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 Isaiah 11:4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

Summary

2 Thessalonians uses language from Isaiah about a ruler whose breath brings justice and ends corruption. In Isaiah, the ruler’s words restore fairness and order, and in 2 Thessalonians, this image becomes a picture of evil’s final destruction.

Passages

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.

740–450 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Isaiah

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.

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

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 ..."

G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2004), 344–345.

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 Isaiah 11:4 and 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Summary

Passages

Isaiah 11:4

2 Thessalonians 2:8

References

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