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Word Studies

Question

How do NT authors use Daniel, and do they treat Daniel 7-12 as a unified prophetic corpus?


G2050: eremosis -- desolation

Original: ἐρήμωσις (eremosis) Transliteration: eremosis Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: Despoliation, desolation; the act of making desolate BLB Count: 3 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count Verses
"of desolation" 2 Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14
"desolation" 1 Luke 21:20

All Occurrences

Verse Text
Matt 24:15 "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet"
Mark 13:14 "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet"
Luke 21:20 "know that the desolation thereof is nigh"

Key Findings

  • Exclusively Olivet: All 3 NT occurrences appear in the Synoptic Olivet Discourse passages -- nowhere else in the entire NT.
  • Functions as a lexical "Daniel marker" -- whenever eremosis appears, it signals a Daniel reference.
  • Luke replaces the Daniel formula with a historical marker ("Jerusalem compassed with armies") but retains eremosis.

G946: bdelygma -- abomination

Original: βδέλυγμα (bdelygma) Transliteration: bdelygma Part of Speech: Neuter noun Definition: A detestation; specifically idolatry; an abomination BLB Count: 6 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count Verses
"abomination" 4 Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 16:15; Rev 21:27
"abominations" 1 Rev 17:4
"ABOMINATIONS" 1 Rev 17:5

All Occurrences

Verse Text
Matt 24:15 "the abomination of desolation"
Mark 13:14 "the abomination of desolation"
Luke 16:15 "that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination before God"
Rev 17:4 "a golden cup full of abominations"
Rev 17:5 "MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH"
Rev 21:27 "worketh abomination, or maketh a lie"

LXX Occurrences (in Daniel)

Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 -- translates Hebrew shiqquts in all three passages.

Key Findings

  • Links Olivet to Revelation: bdelygma appears in both the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14) and Revelation (17:4-5; 21:27).
  • The Revelation uses carry the same idolatrous/detestable connotation as the Daniel uses.
  • Luke 16:15 is the only non-apocalyptic use -- general moral meaning.
  • Mark 13:14 uses masculine participle hestekota for neuter bdelygma (constructio ad sensum), signaling a personal reference.

G646: apostasia -- apostasy/falling away

Original: ἀποστασία (apostasia) Transliteration: apostasia Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: Defection from truth; a falling away, forsaking BLB Count: 2 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count Verses
"to forsake" 1 Acts 21:21
"a falling away" 1 2 Thess 2:3

All Occurrences

Verse Text
Acts 21:21 "thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses"
2 Thess 2:3 "except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed"

LXX Occurrences

Josh 22:22; 2 Chr 29:19; 33:19; Jer 2:19; 29:32; 36:32 -- consistently = religious rebellion/defection.

Key Findings

  • Only 2 NT uses, both denoting religious defection (not political rebellion).
  • In 2 Thess 2:3, the falling away (apostasia) precedes and enables the revelation of the man of sin.
  • The LXX usage confirms the religious sense: defection from covenant faithfulness.
  • The definite article "the" (he apostasia) in 2 Thess 2:3 suggests a specific, expected apostasy.

G458: anomia -- iniquity/lawlessness

Original: ἀνομία (anomia) Transliteration: anomia Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: Illegality; violation of law; wickedness; lawlessness BLB Count: 15 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count Verses
"iniquity" 7 Matt 7:23; 13:41; 23:28; 24:12; Rom 6:19; Tit 2:14; Heb 1:9
"iniquities" 3 Rom 4:7; Heb 8:12; 10:17
"of iniquity" 1 2 Thess 2:7
"unrighteousness" 1 2 Cor 6:14
"transgression of the law" 2 1 John 3:4 (2x)

All Occurrences

Verse Text Context
Matt 7:23 "depart from me, ye that work iniquity" Jesus' judgment warning
Matt 13:41 "gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity" Wheat/tares judgment
Matt 23:28 "within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity" Woe to scribes/Pharisees
Matt 24:12 "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" Olivet Discourse
Rom 4:7 "Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven" Justification
Rom 6:19 "ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity" Sanctification
2 Cor 6:14 "what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness" Separation
2 Thess 2:7 "the mystery of iniquity doth already work" Man of sin context
2 Thess 2:8 (anomias, genitive -- "the lawless one" = ho anomos, adj form) Man of sin destroyed
Tit 2:14 "redeem us from all iniquity" Christ's purpose
Heb 1:9 "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity" Christ's character
Heb 8:12 "their iniquities will I remember no more" New covenant
Heb 10:17 "their sins and iniquities will I remember no more" New covenant
1 John 3:4 "sin is the transgression of the law" (2x in verse) Definitional equation

Key Findings -- The Anomia Chain

  1. Dan 7:25 source: "think to change times and laws" -- the little horn attacks divine law. The Hebrew dat ("law/decree") + Aramaic context = anomia concept.
  2. Matt 24:12: "because anomia shall abound" -- in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus warns of escalating lawlessness as a sign. Classified under APOSTASY ("shall abound in latter days") in Nave's.
  3. 2 Thess 2:7: "the mystery of anomia doth already work" -- Paul says the lawlessness principle is already active but not yet fully revealed.
  4. 2 Thess 2:8: "the lawless one" (ho anomos, G459) -- the man of sin IS defined by anomia; his very title is "the anomos."
  5. 1 John 3:4: "sin is the transgression of the law" = hamartia estin he anomia -- John provides the definitional equation: sin = anomia = law-transgression. Same G458 word confirmed by Greek parser.
  6. Three-author chain: Jesus (Matt 24:12), Paul (2 Thess 2:7-8), and John (1 John 3:4) all use anomia in eschatological/antichrist contexts.

G459: anomos -- lawless/wicked

Original: ἄνομος (anomos) Transliteration: anomos Part of Speech: Adjective Definition: Lawless; not subject to law; wicked; without law BLB Count: 10 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count Verses
"the transgressors" 2 Mark 15:28; Luke 22:37
"without law" / "that are without law" 3 1 Cor 9:21 (3x)
"wicked" 1 Acts 2:23
"Wicked" 1 2 Thess 2:8
"for the lawless" 1 1 Tim 1:9
"unlawful" 1 2 Pet 2:8

Key Verses

Verse Text
2 Thess 2:8 "then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume"
Mark 15:28 "he was numbered with the transgressors" (= Isa 53:12 fulfillment)
Luke 22:37 "he was reckoned among the transgressors"
Acts 2:23 "by wicked hands have crucified and slain"
1 Tim 1:9 "the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient"

Key Findings

  • 2 Thess 2:8: ho anomos = "the lawless one" -- substantival adjective used as a title for the man of sin.
  • The adjectival form (G459) directly derives from the noun anomia (G458) -- same root, same concept.
  • The man of sin's defining characteristic is opposition to divine law, connecting back to Dan 7:25 "think to change times and laws."

G3485: naos -- temple/shrine

Original: ναός (naos) Transliteration: naos Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: A fane, shrine; the inner sanctuary of a temple (distinguished from hieron = the entire temple complex) BLB Count: 46 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count
"temple" 35
"the temple" 4
"temples" 2
"shrines" 1
"hath the temple" 1

Pauline Occurrences (CRITICAL for 2 Thess 2:4)

Verse Text Referent
1 Cor 3:16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" Church = naos tou theou
1 Cor 3:17 "If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are" Church = naos tou theou
1 Cor 6:19 "your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost" Body = naos
2 Cor 6:16 "ye are the temple of the living God" Church = naos tou theou
Eph 2:21 "groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord" Church = naos
2 Thess 2:4 "he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" Man of sin in naos tou theou

Revelation Occurrences

Rev 3:12; 7:15; 11:1,2,19; 14:15,17; 15:5,6,8(2x); 16:1,17; 21:22

Gospel/Acts Occurrences

Matt 23:16,17,21,35; 26:61; 27:5,40,51; Mark 14:58; 15:29,38; Luke 1:9,21,22; 23:45; John 2:19,21; Acts 7:48; 17:24; 19:24

Key Findings -- The Naos tou Theou Pattern

  • Every Pauline use of "naos tou theou" (temple of God) = believers/the church. Not a single Pauline use refers to the literal Jerusalem temple.
  • 1 Cor 3:16-17: "ye are the temple of God" = the congregation
  • 2 Cor 6:16: "ye are the temple of the living God" = the congregation
  • Eph 2:21: "groweth unto an holy temple" = the church body
  • 2 Thess 2:4 uses the same phrase: "sitteth in the naos tou theou" -- the man of sin sits in what Paul elsewhere exclusively identifies as the church.
  • The Gospel uses of naos refer to the physical temple building (inner sanctuary), but Paul has redefined the term ecclesiologically.
  • Exegetical implication: For Paul to suddenly mean a literal rebuilt Jerusalem temple in 2 Thess 2:4 would be the only exception to his consistent metaphorical usage.

G684: apoleia -- perdition/destruction

Original: ἀπώλεια (apoleia) Transliteration: apoleia Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: Ruin or loss (physical, spiritual, or eternal); perdition, destruction BLB Count: 20 NT occurrences

Translations

Translation Count Verses
"perdition" 5 1 Tim 6:9; Heb 10:39; 2 Pet 3:7; Rev 17:8,11
"destruction" 4 Matt 7:13; Rom 9:22; 2 Pet 2:1; 3:16
"of perdition" 1 2 Thess 2:3
"waste" 2 Matt 26:8; Mark 14:4
"perish" 1 Acts 8:20
"die" 1 Acts 25:16
"damnable" 1 2 Pet 2:1
"pernicious ways" 1 2 Pet 2:2
"damnation" 1 2 Pet 2:3

All Occurrences

Verse Text
Matt 7:13 "broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction"
Matt 26:8 "To what purpose is this waste?"
Mark 14:4 "Why was this waste of the ointment made?"
John 17:12 "none of them is lost, but the son of perdition"
Acts 8:20 "Thy money perish with thee"
Acts 25:16 "to deliver any man to die"
Rom 9:22 "vessels of wrath fitted to destruction"
Phil 1:28 "an evident token of perdition"
Phil 3:19 "whose end is destruction"
2 Thess 2:3 "that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition"
1 Tim 6:9 "drown men in destruction and perdition"
Heb 10:39 "we are not of them who draw back unto perdition"
2 Pet 2:1 "bring upon themselves swift destruction"
2 Pet 2:2 "many shall follow their pernicious ways"
2 Pet 2:3 "whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not"
2 Pet 3:7 "reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men"
2 Pet 3:16 "wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction"
Rev 17:8 "the beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition"
Rev 17:11 "even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition"

Key Findings -- The "Son of Perdition" Chain

Three NT authors use apoleia to describe an eschatological adversary: 1. John 17:12: Jesus calls Judas "the son of perdition" (ho huios tes apoleias) -- the only apostle who betrayed from within. 2. 2 Thess 2:3: Paul calls the man of sin "the son of perdition" (ho huios tes apoleias) -- identical Greek phrase. 3. Rev 17:8,11: John describes the beast going "into perdition" (eis apoleian) -- same noun, eschatological destruction.

The chain spans three authors (Jesus via John's Gospel, Paul, John of Revelation) and establishes a pattern: the adversary is characterized by betrayal from within and ultimate destruction.


G4750: stoma -- mouth

Original: στόμα (stoma) Transliteration: stoma Part of Speech: Neuter noun Definition: The mouth (as if a gash in the face); by implication, language, edge of a sword BLB Count: 79 NT occurrences

Key Occurrences for This Study

Verse Text
2 Thess 2:8 "shall consume with the spirit of his mouth"
Rev 1:16 "out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword"
Rev 13:2 "his mouth as the mouth of a lion"
Rev 13:5 "a mouth speaking great things" (stoma laloun megala)
Rev 13:6 "he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God"
Rev 19:15 "out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword"
Rev 19:21 "slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth"

Key Finding -- Verbatim Greek from Daniel

  • Rev 13:5 "stoma laloun megala" = "a mouth speaking great things"
  • Dan 7:8 (LXX/Theodotion) "pum memalil rabrevan" (Aramaic) = "a mouth speaking great things"
  • The Greek of Rev 13:5 is a verbatim rendering of the Aramaic of Dan 7:8. This is one of the strongest verbal parallels between Revelation and Daniel.
  • The destruction imagery also connects: 2 Thess 2:8 "spirit of his mouth" (Christ's mouth destroys the lawless one) parallels Rev 19:15,21 (sword from Christ's mouth), with both drawing on Isa 11:4 "with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked."

G3173: megas -- great

Original: μέγας (megas) Transliteration: megas Part of Speech: Adjective Definition: Big; great (in any sense) BLB Count: 195 NT occurrences

Key Occurrences for This Study

Verse Text
Rev 13:5 "a mouth speaking great things" (megala, acc pl neuter)
Matt 24:21 "then shall be great tribulation"
Matt 24:24 "shall shew great signs and wonders"
Matt 24:31 "with a great sound of a trumpet"
Rev 6:17 "the great day of his wrath is come"
Rev 13:2 "the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority"
Rev 17:5 "Babylon the Great"

Key Finding

  • In Rev 13:5, megala is the translation equivalent of Aramaic rabrevan (Dan 7:8,11,20) -- "great things" = blasphemous boasts.
  • The word is too common (195x) for distribution analysis to be meaningful, but its specific combination with stoma + laleo in Rev 13:5 creates the verbatim Daniel parallel.

G1163: dei -- must/it is necessary

Original: δεῖ (dei) Transliteration: dei Part of Speech: Verb (impersonal, 3rd singular) Definition: It is (was) necessary; one must; it behooves BLB Count: 106 NT occurrences

Key Occurrences for This Study

Verse Text
Rev 1:1 "things which must shortly come to pass" (ha dei genesthai)
Rev 4:1 "things which must be hereafter" (ha dei genesthai)
Rev 22:6 "things which must shortly be done" (ha dei genesthai)
Matt 24:6 "these things must come to pass"
Mark 13:7 "such things must needs be"

Key Finding -- ha dei genesthai Inclusio

  • Dan 2:28 (LXX): "ha dei genesthai" = "the things which must come to pass" -- Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
  • Rev 1:1: "ha dei genesthai en tachei" = "things which must shortly come to pass" -- opening of Revelation.
  • Rev 22:6: "ha dei genesthai en tachei" = "things which must shortly be done" -- closing of Revelation.
  • The identical phrase from LXX Daniel 2:28 brackets the entire book of Revelation as an inclusio, explicitly positioning Revelation as the unsealing/fulfillment of Daniel's sealed prophecy.
  • Matt 24:6 and Mark 13:7 also echo this Daniel language in the Olivet Discourse.

G4972: sphragizo -- to seal

Original: σφραγίζω (sphragizo) Transliteration: sphragizo Part of Speech: Verb Definition: To stamp (with a signet or private mark) for security or preservation; to seal BLB Count: 27 NT occurrences

Key Occurrences for This Study

Verse Text
Dan 12:4 (LXX) "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end" (sphragison)
Rev 10:4 "Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered"
Rev 22:10 "Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book" (me sphragises)
Dan 9:24 "to seal up the vision and prophecy"
Rev 7:3-8 "sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads"
Rev 20:3 "and sealed him up" (Satan bound)

Key Finding -- The Sealed-to-Unsealed Arc

  • Dan 12:4: "chatom" (Hebrew imperative) = "seal the book" -- Daniel is commanded to seal his prophecy because "the time of the end" is still future.
  • Rev 22:10: "me sphragises" (Greek prohibitive subjunctive) = "DO NOT seal the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand."
  • Same verb (sphragizo), reversed command: Daniel seals; John is told NOT to seal.
  • The stated reason for the reversal: "the time is at hand" (Rev 22:10) vs "even to the time of the end" (Dan 12:4).
  • This structural reversal positions Revelation as the unsealed continuation of Daniel's sealed prophecy -- one of the strongest structural arguments for treating Daniel and Revelation as a unified prophetic corpus.

G1997: episynagoge -- gathering together

Original: ἐπισυναγωγή (episynagoge) Transliteration: episynagoge Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: A complete collection; especially a Christian meeting (assembly) BLB Count: 2 NT occurrences

All Occurrences

Verse Text
2 Thess 2:1 "by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him"
Heb 10:25 "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together"

Key Finding

  • Only 2 NT uses links the eschatological gathering (2 Thess 2:1) to the ongoing assembly of believers (Heb 10:25).
  • In context, Heb 10:25-29 transitions immediately from "assembling" to a warning about willful sin after knowledge of truth -- an apostasy passage. This connects to the 2 Thess 2 apostasy theme.

G500: antichristos -- antichrist

Original: ἀντίχριστος (antichristos) Transliteration: antichristos Part of Speech: Masculine noun Definition: An opponent of the Messiah; antichrist BLB Count: 5 NT occurrences (all Johannine)

All Occurrences

Verse Text
1 John 2:18a "ye have heard that antichrist shall come" (singular, future)
1 John 2:18b "even now are there many antichrists" (plural, present)
1 John 2:22 "He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son"
1 John 4:3 "this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world"
2 John 1:7 "This is a deceiver and an antichrist"

Key Finding -- Already/Not Yet Framework

  • Exclusively Johannine: The word antichristos appears only in John's epistles -- not in Paul, not in Revelation, not in the Gospels.
  • Dual framework: 1 John 2:18 presents both singular future ("antichrist shall come") and plural present ("many antichrists even now"). 1 John 4:3 reinforces: "even now already is it in the world."
  • This parallels Paul's "mystery of iniquity doth already work" (2 Thess 2:7) -- two independent authors attesting the same already-present, not-yet-complete antichrist dynamic.
  • John defines the spirit of antichrist as denial of the incarnation (1 John 4:3; 2 John 1:7), while Paul characterizes it as lawlessness and self-exaltation (2 Thess 2:3-4,8).

G602: apokalypsis -- revelation/disclosure

Original: ἀποκάλυψις (apokalypsis) Transliteration: apokalypsis Part of Speech: Feminine noun Definition: Disclosure; appearing, coming, manifestation, revelation BLB Count: 18 NT occurrences

Key Occurrences

Verse Text
Rev 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Apokalypsis Iesou Christou)
Rom 2:5 "the revelation of the righteous judgment of God"
Rom 16:25 "according to the revelation of the mystery"
1 Cor 14:6 "by revelation, or by knowledge, or by prophesying"
Gal 1:12 "by the revelation of Jesus Christ"
Eph 1:17 "the spirit of wisdom and revelation"
Eph 3:3 "by revelation he made known unto me the mystery"
2 Thess 1:7 "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven"
1 Pet 1:7 "at the appearing of Jesus Christ"
1 Pet 1:13 "the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ"

Key Finding

  • Rev 1:1 "Apokalypsis Iesou Christou" is the genre marker connecting the book to Daniel's apocalyptic visions.
  • The sealed-to-unsealed arc gives specific content to this "revelation": what Daniel sealed, John now reveals.
  • Paul also uses apokalypsis for the revealing of the man of sin (2 Thess 2:3,6,8 use apokalypto, the verbal form).

G950: bebaioo -- confirm/establish

Original: βεβαιόω (bebaioo) Transliteration: bebaioo Part of Speech: Verb Definition: To stabilitate; to confirm; to establish BLB Count: 8 NT occurrences

All Occurrences

Verse Text
Mark 16:20 "confirming the word with signs following"
Rom 15:8 "to confirm the promises made unto the fathers"
1 Cor 1:6 "the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you"
1 Cor 1:8 "Who shall also confirm you unto the end"
2 Cor 1:21 "he which stablisheth us with you in Christ"
Col 2:7 "stablished in the faith"
Heb 2:3 "was confirmed unto us by them that heard him"
Heb 13:9 "the heart be established with grace"

Key Finding

  • Rom 15:8 "to confirm the promises made unto the fathers" uses covenant confirmation language.
  • Dan 9:27 "he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week" uses the same conceptual vocabulary of covenant confirmation, though the Hebrew gabar ("make strong/prevail") has a different shade than bebaioo.
  • The connection is conceptual rather than lexical.

Summary of Cross-Reference Chains

Chain 1: Abomination of Desolation

G946 bdelygma + G2050 eremosis --> Matt 24:15 / Mark 13:14 --> Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 (LXX bdelygma = Hebrew shiqquts)

Chain 2: Lawlessness/Anomia

G458 anomia + G459 anomos --> Dan 7:25 "change laws" --> Matt 24:12 "anomia abound" --> 2 Thess 2:7 "mystery of anomia" --> 2 Thess 2:8 "ho anomos" --> 1 John 3:4 "sin = anomia"

Chain 3: Son of Perdition

G684 apoleia --> John 17:12 (Judas) --> 2 Thess 2:3 (man of sin) --> Rev 17:8,11 (beast)

Chain 4: Mouth Speaking Great Things

G4750 stoma + G3173 megas --> Dan 7:8 (Aramaic pum memalil rabrevan) --> Rev 13:5 (Greek stoma laloun megala)

Chain 5: Sealed to Unsealed

G4972 sphragizo --> Dan 12:4 "seal the book" --> Rev 22:10 "seal NOT the book"

Chain 6: Ha Dei Genesthai

G1163 dei --> Dan 2:28 (LXX) --> Rev 1:1 (opening) --> Rev 22:6 (closing inclusio)

Chain 7: Temple/Naos Pattern

G3485 naos --> 1 Cor 3:16 / 2 Cor 6:16 / Eph 2:21 (church = naos) --> 2 Thess 2:4 (man of sin sits in naos)

Chain 8: Already/Not Yet

G500 antichristos (John) + G458 anomia (Paul) --> 1 John 2:18 "even now many antichrists" + 2 Thess 2:7 "mystery of anomia already works"