Boring’s translation:
Let
no one deceive you in any way, for before that day comes, the apostasy must
come first, and the Man of Lawlessness must be revealed, the son of
Destruction. (M. Eugene Boring, I & II Thessalonians: A Commentary [The
New Testament Library; Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015], 259)
Note on “the apostasy”
Apostastia
has two basic meanings: (1)
rebellion, the defiance of established authority (e.g., Josephus, Life
43 [against Nero]); and (2) abandoning the faith (e.g., 1 Macc 2;15; Acts
21:21 [in each case abandoning the law of Moses]). The two choices are to see
the Lawless One as leading a general revolt against all established authority,
i.e., against God as the One who establishes order in the world, or a general
falling away from the faith, in which believers in the one true God represented
by Jesus Christ abandon their faith under pressure from the Lawless One.
(ibid., 260)
Note on “must come first”:
More
lit., “unless the apostasy comes first.” “Before the day comes” is not in the
Greek text but is implied by the context and supplied by virtually all modern
translations. “First” refers to the day of the Lord: that Day cannot come until
the apostasy has occurred. It is not entirely clear whether the apostasy also
comes before the parousia of the Man of Lawlessness, or is coincident with it,
or the result of his appearing, but context and grammar support the order:
first comes the apostasy, then the Man of Lawlessness. (Ibid., 260-61)
Against the “none of the early
Christians believed they were leading others into apostasy,” the following is
apropos:
The
admonition “Let no one deceive you in any way” does not indicate that there is
a group of opponents who are intentionally trying to mislead the congregations.
The Pauline tradition can use “deceive” (exapataĊ) of intentional deceit
by false teaches (2 Vor 11:3), but also of self-deception, accepting plausible
but misleading ideas (1 Cor 3:18). The latter is the case here. (M. Eugene
Boring, I & II Thessalonians: A Commentary [The New Testament
Library; Louisville, Ky.: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015], 272)