The Son of Destruction

Many saints will abandon the faith when the Lawless One, the Son of Destruction, places himself in the Sanctuary of God. Before Jesus returns, a powerful deceiver will appear and cause many believers to depart from the faith and betray their Savior. His true identity will be revealed when he assumes his place inside the Church.

In contrast to apostates, the saints who hold firmly to the truth, whatever the cost, will persevere through the final apostasy. Their faithfulness will be vindicated when Jesus arrives on the Last Day.

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. Jesus also warned of “lawlessness” (Greek, ‘anomia’) in the last days, and of the horrible price many will pay for transgressing his teachings, which is the quintessence 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 increase, the love of the many will become cold. But he who perseveres to the end, he will be saved” – (Matthew 24:10-13).

• “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).

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

This deceiver will appear after “the mystery of lawlessness” has finished preparing the way for the arrival of this man, his ‘Parousia’. He will be destroyed in the end when Jesus arrives, his ‘Parousia’ or arrival - (1 Corinthians 15:24-25, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9).

• “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 the king will do according to his will; and he will exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and will speak incredible things against the God of gods. And he will advance until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done” – (Daniel 11:36).

In presenting this “son of destruction,” 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 and the relevant passages of the Book 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 pagan king represented by 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 or acknowledge his divinity:

• “He will speak words against the Most High and afflict the saints. And he will hope to change times and laws, and they will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time” - (Daniel 7:25).

• “The horn waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground and trampled them <…> And it removed the daily burnt-offerings” - (Daniel 8:10-11).

DESTRUCTION

Likewise, the name “son of destruction” of Paul’s narrative is derived from the descriptions of the little horn recorded in 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 skillful 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 cunning, he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and in their security, he will destroy [‘apôleia’] many. He will also rise up against the prince of princes; but he will be shattered without hand” – (Daniel 8:23-25).

The English noun “destruction” in Paul’s description translates the Greek term ‘apôleia’ (απωλεια), which means “destruction, ruin, loss.” The significance of the genitive construction of the clause ‘son of destruction’ is that destruction characterizes this man. Destruction and chaos are what he does, his modus operandi.

The little horn persecuted the saints, desecrated the sanctuary of the Temple in 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).

• “The horn magnified itself even against the prince of the host. And the horn removed the daily burnt offerings, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. And the host was given over to the horn together with the daily burnt-offerings because of transgression, and the horn cast truth to the ground” - (Daniel 8:11-12).

The little horn expended great effort in his attempt to destroy the religion and people of Israel, which makes him an excellent model for Paul’s coming man without law, the crafty deceiver who will cause many believers to abandon the apostolic faith during the final years of the current age.

In the Greek Septuagint version of Daniel, the term translated as “destruction” in Daniel 8:23-25 or ‘apôleia’ is the same Greek noun used by Paul for the son of destruction. This is the source of his term (“the king stood for the destruction of many”). The Greek word is related to the noun used in the Book of Revelation to describe the king who rules the Abyss:

• “They have over them as king the messenger of the abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has for name Apollyon [‘destroyer’]” - (Revelation 9:11).

The final clause of Daniel 8:25 states that the king will be “shattered without hand.” 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).

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.”

[NOTE: Text printed in small capital letters represents quotations and verbal allusions to Old Testament passages]

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SEE ALSO:

• The Day of the Lord - (Jesus will arrive to gather his saints on the Day of the Lord, and in the New Testament, this event becomes the Day of Christ)

• Two 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 Apostasy - (Paul warned of the coming Apostasy and linked it to the unveiling of the Man without Law when he takes his seat in the Church)

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