2 Thessalonians 2:7-9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
7 [a]For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. But the one who restrains is to do so only for the present, until he is removed from the scene.(A) 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord [Jesus] will kill with the breath of his mouth and render powerless by the manifestation of his coming,(B) 9 the one whose coming springs from the power of Satan in every mighty deed and in signs and wonders that lie,(C)
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- 2:7–12 The lawless one and the one who restrains are involved in an activity or process, the mystery of lawlessness, behind which Satan stands (2 Thes 2:9). The action of the Lord [Jesus] in overcoming the lawless one is described in Old Testament language (with the breath of his mouth; cf. Is 11:4; Jb 4:9; Rev 19:15). His coming is literally the Lord’s “parousia.” The biblical concept of the “holy war,” eschatologically conceived, may underlie the imagery.
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