Paul mentions in 2Thessalonians 2:8 that the wicked one would be destroyed by the spirit (G4151; pneuma) of his mouth. However, what does Paul mean by the spirit of his (the Lord’s) mouth? Elsewhere, the prophet claims that the Lord would defend the meek against the wicked with the ‘rod of his mouth’ and the ‘breath (H7307; ruach) of his lips’ (Isaiah 11:4). I understand this to mean the breath of the Lord’s lips is the same as the rod of his mouth. Moreover, the Hebrew word ruach (H7307) means the same as the Greek word, pneuma (G4151), and the Septuagint uses pneuma in Isaiah 11:4 in place of the Hebrew ruach. So, in order to understand how the wicked one is destroyed, we need to understand what the prophet means by the term ‘rod’ of the Lord’s mouth.
In Psalm 2:9 the writer claims the Lord (the Messiah) would break the (power) of the heathen with a rod of iron. The writer of the Apocalypse tells us that out of the mouth of Jesus, the Messiah, comes a two-edged sword (Revelation 1:16), which is also used later to describe Jesus, when he, as the King of kings, comes to fight against the nations (Revelation 19:15), and there the two-edged sword is shown to be the rod of iron. Moreover, Paul advises believers who wrestle against spiritual wickedness of high authority to “…take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17). So, if we permit the Scriptures to tell us what Paul is saying in 2Thessalonians 2:8, then we may understand the phrase “spirit of his mouth” to mean the word of God. In other words the wicked one or the man of sin is destroyed by the word of God (the spirit of his (i.e. the Lord’s) mouth!
One might say, so what! What does that tell us, or why is that important? Well, as I understand it’s use in Scripture, it refers to Jesus speaking with Annas, the high priest, on the night before he was crucified (Matthew 26:62-64). There, Annas demanded through an oath to God that Jesus tell the court whether or not he was the Messiah, the Son of God. It is Jesus’ reply that destroyed the man of sin. He said: “You have said: nevertheless I say unto YOU, Hereafter shall YOU see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64). If the Lord is “coming in the clouds” he is coming in judgment (Isaiah 19:1; Jeremiah 4:13; Joel 2:2) against Jerusalem and against Annas, because Jesus told him “YOU shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power…” which is the position of supreme authority and from which he will destroy his enemies (Psalm 110:1, 5). Through the word of God the heavens and the earth were created. It is impossible for the word of the Lord to fall useless to the ground. Whatever the Lord says will occur, **must** occur. Not one word will ever return to him void, but will, rather, accomplish the very thing he said would be done (Isaiah 55:11).
Therefore, the man of sin or the wicked one (2Thessalonians 2:8) was destroyed by the spirit of his (the Lord’s) mouth, which refers to Jesus’ words, which he spoke in Matthew 26:64 in reply to Annas’ oath. So, whether Paul refers to the coming of Jesus or the coming of the wicked one in 2Thessalonians 8, the effect of the prophecy is the same. Annas was slain (judged by the Lord) at the very beginning of the Jew’s war with Rome, which should have been a time of celebration on his part for crucifying Jesus and killing all his witnesses, but, instead, he was judged for his wickedness before he could celebrate adequately. Additionally, that war also happened to be the time of the second coming of Jesus on the Day of the Lord, so it appears the coming of the Lord and the coming of Annas (the Man of Sin) was simultaneous, but the celebratory coming of the Man of Sin was destroyed in the coming of the Lord, Jesus.
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