The Man Of Lawlessness and 2 Thessalonians Question

[Walk Softly]

3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness a is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

This verse has troubled me for a long time, because the standard interpretation assumes that the man of lawlessness is the antichrist, so the implication is that the Rapture will not come before the AC does. So, this morning I got out Word Pictures In The New Testament and Strongs to see what I could learn. Word Pictures discussion on 2 Thessalonians was very interesting.

Word Pictures reveals that the word rebellion is the Greek apostasia, apostasy. Then there is the Greek for man as in "man of lawlessness"; the Greek for "man" is athropos, the root of our word anthropology. Anthropos can and does very much refer to people, ie humanity in general. So when I combined apostasy with sinful humanity, there would seem to be an alternate wording of verse 3. Instead of "the man of lawlessness", it would seem that at least some manuscripts say the sin of lawlessness! So if you say it this way: "for that day will not come until the apostasy occurs and the sin of lawlessness a is revealed, the people doomed to destruction", you get a picture that very much resembles the things we see happening in the church at large this year and for the last few years where homosexuals are ordained and some claim that muslims, Jews and Christians (and in some cases everyone else) worship the same God in different ways.

If my understanding of this is correct, then everything else we understand about the pretrib Rapture seems to make more sense. Please don't jump me for posting this. I am not sure I am right, this is a question, not a declaration. Peace to all, even in these troubled and troubling times...

 

[mattfivefour]

That's an interesting thought, WS; however I'm respectfully going to suggest the Greek manuscript wording supports the traditional view of this passage referring to the Antichrist. Here are my reasons:

The entire concluding phrase at the end of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 reads ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ ἀνομία ὁ υἱός ὁ ἀπώλεια, literally "the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction (that word contains the ideas of perdition and eternal ruin). Translation depends not just on raw vocabulary, but on grammatical form and context. If the ánthropos in this verse referred to a people rather than a man, then it and its adjective anomía (lawlessness) would be plural not singular. However, in both cases it is singular. Secondly, both the noun and the adjective are preceded by the definite article "the", again specifying an individual. And then there is an expansion on who this ho ánthropos ho anomía (the man of sin) is, immediately following. It says that he is "the son of destruction," again suggesting a specific individual.

Finally, a very few verses later there is another clue that, I believe, leads us to the idea that this is an individual and not a people. 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8 say that when the One who now restrains (scholars believe this refers to the Holy Spirit indwelling the Church and operating through her) is removed, then "the lawless one" (ὁ ἄνομος) will be revealed. Clearly it makes sense that this "lawless one" is the same person as the "man of lawlessness" referred to five verses earlier. Respectfully, the context demands it.

So, all said and done, I think it clear that 2 Thessalonians 2 is speaking of an individual who, we know from Revelation, will be the one known as the Antichrist. But this should not raise concern about the timing of the Rapture. The passage is very clear that the Rapture comes before the revealing of the Antichrist; but while that much is clear, it does not necessarily mean the Rapture will occur immediately before. It simply says that once the Church is gone, then at some time following the Antichrist will be revealed. It could be years, though I very much doubt that. I tend to think that once we are gone and Satan discovers he is no longer hindered in his work, he will move very quickly to exert his power and extend it over all humanity. Our blessed hope is that we shall be gone before the Antichrist arrives on the scene and before God pours out his wrath upon this planet and its inhabitants.

I hope this helps, sis.

 

[Chris]

Yes, rapture first, then AC.

I've been very disappointed to find another popular pre-trib ministry teaching that the AC comes first, then the rapture.

Anyway, the scriptures are the final say and they support the rapture, then AC order.

 

[Walk Softly]

Thank you Adrian, your explanation lifted a heavy burden off my mind. I think a lot of people get confused, as did I, thinking that the antichrist must be revealed before the Rapture.

I did know that just having the brief explanation from my limited sources wouldn't be adequate for me to attempt a good translation, and I thank you for sharing your hard earned knowledge on this issue. Could I ask you one more favor if you can find the time? Could you translate fully verse 3 in such a way that clarifies how the man of lawlessness/sin ties together with the word that translates as apostasy? I got really hung up on that part.

Again, thank you and God bless you deeply.

 

[Walk Softly]

Yes, rapture first, then AC.

I've been very disappointed to find another popular pre-trib ministry teaching that the AC comes first, then the rapture.

Anyway, the scriptures are the final say and they support the rapture, then AC order.

Chris, the way the English translation words verse 3, can make it seem that the AC comes before the Rapture. I honestly thought that is exactly what was implied and it has troubled me for many years. Given how unstable the world has become this year, it troubled me more than ever!

 

[antitox]

If the AC showed up before the rapture every true believer would be hollering, "That's him! That's him!" "BAD!"

 

[Sojourner414]

Yes, rapture first, then AC.

I've been very disappointed to find another popular pre-trib ministry teaching that the AC comes first, then the rapture.

Anyway, the scriptures are the final say and they support the rapture, then AC order.

Which ministry was that?

As for Walk Softly's question: I can see where Scripture can get a little confusing here:

"Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10, NASB, emphasis mine)


Since these are mentioned together, at first blush, it can appear that Paul is talking about them as one event.

However, here is a big difference between "our gathering to Him" and "the Day of the Lord"; they can't be the same event due to several differences that clearly delineate the two. Paul explains here that letters were being sent saying "the Day of the Lord was at hand!" when the Rapture hadn't even come yet, and Paul was clarifying to the Church that it could not be so, as the the Man of Lawlessness had not appeared (Antichrist). He also explained that the Restrainer had to be removed so that the Antichrist could appear, which meant that the Church could not be here for it.

I think it's good to have these questions here, so we can demonstrate via examination of Scripture, why what we believe is correct. The Pre-Trib Rapture is Scriptural, and I think this passage, once "unpacked", demonstrates that.

 

[cheeky200386]

Exactly as above. Jesus' coming and our gathering up to him are different than the day of the Lord that 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is referring to. It helped me to read Revelation 19:11 and see that when heaven opens up and Jesus makes his appearance there is no mention of a gathering to him occuring. That further proves that the gathering up to him at his coming in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 is different than the day of the Lord (Jesus' return to Earth) which 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to.

I just put this together today with a friend of mine. I had been confused by the wording of verse 3 for years.