The Second Coming and the Son of Perdition
For the introduction to this series click here
I confess, this is a difficult passage. It’s not what he says about the second coming, rather it is some of the details surrounding what he says about the second coming. There will be dark days before the second advent, but there is comfort in the certainty of His coming and His sure and certain victory!
2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Paul mentions the second advent twice, so let’s start and end with these two references.
1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him – coming, the parousia; he is referring to 1 Thessalonians 4 where he spoke of his coming and our being caught up with them to meet the Lord in the air. Here he calls it the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him. Both of these chapters, 1 Thessalonians 4 and 2 Thessalonians 2, speak of the same event – the parousia of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and those who are alive and remain being caught up together with them to meet the Lord in the air.
That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us – It would seem teachers had come and confused the Thessalonians, claiming by a word of prophecy, by teaching, and by (forged) letters from Paul that...
the day of Christ is at hand – that the parousia could happen at any moment; “causing much distress and disturbance of mind to the brethren” (Simpson). Why would “at any moment he could return” teaching disturb them? The same way it has disturbed others – they quit their jobs, quit paying their bills, quit caring for family and folks around them because “Jesus is coming, right now!”
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Let no man deceive you by any means – don’t be fooled by teaching, by sermons, or by books telling you that Jesus could come at any moment...
for that day shall not come, except there come – that day refers to the parousia, the revelation of Christ; Paul, speaking by the Holy Spirit, is very clear, it shall not come before two things happen first...
a falling away first
Before the parousia of Christ, there must be, there will be, a falling away. Falling away is a translation of the Greek word, αποστασια or apostasy, and according to Thayer it means “a falling away, defection, apostasy; in the Bible namely, from the true religion (Acts 21:21; 2 Thess. 2:3).” A falling away from or forsaking of what? The Faith. Before Christ returns there will be a falling away from the faith, from the doctrines and morality of the faith. I think it is safe to say that apostasy has taken place, and not only in our lifetime. A brief glance at church history will demonstrate this. The Reformation. In the late 1800s there was the higher criticism movement which sought to strip the Bible of divine authorship. In the early 1900s liberalism burst on the scene, attempting to “update” the faith and make it compatible with modern thought. And look around today, even the “evangelical” church is accepting, embracing, promoting practices that just 50 years ago it condemned. Multitudes of “Christians” today deny Jesus is the only way, repudiate hell, reject the wrath of God, condone abortion, homosexuality, and immorality, all in the name of “love”. I believe we are living in times of apostasy.
and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition
Who is this man of sin, this son of perdition? None other than the antichrist. Paul says he had taught them about him, Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? Nevertheless, he refreshes their memory:
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed...
9 whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
This describes the career and character of the man of sin. The mystery of iniquity doth already work, it has been at work in the world since apostolic days, and is working today, but something is withholding/letting it, that is, hindering it, holding back its the full manifestation in the son of perdition. In v 6 Paul says, ye know what withholdeth... Is it any consolation that the Thessalonians knew what he was talking about? Yeah, not for me either!
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness
This man of sin, the son of perdition, antichrist, will be welcomed with open arms by those who have rejected Christ. They will gladly embrace him and his doctrines of God and Christ. The antichrist is the devil’s substitute for Jesus. The world will welcome him because they have rejected Jesus. The way of Jesus is straight and narrow and the flesh despises it. As for the way of the man of sin, wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.
Earlier I offered an abbreviated v 8, here is the entire verse
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
This brings us back to the second advent. The Wicked One shall be revealed, and run his course, but he shall be destroyed by the coming of the Lord.
the brightness of his coming – brightness is the third word used for the return of Christ, it is epiphaneia, epiphany, “an appearing, appearance; often used by the Greeks of a glorious manifestation of the gods, and especially of their advent to help” (Thayer). Coming is our word parousia. Epiphany speaks of his glory; apocalypse his power; parousia his presence.
“Paul here uses both epiphaneia (epiphany, familiar to the Greek mind for a visit of a god) and parousia (more familiar to the Jewish mind) of the second coming of Christ.” (A.T. Robertson)
Epiphany occurs a few more times in the New Testament and every other time it is translated appearing:
1 Timothy 6:14 That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Timothy 1:10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
2 Timothy 4:1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Timothy 4:8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Titus 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
The emphasis in parousia is presence, a coming that results in the presence of the one coming. I think it’s safe to say that the phrase, the brightness of his coming is to be understood as, the appearing of his presence. Amen. The mere appearance of Christ destroys the adversary!
Praise the Lord! Jesus is coming again. His coming is called parousia, apocalypse, epiphany. He will be revealed from heaven with power, he will appear in glory, he will come to be present with us. There are those who tell us that these words tell us of different comings, so that there is to be a secret coming (parousia) followed by his visible coming (revelation). No, there are not two or three second comings, there is only one second advent. And we are waiting for his parousia, his revelation, his appearing. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
This is your day • Prepare • Jesus is coming soon!
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