THE MAN OF SIN
Few Biblical prophetic terms have stirred people as much as the one found in II Thessalonians 2:3, namely the "man of sin". The common thought in the Churches of God today is that this prophecy concerns a person who will arise in the end time, just prior to Christ's return.
One major COG identifies the "man of sin" as a specific Church leader who went astray in recent times.
However, from the Reformation onwards, the standard view among non-Catholics was that the "man of sin" referred to the office of the Papacy. The original introduction of the 1611 King James Bible openly refers to "that man of sinne" in context with "Popish persons".
I believe that the traditional identification of the "man of sin" as the Papacy is correct.
Let's look at the text of II Thessalonians 2:1-12:
1 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you,
2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come ("is at hand" - KJV).
3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,
4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?
6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who (that which) now restrains will do so until he (it) is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,
10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie,
12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Paul states in II Thessalonians 2:7 that the mystery (of emerging false Christianity) was already at work in his time. In Acts chapter 8 we find evidence of this, as Simon Magus, or Simon the Magician, is introduced to us, and obviously for good reason. Eusebius' "Church History", written early in the 4th century AD, provides more information about Simon, as well as his first successor, Menander (Church History 2:13-14, 3:26).
Eusebius says that Simon Magus reached Rome before any true apostle did: "With faith in our Lord Jesus Christ reaching all people, the enemy of salvation (Satan) planned to capture the imperial city in advance and sent Simon there ..... and by assisting his sorcery took possession of many in Rome and led them astray. This is reported by Justin (second century author Justin Martyr)" (Church History 2:13).
In the same section of his book, Eusebius continues: "Simon was the original author of all heresies. From his time down to ours, his followers, while pretending Christianity, prostrate themselves before pictures of Simon and Helen (Simon's female companion), worshiping them with incense, sacrifices and libations".
We see therefore that the falsifying of Christianity began shortly after true Christianity was established. It was several centuries, however, before false Christianity became organised and state sponsored. Emperor Constantine began the process of making the Roman Empire "Christian" early in the 4th century, and in the latter part of the 4th century Emperor Theodosius made "Christianity" the state religion. This meant that its leaders and their teachings became subject to state approval and direction. Theodosius appointed various cities in his realm as church administrative centres, and all major cities had their own Bishops, or overseers.
In the middle of the 6th century Emperor Justinian reduced the number of major centres of Christian governance to five, creating the "Pentarchy". These five cities were Constantinople, Rome, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria, each of which had their leading "patriarch", also called father (Greek "pappas"). After Islamic forces conquered most of the Middle East in the 7th century, only Constantinople and Rome were left as major Christian administrative centres in the Roman Empire. From that time on there were just two leaders over the Christian world: the Patriarch of Constantinople, today known as the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Pope of Rome.
Initially, newly elected Popes of Rome were required to be ratified by the Roman Emperor, based in Constantinople, before they could be installed into office. The Pope would be elected in Rome, but the name of the candidate would be submitted to Constantinople for approval. This clearly shows who was in charge of the Empire.
In 684AD however, overburdened by continual warfare, including a five-year siege of Constantinople by Muslim forces, Emperor Constantine IV made a monumental decision that forever changed the religious power balance between Rome and Constantinople. Wikipedia explains:
"John V was the first pope of the Byzantine Papacy consecrated without the direct imperial approval. Emperor Constantine IV had done away with the requirement during the pontificate of Benedict II, John V's predecessor" (Article "Pope John V").
John V was installed as Pope in 685, making 686 his first year in office.
From this point on, the Papacy was an independent power, or in Biblical language, a "horn".
To be precise, it was the "little horn" of Daniel 7:8: "I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words".
The apostle Paul was a Pharisee and as such was well schooled in the Old Testament Scriptures. He had also been taught personally by Christ. When he wrote about the "man of sin" in II Thessalonians, he wasn't talking about something new; rather, he was referring to the prophecy of Daniel 7, in particular the little horn mentioned in Daniel 7:8. This little horn was foretold to emerge among ten horns, or powers, that would arise out of the fourth "beast", the last of the successive "Beast" powers that would rule over Jerusalem and the Jews. See the page "DANIEL 7 & 8 - JERUSALEM'S CONQUERORS" for a full explanation.
The little horn is described in Daniel 7:20 as having "eyes" and a "mouth" and an "imposing" look, and it is said of him in verse 25 that he will "speak against the Most High" (NIV), change "times and laws" (teach people to transgress God's commanded times and laws), and persecute God's people. Therefore it is no wonder that Paul labels this power the "man of sin".
Paul had written his first epistle to the Thessalonians to prepare them for the second coming of Christ. However, word reached him that the Thessalonians now believed that the second coming of Christ was imminent. He therefore wrote his second epistle to them, mentioning this concern in II Thessalonians 2:1-2: "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, 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" (KJV).
In order to indicate the long period of time that would elapse before Christ's return, Paul then explains (in verse 7) that "he who (that which) now restrains will do so until he (it) is taken out of the way". In other words, the sixth head of the "Beast" powers that rule over Jerusalem, Rome, had to be taken out of the way (conquered) before the seventh head, Mecca/Medina, could take its place, followed by its ten horns, during which period the "time, times and half a time" (1260 years) of the little horn would commence. See the article “DANIEL 2 - INTERPRETATION ERRORS” for more on this.
The apostle John confirms in Revelation 17:10 in regard to the "Beast" powers, that at the time he is writing, "five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come". The five that "are fallen" are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, the Ptolemaic Kingdom, and the Seleucid Empire. The sixth power, the "one" that "is", is Rome, and the seventh, the one that "is not yet come" is Mecca/Medina (Islam). It is clear that Paul already understood the basic outline of these things when he wrote to the Thessalonians.
There are three important years associated with the rise of the office of the "man of sin" (the Papacy):
638AD - when the seventh head of the "Beast", Mecca/Medina, captured Jerusalem from the sixth head, the Roman Empire headquartered in Constantinople.
661AD - when the first of the ten Islamic "horns", the Umayyad dynasty, began its reign over Jerusalem.
686AD - the first year of rule of the Roman Papacy independent of Constantinople.
These dates can all be found on the chart on the "HOME" page.
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The office of the "man of sin" was created by Satan as part of his counterfeit form of Christianity. It involves one person ruling a church in the place of Jesus Christ, and invariably leads to that person being revered as an idol. It also sees that person seeking to overrule the laws of God. History clearly shows the immeasurable evil perpetrated by those who have occupied this office.
Unfortunately, the Laodicea era of the true Church of God has also largely succumbed to this Papal form of Church government, i.e. "one man" rule. Such leaders have led God's Church into much error. In fact, the final Church era has seen the adoption of far more tenets of Catholicism than most brethren realise. See the articles "THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD" and "THE CATHOLIC CHURCH OF GOD" for more information.
From II Thessalonians we learn that God permitted the deceptions of false Christianity to emerge. By allowing such "strong delusion" (II Thes 2:11), God is testing whether His people have a "love of the truth" (II Thes 2:10) or instead "have pleasure in unrighteousness" (II Thes 2:12).
In II Thessalonians 2:8 we are told that Christ will destroy the office of the "man of sin" at His return.
As well as identifying the Papacy as the "man of sin" in II Thessalonians 2:3, it is also logical to conclude that this office is synonymous with "the Antichrist" mentioned in I John 2:18 and "the false Prophet" in Revelation 16:13, 19:20 and 20:10.