing parenthetical statement] ; whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,...."
All this while I've been thinking (hoping) this (destroy and consume) is...an earth shattering, ground shaking, phenomenal, blind-side one time event.....In that, 'one day', un-assuming, suddenly and super-naturally GOD will reveal, as in a mirror, 'see this man, here is the lawless one ...in you...and I TODAY, (now that I've revealed him to you), will consume and destroy him and he will be NO MORE. ' And then life as we know it becomes just perfect. No doubt a supernatural event when he does reveal the man of sin that harbors in each of us, but, I'm beginning to consider that this is not a one-time event. I'm beginning to consider we are 'prodigal sons'. GOD calls us out of the church, Babylon, the swine field, the world, he causes us to "look back". And, he causes us to CONTINUE looking back, ever more deeply, to see the beast we have been/are, and gives us a keener sight of that 'lawless one' more and more each and every day. We regret. We become ashamed of our lifelong conduct. We begin to see, as he reveals to us, our idols of the heart with each passing day and Christ begins and continues the crushing of those idols to powder. And the 'old man' resists, very strongly, calling always on the re-enforcements of spiritual wickedness in heavenly places. The great spiritual battles. We begin a new forward and upward march toward the heavenly Jerusalem. We don't just suddenly change and become sinless (although dead to sin) because now we see what we have been/are, we begin a strive for perfection through the workings GOD and his son as they are perfecting in us.
But, I don't know. Random thinking. I could just be all delusional on this.
RAY: destroying the beastly man of sin/son of perdition IN US, making the 'Day of the Lord to be at hand' FOR US, and IN US] )!
I think "destroy" is better placed as Ray states it: "destroying". MAKING us in his image. A process.
What say you?
Sounds good to me. The phrase "to die shall you be dying" does come to mind. In fact, this was the very warning or command God gave to the children of Israel if they even touched the mountain.
Exo 19:12 And you shall set limits to the people all around, saying, Be careful for yourselves, not going up into the mountain and touching its border; everyone touching the mountain dying shall die.
Exo 19:13 Not a hand shall touch him, but stoning he shall be stoned, or piercing he shall be shot through. He shall not live, whether animal or man. At the sounding of the ram's horn, they shall go up into the mountain.
Hebrews adds that the children of Israel were unable to endure God's command.
Heb 12:20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
Heb 12:21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
Hewbrews then goes on to encourage us to endure the shaking of earth and heaven; of which you are.