The Lawless One
2 Now concerning the royal presence of our Lord Jesus the Messiah, and our gathering together around him, this is our request, my dear family. 2 Please don’t be suddenly blown off course in your thinking, or be unsettled, either through spiritual influence, or through a word, or through a letter supposedly from us, telling you that the day of the Lord has already arrived.
3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. You see, it can’t happen unless first the rebellion takes place, and the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction, is revealed. 4 He is the one who sets himself against every so-called god or cult object, and usurps their role, so that he installs himself in God’s temple, and makes himself out to be a god.
5 Don’t you remember that I told you this while I was with you? 6 And now you know what is restraining him so that he will be revealed at his proper time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the restrainer is in place – until he is taken away; 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth, and will wipe him out with the unveiling of his presence.
9 The presence of the lawless one will be accompanied by the activity of the satan, with full power, with signs, and spurious wonders, 10 with every kind of wicked deceit over those on the way to ruin, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For that reason God sends upon them a strong delusion, leading them to believe the lie, 12 so that judgment may come upon all who did not believe the truth but took pleasure in wickedness.
Exhortation to Steadfastness
13 But we always owe God a debt of gratitude for you, my family beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits of his work of salvation, through sanctification by the spirit and belief of the truth. 14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.
15 So then, my dear family, stand firm, and hold on tight to the traditions which you were taught, whether through what we said or through our letter. 16 And may our Lord Jesus the Messiah himself, and God our father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good work and word.