"1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 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; 4 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. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10)
The interpretation of this scripture passage is disputed by various factions of prophecy students. The study of bible prophecy consists of three main schools of thought: Preterist, Historicist, and Futurist. Preterists essentially believe that the biblical prophecies that relate to an apocalyptic scenario were fulfilled in the First Century A.D. Historicists believe that bible prophecy has been/is being/will be fulfilled throughout history. Futurists believe that most apocalyptic prophecies will be fulfilled in the future. This site looks at prophecy from a futurist point of view.
Does this passage in Thessalonians speak of a rebuilt third Temple or was the apostle Paul referring to the Roman's destruction of the second (i.e. Herod's Temple) in 70 A.D.? As with all bible interpretation the answer lies in the context of the passage, original meanings of the words, and the comparison of it with other biblical passages.
We read in Acts 17 that Paul visited Thessalonica and founded a body of believers, both Jewish and Gentile: "1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: 2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, 3 Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ. 4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." (Acts 17:1-4) Paul continued on his missionary journey but maintained contact with the Thessalonian Church. When it came to his attention that the Thessalonian believers were concerned about the return of Jesus Christ he wrote them two letters in order to clear up some misconceptions they had.
The second letter Paul wrote starts out with him trying to assuage the suffering that the Thessalonian believers were apparently experiencing:
"4 So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: 5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; 7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, 8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: 9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day." (2 Thessalonians 1:4-10)
Thus the context of this letter deals with the issue of the revelation of Jesus Christ appearing from heaven with "flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God". Paul continues, "1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. 3 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; 4 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. 5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? 6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: 9 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved." (2 Thessalonians 2:1-10)
From a futurist's point of view this passage seems to say that before the second coming of Jesus, a wicked man will enter the Temple of God and declare himself to be God. Jesus will destroy this man with the brightness of His coming. Since Jesus did not return after the Romans destroyed the second or Herod's Temple then the Temple referenced in this passage has to be built at sometime in the future. Is this what Paul and the Holy Spirit had in mind when he penned these verses?
At the time Paul wrote this letter (ca. 50 A.D.) the second Temple was standing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Romans destroyed it twenty years later. Was this destruction the fulfillment of the prophecy Paul wrote here in 2 Thessalonians? The Jewish historian Josephus describes the destruction in his history, The Wars of the Jews:
5. So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia, and resolved to storm the temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the holy house. But as for that house, God had, for certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of the month Lous, [Ab,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus's retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard about it.
6. And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the last battle; whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar, both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice, and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud, having their ears already dimmed by a greater noise another way; nor did they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions nor any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one's own passion was his commander at this time; and as they were crowding into the temple together, many of them were trampled on by one another, while a great number fell among the ruins of the cloisters, which were still hot and smoking, and were destroyed in the same miserable way with those whom they had conquered; and when they were come near the holy house, they made as if they did not so much as hear Caesar's orders to the contrary; but they encouraged those that were before them to set it on fire. As for the seditious, they were in too great distress already to afford their assistance [towards quenching the fire]; they were every where slain, and every where beaten; and as for a great part of the people, they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut wherever they were caught. Now round about the altar lay dead bodies heaped one upon another, as at the steps (16) going up to it ran a great quantity of their blood, whither also the dead bodies that were slain above [on the altar] fell down.
7. And now, since Caesar was no way able to restrain the enthusiastic fury of the soldiers, and the fire proceeded on more and more, he went into the holy place of the temple, with his commanders, and saw it, with what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations of foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves boasted of and believed about it. But as the flame had not as yet reached to its inward parts, but was still consuming the rooms that were about the holy house, and Titus supposing what the fact was, that the house itself might yet he saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the soldiers to quench the fire, and gave order to Liberalius the centurion, and one of those spearmen that were about him, to beat the soldiers that were refractory with their staves, and to restrain them; yet were their passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread they had of him who forbade them, as was their hatred of the Jews, and a certain vehement inclination to fight them, too hard for them also. Moreover, the hope of plunder induced many to go on, as having this opinion, that all the places within were full of money, and as seeing that all round about it was made of gold. And besides, one of those that went into the place prevented Caesar, when he ran so hastily out to restrain the soldiers, and threw the fire upon the hinges of the gate, in the dark; whereby the flame burst out from within the holy house itself immediately, when the commanders retired, and Caesar with them, and when nobody any longer forbade those that were without to set fire to it. And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar's approbation.
8. Now although any one would justly lament the destruction of such a work as this was, since it was the most admirable of all the works that we have seen or heard of, both for its curious structure and its magnitude, and also for the vast wealth bestowed upon it, as well as for the glorious reputation it had for its holiness; yet might such a one comfort himself with this thought, that it was fate that decreed it so to be, which is inevitable, both as to living creatures, and as to works and places also. However, one cannot but wonder at the accuracy of this period thereto relating; for the same month and day were now observed, as I said before, wherein the holy house was burnt formerly by the Babylonians. Now the number of years that passed from its first foundation, which was laid by king Solomon, till this its destruction, which happened in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, are collected to be one thousand one hundred and thirty, besides seven months and fifteen days; and from the second building of it, which was done by Haggai, in the second year of Cyrus the king, till its destruction under Vespasian, there were six hundred and thirty-nine years and forty-five days. [Josephus, Wars of the Jews; Book VI, Ch. 4, Sec. 5-8]
Josephus gives quite a detailed account of the destruction of the Temple. He even elaborates on the Roman General Titus' movements within the Temple while it was on fire. He ordered his soldiers to "quench the fire" which went unheard by them and so he gave a "signal to them with his right hand" which also went unheeded. He entered the Holy Place and admired its beauty and hoping to save it from being completely razed he went out again to order his soldiers to quench the fire. He was unsuccessful in this endeavor and the Temple burnt to the ground. With Josephus' meticulous description of Titus' entry into the holy place, would he have left out an event so momentus as Titus sitting inside the (burning) Temple and shewing or declaring himself God? Notice in this prophecy that Paul does not mention the destruction of the Temple. He simply states that the "man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" will sit in the Temple of God showing himself that he is God. This did not occur in 70 A.D. and so this prophecy is either wrong or yet to be fulfilled.
Noted Greek scholar, Dr. Daniel B. Wallace, wrote an article on 2 Thessalonians 2:4 stating why Paul's use of the Greek word "naoV" (naos) in this passage refers to a literal Temple and not to the body of Christ (i.e. The Church consisting of all Christian believers). (The “Temple of God” in 2 Thessalonians 2:4: Literal or Metaphorical?)
As I stated at the beginning of this article, context is necessary for the correct interpretation of the Bible. The context of this letter revolves around the appearing of the Lord and the judgment He will bring on those currently persecuting the Thessalonian Christians and on the "man of sin". I also mentioned that the original meanings of the words used in a bible passage have bearing on a correct biblical interpretation. The word translated "coming" in vss. 1, 8, and 9 of 2 Thessalonians 2 is the Greek word "parousia" (parousia). This word is used 24 times in the New Testament. (You may see all twenty four instances below) It is important to determine if this word is translated correctly in this passage because it has bearing on the timing of the appearance of the "man of sin" and therefore the Temple.
There are two primary meanings for parousia. One is "presence" and the other is "arrival". One of the foremost lexicons for the biblical Greek language is A Greek Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. The definitions for the word parousia in order are 1) the state of being present at a place, presence and 2) arrival as the first stage in presence, coming, advent. The second listing gives the example of a "visit of a person of high rank, esp. of kings and emperors visiting a province". Does this passage in Thessalonians refer to a more abstract presence of Jesus Christ on earth or to a punctiliar coming of Christ (i.e. a single point in time)?
Jesus told His disciples that He had to go away or else He could not send the Holy Spirit to them:
"5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father." (John 16:5-16)
Jesus did ascend back to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to His disciples on the Day of Pentecost. Until this day the Holy Spirit resides in believers and guides us in truth and intercedes for us (Romans 8). The presence of God on earth is manifested in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that He had to ascend to heaven but that one day he would return, "1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:1-3) In his letter to Timothy, Paul spoke of the appearing of Jesus Christ as an event that takes place when He will judge the living and the dead, "1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom." (2 Timothy 4:1) This would indicate that Jesus Christ will appear at some point in the future since neither the living or the dead have been judged yet. In a letter Paul wrote to Titus he stated:
"11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Titus 2:11-14)
Why would Paul tell Christians to look for the glorious appearing of Jesus Christ if He is already on the earth? Thus, if Paul isn't referring to a nebulous presence of Jesus Christ on earth then he has to be referring to a literal, punctiliar second coming of the Lord. Since the "man of sin" did not appear in the second Temple and declare himself God then this prophecy in 2 Thessalonians has yet to be fulfilled. Since Jesus did not destroy General Titus or the Roman army with the "brightness of His coming" this prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. As a matter of fact it took several hundred more years for Rome to be "destroyed" through decay and corruption. Not a very "bright" destruction. Therefore a third Temple has to be built in order for this not to be a false prophecy.
There are prophecies in the Bible which declare that one day God would bring the Jews to the land of Israel nevermore to be removed from it. In the prophetic book of Amos God states, "13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt. 14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them. 15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God." (Amos 9:13-15) This passage is talking about the physical land of Israel (eg. sewing seeds, cities, gardens, fruit). Since Christians don't need a land from which to live their lives for God this has to be referring to the return of the Jews to Israel. Ezekiel makes similar declarations in his book (ch. 36-39). Since the Jews were "pulled up" from the land by the Romans these prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. The Jews were dispersed throughout the world for eighteen hundred years. They should have assimilated into every culture they lived yet they maintained their identity as Jews. Now they are back in the land and have made all the preparations necessary for the building of the third Temple. Skeptics may say "just a coincidence" yet God states in His word, "8 Therefore shall ye keep all the commandments which I command you this day, that ye may be strong, and go in and possess the land, whither ye go to possess it; 9 And that ye may prolong your days in the land, which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give unto them and to their seed, a land that floweth with milk and honey. 10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 12 A land which the LORD thy God careth for: the eyes of the LORD thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year." (Deuteronomy 11:8-12) God's eyes are always watching Israel. If true, how did the Jews come back to the land of Israel without it being His will? He told the Jews that it was He who would determine when they lived on the land and when they didn't (see my news headline of May 14, 2008 - Israel turns 60). In 1948 they returned and Israel has become a burdenstome stone and a cup of trembling for the whole world as Zechariah prophesied (Zechariah 12).
I believe when all the apocalyptic prophecies are taken as a whole, they cannot be spiritualized away. When the Bible speaks of a wicked man entering into the Temple, I take that to mean that a third Temple will be rebuilt and the Antichrist will enter into it. When Paul writes about the followers of Jesus Christ being snatched off the earth I take it literally. When Jesus and the prophet Daniel say that one day the world is going to experience a time of trouble unlike any other time in history, I believe it is going to happen (Matthew 24:15-21; Daniel 12:1-3). Was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. unlike any other time in history? No, the Jews had a similar experience almost seven hundred years earlier when the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple. I believe that just as Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies concerning a suffering Messiah, so too will He fulfill the Old and New Testament prophecies concerning a conquering and victorious Messiah. Then the world will finally know peace.
I posted this article on my blog. If you wish to comment on it please go to 2 Thessalonians 2:4 - A Literal Third Temple