Although 2 Thess 2 (the lectionary epistle for the third Sunday before Advent) is not read much in churches, it has been hugely influential, in its ideas of the ‘man of lawlessness’, and the ‘restrainer’—this second term being a controlling idea in Christian ethical thinking in the Middle Ages.
Yet it is almost impossible to know exactly what Paul is referring to! What we can learn, though, is his pastoral approach. The promise of the return of Jesus means an end to evil—so that we can live our lives in confidence, without speculation, doing the good works he has called us to.
To understand what the NT says about the End Times, see my Grove booklet here.
For a comparison between ‘man of lawlessness’, ‘antichrist’ and ‘the beast’ see this article.
For more on the NT use of ‘gathering’, see here.
The gospel reading this week is Luke 20.27–38, about ‘being like the angels’. For video discussion, see here.
and for written commentary, see here.
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https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=The+%e2%80%98man+of+lawlessness%e2%80%99+and+%e2%80%98restrainer%e2%80%99+in+2+Thess+2+video+discussion&&mid=46D3E63B7106C9F0867E46D3E63B7106C9F0867E&&FORM=VRDGAR
Or, directly on youtube: https://youtu.be/HBQGzEO8PHM
Thanks. Yes, it really would have helped if I had included the actual link…!
In the video discussion, James mentioned Mark 13:27 “And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.”
Who are the antichrist, the ‘man of lawlessness’, and the beast? | Psephizo
Having read the above link, there are a few good points but in general I feel it a bit one eyed , I would not be inclined to progress to an “authentic” booklet.
For me “”there is wisdom in a multitude of counsellors”
It is imperative to study this topic in depth
True it is not a popular subject to dwell on. It seems to me that some folks are overly concerned with the past rather than the future , of which there are multiple
references and counsels to consider e.g 1 Pet 1:13,
1 Pet 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
And Rev 3:3
“”there is wisdom in a multitude of counsellors”
Prov 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety .Cf. Prov 15:22
The phrase “there is wisdom in a multitude of counsellors” means that
seeking advice from many different people leads to better and safer decisions. This idea, found in biblical proverbs, suggests that relying on a variety of perspectives can safeguard against the limitations of an individual’s own judgment and help establish a plan more firmly.
Prevents poor decisions: A single person may overlook important information, but getting input from many different sources can highlight potential problems or alternative solutions you might not have considered alone.
Ensures safety and success: The principle is that a variety of advisors can lead to a better outcome, whether it’s a personal decision or a larger one. The proverb implies that without wise counsel, a project or a community is more likely to fail.
Requires humility: It takes humility to ask for advice, but it is a wise practice that shows you value the input of others.
Highlights the importance of diverse input: Different people have different experiences and insights, and gathering them together can lead to a more comprehensive and well-rounded decision. AI.
To this end I would recommend preceptaustin on 2 THESS.CH.2.
Here a number of eminent Gk. Scholars and theologians
are featured in plain language, with varying views
but broadly in agreement.
Would you believe it some even agreeing with J N Darby.
May God richly bless your endeavours,
perhaps your future ministry might press
this subject more earnestly for the health of your/His people,
Paul’s words are very comforting[strengthening]
P.S.
This begs the question dear pastor or teacher, are you instructing your flock on the things that Paul thought important to pass on to the new believers at Thessalonica?
THOUGHT – Future predictive prophecy occupies 20% of Scripture.
One-third of this 20% is focused on the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Speaks of the return to judge sinners and to reward the righteous
~660 general prophecies in the Bible and about 330 (50%) relate to Jesus Christ.
Of 330 prophecies about Jesus, about 110 refer to His first coming and 220 to His Second Coming.
There are 46 OT prophets – 10 spoke of His first coming and 36 of His Second Coming.
Estimated that >1500 OT verses refer to the return of the Messiah in glory and judgment.
Approximately one of every 25 NT verses relate to Christ’s Second Coming.
There are 8 NT mentions of the Second Coming for every mention of His first coming
Our Lord referred to His Second Coming 20 times and there are over 50 warnings in the NT that He is coming again.
UPSHOT? JESUS IS COMING! (Adapted from John MacArthur)
Preceptaustin on 2 Thess,2.
Shalom.
Some thoughts:
A quick AI cheat tells me that the early fathers and medieval scholars who were concerned about the restrainer considered that that figure was the Emperor or the Roman Empire. So depending on how you interpret this passage the Roman Empire could be the man of lawlessness or the one restraining the man of lawlessness. What a difference a couple of hundred years makes!
That I suppose leads me think who I might consider the man of lawlessness. Two considerations weigh on me: 1) the man of lawlessness can’t understood separately from the restrainer, and the restrainer who is both currently holding him back and will at some point be taken out of the way, and 2) this is always going to be difficult because, as St Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, we only see through a mirror dimly, and even he only knows in part. Maybe I chime in with the medieval ethicists (who knows), as I’m tempted to suggest we are the man of lawlessness – or rather our sinful nature is. Is our social order and secular ethics acting as a restraint, and one that might falter and fall away one day? An unrestrained and lawless man is destructive, and therefore doomed to destruction. And that sinful nature is what is overthrown in us by Jesus. Would that echo with 2 Thessalonians 1 talking about those who do not know God meeting everlasting destruction? Or is it all getting a bit Purgatory-esque? Not sure.
The other point that got me thinking was why we don’t read 2 Thessalonians much any more. Maybe it’s because it is so heavily about the end times and the hereafter, and concerned with punishment and destruction. The parody of Christianity is that our ethical code is to do XYZ or God will punish you by sending you to a fiery pit of hell. But of course the parody isn’t how Christians think about ethics at all. We act out of love, loving God and loving our neighbour, because of God’s love for us and the world, not a fear of hell. The real message of 2 Thessalonians is all at the end, and it’s not the parody of “so you’d better do as you’re told or God will send you to hell too”, but rather we can confident we are “to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit” and ends with a plea to the God who loves us to encourage our hearts and strengthen us in every good deed and word.
That’s probably enough for now.
Thanks–that is helpful. Yes, the rubber hits the road in the final chapter for sure.
Very good observation. Worth unpacking. Our sinful nature will ultimately be exposed for what it is. What a contrast to the usual interpretation that we should always be looking for a king/politician/etc who fits the profile
Paul is too specific for that, and it doesnt make sense within Paul’s reason for writing what he wrote to the Thessalonians.
Still, a valid platform to build on before leaping off into wild speculation about who is The Beast etc.? but sometimes it seems we are trying to line up moire patterns; when one theological idea lines up another dissolves in noise.
You need a better photo sensor Steve, to remove the moire, noise. Maybe a medium format digital sensor would come to your rescue to help with lines, delineations and continuities and discontinuities. A much clearer picture with less pixelated fudge.
The theology of pixelated fudge. …sounds like a good read.
There are limited options as to who the man of lawlessness could be. I dont agree you can generalise to argue mankind is this man, our sinful nature. Paul is very specific. His whole argument is to negate the idea some Thessalonians were entertaining that Jesus had already returned, because he says he could not have returned as the man of lawlessness had not arrived yet (or appeared in public), and that had to happen first. Indeed, after appearing and presumably going about his lawless/sinful ways, it is Jesus’ return that destroys him.
Some have suggested Nero as being this man. This makes some sense, as John refers to him as a beast but is in fact a man (whose number was 666). This would mean this beast in Rev is the same individual as Paul’s man of lawlessness. But then the problem with that is that obviously Jesus did not return in the 1st century and destroy Nero, or any other emperor for that matter.
Unless, either Paul isnt referring to Jesus’ return in judgement despite using ‘parousia’ but another ‘coming’ or presence (similar to his ‘coming’ to churches in judgement in Rev), or he is referring to his return but got the timing wrong. Many commentators believe Paul and other early Christians anticipated Jesus’ return within their life times, and I tend to agree, hence the ‘we who are alive..’ etc. Paul wasnt infallible.
Or it could be a future individual, who Paul and his fellow believers in the 1st century would never come across, nor anyone else in 2000 years and counting. Though that in itself seems odd as I get the impression Paul was not talking about some distant situation which his readers would know nothing about anyway. He was effectively giving them a sign to look out for.
So who knows!
I’m not sure about that. Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2 that the man of lawlessness has not been revealed, which isn’t quite the same as saying he isn’t here yet. After all, the power of lawlessness is already at work but being restrained.
Do we see much restraining going on in Revelation?
No, I am not sure we do at all.
*Unless* it is the call for ‘endurance’ on the part of the saints that is the ‘restraint’. I understand that, in medieval ethical discussion, personal discipline of Christians was one aspect of this.
Yes Adam is the epitome, exemplar man of lawlessness as in Adam, all humanity sins and dies.
Compare and contrast the second/last Adam, Jesus and a new humanity, creation in Union with Him.
Man of lawlessness could refer to past, present, future.
Rebellion finds a place in apostasy joined with lies: a rewind to the beginning, with figures, shadows, types and variations and magnification down history, pending the Day of the Lord, judgement.
I understood that we are watching out for a charismatic man with a Jewish parent who forms a seven year peace treaty between Israel and whoever and then he breaks it half way through and shows his true colours, demanding to be worshipped as God and setting himself up in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. He will make everyone have a microchip in their hand or forehead- the mark of the beast, without which they cannot operate in society- eat, buy, sell, travel etc and those who refuse will be arrested then later hunted down and put to death. Digital ID..leading to the social credit totalitarian slavery system.
Cashless society..no liberty…fifteen minute cities…sounds nicer than concentration camps.
The perfect red heifers are already in Israel and they have had a rehearsal killing one of them this summer.
What else…..seems to be those who think believers will be raptured pre-trib and those who don’t.
The whole world will turn on Israel and attack her- coming from the North.
Battle of Armageddon.
Jesus returning to The Mount of Olives….
Should this thread not be touching on some of this kind of stuff rather than avoiding what is in front of you?
I’ve never taken much notice of End Times talk….(my ptsd prefers it that way) but seriously…
I had a bit of an epiphany when I read , “ blessed is he who reads…hears.. takes to heart”. revelation doesn’t invoke blessings for those who read commentaries on it. Try and put to one side everything you know based on other people’s interpretations of Revelation and just read it. If you don’t ’get it’ , great, God is not revealing something to you. You can relax, go out and enjoy something.
Strange viewpoint in my opinion. God is concerned that his people perish through a lack of knowledge. It isn’t just ok if you don’t understand. The body (of Christ) as a whole needs to communicate and unpack such things so ALL may grow to maturity in faith and understanding.
Jeannie
But we cannot understand everything, even Paul felt he was groping in the dark at times. The challenge I find is know how to walk in the little I do understand. Jesus once said He would love to show us more, but we can’t handle it. He also said only those who choose to walk in what they are given will receive more. Understanding without obedience does not get us very far, and isn’t it the obedience bit most of us (I suspect – must not speak too readily of others) find difficult.
Jeannie – On Armageddon.
On my first visit to Israel during a communion service on Mount Carmel, I continually saw in the Spirit huge military transport planes coming down into the the valley below, bringing troops from the nations to surround Jerusalem. When I spoke to others afterwards, many had seen the same thing. We were a party of intercessors, and I knew none of the others before the trip. Nothing remotely connecting to this was said during the service, or (as far as I can recall) previously on the trip. We came from different backgrounds and mostly did not know each other, but a number I spoke to saw the same thing, huge military transports bringing the nations of the world against Israel.
It was an impromptu communion service, we weren’t even scheduled to be there, but the Lord had something for us to see and hear, and presumably – at the right time – to share. That was many years ago now, but I have not forgotten, and with every year which passes, it all feels that little bit closer.
Why do the nations rage, and the peoples imagine vain things? … They take counsel against the Lord and his anointed … But He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord has them in derision.
The great falling away or apostacy that comes before that man of perdition is revealed…just consider how England for example, was a country where God was respected and Kings and rulers honoured him.
Now he is publicly reduced to one of many gods by our king and Christ deniers publicly feast in the King’s home and declare that God has no son.
Apostacy is rife.
There is a falling away in this season.
Are we danger of romanticising the past? 19th century Britain saw a plethora of churchbuilding and huge religious revival efforts ranging from the Oxford Movement to the Salvation Army. But it also saw the brutality of the Crimean War, the mad scramble for Africa, the poor thrown into the workhouse, and the Irish famines.
Who is the Restrainer?
Possible contenders….
1) The Holy Spirit who has the power and ability to block The Man of Perdition in any way he wants.
2) The Church- The Body of Christ worldwide- through its prayer and its spiritual warfare (stand easy C of E!)
3) A Man of Global Power/ A King- Donald Trump would be a possible human contender for this role in the present day- actively pushing back against Evil Globalist policies and plots and plans and loudly declaring that Christ is Lord.
For what seems to me the logic of the Restrainer language etc, in the context of where Claudius and Nero were in their lives at time of writing, see my comments under psephizo 31.7.25 (‘Antichrist, man of lawlessness and the beast’).
31.7.20
Sovereign God Himself is the Restrainer. (As in the book of Job.)
And evil defeats evil.
But the restrainer is going to be taken out the way… That would be a very odd way to talk about God.
Or indeed about the Archangel Michael. But a very natural guarded way to talk secretly about the ailing mortal Claudius, whose name means ‘restrainer’ in a world where ‘restrainer’ is not otherwise a known eschatological figure at all.
I think that is a strong argument. However it does not make sense in the context of Jesus return, which Paul seems to refer to. Per my comment above he was either wrong about the timing or he wasn’t referring to the return but that seems unlikely.
It’s the same programme/schedule as Revelation. Nero (the beast) who has muscled in on the pantheon by means of his colossal statue, gets overthrown by the Lord’s coming. This happens after his (Nero’s) comeback, unless we take that comeback to BE the statue.
Nope.
I shall be using the lectionary readings on Remembrance Sunday at Mass, prior to th congregation and others gathering at the Act of Remembrance at the village war memorial. Indeed, I find it difficult to understand why in so many parishes all usual worship is cancelled and replaced.
Surely the point is that the horror and nastiness and loss of humanity that is warfare shows up the stark distinction between God’s kingdom, as represented by All Hallows celebrating the example and triumph of human sinners transformed by allowing God to work in them, and the celebration of Christ the King.
2Thess2:4 describes the man who “takes his seat in the temple of God declaring himself to be God” – and that is that aspect of humanity that causes conflict between nations, people, and war. Whether it be Antiochus Epiphanus, Genghis Khan, Xi Jinping, Putin, Kim Jong-il, Hitler, or anyone else. That is indeed an apposite reading for the day.
As is the reading from Job and Ps 17.
(My father was a soldier, and my mother in WW2; I was TA, and one of my sons is)
Yes, the more intense historical events are, the clearer glimpse we get of the way things really are in the great battle.
Not that that means Paul’s meaning is generalised to fit various people through history. He seems more to be speaking specifically, and of his own time.
but he isnt overthrown by the Lord’s coming, he commits suicide. The Lord did not return in the 1st century,
Hence my reference to the returned-from-death Nero of Rev 13, not least in conjunction with the colossal statue built in Nero’s final days. There are oodles of separate points to make here which is why I referred back to the 2020 discussion. 2 Thess’s reference to being slain by the Lord’s mouth at his coming is from the same stable as Rev 19. The installation in temple certainly sounds like a statue and reminds us of the Caligula scandal of a few years earlier. Both 2 Thess and Mark 13 mix neuter with masculine when speaking of the emperor, and Mark does so to establish an identity between emperor and statue such as is also seen in Rev: ‘the beast and his image’ are a merged unity, and the fact that the second beast leads a ritual where the statue of the first beast is front and centre shows that the first beast himself cannot be present physically, since if he were,he and not the statue would take the limelight. Consequently there may be a sense that the statue – given that it comes to life and speaks by priestcraft in the context of a religious ceremony – is the form in which he returns. Also Rev 17 says there is a symbiosis of 8th and (5th) emperors, Vitellius and Nero, which Rev 13 expresses as Vitellius, pontifex maximus and absorbed with Nero’s cult, exercising all Nero’s power in his presence (in his house, which is the statue’s site), referring in context explicitly to the statue. This statue was a true wonder, even giving the Colosseum(which it overshadowed) its name; just as no one had had a golden house before, no one had had a comparable massive statue. It was said that when it fell, so would Rome. There was also an oracle , found in Mark 13 and referred to by Eusebius, that the Jerusalem Christians should flee when Christians in general, or (more likely and practically) centrally in one central location, saw an abomination statue where it should not be, or where it was sacrilegious or overweening for it to be. This they did, and the flight was momentous, referred to in Rev 12 and Mk 13. The reason the Rome statue was taken to be the true abomination was that no one had ever seen anything so massive and it depicted the avowed enemy of God’s people as Antiochus had been, just at the time when this same emperor was sponsoring inevitable destruction of the Jewish land and temple. Van Kooten is good on the interrelation of the 3 texts, though we differ on some points including the dating of 2 Thess and the interpretation of Mark 13. The statue extremely soon became a statue of divine Apollo, the special patron of the dynasty because he had been Augustus’s patron (not least of Nero’s ‘music’). It was normal for emperors to be treated as gods especially after death. Nero’s own face was thus swiftly erased and his statue repurposed as Apollo the sun god as his stock fell: under Vespasian in Rome 70ff. – but even the original had been resplendent and solar, a monument to his arrogance and hubris. 2 Thess and Rev agree on his defeat at Christ’s hands.
Thanks for that Christopher. I understand the points you make, but the problem remains that Paul viewed the appearance of the man of lawlessness as an important sign that had to happen before Jesus’ return, and that it is his return in glory that destroys said man. That is his whole defence against the idea which some Thessalonians were believing that Jesus had already returned.
Do you therefore believe that Paul was simply wrong in his understanding, or that he was not in fact referring to the visible return of Jesus in judgement at the end of the age, but rather simply a coming in judgement against particular powers. Ian seems to believe Paul is referring to Jesus’ final return, because he used the term parousia. Indeed I dont see how you can interpret that any other way given Paul’s introductory words – “Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him…”
The words you quote seem like evidence of Paul initially expecting such an ingathering in his lifetime, an expectation reflected in the earlier letters only, and are generally taken that way. Maybe the. crisis referred to in 2 Cor 1 was in part a crisis in his thinking. However the installation in temple does sound more like a statue or representation, especially in the context of the Caligula crisis which is probably what had caused Paul to have included such an element in his earlier catechesis of the Thessalonians.
There are all kinds of dimensions to this. The year 51 was anyway they likeliest year of composition, but look at what happened that year. Claudius was ailing; he very surprisingly chose Nero as successor; Nero was therefore paraded before the military; Christians likely saw him as a callow teenager analogous to the troublesome Caligula and a great candidate to fulfil the prophecies that had troublesomely remained unfulfilled when the Caligula crisis petered out.
Rev and 2 Thess are the same here. Nero is generally held to be the beast, and is ‘thrown alive’ into the lake at the point of the Lord’s return, at which point in time he and his sidekick have been the most notable malign world powers.
Who is the restrainer? God the Holy Spirit.
https://biblehub.com/q/who_is_the_restrainer_in_2_thess._2.htm
As in the Trinity of God.
that doesnt make sense.
So, errrr, who is going to take God (the Holy Spirit) out of the way?
Adam, the only way would be if Christians are removed . Perhaps we are the Restraint. But I’m not sure. Seems to hyperspiritual . Paul is usually quite direct.
Don’t forget the strong delusion of verse 11. Currently the strongest delusion in our secular post-instititional-Christian society is that Islam is wonderful – a belief that is totally at odds with the secular worldview and everything about it.