In Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians he wrote of a Man of Sin who was to come. Paul was speaking of the time of the coming of our Lord, Jesus, and our gathering unto him. The Thessalonians had thought that the biblical Day of the Lord was already present, for someone seems to have been troubling the church saying the Day of the Lord had already come. However, Paul had told the church what to expect (2Thessalonians 2:5), but they had forgotten. Paul then reaffirmed that the Day of the Lord would not arrive until the “Man of Sin” was revealed.
Notice what the Scripture says:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that Man of Sin be revealed, the son of perdition;” (2 Thessalonians 2:3 KJV).
Did you ever notice while reading the New Testament that the Apostles, including Paul, believed that Jesus would return in their expected lifetimes? Jesus even declared that that generation wouldn’t pass until all the things he claimed in Olivet Prophecy would come to pass, and that included the day of his coming (Mark 13:26, 30). Earlier, Jesus had surprised the Apostles, as he pronounced judgment upon Jerusalem and the Temple saying “Your House (i.e. the Temple) is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38). The Apostles then pointed to the great stones, finding Jesus’ words difficult to believe, but Jesus merely reiterated his claim, saying there would not be left one stone upon another that would not be thrown down (Matthew 24:1-2).
As Jesus and the Apostles crossed the Kidron valley to the Mount of Olives some of the Apostles came to him asking when these things would be. It was then Jesus delivered what we know as the Olivet Discourse. In it he reminded them of Daniel’s prophecy of the abomination that makes desolate. It must be set up before the judgment would be set in motion. In fact, repentance could be made to avert the judgment entirely, but as we know this did not occur. In fact, Jesus told the high priest who presided over Jesus’ trial in the Sanhedrin that he, Annas, the high priest, would not die until he would see Jesus coming in the clouds (Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62), indicating Jesus, as Messiah, would come to judge Jerusalem in the first century AD.
Now, many Christians who embrace dispensational / premillennial theology believe all this will occur in the future, but what does the Bible really say? Who was Jesus speaking to when he claimed that generation would not die off until all he prophesied would come true? Who was Jesus speaking with when he said “YOU” will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power, coming in the clouds (Matthew 16:27-28; 24:30, 34; 26:64)? Most, if not all, scholars believe the Apostles looked for Jesus to come in their generation. Were the Apostles wrong? Was Paul wrong?
Perhaps we need to look at our own understanding of eschatology and seriously reconsider whether we or the Apostles are in error—whether we or Jesus is wrong! And, please, let’s not jump through hoops to try to reconcile our understanding with Jesus’ words by trying to make Jesus’ words for our day. The context of his remarks simply will not allow that.
Notice what Paul says about the same event in his epistle to the Thessalonians. In 1Thessalonians 4:15-16 Paul tells us that the dead will rise first. Afterward we shall be changed. In other words, everything occurs simultaneously—Jesus’ coming (Matthew 24:30), the destruction (judgment) of Jerusalem (Isaiah 25:1-2), the resurrection from the dead (Isaiah 25:8; 1Corinthians 15:52-55; Revelation 11:15-18), the end of the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:13) etc.
Why would the Apostles need a sign so they would know of Jesus’ coming into his Kingdom? Jesus told them in the Olivet Prophecy that the “sign” of his coming would be the destruction of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:30). In other words, Jesus’ first act as Messiah, sitting upon his throne was his judgment of Jerusalem and the Temple. If this is so, then the abomination must have been set up long before the desolation occurred, and the Man of Sin had to have been sitting in the Temple of God in a manner that showed he was acting as God. Wouldn’t you say that this is logical, considering that Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in the first century AD? If this is so, then the logical equation: the Temple is to desolation as the Man of Sin is to the abomination, would be correct. Wouldn’t you agree? We know what the Temple and desolation means, but what does the abomination mean, and who was the Man of Sin?[1]
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[1] Showing who the Man of Sin really is will take two more blogs. I hope you will return and read those as well.
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