2 Thessalonians 2

¹ Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, we ask you

² not to be quickly shaken in your mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us, saying that the day of Christ has already come.

³ Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction.

⁴ He opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

⁵ Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things?

⁶ Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.

⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way.

⁸ Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;

⁹ even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

¹⁰ and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

¹¹ Because of this, God sends them a powerful delusion, that they should believe a lie,

¹² that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

¹³ But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth,

¹⁴ to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ So then, brothers, stand firm and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word or by letter.

¹⁶ Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

¹⁷ comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.

Around 2 Thessalonians 2

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

2 Thessalonians 2 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Someone has been saying that the day of Christ has already come, and the Thessalonians are shaken. Paul asks them not to be quickly troubled, whether by a spirit, a word or a letter claimed to come from him. That day will not come, he says, unless the rebellion comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, who exalts himself against everything called God and sits in the temple of God. Paul reminds them that he told them this while he was with them. Something now holds this figure back until his own season. The Lord will kill the lawless one with the breath of his mouth.

The passage also speaks of lying wonders and of a powerful delusion sent on those who refused the love of the truth. Then Paul turns to the readers: God chose them from the beginning. They are to “stand firm” in what they were taught, and may the Lord comfort their hearts.

Background

This is one of the most debated chapters in the New Testament, because Paul says he had told them about it already, and the letter keeps only a few lines. Christians have read the man of sin in several ways: as a figure of the first century, as a person still to come, or as a pattern of lawlessness that appears again and again. Who or what restrains him is just as disputed. The letter is usually dated shortly after 1 Thessalonians. See Daniel 7 to 12 and Mark 13 for related imagery.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 18 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes