2 Thessalonians 2

2 Thessalonians 2 (NIV)
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come. 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Paul in chapter one, was encouraging his fellow Christians about growing in faith and having perseverance, while under persecutions and going through various trials. Paul continues in his teachings by making them aware of and correcting errors that arise among Christians, about the 2nd coming of Christ.
Whatever uncertainty there was, or whatever mistakes may arise about the time of Christ’s coming, that coming itself is certain. This has been the faith and hope of all Christians, in all ages of the church; it was the faith and hope of the Old Testament believers. All believers shall be gathered together to Christ, to be with him, and to be happy in his presence for ever. We should (as believers) firmly believe in the 2nd coming of Christ, but there was a danger to the Thessalonians that was concerning – as to when or if the 2nd coming will even come.
False doctrines are like the winds that toss the water to and fro; and they unsettle the minds of men, which are as unstable as water. It is enough for us to know that our Lord will come, and will gather all his saints unto him. A reason why they should not expect the coming of Christ, as at hand, is given. There would be a general falling away first, a rebellion, which would reveal the rise of antichrist, that man of lawlessness (the man of sin).
The man of sin, this lawless man, not only practices wickedness, but also promotes and commands sin and wickedness in others; and is the son of perdition (a state of final spiritual ruin, damnation), because he is devoted to certain destruction, and is the instrument to destroy many others, both in soul and body. As God was in the temple of the Old Testament, and worshipped there, and now is within us (his church); so the antichrist, here mentioned, is a usurper of God’s authority in the Christian church, who claims Divine honors.
Isaiah 14:3-27 (NIV)

3 On the day the Lord gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has come to an end!
How his fury has ended!
5  The Lord has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6  which in anger struck down peoples
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued nations
with relentless aggression.
7  All the lands are at rest and at peace;
they break into singing.
8  Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”
9  The realm of the dead below is all astir
to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
all those who were kings over the nations.
10  They will all respond,
they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
you have become like us.”
11  All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
along with the noise of your harps;
maggots are spread out beneath you
and worms cover you.
12  How you have fallen from heaven,
morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
13  You said in your heart,
“I will ascend to the heavens;
I will raise my throne
above the stars of God;
I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,
on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
14  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.”
15  But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,
to the depths of the pit.
16  Those who see you stare at you,
they ponder your fate:
“Is this the man who shook the earth
and made kingdoms tremble,
17  the man who made the world a wilderness,
who overthrew its cities
and would not let his captives go home?”
18  All the kings of the nations lie in state,
each in his own tomb.
19  But you are cast out of your tomb
like a rejected branch;
you are covered with the slain,
with those pierced by the sword,
those who descend to the stones of the pit.
Like a corpse trampled underfoot,
20  you will not join them in burial,
for you have destroyed your land
and killed your people.
Let the offspring of the wicked
never be mentioned again.
21  Prepare a place to slaughter his children
for the sins of their ancestors;
they are not to rise to inherit the land
and cover the earth with their cities.
22  “I will rise up against them,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
“I will wipe out Babylon’s name and survivors,
her offspring and descendants,”
declares the Lord.
23  “I will turn her into a place for owls
and into swampland;
I will sweep her with the broom of destruction,”
declares the Lord Almighty.
24 The Lord Almighty has sworn,
“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be,
and as I have purposed, so it will happen.
25  I will crush the Assyrian in my land;
on my mountains I will trample him down.
His yoke will be taken from my people,
and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
26  This is the plan determined for the whole world;
this is the hand stretched out over all nations.
27  For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him?
His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?
5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? 6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Paul starts off in verse 5 “ don’t you remember that when I was with you…” Had the Thessalonians remembered the teachings and instructions he taught them, they would not have been so shaken or troubled.
Stand Firm
13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.
16 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

In closing, Paul thanks God for the faithful remnant of beloved brothers and sisters and encourages them to stand firm to the teachings of which he taught them, and to be strengthened in our hearts by the grace of the Holy Spirits inward witness.