2 Thessalonians 2

The Man of Lawlessness

¹Now concerning the coming ^a of our Lord ^b Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, ²not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy ^c,^d or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord ^e,^f has come. ^{g 3}Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy ^h comes first and the man of lawlessness ⁱ is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god ^j or object of worship, ^k so that he sits ^l in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.

⁵Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? ⁶And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time. ^{m 7}For the mystery of lawlessness ⁿ is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, ⁸and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth ^o and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming. ⁹The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with every kind of miracle, both signs and wonders serving the lie, ^{p 10}and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved. ^{q 11}For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, ¹²so that all will be condemned ^r #— #those who did not believe ^s the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

¹³But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning ^t God has chosen ^u you for salvation through sanctification ^v by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory ^w of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm ^x and hold to the traditions you were taught, ^y whether by what we said or what we wrote.

¹⁶May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved ^z us and given us eternal encouragement and good hope by grace, ¹⁷encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.