2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the appearance of his coming; 9that is, the one whose coming is according to the work of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10and with all unrighteous deception for those who are perishing, because they did not accept the love of the truth so they might be saved.
8 καὶ τότε ἀποκαλυφθήσεται ὁ ἄνομος, ὃν ὁ κύριος [Ἰησοῦς] ἀνελεῖ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ καταργήσει τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ, 9 οὗ ἐστιν ἡ παρουσία κατʼ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει καὶ σημείοις καὶ τέρασιν ψεύδους 10 καὶ ἐν πάσῃ ἀπάτῃ ἀδικίας τοῖς ἀπολλυμένοις, ἀνθʼ ὧν τὴν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας οὐκ ἐδέξαντο εἰς τὸ σωθῆναι αὐτούς.
Paul is describing a sequence of the events before Jesus’ second coming. After the restraint is lifted, the lawless one will be revealed. At that point, this person will cause many problems, which Paul describes in verses 9 and 10. The activity of this person will come to an end when Jesus comes again. Paul describes this end as destruction (anelie) and being wiped out or abolished (katargēsei). This person’s time is limited, which should give comfort and assurance to believers who have to suffer at that time. Jesus will simply need to speak the word and this person will be destroyed.
The first characteristic of the lawless one in verse 9 is that he will do the work of Satan. This work comes first in the list and encompasses all the other descriptions. As the worker of Satan, the great deceiver, the lawless one will imitate the power of God. This person sets himself up in God’s temple and pretends to be powerful and divine. His actions are extreme extensions of the problem of sin, represented in arrogance and rebellion against God. This person performs miracles with powerful actions, signs and wonders, but these are all false. He is like the magicians of Pharaoh or the countless witch doctors and shamans throughout history. Satan imbues them with a certain power to do these miracles, but they are all false (pseudous). Another big problem is that the lawless one will deceive with unrighteousness. The grammar of this phrase could be taken as “deceptive unrighteousness” or “unrighteous deception.” This deception gets people to sin against God, which is what Satan has done since Adam and Eve.
Those who follow this deception and listen to the lawless one will perish. They will be destroyed like the one they follow. Paul uses strong words in these verses for the outcome of those who follow Satan’s deception through the lawless one: destroy, wipe out, perish. The reason for this outcome is that they did not love and accept the truth of the gospel or God’s revelation. These people are like those Paul describes in Romans 1:18-32. Judgment and God’s wrath are the outcome for those who follow the way of sin. These verses were a strong warning to the Thessalonians to stay true the gospel in the midst of their persecution. Be alert and do not be deceived. These verses are still relevant to us. There are many lawless leaders and people of influence who deceive people away from the gospel. Why is church attendance declining? Because people have abandoned the truth and followed a compromise. We must stay vigilant until Jesus comes again.
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