A Study in 2 Thessalonians : Lesson #3 The man of sin, the son of perdition
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-9)
In this lesson we will look at the man of sin and the son of perdition. They are both connected to the anti-christ but yet they are not exactly the same. As we go through this lesson we will see the differences between the two.
The man of sin :
The man of sin is the anti-christ at the beginning of the tribulation. He is the physical man that comes forth and becomes a great leader. He is called a prince and a king. He conquers with peace and all the world will fall for him.
Revelation 6:2
- Here we see the white horse rider of the 1st Many teach that this is Jesus Christ because when he returns at the 2nd Advent he is riding a white horse (Revelation 19:11-16) but this is not Jesus Christ it is the anit-christ. Note he has a crown Jesus is said to have many crowns. The rider in Revelation 6 has a bow and now arrow. Jesus has a sword that goes out of his mouth and destroys the nations.
- The bow with no arrow is important because it speaks of how when the anit-christ comes he conquers peaceably.
Daniel 8:23-25
- Here the anti-christ is called a king of fierce countenance that understands dark sentences (verse 23). This man will be extremely intelligent and will probably have answer to great question. He will most likely explain to the world what happened concerning the rapture. Remember millions will disappear and there will be global devastation in the aftermath of the rapture.
- Note that his policy will cause craft to prosper in his hand (verse 25). The anti-christ will be leader that causes great prosperity in his kingdom and maybe throughout the world.
- He is also said to destroy many by peace (verse 25).
Daniel 9:25-27
- The anit-christ is said to confirm the covenant which is allowing Israel to sacrifice in the temple once again. So there is peace in the Middle East at least for a short time. This is why the world will fall for him, he brings peace and prosperity.
Daniel 11:21-24
- In this passage the anti-christ is said to come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
The son of perdition :
This is also the anti-christ but it is not quite the same as the man of sin. The son of perdition is connected directly with the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit (Revelation 17:8). Something happens midway through the tribulation that brings a change in the anti-christ and that is when the terrible things found in Revelation 6-19 will happen. We will discuss this later in the lesson.
We must also say that as the son of perdition we have a fulfillment of the prophecy of Genesis 3:15 in regards to the seed of the serpent. We must remember that Satan has a seed.
As the son of perdition the anti-christ will break the covenant of peace and cause the sacrifice to stop. He will go into the temple and proclaim that he is God and all the world must worship him, and those who do not will be killed. This is why the rider of the second seal (Revelation 6:3-4) is said to be given the power to take away peace from the earth. This rider is connected with the son of perdition.( See also 2 Thessalonians 2:4 ; Daniel 11:36-38)
What happens to cause this great change in the anti-christ?
From looking at the verses dealing with the man of sin and the son of perdition there seems to be a great change that takes place. Things go from peace to chaos. As we saw in Daniel the anti-christ breaks the covenant in the middle of the week and causes the sacrifice to stop. This is the midpoint of the tribulation.
In Revelation we see 42 months, 1260 days, and the phrase a time, times, and half times. In the bible there were 30 days per month which would make each of these times given in Revelation equal to 3 ½ years. Therefore the events from Revelation 6:3 to Revelation 19:21 occur during this time period. This is called the great tribulation in Matthew 24:21.Things change half way through the tribulation.
In Revelation 9:11 there is a beast that comes out of the bottomless pit. He is said to be a king and he has a Hebrew name (Abaddon) and a Greek name (Apollyon). Both of these names are connected with destruction or the destroyer. In Revelation chapter 11 this beast is said to make war with the two witnesses and kill them after they had finished their testimony.
In Revelation 13 we have yet another description of the anti-christ as the beast out of the sea. If you look at verse 3 you will see that one of the heads of the beast was wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed. It appears that the anti-christ as the man of sin is killed at the midway point of the tribulation, then the king out of the bottomless pit enters into his body and he is resurrected. That is why in Revelation 17:8 the beast is said to go into perdition. The word perdition is also connected with destruction in its definition. Now with this resurrection from the dead the world will really follow him as he is imitating Jesus Christ. But as we have seen this is where things change. He will break the covenant set up the image and require every to worship him as god. If they will not take the mark of the beast then they cannot buy or sell and will be killed if they are caught.
In Genesis 3:15 there was the promise of the seed of the serpent. This seems to be connected with the beast out of the bottomless pit. The anti-christ as the son of perdition is a type of Satan incarnate in the flesh. Remember that Satan will imitate everything that God does. God manifested himself in the flesh as Jesus Christ. Satan cannot be two places at once like God the father but he imitates this with his seed. There is a possibility that this seed is connected with Judas Iscariot. Judas Iscariot is both a Greek and a Hebrew name just as the beast out of the bottomless pit. Judas is Greek for Judah and Iscariot is Hebrew for Kerioth which is in Moab. There is a prophecy in Jeremiah 48:24-26 that connects the anti-christ with Kerioth. Judas is said to be a devil in John 6:70-71.Judas is also said to go to “his own place” when he dies Acts 1:25. But probably the best evidence is the fact that Judas is the only person in the word of God directly called the son of perdition (John 17:12).
As we see there is way more to the man of sin and the son of perdition than we see in 2 Thessalonians. But with a careful study of scripture we can learn a lot about this individual who seems the same but is really not.
A Study in 2 Thessalonians : Lesson #3 The man of sin, the son of perdition
(2 Thessalonians 2:3-9)
Handout
1) What is the man of sin most likely a reference to?
2) What is the son of perdition most likely a reference to?
3) What happens in the middle of the tribulation in connection to the man of sin and the son of perdition?