“For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4)

Leon Morris:

“This passage is probably the most obscure and difficult in the whole of the Pauline writings and the many gaps in our knowledge have given rise to extravagant speculations.”

Four things we know about the man of lawlessness:

1. He will be hostile towards God’s law – the man of lawlessness.
2. He is doomed to destruction.
3. He will oppose everything that is called God.
4. He will exalt himself over God.

John Stott:

“In the post-apostolic centuries of the church Christians have practised considerable ingenuity in trying to identify one of their contemporaries as the man of lawlessness.”

“Although Paul does not call him the ‘Antichrist’, this is evidently who he is. John writes of the expectation of his coming.”

“The final ‘man of lawlessness’, an eschatological yet historical person, the decisive manifestation of lawlessness and godlessness, the leader of the ultimate rebellion, the precursor of and signal for the Parousia.”

“Whether we still believe in the coming of Antichrist will depend largely on whether we still believe in the coming of Christ.”