The Son of Destruction

Many Christians will abandon the faith when the Lawless One, the Son of Destruction, places himself in the Sanctuary of God.

Before Jesus returns and judges the nations, a powerful deceiver will appear. He will lead many believers to deviate from the true faith and betray their Savior. His identity “will be revealed” when he takes his place in the Church.

Unlike apostates, Christians who hold firmly to the teachings of Jesus and his Apostles will persevere through the apostasy and Satan’s final great assault on the Body of Christ. Their faithfulness will be vindicated when the Son of God arrives on the Last Day.

This understanding is presented in the first chapter of Second Thessalonians when Paul describes the blessed condition of the saints when “Jesus is revealed from heaven,” as well as the punishment of men and women who disobey the Gospel - (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

[Destruction - Photo by Peter Herrmann (Germany) on Unsplash]

The Day of the Lord will not commence until the Apostasy occurs and “the man without law, the son of destruction,” is unveiled. This will occur when he takes his seat in the sanctuary of God - (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

Paul’s description is based on scriptural precedents and the nature of this man. He is the product of the forces of lawlessness. He is also characterized by lawlessness. His purpose is to destroy the Church. But, like Judas Iscariot, he is the “son of destruction” because he will be destroyed in the end (“And he will destroy the holy people” – Daniel 8:24. See John 17:12).

Jesus also warned of “lawlessness” in the last days (Greek, ‘anomia’ [ανομια]), and of the horrible price many believers will pay for transgressing his teachings, which is the epitome of lawlessness:

• “And then many will stumble and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and seduce many. And because lawlessness [‘anomia’] WILL COME TO THE FULL, the love of the many will become cold. But he who perseveres to the end, he will be saved” – (Matthew 24:10-13. Note the allusion to Daniel 8:23 [“And at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full…”]).

• “Not everyone who says to me, Lord! Lord!, will enter the kingdom of the heavens, but he who does the will of my Father who is in the heavens. Many will say to me on that day, Lord! Lord!, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name cast out demons, and in your name perform many works of power? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you! Depart from me, workers of lawlessness! [‘anomia’]” – (Matthew 7:21-23).

This end-time deceiver will appear after “the mystery of lawlessness” has finished preparing the way for his “arrival” or ‘Parousia’. The Son of Destruction will be destroyed when Jesus arrives at his own ‘Parousia’:

• “Let no one seduce you in any respect, because except the apostasy comes first and the man without law, the son of destruction, is revealed; HE WHO OPPOSES AND UNDULY ELEVATES HIMSELF ABOVE ALL THINGS THAT ARE CALLED GOD or sacred, so that he sits in the sanctuary of God, presenting himself that he is god” – (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

• “And he shall do according to his will, and the king will exalt and magnify himself against every god, and he will speak great swelling words, and he will prosper until the indignation is accomplished, for it is coming to an end” – (Daniel 11:36, from the Septuagint version).

Paul uses language from the Book of Daniel that originally described the ruler known as the “little horn,” the “king of fierce countenance,” and the “contemptible man”. This is demonstrated by verbal links between Paul’s description of the Son of Destruction and the relevant passages of Daniel – (Daniel 7:7-8, 7:21, 8:9, 8:23-27, 11:21, 11:36).

The term “lawlessness” is based on Daniel’s description of the Little Horn, a ruler who attempts to destroy the religious rituals and institutions of Israel, to oppress the Jewish people, and to kill all those who refuse to accept his religious perversions. Moreover, he exalts himself above all other gods and deities:

• “And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will exhaust the saints of the Most High, and he will presume to change seasons and law. And they will be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time” - (Daniel 7:25, the Septuagint).

• “And out of one of them came one strong horn. And it grew very great toward the south, and toward the host. And it magnified itself to the host of heaven. <…> And because of him, the sacrifice was disturbed, and he prospered. And the holy place will be made desolate” - (Daniel 8:10-11, the Septuagint).

• “And he will not regard any gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women. Neither will he regard any deity. For he will magnify himself above all” - (Daniel 11:37, the Septuagint).

The attempt by the Little Horn “to change times and seasons” is his direct attempt to usurp God Himself. When thanking God for providing the interpretation of King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, the prophet Daniel attributed this prerogative to God and no one else:

• “And God changes times and seasons. He appoints kings, and he removes them, giving wisdom to the wise and prudence to them that have understanding” – (Daniel 2:21, LXX).

DESTRUCTION

Likewise, the name “Son of Destruction” is derived from the descriptions of the Little Horn from the Book of Daniel:

• “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have filled up their measure, there will rise up a king of fierce countenance and cunning in dissimulation. And his strength will be powerful, but not through his own might. And he will destroy remarkably, and he will advance and do his pleasure. And he will destroy the mighty ones and the saints. And through his guile, he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and in their security, he will destroy many. He will also stand up against the prince of princes; but he will be shattered without hand” – (Daniel 8:23-25).

The genitive construction of the clause ‘son of destruction’ indicates that destruction will characterize this man. Destruction is what he does. It is his modus operandi.

The Little Horn persecuted the saints of the Book of Daniel, desecrated the sanctuary of Jerusalem, stopped the daily burnt offerings, and led many members of Israel to betray their sacred covenant:

• “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and he prevailed against them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High. And the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom” – (Daniel 7:21. See also Daniel 8:11-12).

This deceitful king expended great effort to destroy the religion and people of Israel, which makes him an excellent model for Paul’s Son of Destruction, the Man of Lawlessness, who will cause many Christians to abandon their faith.

The final clause of Daniel 8:25 states that the king will be “shattered without hand.” The same idea is also found at the end of Chapter 7 of Daniel. The Apostle Paul describes the final destruction of the Son of Destruction with similar terms. When Jesus returns…:

• “Whom the Lord Jesus will consume with the breath of his mouth and render impotent by the manifestation of his arrival” – (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

• “But the judgment shall be set, and they will remove his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end” – (Daniel 7:26).

• “And he shall pitch the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the holy mountain of beauty. But he will come to his portion, and there is none to deliver him” – (Daniel 11:45).

Thus, Paul employs the figure of the little horn of Daniel as the model of this end-time deceiver, the man who will seduce many saints, causing their apostasy and ruin. He is, therefore, aptly named “the man without law, the son of destruction.”

While there is no direct literary link between Paul’s “son of destruction” and Judas Iscariot, the only other application of this term in Scripture is to Judas:

• “While I was with them, I kept them in your name that you have given me. And I guarded them, and not one of them was destroyed, but the son of destruction, that the scripture might be fulfilled” – (John 17:12).

The wording of the  Greek clause in John 17:12 is precisely the same as in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, ‘ho uios tés apôleias’ (ο υιος της απωλειας). This may be more than coincidental.

The phrase likely signifies that Judas was destined for destruction, and so, he was a ‘son of destruction’. Therefore, Judas becomes the archetype for all those who betray the faith of Jesus Christ, condemning themselves to “everlasting destruction from the face of the Lord” - (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Apostasy - (Paul warns of the coming Apostasy, which he links to the unveiling of the Man without Law when he takes his seat in the Church)

• Missing Events - (Two events must occur before the Day of the Lord begins: The Apostasy and the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness in God’s House)

• The Spirit of Antichrist - (The Spirit of Antichrist is working to destroy the church through deceptions spread by false teachers and charlatans)

• Le Fils de la Destruction - (Beaucoup de chrétiens abandonneront la foi lorsque le Fils de la Destruction se placera dans le Sanctuaire de Dieu)