The man of sin (, ''ho anthrōpos tēs hamartias'') or man of lawlessness (, ''anomias''), man of rebellion, man of insurrection, or man of apostasy is a figure referred to in the

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in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. He is usually equated with the Antichrist in

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Biblical narrative

In , the "man of sin" is described as one who will be revealed before the Day of the Lord comes. The author, claiming to be Paul, is concerned that his audience has begun to behave as if the Day of the Lord has already happened, and he cautions them that it will not happen until the "man of lawlessness" or son of perdition is revealed, which will not happen until some restraining force or person (the Katechon) is first removed. Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus have the reading "man of lawlessness" instead of "man of sin." Bruce M. Metzger argues that this is the original reading even though 94% of manuscripts have "man of sin"; The New American Standard Bible and New International Version (NIV) use "man of lawlessness," and the

New Revised Standard Version The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is a translation of the Bible in American English. It was first published in 1989 by the National Council of Churches, the NRSV was created by an ecumenical committee of scholars "comprising about thirt ...

uses "lawless one."

Identity

Nearly all commentators, both ancient and modern, identify the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 as the Antichrist, even though they vary greatly in who they view the Antichrist to be. The man of sin is variously identified with

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, the

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and the end times Antichrist. Some scholars believe that the passage contains no genuine prediction, but represents a speculation of the apostle's own, based on ; , and on contemporary ideas of Antichrist.

Views

Catholic church and Orthodox churches

The

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and

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traditions consider the Man of Sin to come at the End of the World, when the katechon, the one who restrains, will be taken out. Katechon is also interpreted as the Grand Monarch or a new Orthodox Emperor, inaugurating a rebirth of the

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Other views

Various Protestant and anti-Catholic commentators have linked the term and identity to the Catholic Church and the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

.Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible 1706 The "temple of God" is here understood to be the church; the restraining power the Roman empire.

Dispensationalist or Futurist view

Dispensationalists view this as a reference to a coming world ruler (Antichrist) who will succeed in making a peace treaty with Israel for 7 years ( Daniel's 70th week) guaranteeing some sort of Middle East peace settlement with the Arab nations. This will occur after the rebuilding of the Third Temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of temple sacrifices. He will break his peace treaty with Israel 3 years into the plan, enter the "rebuilt Third Temple" and perform the abomination of desolation by setting up an idol of himself in the Temple and declare himself God.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Man Of Sin Antichrist Christian eschatology Christian terminology New Testament words and phrases People in the Pauline epistles Unnamed people of the Bible