2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2 verse 8 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 8. - And then; namely, so soon as he that restraineth is taken out of the way. Shall that Wicked; or, that lawless one, in whom the mystery of lawlessness is realized; not different from, but the same with, the "man of sin, the son of perdition." Be revealed; appear unveiled in all his naked deformity. No longer working secretly, but openly, and in an undisguised form; no longer the mystery, but the revelation of lawlessness. The apostle now interrupts his description of the man of sin by announcing his doom. Whom the Lord; or, as the best attested manuscripts read, whom the Lord Jesus. Shall consume; or rather, shall slay (R.V.). With the spirit (or, breath) of his mouth. Various interpretations have been given to this clause. Some refer it to the Word of God, and others to the Holy Spirit, and suppose that the conversion of the world is here predicted; but this is evidently an erroneous interpretation, as the doom of antichrist is here announced. Others refer the term to a cry or word, and think that the sentence of condemnation pronounced by the Lord Jesus on the wicked is intended. But the words are to be taken literally as a description of the power and irresistible might of Christ at his coming - that the mere breath of his mouth is sufficient to consume the wicked (comp. Isaiah 11:4, "He shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked"). And shall destroy (or, annihilate) with the brightness (or, appearance) of his coming. The two words, epiphany and parousia, which are elsewhere used separately to denote the coming of Christ, are here employed. There is no ground for the assertion that the first is the subjective and the second the objective aspect of Christ's coming (Olshausen). The brightness of Christ's coming is not here expressed; but the meaning is that the mere appearance of Christ's presence will annihilate the wicked.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(8) And then.--Then at length, when the obstructor is gone, two things shall happen: (1) the Lawless One shall be revealed, and (2) then the Lord will come and destroy him. The purpose with which St. Paul began this chapter was to show relatively the date of our Lord's Advent; but he is now so engrossed in describing the events which must precede it, that when he does mention the Advent again he does so in a parenthetical relative clause.That Wicked.--Or, the Lawless One. The English version has again obscured the passage by not keeping the same word as in 2Thessalonians 2:7. The general tendency to "lawlessness" or "rebellion" will be brought to a head in the person of "the Lawless One" or "the "Rebel," just as the "obstruction" is impersonated in "the Obstructor." The publication of the "secret of rebelliousness" will be effected by the manifesto of the Rebel-in-chief. Of course, this Rebel is the same person with the Man of Sin, the change of title being due to the particularising of his sin by the word "lawlessness" in 2Thessalonians 2:7; the specification of the time is the only additional intelligence; all the emphasis of the sentence, therefore, rests on "And then."The Lord.--The best text adds the name Jesus, which serves more clearly to contrast Him with His rival. The word "whom" might be more pointedly paraphrased by "and him."With the spirit of his mouth.--St. Paul is quoting roughly from Isaiah 11:4 (comp. Job 4:9; Psalm 18:15; Wisdom Of Solomon 11:20 : "might have fallen down with one blast, . . . scattered abroad through the breath of Thy power"); and therefore we are to understand it to signify the perfect ease with which Christ will destroy Antichrist. Even when the phrase is used of speech (as it may perhaps be here), the absence of labour is the point to be noticed (e.g., Psalm 33:6). . . .