Son of Destruction

Many saints will apostatize when the Lawless Man, the Son of Destruction, seats himself in the Sanctuary of God.

As the Apostle Paul explained, the “Day of the Lord” will not come until the “Apostasy” occurs and the “Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction” is unveiled as he seats himself “in the Sanctuary of God.” He will appear only after the “Mystery of Lawlessness” has run its full course, and he will be destroyed when Jesus arrives on that final day – (2 Thessalonians 2:3-9).

In presenting the “Man of Lawlessness,” Paul uses language from the Book of Daniel describing the ruler called the “Little Horn,” the “King of Fierce Countenance,” and the “Contemptible Man.” This is demonstrated by several verbal links between the passage in 2 Thessalonians and the Book of Daniel – (Daniel 7:7-8, 7:21, 8:9, 8:23-27, 11:21, 11:36).

[Caracalla - Photo by Ian Noble on Unsplash]

The term “lawlessness” is based on Daniel’s description of the pagan king represented by the image of the “Little Horn” who attacked the religious rituals and institutions of Israel:

• “He will speak words against the Most High and afflict the saints. And he will hope to change times and laws, and they will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time” - (Daniel 7:25).

• “The horn waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground and trampled them <…> And it removed the daily burnt-offering…” - (Daniel 8:10-11).

• “The king will do according to his will, and he will exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and will speak astonishing things against the God of gods” - (Daniel 11:36).

Likewise, the application of the phrase “Son of Destruction” to this coming Master Deceiver is also derived from the descriptions of the “Little Horn” recorded in Daniel.

The English noun “destruction” in Paul’s description translates the Greek term ‘apôleia’ (απωλεια), meaning “destruction, ruin, loss.” The significance of the genitive construction of the clause is that destruction characterizes this man, it identifies what the “Man of Lawlessness” does. He causes destruction.

So, also, the “Little Horn” in Daniel persecuted God’s people, desecrated the “Sanctuary” of the Temple, and caused many in Israel to betray God’s covenant. He wreaked havoc among the saints of Israel:

• “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and he prevailed against them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High. And the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom” – (Daniel 7:21).

• “The horn magnified itself even to the prince of the host, and it took away from him the continual burnt-offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt-offering through transgression, and it cast truth to the ground” - (Daniel 8:11-12).

• “The king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, will stand up. And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power. And he will destroy wonderfully, and will prosper and do his pleasure, and he will destroy the mighty ones and the saints. And through his policy, he will cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he will magnify himself in his heart, and in their security, he will stand up for the destruction [‘apôleia’] of many. H will also stand up against the prince of princes, but he will be crushed without hand” - (Daniel 8:23-25).

DESTRUCTION

We see, then, that the “Little Horn” expended great effort to destroy the religion and people of Israel, and that makes him an excellent prototype for Paul’s coming “Man of Lawlessness” who will cause many believers to abandon the Apostolic faith and otherwise cause destruction in the Church.

In the Greek Septuagint version of the Book of Daniel, the term translated as “destruction” in Daniel 8:25 or ‘apôleia’ is the same Greek noun used by Paul for the “Son of Destruction.” This is the source of his term (“he stood for the destruction of many”).

Similarly, the final clause of Daniel 8:25 which states that the “Little Horn,” the “King of Fierce Countenance” will be “crushed without hand” is echoed in Paul’s description of the final destruction of the “Man of Lawlessness” when Jesus returns:

• “Whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the manifestation of his arrival” – (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

Thus, the Apostle Paul employed Daniel’s “Little Horn” as the model and forerunner of this Master Deceiver who will deceive many saints, causing their apostasy and ruination. He is, therefore, aptly named the “Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction.”

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SEE ALSO:

• Disinformation - (Disinformation about the day of the Lord caused alarm in the congregation at Thessalonica – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• The Day of the Lord - (Jesus will arrive and gather his people on the day of the Lord, and in the New Testament, this event becomes the Day of Christ)

• Missing Events - (Two events must occur before the Day of the Lord comes, the Apostasy and the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warned the Thessalonians of the future apostasy which he linked to the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction)