<p>2:9 <i>But the coming of the lawless one will be according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders</i>- However we understand the &ldquo;working of Satan&rdquo; (<i>energeian tou Satana</i>) in 2 Thess. 2:9, it was under the control of God &ndash; for it was part of the &ldquo;strong delusion&rdquo; (<i>energeian planes</i>) which <i>God</i> sent (2 Thess. 2:11). The repetition of the word <i>energeian</i> is missed through the mask of translation through which most read this passage, but in the original Greek it stands out clearly. The &lsquo;Satan&rsquo; isn&rsquo;t working <i>against</i> God but is being used by God in <i>His</i> working in the lives of others. It is &ldquo;evil&rdquo; and &ldquo;the work of Satan&rdquo; which deceives the wicked (2 Thess. 2:9,10); but God works through this, it is <i>He</i> who sends the delusion... an indication that &lsquo;Satan&rsquo; here is not radical evil, i.e. evil that is free and independent from God, lurking free in the cosmos as it were, but is sent by God, under His control. But of course, we want to know more about this &lsquo;Satan&rsquo;; and clearly the Jewish opposition to the Christian Gospel was a significant adversary or &lsquo;Satan&rsquo; in the first century.</p><p>&lsquo;Satan&rsquo; in the New Testament frequently refers to the Jewish system. We noted on :3 the idea of a coalition between Jewish and Gentile forces of evil. The envisaged new religious order would be supported by the Jewish satan, who would perform false miracles to give it credibility.&nbsp; &ldquo;Coming&rdquo; can be translated &lsquo;coming in&rsquo;, referring to the subtle entry of Judaist agents and ideas into the ecclesia (Gal. 2:4 etc.). The coming of Christ was associated with miracles, and this would be matched by &lsquo;Satan&rsquo;s&rsquo; miracles at <i>his</i> &lsquo;coming&rsquo;. The Greek for &ldquo;working&rdquo; is often used concerning the working of the Holy Spirit. &ldquo;Power, signs and wonders&rdquo; is a phrase always used concerning the preaching of the Gospel (Acts 2:22,43; 4:30; Rom. 15:19; Heb. 2:4); and in 2 Cor. 12:12 concerning the qualifications of an apostle. This would portray the man of sin as a false apostle (cp. 2 Cor. 11:13&ndash;15) doing false miracles to accompany a false Gospel; he is &ldquo;the son of perdition&rdquo; after the pattern of Judas. The Greek for &ldquo;lying&rdquo; is used about the apostate Jews in Jn. 8:44; Rom. 1:25; 1 Jn. 2:21.</p><p>Jannes and Jambres were another prototype of these Judaizers (2 Tim.3:8). Perhaps these magicians who replicated Moses&rsquo; miracles were apostate Jews. Israel&rsquo;s experience in Egypt points forward to ours at the time of the second coming. Perhaps the beast, symbolic &lsquo;Egypt&rsquo; of the last days, will also have a group of renegade Jews in tow, who match the miracles performed by the latter day Moses. Showing &ldquo;signs and lying wonders&rdquo; is an evident allusion back to Mt. 24:24, concerning this happening in the last days of AD70 and our own times. If the miraculous gifts are possessed by some of the faithful in the last days, e.g. In connection with the Elijah ministry, the ability of the apostate believers to do miracles will seem the more credible. There are many links between 2 Thess. 2 and the Olivet prophecy, as noted on :3.</p><p>The description of those deceived in 2 Thess. 2 is amplifying that of the judgment seat in 1:6&ndash;9, which is concerning those responsible to judgment, i.e. those who know Christ. We therefore conclude that the many who are deceived by false claims of miracles are actually within the ecclesia. Only the elect will not be deceived. This was what happened in the run up to AD70, and must presumably be seen in our last days too. The establishment of the beast&rsquo;s power in Jerusalem, accompanied by powerful miracles and the support of some Judas&ndash;like brethren within the ecclesia for it, will persuade some in the church to think that Christ is back. The connections between Mt. 24 and 2 Thess. 2 indicate that many (Gk. the majority, Mt. 24:12) within the ecclesia will be deceived, egged on by a subtle group of false Christians who will be the counterpart of the first century Judaizers.</p>