And then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
Truth to Learn
Jesus will destroy the antichrist at His second coming.
Behind the Words
“Consume” is translated from the Greek verb anaireō. This word is made up of ana, meaning “up,” used here as an intensifier and haireō, meaning “to take.” Thus, anaireō means “to take away” or “to abolish.” This is the word used of a public execution.
The word “breath” is from pneuma, which literally means “breath,” but it is frequently used as a metaphor for spirit.
Stomatos is the word translated “mouth.” It specifically refers to “the opening through which breathing or blowing occurs.”
“Destroy” is translated from katargeō, which is made up of the intensifier kata and argeō, meaning “to be idle.” So we see that katargeō means “to render completely inactive or useless.”
Epiphaneia it the Greek word translated “brightness.” It is composed of epi, meaning “over” or “upon” and phainō, which means “to shine.” Thus, epiphaneia refers to our Lords shining brightness or His Shekinah glory.
The word “coming” is from parousia, which refers to “presence” or “arrival.”
Meaning Explained
In the previous two verses Paul talked about the restraining force, which we concluded is most likely the Holy Spirit that is holding back the full force of lawlessness in the world. After the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, the “man of sin” or “the lawless one,” as Paul calls him here, will be revealed and allowed to take control of the people of the world.
Once this person (whom the Apostle John calls the antichrist) is revealed, the Day of the Lord will begin. This is the time, beginning with the Tribulation, during which God will judge “the inhabitants of the earth” (see Revelation 8:13; 12:12; 17:2). In these passages, the word translated “inhabitants” is a form of katoikeō, meaning “to dwell permanently in a fixed dwelling.” Believers are never referred to as “inhabitants of the earth.” Instead, we are said to dwell (Greek word skēnoō, meaning “to pitch a tent and encamp”) here.
At the end of the seven year Tribulation (the last half of which Jesus referred to as “great tribulation” in Matthew 24:21), Jesus Christ will return to earth. His glorious return and His complete victory over the armies of the antichrist (also called the Beast), the antichrist himself, the False Prophet, and Satan is described in Revelation 19:11 – 20:2. This is the “second coming” of Christ which is spoken of throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Application
Fortunately for Christians, we will not be here when the Tribulation begins. The Apostle John makes it clear that Christians will be kept “out of” this time of trouble. (In Revelation 3:10, where John says “… keep you from the hour of trial …” the word “from” is translated from the Greek word ek, which literally means “out of.”) The rapture could occur any day now. If you have friends or loved ones who aren’t saved, now is the time to witness to them. Don’t wait!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2016 Will Krause. All rights reserved