Text -- 2 Thessalonians 2:1-7 (NET)

The Day of the Lord

2:1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2:2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. 2:4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God. 2:5 Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you. 2:6 And so you know what holds him back, so that he will be revealed in his own time. 2:7 For the hidden power of lawlessness is already at work. However, the one who holds him back will do so until he is taken out of the way,

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Th 2:1

¹ tn Or perhaps “return” (cf. CEV).

² tn Grk “our gathering with him.”

³ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 1:3.

NET Notes: 2Th 2:2

¹ tn Or “quickly, soon.”

² tn Grk “as through us.”

NET Notes: 2Th 2:3

¹ tn Grk “for unless the rebellion comes first.” The clause about “the day” is understood from v. 2.

² tc Most mss (A D F G Ψ Ï lat sy) read ἁμαρτίας (Jamartia", “of sin”) here, but several important mss (א B 0278 6 81 1739 1881 al co) read ἀνομίας (anomia", “of lawlessness”). Although external support for ἁμαρτίας is broader, the generally earlier and better witnesses are on the side of ἀνομίας. Internally, since ἁμαρτία (Jamartia, “sin”) occurs nearly ten times as often as ἀνομία (anomia, “lawlessness”) in the corpus Paulinum, scribes would be expected to change the text to the more familiar term. At the same time, the mention of ἀνομία in v. 7 and ὁ ἄνομος (Jo anomo", “the lawless one”) in v. 8, both of which look back to v. 3, may have prompted scribes to change the text toward ἀνομίας. The internal evidence is thus fairly evenly balanced. Although a decision is difficult, ἀνομίας has slightly greater probability of authenticity than ἁμαρτίας.

³ tn Or “the one destined for destruction.”

NET Notes: 2Th 2:4

¹ tn Grk “the one who opposes,” describing the figure in v. 3. A new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the personal pronoun (“he”) and translating the participle ἀντικείμενος (antikeimeno") as a finite verb.

² sn Allusions to Isa 14:13-14; Dan 11:36; Ezek 28:2-9 respectively.

³ tn Grk “that he is God.”

NET Notes: 2Th 2:5

¹ tn Grk “You do remember, don’t you?”

NET Notes: 2Th 2:6

¹ tn Grk “and now,” but this shows the logical result of his previous teaching.

² tn Grk “the thing that restrains.”

NET Notes: 2Th 2:7

¹ tn Grk “the mystery of lawlessness.” In Paul “mystery” often means “revealed truth, something formerly hidden but now made widely known,” but that does not make sense with the verb of this clause (“to be at work, to be active”).

² tn Grk “the one who restrains.” This gives a puzzling contrast to the impersonal phrase in v. 6 (“the thing that restrains”). The restraint can be spoken of as a force or as a person. Some have taken this to mean the Roman Empire in particular or human government in general, since these are forces that can also be seen embodied in a person, the emperor or governing head. But apocalyptic texts like Revelation and Daniel portray human government of the end times as under Satanic control, not holding back his influence. Also the power to hold back Satanic forces can only come from God. So others understand this restraint to be some force from God: the preaching of the gospel or the working of the Holy Spirit through God’s people.