And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. [II Thessalonians 2:8, KJV.]
What is 'the Spirit of his mouth' ?
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I have edited your question to give the correct reference and also to demonstrate to you how you can present quotations as highlighted text.– Nigel JCommented Oct 7, 2019 at 10:47
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1Thanks. I love the edit– Faith MendelCommented Oct 7, 2019 at 11:08
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Job 4:9 By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed. Breath = Spirit. nostrils also = anger mouth also = commandment– Bob JonesCommented Jan 14, 2020 at 5:31
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3 Answers
My own understanding of that text is that what is present on earth, a mysterious presence called 'Wicked', shall be consumed ('annihilated' is quite a good translation of αναλισκο, analisko Strong 355) during time, by 'the spirit of his mouth'.
Then, at the end of time, that same Entity will be fully destroyed by the brightness of the glorious return of Jesus Christ to earth, that is to say a new earth. But now we see, not yet, all things put under him, Hebrews 2:8.
At present, Christ rules 'in the midst of his enemies', Acts 2:32-35, his enemies being yet suffered a place. But at the end of time, it shall be given to Jesus Christ to dash his enemies to pieces as an iron rod does to a potter's vessel, Psalm 2:9 and Revelation 2:27.
The 'spirit of his mouth' denotes, to me, what can be referred to as 'his mouthpiece'. It is as though Christ is present on earth, bodily, speaking certain words.
But he is not, yet, present. There is that which represents him. That is to say, the Christian ministry, those such as Timothy or Titus who are called with an especial vocation to preach and to teach. In the book of the Revelation such are referred to as 'the two witnesses', Revelation 11:3, and their activity, in this same context, a prophetic witness against earthly evil, may be seen there.
Thus the spirit which goes forth from the mouth of Jesus Christ in heaven, also goes forth on earth by his mouthpieces, to the temporal annihilation of the adversarial Wicked in front of the audience of those who dwell on earth.
This will happen repeatedly, generation by generation, as we see the two witnesses repeatedly killed, their murderers exchanging presents in triumph, only for the two witnesses to rise again. That is to say, another generation of witnesses rises to testify, acting as the mouthpiece of the risen Christ.
The prophets may be seen as performing a similar role. One thinks of Isaiah in particular who, by his words, effectively 'demolished' the adversaries of the Lord, shaming their opposition and their reputation.
At the end of time, by the brightness of his coming, the Lord shall eternally destroy the opposition of the Wicked One.
What exactly that 'Wicked' actually is, belongs in another question.
This happens at the end of times.Spiritual warfare.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Thessalonians 2:8.
The brightness of his coming can be seen in Revelation 19 where the rider on the white horse comes to earth with all his armies following him. This same rider on the white horse has a sword coming out of his mouth.
15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.
The rider on the white horse has a name,
13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God
Ephesians 6-17 talks about spiritual warfare and the sword of the spirit being the word of God,
Conclusion
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. Thessalonians 2:8.
The Spirit of his mouth is the "Sword of the spirit", which is also "The Word of God".
I believe that first, God's will is The Truth (everything that happens and that is, is according to the will of God). Understanding this, I believe thus "The spirit of his mouth" to be The Truth. So God's will will be spoken and known. Devils are backwards (couldn't be further from the truth), and so are averted by (relevant) truth. It makes them uncomfortable. These devils spend so much time speaking falsely that they believe their own lies, which translates to believing what they want to believe (their own will) rather than the Truth (putting their own will above that of God). I have a "mental disorder" in which I hear voices. I believe these voices to be devils, and have made some observations about them and what/how they say and speak. This is what led me to read the bible and come to the conclusions that I have concerning devils.
