Who is this lawless person? (2)

Anytime a document from antiquity is read by someone in the modern world, certain oddities stand out. It is true with any ancient document. Peculiarities about Beowulf stand out from the Old English language; strangeness is noticed in Ulysses in Latin; some unique features surface in the Greek of the Odyssey. The further back one goes in time, usually the stranger certain features appear to the modern eye. So, when features of a passage from 2nd Thessalonians 2 suddenly appear to have some odd features to the modern reader, then understanding the historical, literary, and linguistic context goes a long way in clearing up the oddity. In particular, a term appears that seems to carry a little more weight than other words in the passage–the lawless man.

Some see this term as a common noun rather than a proper noun. Truly, in Greek, only context determines whether a noun is general or specific (common or proper). So if the term is a common noun, then the lawless man is any person who sets himself up as important enough to displace God. This would be many an American here. Americans are so affluent that they don't depend on anyone for sustenance. They are competitive and knowledgeable. So, they know as much as anyone else in the world or in their sphere of influence. They even accept the praise of those who might not know as much as they do. In other words, they set themselves up as rulers of their own lives and displace God. Ask any non-American about how arrogant the American people are.

The Romans were every bit as arrogant as Americans are. So when the writer of 2nd Thessalonians talks about a lawless man, many Romans would fit the description. Plus, Romans thought Christians were atheists for not believing the Roman pantheon of gods. So, many a Roman did put someone else or themselves in the place of God. Of course, the writer says he warned them ahead of time that lawless man would rebel against the truth about God and believe that wickedness was goodness.

Other intepretations for this important term appear later this week.