| Scripture |
Additional Comments |
| |
|
| 1 Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
|
|
| 2 to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is come; |
|
| 3 let no man beguile you in any wise: for it will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of lawlessness be revealed, the son of perdition, |
|
| 4 he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called a god or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as a god. |
He as God sitteth in the temple of God – The Church (nominal, which for most of the Gospel Age contained also the True church.)
Shewing himself that he is God – Consider the following from the book "Letters in the Roman Catholic Controversy" by William Craig Brownlee (1834) – page 44
And hence the titles of the pope, on the pages of these writers, who advocate this doctrine. He is “Deus alter in terra,” “another god on earth;” “the lord our god the pope.” “Idem est dominium Dei ac Papa;” “The dominion of God and the pope are the same!” “The infallible one.” And pope Clement VII. and his cardinals, in their letter to king Charles VI., say, “as there is only one God in heaven, so there cannot, and there ought not, to be but one God on earth!” — meaning himself. See Troisard, tom. 3. p. 147. Mussus, bishop of Bitonto, called the pope, “him who is to us as our God;” and the bishop of Grenada styled him, “a god on earth, not subject to a council.” And in Bellarmine’s noted saying, we have this doctrine, (lib. iv. de Rom. pont. c. 5:) “But if the pope should err by enjoining vice, and forbidding virtues, the church, teneretur credere, &c., would be bound to believe vices to be good, and virtues to be wicked, unles she would be willing to sin against conscience!” Pope Leo X., in his Brief of Nov. 9th, 1512, declared that “as vicar of Christ on earth, he had power to forgive, by virtue of the keys, the guilt and punishment of actual sins, &c.” See Dupin. vol. iv. p. 17.
These sentiments seem so monstrous, that many of my good natured readers, I dare say, actually think that we exaggerate. Hence I shall give a few more quotations from their approved writers in order to exonerate myself. “Estiment papam,” &c. They esteem the pope to be God alone; unicum Deum esse, “who has all power in heaven and in earth.” Gerson and Carron, p. 34; Giannon, Hist. Nap. X. 12. St. Bernard, Oper. 1725, says, — “Prater Deum, &c. — None is like unto the pope in heaven or earth, except God!” Pope Innocent III. avowed “that the pope holds the place of the true God.” — Papa locum Dei tenet in terris. Papa vicem non puri hominis, sed veri Dei gerens in terra.” See Pithou 29; Gilbert vol. ii. p. 9. “Papa et Christus, &c.—The pope and Christ make one consistory: so that, sin excepted, the pope can almost do all things which God can do.” See Jacobatius, De Concilio, Venet, Edit. 1728, Edgar Var. p. 161. |
| 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? |
|
| 6 And now ye know that which restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season. |
|
| 7 For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work: only there is one that restraineth now, until he cometh out of its midst. |
|
| 8 And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the appearing of his presence; |
Brightness – Ephiphania, bright-shining.
Coming – Parousia, presence.
Adjusting this for English sentence structure, this verse might better be rendered:
"And then shall be revealed the wicked one, whom the Lord will abolish by the spirit of his mouth and render him usless by the brightness of his presence."
Perhaps the most interesting difference between the KJV and the actual Greek is in the word "destroy" (G2673.) Some of the ways it is translated (in the KJV) include: "without effect;" "make void;" "made of none effect;" "bring to naught;" etc. These all carry the thought that this man of sin is to have his influence become useless, of no effect, etc. In other words he remains on the scene but his influence becomes less and less until, eventually, he is completely without influence. |
| 9 even he, whose presence is according to a working of Satan with all power and signs and wonders of a lie, |
Coming – Parousia, presence. |
| 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them that are perishing; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. |
|
| 11 And for this cause God sendeth them a working of error, that they should believe the lie: |
|
| 12 that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. |
|
| 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved in the Lord, for that God chose you a firstfruit unto salvation in sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth: |
|
| 14 whereunto he called you through our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
|
| 15 So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the instructions which ye were taught, whether by word or by epistle of ours. |
|
| 16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, |
|
| 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. |
|