2 Thessalonians2:3

“Deceive” comes from a root word that means “to bite the bait that hides the hook.” Besides “deceive” it also means “seduce.” Its emphasis is on the final state of ending up totally deceived and paying the price for it.

This refers back to the three forms of falsehood mentioned in the prior verse and goes beyond those to include any other possible form of deception.

“Apostacy” comes from the words “stand” and “away from”. It means to “depart from a previous position and stand separate from it.” It can also mean “a revolt, rebellion or mutiny.” There are two ways to interpret this: If we understand this word in this context to mean “apostacy or falling away.” it implies that the people involved in this will be seduced and deceived (as Paul warned against in the previous verse) and will leave the faith in Jesus. This deception will not come from outside the church, but from within it, or from a person that appears to be a part of the church. If we understand it to mean a “revolt, rebellion or mutiny,” then it may be an indication that society in general will rebel against God. Scholars are divided on this matter, but to me the more natural reading seems to be that which uses the word “apostacy” as referring to people within the church. Falling away requires having some place to fall from; turning away requires something to turn from; rebelling requires being under an authority before one can rebel against it. Besides, human cultures have always been in rebellion against God.

“Man of lawlessness” is sometimes rendered “man of sin” because some manuscripts say “man of lawlessness” and some say “man of sin.” There is reasonable manuscript support for each variant. They both point in the same general direction. Some scholars think that “the apostacy” (with an article) and this “man of sin or man of lawlessness” are closely linked together implying that this individual is likely responsible for fomenting the apostacy.

A similar phrase is used of Judas Iscariot in Jn 17:12 where he is called the “son of perdition,” in many versions. “Perdition” is a good rendering because it does not point to annihilation but to being “cut off” and then “punished.” A few versions do not include the words “son of” but they do include the true meaning of this key word which is “loss, or to be cut off, and punished.” It is problematic to use words like “destruction” because it implies “annihilation,” which is not the point but rather the idea is that of being “cut off, excommunicated from the people of God, and condemned to eternal punishment.”