2 Thessalonians 2:8

Contextual Overview

³ Don't be fooled by anything they might say. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away from God happens. And that day will not come until the Man of Evil appears, the one who belongs to hell. ³ Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, ³ Let no ma deceave you by eny meanes for the lorde commeth not excepte ther come a departynge fyrst and that that synfnll man be opened ye sonne of perdicion ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, ³ No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ³ Do not let anyone fool you in any way. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away from God happens and the Man of Evil, who is on his way to hell, appears. ³ let no man beguile you in any wise: for [it will not be,] except the falling away comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, ³ Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, ³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

that: 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Matthew 13:19, Matthew 13:38, 1 John 2:13, 1 John 3:12, 1 John 5:18

whom: Daniel 7:10, Daniel 7:11, Daniel 7:26, Revelation 18:8-10, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 20:10

the spirit: Job 4:9, Psalms 18:15, Isaiah 11:4, Hosea 6:5, Revelation 1:16, Revelation 2:16, Revelation 19:15, Revelation 19:20, Revelation 19:21

with the brightness: 2 Thessalonians 1:8, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Hebrews 10:27

Reciprocal: Exodus 15:8 - blast 2 Samuel 23:7 - and they shall 2 Kings 18:29 - Let not 2 Chronicles 24:7 - that wicked Esther 7:6 - this wicked Psalms 97:10 - delivereth Proverbs 11:9 - An hypocrite Proverbs 19:9 - and Proverbs 22:12 - he Ecclesiastes 9:18 - sinner Isaiah 30:27 - burning Isaiah 30:28 - his breath Isaiah 59:19 - the Spirit Daniel 7:22 - the Ancient Daniel 11:45 - he shall come Micah 2:11 - a man Zechariah 14:5 - the Lord Matthew 13:39 - enemy Mark 13:22 - if it Luke 6:26 - when Luke 17:24 - in Acts 3:20 - General 2 Corinthians 1:21 - stablisheth 2 Corinthians 10:5 - and every 2 Corinthians 11:15 - whose Philippians 3:19 - end 2 Thessalonians 2:6 - revealed 1 Timothy 1:9 - the lawless 1 Timothy 6:5 - men 2 Timothy 2:16 - for 1 John 4:3 - and this Revelation 11:7 - the beast Revelation 18:1 - and the

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
Then the Lord God planted a garden in the east, in a place called Eden, and put the man he had formed into it.

Genesis 2:8
The Lord God planted an orchard in the east, in Eden; and there he placed the man he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed.

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden (oasis) in the east, in Eden (delight, land of happiness); and He put the man whom He had formed (created) there.

Genesis 2:8
Forsothe the Lord God plauntide at the bigynnyng paradis of likyng, wherynne he settide man whom he hadde formed.

Genesis 2:8
And Jehovah God planteth a garden in Eden, at the east, and He setteth there the man whom He hath formed;

Genesis 2:8
And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, where He placed the man He had formed.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And then shall that wicked be revealed,.... That lawless one, who sets himself above the laws of God and man, and dispenses with them at pleasure, who judges all men, but is judged by no man; as he was in his ecclesiastical power, when Phocas, who murdered the Emperor Mauritius, granted to Boniface III. to be called universal bishop; and in his civil power in succeeding popes, who took upon them the power over kings and emperors, to crown, depose, and excommunicate at pleasure:

whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth: that is, the "Lord Jesus", as the Alexandrian copy, and Vulgate Latin version read; and the Syriac version, "our Lord Jesus": who is Lord of lords, and God over all; and so able to do what he is here said he shall do: and which he will do

with the Spirit of his mouth; meaning either the Holy Spirit, the third person which proceeds from him, as in Psalms 33:6, and so the Ethiopic version, "whom the Spirit of our Lord Jesus shall cast out"; Christ will by his Spirit blow a blast upon antichrist and his kingdom, which he shall never recover again, but ever after consume and waste away: or else by his spirit is meant his Gospel; the Scriptures in general are the breath of God, being divinely inspired by him, and are the sword of the Spirit, the twoedged sword of law and Gospel, which proceeds out of Christ's mouth; the Gospel contains the words of Christ, which are spirit and life; these come out of his mouth, and are sharper than any twoedged sword; and as hereby sinners are cut to the heart, hewn and slain, convicted and converted, so by this likewise antichrist will be consumed, and is consuming; for this phrase denotes the beginning of his destruction, which took place at the time of the reformation by the preaching of the Gospel by Luther and others; by which this man of sin received his deadly wound, and has been in a consumption ever since, and is sensibly wasting in his power and glory every day, and will ere long come to utter destruction:

and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming; either in a spiritual way, when he shall come in his spiritual kingdom and glory, by the light of his Gospel and the illuminations of his Spirit; when at eventide it shall be light; when he the sun of righteousness shall arise; when latter day light and glory shall appear, and latter day darkness, the gross darkness of Popery, Paganism, and Judaism, which cover the people, shall, be removed, and antichrist in every form shall disappear: or in a personal manner, when he shall come to judge the quick and dead, which will be in flaming fire and great glory; and then will antichrist and his followers, the beast and those that have worshipped him, be cast with the devil and the false prophet into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; and this will be the last and utter end of him. In this passage there is a manifest reference to Isaiah 11:4, "with the breath of his mouth shall he slay the wicked": which the Targumist paraphrases,

"with the words of his lips he shall slay ארמילוס רשיעא, "Armillus the wicked":''

and which the Jews say will be done by the Messiah at his coming;

"for so i (say they) that phrase in Deuteronomy 22:8 "if a man fall from thence", has respect to Armillus the wicked, who at the coming of our Messiah will be slain, as it is said in Isaiah 11:4'

This Armillus, the Jews say k, is the head of all idolatry, the tenth king who shall reign at Rome, the city of Satan; that he shall rise up after Gog and Magog, and shall go up to Jerusalem, and slay Messiah ben Joseph, and shall himself be slain by Messiah the son of David; yea, they say expressly l, it is the same whom the Gentiles call antichrist: it is the same with Romulus the first king of the Romans, and designs a Roman, the Roman antichrist; and it may be observed, that the Targumist interprets "the breath of his mouth", by his word; and so says another of their writers m,

"the meaning is by the word of his lips, for the word goes out of the mouth with the vapour and breath:''

such an expression as this is said n to be used by Moses, when he was bid by God to answer the angels who objected to his having the law given him;

"I am afraid (says he) they will slay (or burn me),

בהבל שבפיהם, "with the breath of their mouth":''

much more may this be feared from the breath of Christ's mouth.

i Tzeror Hammor, fol. 148. 2. k Apud Buxtorf. Lex. Talmud. col. 221, 222, 223. l Abkath Rochel, par. 1. sign. 7. p. 52. m In Ohel Moed. fol. 19. 1. n T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 88. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And then shall that Wicked be revealed - ὁ ἄνομος ho anomos - “the wicked one,” referring to the “man of sin,” and called “the wicked one” because of the eminent depravity of the system of which he was to be the head; see the notes on 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

Whom the Lord shall consume - The Lord Jesus; see the notes on Acts 1:24. The word “consume” here - ἀναλώσει analōsei - means “to destroy;” see Galatians 5:15; Luke 9:54. The word would be applicable to any kind of destruction. The methods by which this will be done are immediately specified - and it is of much importance to understand them, if this refers to the papacy. “With the spirit of his mouth.” What goes out of his mouth, or what he speaks; that is, word, truth, command, or gospel - all of which he may be regarded as speaking. In Revelation 1:16; Revelation 19:15, Revelation 19:21, it is said of the Redeemer that “a sharp two-edged sword goeth out of his mouth;” that is, his word, doctrine, or command - what he speaks - is like a sharp sword. It will cut deep; will lay open the heart; will destroy his enemies. Compare Isaiah 11:4, “With the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.” The reference in the passage before us is to one of the methods which would be employed to “destroy” the man of sin; and the sense is, that it would be by what is spoken by the Redeemer. This may refer either to what he will say at his coming, or to his truth - already spoken; to what has gone from his lips, by whomsoever uttered; and the meaning then is, that one of the grand agencies for destroying this anti-Christian power is the truth spoken or revealed by the Saviour - that is, his pure gospel.

If this latter is the true interpretation, it may mean that the process for his destruction may have commenced long anterior to the personal appearing of the Redeemer, but that the complete destruction of this power will be accomplished by the splendor of his second coming. It cannot be denied, however, that the most obvious interpretation is that which refers both clauses in the sentence to the same period - that of his second coming. Still, it is not improper to suppose that it may be implied that his power will be weakened and diminished by the influence of the gospel, though it may not be wholly destroyed until the second coming of the Saviour.

And shall destroy - καταργήσει katargēsei. Shall bring to nothing; cause to cease; put an end to. This is, in some respects, a stronger word than that which in the former part of the verse is rendered “consume.” It denotes a more entire destruction than that, though it does not refer so much to any positive agency by which it will be done. In the former word, the attention is directed more to the agency by which the destruction will be effected - to the exertion of some kind of power to do it; in this word the attention is directed rather to the entireness or totality of the destruction. The anti-Christian domination will wholly cease, or be entirely destroyed. The words would naturally harmonize with the idea that there would be a somewhat gradual process under the operation of truth toward the destruction of the man of sin, but that the complete annihilation of his power would be by some more manifest exhibition of the personal glory of the Saviour.

With the brightness of his coming - This is evidently a Hebraism, meaning his splendid or glorious appearing. The Greek word, however, rendered “brightness” (ἐπιφανεία epiphaneia - epiphany) - means merely “an appearing,” or “appearance.” So it is used in 1 Timothy 6:4; 2 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 2:13, in all which places it is rendered appearing, and refers to the manifestation of the Saviour when he shall come to judge the world. It is used nowhere else in the New Testament. There is no necessary idea of splendor in the word, and the idea is not, as our translation would seem to convey, that there would be such a dazzling light, or such unsufferable brightness that all would be consumed before it, but that he would appear, and that this anti-Christian power would be destroyed by his appearing; that is, by himself when he would return. The agency in doing it would not be his brightness, but himself. It would seem to follow from this, that, however this enormous power of wickedness might be weakened by truth, the final triumph over it would be reserved for the Son of God himself on his second return to our world. Yet, if this be so, it need not lessen our zeal in endeavoring to diminish the power of these corruptions; to establish and spread the truth, or to convert the defenders of these errors to a better faith.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 8. Whom the Lord shall consume — He shall blast him so, that he shall wither and die away; and this shall be done by the spirit of his mouth-the words of eternal life, the true doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus; this shall be the instrument used to destroy this man of sin: therefore it is evident his death will not be a sudden but a gradual one; because it is by the preaching of the truth that he is to be exposed, overthrown, and finally destroyed.

The brightness of his coming — This may refer to that full manifestation of the truth which had been obscured and kept under by the exaltation of this man of sin.