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 62:2 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

Summary

1 Enoch 62 describes the Chosen One seated on a throne, with the spirit of righteousness and his words destroying the unrighteous. 2 Thessalonians uses similar language to describe the lawless one being killed by the breath from Jesus' mouth.

Passages

1 Enoch 62:2

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses

1 The Lord commanded the kings, the mighty, the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, saying: 'Open your eyes and lift up your horns if you are able to recognize the Chosen One.' 2 The Lord of Spirits seated him on the throne of His glory, and the spirit of righteousness was poured out upon him. The words from his mouth slay all sinners, and all the unrighteous are destroyed from his presence. 3 On that day, all the kings, the mighty, the exalted, and those who hold the earth will stand, and they shall see and recognize how he sits on the throne of his glory, and how righteousness is judged before him, and no false word is spoken before him. 4 Pain will come upon them as upon a woman in childbirth, when her child enters the birth canal, and she feels the agony of delivery.

300 BCE – 100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 1 Enoch

2 Thessalonians 2:8

New Testament

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.

80–90 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Thessalonians

References

"... While Paul's language denotes kings and potentates, the apostle envisions a more comprehensive overthrow of wickedness, sin, and even death (compare Romans 8:38; Ephesians 1:21). When exactly this overthrow is to take place is not stated in the letter [1 Corinthians]. It was perhaps thought to take place at the parousia of Christ. This is suggested, for example, by 2 Thessalonians 2:8 ... In the Parables of Enoch, eschatological judgment is not implemented by God in heaven but by the Son of Man, understood as the title of a messianic figure, unlike Daniel 7 itself, who sits on a throne on earth (1 Enoch 46:2-3; compare 61:8; 69:29). According to 1 Enoch 62:2, he will implement the eschatological destruction of the wicked ... There may be a reflex of Danielic tradition, as in the Parables, in the apostle's use of the term parousia in 1 Corinthians 15:23.35 This is not explicit in this verse or elsewhere in the letter. However, elsewhere in the New Testament, this term has an explicitly Danielic resonance ..."

Matthew J. Goff, The Mystery of God’s Wisdom, the Parousia of a Messiah, and Visions of Heavenly Paradise (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2017), 175–192.

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

2 Thessalonians3 chapters

Compare 1 Enoch 62:2 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Summary

Passages

1 Enoch 62:2

2 Thessalonians 2:8

References

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