What does 2 Thessalonians 2:9 mean?
Before the coming of the day of the Lord—a time of wrath and judgment—certain events must take place. Among these are a worldwide moral and spiritual rebellion, and the appearance of a "man of lawlessness."Paul points to Satan as the evil person who brings the man of lawlessness into power. Satan enables him to perform "false signs and wonders." One of the miracles is mentioned in Revelation 13:13 as that of making fire drop from heaven in public view. Another miracle is that of giving the power of speech to the idol he erects (Revelations 13:15), in honor of the first beast—another end-times figure, appearing in Revelation 13:1–8.
These so-called miracles are counterfeit according to 2 Thessalonians 1:9, but they are intended to dupe people into thinking the man of lawlessness is the Messiah. Jesus, the true Messiah, authenticated His claim to be the Promised One by performing genuine miracles. False miracles are distinguished first by the person who performs them (Matthew 7:16, 20; 1 John 4:2–6), since any person who opposes God cannot be granted God's power. True miracles also support God's Word and His truth. As the apostle John noted: "These [miracles recorded in the Gospel of John] are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ [the Messiah], the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name" (John 20:31).