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2 Thessalonians 2:4-5, Part 2

Paul has been writing to the Thessalonian assembly about the timing of the Day of the Lord, for this
assembly was under the mistaken impression that that Day of judgment had come, and that they were
currently experiencing it. Paul lays out for the Thessalonians some of the key events of the end times,
showing that the Day of the Lord will not come until the church is caught up to be with her Lord. After
that, the man of sin will be revealed.
Paul then makes reference to a few things that he had taught the Thessalonians when he was with them
concerning the man of sin. We have been filling in Pauls portrait of the man of sin, using the prophecies of
Daniel, and the Revelation that Jesus gave to John.
Last week, we considered the rise of the last world empire pictured in Daniel chapters 2 and 7, and
Revelation chapter 13. This kingdom is commonly known as the Revived Roman Empire, for the Roman
Empire was never conquered; it just dissolved, and will be in power again in the last days, with renewed
strength.
We know that the Revived Roman Empire has in fact already come back on the scene in our own day: the
European Union, which has been continuing to grow in member nations and in power. What is notably
lacking in the EU is a single, powerful leader although many in the EU have called out for just such a
man.
That man will be the man of sin, the son of perdition, of whom Paul writes to the Thessalonians. He had
not yet been revealed in Pauls day; he has not been revealed even today. His appearance on the political
scene will be marked by his promise of bringing peace to the Middle East; in particular, to Israel.
The prophet Daniel says that this man will confirm a covenant with many (Dan 9:27). That is to say, he
will strengthen the agreement. How will he do this? It is likely that it will be done through sending in
peace-keeping troops, to enforce the peace. The EU has already offered to do this in the Middle East at
least twice in the past two years.
The man of sin will offer this peace, and Israel will accept it, seeing the man of sin to be her deliverer from
her many enemies. Jesus had warned the nation against receiving this false messiah, instead of Himself, but
that is exactly what Israel will do.
How is it that Israel will be so deceived? In having rejected her true Messiah, Jesus, the nation rejected the
truth of God, and left herself open to deception (2 Cor 4:4). Israel will believe that this temporal
deliverance offered by the man of sin will be her salvation.
But the Lord God will open Israels eyes to the truth. First, Israels peace will be threatened by a coalition
of nations, believed to include Russia and many Muslim countries. It will be the Lord God Himself who
will miraculously destroy these enemies of Israel, right when the enemies are poised in the mountains of
Israel to begin their onslaught.
Yet while some will rightly recognize that Israel was delivered by the strong arm of the Lord, many will
attribute the victory to the man of sin and the European Union, who appointed themselves to keep the peace
in Israel they will gain renown for the victory (Ez 39:13).

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This will give the man of sin the opportunity to exalt himself in the eyes of men for that is what is in his
heart to do. This will be the full revelation of the man of sin for what he is one who aspires to be like
God to be God incarnate.
Now, there is only One who has ever been and ever will be God incarnate and that is the Word made
flesh, who tabernacled among men (Jn 1:14) the Christ, Jesus. His purpose in doing this was to taste
death for every man, in order to bring many sons to glory (Heb 2:9, 10) everlasting Life in a body of
glory. He is the Savior of the world.
The man of sin will make a claim to being the savior of the world but his claim will be proven to be false
for he is an imposter. The man of sin will bring, not salvation to men, but destruction. This is the
antichrist who is coming, of which the apostle John wrote in his first letter (1 Jn 2:18).
The prophet Daniel also wrote of the man of sin. The LORD God had given Daniel an amazing revelation
concerning kings and kingdoms, spanning several centuries. Daniel was given great detail concerning one
ruler in particular, described as the little horn, and the willful king.
History had shown this ruler to be Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a man who seized his kingdom by intrigue
(Dan 11:21). In several passages, the prophecies concerning this vile king span to the time of the end, and
transform into a portrayal of the man of sin (7:8, 11, 20-25; 8:9-12, 23-25; 9:27, 11:36-45).
As we learned last week, the kingdom of Babylon was replaced by the kingdom of Persia, then of Greece.
The man who wrought that victory for Greece was Alexander the Great. He died suddenly, leaving no heir
ready to rule his empire.
Eventually, the Greek Empire was ruled over in four sectors: Cassander ruled in Macedonia, Lysimachus,
in Thrace and Asia Minor; Seleucus, in Syria and Babylonia, and Ptolemy, in Egypt and Arabia. From
these, two principal dynasties emerged: the Ptolemies out of Egypt, and the Seleucids out of Syria.
Each of these two powers sought dominance over the other for the next two hundred years. Their wars
were often carried out in what Daniel refers to as the Glorious Land. The Glorious Land is the land God
promised to Israel, which during this time was inhabited by the Jews, having returned from captivity in
Babylon. Of course, the Jews could hardly avoid getting caught up in the conflict between the two powers,
and at different times, the Jews were servants of both empires.
The most notorious king of Syria was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, renowned as a persecutor of Israel. This
Antiochus was skilled in political intrigue, coming to power by seizing the throne in Syria before the
rightful heir could claim it (Dan 11:21). His short eleven-year rule in Syria was truly a reign of terror,
marked by almost constant war.
Antiochus was not content with his lawless acquisition of Syria, but set his ambitious sights on Egypt and
other kingdoms, as well. The previous king of Syria had established a peace treaty with Egypt, which
Antiochus quickly broke.
Moving his army through the Glorious Land and then into Egypt, Antiochus alternately made his
advances through force and through intrigue, feigning to come in friendship until he saw the opportunity to
strike and take plunder.

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After acquiring part of Egypt, Antiochus set up a puppet king in his place, while he set out to take the riches
he had acquired back to Syria. On his way back, Antiochus quelled a riot of the Jews in Jerusalem, who
were rebelling against his appointed high priest. Eighty thousand Jews perished in the resulting bloodbath.

On a subsequent invasion of Egypt, Antiochus met with less success. The Romans, who were rapidly rising
to power in the West, assisted Egypt in repelling the Syrians. As Antiochus retreated back to Syria, he took
out his frustrations on the Jews. Some troops were ordered to attack the city on the Sabbath, slaughtering
men, women and children. Other soldiers went into the temple and sacrificed a pig on the altar, desecrating
the altar, as well as the entire temple.
Antiochus later began to systematically dismantle Jewish religious practices, eliminating the sacrificial
system, the keeping of the Sabbath, and the observance of the feasts in favor of Greek practices. He then
committed his act of greatest notoriety among the Jews: Antiochus ordered an image of the Olympian
Zeus, the god of his favor, to be erected in the temple in Jerusalem, on the altar of burnt offering.
It was this image of which Daniel prophesied when he said that they will place there the abomination of
desolation (Dan 11:31). The word for abomination means both a filthy, disgusting thing, and an idol. The
image of the Olympian Zeus desecrated the temple, desolating it; the image ruined the temple for its
intended purpose: to worship the true and Living God.
But concerning Antiochus himself, he identified with Olympian Zeus so much so that he took the name
Epiphanes, which means god manifest. Antiochus viewed himself as the supreme god, manifest in the
flesh; Zeus, incarnate. Now, who does this sound like? The man of sin; the antichrist.
Now you can understand why there are so many prophecies regarding Antiochus Epiphanes in the book of
Daniel. Antiochus Epiphanes is a prototype of the man of sin.
As mentioned, Daniels prophecies concerning Antiochus extend beyond his life to that of the man of sin in
the end times. Were going to look at just two of these prophecies, to get a clearer profile of the man of sin.
Turn to Daniel chapter 8. Daniel has just been given a vision of the kingdom of Persia that was superceded
by the kingdom of Greece. The Greek Empire was then divided in four after Alexanders death four
horns, or powers, in the vision. Then Daniel describes a little horn which grew out of one of the four this
represents Antiochus Epiphanes. As Daniel is given the interpretation of the vision, it transitions to include
the man of sin. Thats where well begin
v. 23 Back in verse 17, Daniel was told that this vision refers to the time of the end. This is when the
transgressors the rebels on earth will reach their fullness; the cup of iniquity will be full, and the time of
Gods judgment will come. This refers to the time of the end the Day of the Lord.
The king that shall arise is the man of sin. He will have fierce features that is, he will be determined,
defiant. This is the willful king, who will be determined that his will will be done on earth.
This man will understand sinister schemes he will be a master of doublespeak, just as Antiochus
Epiphanes was. He will be a phenomenal diplomat, practiced in the art of making others compromise; of
bending people to his will. He will be determined to bring all of his programs to pass including a peace
program for Israel.

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v. 24a By whose mighty power will the man of sin be operating? By the great red dragon Satan.
Revelation 13 tells us that the dragon will give him his power, his throne, and great authority (Rev 13:2).
v. 24b This man will be extraordinarily destructive; he will enjoy great personal success, but it will come at
the expense of many lives. Some will be the lives of the mighty, who will rise up to challenge him.
This might be seen to include those of the Russian-Islamic alliance, who will attempt to destroy Israel
before the middle of the Tribulation. The man of sin will claim Gods victory over Israels enemies as his
own, because he will take that attack personally for he is the one who will have instituted that peace.
The holy people in this verse refers to Gods people the Jews. The man of sin will persecute them with
a vengeance throughout the second half of the Tribulation.
v. 25a You have gotten a sense of how cunning Antiochus Epiphanes was, in his day. The man of sin will
put him to shame! He will be the ultimate politician, always determined to advance his agenda which
will seem to be all about serving others, but is really about serving himself.
v. 25b Here we see the man of sin, following in the steps of his master, who said in his heart, I will exalt
my throne above the stars of God I will be like the Most High (Is 14:13, 14). Like Satan, the man of
sin will be a destroyer of men, and a rebel against God and His Christ (Ps 2:2). But he shall be destroyed
without means literally, meaning without the hand of a man. The man of sin will be destroyed by the
Lord, Himself.
Now turn to Daniel chapter 11. This is another very detailed prophecy concerning Antiochus Epiphanes
that was given to Daniel. In verse 35, we see the same term we saw in chapter 8, verse 17: the time of the
end. The prophecy once again jumps ahead to include the man of sin, here presented as the willful king.
v. 36 The Lord will allow the man of sin the freedom he gives all men; its either my will be done, or
Thy will be done. In the case of the man of sin, it will be utterly my will be done and that will is to
be like the Most High God to be exalted above every god, and to claim the worship of men.
This is, in itself, blasphemy against God, but the man of sin will go further: he will also speak blasphemies
against the true and Living God (marvelous things in the KJV, meaning extraordinary not in a good
way, here). Back in chapter 7, we had learned last week that the man of sin will speak pompous words
against the Most High (Dan 7:8, 11, 20, 25) boastful, arrogant words, such as, Let us break Their bonds
in pieces and cast away Their cords from us (Ps 2:3).
This willful king will think himself to be quite successful, and presume that he will have his way to the end;
but God has determined a limit to his self-generated exaltation: 3 years, and not a day more. Then the
wrath of God will descend upon him.
But thats the end; and Daniel was given more detail of what will lead up to it.
v. 37 This verse parallels what Paul says in our Thessalonians passage very well the man of sin will
oppose and exalt himself above all that is called God, or is worshiped (2 Th 2:4). In Daniels verse here,
each of the clauses relates to deity, whether false or real.

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Probably the best understanding of the God of his fathers can be gleaned from Antiochus Epiphanes. His
ancestors were Seleucids, and they favored the god Apollo the sun god. But Antiochus picked his own
favorite Olympian Zeus. Yet even this god was not truly venerated by Antiochus, for he considered
himself to be an incarnation of Olympian Zeus. Truly, he didnt have regard for any god; he exalted
himself above them all.
Likewise, the man of sin will have no regard for any god. Who can we consider to be the ancestors of the
man of sin? He is the prince who is to come of the people that destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 70
AD (Dan 9:26) the Romans.
It is reasonable to consider the god of the Romans to be the god of Roman Catholicism, a religious god in
whose name the empire was held together for centuries through the Papacy, which allowed for the revival
of the Roman Empire. This may be considered the god of the Romans, the ancestors of the man of sin. But
this god will not be the god of the man of sin; he will have no regard for the Catholic church.
Nor will his god be the desire of women. This is a term that has its origin in the gospel in the stars. One
of the decans of the constellation Virgo is Coma the Desired of All Nations (from Haggai 2:7).
The ancient star charts denote a pure virgin, seated, who is nourishing an infant boy who has a Hebrew
name in the Greek, Christos Christ. In the ancient Egyptian, the decan is called Shes-nu, meaning the
Desired Son.
It was the desire of all Hebrew women to be the one chosen of God to bring forth His Christ. The desire of
women, then, is a reference to the Christ. It is hardly surprising that the Christ will not be the god of the
man of sin.
But neither will his god be any god. During the Tribulation, the world will be drawn into the New Age
movement, which will tolerate any religion that is not intolerant (got that?), welcoming it into the general
fold of religion, which will tolerate anything and everything. Ultimately, the New Age Movement deceives
men into believing that all is god and god is all therefore, all men are god; they just need to become
enlightened to the fact.
But the man of sin will not quite subscribe to this, either for in his mind, there can be no god but him.
However, the New Age Movement will provide the perfect bridge for the rest of humanity to embrace the
man of sin as god in the flesh he will be considered the enlightened one. In this way, the man of sin will
do away with religion through the exaltation of himself.
In exalting and magnifying himself above every god, the man of sin will perform the act we have read
about in Pauls second letter to the Thessalonians, which will occur in the middle of the Tribulation. The
man of sin will sit as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Th 2:4).
The word for temple in the Greek means the inner sanctuary of the temple complex; the most sacred part,
the holy of holies. This is where the ark of the testimony had originally been placed, in Solomons temple.
The holy of holies was considered to be the throne room of God. For the man of sin to sit as God in the
holy of holies shows his intention to dethrone God, in order to enthrone himself; he means to take Gods
place. Only in his mind, will he do so. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh (Ps 2:4).

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As the head of state, the man of sin will demand the obedience of the people. But when the man of sin
reveals himself in the temple as God, he will be demanding their worship. This shows that the driving lust
of the man of sin is an insatiable quest for power; power over the workings of the state, power over the
lives of people. The man of sin desires to be like God omnipotent.
The Revelation that Jesus gave to John reveals more detail as to how the man of sin will present himself as
God in the temple. Turn to Revelation chapter 13. Another beast shall arise around the middle of the
Tribulation. This is the False Prophet, who will promote the worship of the first beast the man of sin.
[Revelation 13:11-15]

v. 11 Notice the likeness to a lamb mentioned here. As the Lamb of God, Jesus was a prophet who came in
the Fathers name, speaking the Fathers words, and acting in His authority.
As a man like a lamb, this beast will be a false prophet, who exercises the authority of the first beast, and
speaks his words the crafty words of the dragon Satan. His purpose will be to promote the worship of
the first beast referring to the man of sin as well as his kingdom.
v. 12-14 Remember that the beast whose deadly wound was healed represents the Revived Roman Empire
the Beasts kingdom.
v. 15 This is how the man of sin will sit in the temple as God; he will have an image of himself made, and
the image will be placed in the temple. This image has life-like characteristics; it breathes and speaks. The
technology of virtual reality gives us a concept of what this image will be like.
Notice that there will be no freedom of worship; it is either worship the beast, or die. We can see that the
idea of tolerance will be only for a time; it is part of the agenda to discriminate against those who believe
into Jesus, who intolerantly stated that He is the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6).
Not only will the people be pressured to worship the man of sin, but the state will also give over their
power and authority to the Beast, during the final 3 years of the Tribulation. Religion will have been
done away with; now, man is God (Rev 17:12-16).
When the man of sin sets up his image in the holy of holies, showing himself to be God, the nation of Israel
will have their eyes open to who he truly is: not their savior, but the antichrist. Their subsequent rejection
of the man of sin and refusal to worship him will cause him to persecute them with a fury.
Turn to Matthew chapter 24. Last week, we had begun looking at this prophecy that Jesus gave concerning
the Day of the Lord and His Second Coming to the earth. We had seen that, early in the Tribulation, there
would be wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes that would increase in frequency and intensity as the
Tribulation wore on.
Jesus made a reference to the prophecy of Daniel concerning the abomination of desolation standing in the
holy place. We know that this will happen in the middle of the Tribulation, when the man of sin sets up his
image in the temple, and demands to be worshiped as God. Jesus spoke of what would happen next.
[Matthew 24:15-22]

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v. 15-18 Jesus was warning that when the man of sin sets up his image in the temple, the Jews should
immediately flee. There will be no time to spare.
v. 19-20 These are things that would slow down those trying to flee.
v. 21 There have already been 3 years of Tribulation, but now will begin what Jesus terms the Great
Tribulation. This is also called the time of Jacobs Trouble (Jer 30:7), when two-thirds of the nation of
Israel will lose their lives (Zech 13:8), as the man of sin turns on them with the intent of exterminating the
Jews, who will not worship him.
v. 22 The elect in this context are the Jews who will believe into Jesus as their Messiah by the end of the
Great Tribulation the remnant of the nation that will become regenerate. Unless God kept this time
contained, no Jew would survive it.
Jesus had already clarified some of the things that will transpire at this time. Look back in verse 9. These
things specifically apply to the Jews, during their time of Great Tribulation.
[Matthew 24:9-14]
v. 9 The man of sin will persecute the Jews, and will run a campaign of propaganda against them, causing
the Jews to be discriminated against by all nations. But God will put it on the hearts of some people in
those nations to shelter and care for the Jews during this time (Rev 12:14-16).
A parallel of this can be seen in the persecution of the Jews by Hitler, and the Nazi propaganda campaign
against them. At that time, the Jews were protected by some compassionate souls who had a heart for
Gods people. Still, the Tribulation will be far, far worse than what happened under Hitler.
v. 10-13 The Great Tribulation experienced by the Jews will be a fiery trial that will prove their hearts.
The prophet Daniel indicates that the man of sin will wear out the Jews (the saints of the Most High), and
that the Jews will be given into his hand for 3 years (Dan 7:25).
Those Jews who seek out the Savior whom God has sent will find Him in Jesus. God will strengthen these
Jews to endure to the end. Other Jews will continue to seek a temporal solution to their troubles; but there
is none. The persecution will cause them to stumble they will turn on their fellow Jews; they will be
deceived; they will fall into apostasy. These Jews will perish first, in the Tribulation; then, through
everlasting destruction.
The remnant of Israel will come to believe in Jesus through the sufferings of the Great Tribulation. But
there will also be 144,000 Jews who will be redeemed by the Lord Jesus right as the Tribulation begins
(Rev 7:3-8, 14:1-7). These Jews will be evangelists, bearing witness to the Lord throughout the
Tribulation. They are the ones who will be preaching the gospel of the kingdom of which Jesus spoke.
v. 14 The gospel of the kingdom points to the Second Coming of Jesus: the King is coming to set up His
Kingdom; turn from your sins and submit yourself to Him!
There will be a great multitude who believes the gospel of the kingdom during the Tribulation; these are the
Tribulation saints. Revelation chapter 13 indicates that it will be granted to the man of sin to make war
with them, and to overcome them (Rev 13:7).

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Many will perish due to the beasts persecution of them, or simply due to the Tribulation itself; but the
Tribulation saints will overcome in the end. They will receive bodies of glory in the resurrection of the
righteous, returning with Jesus to the earth, where they will reign with Him for a thousand years (Rev
20:4).
The man of sin will be persecuting those who believe into Jesus during the last half of the Tribulation
both Jew and Gentile. But throughout the Tribulation, he will also be pursuing another agenda: to fulfill his
lust for power to be like the Most High God.
Were going to return to Daniel chapter 11 to see how the man of sin tries to accomplish this. Remember
that Daniels prophecy indicated that the man of sin will not have regard for any god. Yet there is
something for which he will have regard.
[Daniel 11:38-45]
v. 38 In the place of worshiping a god, the man of sin shall revere a god of fortresses. The KJV has the
god of forces; the Hebrew word can carry either meaning. The meaning behind the word is strength and
power; it is used six times in this chapter alone.
The man of sin has no regard for any god. What he does have regard for is power. That is at the root of his
great desire to have the obedience and the worship of the people and of the state. He desires to be like the
Most High God in his case, to possess the earth and what it will take, to acquire it and to hold it, is
power great power. Power not to be found on this earth.
Where will the man of sin find such power? In the great red dragon Satan. It is Satan who will empower
the man of sin for his conquests. Indirectly, the man of sin will worship Satan, who is behind his god of
forces.
Still, earthly conquests come by earthly means and that takes funding. The man of sin will honor his god
of forces with money and valuables, pouring treasures into his military coffers to finance his campaigns.
v. 39 With his god of forces the man of sins strange (foreign) god Satanic power the man of sin
will be able to overpower any military force that he comes up against.
Daniel chapter 7 showed his method: he will devour the whole earth, speaking of assimilating other
nations; he will break the earth in pieces, speaking of a divide and conquer approach to those who resist
him; and he will trample the earth, speaking of annihilating those who maintain their opposition to him
(Dan 7:23). As the man of sin continues to acquire more and more nations, he will advance the glory of the
one who is behind him, empowering him Satan.
This will be the method of the man of sin. Daniel then relates his military conquests during the Tribulation.
v. 40-41 This appears to relate to the initial Russian-Islamic invasion, early in the Tribulation, when the
nations to the south (Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia) and the nations to the north (Russia and former satellites,
and Turkey) will purpose to invade Israel.
This will be viewed by the man of sin as an attack on him, for he will have guaranteed the peace in the
region, and his peacekeeping troops will presumably be on the scene. It would seem that he sends

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additional troops into Israel, but note verse 41. It says that many shall be overthrown, but it does not say
that the man of sin will do it. We know that it is the Lord who will do it, miraculously delivering Israel.
The man of sin will use this as an opportunity to make other conquests.
v. 42-43 this will be a great victory for the man of sin, for at least one of these countries is rich in oil
(Libya). This will finance his war machine.
Remember that, as the Tribulation wears on, Gods judgments are being poured out on the earth, with
increasing severity. Between the wars and the judgments, famine, disease and death are rampant.
v. 44 The word trouble here carries the idea of a sudden threat that conveys great fear. What would so
disturb the man of sin? A threat to his power.

This may be referring specifically to the kings of the east the Far East and of Russia to the north. The
kings of the earth will be moving toward the Glorious Land where the man of sin is encamped (see verse
45). It is likely that they are seeking to avenge themselves on him and his world system for the terrible
judgments on the earth, through which they have been suffering.
v. 45 The man of sin will make his encampment in the land of Israel, between the Mediterranean Sea (the
seas) and Jerusalem (the glorious holy mountain). Presumably, he is in the Glorious Land to complete
his annihilation of the Jews.
But before he can accomplish his agenda, the man of sin will come to his end at Armageddon (Rev
16:16), which means mount of slaughter. This is thought to refer to the Mount of Megiddo, on the north
side of the plains of Jezreel not far from where the man of sin is encamped.
The Lord Himself will bring the man of sin to his end to perdition and none will help him for who can
withstand the Lord? At the appointed time, the man of sin will be destroyed after the Lord has used him
to root out all of the rebels from His Kingdom. Once that is accomplished, and all the rebels have been
dealt with, the Lord will set up His kingdom a kingdom of righteousness and peace.
Next week: The man of sin meets his end. Read 2 Th 2; Rev 19:11-21.