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The Man of Sin
1 Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers,
2 not to be quickly shaken from your understanding or alarmed by any spirit or message or by any letter supposedly from us alleging that the day of Christ has already come.
3 Let no one deceive you in any manner, for that day cannot come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction.
4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god and object of worship, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
5 Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?
6 And you know what is now restraining him so that he will be revealed in his own time.
7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.
8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy with the breath of his mouth and annihilate by the appearance of his coming.
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the working of Satan, with all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders,
10 and with every kind of wicked deception among those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion, leading them to believe what is false,
12 so that all who have not believed the truth but have taken pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
Chosen for Salvation
13 But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.
14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings that were passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by a letter from us.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by his grace,
17 comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.