and then the lawless one shall be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and shall annul by the appearing of his coming;
The verse names the moment when hidden evil finally takes a face and a name, and then, in the same breath, names its end. Who is this figure? What does it mean to be killed "with the breath of His mouth"? And why does Paul say the appearing of His coming, not just His coming?
Paul has just spoken of lawlessness working secretly. The verse marks where that secret work surfaces in one man.
Here we see the link between the mystery, or secret, of lawlessness already at work and that result. It was going on when the apostle wrote. The hidden leaven of evil, the mystery of lawlessness, will keep working until it comes out in this person, the lawless one. Then it will be secret no longer. It will be out in the open, defying God and trampling on all truth in the world — a complete abandonment of all revelation, and a rising up in personal pride and hostility against the Lord Himself. This is the lawless one or the Antichrist of John.
Some translations read "that wicked one" here. That word is too weak, and the difference matters.
I fully agree with those who find the word "wicked" far too weak. It should be "that lawless one." All lawlessness is wickedness. But not all wickedness takes the shape of lawlessness. An unfaithful person may behave badly and still acknowledge a real authority above him. Lawlessness means not only evil, but the complete rejection of every authority above him.
The first half of the sentence describes the character of the judgment, not a weapon the Lord picks up.
The first of these two means — the breath of His mouth — marks the character of the judgment. It is the word of truth applied in judgment according to the power of God. In the Revelation, it says that the sword proceeds out of His mouth. Here He is not spoken of as a man of war, as in Revelation 19. The breath of His mouth is that inward and divine power which kindles and executes the judgment. It is not an instrument, it is the divine source of power which carries out its purpose by a word (compare Isaiah 30:33).
Some have read "the breath of His mouth" as the gospel gradually wearing the evil power down. The wording itself rules that out.
To consume is not to weaken. Analisko, the word here translated "consume," strictly means to take away, to destroy. It is the word used in Luke 9:54. There the disciples ask our Lord if they may call fire down from heaven to consume the Samaritans. Surely that means no slow weakening, but utter and sudden destruction. Nor does the phrase "breath of his mouth" mean the gospel, or the gracious influences of the Spirit… Look at Job 4:9 and 15:30; Isaiah 30:28 and 33; also Isaiah 11:4. They show that this phrase expresses judgment on the wicked, not the saving work of the Spirit of God.
Verse 1 of this same chapter speaks of the Lord's coming and the gathering of His people to Him. Verse 8 adds a word that verse 1 never uses.
The apostle does not say "the appearing of His coming" when Christ gathers the saints… Here the subject is the destruction of the man of sin. So he speaks not just of His coming, but of the appearing — the brightness — of His coming. If the Lord appears when He comes to gather His saints, why is His appearing not brought in there? He might come and be seen only as far as He pleased. But here we have the open showing of His arrival… When He comes to take up His saints, what has the world to do with it? They belonged to Him, not to the world. He does not make the world a spectator before He appears in glory to destroy the antichrist.
This verse settles what an older prophecy meant, and it marks off the age that follows from the one we live in now.
There is no dispute here: Paul gives Isaiah 11:4 its authoritative meaning. The Lord Jesus destroys the lawless one with the breath of His mouth, and annuls him by the shining forth of His presence or coming. The Lord's appearing will bring in and keep up a wholly new age of triumphant power in righteous government. That age stands apart from this day of grace, when Satan reigns, and those who are Christ's suffer, yet overcome by faith.
Two men meet here, and their histories run in opposite directions.
One Man once obeyed and humbled Himself on the earth. God has exalted Him and made Him Lord of all. He is the one who destroys the lawless man — the man who lifted himself above everything and made himself as God, instead of obeying God.
- Then — what has worked in secret since the apostle's day comes out in the open, in one man.
- Lawless — his sin is not just bad behaviour. It is the total refusal of any authority above himself.
- Breath — no weapon, no war, no campaign: the inward divine power that carries out its purpose by a word.
- Appearing — he falls not at the coming that gathers believers, but at its public shining out, which the world will see.
- After — his end is the door into a new age of righteous government, the one Isaiah promised.
whose coming is according to the working of Satan in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood,
Paul now turns from the lawless man himself to the power behind him. Two hard questions follow. Will his miracles be real or fake? And why will so many people believe them?
Something holds this evil down for now. One event will take that restraint away.
The Church will be caught up to heaven. The Holy Spirit will then no longer have a house on earth. The results will be very serious and very immediate. The lawlessness now held down will burst out in the lawless one. For a brief moment Satan's working will have full scope. Satan will inspire this coming lawless man, and he will show Satan's energy in every detail. Notice how sweeping the expressions are. Satan will support him with ALL power, even to signs and wonders of falsehood.
"Lying wonders" does not mean stage tricks. The marvels will really happen. They are called lying because they deceive people.
These powers and signs will not be the trickery of some man-made priest, or the sham healings of men. They will be terribly real. They are called "lying wonders" because they will deceive men. So Satan's supernatural power will come with the lawless one. Men forget that spiritual beings exist — "angels that excel in strength." Satan is a fallen angel, but his powers are immense, far beyond the powers of man.
The three terms are not repetition. Each names a different effect on the person watching.
His doings are called "powers," because they are clearly beyond man. They are called "signs," because they carry meaning and teaching. They are called "wonders," because they are meant to attract attention and admiration. Among other marvels, he will be allowed to use the very miracle Elijah used on Mount Carmel. Elijah used it there to call Israel back to the Lord. Compare Revelation 13:13 with 1 Kings 18:24. This evil age is marked by unbelief in miracles. Even our Lord's miracles are doubted. How strange that it should end with a general and eager belief in them!
Paul's wording is not new. Peter used the same terms at Pentecost about Jesus of Nazareth. This man is a forgery of Christ, not just a rival.
The Lord Jesus is the Son of God, and in Him all the fullness was pleased to dwell. The man of sin, the son of perdition, is the enemy's terrible counterpart. The picture would not be complete without the dark addition of the unseen power of evil at work in him. The Holy Spirit gives it here in a few forceful words, and falsehood marks the whole thing: "in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood." These are the very terms Peter used of the Messiah, with the unquestionable contrast of grace and truth: "a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs" (Acts 2). How very solemn that this verse describes the anti-Messiah beforehand in such similar language!
If Satan can produce real marvels, a marvel on its own settles nothing. Test the message it backs against the word of God.
So reject at once any pretended miracle or apparent work of power that supports what is not the truth of the word. I may be unable to explain it: that changes nothing; it is not of God. He can only give testimony to the truth.
This test is not new. God warned Israel long ago about a sign that came true but led them away from Him.
Even miracles must not be taken as proof beyond question that those who perform them are sent by God. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 warns us about this. It supposes someone giving a sign or wonder that really came to pass, aiming to turn men away from their loyalty to the true God… So we must test miracles by where they lead before we accept them as tokens from God. And what keeps the soul safe? Paul's charge to the Ephesians in Acts 20:32: "I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified."
This man is still future. The pattern still warns us now.
The three things mentioned here — power and signs and wonders — are striking. They were the exact three things that proved the ministry of the Lord Jesus and His apostles when Christianity began. (See Acts 2:22; 6:8; Rom. 15:19; 2 Cor. 12:12; Heb. 2:4.) What men saw in truth at the beginning they will see in falsehood at the end of the Christian age. We live at that end now. Anything claiming to revive these things should warn anyone who wants to be faithful to Christ.
- Source. His coming runs on Satan's energy. Once the restraint goes, that energy has full scope — "all" power.
- Substance. The wonders are not tricks. They are the real strength of a fallen angel, and they are called lying because they deceive.
- Shape. Peter used these same three terms of Jesus in Acts 2:22, so this man is a forgery of Christ, not just an enemy.
- Standard. A real miracle is not the test of truth. Deuteronomy 13 tells us to judge the miracle by the message, not the message by the miracle.
- Safeguard. Your safeguard is the word of God's grace. A wonder you cannot explain changes nothing if it contradicts that word.