Isaiah 11:4

Hebrew Bible

2 The Lord’s Spirit will rest on him—a Spirit that gives extraordinary wisdom, a Spirit that provides the ability to execute plans, a Spirit that produces absolute loyalty to the Lord. 3 His smelling is in the fear of the Lord7. He will not judge by mere appearances or make decisions on the basis of hearsay. 4 He will treat the poor fairly and make right decisions for the downtrodden of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth and order the wicked to be executed. 5 Justice will be like a belt around his waist, integrity will be like a belt around his hips. 6 A wolf will reside with a lamb, and a leopard will lie down with a young goat; an ox and a young lion will graze together, as a small child leads them along.

2 Thessalonians 2:8

New Testament

6 And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time. 7 For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. 9 The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders, 10 and with every kind of evil deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.

 Notes and References

"... A non-literal notion of ‘sitting in the temple’ is supported further by the observation of many commentators that 2 Thessalonians 2 is apocalyptic in nature. ‘Sit on a throne’ (with kathizō or kathēmai) in the Apocalypse is used often (approximately 15 times) figuratively for God, Jesus or saints being in a position of authority, which is enhanced by the obviously metaphorical picture of Jesus ‘sitting on a cloud’ in heaven (in Revelation 14:14–15). Perhaps most comparable to 2 Thessalonians 2:4, however, is the negative picture of Babylon the Whore ‘who sits on many waters’ (Revelation 17:1) and is dressed as a priest (17:4; 18:16), which is interpreted as ruling over ‘peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues’ (Revelation 17:15, 18; 18:7). This conclusion is consistent with the apocalyptic imagery of 2 Thessalonians 2:8 that is based on the same Isaiah 11:4 text as in Revelation 19:15, both of which portray Jesus judging the final enemy. The Revelation passage portrays Jesus defeating the corporate foe and their leader, while 2 Thessalonians pictures Christ ‘slaying’ the eschatological fiend ‘with the breath of his mouth’. The depiction in both apocalyptic passages underscores Jesus’ convicting and punishing the enemy by means of God’s Law that has been disobeyed ..."

Beale, G. K. The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (pp. 344-345) InterVarsity Press, 2004

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