A Falling Away and that Man of Sin 2 Thessalonians 2:3

Paul the apostle prayed that the Thessalonian church members would not be “soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from” he and his traveling companions, because “the day of the Lord is at hand”. In chapter two and verse three of this second letter to them, Paul tells the Thessalonians not to be “deceived” because the day of the Lord will not come “except there come a falling away first” and “that man of sin be revealed” where we read:

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;

The verse begins, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first,...” Paul began with the phrase, “Let no man deceive you” which in Greek is the phrase “exapataō mē tis exapataō” and means “don't allow anyone to seduce or beguile you” “by any means” or “with any way, manner or fashion” “for” or “because, since and on account of” “that day shall not come except” which is “ean mē” in Greek and means “the day of the Lord will not arrive or come on the scene if not or unless” “there come” or “appear, arise, show itself or find place for” “a falling away” which means “defection or apostasy” “first” which means “chief or principle in succession”. Before “the day of the Lord” comes, Paul said there will be a “defection or apostasy” from the faith. In other words, some who have believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will “fall away” from their faith and trust in Him.

The verse goes on to say, “...and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” Paul added, “and that man” or “human being” “of sin” which means “to miss the mark, do or go wrong, wander from and violate the law of God, to err and be mistaken ” “be revealed” which is the Greek word “apokalyptō” which means “uncovered, laid open, unveiled, disclosed, made bare, manifested and disclosed”, “the son” or “the offspring, descendant and posterity” “of perdition” which means “destroying, utter destruction, perishing and ruin”. Paul made certain the Thessalonian church members knew of the revelation of this “man of sin” and “son of perdition” who is often referred to as “the antichrist”. Before “the day of the Lord” comes, not only will there be a “falling away” from the faith, but this “son of perdition” will be “unveiled” for all the world to see.

When we think through these words of Paul, we note that he had knowledge of this “end times” “man of perdition” well before his revelation. Paul knew the Lord Jesus would return, and he also knew Jesus would not come before there was widespread “apostasy” and an unveiling of this “man of sin”. In light of this, now that we are almost two thousand years later, how much more should we be looking for this “falling away” and revelation of the “son of perdition”. Perhaps these things are happening today, and we haven't stopped to consider them. As we ponder these two indicators of the return of the Lord Jesus, let us allow the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and ears to the things He has predicted and planned, and may we never be “deceived” by those who would tell us otherwise.

Next time Paul tells the Thessalonians more characteristics of the “man of sin”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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