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2 Thessalonians

About this book
Chapter 2

1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,⁠ 2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.⁠ 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship,⁠ and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God.⁠ 5 Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you. 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. 11 Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.⁠ 12 And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned. 13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 He called you to this salvation through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say.

Texts in conversation

Compare 1 Enoch 99:8 and 2 Thessalonians 2:11

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

2 Thessalonians 2 describes a future delusion sent upon the unrighteous due to their rejection of the truth, echoing 1 Enoch 99 where blindness of heart leads people into deception and idolatry.

Passages

1 Enoch 99:8

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses
5 And in those days the impoverished shall go forth and carry off their children, and they shall abandon them, so that their children shall perish through them: Yes, they shall abandon their suckling children and not return to them, and shall have no pity on their loved ones. 6 And again I swear to you, sinners, that sin is prepared for a day of unceasing bloodshed. 7 And those who worship stones, and carved images of gold, silver, wood, stone, and clay, and those who worship impure spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to knowledge, shall receive no help from them. 8 And they shall become godless by reason of the folly of their hearts, and their eyes shall be blinded through the fear of their hearts and through visions in their dreams. 9 Through these, they shall become godless and fearful; for they shall have conducted all their work in a lie, and shall have worshiped a stone: Therefore, they shall perish instantly.
300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

2 Thessalonians 2:11

New Testament
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. 11 Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false. 12 And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned.
80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Thessalonians

References

"... 1 Enoch 99.8 ... in the figurative sense with reference to the organs of religious and moral perception, compare 11:10 (quoting Psalm 68:24) and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. (Testament of Reuben 3:8; Testament of Levi 14:4; Testament of Gad 6:2). It had a broader use than its modern equivalent ('heart'), denoting the seat of the inner life, the inner experiencing 'I,' but not only in reference to emotions, wishes, or desires (e.g., 1:24; 9:2), but also in reference to the will and decision making (e.g., 2 Corinthians 9:7) and to the faculty of thought and understanding, as here (see BGD; Jewett, Anthropological Terms, 305-33); see also on 2:15 and 8:27. Paul's point is that man's whole ability to respond and function not least as a rational being has been damaged; without the illumination and orientation which comes from the proper recognition of God his whole center is operating in the dark, lacking direction and dissipating itself in what are essentially trifles ..."
James D. G. Dunn, Word Biblical Commentary: Romans 1-8 (Dallas: Word, 2008), 60.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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  • Who taught to smite the embryo in the womb?

    Darnell, August 31, 2024

1 Enoch 99:8 and 2 Thessalonians 2:11

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