“The lawless one…the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of His presence” (2 Thess 2:8). This verse is full of loaded terms. The Word of God is potent here with a rich array of interrelated meanings. Three Greek words are especially worth highlighting. “The lawless one…the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath (pneumati) of His mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation (epiphaneia) of His presence (parousias).”
Another way to render the last phrase is that the Lord Jesus brings the lawless one to nothing by the “glorious appearance of His coming.” This turns us to the final coming of Christ but a similar feat is accomplished even now by “the manifestation of His presence,” “the epiphany of His presence.” Lawlessness is slayed and done away with even now as we let Jesus’ Eucharistic Presence be manifested to our souls, receiving the Spirit-breathed Word of Jesus or “the breath (pneumati) of His mouth.” In the context of Eucharistic Adoration, we can hear the verse in this way: “The Lord Jesus will slay and bring to nothing lawlessness with the anointed-word of His mouth and the manifestation of His presence,” precisely as we adore Him in the Eucharist.
The Real Presence Of Jesus Is The Truth
Jesus’ Real Presence overcomes all the illusions of the evil one, the father of lies. It is like darkness fleeing before light. It is like waking from a nightmare to discover real life again. It is the presence of the Lord overtaking the emptiness of godlessness. This is what happens in the Adoration chapel thanks to Jesus’ Real Presence.
The passage following this verse speaks of a “great deception” that will overtake many “in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth,” which is in contrast to those being “saved through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth” (2 Thess 2:11-13). The Real Presence of Jesus is the truth that overcomes the emptiness and illusory world of the father of lies. These verses highlight truth. Truth is important because it is about the Other. It is about the objective reality of the Other. Love of truth makes love to be true.
Otherwise, we love a figment of our imagination and not the true God. Otherwise we do not accept the truth of God’s plan and so put ourselves before God. In Eucharistic Adoration, we let the Real Presence and Spirit-breathed Word of Jesus overcome in us all lawlessness, disorder, and falsehood. And the more we put God’s word into practice the more our hearts are attuned and opened to the choicest graces from Jesus’ Eucharistic Heart.
The Devil’s Assault On Truth: Virtual Reality
The devil’s assault on truth and reality continues in our own day and is becoming more sophisticated. One way that people avoid real reality is through virtual reality. The Internet provides increasingly developed ways of living in an illusory world. This can range from video games, where one can inhabit an illusory universe, to chat rooms, where one can create a whole new identity and imaginary life not corresponding to real life. There is even the possibility of entering into a dating relationship with an avatar, an imaginary girl or boyfriend, who can have the exact physical specs you would like and who becomes increasingly romantic and graphic, as long as you are willing to pay for an upgrade in the subscription. Artificial Intelligence will become increasingly sophisticated, and through holograms, an illusory world will extend its reach even further and more alluringly. Whatever the Bible may exactly mean by the “great deception” (2 Thess 2:11), virtual reality must surely be a close ally of the father of lies and his deception. And it is not too much of a stretch to think of Hell as something like being hooked up to virtual reality forever, an illusory world keeping us from entering fully into the Real, the True, the Good, the Beautiful.
How Can I Tell If It’s Real Or Virtual Reality?
How will I be able to tell if what looks like my friend Ryan, really is Ryan or simply a hologram? Well, we can tell by his bodily presence. And at the heart of the Catholic Church is the bodily presence of Jesus. It is not Artificial Intelligence or Artificial Presence but rather Real Presence. Eucharistic Adoration is almost the exact opposite of Virtual Reality. Before a computer screen, one can easily be caught up in what he is watching and lose himself, almost as the inverse of losing ourselves in adoration before our Eucharistic Lord. Indeed, internet pornography may be even more directly the opposite of Eucharistic Adoration. In the former, one has titillating images but no real presence and someone basically saying, This is my body, and I will do with it whatever I want, even if against God’s plan. In the latter, one has what looks like simple, ordinary bread but you have the Real Presence of the most profound reality of all and a true love that exceeds all imagination. The God-man’s Body is given up for us on the Cross to accomplish God’s plan for our salvation and to win for us an authentic relationship of self-giving love.
Truth versus the great deception. Real versus illusory. Real Presence versus Artificial Presence. We have to admit that Artificial Presence can be alluring. Think of how many Catholics, even after covid, came to prefer the live-stream Mass to attending Mass in reality. As history moves forward towards the End, the battle lines will become more defined and the contrasts will become starker. For God or against God? For the truth or for illusions that tickle our sensuality or ego? For Real Presence or Artificial Presence? For Eucharistic Adoration or for superficial amusement on a screen? It is not the case that all use of the internet is evil or that it cannot be used to advance God’s Kingdom. But we do need to be alert and awake.
It is worth examining ourselves on the matter. Am I too immersed in virtual reality or an illusory world? Belonging to God involves belonging to Him in reality and this involves Jesus’ Real Presence. The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist will save the world. In Eucharistic Adoration, we are engaged in an eschatological battle and already join the triumphant song of those who worship the slain Lamb in heaven (Rev 5:8-14). All illusions, falsehood, disorder, and formlessness are overcome by the truth of Jesus. “The lawless one…the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of His presence” (2 Thess 2:8). And this happens even now as we open our hearts and adore the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.
Keep learning: How to Be His: A 33-Day Dedication to Our Eucharistic Jesus
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