*2 Thessalonians 2:4 / *2 Thes. 2:4 -
(Re: Was this fulfilled long ago?)
No, for no man ever sat in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaimed himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36,31, cf. Matthew 24:15), just as no man ever fulfilled other detailed references to the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the "beast") in Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 16:2-16, Revelation 19:19-21, and 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9. Any mistaken teaching which says that the Antichrist has already come and gone could be employed in our future by the real Antichrist to fool some Christians into thinking that he is not the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will fulfill 2 Thessalonians 2:4 after he by force takes control of a future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem, stops the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices which the ultra-Orthodox Jews will have restarted in front of it, and has the abomination of desolation (possibly a standing, android image of the Antichrist) set up in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the temple (Daniel 11:31,36, Matthew 24:15).
The Antichrist could then make quite a show of his sitting himself in the temple and declaring himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36,31). In a television and internet spectacle which will be seen live by the world, he could first be shown entering the temple's most holy place in magnificent golden robes. He could then step up to the Ark of the Covenant (which could have been discovered, and placed in the temple by the Jews) and lift the Mercy Seat off of the Ark, showing it to be empty. He could then look into the camera and say: "Where is YHWH? He is not here! He is a distant fraud! His power on this earth is as hollow as this empty Ark!" (The Antichrist will utterly revile YHWH: Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36.)
Then the Antichrist could raise the Mercy Seat high above his head only to suddenly smash it down violently to the ground, breaking it into pieces. The piped-in sound of crowds roaring with approval could then be heard in the background. Then the Antichrist could place his hands on the Ark and stare into the camera: "WE can do better than this". He could then knock over the Ark and stamp it with his foot, bashing in its side. Two of the Antichrist's followers in robes could then quickly come in and clear away the rubble of the Mercy Seat and the Ark, while four strong men in robes carry into the temple's most holy place a magnificent golden throne and place it right where the Ark had been before. The men could then bow down and motion with their arms for the Antichrist to sit on the throne. He could then grandly take his seat upon it.
Glorious symphonic music could then swell as the sound of crowds roaring with approval increases. Then the Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 19:20) (who could be an apostate pope) could enter the temple's most holy place and approach the Antichrist carrying a majestic golden crown encrusted with large diamonds and all kinds of precious stones. The Antichrist could then take the crown from the pope's outstretched hands. And as the Antichrist places the crown on his own head, a camera could slowly zoom in on his face as he says in a deep voice: "I AM THAT I AM. I AM YOUR GOD. WORSHIP ME, ALL YE NATIONS OF THE EARTH!"
(Compare what Revelation 13:8, Daniel 11:36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 say)
~
Regarding the Antichrist first entering the temple's most holy place, it is possible that instead of entering it from its front, he could enter it through an opening broken through its back wall. This possibility arises when we consider the symbolism associated with the original tabernacle.
(See Exodus 25:9 above, especially the last two paragraphs)
~
(Re: Are there any automatic reasons why 2 Thessalonians 2 is beyond its own, first century AD times?)
Yes, for the reasons pointed out in the first paragraph of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 above. And because Jesus Christ's Second Coming, and the rapture (gathering together) of the Church, and the destruction of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:1,8 have never occurred. And because the miraculous coming of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 has never occurred.
~
(Re: Can the original Greek word for "temple" in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 even refer to an actual, physical temple?) / (*Naos)
Yes, in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, like in Revelation 11:1-2, the original Greek word (naos: G3485) translated as "temple" is the same word used for an actual, physical temple in Matthew 23:16, Matthew 23:17, Matthew 23:21, Matthew 23:35, Matthew 27:5, Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 1:9, Luke 1:21, Luke 1:22, Luke 23:45, and John 2:20.
~
(Re: Is there any other instance in the apostle Paul's epistles where "naos" does not mean the figurative temple of the Church?)
2 Thessalonians 2:4 can be the only instance in Paul's epistles where "naos" refers to an actual, physical temple. For...
(See "your argument is like" under Daniel 11:37 above...)
Similarly, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 can be the only instance in Paul's epistles where "naos" refers to an actual, physical temple.
But why restrict Paul's use of "naos" to only his epistles? For he used "naos" in his speech (quoted by Luke) in Acts 17:24 to refer to actual, physical temples.
~
(Re: The apostle Paul's epistles were focused on spiritual instruction, and his metaphors were frequently spiritual)
Note that just as 2 Thessalonians 2:1 refers to the future physical Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the gathering together (rapture) of the Church to Him (Matthew 24:30-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), so 2 Thessalonians 2:4 refers to the Antichrist sitting in a future physical temple building in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15).
(See also Acts 1:11 above, and Revelation 11:1 below)
~
(Re: In 2 Thessalonians, was not Paul addressing Gentiles, who were not allowed in the Jewish temple, so that the "temple" he refers to must be the Church?)
Note that just as the apostle Paul addressing Gentiles in Acts 25 and Acts 24 does not contradict that in Acts 25:8 and Acts 24:12,18 he is referring to a Jewish temple, so Paul addressing Gentiles in 2 Thessalonians does not contradict that in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 he is referring to a Jewish temple, which Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15 and Daniel 11:31,36 also show will exist in our future.
(See also the: "Is not the Church now the only temple of God?" section of Revelation 11:1 below)
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(Re: Unless the Pharisee swore "by the gold of the sanctuary", that is, not by the gold of "the temple", he was under no moral obligation)
Even if we restrict Matthew 23:16 to mean only the sanctuary part of the temple (in the sense of only that part called the holy place and the most holy place), both the sanctuary and the rest of the temple were literal physical buildings, just as 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15 and Daniel 11:31,36 refer to a future physical building: a third Jewish sanctuary (and also an outer court: Revelation 11:2) which will exist in the earthly Jerusalem (Revelation 11:2b).
(See Revelation 11:1 below)
~
(Re: Is "sitteth" in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 in the present tense?)
No, in the original Greek, "sitteth" (kathizo: G2523) is in the aorist tense and infinitive mood. So it means "to sit".
~
(*YLT)
Young's Literal Translation:
2 Thessalonians 2:3b ... if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed -- the son of the destruction,
4 who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God -- [the day doth not come].
This literal translation, like the original Greek, means until the various things in 2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4 are either happening or have happened. That is what "[the day doth not come]" means: The day of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a "shall not come [meaning, in the future] except" (2 Thessalonians 2:3, KJV), in the sense of unless, the various things in 2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4 are either happening or have happened. They were not happening, and had not happened, at the time that 2 Thessalonians was written in the first century AD, just as they still today have never happened. And so we must not be deceived by anyone claiming that the day of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a is already "at hand" in the sense of already present (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4).
(See the "Countering" section of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 above)
~
(Re: Was the thing which was future the revealing of the man of sin?)
Yes, and that revealing will occur when he is "opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4, YLT). Until that time, something is keeping down, hindering, such things from happening. So only when the man of sin's own time comes will they happen:
2 Thessalonians 2:6 (YLT) and now, what is keeping down ye have known, for his being revealed in his own time,
7 for the secret of the lawlessness doth already work, only he who is keeping down now [will hinder] -- till he may be out of the way,
8 and then shall be revealed the Lawless One
(See 2 Thessalonians 2:6 below)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:5 / *2 Thes. 2:5 -
This points to the fact that... (See section 3 of 2 Thessalonians 2:6 below)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 / *2 Thes. 2:6 -
(Re: The *restrainer)
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [Greek: katecho: holds down] will let [hold down], until he be taken out of the way.
The restrainer of the future Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8) could be a powerful, good angel, like the one who will restrain Satan himself at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 20:1-3). The restrainer cannot be God's Holy Spirit because in the future the restrainer will be removed (2 Thessalonians 2:7b) while the Holy Spirit can never be removed because He is always omnipresent (Psalms 139:7-10). Similarly, the restrainer cannot be the Church or the Holy Spirit in the Church because the Church will not be removed (John 17:15,20, Proverbs 10:30, Proverbs 2:21-22). Also, there are no Christians outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-5), and no one can be a Christian without the Spirit (Romans 8:9), and the Antichrist will be allowed to physically overcome Christians in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13), just as, for example, the Roman emperors and Satan were allowed to physically overcome some Christians in the first century AD (e.g. Revelation 2:10). Also, Mark 13:11b expressly shows that the Holy Spirit will still be with Christians during the future Tribulation.
Also, the Tribulation passage of... (See paragraph 2 of Revelation 14:12 below)
~
(Re: Was the Holy Spirit not present on the earth until after the Pentecost in Acts 2?)
See John 14:26 above.
~
(Now ye know what withholdeth)
When the apostle Paul says regarding the restrainer of the future Antichrist: "now ye know what withholdeth" (2 Thessalonians 2:6), Paul was addressing the first century AD Thessalonians to whom he had previously explained everything in person (2 Thessalonians 2:5). That is, "now" included both a time in their past and their present, just as, for example, the "now" in 1 Thessalonians 3:8, Colossians 1:26 and 2 Timothy 1:10 included both a time in the original readers' past (compared with the exact moment that those letters were first read) and their present.
~
(Re: Restraining spiritual deception?)
See the entry below.
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*2 Thessalonians 2:7a / *2 Thes. 2:7a -
This means that the restrainer of the future Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:6a was not (just as he still is not) restraining the spiritual aspect of the antichrist deception. For the spiritual aspect was already at work in the first century AD (2 Thessalonians 2:7a; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7). Instead, the restrainer was (just as he still is) restraining only the Antichrist himself ("that man of sin") from coming physically and sitting in a Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaiming himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4, Daniel 11:36,31), and being given physical power (by Satan, the dragon) over the whole earth for 3.5 literal years (Revelation 13:4-18, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12:7).
(See also 1 John 2:18 below, and section 2 of 2 Thessalonians 2:11 below)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 / *2 Thes. 2:11 -
Here the original Greek word (pas: G3956) translated as "all" does not have to mean absolutely all, but can mean "all manner of" (cf. Acts 10:12). 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 does not mean that absolutely all non-Christians will believe the lie and worship the future Antichrist and receive his mark. For there will be some non-Christian elect Jews who will refuse to receive his mark, and so they will be able to be subsequently saved from hell by Jesus Christ when they see Him in person and believe in Him at His future, Second Coming (Romans 11:25-29, Zechariah 12:10-14), which will occur immediately after the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 (Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6). Anyone who willingly receives the future Antichrist's mark can never be saved from hell (Revelation 14:9-11).
~
(*Lie) / (Re: Why would anyone worship the future Antichrist?)
The future Antichrist will have a False Prophet who will work amazing miracles (2 Thessalonians 2:9b) by which people will be deceived (Revelation 13:12-14, Revelation 19:20, cf. Matthew 24:24). And God will send strong delusion on unrepentant people so that they will believe "the" lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12; in the original Greek, there is a "the" before "lie"), which could be the antichrist lie which has been around since the first century AD (2 John 1:7; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:7a) and which in our future will deceive people into consciously and openly worshipping both Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9), as God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). The antichrist lie denies that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22), denies that Jesus is the human/divine Son of God (1 John 2:22b), and denies that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7), which denial is one of the key doctrines of Gnosticism.
(But see Revelation 13:4 below. Also, see the "Gnosticism" section of 1 John 4:3 below)
~
(Re: But will not people be able to point to the Bible's prophecies and identify them with what is happening?)
Most people at that future time will not be able to do that. For most people at that time (just as today) will not be Christians, and so they will not know the Bible's prophecies. Also, even most Christians today do not know very much about the Bible's prophecies. And even those non-Christians who know something about them, and who will recognize their fulfillment, could still be deceived into thinking that their fulfillment does not require that YHWH God is good, or that the Antichrist and Lucifer are evil. For such people could still see the latter as the good guys, and reject the (at that time) still-unfulfilled prophecies of their defeat by YHWH (at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming) as mere propaganda which will not ever come to pass. That is, they could still be deceived into thinking that it is YHWH who will be defeated.
(See also paragraphs 2-4 of Matthew 24:37 above)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:12 / *2 Thes. 2:12 -
(Re: How could this apply to Christians, when they do believe the truth, even though they might need to repent from some sin?)
Because our continuing in unrepentant sin shows that deep down we do not really believe the truth, that we do not really believe that "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21), or that "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3), or that "he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death" (James 5:20). Instead, our continuing in unrepentant sin shows that deep down we believe Satan's original lie ("Ye shall not surely die": Genesis 3:4), that deep down we think that God will let us off in the end no matter what we do: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it" (Psalms 10:13); "The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes" (Psalms 36:1).
Christians can get cocky in their unrepentant sin when they see that they have not been struck by lightning, and that they have not lost any of their daily comforts and pleasures, and that they are continuing to operate in the gifts of God's Holy Spirit and do many good works of faith in Jesus Christ. They can figure: "What do you know? God still approves of me even in my unrepentant sin. He must not think that it is that big of a deal. So if He feels that way, I might as well keep on doing it. For, man, how I love it!" And so Christians could strut on their way to speak at the next big church seminar, whistling Dixie over their plans to secretly meet with their adulterous lover both before and afterward. Christians can think that they are pretty smart getting to enjoy both the pleasures of God and unrepentant sin at the same time.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear YHWH, and depart from evil" (Proverbs 3:7). "The fear of YHWH is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death" (Proverbs 14:27). "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of YHWH men depart from evil" (Proverbs 16:6). "Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him" (Luke 12:5).
And wouldn't you know it, their talk at the next big church seminar could even be titled: "No Condemnation", with its key verse being: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1a). Of course, they leave off the rest of the verse, and its context, in the original Greek Textus Receptus, and the KJV: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ... For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:1, Romans 8:13). "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27); "have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22-23).
So now is the time for us to repent, not only to avoid damnation should we die unexpectedly in unrepentant sin ("Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee", Luke 12:20), but also to avoid being deceived by the future Antichrist, to avoid the "deceivableness of unrighteousness" (2 Thessalonians 2:10), and so avoid taking the mark of the beast, and incurring God's eternal wrath against us (Revelation 14:9-13).
(See also Matthew 24:24 and Matthew 7:21 above)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:13b / *2 Thes. 2:13b -
This does not mean that individuals elected by God were sanctified (in the sense of Hebrews 10:10) before they were born, or before they believed the truth of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, but that from the beginning they were ordained by God to become sanctified at some point during their lifetime (Acts 13:48b) through believing the truth of Jesus Christ and His suffering and dying on the Cross for our sins (Acts 26:18b; 1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 3:25-26) and his rising physically from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Luke 24:39), which believing first occurs when individuals elected by God are given some measure of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-16).
(See also Romans 9:11 above)
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*2 Thessalonians 3:2 / *2 Thes. 3:2 -
(All men have not faith)
This means that God has not given to all people His gift of faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65; 1 Corinthians 3:5, Acts 13:48). Also, even among those who have been given this faith, some have been given more Spiritual "talents" than others (Matthew 25:15). All people who have been given faith in Jesus do not prophesy, or work miracles, or have gifts of healing, or speak in tongues, or interpret tongues (1 Corinthians 12:29-30) because not all people who have been given faith in Jesus are given the same gifts of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-30). And some of His gifts are greater than others (1 Corinthians 14:5; 1 Corinthians 12:31).
Also, people being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) does not mean (as is sometimes claimed) that God has given to everyone the same things. For while all people are equal in their essence (Acts 17:26), God gives more to some Christians than others.
(See Mark 13:34 above)
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*1 Timothy 1:6 / *1 Tim. 1:6 -
The original Greek word (mataiologia: G3150) translated as "vain jangling", like the English phrase, can mean "babbling" (Strong's Greek Dictionary).
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*1 Timothy 1:10 / *1 Tim. 1:10 -
The original Greek word (arsenokoites: G0733) translated here as "them that defile themselves with mankind", and translated in 1 Corinthians 6:9 as "abusers of themselves with mankind", refers to male homosexuals. Compare what Romans 1:27 says.
(See also Romans 1:26 above)
Also, note how "arsenokoites" can be seen as a combination of two words, the latter similar to our English word "coitus" and the former similar to a British slang term for the behind.
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*1 Timothy 1:13-16 / *1 Tim. 1:13 -
(Re: Saul getting saved)
See paragraph 3 of 1 Corinthians 9:1 above.
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*1 Timothy 2:4,6 / *1 Tim. 2:4 / *1 Tim. 2:6 -
This, like 1 Timothy 4:10b, means that God will have all manner of people... (See "believe in Jesus" under John 1:7 above)
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*1 Timothy 2:12-14 / *1 Tim. 2:12 -
See 1 Corinthians 14:34 above.
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*1 Timothy 2:15 / *1 Tim. 2:15 -
Regarding "she shall be saved in childbearing", this does not mean that she shall be saved from hell by having a child, but that she will be kept "safe" while giving birth to a child, instead of suffering dangerous complications during or afterward. That is, the original Greek word (sozo: G4982) translated as "saved" can be used to simply refer to being kept safe physically in a particular situation (e.g. Matthew 8:24-25). In the context, the apostle Paul would be referring to the "greatly multiplied sorrow" (Genesis 3:16), in the sense of suffering, which God has assigned to women during the awful pains of childbirth, as a punishment for Eve's, the first woman's, sin (1 Timothy 2:14-15, Genesis 3:16).
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Dec 22, 2018
(Re: Was this fulfilled long ago?)
No, for no man ever sat in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaimed himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36,31, cf. Matthew 24:15), just as no man ever fulfilled other detailed references to the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of the "beast") in Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 16:2-16, Revelation 19:19-21, and 2 Thessalonians 2:8-9. Any mistaken teaching which says that the Antichrist has already come and gone could be employed in our future by the real Antichrist to fool some Christians into thinking that he is not the Antichrist.
The Antichrist will fulfill 2 Thessalonians 2:4 after he by force takes control of a future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem, stops the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices which the ultra-Orthodox Jews will have restarted in front of it, and has the abomination of desolation (possibly a standing, android image of the Antichrist) set up in the holy place (the inner sanctum) of the temple (Daniel 11:31,36, Matthew 24:15).
The Antichrist could then make quite a show of his sitting himself in the temple and declaring himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36,31). In a television and internet spectacle which will be seen live by the world, he could first be shown entering the temple's most holy place in magnificent golden robes. He could then step up to the Ark of the Covenant (which could have been discovered, and placed in the temple by the Jews) and lift the Mercy Seat off of the Ark, showing it to be empty. He could then look into the camera and say: "Where is YHWH? He is not here! He is a distant fraud! His power on this earth is as hollow as this empty Ark!" (The Antichrist will utterly revile YHWH: Revelation 13:6, Daniel 11:36.)
Then the Antichrist could raise the Mercy Seat high above his head only to suddenly smash it down violently to the ground, breaking it into pieces. The piped-in sound of crowds roaring with approval could then be heard in the background. Then the Antichrist could place his hands on the Ark and stare into the camera: "WE can do better than this". He could then knock over the Ark and stamp it with his foot, bashing in its side. Two of the Antichrist's followers in robes could then quickly come in and clear away the rubble of the Mercy Seat and the Ark, while four strong men in robes carry into the temple's most holy place a magnificent golden throne and place it right where the Ark had been before. The men could then bow down and motion with their arms for the Antichrist to sit on the throne. He could then grandly take his seat upon it.
Glorious symphonic music could then swell as the sound of crowds roaring with approval increases. Then the Antichrist's False Prophet (of Revelation 19:20) (who could be an apostate pope) could enter the temple's most holy place and approach the Antichrist carrying a majestic golden crown encrusted with large diamonds and all kinds of precious stones. The Antichrist could then take the crown from the pope's outstretched hands. And as the Antichrist places the crown on his own head, a camera could slowly zoom in on his face as he says in a deep voice: "I AM THAT I AM. I AM YOUR GOD. WORSHIP ME, ALL YE NATIONS OF THE EARTH!"
(Compare what Revelation 13:8, Daniel 11:36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 say)
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Regarding the Antichrist first entering the temple's most holy place, it is possible that instead of entering it from its front, he could enter it through an opening broken through its back wall. This possibility arises when we consider the symbolism associated with the original tabernacle.
(See Exodus 25:9 above, especially the last two paragraphs)
~
(Re: Are there any automatic reasons why 2 Thessalonians 2 is beyond its own, first century AD times?)
Yes, for the reasons pointed out in the first paragraph of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 above. And because Jesus Christ's Second Coming, and the rapture (gathering together) of the Church, and the destruction of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:1,8 have never occurred. And because the miraculous coming of the Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:9 has never occurred.
~
(Re: Can the original Greek word for "temple" in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 even refer to an actual, physical temple?) / (*Naos)
Yes, in 2 Thessalonians 2:4, like in Revelation 11:1-2, the original Greek word (naos: G3485) translated as "temple" is the same word used for an actual, physical temple in Matthew 23:16, Matthew 23:17, Matthew 23:21, Matthew 23:35, Matthew 27:5, Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 1:9, Luke 1:21, Luke 1:22, Luke 23:45, and John 2:20.
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(Re: Is there any other instance in the apostle Paul's epistles where "naos" does not mean the figurative temple of the Church?)
2 Thessalonians 2:4 can be the only instance in Paul's epistles where "naos" refers to an actual, physical temple. For...
(See "your argument is like" under Daniel 11:37 above...)
Similarly, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 can be the only instance in Paul's epistles where "naos" refers to an actual, physical temple.
But why restrict Paul's use of "naos" to only his epistles? For he used "naos" in his speech (quoted by Luke) in Acts 17:24 to refer to actual, physical temples.
~
(Re: The apostle Paul's epistles were focused on spiritual instruction, and his metaphors were frequently spiritual)
Note that just as 2 Thessalonians 2:1 refers to the future physical Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the gathering together (rapture) of the Church to Him (Matthew 24:30-31, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), so 2 Thessalonians 2:4 refers to the Antichrist sitting in a future physical temple building in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15).
(See also Acts 1:11 above, and Revelation 11:1 below)
~
(Re: In 2 Thessalonians, was not Paul addressing Gentiles, who were not allowed in the Jewish temple, so that the "temple" he refers to must be the Church?)
Note that just as the apostle Paul addressing Gentiles in Acts 25 and Acts 24 does not contradict that in Acts 25:8 and Acts 24:12,18 he is referring to a Jewish temple, so Paul addressing Gentiles in 2 Thessalonians does not contradict that in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 he is referring to a Jewish temple, which Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15 and Daniel 11:31,36 also show will exist in our future.
(See also the: "Is not the Church now the only temple of God?" section of Revelation 11:1 below)
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(Re: Unless the Pharisee swore "by the gold of the sanctuary", that is, not by the gold of "the temple", he was under no moral obligation)
Even if we restrict Matthew 23:16 to mean only the sanctuary part of the temple (in the sense of only that part called the holy place and the most holy place), both the sanctuary and the rest of the temple were literal physical buildings, just as 2 Thessalonians 2:4, Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15 and Daniel 11:31,36 refer to a future physical building: a third Jewish sanctuary (and also an outer court: Revelation 11:2) which will exist in the earthly Jerusalem (Revelation 11:2b).
(See Revelation 11:1 below)
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(Re: Is "sitteth" in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 in the present tense?)
No, in the original Greek, "sitteth" (kathizo: G2523) is in the aorist tense and infinitive mood. So it means "to sit".
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(*YLT)
Young's Literal Translation:
2 Thessalonians 2:3b ... if the falling away may not come first, and the man of sin be revealed -- the son of the destruction,
4 who is opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God -- [the day doth not come].
This literal translation, like the original Greek, means until the various things in 2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4 are either happening or have happened. That is what "[the day doth not come]" means: The day of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a "shall not come [meaning, in the future] except" (2 Thessalonians 2:3, KJV), in the sense of unless, the various things in 2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4 are either happening or have happened. They were not happening, and had not happened, at the time that 2 Thessalonians was written in the first century AD, just as they still today have never happened. And so we must not be deceived by anyone claiming that the day of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3a is already "at hand" in the sense of already present (2 Thessalonians 2:2-4).
(See the "Countering" section of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 above)
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(Re: Was the thing which was future the revealing of the man of sin?)
Yes, and that revealing will occur when he is "opposing and is raising himself up above all called God or worshipped, so that he in the sanctuary of God as God hath sat down, shewing himself off that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4, YLT). Until that time, something is keeping down, hindering, such things from happening. So only when the man of sin's own time comes will they happen:
2 Thessalonians 2:6 (YLT) and now, what is keeping down ye have known, for his being revealed in his own time,
7 for the secret of the lawlessness doth already work, only he who is keeping down now [will hinder] -- till he may be out of the way,
8 and then shall be revealed the Lawless One
(See 2 Thessalonians 2:6 below)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:5 / *2 Thes. 2:5 -
This points to the fact that... (See section 3 of 2 Thessalonians 2:6 below)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:6-8 / *2 Thes. 2:6 -
(Re: The *restrainer)
2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [Greek: katecho: holds down] will let [hold down], until he be taken out of the way.
The restrainer of the future Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:6-8) could be a powerful, good angel, like the one who will restrain Satan himself at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming (Revelation 20:1-3). The restrainer cannot be God's Holy Spirit because in the future the restrainer will be removed (2 Thessalonians 2:7b) while the Holy Spirit can never be removed because He is always omnipresent (Psalms 139:7-10). Similarly, the restrainer cannot be the Church or the Holy Spirit in the Church because the Church will not be removed (John 17:15,20, Proverbs 10:30, Proverbs 2:21-22). Also, there are no Christians outside of the Church (Ephesians 4:4-5), and no one can be a Christian without the Spirit (Romans 8:9), and the Antichrist will be allowed to physically overcome Christians in every nation (Revelation 13:7-10, Revelation 14:12-13, Revelation 20:4-6, Matthew 24:9-13), just as, for example, the Roman emperors and Satan were allowed to physically overcome some Christians in the first century AD (e.g. Revelation 2:10). Also, Mark 13:11b expressly shows that the Holy Spirit will still be with Christians during the future Tribulation.
Also, the Tribulation passage of... (See paragraph 2 of Revelation 14:12 below)
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(Re: Was the Holy Spirit not present on the earth until after the Pentecost in Acts 2?)
See John 14:26 above.
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(Now ye know what withholdeth)
When the apostle Paul says regarding the restrainer of the future Antichrist: "now ye know what withholdeth" (2 Thessalonians 2:6), Paul was addressing the first century AD Thessalonians to whom he had previously explained everything in person (2 Thessalonians 2:5). That is, "now" included both a time in their past and their present, just as, for example, the "now" in 1 Thessalonians 3:8, Colossians 1:26 and 2 Timothy 1:10 included both a time in the original readers' past (compared with the exact moment that those letters were first read) and their present.
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(Re: Restraining spiritual deception?)
See the entry below.
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*2 Thessalonians 2:7a / *2 Thes. 2:7a -
This means that the restrainer of the future Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2:6a was not (just as he still is not) restraining the spiritual aspect of the antichrist deception. For the spiritual aspect was already at work in the first century AD (2 Thessalonians 2:7a; 1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7). Instead, the restrainer was (just as he still is) restraining only the Antichrist himself ("that man of sin") from coming physically and sitting in a Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaiming himself God (2 Thessalonians 2:3b-4, Daniel 11:36,31), and being given physical power (by Satan, the dragon) over the whole earth for 3.5 literal years (Revelation 13:4-18, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 12:7).
(See also 1 John 2:18 below, and section 2 of 2 Thessalonians 2:11 below)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 / *2 Thes. 2:11 -
Here the original Greek word (pas: G3956) translated as "all" does not have to mean absolutely all, but can mean "all manner of" (cf. Acts 10:12). 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 does not mean that absolutely all non-Christians will believe the lie and worship the future Antichrist and receive his mark. For there will be some non-Christian elect Jews who will refuse to receive his mark, and so they will be able to be subsequently saved from hell by Jesus Christ when they see Him in person and believe in Him at His future, Second Coming (Romans 11:25-29, Zechariah 12:10-14), which will occur immediately after the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24 (Matthew 24:29-31, Revelation 19:7 to 20:6). Anyone who willingly receives the future Antichrist's mark can never be saved from hell (Revelation 14:9-11).
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(*Lie) / (Re: Why would anyone worship the future Antichrist?)
The future Antichrist will have a False Prophet who will work amazing miracles (2 Thessalonians 2:9b) by which people will be deceived (Revelation 13:12-14, Revelation 19:20, cf. Matthew 24:24). And God will send strong delusion on unrepentant people so that they will believe "the" lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12; in the original Greek, there is a "the" before "lie"), which could be the antichrist lie which has been around since the first century AD (2 John 1:7; 1 John 4:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:7a) and which in our future will deceive people into consciously and openly worshipping both Lucifer (Satan, the dragon) and the Antichrist (the individual-man aspect of Revelation's "beast") (Revelation 13:4-18, Revelation 12:9), the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9), as God (2 Thessalonians 2:4, Daniel 11:36). The antichrist lie denies that Jesus is the Christ (1 John 2:22), denies that Jesus is the human/divine Son of God (1 John 2:22b), and denies that Christ is in the flesh (2 John 1:7), which denial is one of the key doctrines of Gnosticism.
(But see Revelation 13:4 below. Also, see the "Gnosticism" section of 1 John 4:3 below)
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(Re: But will not people be able to point to the Bible's prophecies and identify them with what is happening?)
Most people at that future time will not be able to do that. For most people at that time (just as today) will not be Christians, and so they will not know the Bible's prophecies. Also, even most Christians today do not know very much about the Bible's prophecies. And even those non-Christians who know something about them, and who will recognize their fulfillment, could still be deceived into thinking that their fulfillment does not require that YHWH God is good, or that the Antichrist and Lucifer are evil. For such people could still see the latter as the good guys, and reject the (at that time) still-unfulfilled prophecies of their defeat by YHWH (at Jesus Christ's future, Second Coming) as mere propaganda which will not ever come to pass. That is, they could still be deceived into thinking that it is YHWH who will be defeated.
(See also paragraphs 2-4 of Matthew 24:37 above)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:12 / *2 Thes. 2:12 -
(Re: How could this apply to Christians, when they do believe the truth, even though they might need to repent from some sin?)
Because our continuing in unrepentant sin shows that deep down we do not really believe the truth, that we do not really believe that "they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21), or that "except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3), or that "he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death" (James 5:20). Instead, our continuing in unrepentant sin shows that deep down we believe Satan's original lie ("Ye shall not surely die": Genesis 3:4), that deep down we think that God will let us off in the end no matter what we do: "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it" (Psalms 10:13); "The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes" (Psalms 36:1).
Christians can get cocky in their unrepentant sin when they see that they have not been struck by lightning, and that they have not lost any of their daily comforts and pleasures, and that they are continuing to operate in the gifts of God's Holy Spirit and do many good works of faith in Jesus Christ. They can figure: "What do you know? God still approves of me even in my unrepentant sin. He must not think that it is that big of a deal. So if He feels that way, I might as well keep on doing it. For, man, how I love it!" And so Christians could strut on their way to speak at the next big church seminar, whistling Dixie over their plans to secretly meet with their adulterous lover both before and afterward. Christians can think that they are pretty smart getting to enjoy both the pleasures of God and unrepentant sin at the same time.
"Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). "Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear YHWH, and depart from evil" (Proverbs 3:7). "The fear of YHWH is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death" (Proverbs 14:27). "By mercy and truth iniquity is purged: and by the fear of YHWH men depart from evil" (Proverbs 16:6). "Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him" (Luke 12:5).
And wouldn't you know it, their talk at the next big church seminar could even be titled: "No Condemnation", with its key verse being: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1a). Of course, they leave off the rest of the verse, and its context, in the original Greek Textus Receptus, and the KJV: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ... For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Romans 8:1, Romans 8:13). "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:27); "have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:22-23).
So now is the time for us to repent, not only to avoid damnation should we die unexpectedly in unrepentant sin ("Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee", Luke 12:20), but also to avoid being deceived by the future Antichrist, to avoid the "deceivableness of unrighteousness" (2 Thessalonians 2:10), and so avoid taking the mark of the beast, and incurring God's eternal wrath against us (Revelation 14:9-13).
(See also Matthew 24:24 and Matthew 7:21 above)
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*2 Thessalonians 2:13b / *2 Thes. 2:13b -
This does not mean that individuals elected by God were sanctified (in the sense of Hebrews 10:10) before they were born, or before they believed the truth of Jesus Christ and His Gospel, but that from the beginning they were ordained by God to become sanctified at some point during their lifetime (Acts 13:48b) through believing the truth of Jesus Christ and His suffering and dying on the Cross for our sins (Acts 26:18b; 1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 3:25-26) and his rising physically from the dead on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, Luke 24:39), which believing first occurs when individuals elected by God are given some measure of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:11-16).
(See also Romans 9:11 above)
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*2 Thessalonians 3:2 / *2 Thes. 3:2 -
(All men have not faith)
This means that God has not given to all people His gift of faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8, John 6:65; 1 Corinthians 3:5, Acts 13:48). Also, even among those who have been given this faith, some have been given more Spiritual "talents" than others (Matthew 25:15). All people who have been given faith in Jesus do not prophesy, or work miracles, or have gifts of healing, or speak in tongues, or interpret tongues (1 Corinthians 12:29-30) because not all people who have been given faith in Jesus are given the same gifts of God's Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-30). And some of His gifts are greater than others (1 Corinthians 14:5; 1 Corinthians 12:31).
Also, people being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) does not mean (as is sometimes claimed) that God has given to everyone the same things. For while all people are equal in their essence (Acts 17:26), God gives more to some Christians than others.
(See Mark 13:34 above)
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*1 Timothy 1:6 / *1 Tim. 1:6 -
The original Greek word (mataiologia: G3150) translated as "vain jangling", like the English phrase, can mean "babbling" (Strong's Greek Dictionary).
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*1 Timothy 1:10 / *1 Tim. 1:10 -
The original Greek word (arsenokoites: G0733) translated here as "them that defile themselves with mankind", and translated in 1 Corinthians 6:9 as "abusers of themselves with mankind", refers to male homosexuals. Compare what Romans 1:27 says.
(See also Romans 1:26 above)
Also, note how "arsenokoites" can be seen as a combination of two words, the latter similar to our English word "coitus" and the former similar to a British slang term for the behind.
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*1 Timothy 1:13-16 / *1 Tim. 1:13 -
(Re: Saul getting saved)
See paragraph 3 of 1 Corinthians 9:1 above.
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*1 Timothy 2:4,6 / *1 Tim. 2:4 / *1 Tim. 2:6 -
This, like 1 Timothy 4:10b, means that God will have all manner of people... (See "believe in Jesus" under John 1:7 above)
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*1 Timothy 2:12-14 / *1 Tim. 2:12 -
See 1 Corinthians 14:34 above.
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*1 Timothy 2:15 / *1 Tim. 2:15 -
Regarding "she shall be saved in childbearing", this does not mean that she shall be saved from hell by having a child, but that she will be kept "safe" while giving birth to a child, instead of suffering dangerous complications during or afterward. That is, the original Greek word (sozo: G4982) translated as "saved" can be used to simply refer to being kept safe physically in a particular situation (e.g. Matthew 8:24-25). In the context, the apostle Paul would be referring to the "greatly multiplied sorrow" (Genesis 3:16), in the sense of suffering, which God has assigned to women during the awful pains of childbirth, as a punishment for Eve's, the first woman's, sin (1 Timothy 2:14-15, Genesis 3:16).
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