The man of sin
| “ | 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; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. | „ |
| ~ 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. |
The Man of Sin (Greek: ἀνομίας, anomias, translated “lawlessness”) is a figure referred to in the Christian Bible in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. He is usually equated with the Antichrist in Christian eschatology.
Description[]
It is unknown if the man of sin and the Antichrist are the same entity although it is said that the man of sin will come at a time before the full reveal of the Antichrist and will be destroyed by Jesus Christ to bring down lawlessness and weaken the Antichrist. This could also imply that the man of sin as an agent of the Antichrist or Satan. Nearly all commentators, both ancient and modern, identify the man of sin as the Antichrist, even though they vary greatly in who they view the Antichrist to be. The man of sin is variously identified with Caligula, Nero, the papacy and the Antichrist.
The "man of sin" is described as one who will be revealed before the Day of the Lord comes. The Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus have the reading "man of lawlessness". The biblical authors warn the believers of God to not allow anyone to deceive them in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. The man of sin will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is related to God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God similar to the Antichrist.
Overview[]
It is believed that the only thing holding him back is the current worship of God and when the faith begins to dwindle, he will be revealed at the proper time. In that time, the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.
Eventually, Jesus will arrive and overthrow the man of sin with the "breath of his mouth" and destroy him by the splendor of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.