In his inspired letters to the followers of Christ in the city of Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul tells of the glory which they will receive and the punishment which will come to their persecutors at Christ’s return. In view of this, it is natural to want to know when this will take place. In chapter 2, verses 1 through 6 of his second letter Paul writes, “Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God. Don’t you remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things? Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.”
From what Paul writes, it is obvious that someone had told the followers of Christ at Thessalonica that Jesus had already returned. There is no shortage of people who claim that they have special knowledge or that God has revealed something to them. How can we evaluate the claims people make? There is an important principle in Scripture which can help us in this task. It says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) Therefore, if any message or prophecy does not agree with what has already been revealed through Jesus’ Spirit to the Prophets and Apostles, we can be absolutely sure that it is false.
In his first inspired letter Paul had already described Jesus’ coming. “For the Lord himself will
descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first,” (1 Thessalonians 4:16) In view of this, the Christians at Thessalonica should have known that Jesus had not already come. His coming will not be in secret. It will be something very obvious and unmistakable.
Not only will Christ’s return be unmistakable, Paul writes that certain things will happen before the return occurs. Before Christ comes again there will be a rebellion. Rebellion against what? The word which Paul uses here indicates a turning away from correct doctrine. In other words, people will turn their backs on the teaching of Christ and the Apostles.
One of the effects of this rebellion will be to reveal the entity which Paul calls “the man of sin”. Who is this man? Paul gives several characteristics by which this person may be recognized. The first is that he opposes. It is appropriate for the “man of sin” to be described this way because Scripture says, “Everyone who sins also commits lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. (KJV, transgression of the law)” (1 John 3:4) This person opposes God’s law not because he does not know it, but because he has deliberately chosen to defy the will of God.
The “man of sin” not only opposes God’s law, he exalts himself. He places himself above God. In one sense, this is true of anyone who chooses to do his own will rather than God’s will. But this person goes further. He places himself above all that is worshiped. This means that he puts himself forward as one who is worthy of worship. In other words, he considers himself divine and promotes a false worship.
Another characteristic of this man is that he sets himself up in God’s temple. What is meant by ‘God’s temple?’ Paul, himself, gives us the answer in another of his letters. He writes, “…you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, being built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone; in whom the whole building, fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-21) From this passage it is obvious that the expression ‘God’s temple’ refers to God’s people as a group. This is another way to refer to the church. What Paul is saying to the Christians at Thessalonica is that this entity called the ‘man of sin’ will set himself up in the church. He will represent and will promote a perversion of the message of Christ. This perversion will reach such an extent that he will proclaim himself to be God, and will demand the worship which is due to God.
There has been much speculation about when this person will be revealed, but Paul gives us a good indication of when it will be. He writes that there is something restraining the “man of sin” and that the people to whom he is writing know what it is. Keep in mind that Paul wrote this letter almost 2,000 years ago. Since the people of his day knew what he was referring to, the thing which was holding back the “man of sin” must have been something which was already in existence at that time. Christian writers who lived shortly after the time of the Apostles state in their commentaries that the thing to which Paul referred and which was holding back the “man of sin” was the Roman Empire.
There is something else which can help us to understand this passage. It is quite probable that the term “man of sin” does not refer to a specific individual. In biblical prophecy, a man or beast can represent a city, an empire or even a philosophy. In summary, Paul is saying that a corrupt, anti-God system will claim divine authority and power and will present itself as the church. It is a matter of historical record that at the fall of the Roman Empire, the particular church of that time which was based in Rome usurped the power of the state and in the process became totally corrupt.
For the follower of Christ, there are two comforting thoughts in what Paul writes. He calls the “man of sin” “the son of destruction” In other words, though this entity will claim to be above God and His law, the day will come when it will be destroyed. Also, Paul writes that this entity will “be revealed at the proper time” (NIV). God is still in control of events and it is His will which shall prevail.