The Second Advent of Jesus Christ in 2 Thessalonians 2.8 (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday October 9, 2024

The Day of the Lord Series: The Second Advent of Jesus Christ in 2 Thessalonians 2:8

Lesson # 43

There are four passages in the New Testament epistles, which discuss the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, namely Romans 11:25-27, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, 2:8 and Jude 14-15.

Next, we will note 2 Thessalonians 2:8, which also mentions the Second Advent.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, Paul attempts to correct and reassure the Thessalonians that the eschatological day of the Lord does not precede the rapture or resurrection of the church.

He teaches that the Spirit, who indwells each member of the church and prevents the appearance of Antichrist and thus the seventieth week of Daniel from beginning, must be removed from earth before the Antichrist can manifest himself.

Thus, the Spirit and the church must be removed before the seventieth week can take place since Daniel 9:27 teaches that the seventieth week begins with Antichrist establishing a treaty with the nation of Israel.

Therefore, Paul is addressing in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 the relationship between the church as well as the rapture and the eschatological day of the Lord, i.e., the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

2 Thessalonians 2:1 Now, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ’s arrival resulting in our gathering before Him, each of us is requesting each and every one of you brothers and sisters. 2 that each one of you would not be easily shaken from your composure, nor be alarmed by either a spirit, or by a message, or by a letter allegedly from us to the effect that the Lord’s day is taking place. 3 Do not let anyone deceive any one of you in any way. For, if the rebellion does not take place first, namely the unique person characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness has been revealed, that is, the unique son characterized by a distinguishable destruction, then the Lord’s day is absolutely not taking place. 4 The one who for his own benefit opposes, yes even, for his own benefit exalts himself against each and every so-called god or object of worship. Consequently, he himself sits down inside the one and only God’s temple in order to present himself as God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still living among each one of you, I was regularly communicating these things to each one of you? 6 So now each and every one of you possess an accurate comprehensive knowledge of that which is preventing this in order that he himself has been revealed during his own distinct period of time. 7 For the mystery which is characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness for its own benefit is already at work only until the one who now prevents it from being revealed causes Himself to depart from the midst of the world. 8 Consequently, then the one who is characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness will be revealed, whom the Lord will execute as a criminal with the breath from His mouth. Specifically, whom He will cause to come to an end by the unique manifestation produced by His arrival. (Pastor’s translation)

2 Thessalonians 2:8 begins with a result clause which is then followed by a relative pronoun clause and ends with an epexegetical clause.

The result clause asserts that the lawless one will be revealed, which is a reference to the Antichrist since he is described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as “the unique person characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness.”

Paul asserts in this verse that if the rebellion does not take place first, namely the unique person who is characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness has been revealed, that is, the unique son characterized by a distinguishable destruction, then the eschatological day of the Lord is absolutely not taking place.

In other words, the eschatological day of the Lord is taking place when Antichrist is leading a rebellion of the human race against God.

This result clause presents the result of the previous statement recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:7, which asserts that the mystery which is characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness for its own benefit is already at work only until the one who now prevents it from being revealed causes Himself to depart from the midst of the world.

“The mystery which is characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness” refers to Satan’s rebellion against God, which began in eternity past before the creation of mankind on the earth.

“The one who now prevents” this mystery which is characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness from being revealed is the Holy Spirit and His departure speaks of the rapture of the church.

Therefore, a comparison of this result clause in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 with the statements recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 indicates that the Antichrist will be revealed to the world “as a direct result of” or “as a direct consequence of” the Holy Spirit causing Himself to depart from Satan’s cosmic world system on the earth at the rapture of the church.

The relative pronoun clause asserts that the Lord Jesus will execute the Antichrist as a criminal with the breath of His mouth.

This relative pronoun clause teaches that the breath coming from the mouth of the Lord Jesus will be the means by which He kills the Antichrist at His Second Advent.

This relative pronoun clause is also picking up the language of Isaiah 11:4.

This relative pronoun in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is echoed in Revelation 19:15 and 21.

Then, as we noted earlier, this relative pronoun clause in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is followed by an epexegetical clause, which asserts the Lord Jesus will cause the life of the Antichrist to come to an end by the unique manifestation produced by His arrival at His Second Advent.

He will end the biological life while the soul of the Antichrist will be cast into the eternal lake of fire.

Now, as was the case in 2 Thessalonians 2:2, the apostle Paul here in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is employing “synthetic parallelism” with these clauses.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:8, the epexegetical clause in this verse provides more information regarding the previous relative pronoun clause and in fact completes it.

As we noted, the previous relative pronoun asserts that the Lord Jesus will execute the Antichrist as a criminal with the breath from His mouth.

The epexegetical clause asserts that the Lord Jesus will cause the life of the Antichrist to come to an end by the unique manifestation produced by His arrival at His Second Advent.

He will end the biological life while the soul of the Antichrist will be cast into the eternal lake of fire.

This clause is epexegetical because it explains in greater detail the previous statement that the Lord Jesus will execute the Antichrist as a criminal by the breath coming from His mouth.

A comparison of these two statements indicates that the new information provided by this epexegetical clause is that the Antichrist will be killed by the manifestation produced by the Lord’s arrival at His Second Advent or in other words, this epexegetical clause identifies “when” the Lord Jesus Christ will kill the Antichrist.

It also teaches that the manifestation produced by the Lord’s arrival at His Second Advent will be the means by which He brings the life and career of the Antichrist on planet earth to an end.

Therefore, the relative pronoun clause and the epexegetical clause in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 reflect “synthetic parallelism” rather than “synonymous parallelism.”

In this epexegetical clause in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, we have the noun epiphaneia (ἐπιφάνεια), which refers to the Second Advent of Christ since in context, Paul is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ killing the Antichrist.

This will take place at His Second Advent which brings to an end the seventieth week of Daniel, which will be the period in which the Antichrist will publicly manifest his Satanic inspired rebellion against God.

Also, in this epexegetical clause in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, the noun parousia (παρουσία) does not refer to the Lord Jesus Christ’s arrival at the rapture or resurrection of the church to remove the church bodily from the earth prior to Daniel’s seventieth week as it does in 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13; 4:15; 5:23 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1.

Rather, it is referring to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ when He returns to the earth with the church.

At that time, the Lord will imprison Satan and his angels for a thousand years, kill the Antichrist and the false prophet, destroy the tribulational armies and establish His millennial reign upon the earth.

This interpretation is clearly indicated by the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8.

As we also noted, the first prophetic statement here in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 asserts that the Antichrist will be revealed as a direct consequence of the Holy Spirit causing Himself to depart from planet earth at the rapture of the church.

Paul then describes the Lord Jesus Christ killing the Antichrist with the breath of His mouth.

Therefore, since the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 describe the character and actions of the Antichrist during the seventieth week of Daniel, the noun parousia (παρουσία) in 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is referring to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ rather than the rapture.

This is also indicated by the fact that the former ends the seventieth week of Daniel according to Daniel 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-8 and Revelation 19:11-20:3.

Furthermore, the rapture results in the seventieth week according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7-8.

Together, the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent compose the eschatological day of the Lord.

Lastly, all the passages related to the rapture, namely John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, Philippians 3:20-21 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-58, do not speak of the Lord Jesus Christ bringing the Antichrist’s rebellion against Him to an end by killing him.