He wouldn´t have been, He was speaking to those who were of the BODY...they would have understood...
Further, you can´t just take this apart from his whole letter...he was talking to those who KNEW CHRIST, knew there would be a RESURRECTION...but also were being troubled by those who were saying THE DAY of THE LORD, and with it, THE RESURRECTION had already come...
Paul´s words are very clear telling them that this can´t happen until the man of sin is revealed...and the only way he can be revealed is if HE, who holds all things back by HIS POWER (WHO IS GOD), is taken out of the way...
Did you think satan holds things back? Or that satan has any power to do anything unless GOD, removes HIS HEDGE?
Further, you can´t just take this apart from his whole letter...he was talking to those who KNEW CHRIST, knew there would be a RESURRECTION...but also were being troubled by those who were saying THE DAY of THE LORD, and with it, THE RESURRECTION had already come...
Paul´s words are very clear telling them that this can´t happen until the man of sin is revealed...and the only way he can be revealed is if HE, who holds all things back by HIS POWER (WHO IS GOD), is taken out of the way...
Did you think satan holds things back? Or that satan has any power to do anything unless GOD, removes HIS HEDGE?
So as I read the passage it seems Paul is saying it's the apostasy event - The falling away - that must come first before the day of the Lord...and it's that (& satan work) which is holding back the "man of sin" from being revealed.
Now when most read "revealed" we interpret it as "comes on the scene" or "appearing". But I'd like you to consider for a moment that "revealed" means - at its core - "exposed/uncovered". Notice how it reads:
2 Thess 2:3
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [of the Lord] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Then Paul continues with a description of what this man would do, and then Paul says...
2 Thess 2:6-7
6 And NOW ye know WHAT withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth ALREADY work:
Paul just now shared what withholds the man of sin. So if we take out the parenthetical side info, here's the message Paul gives:
Q: What is keeping the man of sin from being exposed until it's time?
A: The apostasy event that has to come first; the falling away. That is the "what" that's keeping the man of sin from being exposed...because "secret/hidden sinfulness" is ALREADY hard at work.
Paul continues...
2 Thess 2:7-8
7 ...only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed..."
So from the context, the next question is:
Q: he "lets" what?
A: he "lets" this "mystery of iniquity" (i.e. this secret/covert/hidden sinfulness) that's already in full swing in Paul's time; he lets it continue until he is taken out of the way.
So who's the "he" who let's this happen?
Remember that satan's trade is deception. As long as he's around people will be deceived to believe any lie is the truth; that any wickedness is righteousness; that this man of sin is a genuine man of God. He must be taken out of the way so this wicked man of sin can finally be revealed/uncovered/exposed for who he is...until then, the "man of sin" will continue to deceive people.
Paul then says the wicked man will be revealed and destroyed with the Master's arrival.
2 Thess 2:8
8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Paul continues...
2 Thess 2:9
9 ...whose coming is after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness
Now I know the prevailing meaning of these passages has been drilled into us, but if we simply follow the context, ask yourself:
Q: Whose coming is after satan's deceptive work?
A: His - The Messiah's - bright coming is after (or behind) satan's deceptive work
Like you pointed out, those of Thessalonica were afraid they missed the resurrection and regathering. So Paul was giving them the order to events:
- First, the secret iniquity was already fomenting.
- Next is the great falling away must happen.
- And then, when satan is taken out of the way, the man of sin - who Paul already mentioned when he was with them personally - will be exposed with the brightness of the Messiah's coming
It's through satan's authority that this man of sin will deceive many into believing he's a man of God. But this man can't deceive many if he's already revealed to be the "man of sin". It's a bit pointless to the whole game of deception to reveal the deceiver beforehand, you know?
If we know that the "man of sin" is also called "the beast", then I ask myself who gave/gives his own authority to this beast (essentially unleashing him on the world) after he fails to destroy the manchild and the woman himself, per Revelation 13? Of course, it's satan.
We have the passage that records the Messiah saying, "Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." (John 14:30). Also the passage Matthew 4:8-9 says, "Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 'All this I will give You,' he said, 'if You will fall down and worship me.'” And satan wasn't corrected by the Messiah when he did this.
So I fully agree that satan has no power unless it's given to him, but it would seem he was already given this power, at least as far back as the beginning of the Messiah's ministry. The Messiah acknowledges satan's authority on earth, as well as Paul in this letter.
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Now from the historicist pov, this apostasy has since occurred and is still in full swing with the man of sin doing much damage - with satan's authority - concealed as a man of God...while I think preterists believe he's already come and gone...and then futurists believe he's still to come...
But regardless of position, I believe this is what the passage is explaining; that it's satan and his deception that must be taken out of the way in order to EXPOSE the "man of sin".
Forgive the length.