7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,
2 Thessalonians 2:7–9 (ESV)
Through the Bible: 1–2 Thessalonians
You can blame this post on the fact thart Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles was the first thing I heard on the radio when I woke up this morning. That got me thinking about John and Paul– the creative force of the Beatles, who together wrote about 73% of all recorded Beatles songs. And that got me thinking about the Apostles John and Paul, who together wrote about 67% of the New Testament.
I’m weird that way. If you read my blog, you already knew that.
But given the fact that today’s reading of 1 and 2 Thessalonians coincided with the fact that I am preaching through the Book of Revelation right now, I was struck by the ways that John and Paul write about the same figure– the Antichrist (John) and the man of lawlessness (Paul).
Paul speaks the language of pastoral clarity; John speaks in apocalyptic color. Paul names the “man of lawlessness”; John watches beasts rise from the sea and the earth. Paul warns that the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; John describes the same truth through seals and trumpets and bowls.
Different voices.
Same reality.
Same hope.
The man of lawlessness and the beasts
In 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul describes “the man of lawlessness.” John, in Revelation 13, describes a beast from the sea. These figures are not identical, but they share the same spiritual DNA. They belong to what you might call the same family of evil—a recurring pattern that Scripture reveals so believers can recognize it in any generation.
Paul shows a figure who exalts himself in God’s temple, claiming authority that isn’t his. John sees a beast who blasphemes God and persecutes the saints. The imagery differs, but the impulse is the same. Both writers want you to learn to spot power that pretends to be ultimate, systems that oppose the Lamb while promising peace and security, leaders who claim allegiance that belongs to God alone.
Paul calls this a mystery—already active, not yet fully revealed. John visualizes that same mystery on a global scale through his beast imagery. Together they show how evil grows long before it culminates, and how the church must learn to recognize the pattern early.
Antichrist: not in Revelation, but everywhere
Readers are often surprised to discover that the word “Antichrist” never appears in Revelation. It shows up only in 1 John and 2 John, and there John’s emphasis is less on a single final figure and more on a recurring posture of resistance.
“You have heard that antichrist is coming,” John writes, “but many antichrists have come” (1 John 2:18). In other words, Scripture does teach a climactic opponent of Christ, but it also teaches a series of lesser “antichrists” throughout history. Any teaching, leader, kingdom, or spirit that sets itself against Christ participates in this pattern (1 John 4:3; 2 John 7).
This helps you avoid the temptation of naming every political leader as the final Antichrist, while also avoiding the opposite mistake of ignoring the very real deceptions at work right now. John and Paul agree that the spirit of antichrist is active in the world long before the final unveiling.
Telescopic prophecy: immediate, near, and ultimate
Paul and John both write prophecy that functions like a telescope. Multiple lenses align to make distant realities appear close, and in Scripture the same event may have more than one horizon.
There is the immediate fulfillment that Paul’s readers would have recognized in their own sufferings and persecutions. There are near-future fulfillments that John describes in the form of intensifying pressures and expanding systems of deception throughout the Roman world. And there is the ultimate fulfillment when Christ returns and exposes evil completely.
Paul describes that final moment as the Lord Jesus destroying the lawless one “with the breath of his mouth.” John sees the same Christ riding a white horse, conquering with a sword that goes out from His mouth. The imagery differs, but the victory is the same. Both writers point toward a single climactic act of judgment in which Christ ends evil not with effort, but with a word.
This telescoping keeps you grounded. Prophecy is not only about what has already happened, nor only about what will happen in the far future. It is a way of seeing the present age clearly, recognizing the patterns of evil as they appear now, and living faithfully in the overlap between Christ’s first coming and His return.
Confidence, not Curiosity
Paul and John were both writing to believers under pressure. Thessalonian Christians were confused, frightened, and unsure what to make of their suffering. The churches addressed in Revelation lived under the shadow of Rome’s power and the seduction of Rome’s culture. Both needed the same reassurance: Christ knows, Christ reigns, and Christ wins.
Paul says the lawless one will be revealed and destroyed, that believers are not in darkness, and that they should encourage one another with this hope. John says the Lamb will conquer, that endurance is the calling of the saints, and that the faithful are blessed even in death.
Together they tell a single story. Evil is real, but not ultimate. Deception is strong, but not final. The mystery of lawlessness is active, but not victorious. The beasts rise, but the Lamb reigns. The man of lawlessness deceives, but the true King exposes him. The world shakes, but the church stands in faith, hope, and love.
John and Paul do not give competing visions of the end. They give complementary ones. Read together, they help you see the world as it is and the Savior as He truly is. And that is why their words still matter—because they anchor you in a world where lawlessness grows, but Christ has already overcome.
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