13.0 2 Thess 2:1-12

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12
Body 1a, The Man of Lawlessness
Lesson 13
Last revised: 4/18/01

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2:1 jErwtw'men de; uJma'", ajdelfoiv, uJpe;r th'" parousiva" tou' kurivou hJmw'n jIhsou' Cristou' kai; hJmw'n ejpisunagwgh'" ejp j aujtovn 2:2 eij" to; mh; tacevw" saleuqh'nai uJma'" ajpo; tou' noo;" mhde; qroei'sqai, mhvte dia; pneuvmato" mhvte dia; lovgou mhvte di j ejpistolh'" wJ" di j hJmw'n, wJ" o&ti ejnevsthken hJ hJmevra tou' kurivou: 2:3 mhv ti" uJma'" ejxapathvsh/ kata; mhdevna trovpon. o[ti eja;n mh; e[lqh/ hJ ajpostasiva prw'ton kai; ajpokalufqh'/ oJ a[nqrwpo" th'" ajnomiva", oJ uiJo;" th'" ajpwleiva", 2:4 oJ ajntikeivmeno" kai; uJperairovmeno" ejpi; pavnta legovmenon qeo;n h] sevbasma, w[ste aujto;n eij" to;n nao;n tou' qeou' kaqivsai ajpodeiknuvnta eJauto;n o[ti e[stin qeov". 2:5 Ouj mnhmoneuvete o[ti e[ti w]n pro;" uJma'" tau'ta e[legon uJmi'n: 2:6 kai; nu'n to; katevcon oi[date eij" to; ajpokalufqh'nai aujto;n ejn tw'/ eJautou' kairw'/. 2:7 o; ga;r musthvrion h[dh ejnergei'tai th'" ajnomiva": movnon oJ katevcwn a[rti e[w" ejk mevsou gevnhtai. 2:8 kai; tovte ajpokalufqhvsetai oJ a[nomo", o]n oJ kuvrio" JIhsou'" ajnelei' tw'/ pneuvmati tou' stovmato" aujtou' kai; katarghvsei th'/ ejpifaneiva/ th'" parousiva" aujtou', 2:9 ou| ejstin hJ parousiva kat j nevrgeian tou' Satana' ejn pavsh/ dunavmei kai; shmeivoi" kai; tevrasin yeuvdou" 2:10 ai; ejn pavsh/ ajpavth/ ajdikiva" toi'" ajpollumevnoi", ajnq j w|n th;n ajgavphn th'" ajlhqeiva" oujk ejdevxanto eij" to; swqh'nai aujtouv". 2:11 kai; dia; tou'to pevmpei aujtoi'" oJ qeo;" ejnevrgeian plavnh" eij" to; pisteu'sai aujtou;" tw'/ yeuvdei, 2:12 i[na kriqw'sin pavnte" oiJ mh; pisteuvsante" th'/ ajlhqeiva/ ajlla; eujdokhvsante" th'/ ajdikiva/.

NRSV
2:1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assembling to meet him, we beg you, brethren, 2:2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited, either by spirit or by word, or by letter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of perdition, 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 2:5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you this? 2:6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him with the breath of his mouth and destroy him by his appearing and his coming. 2:9 The coming of the lawless one by the activity of Satan will be with all power and with pretended signs and wonders, 2:10 and with all wicked deception for those who are to perish, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2:11 Therefore God sends upon them a strong delusion, to make them believe what is false, 2:12 so that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

1. Determine the genre of the passage.

How is this passage alike and different from apocalyptic literature in such passages like Matthew 24-25?
Compare the literary aspects of 2 Thess 2:1-12 to 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11.

2. Determine the literary context of the passage.

How does 2:1-12 fit into the literary strategy of 2 Thessalonians?
How does 2:1-12 contribute to a larger picture of eschatological expectation in the pauline corpus?

3. Determine the time/place references in the passage.

Explore the possible scenarios that might account for the Thessalonians believing that the Parousia had already taken place (cf. 2:1-2). Give careful attention to the words of the text, especially the agency expressions in the Greek.
How can the tension between the 'suddenness of Christ's return' in 1 Thess 5 be reconciled with the 'delay of the Parousia' in 2 Thess 2?

4. Analyze the internal literary structure of the passage.

Evaluate F.F. Bruce's assessment (WBC, 45:162-163) that the passage is a combination of prose (vv.1-2; 5-7) and OT oriented poetry (vv. 3-4; 8-12).
Summarize the flow of thought in 2:1-12, evaluating the divisions of thought contained in the paragraphing of several recent translations and -- if possible -- that of the UBS Greek New Testament.

5. Determine the interpretative issues -- both theologically and exegetically -- present in the passage.

Explore the possible identity of the 'man of lawlessness' in the interpretative history of 2 Thessalonians.
Explore the possible meanings of the restraining force in 2:6.

6. Determine a central theme of the passage

7. Develop an exegetical outline of the passage.

8. Develop a short, one page sermon brief from the passage.