The Presentation of the Problem (2 Thessalonians 2:1-5)

vv 1-3, see session 17

2 Thessalonians 2:4 – Blue

Two defining participles:
- Opposing
- Exalting himself
Opposition
- Paul gives no direct object; identity: “the one opposing.”
- Broader biblical description of his opposition:
  - Opposition to God’s covenant people (Daniel 7:21, 7:25; Revelation 12:13)
  - Opposition to God’s laws and times (Daniel 7:25)
  - Opposition to all non-self-focused worship (Revelation 13:4, 13:15)
  - Opposition to resisting earthly powers (Daniel 11:40–45)
  - Opposition to truth itself (2 Thessalonians 2:10–12)
Self-exaltation
- Rises above every God-concept, not limited to the true God.
- “All that is called God or worshipped.”
- Supporting patterns:
  - Lucifer’s ascent language (Isaiah 14:13–14)
  - King magnifying himself above all gods (Daniel 11:36–37)
  - Beast’s blasphemies (Revelation 13:5–6)
Goal of his actions
- “Sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.”
- Requires a literal Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
- Implies a future temple (third, or possibly fourth).
Implications
- The only true rival to “God” in human religious consciousness is the God of Scripture.
- Antichrist enthrones himself only in Jerusalem:
  - Not Mecca
  - Not Salt Lake City
  - Not Lhasa
  - Not any other religious center
- He targets the throne of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Possible theological parallel
- Antichrist may function to Lucifer as Jesus functions to the Father:
  - A devil “in the flesh”
  - Full embodiment rather than mere possession
Judas as a prototype question
- Arguments for:
  - Shared title “son of perdition” (John 17:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:3)
  - Satan directly entering Judas (Luke 22:3, John 13:27)
  - Zechariah’s worthless shepherd connected to thirty pieces of silver (Zechariah 11)
  - Judas called “a devil” (John 6:70)
  - Judas’s violent death resembles judgment on cosmic enemies (Acts 1, Psalms cited by Peter)
  - Parallels with the beast who “was, is not, and shall ascend” (Revelation 17:8)
- Arguments against:
  - Incarnation is unique to Christ; Satan has no parallel incarnation
  - “Entered into him” matches possession, not incarnation (twice indicated)
  - “A devil” is idiomatic, not ontological
  - Zechariah’s shepherd does not require incarnation
  - Judas’s death and decay contradict any notion of Satanic embodiment
  - Revelation 17 refers to a future ruler, not Judas
  - Antichrist is empowered by Satan, not Satan incarnate (Revelation 13:2)
  - Satan deceives; he never incarnates

2 Thessalonians 2:5 – Blue

Paul appeals to their memory of his prior teaching.
Indicates he spoke extensively on apostasy, the man of sin, restraint, revelation, and the sequence of events.
Acts 17 is the only recorded visit, but not a full record.
Scripture gives a true but selective historical account.

The Work of the Antichrist (vv. 6-12)

2 Thessalonians 2:6 – Blue

“What withholdeth” indicates a neuter restrainer.
Grammar: τὸ κατέχον (neuter participle).