In this article, we take a look who the son of perdition mentioned in 2 Thess refers to, how this ties in to the Antichrist, and locks in so many eschatological events.

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;

2 Thess 2:3, KJV

Story (2 Thess 2):

Paul writes to the Thessalonians, which are the churches at Thessalonica.

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him, not to be afraid, as that day is at hand.

He warns, let no man deceive you, for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.

Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped, so that he as God site in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

Paul urges them to recap, that he told these things, when he was yet with them.

And Paul told them, now you know what is withholding him back, so that he might be revealed at the proper time.

For the mystery of iniquity is already at work, only he (Holy Spirit) who now holds him (son of perdition) back will continue to do so.

Until he (Holy Spirit) is taken out of the way.

And then shall that Wicked be revealed, while the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and destroy with the brightness of his coming.

The coming of the lawless one, would be how Satan works; with all power, signs, and lying wonders.

And with all deception and unrighteousness, shall people perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

For this cause, God shall send them strong delusion, that should believe a lie.

That they might all be damned, who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

But we are going to give thanks always to God for you, brethren who are beloved by the Lord.

Because God had from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and to belief of the truth.

Where he called you by our gospel preached to you, to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brethren, stand firm and hold to the teachings you have been thought, whether by word of mouth, or our letter / epistle.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, who loved us, has given us everlasting consolation and good hope, through grace.

Comforting your hearts, strengthen you in every good word and work.

Exposition:

2nd Thess gives us an indication, when Jesus would come again, and our gathering unto him.

Our gathering unto him refers to the rapture, where Jesus would descend from heaven / third heaven (please refer to Robert Henderson Three Dimensions of Prayer: Living in Two Places at the Same Time article).

And He raptures the church, snatching them from the tribulation to come, where we will meet Him in the air (1 Thess 4:16-18).

And the rapture of the church would happen before the tribulation where God pours out His wrath on earth, according to Pretribulation viewpoint.

Please refer to Pretribulation article, for the sequence of eschatological events according to this viewpoint.

After the tribulation would then be Jesus second coming, where he will gather His remaining elect, then His thousand year millennia reign would start (Matt 24:29-31). 

So in the passage we saw, the rapture is predicated on the son of perdition being revealed.

That is Satan entering the body of a man, and manifesting many great signs and miracles, deceiving many.

This is the Antichrist actually, which is the first seal of the white horse, in Rev 6:1-2.

And the appearance of the Antichrist kicks starts the seven years tribulation, where the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls of wrath are unleashed by God upon the earth.

And Satan entering a person of the Antichrist is not the first time this will happen.

Satan also entered Judas leading him to betray Jesus (John 13:21-30).

So we see that the only thing now preventing Satan from unleashing all wickedness, is the restrainer, the Holy Spirit.

This Holy Spirit is in us as believers living here on earth.

And until the rapture of the church happens, where we are taken up, where the Holy Spirit would then be taken away, then the restrainer on Satan would be gone.

And Satan would manifest himself, entering a man’s body.

Satan himself is referred to in this passage, as the son of perdition, or man of sin / lawlessness.

Other translations refer to him (Satan), as the one doomed to destruction.

And the man whom Satan entered into would be the Antichrist.

In 1 John 2:18-19 there is a mention of many antichrists with the church who went out from them, but were not of them.

And also mention of an Antichrist that shall come, this is indeed the Antichrist referred to here in this passage.

The Antichrist would start a new world order during the seven years tribulation, culminating in the mark of the beast enforced during the middle of tribulation after 3 1/2 years (Rev 13).

And those who refuse to take the mark of the beast, and bow to him cannot buy and sell, and would be persecuted.

We see in this passage, that he will oppose and exalt himself all that is called God, and so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself as God.

And Dan 9:27, Matt 24:15 describes of him as the abomination of the desolation, who sets up an image of himself in the temple of Jerusalem, and forces the whole world to worship him.

He (the Antichrist), will confirm a peace covenant with Israel for one week (Daniel’s 70th week), which means seven years, kickstarting the seven years tribulation.

But break the covenant, in the middle of the week, which is after 3 1/2 years, into the tribulation, and shall cause sacrifice and oblation to cease.

Now you might be wondering why there would still be temple of God in Jerusalem being built today, and sacrifice and oblation would be offered by Israel soon during the tribulation.

Firstly, Israel had being gathered together as a nation in 1948, fulfilling the fig tree coming to live prophecy in Matt 24:32-34.

And we are blessed to be that generation in Matt 24, that shall not pass away, until we have seen the fig tree come to life: fig tree symbolically represents Israel birthed as a nation again, so we are very close to the rapture!

But Israel is currently blinded, or those Jews in Israel that don’t believe in Jesus.

They are looking for a Messiah to come, but He is coming for His church instead first, in the rapture.

God would then spend seven years tribulation purifying and sanctifying Israel.

Please refer to Bible Typologies: Rachel and Leah article, for how the tribulation represents in typology the extra seven years Jacob needed to serve Laban for Rachel.

So that on the third day, they shall live in His sight, when Jesus returns again and starts His thousand year millennial reign (please refer to Hos 6:2 article).

During the mid-tribulation, and Antichrist / Satan would have risen to so much power on earth, where after he lost the battle with Michael and his angels was cast down to earth together with his (evil) angels (Rev 12:7-9).

Before the battle was a sign in heaven of a woman clothed with sun, moon, under her feet, and travailing to give birth to a man son (Rev 12:1-6).

And when she had given birth, which represents the rapture of the church, the son was brought up to the throne of God.

And this man would rule over all nations with the rod of iron.

Representing how we the saints would return after the seven years tribulation to reign with Jesus for a thousand years (millennial reign), from Jerusalem.

Once Satan was cast down to earth, he would “make war with the remnant of her seed”, the woman who gave birth to the male child, referring to believers in Christ on earth undergoing the tribulation.

This is when he would then invade the temple of God in Jerusalem, and set up the mark of the beast, as seen above.

There is one event that will happen even before the rapture, which Paul mentions we as believers can watch for. That is the “falling away”.

Many who have once put their faith in Jesus for salvation and called Him Lord, will turn away from the faith.

The Greek word for “falling away” is apostasia, which is apostasy.

New Testament apostasy is generally defined as the determined, wilful rejection of Christ and His teachings by a Christian believer.

And this is different from false believe, or ignorance. 

Now, just as God’s word can usually be interpreted in multiple layers, this “falling away” can also refer to how there would be great rebellion against God and His authority, during the tribulation.

Due to the intense persecution, and hardship of the tribulation, many people will turn away from Jesus, even those who have once believed on Him.

As Matt 24:12-13 declares, that because of increasing iniquity the love of many (believers) will grow cold, but he that endures to the end shall be saved.

So in summary here’s the sequence of events we discussed for the seven heads tribulation to kickstart.

Falling away of many believers -> Rapture of church -> Holy Spirit / Restrainer taken out of the way -> Satan enters a man’s body / Antichrist appears -> First seal opened, kickstart rest of seven years tribulation

Now immediately after the seven years tribulation, Jesus would return to earth for the second time, and all tribes would mourn, referring those who didn’t put their trust in Him (Matt 24:29-30).

This event is referred to as the “day of Christ”, which usually refers to judgement (please refer to Joel 2:31 article).

This time He will come in power and defeat Satan and all who oppose Christ, causing him to be bound for a thousand years, during His millennial reign (Rev 19-20).

Now in 1 Thess 4:13-5:11, we are also told that Christ will return for His people, and the rapture is described.

But here the “day of the Lord” is described as one that happens like a thief in the night.

Where when there appears to be peace and safety worldwide, sudden destruction shall come upon the earth and they shall not escape.

While in 2 Thess as we just looked, “day of Christ” refers primarily to His second coming. But they are related.

The “day of the Lord” in 1 Thess, refers to the rapture, which kickstarts the seven years tribulation, leading to the “day of Christ” in 2 Thess.

Although here in 1 Thess, it doesn’t really carry so much connotation of judgment.

But yes there would be sudden destruction and it escalates very quickly, after the church is raptured.

And we believers, can be comforted that we don’t have to face the seven years tribulation.

For God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, as affirmed in 1 Thess.

So when God is unleashing his wrath upon all inhabitants on the earth, we Christians would be in heaven with Jesus, and won’t have to face it.

But even during the tribulation, there will still be people getting saved, people who chose an authentic relationship with Jesus over their present suffering.

And so we need to pray for God’s grace to be upon these believers during the tribulation too, for it will be so hard to keep your faith then, in the midst of all the suffering and chaos.

One month during the tribulation will seem like years, while one year will seem like an eternity.

But for us believers now, as we know through God’s word and see the day approaching, we need to remain “watchful” (1 Thess 5:6).

That we are prepared for the rapture, and to be with Christ.

We just need to be faithful standing firm to preach the gospel, and what we have been taught in God’s word, cleansing our garments white with Jesus’s blood, and leading a pure and holy life before God.