Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to 2 Thessalonians · About this commentary
Killed by the Breath of His Mouth
2 Thessalonians 2:8
8 Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the manifestation of his coming; · WEB
The whole terrifying figure is ended in half a verse, by breath and by an appearing — no struggle is described because none occurs.
Then the lawless one will be revealed. The same verb used of the Lord's own unveiling in 2 Thessalonians 1:7 is used of him, and the parallel is deliberate: this is a counterfeit revealing, timed against the true one.
His end takes two phrases. The Lord will kill him with the breath of his mouth, and destroy him by the manifestation of his coming. Isaiah had said the same of the coming judge — he strikes the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he slays the wicked Isaiah 11:4. Breath is the least exertion a living thing performs. Scripture chooses it deliberately, and the choice is the argument: what has terrified the world for a chapter requires no battle to remove.
The second phrase adds that the mere appearing destroys him. It is the word for a bright arrival, and the picture is of something dissolved by light rather than defeated by force — which is also why the chapter can be read by a frightened church without producing more fear.
held with reason What this mark means