<p>12:8- see on Mt. 26:39.</p><p><i>Concerning this thing- </i>The Greek could as well be translated 'this person', reinforcing the possibility that one particular envoy from the Jewish satan is in view. This singular &quot;thing&quot; is paralleled with the string of afflictions listed in :10 which were all brought upon Paul due to the Jewish opposition to his ministry: &quot;weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses...&quot;. They were all orchestrated not simply by the &quot;satan&quot;, the Jewish system, but by a specific envoy of it. It would not be going too far to think that the man of sin envisaged in 2 Thess. 2 refers to this same individual. He was envisaged as taking power in the temple and being destroyed at the Lord's return. I would say that this was one of the possible scenarios which could have been fulfilled if there had been enough spiritual fruit to have enabled the Lord's return in AD70. There was not and therefore His return has been delayed until our last days, and the &quot;man of sin&quot; will have a slightly different fulfilment.</p><p><i>I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me</i>- The Greek word for &ldquo;thorn&rdquo; can mean a &ldquo;stake&rdquo; &ndash; as was used for crucifying. This was to buffet Paul, as Christ was buffeted at the crucifixion (Mt. 26:67). Like Christ in His last hours, Paul prayed for the buffeting of Satan to be removed (2 Cor. 12:8 cp. Lk. 22:42). Paul &ldquo;besought the Lord thrice&rdquo; for this and so did Jesus in the Garden (Mt. 26:39, 42, 44). Also like Christ, Paul&rsquo;s prayer for release was not granted, ultimately for his spiritual good. Thus it is implied that because of Paul&rsquo;s sufferings at the hands of the Jewish Satan throughout his life, his whole life was &ldquo;crucified with Christ&rdquo; in that he experienced constantly the sufferings Christ had in His last few hours. This is exactly what we see in Acts 26:18.</p>