Let not any one deceive you in any manner, because [it will not be] unless the apostasy have first come, and the man of sin have been revealed, the son of perdition;
Paul writes to steady a church shaken by a report that the day of the Lord had already arrived. His answer is not reassurance but a timetable: two things must happen first, and neither has. (The writers below use older wording. They say "the falling away" for "the rebellion," "the man of sin" for "the man of lawlessness," and "son of perdition" for "son of destruction.")
The verse opens with a command. One writer says believers already hold all they need to obey it.
Leslie M. GrantWith the Word of God in our hands, the saints have no excuse for being deceived. Honest self-judgment and a real desire to do the will of God will keep the soul from falsehood, with the Word of God open before us… This passage tells us of Satan's masterpiece of deception. It will be shown publicly only after the Church is taken to glory, though its false teaching has gone before him into the world.
The words "that day will not come" were added by the translators. And "that day" is not the same event as the gathering of the saints.
William KellyThe coming of the Lord is bound up closely with the gathering of the saints. The day of the Lord is bound up with the carrying out of judgment on His enemies here below… "That day shall not come" was put in by our translators, and so it is printed in italics, though I believe it is substantially correct. The "day" will come after the apostasy — the public abandonment of Christianity throughout the Christian world.
Much hangs on one small word: "the." It points to a definite event, not a general drift into sin.
William KellyThe Authorised Version translators completely weakened the sense by rendering it "a" falling away. Beyond doubt it is "the apostasy." There is no ground at all for stripping the phrase of its deliberately definite force… It means abandonment, not corruption — just as in politics the word means revolt against authority.
The scale sets it apart, and so does how far it goes.
William KellyIn 2 Thessalonians 2 it is no such partial turning away. It is the extreme and widespread desertion of the gospel. It will boldly end in the throwing off of all revealed truth. It will also throw off what may be called natural religion — the witness to God's divine nature in creation and in man's conscience.
The apostasy and the man of sin are two different things, and they come in order.
J. N. DarbyThe first thing is the apostasy — not of the Jews (we have seen that in Daniel), but of the Christian world. It must happen before the judgment falls, before the day of Christ. So must the appearance of the "man of sin." He is clearly not the apostasy itself, but, I judge, follows it and brings it to its finish… He is the son of perdition, a name that belongs to him by his nature, his character, and his acts.
His title marks a deliberate opposite.
William KellyThe abandonment of the Christian faith leads to another and worse development of evil: the revelation of "the man of sin, the son of perdition." He is to be the clear and personal contrast of Christ, the Man of righteousness, the Saviour of the lost. He will concentrate in himself the wickedness of man and the destructive power which Satan wields.
One writer explains what sin is at its root:
F. B. HoleNow sin is lawlessness — the creature breaking loose from the control of the Creator, to assert and carry out its own will.
The second title links him to Judas.
An Outline of Sound WordsHe is called the "man of sin," because in this man we will see what happens when a man is left to do his own will, with no restraint from God or man. As in the case of Judas, he is called the "son of perdition," for just as Judas was a traitor among the favoured band of disciples who went about with the Lord, so this man will arise from the ranks of professing Christians. Both men are doomed to perdition, or utter destruction (John 17:12).
Commentators differ over naming this figure. Many have applied him to the Pope; Kelly refuses, and points instead to what really produces the apostasy.
William KellyI am aware that many people apply this to the Pope of Rome. I do not for a moment agree with them, though I regard that system as a frightful delusion… No, the apostasy is the result of despising the gospel, of playing with the truth, of keeping up forms that are not real, and then throwing them off with shame.
- Deceive — the verse begins with a warning. An open Bible and honest self-judgment guard the soul against Satan's masterpiece of deception.
- Abandon — "the apostasy" is definite. It is not slow corruption but open revolt: truth once professed and then thrown off.
- Reveal — the apostasy comes first. The man of sin follows it and brings it to its finish.
- Contrast — he is the opposite of Christ, the Man of righteousness. He is a man doing his own will, with no restraint from God or man.
- Perish — "son of perdition" was Judas' name too. Like Judas, this traitor rises from inside the circle of professed faith, and like Judas he is doomed to utter destruction.
who opposes and exalts himself on high against all called God, or object of veneration; so that he himself sits down in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Paul has just named the coming figure: "the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction." This verse tells us what he does. He sets himself against every object of worship and takes God's own seat. Two questions press: which temple is meant, and how could anyone accept such a claim?
The man refuses every god, then takes God's seat. One writer shows how the two acts belong together.
Leslie M. GrantHe "opposes and exalts himself above (or 'against') all that is called God." Every denial of God is in itself self-exaltation. Pride and self-will are behind it. Yet notice he opposes "all that is called God or that is worshipped." We know that alongside a true idea of God there are many false ideas. People call their many idols "God." But the man of sin will refuse all of these together, true or false, and make himself the object of veneration. "Sitting in the temple of God, he shows himself that he is God." The temple was not a place to sit, even for the high priest: "every priest stands daily at his service" (Heb. 10:11). But this man, who is not even a priest, will take the throne that belongs to God.
The passage is often read as a description of tyranny in government. One writer insists the emphasis falls elsewhere.
J. N. DarbyThe character of the wicked one is religious here, or rather anti-religious. The apostle does not speak of a secular power of the world, whatever its wickedness may be. The man of sin takes on a religious character. He exalts himself against the true God, but he shows himself as God in the temple of God. Notice here that the sphere is on earth. He is not a god for faith. He shows himself as a god for the earth. The profession of Christianity has been abandoned. Sin then marks out an individual, a man. He fills up the measure of human nature's turning away from God. As a man, he proclaims his independence of God.
Some have taken "the temple of God" to mean the church. One writer gives two reasons for reading it as the building in Jerusalem instead.
Frederick W GrantHere we might think of the Church as the temple of God, except for two things. (1) He is an apostate. He does not profess Christianity at all, as we have seen the antichrist does not. (2) The connection with an abomination of desolation standing in the holy place is so simple, and it fits the conditions so well, that it is hard to suppose any temple other than the Jewish one is meant.
Others have applied the verse to the papacy. One commentator argues that the claim here goes far beyond it:
William KellyThe lawless one is to be a sinner beyond sinners, the man of sin, who wants to be God. He claims the honour of the Supreme One on earth, in His temple. It is not a matter of mere earthly things or personal vain glory, like Herod in Acts 12… It is a mere imposture for the Pope to call himself vicar of Christ and head of the church on earth, while formally acknowledging the Lord in heaven. But for this reason he does not match the arrogant self-exaltation of this future enemy. That enemy raises himself above all that is called God, or any object of religious veneration.
Older English versions add two words here: "he as God sits in the temple of God." One writer explains what those words change.
William KellyThere is not enough support for the words "as God"… They soften the force, where the true text leaves the claim in its full arrogance.
Line by line, this man inverts the life of Jesus.
The Bible TreasuryOn the page of Scripture and of eternal history, two men stand out as exact opposites. One is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man of righteousness. The other is the man of sin, in whom the wickedness of the race comes to its peak. Jesus, being God, emptied Himself to become a servant. The other, only a man, shows himself in the temple that he is God… When they wanted to make Jesus king, He refused, for He had come to suffer, not to reign. The other takes the place of king and will exalt and magnify himself… Jesus was rejected and crucified. The man of sin will be accepted and worshipped.
Why would anyone welcome such a man? One writer says it is a further step beyond rejecting the true Messiah.
William KellyBy and by the Jews will take the further step of receiving one who comes in his own name, and this as their Messiah. This will no doubt be the depth of moral darkness, for Scripture is not silent about the righteous and holy character of the LORD's Anointed.
- Opposes — he refuses every object of worship, true or false. He clears the field so that he can stand in it alone.
- Sits — priests stood and served. He takes the seat, claiming the throne that belongs to God.
- Where — commentators point to a temple in Jerusalem, not the church. This man gives up the Christian profession completely.
- Claims — the stronger reading drops "as God" and leaves the boast bare: he shows himself that he is God.
- Inverts — Christ, being God, emptied Himself and was rejected. This man, only a man, exalts himself and is welcomed.