Text -- 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 (NET)

2:16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 2:17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good thing you do or say.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Th 2:16

And God our Father ( kai ̣hǒ theos ho patēr hēmōn ).

It is uncertain whether the first article ho is genuine as it is absent in B D. Usually Paul has the Father before Christ except here, 2Co 13:13; Gal 1:1.

Robertson: 2Th 2:16

Which loved us ( ho agapēsas hēmas ).

This singular articular participle refers to ho patēr , "though it is difficult to see how St. Paul could otherwise have expressed his thought, if he had intended to refer to the Son, as well as to the Father. There is probably no instance in St. Paul of a plural adjective or verb, when the two Persons of the Godhead are mentioned"(Lightfoot).

Robertson: 2Th 2:16

Eternal comfort ( paraklēsin aiōnian ).

Distinct feminine form of aiōnios here instead of masculine as in Mat 25:46.

Robertson: 2Th 2:17

Comfort and stablish ( parakalesai kai stērixai ).

First aorist active optative of wish for the future of two common verbs parakaleō (see 1Th 3:7; 1Th 4:18; 1Th 5:14) and sterizō (see 1Th 3:2, 1Th 3:13). God is the God of comfort (2Co 1:3-7) and strength (Rom 1:11; Rom 16:25).

Vincent: 2Th 2:16

Through grace ( ἐν χάριτι )

Better, in grace , as the element of God's gift. Const. with hath given , not with hath loved and hath given .

JFB: 2Th 2:16-17

By His own might, as contrasted with our feebleness; ensuring the efficacy of our prayer. Here our Lord Jesus stands first; in 1Th 3:11, "God our Father."

JFB: 2Th 2:16-17

In the work of our redemption. Referring both to our Lord Jesus (Rom 8:37; Gal 2:20) and God our Father (Joh 3:16).

JFB: 2Th 2:16-17

Not transitory, as worldly consolations in trials (Rom 8:38-39). This for all time present, and then "good hope" for the future [ALFORD].

JFB: 2Th 2:16-17

Rather as Greek "IN grace"; to be joined to "hath given." Grace is the element in which the gift was made.

JFB: 2Th 2:17

Unsettled as you have been through those who announced the immediate coming of the Lord.

JFB: 2Th 2:17

The oldest manuscripts invert the order, "work and word." Establishment in these were what the young converts at Thessalonica needed, not fanatical teaching (compare 1Co 15:58).

Clarke: 2Th 2:16

Now our Lord Jesus - As all your grace came from God through Christ, so the power that is necessary to strengthen and confirm you unto the end must come in the same way

Clarke: 2Th 2:16

Everlasting consolation - Παρακλησιν αιωνιαν· The glad tidings of the Gospel, and the comfort which ye have received through believing; a gift which God had in his original purpose, in reference to the Gentiles; a purpose which has respected all times and places, and which shall continue to the conclusion of time; for the Gospel is everlasting, and shall not be superseded by any other dispensation. It is the last and best which God has provided for man; and it is good tidings, everlasting consolation - a complete system of complete peace and happiness. The words may also refer to the happiness which the believing Thessalonians then possessed

Clarke: 2Th 2:16

And good hope through grace - The hope of the Gospel was the resurrection of the body, and the final glorification of it and the soul throughout eternity. This was the good hope which the Thessalonians had; not a hope that they should be pardoned or sanctified, etc. Pardon and holiness they enjoyed, therefore they were no objects of hope; but the resurrection of the body and eternal glory were necessarily future; these they had in expectation; these they hoped for; and, through the grace which they had already received they had a good hope - a well-grounded expectation, of this glorious state.

Clarke: 2Th 2:17

Comfort your hearts - Keep your souls ever under the influence of his Holy Spirit: and stablish you - confirm and strengthen you in your belief of every good word or doctrine, which we have delivered unto you; and in the practice of every good work, recommended and enjoined by the doctrines of the Gospel. It is not enough that we believe the truth; we must love the truth

Antinomianism says: "Believe the doctrines, and ye are safe."The testimony borne by the Gospel is: Believe, love, obey: none of these can subsist without the other. The faith of a devil may exist without loving obedience; but the faith of a true believer worketh by love; and this faith and love have not respect to some one commandment, but to all; for God writes his whole law on the heart of every genuine Christian, and gives him that love which is the fulfilling of the law

The reader will have observed that, in going through this chapter, while examining the import of every leading word, I have avoided fixing any specific meaning to terms: the apostasy or falling away; the man of sin; son of perdition; him who letteth or withholdeth, etc. The reason is, I have found it extremely difficult to fix any sense to my own satisfaction; and it was natural for me to think that, if I could not satisfy myself, it was not likely I could satisfy my readers. But, as something should be said relative to the persons and things intended by the apostle, I choose to give rather what others have said, than attempt any new mode of interpretation. The great variety of explanations given by wise and learned men only prove the difficulty of the place

1.    The general run of Protestant writers understand the whole as referring to the popes and Church of Rome, or the whole system of the papacy

2.    Others think that the defection of the Jewish nation, from their allegiance to the Roman emperor, is what is to be understood by the apostasy or falling off; and that all the other terms refer to the destruction of Jerusalem

3.    The fathers understood the Antichrist to be intended, but of this person they seem to have formed no specific idea

4.    Dr. Hammond refers the apostasy to the defection of the primitive Christians to the Gnostic heresy; and supposes that, by the man of sin and son of perdition, Simon Magus is meant

5.    Grotius applies the whole to Caius Caesar

6.    Wetstein applies the apostasy to the rebellion and slaughter of the three princes that were proclaimed by the Roman armies, previously to the reign of Vespasian; and supposes Titus and the Flavian family to be intended by the man of sin and son of perdition

7.    Schoettgen contends strongly that the whole refers to the case of the Jews, incited to rebellion by the scribes and Pharisees, and to the utter and final destruction of the rabbinic and Pharisaic system; and thinks he finds something in their spirit and conduct, and in what has happened to them, to illustrate every word in this prophecy. Dr. Whitby is nearly of the same sentiments

8.    Calmet follows, in the main, the interpretation given by the ancient fathers; and wonders at the want of candour in the Protestant writers, who have gleaned up every abusive tale against the bishops and Church of Rome; and asks them, would they be willing that the Catholics should credit all the aspersions cast on Protestantism by its enemies

9.    Bishop Newton has examined the whole prophecy with his usual skill and judgment. The sum of what he says, as abridged by Dr. Dodd, I think it right to subjoin. The principal part of modern commentators follow his steps. He applies the whole to the Romish Church: the apostasy, its defection from the pure doctrines of Christianity; and the man of sin, etc. the general succession of the popes of Rome. But we must hear him for himself, as he takes up the subject in the order of the verses

Clarke: 2Th 2:17

    2Th 2:3, 2Th 2:4. For that day shall not come, except, etc. - " The day of Christ shall not come except there come the apostasy first."The apostasy here described is plainly not of a civil but of a religious nature; not a revolt from the government, but a defection from the true religion and worship. In the original, it is the apostasy, with an article to give it an emphasis; the article being added signifies, "that famous and before-mentioned prophecy."So likewise is the man of sin with the like article, and the like emphasis. If, then, the notion of the man of sin be derived from any ancient prophet, it must be derived from Dan 7:25; Dan 11:36. Any man may be satisfied that St. Paul alluded to Daniel’ s description, because he has not only borrowed the same ideas, but has even adopted some of the phrases and expressions. The man of sin may signify either a single man, or a succession of men; a succession of men being meant in Daniel, it is probable that the same was intended here also. It is the more probable, because a single man appears hardly sufficient for the work here assigned; and it is agreeable to the phraseology of Scripture, and especially to that of the prophets, to speak of a body or number of men, under the character of one: thus, a king, Dan 7:8; Revelation 17:1-18, is used for a succession of kings. The man of sin being to be expressed from Dan 7:24, according to the Greek translation, He shall exceed in evil all that went before him; and he may fulfill the character either by promoting wickedness in general, or by advancing idolatry in particular, as the word sin signifies frequently in Scripture. The son of perdition is also the denomination of the traitor Judas, Joh 17:12, which implies that the man of sin should be, like Judas, a false apostle; like him, betray Christ; and, like him, be devoted to destruction. Who opposeth, etc., is manifestly copied from Daniel, He shall exalt himself, etc. The features exactly resemble each other: He opposeth and exalteth himself above all; or, according to the Greek, above every one that is called God, or that is worshipped. The Greek word for worshipped is σεβασμα, alluding to the Greek title of the Roman emperors, σεβαστος, which signifies august or venerable. He shall oppose; for the prophets speak of things future as present; he shall oppose and exalt himself, not only above inferior magistrates, (who are sometimes called gods in holy writ), but even above the greatest emperors; and shall arrogate to himself Divine honors. So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple, etc. By the temple of God the apostle could not well mean the temple of Jerusalem; because that, he knew, would be destroyed within a few years. After the death of Christ the temple of Jerusalem is never called by the apostles the temple of God; and if at any time they make mention of the house or temple of God, they mean the Church in general, or every particular believer. Who ever will consult 1Co 3:16, 1Co 3:17; 2Co 6:16; 1Ti 3:15; Rev 3:12; will want no examples to prove that, under the Gospel dispensation, the temple of God is the Church of Christ; and the man of sin sitting implies this ruling and presiding there; and sitting there as God implies his claiming Divine authority in things spiritual as well as temporal; and showing himself that he is God, implies his doing it with ostentation

Clarke: 2Th 2:17

    2Th 2:5, 2Th 2:6, 2Th 2:7. Remember ye not, etc. - The apostle thought it part of his duty, as he made it a part of his preaching and doctrine, to forewarn his new converts of the grand apostasy that would infect the Church, even while he was at Thessalonica. From these verses it appears that the man of sin was not then revealed; his time was not yet come, or the season of his manifestation. The mystery of iniquity was indeed already working; the seeds of corruption were sown, but they were not grown up to maturity; the man of sin was yet hardly conceived in the womb; it must be some time before he could be brought forth; there was some obstacle that hindered his appearing. What this was we cannot determine with absolute certainty at so great a distance of time; but if we may rely upon the concurrent testimony of the fathers, it was the Roman empire. Most probably it was somewhat relating to the higher powers, because the apostle observes such caution; he mentioned it in discourse, but would not commit it to writing

Clarke: 2Th 2:17

    2Th 2:8. Then shall that Wicked be revealed - When the obstacle, mentioned in the preceding verse, should be removed, then shall that wicked, etc. Nothing can be plainer than that the lawless, ( ὁ ανομος ), as the Greek signifies, the wicked one, here mentioned, and the man of sin, must be one and the same person. The apostle was speaking before of what hindered that he should be revealed, and would continue to hinder it till it was taken away; and then the wicked one, etc. Not that he should be consumed immediately after he was revealed. But the apostle, to comfort the Thessalonians, no sooner mentions his revelation than he foretells also his destruction, even before he describes his other qualifications. His other qualifications should have been described first, in order of time; but the apostle hastens to what was first and warmest in his thoughts and wishes: Whom the Lord shall consume, etc. If these two clauses refer to two distinct and different events, the meaning manifestly is, that the Lord Jesus shall gradually consume him with the free preaching and publication of his word; and shall utterly destroy him at his second coming, in the glory of his Father, with all the holy angels. If these two clauses relate to one and the same event, it is a pleonasm very usual in the sacred, as well as other oriental writings; and the purport plainly is, that the Lord Jesus shall destroy him with the greatest facility, when he shall be revealed from heaven, as the apostle has expressed it in the preceding chapter

Clarke: 2Th 2:17

    2Th 2:9-12. Whose coming is after, etc. - The apostle was eager to foretell the destruction of the man of sin; and for this purpose having broken in upon his subject, he now returns to it again, and describes the other qualifications by which this wicked one should advance and establish himself in the world. He should rise to credit and authority by the most diabolical methods; should pretend to supernatural powers; and boast of revelations, visions, and miracles, false in themselves, and applied to promote false doctrines

Clarke: 2Th 2:17

    2Th 2:9. He should likewise practice all other wicked acts of deceit; should be guilty of the most impious frauds and impositions upon mankind; but should prevail only among those who are destitute of a sincere affection for the truth; whereby they might attain eternal salvation

    2Th 2:10. And indeed it is a just and righteous judgment of God, to give them over to vanities and lies in this world, and to condemnation in the next, who have no regard to truth and virtue, but delight in falsehood and wickedness; 2Th 2:11, 2Th 2:12

Upon this survey there appears little room to doubt of the genuine sense and meaning of the passage. The Thessalonians, as we have seen from some expressions in the former epistle, were alarmed as if the end of the world was at hand. The apostle, to correct their mistake and dissipate their fears, assures them that a great apostasy, or defection of the Christians from the true faith and worship, must happen before the coming of Christ. This apostasy all the concurrent marks and characters will justify us in charging upon the Church of Rome. The true Christian worship is the worship of the one only God, through the one only Mediator, the man Christ Jesus; and from this worship the Church of Rome has most notoriously departed, by substituting other mediators, and invocating and adoring saints and angels, nothing is apostasy, if idolatry be not. And are not the members of the Church of Rome guilty of idolatry in the worship of images, in the adoration of the host, in the invocation of angels and saints, and in the oblation of prayers and praises to the Virgin Mary, as much or more than to God blessed for ever? This is the grand corruption of the Christian Church: this is the apostasy as it is emphatically called, and deserves to be called; which was not only predicted by St. Paul, but by the Prophet Daniel likewise. If the apostasy be rightly charged upon the Church of Rome, it follows of consequence that the man of sin is the pope; not meaning any pope in particular, but the pope in general, as the chief head and supporter of this apostasy. He is properly the man of sin, not only on account of the scandalous lives of many popes, but by reason of their most scandalous doctrines and principles; dispensing with the most necessary duties; and granting, or rather selling, pardons and indulgences to the most abominable crimes. Or, if by sin be meant idolatry in particular, as in the Old Testament, it is evident how he has perverted the worship of God to superstition and idolatry of the grossest kind. He also, like the false apostle, Judas, is the son of perdition; whether actively, as being the cause of destruction to others; or passively, as being devoted to destruction himself. He opposeth - he is the great adversary of God and man; persecuting and destroying, by croisades, inquisitions, and massacres, those Christians who prefer the word of God to the authority of men. The heathen emperor of Rome may have slain his thousands of innocent Christians; but the Christian bishop of Rome has slain his ten thousands. He exalteth himself above all that is called God, or is worshipped - not only above inferior magistrates, but likewise above bishops and primates; not only above bishops and primates, but likewise above kings and emperors; deposing some, obliging them to kiss his toe, to hold his stirrup, treading even upon the neck of a king, and kicking off the imperial crown with his foot; nay, not only kings and emperors, but likewise above Christ and God himself; making even the word of God of none effect by his traditions - forbidding what God has commanded; as marriage, the use of the Scriptures, etc.; and also commanding or allowing what God has forbidden, as idolatry, persecution, etc. So that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, etc.; he is therefore in profession a Christian, and a Christian bishop. His sitting in the temple of God implies plainly his having a seat or cathedra in the Christian Church; and he sitteth there as God, especially at his inauguration, when he sits upon the high altar in St. Peter’ s church, and makes the table of the Lord his footstool, and in that position receives adoration. At all times he exercises Divine authority in the Church, showing himself that he is God - affecting Divine titles, and asserting that his decrees are of the same or greater authority than the word of God. So that the pope is evidently, according to the titles given him in the public decretals, The God upon earth; at least there is no one, like him, who exalteth himself above every god; no one, like him, who sitteth as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. The foundations of popery were laid in the apostle’ s days, but of which the superstructure was raised by degrees; and several ages passed before the building was completed, and the man of sin revealed in full perfection. The tradition that generally prevailed was that that which hindered was the Roman empire: this tradition might have been derived even from the apostle himself; and therefore the primitive Christians, in the public offices of the Church, prayed for its peace and welfare, as knowing that, when the Roman empire should be dissolved and broken in pieces, the empire of the man of sin would be raised upon its ruins. In the same proportion as the power of the empire decreased, the authority of the Church increased, and the latter at the expense and ruin of the former; till at length the pope grew up above all, and the wicked, or lawless one, was fully manifested and revealed. His coming is after the energy of Satan, etc; and does it require any particular proof that the pretensions of the pope, and the corruption of the Church of Rome, are all supported and authorized by feigned visions and miracles, by pious frauds and impositions of every kind? But how much soever the man of sin may be exalted, and how long soever he may reign, yet at last the Lord shall consume him, etc. This is partly taken from Isa 11:4, And with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked one; where the Jews put an emphasis upon the words the wicked one; as appears from the Chaldee, which renders it, "He shall destroy the wicked Roman."If the two clauses, as said in the note on 2Th 2:8 (note), relate to two different events, the meaning is, "that the Lord Jesus shall gradually consume him with the free preaching of the Gospel; and shall utterly destroy him at his second coming in the glory of the Father."The former began to take effect at the Reformation; and the latter will be accomplished in God’ s appointed time. The man of sin is now upon the decline, and he will be totally abolished when Christ shall come in judgment. Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, Lactantius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Ambrose, Hilary, Jerome, Augustine, and Chrysostom, give much the same interpretation that has here been given of the whole passage. And it must be owned that this is the genuine meaning of the apostle; that this only is consistent with the context; that every other interpretation is forced and unnatural; that this is liable to no material objection; that it coincides perfectly with Daniel; that it is agreeable to the tradition of the primitive Church; and that it has been exactly fulfilled in all its particulars; which cannot be said of any other interpretation whatever. Such a prophecy as this is an illustrious proof of Divine revelation, and an excellent antidote to the poison of popery

See the Dissertations on the Prophecies; and Dodd, as above

10.    Dr. Macknight proceeds, in general, on the plan of Bishop Newton; but, as he thinks that the apostle had the prophecy of Daniel, in Dan. 7, and 8, particularly in view, he collates his words with those of the prophet in the following way: -

    2Th 2:3. That man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition - Ὁ ανθρωπος της ἁμαρτιας, ὁ υἱος της απωλειας· "The article,"says he, "joined to these appellations, is emphatical, as in the former clause, importing that the ancient prophets had spoken of these persons, though under different names; particularly the Prophet Daniel, whose description of the little horn and blasphemous king agrees so exactly in meaning with Paul’ s descriptions of the man of sin, and son of perdition, and lawless one, that there can be little doubt of their being the same persons; but this will best appear by a comparison of the passages: -

2Th 2:3. And that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.	Dan 7:21. And the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them Dan 7:25. And he shall speak great words against the Most High; and shall wear out the saints of the Most High.
2Th 2:4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.	Dan 11:36. And the king shall do according to his will; and he; shall exalt himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods Dan 8:25. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes.
2Th 2:7. Only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.	Dan 7:8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots.
2Th 2:8. And there shall that wicked one be revealed.	Dan 7:25. And he shall think to change times and laws, and they shall be given into his hand. See Dan 8:24.
1Ti 4:1. Giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils.	Dan 11:38. In his estate he shall honor the god of forces (Mahuzzim, gods who are protectors, that is, tutelary angels and saints.)
1Ti 4:3. Forbidding to marry.	Dan 11:37. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women.
2Th 2:8. Whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.	Dan 7:11. I beheld then, because of his of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame Dan 7:26. And they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end Dan 8:25. He shall be broken without hand.

    After entering into great detail in his notes, he sums up in the following manner: - "Now as, in the prophecies of Daniel, empires governed by a succession of kings are denoted by a single emblem; such as, by a part of an image, a single beast, a horn, etc., of a beast; so in Paul’ s prophecy, the man of sin, and son of perdition, and the lawless one, may denote an impious tyranny, exercised by a succession of men who cause great misery and ruin to others; and who, at length, shall be destroyed themselves. It is true, the papists contend that one person only is meant by these appellations, because they are in the singular number, and have the Greek article prefixed to them. But in Scripture we find other words in the singular number, with the article, used to denote a multitude of persons; for example, Rom 1:17; ὁ δικαιος, the just one, by faith, shall live; that is, all just persons whatever: Tit 1:7; ὁ επισκοπος, the bishop must be blameless; that is, all bishops must be so: 2Jo 1:7; ὁ πλανος, the deceiver, signifies many deceivers, as is plain from the preceding clause, where many deceivers are said to have gone out. In like manner the false teachers, who deceived Christ’ s servants to commit fornication and idolatry, are called that woman Jezebel, Rev 2:20, and the whore of Babylon, Rev 17:5; and in this prophecy, Rev 17:7, the Roman emperors, and magistrates under them, are called ὁ κατεχων, he who restraineth. Farther, a succession of persons, arising one after another, is denoted by appellations in the singular number with the article; for example: the succession of the Jewish high priests is thus denoted in the laws concerning them, Lev 21:10, Lev 21:15; Num 35:25-28. As also the succession of the Jewish kings, Deu 17:14; 1Sa 8:11. From these examples, therefore, it is plain that the names, man of sin, son of perdition, lawless one, although in the singular number, and with the article prefixed, may, according to the Scripture idiom, denote a multitude, and even a succession of persons arising one after another

    "The facts and circumstances mentioned in these prophecies are, for the most part, so peculiarly marked, that they will not easily apply, except to the persons and events intended by the Spirit of God. And therefore, in every case where different interpretations have been given of any prophecy, the proper method of ascertaining its meaning is to compare the various events to which it is thought to relate with the words of the prophecy, and to adopt that as the event intended which most exactly agrees in all its parts to the prophetic description

    "According to this rule, though many different interpretations have been given of the prophecy under consideration, that, in my opinion, will appear the best founded which makes it a prediction of the corruptions of Christianity, which began to be introduced into the Church in the apostle’ s days, and wrought secretly all the time the heathen magistrates persecuted the Christians, but which showed themselves more openly after the empire received the faith of Christ, a.d. 312, and, by a gradual progress, ended in the monstrous errors and usurpations of the bishops of Rome, when the restraining power of the emperors was taken out of the way by the incursions of the barbarous nations, and the breaking of the empire into the ten kingdoms prefigured by the ten horns of Daniel’ s fourth beast. Now, to be convinced of this, we need only compare the rise and progress of the papal tyranny with the descriptions of the man of sin, and of the mystery of iniquity, given in the writings of Daniel and Paul

    "And first, we have shown in note 1, on 2Th 2:7, that the mystery of iniquity, or the corrupt doctrines which ended in the errors and usurpations of the see of Rome, was working secretly in the apostle’ s days, as he affirms, 2Th 2:7; and that the power of the Roman emperors, and of the magistrates under them, was that which then, and during the succeeding ages, restrained the mystery of iniquity in its working, and the man of sin from revealing himself. For, while the power of the state continued in the hands of the heathen rulers, and while they employed that power in persecuting the Christians, the corrupt doctrines and practices introduced by the false teachers did not spread so fast as otherwise they would have done. At least they were not produced to public view as the decisions of Heaven, to which all men were bound to pay implicit obedience. But, after the heathen magistrates were taken out of the way by the conversion of Constantine, and after he and his successors called the Christian bishops to meet in general councils, and enforced their assumption of Divine authority by the civil power; then did they in these councils arrogate to themselves the right of establishing what articles of faith and discipline they thought proper, and of anathematizing all who rejected their decrees; a claim which, in after times, the bishops of Rome transferred from general councils to themselves. It was in this period that the worship of saints and angels was introduced; celibacy was praised as the highest piety; meats of certain kinds were prohibited; and a variety of superstitious mortifications of the body were enjoined by the decrees of councils, in opposition to the express laws of God. In this period, likewise, idolatry and superstition were recommended to the people by false miracles, and every deceit which wickedness could suggest; such as the miraculous cures pretended to be performed by the bones and other relics of the martyrs, in order to induce the ignorant vulgar to worship them as mediators; the feigned visions of angels, who they said had appeared to this or that hermit, to recommend celibacy, fastings, mortifications of the body, and living in solitude; the apparitions of souls from purgatory, who begged that certain superstitions might be practised, for delivering them from that confinement: by all which, those assemblies of ecclesiastics, who by their decrees enjoined these practices, showed themselves to be the man of sin, and lawless one, in his first form, whose coming was to be with all power, and signs, and miracles of falsehood; and who opposed every one that is called god, or that is worshipped. For these general councils, by introducing the worship of saints and angels, robbed God of the worship due to him; and, by substituting saints and angels as mediators, in the place of Christ, they degraded him from his office as mediator, or rendered it altogether useless. However, though they thus opposed God and Christ by their unrighteous decrees, they did not yet exalt themselves above every one who is called God, or an object of worship; neither did they sit yet in the temple of God, as God, and openly show themselves to be God. These blasphemous extravagances were to be acted in after times by a number of particular persons in succession, I mean by the bishops of Rome, after the power of the Christian Roman emperors and of the magistrates under them, was taken out of the way. For the bishops of that see, having very early obtained from the Christian emperors decrees in their own favor, soon raised themselves above all other bishops; and, by a variety of artifices, made the authority and influence of the whole body of the clergy center in themselves; and claimed that infallible authority which was formerly exercised by general councils, of making articles of faith; and of establishing rules of discipline for the whole Christian community; and of determining, in the last resort, all differences among the clergy; and of anathematizing every one who did not submit to their unrighteous decisions. In this manner did the bishops of Rome establish in their own persons a spiritual dominion over the whole Christian world. But not content with this height of power, by dexterously employing the credit and influence which the ecclesiastics, now devoted to their will, had over the laity in all the countries where they lived, they interfered in many civil matters also; till at length they reared that intolerable fabric of spiritual and civil tyranny conjoined, whereby the understandings, the persons, and the properties, not of the laity only, but also of the clergy themselves, have for along time been most grievously enthralled, in all the countries where Christianity was professed

    "This height, however, of spiritual and civil tyranny united, the bishops of Rome did not attain till, as the apostle foretold, that which restrained was taken out of the way; or, till an end was put to the authority of the Roman emperors in the west, by the inroads of the barbarous nations; and, more especially, till the western empire was broken into the ten kingdoms, prefigured in Daniel’ s vision by the ten horns of the fourth beast; for then it was that the bishops of Rome made themselves the sovereigns of Rome and of its territory, and so became the little horn which Daniel beheld coming up among the ten horns, and which had the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things; to show that its dominion was founded on the deepest policy, and that its strength consisted in the bulls, excommunications, and anathemas, which, with intolerable audacity, it uttered against all who opposed its usurpations. And in process of time, the bishops of Rome having got possession of three of the kingdoms into which the western empire was broken, signified by three of the horns of Daniel’ s fourth beast being plucked up by the roots before the little horn, they call themselves the vicars of Christ, on pretense that Christ had transferred his whole authority to them. They also thought to change times and laws, as Daniel foretold; for, as the vicars of Christ, they assumed the power of saving and damning men at their own pleasure; and altered the terms of salvation, making it depend, not on faith and holiness, but on the superstitious practices which they had established; and sold the pardon of sins past, and even the liberty of sinning for the future, for money. Moreover, they openly made war with the saints who resisted their corrupt doctrines and practices, and prevailed against them, and wore out the saints of the Most High; for, by the cruel and bloody persecutions which they obliged the princes who acknowledged their authority to carry on against those who adhered to the pure doctrines and worship of Christ, they destroyed incredible numbers of them. Nay, by the terror of their excommunications and interdicts, they forced even the most powerful sovereigns to bend to their yoke: thus with their mouth did they speak very great things. At length they assumed the right of conferring kingdoms and of deposing princes, and actually deposed some, with the help of the potentates of their communion, who put their mandates in execution. Lastly, to render this exercise of their tyranny the more effectual, they arrogated the power of loosing subjects from their oaths of allegiance; whereby they made void the most sacred of all moral obligations, the obligation of allegiance. But this impious scheme of false doctrine, and the spiritual tyranny built upon it, agreeably to the predictions of the Prophet Daniel and of the Apostle Paul, began at the Reformation to be consumed by the breath of the Lord’ s mouth; that is, by the Scriptures put into the hands of the laity, and by the preaching of true doctrine out of the Scriptures

    "Upon the whole, I think every impartial person who attentively considers the foregoing sketch must be sensible that, in the bishops of Rome, all the characters and actions ascribed by Daniel to the little horn, and by Paul to the man of sin and the lawless one, are clearly united. For, according to the strong workings of Satan, with all power, and signs, and miracles of falsehood, they have opposed Christ, and exalted themselves above all that is called god, or an object of worship; and have long sat in the temple of God, as God, showing themselves that they are God: that is, they exercise the power and prerogatives of God. And seeing, in the acquisition and exercise of their spiritual tyranny, they have trampled upon all laws, human and Divine; and have encouraged their votaries in the most enormous acts of wickedness; the Spirit of God has, with the greatest propriety, given them the appellations of the man of sin, the son of perdition, and the lawless one. Farther, as it is said the man of sin was to be revealed in his season, there can be little doubt that the dark ages, in which all learning was overturned by the irruption of the northern barbarians, were the season allotted to the man of sin for revealing himself. Accordingly, we know that in these ages the corruptions of Christianity and the usurpations of the clergy were carried to the greatest height. In short, the annals of the world cannot produce persons and events to which the things written in this passage can be applied with so much fitness as to the bishops of Rome. Why then should we be in any doubt concerning the interpretation and application of this famous prophecy

    "At the conclusion of our explication of the prophecy concerning the man of sin, it may be proper to observe, that the events foretold in it being such as never took place in the world before, and, in all probability, never will take place in it again; the foreknowledge of them was certainly a matter out of the reach of human conjecture or foresight. It is evident, therefore, that this prophecy, which from the beginning has stood on record, taken in conjunction with the accomplishment of it verified by the concurrent testimony of history, affords an illustrious proof of the Divine original of that revelation of which it makes a part, and of the inspiration of the person from whose mouth it proceeded."See Dr. Macknight’ s Commentary and Notes, vol. iii., p. 100, etc

With all this evidence before him, the intelligent reader will now be enabled to judge for himself, and to adopt for his own that opinion which appears to be the best supported by circumstances and facts. The labors of the above learned men have certainly narrowed the principal subjects of inquiry; and we may now safely state that, in this very obscure prophecy, the Spirit of God had in view either the Jewish or an apostate Christian Church, possessing great spiritual and secular influence and jurisdiction. That the words appear to apply best to the conduct of many of the popes, and the corruptions of the Romish Church, needs no proof; but to which of these Churches, or to what other Church or system, we should apply them, some men, as eminent for their piety as for their learning, hesitate to declare: yet I must acknowledge, that the most pointed part of the evidence here adduced tends to fix the whole on the Romish Church, and on none other

Whatever may be intended here by the words mystery of iniquity, we may safely assert that it is a mystery of iniquity to deny the use of the sacred Scriptures to the common people; and that the Church that does so is afraid to come to the light. Nothing can be more preposterous and monstrous than to call people to embrace the doctrines of Christianity, and refuse them the opportunity of consulting the book in which they are contained. Persons who are denied the use of the sacred writings may be manufactured into different forms and modes; and be mechanically led to believe certain dogmas, and perform certain religious acts; but without the use of the Scriptures, they never can be intelligent Christians; they do not search the Scriptures, and therefore they cannot know Him of whom these Scriptures testify. The mystery of iniquity contained in this prohibition works now, and has worked long; but did it work in the apostles’ times? Did it work in the Church at Thessalonica? Is it possible that the present crop should have been produced from so remote a seed? What does that most solemn adjuration of the apostle, 1Th 5:27, mean? I charge you by the Lord, that this epistle be Read unto All the holy brethren. Why was such a charge necessary? Why should it be given in so awful a manner? Does it not absolutely imply that there would be attempts made to keep all the holy brethren from seeing this epistle? And can we conceive that less was referred to in the delivery of this very awful adjuration? This mystery of iniquity did work then in the Christian Church; even then attempts were made to hide the Scriptures from the common people. And does not this one consideration serve more to identify the prophecy than any thing else? Let him that readeth understand. See the notes on 1Th 5:27, and at the end of that chapter (note).

Calvin: 2Th 2:16

16.Now the Lord himself. When he ascribes to Christ a work altogether Divine, and represents him, in common with the Father, as the Author of the choicest blessings, as we have in this a clear proof of the divinity of Christ, so we are admonished, that we cannot obtain anything from God unless we seek it in Christ himself: and when he asks that God may give him those things which he had enjoined, he shews clearly enough how little influence exhortations have, unless God inwardly move and affect our hearts. Unquestionably there will be but an empty sound striking upon the ear, if doctrine does not receive efficacy from the Spirit.

What he afterwards adds, who hath loved you, and hath given consolation, etc., relates to confidence in asking; for he would have the Thessalonians feel persuaded that God will do what he prays for. And from what does he prove this? Because he once shewed that they were dear to him, while he has already conferred upon them distinguished favors, and in this manner has bound himself to them for the time to come. This is what he means by everlasting consolation. The term hope, also, has the same object in view — that they may confidently expect a never-failing continuance of gifts. But what does he ask? That God may sustain their hearts by his consolation; for this is his office, to keep them from giving way through anxiety or distrust; and farther, that he may give them perseverance, both in a pious and holy course of life, and in sound doctrine; for I am of opinion, that it is rather of this than of common discourse that he speaks, so that this agrees with what goes before.

TSK: 2Th 2:16

our Lord : 2Th 1:1, 2Th 1:2; Rom 1:7; 1Th 3:11

which : 2Th 2:13; Joh 3:16, Joh 13:1, Joh 15:9, Joh 15:13; Rom 5:8; Eph 2:4, Eph 2:5, Eph 5:2, Eph 5:25; Tit 3:4-7; 1Jo 3:16, 1Jo 4:9, 1Jo 4:10; Rev 1:5, Rev 3:9

everlasting : Psa 103:17; Isa 35:10, Isa 51:11, Isa 60:19, Isa 60:20, Isa 61:7; Luk 16:25; Joh 4:14; Joh 14:16-18, Joh 16:22; 2Co 4:17, 2Co 4:18; Heb 6:18; 1Pe 1:5-8; Rev 7:16, Rev 7:17; Rev 22:5

good : Rom 5:2-5, Rom 8:24, Rom 8:25; Col 1:5, Col 1:23; 1Th 1:3; Tit 1:2, Tit 2:13; Heb 6:11; Heb 6:12, Heb 6:19, Heb 7:19; 1Pe 1:3-5; 1Jo 3:2, 1Jo 3:3

through : Act 15:11, Act 18:27; Rom 4:4, Rom 4:16, Rom 5:2, Rom 11:5, Rom 11:6

TSK: 2Th 2:17

Comfort : 2Th 2:16; Isa 51:3, Isa 51:12, Isa 57:15, Isa 61:1, Isa 61:2, Isa 66:13; Rom 15:13; 2Co 1:3-6

stablish : 2Th 3:3; Isa 62:7; Rom 1:11, Rom 16:25; 1Co 1:8; 2Co 1:21; Col 2:7; 1Th 3:2, 1Th 3:13; Heb 13:9; 1Pe 5:10; Jud 1:24

in : Jam 1:21, Jam 1:22; 1Jo 3:18

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Th 2:16

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself - This expression is equivalent to this: "I pray our Lord Jesus, and our Father, to comfort you."It is really a prayer offered to the Saviour - a recognition of Christ as the source of consolation as well as the Father, and a union of his name with that of the Father in invoking important blessings. It is such language as could be used only by one who regarded the Lord Jesus as divine.

And God even our Father - Greek: "And God, and ( και kai ) our Father;"though not incorrectly rendered "even our Father."If it should be contended that the use of the word "and"- "our Lord Jesus Christ, and God,"proves that the Lord Jesus is a different being from God - the use of the same word "and"would prove that the "Father"is a different being from God. But the truth is, the apostle meant to speak of the Father and the Son as the common Source of the blessing for which he prayed.

Which hath loved us - Referring particularly to the Father. The love which is referred to is that manifested in redemption, or which is shown us through Christ; see Joh 3:16; 1Jo 4:9.

And hath given us everlasting consolation. - Not temporary comfort, but that which will endure forever. The joys of religion are not like other joys. They soon fade away - they always terminate at death - they cease when trouble comes, when sickness invades the frame, when wealth or friends depart, when disappointment lowers, when the senses by age refuse to minister as they once did to our pleasures. The comforts of religion depend upon no such contingencies. They live through all these changes - attend us in sickness, poverty, bereavement, losses, and age; they are with us in death, and they are perpetual and unchanging beyond the grave.

And good hope through grace - see the Rom 5:2, Rom 5:5 notes; Heb 6:19 note.

Barnes: 2Th 2:17

Comfort your hearts; - see the notes, 1Th 3:2; 1Th 5:11, 1Th 5:14. The Thessalonians were in the midst of trials, and Paul prayed that they might have the full consolations of their religion.

And stablish you - Make you firm and steadfast; 1Th 3:2, 1Th 3:13.

In every good word and work - In every true doctrine, and in the practice of every virtue.

This chapter is very important in reference to the rise of that great anti-Christian power which has exerted, and which still exerts so baleful an influence over the Christian world. Assuming now that it refers to the papacy, in accordance with the exposition which has been given, there are a few important reflections to which it gives rise:

(1) The second advent of the Redeemer is an event which is distinctly predicted in the Scriptures. This is assumed in this chapter; and though Paul corrects some errors into which the Thessalonians had fallen, he does not suggest this as one of them. Their error was in regard to the time of his appearing; not the fact.

\caps1 (2) t\caps0 he time when he will appear is not made known to mankind. The apostles did not pretend to designate it, noR did the Saviour himself; Mat 24:36; Mar 13:32; Act 1:7.

\caps1 (3) t\caps0 he course of reasoning in 2 Thes. 2 would lead to the expectation that a considerable time would elapse before the Saviour would appear. The apostles, therefore, did not believe that the end of the world was very near, and they did not teach false doctrine on the subject, as infidels have often alleged. No one, who attentively and candidly studies 2 Thes. 2, it seems to me, can suppose that Paul believed that the second coming of the Saviour would occur within a short time, or during the generation when he lived. He has described a long series of events which were to intervene before the Saviour would appear - events which, if the interpretation which has been given is correct, have been in fact in a process of development from that time to the present, and which, it must have been foreseen, even then, would require a long period before they would be completed. There was to be a great apostasy.

There were at that time subtle causes at work which would lead to it. They were, however, then held in check and restrained by some foreign influence. But the time would come, when that foreign power would be withdrawn. Then these now hidden and restrained corruptions would develop themselves into this great anti-Christian power. That power would sustain itself by a series of pretended miracles and lying wonders - and, after all this, would be the second coming of the Son of man. But this would require time. Such a series of events would not be completed in a day, or in a single generation. They would require a succession - perhaps a long succession - of years, before these developments would be complete. It is clear, therefore, that the apostle did not hold that the Lord Jesus would return in that age, and that he did not mean to be understood as teaching it; and consequently it should not be said that he or his fellow-apostles were mistaken in the statements which they have recorded respecting the second coming of the Lord Jesus and the end of the world.

\caps1 (4) t\caps0 he apostle Paul was inspired. He has recorded in this chapter a distinct prediction of an important series of events which were to occur at a future, and most of them at quite a remote period. They were such that they could have been foreseen by no natural sagacity, and no human skill. There were, indeed, corruptions existing then in the church, but no mere natural sagacity could have foreseen that they would grow up into that enormous system which would overshadow the Christian world, and live for so many ages.

\caps1 (5) i\caps0 f these predictions referred to the papacy, we may see how we are to regard that system of religion. The simple inquiry, if this interpretation is correct, is, how did the apostle Paul regard that system to which he referred? Did he consider it to be the true church? Did he regard it as a church at all? The language which he uses will enable us easily to answer these questions. He speaks of it as "the apostasy;"he speaks of the head of that system as "the man of sin,""the son of perdition,""the wicked one,"and as "opposing and exalting himself above all that is called God;"he says that his "coming is after the working of Satan, with lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness."Can it be believed then that he regarded this as a true church of Jesus Christ? Are these the characteristics of the church as laid down elsewhere in the Scriptures? Wherever it may lead, it seems clear to me that the apostle did not regard that system of which he spoke as having any of the marks of a true church, and the only question which can be raised on this point is, whether the fair interpretation of the passage demands that it shall be considered as referring to the papacy. Protestants believe that it must be so understood, and papists have not yet disproved the reasons which they allege for their belief.

\caps1 (6) i\caps0 f this be the "fair interpretation,"then we may see what is the value of the pretended "succession"of the ministry through that system. If such a regular "succession"of ministers from the apostles could be made out, what would it be worth? What is the value of a spiritual descent from Pope Alexander VI? How would it increase the proper respect for the ministerial office, if it could be proved to be derived in a right line from those monsters of incest, ambition, covetousness, and blood, who have occupied the papal throne? A Protestant minister should blush and hang his head if it were charged on him that he held his office by no better title than such a derivation. Much less should he make it a matter of glorying and an argument to prove that he only is an authorized minister, that he has received his office through such men.

\caps1 (7) f\caps0 rom this chapter we may see the tendency of human nature to degeneracy. The elements of that great and corrupt apostasy existed even in apostolic times. Those elements grew regularly up into the system of the papacy, and spread blighting and death over the whole Christian world. It is the tendency of human nature to corrupt the best things. The Christian church was put in possession of a pure, and lovely, and glorious system of religion. It was a religion adapted to elevate and save the race. There was not an interest of humanity which it would not have fostered and promoted; there was not a source of human sorrow which it would not have mitigated or relieved; there were none of the race whom it would not have elevated and purified. Its influence, as far as it was seen, was uniformly of the happiest kind. It did no injury anywhere, but produced only good. But how soon was it voluntarily exchanged for the worst form of superstition and error that has ever brooded in darkness over mankind! How soon did the light fade, and how rapidly did it become more obscure, until it almost went out altogether! And with what tenacity did the world adhere to the system that grew up under the great apostasy, maintaining it by learning, and power, and laws, and dungeons, and racks, and faggots! What a comment is this on human nature, thus "loving darkness more than light,"and error rather than truth!

\caps1 (8) t\caps0 he chapter teaches the importance of resisting error at the beginning. These errors had their foundation in the time of the apostles. They were then comparatively small, and perhaps to many they appeared unimportant; and yet the whole papal system was just the development of errors, the germs of which existed in their days, Had these been crushed, as Paul wished to crush them, the church might have been saved from the corruption, and woes, and persecutions produced by the papacy. So error now should always be opposed - no matter how small or unimportant it may appear. We have no right to connive at it; to patronize it; to smile upon it. The beginnings of evil are always to be resisted with firmness; and if that is done, the triumph of truth will be certain.

\caps1 (9) t\caps0 he church is safe. It has now passed through every conceivable form of trial, and still survives, and is now more vigorous and flourishing than it ever was before. It has passed through fiery times of persecution; survived the attempts of emperors and kings to destroy it, and lived while the system of error described here by the apostle Paul has thrown its baleful shade over almost the whole Christian world. It cannot reasonably be supposed that it will be called to pass through such trials again as it has already endured; but whether it does or not, the past history of the church is a guarantee that it will survive all that it is destined to encounter. None but a religion of divine origin could have continued to live amidst so many corruptions, and so many attempts to destroy it; and in the view of the past history of that church it is impossible not to come to the conclusion that it has been founded by God himself.

Poole: 2Th 2:16

The apostle here addeth prayer to his exhortation: the word and prayer are to go together, whether it be written or preached; as the twelve told the disciples, Act 6:4 : We will give ourselves to the word and prayer. He had planted them a church, but he knew God gave the increase, 1Co 3:6 . The persons he prays to are here, first,

our Lord Jesus Christ which was a good argument in Athanasius’ s time, for the dignity of Christ, against the Arians; and so it is still, and now against the Socinians: for God alone is the object of worship, and the bestower of those gifts which he here prays for. Only the apostle, when he mentions Christ, delights to mention him in his relation to his people; so he doth for the most part in all his Epistles, and so in this text. He useth a pronoun possessive, our, for it is relation and interest which commendeth and sweeteneth any good to us. And the other person is

God the Father who is the Father of lights, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, Jam 1:17 ; and whom in his prayer he mentions together with Christ, because no access can be to God but through Christ, and no good gift descends to us but through him. And so God the Father is mentioned in his relation to his people also, God, even our Father; and when Christ is ours, in him God is ours also. And the apostle thus looking, and thus speaking of Christ and of God, strengthens his own and their faith, for the obtaining of the gifts he prays for.

Which hath loved us: another argument is from God’ s love: our doubts in prayer arise more from unbelief in God’ s will, than his power, which will vanish when we look upon him in his love to us; for the nature of love is velle bonum, to will good to whom we love. Another is, from gifts already received, which are, first,

everlasting consolation whereby it appears, that God’ s love is communicative, and that it is not common, but his special love he spake of. Outward comforts are common gifts, but these the apostle means not here, because they are not everlasting; they continue not beyond death; they begin in time and end with time: but this consolation begins in time, and abides to eternity; and this man cannot give, the world cannot give, nor we give it ourselves, God giveth it only; and he gives it to whom he loveth, as every man seeks to comfort those whom he loves: and though some whom God loves may not feel his consolation, yet they have a right, and God hath it in reserve for them: Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart, Psa 97:11 . And though sometimes it may be interrupted where it is felt, yet not so as to be destroyed in its foundation, and to hinder its return, either in the temporal or eternal world, where it will be everlasting; so that as God is styled the God of all grace, 1Pe 5:10 ; so, the God of all comfort, 2Co 1:3 . And by us in the text he means these Thessalonians as well as himself, for he had spoken before of their joy in the Holy Ghost, 1Th 1:6 . And the other gift is, good hope. Hope, as a natural affection, is the expectation of the soul; and the object of it is bonum futurum, arduum, possibile; good, future good, difficult, and possible. But, as a grace, it is the expectation of the good things God hath promised, and not yet exhibited. And it is called good hope, good by way of eminency; with respect to the objects of it, which are eminently good; the certainty of it, it will not make ashamed, Rom 5:5 ; compared to an anchor sure and stedfast, Heb 6:19 : the regularness of it; things promised only, and as they are promised; else it is presumption, and not hope: the fruits of it; peace, purity, industry, and consolation also, and therefore joined with it here in the text: as the apostle speaks elsewhere of rejoicing in hope, Rom 5:2 Rom 12:12 Heb 3:6 . Or, as some, it is called good hope, with respect to the degree they had attained of it in their hearts; though they had not yet the good things promised, yet they had good hope of enjoying them. And by this epithet he distinguisheth this hope from the carnal vain hope of the men of the world, and the false hope of hypocrites, Job 8:13 ; and themselves also from the state they were in when Gentiles, without hope, Eph 2:12 . And this also is God’ s gift, as he is called the God of hope, Rom 15:13 , not only as the object, but the author of it. And both these gifts are here said to be through grace; for else we could have had no ground either of hope or comfort. Sin had shut up our way to both, it is only grace that hath opened it to us. What we enjoy at present, and what we hope to enjoy, is all through grace. And from these gifts already received the apostle strengthens his faith about the other things he here prays for.

Poole: 2Th 2:17

Next, we have the things prayed for:

Comfort your hearts though he said before, who hath given us everlasting consolation. The apostle means, either actual possession of what God had given title to, or a continued supply and increase of comfort already received. And he prays for this either in respect of the afflictions they suffered, that they might not faint; or to enable them the better to stand fast in the faith, and not fall away, as others. And so it agrees with the next petition for them.

And stablish you in every good word and work: the word of truth is this good word, Pro 4:2 , as the gospel is called, 2Co 6:7 . And the doctrines of it are all good, 1Ti 4:6 ; they are good for instruction, for correction, for reproof, for doctrine, 2Ti 3:16 . All truth is an intellectual good, whether natural or moral; but evangelical truth is by way of eminence good. It is a good word which is a word of salvation, Act 13:26 ; and to be established in it, is firmly to believe it, and to hold it fast against seducing opinion, or persecutions; and by every good word he means all Divine truth, especially the greater truths; not to hold some truths and let others go. And to word the apostle adds work, that there may be a harmony between faith and practice. As the doctrines of the gospel are true, so the works they require are good. And good works are manifold, respecting God, our neighbour, and ourselves. A Christian should not only practise them all, but be established in them, which implies constancy, perseverance, and resolution. True religion is not word only, but work; it is not only speculative, but practical. A sound mind ought to be joined with a holy life. And to make a work good, the principle, rule, manner, and end must all be good.

PBC: 2Th 2:16

2Th 2:16

Good Hope Through Grace

2Th 2:16-17 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.

Seldom, particularly in our public worship format, do we interrupt the normal and expected activities to immediately plunge into a season of prayer. In the first two chapters of this letter Paul takes us through some difficult ideas. The difficulty appears in the diversity of opinions and interpretations we encounter regarding their meaning. We would love for Paul to take ten chapters following this one to indulge our questions and to give us every detail of his intent in the chapter. Instead immediately after an intense lesson on eschatology, the doctrines related to the Second Coming of Christ at the end, Paul urges the Thessalonians with strong admonitions and then inserts this abrupt prayer for their comfort and fruitful Christian life.

In our own power neither the Thessalonians nor we could do the things Paul has directed here. If we follow Paul instead of trying to lead him, we will understand what he intended. Both in terms of their belief of the gospel as God’s sacred truth and in terms of their remaining steadfast in traditions that were handed down to them through Paul from the first apostles (not creative traditions instituted by them) Paul realized that these people could not live up to these noble goals in their own abilities. Left to their personal ability or to their stubborn determinism to do it on their own, they would fail miserably. Thus he prays for God to give them such intense comfort and grace that they would find their power in God, not in themselves.

Typically Paul lists God the Father first, followed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Here he lists the Lord Jesus Christ first! Notice here too that he lists Him with his full array of names and titles, Lord Jesus Christ. Leon Morris makes the point that from the time Paul introduced us to the man of sin he will miss no opportunity to magnify the person, power, and work of the Lord Jesus. While both the Lord Jesus and the Father are named as subjects of the sentence, the verbs appear in the singular. We should avoid excessive separation of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in our Biblical interpretation. Indeed we should avoid the error of modalism that denies the Trinitarian nature of God and asserts that God merely appears in various modes. Sometimes he appears as Father, sometimes as Son, and sometimes as Holy Spirit. This error assaults the historical and Biblical doctrine of the Trinity in favor of an ancient heresy introduced by Sabellius. At the same time we should not divide the nature of God so distinctly as to appear to-much less actually-advocate tri-theism. We do not worship three gods, but One. However, the God revealed in Scripture is not a simple being with a simple nature. Balance in this view, following Scripture, not forcing Scripture to follow us, is essential to orthodox and Biblical Christian thought.

God’s love is inseparably joined with his eternal consolation. Those who attempt to avoid the inherent contradictions in their idea that God’s love is universal and eternal will attempt to say that God continues to love the wicked who have already died and are in hell. They separate divine love and divine consolation. Paul will have nothing to do with such a sentimental unbiblical idea. For Paul God’s love and the accompanying eternal consolation go hand in hand. We should stand with Paul!

Eternal consolation. Only an eternal God, who suffered on our behalf, has the ability to give us eternal consolation. Some teachers will attempt to maintain a Biblical view of final things, yet deny the eternality of the word translated eternal in this passage. While the word must include quality of existence, it must also include endless duration. A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, makes the point that this word is the strongest word in first century Greek language to support the basic concept of timeless, endless duration. To attempt to deny this dimension of the word is sadly laughable. The more fitting scope of the word incorporates both an eternal quality with endless duration. This verse serves as an ideal example. What does Paul intend with the thought, everlasting consolation? Do you have everlasting consolation for a full week? Perhaps a month or a year? No, the true character of this consolation is eternal. The quality of it will not fade in the heat of trials or persecution. It will not lose its luster in the storms of life! Further, when this life ends, it will introduce us to the ultimate reality of its description. Only then shall we realize the full dimension of eternal consolation!

Coupled with eternal consolation in the lesson we find good hope. Paul deals in 1Co 15:1-58 with false hope, hope that lasts only through this life, but does not reach the one to come. He concludes that such a hope, far from being a good hope, leaves us of all men most miserable. Implied at least in this context is that the hope is no less eternal than the consolation. Nothing that occurs to us or in us in this life can fully complete the objective of the hope God has given to us. Only when we see Him in glory shall we realize both eternal consolation and good hope, then at last fulfilled.

Through grace may relate only to the good hope, but it seems more cohesive to the flow of thought to view it as referring no less to the consolation than to the hope. Thus it refers to the giving; God gives us both eternal consolation and good hope. Both gifts come through his grace. We didn’t achieve superior Christianity and attain these gifts through our own merit. If we enjoy them in the trials of this life, we do so as the result of God’s gift, his grace to us.

The consolation and good hope, though anchored in eternity, are not intended as cosmetics to the essential processes of the Christian life. God intends them to motivate and to empower a transformation in the way we live life in the here and now. Notice the three major movements Paul follows through this goal. First he prays for God to use these blessings to comfort the heart. No transformation will ever sustain its passion, much less succeed, apart from deep heart-roots. Convince a person out of mere duty that he should do something. He will try to do it because he wants to do what is right. However, usually quite soon, he will tire and either become exhausted or bored at the process and look for the exit door. Take the issue to his heart. Let him come to terms with the conviction from within, that what he does and how he lives is important to God, is directed specifically by God, and is empowered by God. Then he will engage life by that power, not by his own determination.

Comfort comes from a remarkable Greek word, parakaleo SGreek: 3870. parakaleo. It literally means to call alongside. In this case Paul is praying for God to enrich the Thessalonians with eternal consolation and good hope so as to literally call them alongside Himself. A preacher, church leader, or parent may impose guilt so heavily upon someone as to force temporary reform.

But when a person realizes that God calls us alongside Himself in life’s difficulties, he realizes that the intent is not another mountain to climb, but an eternal asset with which to face those struggles. This is a resource, not another chore to be done!

Paul prays that the result of this process will lead the Thessalonians to become established, not occasionally engaged, in every good word and work. He defines committed, long-term, indeed lifelong strength in faith. This transformed faith-life is not a fruitless private profession. It transforms both one’s words and works. Don’t miss the whole process described here. The changed life begins within, not from coercive forces without. Someone doesn’t lay a guilt trip on you and try to force you to change. God uses eternal consolation and good hope to call us alongside Himself. Then he uses this incredible influence to draw us into a change that begins within our deepest sense of self, but grows outward in an ever-widening circle of influence till it impacts our words and deeds in every aspect of our life. That indeed is a prayer worth praying! Paul cannot stop with a passive antinomian faith that embraces the claim of faith but feels no compelling weight of conviction to live it. For Paul the comforts of the gospel had one major purpose. God uses those comforts to call us to higher service in both our words and in our actions. May we heed his call.

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Gill: 2Th 2:16

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself,.... The apostle having exhorted the saints to perseverance, closes this second part of his epistle, relating to the coming of Christ, with a prayer for the saints, that they might be comforted and established. The objects addressed are Christ and the Father. And in each of their characters are reasons contained, encouraging to believe the petitions will be regarded; for it is "our Lord Jesus Christ himself" who is prayed unto; who is our Lord, not by creation only, in which sense he is Lord of all, but by redemption, and through a marriage relation; and he is our Jesus, our Saviour, and Redeemer; and our Christ, the anointed prophet, priest, and King; even he himself, who stands in these relations and offices; and what may not be expected from him?

and God, even our Father; not by creation, but by adoption; and as it is in his power, he has a heart to give, and will give good things unto his children: and inasmuch as Christ is equally addressed as the object of prayer as the Father, and is indeed here set before him, or first mentioned, it may be concluded that there is an entire equality between them, and that Christ is truly and properly God; otherwise religious worship, of which prayer is a considerable branch, would not be given him, nor would he be set upon an equal foot with the other, and much less before him. The Arabic version reads, "our Lord Jesus Christ, our Father"; and the Ethiopic version also, "our Lord Jesus Christ, God our Father"; as if the whole of this, or all these epithets and characters, belong to Christ, and he was the only person addressed; but the common reading is best: which hath loved us; this refers both to the Father and to Christ. The Father had loved them with an everlasting and unchangeable love, as appeared by his choosing them unto salvation by Christ, securing them in his hands, and making an everlasting covenant with him, on their account; by sending his Son to be the Saviour of them; by regenerating, quickening, and calling them by his grace, adopting them into his family, pardoning all their sins, justifying their persons, and giving them both a meetness for, and a right unto eternal glory. And Christ, he had loved them with the same love; and which he showed by undertaking their cause in the council of peace; by espousing their persons in the covenant of grace; by assuming their nature in the fulness of time; by dying in their room and stead; and by his continued intercession and mediation for them, and by many other instances. And since they had such a share in the affection both of the Father and the Son, it need not to have been doubted but that what was prayed for would be granted: to which is added,

and hath given us everlasting consolation: all true solid consolation is from God and Christ: God is called the God of all comfort; and if there be any real consolation, it is in, by, and from Christ; and it is the gift of God, an instance of his grace and favour, and not a point of merit; the least degree of consolation is not deserved, and ought not to be reckoned small: and it is everlasting; it does not indeed always continue, as to the sensible enjoyment of it, in this life, being often interrupted by indwelling sin, the hidings of God's and the temptations of Satan, yet the ground and foundation of it is everlasting; such as the everlasting love of God, the everlasting covenant of grace, the everlasting righteousness of Christ, and everlasting salvation by him, and he himself, who is the consolation of Israel, as well as the blessed Spirit, the Comforter, who ever abides as the earnest and pledge of future happiness. And the present spiritual joy of the saints is what no man can take away from them, and what will eventually issue in everlasting consolation, without any interruption in the world to come, when sorrow and sighing shall flee away, and all tears be wiped from their eyes:

and good hope through grace. The Syriac version reads, "in his grace"; and the Ethiopic version, "a good hope; and his grace", hope, as well as faith, is the gift of God, a free grace gift of his: and it may be called a good one, because God is the author of it; and it is built on a good foundation, the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ; and is of good things to come, and therefore called the blessed hope; and is what is sure and certain, and will never deceive, nor make ashamed; and since consolation is given here, and hope of happiness hereafter, it may be concluded the following requests will be regarded.

Gill: 2Th 2:17

Comfort your hearts,.... That is, apply the comfort given, and cause it to be received, which unbelief is apt to refuse; and increase it, by shedding abroad the love of Christ, and of the Father; by the discoveries of pardoning grace; by the application of Gospel promises; by the word and ordinances, which are breasts of consolation; and by indulging with the gracious presence, and comfortable communion of Father, Son, and Spirit. The Arabic version reads, "comfort your hearts by his grace", joining the last clause of the preceding verse to this. This petition stands opposed to a being troubled and distressed about the sudden coming of Christ, as the following one does to a being shaken in mind on that account, 2Th 2:2.

And stablish you in every good word and work; that is, in every good word of God, or truth of the Gospel, which contains good tidings of good things, so as not to waver about them, or stagger in them, or to depart from them; in practice of every duty, so as to be steadfast, and immoveable, and always abounding therein; good words and good works, principles and practices, should go together, and the saints stand in need of stability in both. For though, as to their state and condition, they are established in the love of God, in the covenant of grace, in the arms of Christ, and in him the foundation, so as they can never be removed; yet they are often very unstable, not only in their frames, and in the exercise of grace, but in their attachment and adherence to the Gospel and interest of Christ, and in the discharge of duty.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Th 2:17

¹ tn Grk simply “strengthen,” with the object understood from the preceding.

² tn Grk “every good work and word.”

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Th 2:1-17

1 Paul urges them to continue stedfast in the truth received;

3 shows that there shall be a departure from the faith,

9 and a discovery of Antichrist, before the day of the Lord come;

15 and thereupon repeats his former exhortation, and prays for them.

Maclaren: 2Th 2:16-17

Everlasting Consolation And Good Hope

Now our Lord Jesus Christ .Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation, and good hope through grace. 17. Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.'-2 Thess. 2:16-17.

THIS is the second of the four brief prayers which, as I pointed out in my last sermon, break the current of Paul's teaching in this letter, and witness to the depth of his affection to his Thessalonian converts. We do not know the special circumstances under which these then were, but there are many allusions, both in the first and second epistles, which seem to indicate that they specially needed the gift of consolation.

They were a young Church, just delivered from paganism. Like lambs in the midst of wolves, they stood amongst bitter enemies, their teacher had left them alone, and their raw convictions needed to be consolidated and matured in the face of much opposition. No wonder then that over and over again, in both letters, we have references to the persecutions and tribulations which they endured, and to the consolations which would much more abound.

But whatever may have been their specific circumstances, the prayer which puts special emphasis on comfort is as much needed by each of us as it could ever have been by any of them. For there are no eyes that have not wept, or will not weep; no breath that has not been, or will not be, drawn in sighs; and no hearts that have not bled, or will not bleed. So, dear friends, the prayer that went up for these long since comforted brothers, in their forgotten obscure sorrows, is as needful for each of us--that the God who has given everlasting consolation may apply the consolations which He has supplied, and comfort our hearts and stablish them in every good word and work.'

The prayer naturally falls, as all true prayer will, into three sections--the contemplation of Him to whom it is addressed, the grasping of the great act on which it is based, and the specification of the desires which it includes. These three thoughts may guide us for a few moments now.

I. First Of All, Then, Note The Divine Hearers Of The Prayer.

The first striking thing about this prayer is its emphatic recognition of the divinity of Jesus Christ as a truth familiar to these Thessalonian converts. Note the solemn accumulation of His august titles, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.' Note, further, that extraordinary association of His name with the Father's. Note, still further, the most remarkable order in which these two names occur--Jesus first, God second. If we were not so familiar with the words, and with their order, which reappears in Paul's well- known and frequently- used Benediction, we should be startled to find that Jesus Christ was put before God in such a solemn address. The association and the order of mention of the names are equally outrageous, profane, and inexplicable, except upon one hypothesis, and that is that Jesus Christ is divine.

The reason for the order may be found partly in the context, which has just been naming Christ, but still more in the fact that whilst he writes, the Apostle is realising the mediation of Christ, and that the order of mention is the order of our approach. The Father comes to us in the Son; we come to the Father by the Son; and, therefore, it is no intercepting of our reverence, nor blasphemously lifting the creature to undue elevation, when in one act the Apostle appeals to our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and God our Father.'

Note, still further, the distinct address to Christ as the Hearer of Prayer. And, note, last of all, about this matter, the singular grammatical irregularity in my text, which is something much more than a mere blunder or slip of the pen. The words which follow, viz., comfort' and stablish,' are in the singular, whilst these two mighty and august names are their nominatives, and would therefore, by all regularity, require a plural to follow them. That this peculiarity is no mere accident, but intentional and deliberate, is made probable by the two instances in our text, and is made certain, as it seems to me, by the fact that the same anomalous and eloquent construction occurs in the previous epistle to the same church, where we have in exact parallelism with our text, God Himself, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ,' with the singular verb, direct our way unto you.' The phraseology is the expression, in grammatical form, of the great truth, Whatsoever things the Father doeth, these also doth the Son likewise.' And from it there gleam out unmistakably the great principles of the unity of action and the distinction of person between Father and Son, in the depths of that infinite and mysterious Godhead.

Now all this, which seems to me to be irrefragable, is made the more remarkable and the stronger as a witness of the truth,, from the fact that it occurs in this perfectly incidental fashion, and without a word of explanation or apology, as taking for granted that there was a background of teaching in the Thessalonian Church which had prepared the way for it, and rendered it intelligible, as well as a background of conviction which had previously accepted it.

And, remember, these two letters, thus full-toned in their declaration, and taking for granted the previous acceptance of the great doctrine of the divinity of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, are the earliest portions of the New Testament, and are often spoken about as being singularly undogmatic. So they are, and therefore all the more eloquent and all the more conclusive is such a testimony as this to the sort of teaching which from the beginning the Apostle addressed to his converts.

Now is that your notion of Jesus Christy Do you regard Him as the sharer in the divine attributes and in the divine throne? It was a living Christ that Paul was thinking about when he wrote these words, who could hear him praying in Corinth, and could reach a helping hand down to these poor men in Thessalonica. It was a divine Christ that Paul was thinking about when he dared to say, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father.' And I beseech you to ask yourself the question whether your faith accepts that great teaching, and whether to you He is far more than the Man Christ Jesus'; and just because He is the man, is therefore the Son of God. Brethren! either Jesus lies in an unknown grave, ignorant of all that is going on here, and the notion that He can help is a delusion and a dream, or else He is the ever-living because He is the divine Christ, to whom we poor men can speak with the certainty that He hears us, and who wields the energies of Deity, and works the same works as the Father, for the help and blessing of the souls that trust Him.

II. Secondly, Note The Great Fact On Which This Prayer Builds Itself.

The form of words in the original, loved' and given,' all but necessarily requires us to suppose that their reference is to some one definite historical act in which the love was manifested, and, as love always does, found voice in giving. Love is the infinite desire to bestow, and its language is always a gift. Then, according to the Apostle's thought, there is some one act in which all the fulness of the divine love manifests itself; some one act in which all the treasures which God can bestow upon men are conveyed and handed over to a world.

The statement that there is such renders almost unnecessary the question what such an act is. For there can be but one in all the sweep of the magnificent and beneficent divine deeds, so correspondent to His love, and so inclusive of all His giving, as that it shall be the ground of our confidence and the warrant for our prayers. The gift of Jesus Christ is that in which everlasting consolation and good hope are bestowed upon men. When our desires are widened out to the widest they must be based upon the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ; and when we would think most confidently and most desiringly of the benefits that we seek, for ourselves or for our fellows, we must turn to the Cross. My prayer is then acceptable and prevalent when it foots itself on the past divine act, and looking to the life and death of Jesus Christ, is widened out to long for, ask for, and in. the very longing and asking for to begin to possess, the fulness of the gifts which then were brought to men in Him.

Everlasting consolation and good hope.' I suppose the Apostle's emphasis is to be placed quite as much on the adjectives as on the nouns; for there are consolations enough in the world, only none of them are permanent; and there are hopes enough that amuse and draw men, but one of them only is good.' The gift of Christ, thinks Paul, is the gift of a comfort which will never fail amidst all the vicissitudes and accumulated and repeated and prolonged sorrows to which flesh is heir, and is likewise the gift of a hope which, in its basis and in its objects, is equally noble and good.

Look at these two things briefly. Paul thinks that in Jesus Christ you and I, and all the world, if it will have it, has received the gift of an everlasting comfort. Ah! sorrow is more persistent than consolation. The bandaged wounds bleed again; the fire damped down for a moment smoulders, even when damped, and bursts out again. But there is one source of comfort which, because it comes from an unchangeable Christ, and because it communicates unfailing gifts of patience and insight, and because it leads forward to everlasting blessedness and recompenses, may well be called eternal consolation.' Of course, consolation is not needed when sorrow has ceased; and when the wiping away of all tears from off all faces, and the plunging of grief into the nethermost fires, there to be consumed, have come about, there is no more need for comfort. Yet that which made the comfort while sorrow lasts, makes the triumph and the rapture when sorrow is dead, and is everlasting, though its office of consolation determines with earth.

Good hope through grace.' This is the weakness of all the hopes which dance like fireflies in the dark before men, and are often like will-o'-the-wisps in the night tempting men into deep mire, where there is no standing--that they are uncertain in their basis and inadequate in their range. The prostitution of the great faculty of hope is one of the saddest characteristics of our feeble and fallen manhood; for the bulk of our hopes are doubtful and akin to fears, and are mean and low, and disproportioned to the possibilities, and therefore the obligations, of our spirits. But in that Cross which teaches us the meaning of sorrows, and in that Christ whose presence is light in darkness, and the very embodied consolation of all hearts, there lie at once the foundation and the object of a hope which, in consideration both of object and foundation, stands unique in its excellence and sufficient in its firmness. A good hope'; good because well founded; and good because grasping worthy objects; eternal consolation outlasting all sorrows--these things were given once for all, to the whole world when Jesus Christ came and lived and died. The materials for a comfort that shall never fall me, and for the foundation and the object of a hope that shall never be ashamed, are supplied in Jesus Christ our Lord. And so these gifts, already passed under the great seal of heaven, and confirmed to us all, if we choose to take them for ours, are the ground upon which the largest prayers may be rested, and the most ardent desires may be unblamably cherished, in the full confidence that no petitions of ours can reach to the greatness of the divine purpose, and that the widest and otherwise wildest of our hopes and wishes are sober under-estimates of what God has already given to us. For if He has given the material, He will apply what He has supplied. And if He has thus in the past bestowed the possibilities of comfort and hope upon the world, He will not slack His band, if we desire the possibility to be in our hearts turned into the actuality.

God has given, therefore God will give. That is heaven's logic, but it does not do for men. It pro-supposes inexhaustible resources, unchangeable purposes of kindness, patience that is not disgusted and cannot be turned away by our sin. These things being presupposed it is true; and the prayer of my text, that God would comfort, can have no firmer foundation than the confidence of my text, that God has given 6 everlasting consolation and good hope through grace.'

Thou hast helped us; leave us not, neither forsake us, O God of our salvation.'

III. The Last Thing Here Is The Petitions Based Upon The Contemplation Of The Divine Hearers Of The Prayer, And Of The Gift Already Bestowed By God.

May He comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.' I have already said all that perhaps is necessary in regard to the connection between the past gift of everlasting consolation and the present and future comforting of hearts which is here desired. It seems to me that the Apostle has in his mind the distinction between the great work of Christ, in which are supplied for us the materials for comfort and hope, and the present and continuous work of that Divine Spirit, by which God dwelling in our hearts in Jesus Christ makes real for each of us the universal gift of consolation and of hope. God has bestowed the materials for comfort; God will give the comfort for which He has supplied the materials.

It were a poor thing if all that we could expect from our loving Father in the heavens were that He should contribute to us what might make us peaceful and glad and calm in sorrow, if we chose to use it. Men comfort from without; God steals into the heart, and there diffuses the aroma of His presence. Christ comes into the ship before He says, Peace! be still!' It is not enough for our poor troubled heart that there should be calmness and consolation twining round the Cross if we choose to pluck the fruit. We need, and therefore we have, an indwelling God who, by that Spirit which is the Comforter, will make for each of us the everlasting consolation which He has bestowed upon the world our individual possession. God's husbandry is not merely broadcast sowing of the seed, but the planting in each individual heart of the precious germ. And the God who has given everlasting consolation to a whole world will comfort thy heart.

Then, again, the comforted heart will be a stable heart. Our fixedness and stability are not natural immobility, but communicated steadfastness. There must be, first, the consolation of Christ before there can be the calmness of a settled heart. We all know how vacillating, how driven to and fro by gusts of passion and winds of doctrine and forces of earth our resolutions and spirits are. But thistledown glued to a firm surface will be firm, and any light thing lashed to a solid one will be solid; and reeds shaken with the wind may be turned into brazen pillars that cannot be moved. If we have Christ in our hearts, He will be our consolation first and our stability next. Why should it be that we are spasmodic and fluctuating, and the slaves of ups and downs, like some barometer in stormy weather; now at set fair,' and then away down where much rain' is written? There is no need for it. Get Christ into your heart, and your mercury will always stand at one height. Why should it be that at one hour the flashing waters fill the harbour, and that six hours afterwards there is a waste of ooze and filth? It need not be. Our hearts may be like some landlocked lake that knows no tide. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.'

The comforted and stable heart will be a fruitful heart. In every good word and work.' Ah! how fragmentary is our goodness, like the broken torsos of the statues of fair gods dug up in some classic land. There is no reason why each of us should not appropriate and make our own the forms of goodness to which we are least naturally inclined, and cultivate and possess a symmetrical, fully-developed, all-round goodness, in some humble measure after the pattern of Jesus Christ our Lord. Practical righteousness, in every good word and work,' is the outcome of all the sacred and secret consolations and blessings that Jesus Christ imparts. There are many Christian people who are like those swallow-holes, as they call them, characteristic of limestone countries, where a great river plunges into a cave and is no more heard of. You do not get your comforts and your blessing for that, brother, but in order that all the joy and peace, all the calmness and the communion, which you realise in the secret place of the Most High, may be translated into goodness and manifest righteousness in the market-place and the street. We get our goodness where we get our consolation, from Jesus Christ and His Cross.

And so, dear friends, all your comforts will die, and your sorrows will live, unless you have Christ for your own. The former will be like some application that is put on a poisoned bite, which will soothe it for a moment, but as soon as the anodyne dries off the skin, the poison will tingle and burn again, and will be working in the blood, whilst the remedy only touched the surface of the flesh. All your hopes will be like a child's castles on the sand, which the next tide will smooth out and obliterate, unless your hope is fixed on Him. You may have everlasting consolation, you may have a hope which will enable you to look serenely on the ills of life, and on the darkness of death, and on what darkly looms beyond death. You may have a calmed and steadied heart; you may have an all-round, stable, comprehensive goodness. But there is only one way to get these blessings, and that is to grasp and make our own, by simple faith and constant clinging, that great gift, given once for all in Jesus Christ, the gift of comfort that never dies, and of hope that never deceives, and then to apply that gift day by day, through God's good Spirit, to sorrows and trials and duties as they emerge.

MHCC: 2Th 2:16-17

We may and should direct our prayers, not only to God the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, but also to our Lord Jesus Christ himself. And we should pray in his name unto God, not only as his Father, but as our Father in and through him. The love of God in Christ Jesus, is the spring and fountain of all the good we have or hope for. There is good reason for strong consolations, because the saints have good hope through grace. The free grace and mercy of God are what they hope for, and what their hopes are founded on, and not any worth or merit of their own. The more pleasure we take in the word, and works, and ways of God, the more likely we shall be to persevere therein. But, if we are wavering in faith, and of a doubtful mind, halting and faltering in our duty, no wonder that we are strangers to the joys of religion.

Matthew Henry: 2Th 2:16-17

In these words we have the apostle's earnest prayer for them, in which observe,

I. To whom he prays: Our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father. We may and should direct our prayers, not only to God the Father, through the mediation of our Lord Jesus Christ, but also to our Lord Jesus Christ himself; and should pray in his name unto God, not only as his Father but as our Father in and through him.

II. From what he takes encouragement in his prayer - from the consideration of what God had already done for him and them: Who hath loved us, and given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 2Th 2:16. Here observe, 1. The love of God is the spring and fountain of all the good we have or hope for; our election, vocation, justification, and salvation, are all owing to the love of God in Christ Jesus. 2. From this fountain in particular all our consolation flows. And the consolation of the saints is an everlasting consolation. The comforts of the saints are not dying things; they shall not die with them. The spiritual consolations God gives none shall deprive them of; and God will not take them away: because he love them with an everlasting love, therefore they shall have everlasting consolation. 3. Their consolation is founded on the hope of eternal life. They rejoice in hope of the glory of God, and are not only patient, but joyful, in tribulations; and there is good reason for these strong consolations, because the saints have good hope: their hope is grounded on the love of God, the promise of God, and the experience they have had of the power, the goodness, and the faithfulness of God, and it is good hope through grace; the free grace and mercy of God are what they hope for, and what their hopes are founded on, and not on any worth or merit of their own.

III. What it is that he asks of God for them - that he would comfort their hearts, and establish them in every good word and work, 2Th 2:17. God had given them consolations, and he prayed that they might have more abundant consolation. There was good hope, through grace, that they would be preserved, and he prayed that they might be established: it is observable how comfort and establishment are here joined together. Note therefore, 1. Comfort is a means of establishment; for the more pleasure we take in the word, and work, and ways of God, the more likely we shall be to persevere therein. And, 2. Our establishment in the ways of God is a likely means in order to comfort; whereas, if we are wavering in faith, and of a doubtful mind, or if we are halting and faltering in our duty, no wonder if we are strangers to the pleasures and joys of religion. What is it that lies at the bottom of all our uneasiness, but our unsteadiness in religion? We must be established in every good word and work, in the word of truth and the work of righteousness: Christ must be honoured by our good works and good words; and those who are sincere will endeavour to do both, and in so doing they may hope for comfort and establishment, till at length their holiness and happiness be completed.

Barclay: 2Th 2:13-17

In this passage there is a kind of synopsis of the Christian life.

(i) It begins with God's call. We could never even begin to seek God unless he had already found us. The whole initiative is with him; the ground and the moving cause of the whole matter is his seeking love.

(ii) It develops in our effort. The Christian is not called to dream, but to fight; not to stand still, but to climb. He is called not only to the greatest privilege but also to the greatest task in the world.

(iii) This effort is helped continually by two things. (a) It is helped by the teaching, guidance and example of godly men. God speaks to us through those to whom he has already spoken. "A saint," as someone has said, "is a person who makes it easier for others to believe in God." And there are some who help us, not by anything they say or write, but simply by being what they are, men whom to meet is to meet God. (b) It is helped by God himself We are never left to fight and toil alone. He who gives us the task also gives us the strength to do it; more, he actually does it with us. We are not thrown into the battle to meet it with the puny resources we can bring to it. At the back of us and beside us there is God. When Paul was up against it in Corinth, he had a vision by night in which the Lord said to him, "Do not be afraid...for I am with You" (Act 18:9-10). They that are for us are always more than they that are against us.

(iv) This call and this effort are designed to produce two things. (a) They are designed to produce consecration on earth. Literally in Greek a thing which is consecrated is set apart for God. They are meant to set us apart in such a way that God can use us for his service. The result is that a man's life no longer belongs to him to do with it as he likes; it belongs to God for him to use as he likes. (b) They are designed to produce salvation in heaven. The Christian life does not end with time; its goal is eternity. The Christian can regard his present affliction as a light thing in comparison with the glory that shall be. As Christina Rosetti wrote:

" 'Does the road wind uphill all the way?'

'Yes, to the very end.'

'Will the day's journey take the whole tong day?'

'From morn to night, my friend.'

'But is there for the night a resting-place?'

'A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.'

'May not the darkness hide it from my face?'

'You cannot miss that inn.'

'Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?'

'Those who have gone before.'

'Then must I knock, or call when just in sight?'

'They will not keep you waiting at that door.'

'Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?'

'Of labour you shall find the sum.'

'Will there be beds for me and all who seek?'

'Yes, beds for all who come.' "

Constable: 2Th 2:13-17

IV. THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER 2:13-17

Paul proceeded to give thanks for his readers' salvation and to pray for their steadfastness to help them appreciate their secure position in holding fast to apostolic teaching. These verses form a transition between the didactic and hortatory sections of the epistle.

Constable: 2Th 2:16-17

B. Prayer for strength 2:16-17

As part of a bridge between his instructions (2:1-12) and exhortations (3:1-15), Paul added this prayer for the Thessalonians. He petitioned God for their encouragement and strength (cf. 1 Thess. 3:2, 13; 2 Thess. 3:3).

"Addressing his prayer to the first two persons of the Trinity, Paul names the Son before the Father (contra 1 Thess 3:11), probably in line with the Son's worthiness of equal honor with the Father and his special prominence in the chapter's emphasis on future salvation and glory."⁶³

God's grace is the basis for eternal encouragement in the face of temporary distress. Our hope is beneficial because it motivates us to live in the light of our victorious Savior's return.

"The phrase good hope' was used by non-Christian writers to refer to life after death."⁶⁴

The Thessalonians needed comforting encouragement in view of their recent anxiety that false teaching had produced. They also needed God's grace to enable them to stand firm and do everything as unto the Lord (cf. 3:7-13). Too, they needed it as they continued proclaiming the gospel.

College: 2Th 2:1-17

2 THESSALONIANS 2

III. INSTRUCTION ON THE LORD'S RETURN (2:1-12)

This section, which is central to the entire second Thessalonian letter, presents one of the most difficult interpretive problems in the New Testament. The problem can be summarized around four specific questions: (1) what is the "rebellion" (v. 3); (2) who is the "man of lawlessness" (v. 3) or "the secret power of lawlessness" (v. 7); (3) what is it that "is holding him back" (v. 6) or "now holds it back" (v. 7); (4) how does all this answer the question which Paul addresses, namely, whether "the day of the Lord" has already come (v. 2)?

The most common answers to these questions have shared an assumption about the passage: Paul speaks primarily of events which are to occur in the future as preliminaries to the return of Jesus. On this basis, conclusions, though widely diverse in particulars, have been confined to a fairly narrow scope. The "rebellion" is generally taken as the period of widespread apostasy from true devotion to God expected in Jewish apocalyptic literature just before God's final act of salvation and judgment at the end of this age. It is further assumed that Paul believes that this period lies in the future, though that may be his own immediate future.

The "man of lawlessness" is generally taken as a future political figure who will lead the climax of opposition to God. The expression is taken as referring to the same figure as the "antichrist" in 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:7, 15; 2 John 7 or the "beast" in Rev 11:7-20:10, a figure based on the Old Testament and intertestamental expectation of a great end-time opponent of God (Dan 7:8, 25; 11:36, 40-41, 45; As. Moses 8:1; Pss. Sol. 2:29; Mart. Isa. 4:2-3; 4 Ezra 5:6; T. Isaac 6:1; T. Jud. 25:3; T. Dan. 5:4; Sib. Or. 2:63, 75). He will be "revealed" (v. 3) when he appears on the world stage and becomes active, a future event, though again one which may lie in Paul's immediate future. In the meantime, he is restrained (vv. 6-7) by some means, but that restraining power will at some point be removed so that he will become fully active. If this general line of interpretation accurately represents Paul's answer, then the "day of the Lord" in v. 2 probably refers not to the actual event of the Lord's return for salvation and judgment but the period immediately preceding that event. The NIV, even more so than most other English versions, strongly reflects this approach to the text; at several points, noted in comments below, where the Greek text is at best ambiguous, the translators have rendered the text in English in such a way as to point clearly toward this interpretation.

While most interpretation of this text has adhered to these established general boundaries, the specifics have varied widely. In particular, the identity of the restrainer, apparently clearly known to the readers (v. 6), has remained mysterious. Suggestions have included the preaching of the gospel, the church, Paul himself, the Holy Spirit, the Roman Empire, the Jewish nation, angels or a particular angel, and the principle of order, among others. Similar confusion reigns in regard to the identity of the man of lawlessness. Does Paul identify this figure with a person or institution of his own period of history, such as the emperor or the Roman government? Does he regard the statement, "he sets himself up in God's temple," as a literal or a metaphorical expression? The answers to these questions are many and the arguments supporting them are cogent at points; consequently, absolutely no consensus among interpreters has arisen.

In addition to the interpretive chaos which this approach to this text has created, it raises another problem. In 1 Thess 4:13-5:11 Paul stresses the imminence of Jesus' return. The Thessalonians' comfort in grief and their motivation to be watchful and ready for Christ's return are based on the hope that his return is imminent, that it could occur at any moment. If this text refers to events which on God's timetable must precede Christ's return, that imminence is sharply qualified, if not contradicted. This tension has led some to deny that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians or that his view of the Lord's return had changed between the writing of the two letters.

Others, however, insist that in Jewish literature the idea that the final act of judgment and salvation is imminent regularly stands together with the idea that it will be preceded by various preliminary events or signs. In particular it has been argued that in 1 Thess 5:1-11 the Lord's return is unexpected by unbelievers, while the sign provided here is only understood by believers. Against this it must be said that in 1 Thess 5:1-11 the time of the Lord's coming is unknown to all; what distinguishes believers is not their knowledge of the time but their expectation of Christ's return and their consequent watchfulness. Whatever the merits of these explanations, it is admitted by all that if 2 Thess 2:1-12 refers to future events which precede Christ's return, it does create at least a difficult tension with the imminent expectation of the parousia.

Another general weakness with this approach is its lack of congruence with the question which Paul addresses. If in this text Paul is discussing events which precede Christ's return, at best he answers indirectly the question which begins the discussion, namely, whether the day of the Lord has already come (v. 2). Rather than pointing out directly that this event has not occurred, he in effect says that the day of the Lord has not come because the events necessarily prior to the day have not come. While this problem is ameliorated somewhat by taking "day of the Lord" to refer to events just preceding Christ's return, the argument remains less than straightforward. One might have expected the apostle instead to point out what the day of the Lord would bring in itself, noting how those things have not yet been fully realized.

In such a situation of exegetical confusion, established patterns of interpretation deserve reexamination. If the prevailing approach to the text yields so wide a range of possible interpretations and so many problems, it may be that the prevailing approach is not in harmony with the author's intended meaning. To be sure, the traditional understanding of this text may be correct, and the particulars of Paul's meaning may be too remote for us ever to recover them. However, if another approach yields a clear interpretation in harmony with the details of the text and with Paul's teaching elsewhere, it at least deserves a hearing.

One alternative is that the appearance of the man of lawlessness refers to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This interpretation has several merits. One is that Jesus clearly refers to the destruction of the temple in the Olivet Discourse (Matt 24:15-22; Mark 13:14-20; Luke 21:20-24). Since Paul seems to allude to this teaching of Jesus both in this passage (vv. 9-10; cf. Matt 24:23-38; Mark 13:21-23) and in others in these letters (cf. 1 Thess 4:13-5:11; 2 Thess 1:7-10 and comments above), he may do so here as well. The text does refer directly to the temple (v. 4), and "lawless" is used in some other texts to refer to Romans (Acts 2:23; Pss. Sol. 17:11-22). Furthermore, this ameliorates somewhat the tension between the prediction of preliminary events and the imminent expectation of the Lord's return in 1 Thess 4:13-5:11.

There are, however, some serious weaknesses with this approach. One is the lack of substantial verbal parallels between this passage and the specific discussion of the fall of Jerusalem in the Olivet Discourse. Only the statement about sitting in the temple (v. 4) can be offered as a specific allusion to anything in Matt 24:15-22 and its parallels, and then only as an interpretive allusion to "abomination of desolation." If Paul is referring specifically to the Olivet Discourse, he is doing so obliquely at best.

Secondly, in order to see a reference to the destruction of the temple in v. 4, "sets himself up" must be taken figuratively while "temple" is interpreted literally. The comments on this verse below will note that the rest of the verse suggests a consistently figurative meaning for the entire expression.

Thirdly, Jesus' teaching about Jerusalem in the Olivet Discourse presents the fall of Jerusalem less as a preliminary sign of his coming than as an event not to be confused with his coming. It has the impact of a specific warning to Christians living in Palestine to flee the approaching Roman armies, to depend on God's provision for them during a time of great distress, and not to confuse this event and the false messianic claims that will accompany it with the actual return of Jesus. Paul's approach here is significantly different if he refers to that event. Most important is the observation, noted in detail in the comments below, that Paul's language in this text emphasizes not so much the future activity of the lawless one as his present activity. Though obscured at nearly every point by the NIV's interpretive translation, this observation is probably the decisive one in indicating the possibility of a different interpretation.

Recognizing that Paul emphasizes the present activity of the lawless one throughout this passage prompts us to put forward another possibility for consideration. We begin with the recognition that for Paul the "end time" has already begun with the appearance of Jesus in history and especially with his death and resurrection. In a variety of other texts, many of them already noted in previous comments, Paul points out that the promised blessings of the end time are already a reality for the Christian because in Christ God has inaugurated the fulfillment of his promises.

Likewise, the suffering of the faithful which in the Old Testament and intertestamental Jewish apocalyptic literature precedes the final act of salvation (Isa 24:17-23; Dan 12:1; Joel 2:1-11; Amos 5:16-20; Zeph 1:14-16; Jub. 23:11; 24:3; 2 Bar . 22:6; 55:6; 4 Ezra 7:37; 1 Enoch 80:4-5), is also for Paul a present reality (cf. Rom 8:22; 1 Cor 2:6-8; 15:55-57; Eph 6:10-16; Col 2:14), one which begins with Christ's own sufferings and continues in the lives of believers as they are united with Christ and suffer as he did.

The very structure of Paul's thought, then, is that the end-time events have already been manifested in Christ and are being manifested in the lives of believers. What remains to occur, as Paul has stressed in 2 Thess 1:6-10, is for Christ's return to bring an end to the suffering of his people, vindicating them before their enemies - who are also his enemies - and bringing to full realization the glory which already belongs to the people of God and the judgment that already belongs to the others.

Could this be the very point which Paul makes in this text? If the following conclusions, presented in detail in the comments below, have merit, then the answer appears to be affirmative: (1) the "rebellion" refers to Jewish rejection of the gospel, already a reality in Paul's ministry; (2) the "appearance" (or "revelation") of the man of lawlessness refers not to his activity in history, which is already a reality, but the final, definitive revealing that all opposition to God and Christ is ultimately the activity of the great opponent, Satan; (3) "what is holding him back" (v. 6) and "the one who now holds it back" are better rendered as "the one who now prevails" and do not refer to someone or something that restrains the man of lawlessness but instead refer to the man of lawlessness himself as one who appears to prevail in this age. If so, for Paul the "man of lawlessness" was as much a present manifestation of the end-time opponent of God as was the "antichrist" in the epistles of John (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:7, 15; 2 John 7). In this case Paul in this text stresses that the Lord's work will not be complete until the opposition which the Thessalonians and other Christians already experience is revealed for what it is and is fully and finally eliminated at the Lord's return. In effect he assures the readers that the day of the Lord has not yet come because they continue to see the prevalence of evil all around them.

It might be argued that the structure of Paul's thought, with its balance between the present realization of God's end-time promises and the future completion of them, demands that the present manifestation of end-time evil climax in the appearance near the end of history of a great opponent of God. While this assumption does lend a certain symmetry to Paul's eschatology, it remains an assumption only. If the conclusions summarized above and argued below are correct, this text gives no explicit reason to expect an intensification of trouble at some point in the future. If the revelation of the man of lawlessness refers to the revealing of his activity throughout history for what it is and if "what is holding him back" is in fact "the one who prevails," then nothing in the text indicates that in the future the activity of the lawless one will be any worse than it is already. This conclusion does not, however, minimize the intensity or significance of the suffering of Christians in any way. Throughout these letters Paul has shown the readers that their tribulations belong to the context of God's salvation-historical plan (1 Thess 2:14-16; 3:4-5); they are part of the end-time sufferings inaugurated by Christ, not unlike the experience of God's people in the past. These troubles, because they are part of the opposition to God's final act of salvation in Jesus, already represent the climax of evil in the world. Thus, all that remains for the future is the judgment due the opponents (2 Thess 1:6-7). The present sufferings of Christians do not require an intensification in order to fulfill the predicted sufferings of the end. Modern American Christians who have difficulty believing that opposition to the Lord and his people has already reached such a pitch have perhaps focused too much on their relative security and too little on the suffering of their brothers and sisters in other places.

If this interpretation is correct, several difficulties with this text are addressed in a single stroke. The mysterious identities of the man of lawlessness and the one who restrains are immediately resolved. If both expressions refer to Satan as he is at work in this age, then the text speaks less cryptically than is regularly assumed. Secondly, the tension between the imminence of Christ's return and the prediction of preliminary events is eliminated. If what Paul addresses here is the present activity of evil, which at once will be revealed for what it is and destroyed when Christ returns, then Christ's return remains imminent. Furthermore, the resulting emphasis of the text is that his return will mean deliverance and vindication for the believers, who in the meantime must remain alert and steadfast as they resist the deceptive activity of the Evil One and look forward to his final defeat at Christ's return, precisely the emphasis of the rest of Paul's eschatological teaching in these letters. Finally, the impact of the argument for the question which begins the discussion is direct and cogent. Paul's point is to reassure the Thessalonians that the day of the Lord has not yet occurred because when it does, the opposition which they now endure will be eliminated entirely. It offers them the reassurance that God's work in history is not finished until his people experience the fullness of fellowship with him, no longer restricted or hindered by the activity of Satan and those who belong to him.

Such are the general merits of the interpretation which this commentary sets forth; the specifics are spelled out in the verse-by-verse comments below. Recognizing, however, that this interpretation represents a departure from the approach to this text which has prevailed for some time, the comments will also note the way in which this text has traditionally been interpreted.

A. THE DAY OF THE LORD NOT YET PRESENT (2:1-2)

¹ Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, ² not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

This section begins with the question which prompts Paul's discussion. As in other cases where Paul addresses a specific problem in a church, we can only speculate about the circumstances which led to the problem. The prevailing opinion is that the expectation of the Lord's return, fueled in part by 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, has reached a fever pitch in the Thessalonian church, so that the Christians there believed themselves to be living in the period immediately before Christ's return. To lessen the intensity of this expectation, Paul wrote the section that follows, correcting their imminent hope for Christ's return with the reminder that certain events, namely the rebellion and the appearance of the man of lawlessness, must occur first.

This explanation has the virtue of seeing in Paul's answer a direct address of the problem. If the Thessalonian church includes a large contingent of former pagans (cf. 1 Thess 1:9 and comments above), Paul's use of language and images from Jewish apocalyptic literature might be surprising. However, if the problems in the church were prompted by a message which employed such language, we would not by surprised that Paul would correct the problem using similar language.

There are, however, other ways in which the problem may have arisen. Later in Corinth it appears that a species of teaching arose which asserted that all of God's promises, including the promise of the resurrection, had already been fulfilled in their entirety in what Christians had already received in Jesus and through the Holy Spirit. Paul appears to address this problem in its many manifestations throughout 1 Corinthians, but especially in 1 Corinthians 15. To the idea that all of God's work is complete in what the Christian has already received, Paul there asserts emphatically that God has a work yet to come, the resurrection of the dead at Christ's return. Later Paul reflects a similar idea in 2 Tim 2:18, where he refers to those who teach that the resurrection had already occurred. The problem may be similar in Thessalonica. The possibility that some had taught the Thessalonians, with alleged apostolic authority, that the Lord's work was finished, in effect that the promise of a coming "day of the Lord" had been fulfilled, is all the more likely because Paul addresses a church not far removed geographically, culturally or chronologically from the Corinthian church. As noted below, this scenario allows the phrase "day of the Lord" to have its usual meaning for Paul: it refers not to the period just preceding the end but to the end itself, which will bring the final victory of God's purposes in the world (cf. 1 Thess 5:2 and comments above).

The value of this text for the modern reader lies in precisely this area. Ultimately the New Testament's expectation of the Lord's return promises the ultimate fulfillment of God's eternal good purposes for creation and humanity. As long as evil is active in the world, even more when it appears that evil prevails, God's purpose remains incomplete. So in addressing the question of the Lord's coming, Paul is not simply settling the matter of the eschatological calendar. He is asserting the utter goodness and power of God, which will finally prevail completely over every manifestation of evil. When his people are persecuted, they can be assured that God's power and goodness will one day triumph fully.

2:1 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him,

Paul announces here the general subject which he will address. "Coming" is parousiva ( parousia ), a term which Paul uses later in this section (vv. 8-9) and often in the first letter (1 Thess 2:19 [see comments]; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23) to refer to the Lord's return as his visitation or presence as an important official. This visitation also signifies the gathering of his people to be with him, as Paul has stated specifically in 1 Thess 4:17. If, as both internal evidence and tradition would indicate, 1 Thessalonians was written before this letter, Paul is in effect reminding the readers of the content of that first letter and offering a clarification or expansion on its teaching. The word translated "being gathered, ejpisunagwghv ( episynago-ge- ) occurs only here and at Heb 10:25, but the cognate verb appears in Matt 24:31; Mark 13:27. So the unusual expression here may echo the teaching of Jesus about his return. This gathering fulfills the expectation of the Old Testament that the scattered people of God would be gathered again (Isa 43:4-7; 52:12; 56:8; Jer 31:8; Ezek 28:9; Ps 106:47) and for Christians signified the gathering of believers from all parts of the earth as well as the reuniting of the living and the dead.

The fact that Paul here equates the "coming" of the Lord, implying his abiding presence, with the "gathering" of his people again leaves us with little reason to see the gathering as an secret event years prior to a second, open return of Christ when he will remain on earth. When it is observed that this coming also will mean the final defeat of the great opponent (v. 8), that conclusion is even more secure. Whatever the specific interpretation of this section, it is at least clear that the Lord's coming and the gathering of his people are a single event which signal the end, not the beginning, of the troubles described in the following verses.

we ask you, brothers, 2:2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us,

Apparently the Thessalonian church had received some communication asserting what Paul indicates here and purporting to have come from him or his associates. Paul's difficulties with others who claimed apostolic authority equal to or greater than his own are very much in evidence in the Corinthian letters and Galatians; here the problem seems to be some who represent themselves as actually speaking for Paul. The string of terms which Paul uses here - prophecy (literally "spirit," pneu'ma , pneuma ), report (literally "word," lovgo" , logos ) or letter - probably indicates that Paul knows that the Thessalonians have been disturbed by a message but is uncertain as to how it came precisely. It is possible that the "letter" to which Paul refers to 1 Thessalonians, since the problem may have arisen from a misunderstanding of it. Since "supposed" is a likely inference from the Greek text but is not strictly necessary, Paul could refer to an authentic letter. But the combination of terms more likely indicates some imitation of the inspired messages delivered through a prophet or apostle and falsely claiming to have come from Paul or his associates. In effect Paul is calling for a specific application of his instructions in 1 Thess 5:21: the Thessalonians are to test this alleged apostolic message by what they know to be true about the gospel, as Paul will remind them of it in vv. 3-12. He further addresses the problem of messages falsely claiming to come from him in 3:17.

Paul urges them not to be "easily" shaken, literally "quickly" (tacevw" , tacheo-s ). As in Gal 1:6, any departure from confident faith in the gospel is quick, since the right response is to hold faithfully to the message until Christ returns (1 Thess 5:4-11). Two verbs describe the effect of the false message on the Thessalonians: saleuvw ( saleuo- ), which indicates a shaking from a position of confidence, and qroevw ( throeo- ), which implies a mental arousal or disturbance. Both are used here in a negative sense, indicating not excitement but distress. They demonstrate that the problem addressed is not merely a matter of abstract theology; it seriously affects the readers' entire Christian outlook.

saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

The specific problem concerns whether the "day of the Lord" has already come. As noted above, a key interpretive question in this section is whether this phrase refers to the Lord's coming itself or includes the period immediately preceding the Lord's coming. In favor of the latter is the sense it makes of Paul's argument if he is discussing events which occur prior to the Lord's return. If "day" includes the period just before Christ comes back, then the Thessalonians have received a report that those days have come and so they are living in a state of great excitement and anticipation, indicated with "unsettled or alarmed" in this verse. Paul in turn tones down their agitation by stating in what follows that Christ will not return until the man of lawlessness makes his appearance on the world stage, that in effect his appearance is what will signal the period just before the end.

There are, however, several specific difficulties with this interpretation. One is the fact that Paul represents the situation of the Thessalonians not merely as over-excitement but actual disturbance. The verbs in v. 2 are more consistently understood if Paul sees the Thessalonians' situation not simply as too much of a good thing, that is, anticipating Christ's return, but as a threat to their confident hope. More significant is the fact that in the other eight uses of "day of the Lord" or the equivalent in Paul's letters (1 Cor 1:8; 2 Cor 1:14; Phil 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Thess 1:10; N.B. that Paul uses the expression much more frequently than any other New Testament writer), it never refers to anything other than the actual climax of God's work in salvation and judgment. This meaning is confirmed for this passage in the way that Paul begins the discussion in v. 1, referring to "the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him." Therefore, though in other literature it is at best conceivable that the phrase could be used for the period preceding this climax, there is little in this text or in Paul's letters generally to indicate that meaning here.

Alternately the verb ejnivsthmi ( eniste-mi ) may mean "be imminent" instead of "has come." However, such a meaning is not clearly attested for this word, since in the examples in which it may be implied the sense of "be present" is equally consistent. Furthermore, the verb here is in the perfect indicative, indicating a past action and so allowing at best only the awkward sense, not attested in any other use, of "has become imminent." The NIV's rendering of the verb is highly preferable.

If in this sense "the day of the Lord" had already come, then God's work in history is finished. For the Thessalonian Christians - small in number, persecuted by their neighbors, and suffering the grief of separation from dead brothers and sisters - that prospect would be disturbing and depressing indeed. Their hope of final vindication and glorification, of which Paul wrote in 1:5-10, would vanish. They would have no prospect that God would finish the work begun in them (Phil 1:6). They would indeed "be pitied more than all men" (1 Cor 15:19). Reassuring them that this is in fact not the case is Paul's task in the following verses.

B. THE APOSTASY AND THE MAN OF LAWLESSNESS (2:3-12)

Following the tradition of most English versions, the NIV translators have made a number of interpretive decisions that sharply affect the impression which this text makes on the reader. In particular, the Greek present tense has been rendered with the English future in vv. 4, 9, and an object for the verb translated "is holding"/"holds" has been supplied in vv. 6-7. While none of these renderings is impossible, the fact that so many unusual translations are necessary to support the traditional interpretation of this passage suggests that another interpretation may more closely reflect Paul's meaning. In the comments below, the specifics of Paul's Greek text will be examined closely and alternative translations suggested. These will converge on a single point, that Paul sees the activity of the man of lawlessness not as something which lies in the future but as something already present, something which already dominates this age but which will come to its outright end when Christ returns.

If this interpretation is correct, then the impact of this text for the Thessalonians is as clear as it is for the Christian of any period who doubts the future return of Christ. Paul's reminder is that as long as evil is active in the world - claiming God's place, appearing to prevail in everyday life, deceiving the spiritually gullible and so denying them salvation - God's work in Christ is not complete. But because God's promise is faithful and his power supreme, Christ will indeed return to destroy all evil and the one who stands behind it, establishing the fullness of his righteous kingdom for which his people yearn.

1. The Apostasy and the

Revelation of the Man of Lawlessness (2:3)

³ Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness ^a is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

^a 3 Some manuscripts sin

2:3 Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs

In response to the false report which the Thessalonians have received, Paul first urges a healthy and holy skepticism. The message that the day of the Lord has come is deception, like that of the serpent with Eve (2 Cor 11:3; 1 Tim 2:14), because of what Paul is about to explain. Paul warns against this deception emphatically; "anyone . . . in any way" is literally "not anyone . . . in no way," a double-negative expression that stresses the prohibition.

Following the warning about deception, the rest of the verse in the Greek text is an anacoluthon, a subordinate clause with no clause to complete it. Literally the text reads, "Because unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed." Translators must supply the clause introduced with "because" (o{ti , hoti ), which can be clearly inferred from v. 2. Since the question concerns the coming of the day of the Lord, Paul obviously expects the reader to infer that the day is preceded by the rebellion and revelation of the man of lawlessness.

Interpreters of this passage have generally taken the "rebellion" to refer to something in the future, a widespread departure from the church, a civil rebellion or a combination of the two which will be an immediate prelude to the Lord's return. Though the language of this text could be consistent with that idea, elsewhere Paul gives reasons to believe that he saw this rebellion as something already at work during his lifetime. "Rebellion" translates ajpostasiva ( apostasia ), sometimes rendered "apostasy"; in the LXX this word and its cognates are especially used to refer to sinful departure from the worship of God. Especially in light of v. 11, this is clearly its sense here. In intertestamental Jewish apocalyptic literature, this word group was used sometimes to refer to a great period of religious unfaithfulness just before the age to come ( Jub. 23:14-23; 4 Ezra 5:1-13; 2 Apoc. Bar. 70:1-10; 1 Enoch 5:4; 91:3-10; 93:9; 1QpHab 2:1), but in some cases it clearly referred to the present departure of members of a Jewish sect (1QS 7:18-22).

Grammatically the sentence allows this rebellion to be an event in either the future or the present for Paul: the verb e[lqh/ ( elthe- ) is in the subjunctive mood, which has no time value, and the rest of the clause requires only that this event occur before the day of the Lord. Clearly elsewhere Paul indicates that such rebellion is already a reality (1 Tim 4:1; 2 Tim 3:1). But what is most significant for understanding this word as Paul intended it is the concern which he expresses elsewhere for the rebellion against God of those Jews who have rejected the gospel (1 Thess 2:14-16; Rom 9-11). This point is difficult to appreciate for modern Christians who take for granted the division between Christians and non-Christian Jews, but for Paul and his contemporaries this was a crucial problem. For early Christians who proclaimed that through Jesus they had received the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel, the unbelief of so many in Israel demanded an explanation. Part of that explanation is probably implied here: Jewish refusal of the gospel is a manifestation of the expected end-time rebellion. So here Paul uses "rebellion" as it is used in the Old Testament, to refer to the falling away of those who are ostensibly God's people. If the Thessalonians had undergone persecution prompted by Jewish opponents of the gospel (Acts 17:5-9), Paul's meaning would be entirely clear and relevant to them.

and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.

The revelation of the man of lawlessness is similarly regarded by most interpreters as a future event, specifically as the appearance at the end of this age of an archenemy of the Lord, one who is presently restrained from appearing by some being or force. Certainly some Jewish groups of this period expected such a figure to appear in the future, though some of the intertestamental literature which has been interpreted as referring to such a figure may in fact have been intended to refer to some specific opponent of God's people at the time of writing. The question here, though, is whether Paul uses "is revealed" to refer to the appearance of this figure in history or to something else.

While the traditional meaning is not impossible, Paul elsewhere uses this verb, ajpokaluvptw ( apokalypto -) and its cognate noun ajpokavluyi" ( apokalypsis ) to indicate not that something formerly inactive becomes active but that something formerly hidden to the world but nevertheless real becomes visible to all. Hence in 1:7 the revelation of Christ is the making visible to all of his supreme authority as judge, authority which has been his since his resurrection but has not been perceived by any but his followers. Likewise, as Bruce notes, in Rom 8:19 the revealing of the sons of God is the final disclosure that the Christians are indeed God's sons, the unveiling of the identity which has always been theirs but has been hidden to unbelievers. If the word has similar impact here, then Paul refers not to a point when the man of lawlessness becomes fully active in history but the point when he is revealed for who he is. This interpretation is corroborated when we observe that the rest of the text stresses not the future activity of this figure but his present activity. Hence, Paul's point is to say that the readers can be sure that the day of the Lord has not yet come because God's purpose will not be complete until this man of lawlessness, already at work in the world, is revealed for who he is, the archenemy of God and deceiver of humanity.

Exactly who is this "man of lawlessness"? He is generally assumed to be a figure of history, what might be termed a political figure, who will bring to a climax all human rebellion against God. Beyond that general identification, interpreters have found no unity whatever in understanding this expression. Noting especially stress on the present activity of this lawless one, some have understood the writer to be referring to the Roman government or emperor. Some therefore see this prophecy as a failed one, since Rome has fallen and the expected "day" has not come. Others have attempted to reclaim this line of interpretation, offering that the rebellion and the revelation of the man of lawlessness refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, which Paul merely presented as a necessary preliminary to the Lord's return, not necessarily as an event which point to Christ's return immediately afterward. Luther identified the man of lawlessness with the pope, a conclusion clearly based on his own polemical needs and now almost universally abandoned. The predominant view remains that this "man" is an uncertain figure of the future, whose appearance is the immediate harbinger of the Lord's return.

As already indicated, this traditional interpretation runs afoul of the stress in the text on the present activity of this evil one. Moreover, the fact that his evil activity is expressed as comprehensively as it is in the text that follows and the focus elsewhere in the New Testament on Christ's final destruction of Satan and his minions suggest that the "man of lawlessness" is here a way of referring to Satan as the one who stands behind every act of rebellion against God's work. If, as noted above, "revealed" has its expected sense here, then Paul's point would be that Christ's work, to be completed on his "day," is not finished until Satan, the Evil One, is revealed to all as the one who stands behind all human rejection of God's will.

"Man of lawlessness" is an apt description of such a figure. For Paul God's law was, among other things, that which defined God's people as those who genuinely belong to him. Lawlessness can therefore be used as a comprehensive description for the one who opposes all of God's work for his people and inspires rebellion against him (cf. Rom 6:19; 2 Cor 6:14; Titus 2:14; 1 John 3:4). "Man" translates a[nqrwpo" ( anthro-pos ), which normally refers to a human being. However, the word was commonly used with a weakened sense, almost as an indefinite pronoun, when the emphasis was not on the word "man" but on the words which qualify it. That would be the case here, where the emphasis lies on "lawlessness" as the characteristic of this figure (cf. Rev 13:18). This is confirmed by the next expression: the second occurrence of "man" in the NIV translates uJiov" ( huios ), literally "son," which is used in a similar indefinite fashion to put the emphasis on the descriptive noun "destruction" (cf. Matt 8:12; 13:38; Luke 16:8; 20:34; John 17:12; Acts 3:25; Eph 2:2; 5:6; Col 3:6). That the terms do not necessarily stress humanity in this context is indicated later in the text, where Paul will refer more indefinitely to "the mystery of lawlessness" (v. 7) and "the lawless one" (v. 8; cf. Matt 6:13).

As the NIV footnote indicates, many Greek manuscripts read "man of sin" instead of "man of lawlessness," substituting aJmartiva ( hamartia , "sin") for ajnomiva ( anomia , "lawlessness"). This variant is widely attested, but since "lawlessness" occurs twice later in this passage, it appears to be the more likely original reading. A later copyist may have substituted "sin" since it is a more common word in Paul's letters.

"The one doomed to destruction," as indicated above, is literally "the son of destruction." The same term is used of Judas Iscariot in John 17:12. Like the first expression, this one suggests the activity of this opponent, but it points also to his destiny. "Destruction" is ajpwvleia ( apo-leia ), signifying complete loss or ruin, often used of the final destruction of judgment. Paul will later speak generally of those who "perish" (v. 10), a cognate of this word. The implication as the section develops is that the one here described brings destruction on those whom he deceives as all who follow him will share in the destruction which will finally be his (v. 8). The combination of terms at the beginning of the section thus serves not only to identify the subject of Paul's discussion but also to warn against following him and sharing his fate.

2. A Description of the Man of Lawlessness (2:4)

⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

2:4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped,

Assuming a future point of reference to the entire context, the NIV inserts "will" twice in this text. On this reading the activity of the man of lawlessness lies in the future from Paul's perspective. Literally, however, Paul's words have no explicit reference to the future. "Will oppose" and "will exalt" represent two Greek present participles which have no particular time value but stress that the action named is continuing. Literally this part of the text could be translated, "the one opposing and exalting himself over everything that is called 'God' or an object of worship." The NRSV captures the literal sense clearly: "He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship." At this point, therefore, it is at least uncertain whether the man of lawlessness is a present or future figure. The language later in this section will resolve this question.

The description given here is one of comprehensive opposition to God and utter arrogance and presumptuousness. Paul is no doubt echoing earlier biblical expressions of great opponents of God, like Isaiah's prophetic description of Babylon (Isa 14:12-15), Ezekiel's of Tyre (Ezek 28:2, 11-19) or Daniel's of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Dan 8:11, 23-26; 9:26-27; 11:31, 36; 12:11; cf. 1 Macc 1:54). These figures have several features in common: they oppress the people of God, assume the supreme place of God and demand worship, and finally meet a decisive judgment which puts an end to their presumption.

For each prophet these descriptions have a significance wider than their immediate reference to specific historical figures. Babylon in Isaiah stands at the head of a catalogue of nations, all of which will be judged by the universal God for their rebellion against him (Isa 13-26). It is, in effect, the archetype of all sinfulness in this section of Isaiah. Likewise, in Daniel the Abomination of Desolation is the most horrid of the opponents of Daniel's visions, but all such opponents and their human kingdoms will be destroyed with the coming of God's kingdom (Dan 7:13-14, 23-28; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). In Ezekiel Tyre is pictured as the great opponent in Eden, the serpent (Ezek 28:12-17).

It can be argued with some cogency, then, that these prophets saw the particular manifestations of evil to which they were referring as part of a larger pattern of human sinfulness which stands under the comprehensive judgment of God. This pattern continues in later Jewish literature: in Sib. Or. 5:33, for example, Nero is described as declaring himself as God's equal, though he proves not to be.

These prophetic descriptions of supreme pride and sinfulness suggest intriguing comparisons to the description of the first sin of Genesis 3 (cf. Ezek 28:12-17). There the temptation is to become "like God" (Gen 3:5) through a deliberate act of rebellion against God. Likewise, the sin of Babel in Genesis 11, motivated by the desire "to make a name for ourselves," has as its objective to be able, like God, to do whatever the people of Babel desire (Gen 11:4, 6). Against this background it is not surprising that Paul would use similar language to describe the one who stands behind every act of sinfulness as supremely arrogant and presumptuous, to the point of usurping the very place of God himself. The idea that Paul refers not to a specific person who will appear in history to manifest these evil qualities but to the archenemy of God who provokes all such manifestations is consistent with the what follows this initial description. It is also consistent with his usage elsewhere, as he focuses the struggle between the people of God and God's enemies as the final spiritual battle between the people of God and Satan (Rom 16:20; 2 Cor 2:11; 11:13-15; Eph 2:1-10; 6:10-17; 1 Thess 3:5). If the end of the age has truly begun with the cross, it should be no surprise that for Paul the end-time struggle with evil should already be actualized.

The specifics of Paul's description here are consistent with this interpretation. "Oppose" translates ajntivkeimai ( antikeimai ), which is used elsewhere for opposition to Jesus, his disciples or the gospel (Luke 13:17; 21:51; 1 Cor 16:9; Phil 1:28). In 1 Tim 5:14 Paul uses the same expression found in this text to refer to the devil, and similar examples can be found in the Apostolic Fathers ( 1 Clem. 51:1; Mart. Pol. 17:1). "Exalt" is uJperaivrw ( huperairo -), used to refer to an inappropriate or exaggerated exaltation of the self (cf. 2 Cor 11:7). The first object of this opposition and exaltation is "everything that is called God." Such a comprehensive description is necessary to point out that Paul speaks not merely of paganism, which might make claims for deities other than the God of Israel, but to that which falsely claims superiority to anything regarded as deity. Paul may have in mind a perspective like the one found in Deut 32:16-17: the pagan gods are but representatives of demons. The one who ultimately claims priority over all such "gods" is the prince of demons. That point is reiterated with "object of worship," sevbasma ( sebasma ), which broadens the point to include anything that might receive human reverence and so be a rival to the lawless one.

so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

The arrogation of divine status which Paul describes is pictured in concrete terms here. "Temple" here is naov" ( naos ), which normally is used to refer specifically to the central "house" of the temple, the Holy Place and Most Holy Place, representative of the dwelling of God. The image of an opponent of God who desecrates his temple has a long history in Jewish history and literature. The Philistines (1 Sam 4:10-11) and the Egyptians (1 Kgs 14:25-26) both put the tabernacle or temple to the sack, but it is the Babylonians who bring destruction to Solomon's temple and so stand as the archetypical temple violators.

Even closer to the image here, though, was the action of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king who in 167 B.C. erected a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem temple. Also similar were the actions of the Roman general Pompey, who when he captured Jerusalem in 63 B.C. entered into the Most Holy Place, and Caligula, who in A.D. 41 unsuccessfully planned to have his own image erected in the temple. After Paul wrote, of course, the temple was again destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70.

While all of these events closely parallel Paul's description, none literally matches it: the Babylonians' destruction of the temple and Pompey's entry into it are not the same as receiving worship in the temple, Antiochus did not demand worship of himself (though Daniel nearly describes him so [Dan 11:36], and the title "Epiphanes" did imply a divine claim) but of a pagan god and erected the image at the altar rather than in the temple building (1 Macc 1:54), and Caligula's image was never actually put in place. So if Paul's expression is intended to remind the reader of these events, as it appears to be, he would seem not to be uttering a prophecy which he expects to be fulfilled with absolute literalness but supplying a vivid, evocative image for the broader kind of hubris which he describes throughout this verse. That understanding is confirmed by the phrase which follows, "proclaiming himself to be God," which serves to specify the meaning of the previous expression. All in all the text drives home the emphatic point that the man of lawlessness seizes for himself divine authority which is in no way his, thereby assuring his utter defeat.

3. Reminder of Oral Instruction on the Subject (2:5)

⁵ Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?

Paul's instruction in this passage is no innovation for the readers but is based on the oral teaching which they had first received while he was establishing the Thessalonian church (cf. 1 Thess 2:13; 3:4; 4:1). His language here indicates that the readers should know this point very well: ouj ( ou , "don't") indicates that the question anticipates a positive answer. This teaching had been a point of continued instruction: "used to tell" translates the imperfect-tense verb e[legon ( elegon ) which implies a continuing action.

If this teaching was a matter of repeated instruction for the Thessalonians, we might expect to see it reflected elsewhere in these letters. Paul may well have in mind the kind of instruction found in 1 Thess 3:4, that persecution is inevitable for believers, 1 Thess 1:10 and 2:16, that God's wrath is coming on unbelievers, and 2 Thess 1:6-10, that God will bring a final judgment on all who oppose him and his people. The difference in this passage as opposed to those is that Paul expresses these ideas with apocalyptic language, probably because the false report (v. 2) had employed similar images for different ends.

4. The One Who Restrains/Prevails (2:6-10)

⁶ And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷ For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

2:6 And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time.

The concept that the "man of lawlessness" is a figure who has yet to appear in history largely hinges on the interpretation of this verse and v. 7. "What is holding him back" translates a Greek substantive participle, toΙ katevcon ( to katechon ), from the verb katevcw ( katecho- ). There is considerable reason, however, to question the accuracy of the translation "holding . . . back" in this context. While katevcw often does mean to restrain or hold back, it has this meaning only when it occurs with an object. Though an object has been supplied for this verb in the NIV and most English versions, there is no object in either occurrence of the verb in the Greek text of vv. 6-7. It is therefore more likely that it carries the intransitive sense, normal when it has no object, of "prevail." In this case, the text can be translated, "And you know what prevails now." If this is Paul's sense here, this expression probably does not refer to one opposed to the man of lawlessness but serves as another way of referring to the man of lawlessness or his activity. He is, indeed, the one who now prevails, who works pervasively through the world system in opposition to God's purposes (cf. Eph 2:2).

Paul says that the readers already know the identity of this restraining/prevailing one, presumably from the instruction which they have already received (v. 5). Traditionally it has been assumed that while he was in Thessalonica Paul had identified orally for the Thessalonians the identity of the one who restrains the man of lawlessness, information now lost to us. But if the interpretation set forth here is correct, Paul is merely reminding the readers, as he has elsewhere, of the application of the core of the gospel which they have already received, namely, that evil and the Evil One will appear to prevail in this age until Christ returns.

"Now" clearly contrasts with "at the proper time," literally "at his/its own time." But is it the prevailing or the Thessalonians' knowing that Paul stresses is "now"? Though the effect is largely the same, the Greek word order suggests that "now" is connected to "the one who prevails," providing a contrast to his future revelation and defeat. However, the text also contrasts the Christians' present knowledge of the prevailing one with the future revelation to all of his true identity, so the difference is slight at best.

In v. 6 Paul's expression for the restraining/prevailing one is neuter, suggesting an abstraction or principle (" what is holding him back"; better, "what is prevailing"), whereas in v. 7 the expression is masculine, oJ katevcwn ( ho katecho-n ), indicating a person ("the one who now holds him back"; better, " the one who now prevails"). This difference is relatively inconsequential, however, since a similar alternation between masculine and neuter expression also occurs with "lawless one" (vv. 3-4, 8, masculine; v. 7, "secret power of lawlessness," neuter). If Paul is indeed discussing the pervasive power of evil in the world which ultimately derives from Satan himself, such an alternation between masculine and neuter is quite consistent with his point. The masculine pronoun "him" in the latter part of the verse (aujtovn , auton ) can therefore easily have the same referent as "what prevails" in the first part of the verse, its gender assigned by its larger sense.

The second part of the verse makes a statement of contrast: the readers know the one who restrains/prevails "so that he may be revealed at the proper time." Again, if "revealed" has the sense it carries elsewhere for Paul (cf. v. 3 and comments above), this revelation signifies not the beginning of the activity of the man of lawlessness but the final disclosure that all opposition to God and his people has been inspired by the great Evil One. In this case "his time" is not the time when he will be more powerful, since he prevails "now"; rather, it refers to the time of his destruction, the emphasis in vv. 7-8. Emphasizing that even the present dominance of the man of lawlessness is under the supervision of God's final authority, Paul expresses the final revelation and destruction of the man of lawlessness as the purpose of his present activity. Though the dominance of evil might make it appear that God has lost control, his purpose will be fully and finally realized in the future. Thus, Paul can even present the final revelation of this opponent as the purpose of his present dominance: "so that" translates a Greek articular infinitive which almost certainly expresses the purpose of the "prevailing," not of what the Thessalonians "know."

2:7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work;

Paul's language is compressed and difficult, but the point emerges clearly when this verse is connected to the verses that precede and follow. "Secret power of lawlessness" translates toΙ musthvrion . . . th'" ajnomiva" ( to myste-rion . . . te-s anomias ), literally "the mystery of lawlessness." Even those who assume that in this text Paul predicts the future appearance in history of an "antichrist" note that he asserts the present activity of the principle of lawlessness here. But the reason that Paul refers to this activity as a "mystery" is clearer when we understand that the future revelation of the man of lawlessness points not to his becoming more active but his being revealed for what he is. In this case, the present lawlessness activity of the lawless one is a "mystery" precisely because the world does not yet recognize it for what it is, as they also fail to recognize the "mystery" of God's purpose in history declared in the gospel (1 Cor 2:1, 7; 4:1; 15:51; Eph 1:9; 3:3-4, 9; 5:32; 6:19; Col 1:26-27; 2:2; 4:3; 1 Tim 3:9, 16), though it is clearly known by the Christians (v. 6). The warning about the deceptive power of evil in vv. 9-12 is entirely consistent with this understanding: the world, under the deceptive power of Satan, does not yet realize the nature of "the god of this age" (2 Cor 4:4).

The verb translated "is . . . at work," ejnergei'tai ( energeitai ) is grammatically ambiguous. It could either be in the middle voice, in which case it merely indicates that lawlessness is at work, or in the passive voice, in which it would mean "has been put at work" and implies that someone has taken that action. It appears that Paul probably uses this verb with impersonal subjects like "mystery" with the simpler middle sense. However, if Paul does in fact use the verb as a passive here, he could be implying either that the mystery is put in place by Satan (v. 9) or more broadly through the providence and judgment of God (vv. 11-12).

but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.

As in v. 6, "the one who now holds it back" is better rendered as "the one who now prevails." This phrase constitutes the subject of the clause, but Paul has given no predicate. The NIV supplies "will continue to do so," which probably reflects Paul's general implication. The NIV also translates Paul's movnon ( monon ) as the conjunction "but"; however, this conjunctive use of the word is not clearly attested in Paul's letters elsewhere. The usual meaning for movnon is "only," which fits the text well here, yielding the result, "The one who prevails now [will continue to do so] only until he is taken out of the way." However, it is also possible that the Greek conjunction e{w" ( heo-s , "till") is out of its usual position, in which case the sentence could be taken with good sense as, "The mystery of lawlessness is already at work only until the one who prevails is taken out of the way." In this case, what Paul supplies here is the additional assurance that the dominance of the man of lawlessness, already experienced by the readers, will last not forever but only until he is removed by the Lord at his coming, as the next verse will further explain. If the traditional interpretation is followed and "the one who holds it back" is the opponent of the man of lawlessness, then the text is ambiguous as to whether it is the restrainer or the man of lawlessness who is taken away. If the view put forward here is correct, no such ambiguity arises because the two are identical.

2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

The close connection between the revelation of the man of lawlessness and his final judgment, implied in the earlier discussion, is explicit here. It must be carefully noted that if this "revelation" signifies intensified activity, nothing at all in this text expresses it. If Paul is referring to a future appearance of an antichrist and a period of greater evil, that period of evil must be assumed between the revelation and the Lord's coming mentioned here.

Paul has shifted from the neuter back to the masculine for the lawless one, focusing on the unveiling of the evil personality who is ultimately responsible for the work of lawlessness in this age. "Then" (tovte , tote ) connects this unveiling with the removal of the prevailing one in the previous verse; "whom" (o{n , hon ) connects it to his destruction. The resulting sequence signifies the comprehensive elimination of every aspect of his activity: (a) he will no longer be present to prevail in the world; (b) he will be revealed to all for who he is; (c) he will be utterly ruined for any further activity.

The description of Jesus' decisive activity against the lawless one emphasizes his supreme power in contrast to the opponent's pretensions (v. 4). As the great enemy of Dan 8:23-25 could not be defeated by any human hand, this greatest enemy will be defeated instantly by the Lord himself. Jesus is first of all "Lord," implying his divine authority (cf. 1 Thess 1:1 and comments above). His power is so superior that he is able to bring immediate and effortless destruction on his opponent "by the breath of his mouth." Paul has probably borrowed this expression from the description of the coming king in Isa 11:4; the apocryphal 2 Esdr 13:9-11, 38 uses a similar image to indicate the messiah's total triumph over his enemies.

Likewise, the "splendor of his coming" will be such that all who have opposed him will be thoroughly overwhelmed. This phrase combines two significant words. "Splendor" translates ejpifavneia ( epiphaneia ), often used as a technical term for the visible manifestation of a deity, especially a sudden appearance in a hostile situation. In the New Testament it is used only of the appearance of Christ, usually of his return (1 Tim 6:14; 2 Tim 4:1, 8; Titus 2:13), though once of his first appearance on earth (2 Tim 1:10). Here it especially implies that the one who is truly divine but is hidden in this age will by his appearance utterly shatter all the pretensions of his opponent. This event is identified as his "coming," or parousiva ( parousia ), used elsewhere in 1-2 Thessalonians for Christ's return as the visitation of a great dignitary (1 Thess 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:1; see comments above). This expression is apt for the point that Paul makes here, but it also supplies the basis for further comparison with the lawless one in the verses that follow.

2:9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders,

In this verse the NIV translators have made their most significant interpretive move, rendering a present, indicative verb, ejstin ( estin ), as a future, "will be." While such futuristic uses of the present tense are possible, there is little to support such a translation here except for the assumption that the entire text discusses the future appearance of the man of lawlessness. Elsewhere Paul indicates that he regards the Satanic activity described here as already at work in the world (2 Cor 11:14; 1 Tim 3:1-9; cf. Rom 1:18-32; 1 Cor 2:8), so in light of the unequivocal statement of v. 7, this present-tense verb should be taken in its ordinary sense, as it is rendered in the NRSV: "The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan . . . ."

The idea of false miracles has a long history in Scripture. Pharaoh's priests were able to duplicate in part the works of Moses (Exod 7:11-12, 22; 8:7, 18; 9:11) and later the Pentateuch warned of false prophets who could deceive with similar signs and induce Israel to worship false gods (Deut 13:1-3). In the Olivet Discourse Jesus picks up the pentateuchal language and applies it to the false prophets who will be characteristic of the age in which his disciples await his return (Matt 24:11, 24; Mark 13:22). These lure the people of God to follow a false messiah, just as the false prophets of old encouraged the worship of false gods. The same concept is found in Rev 13:13-14, where the beast from the earth performs false miracles. As a corollary, the Gospels indicate that Jesus is accused of performing his own miracles by demonic power (Matt 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15). Paul is probably picking up on the language of the Olivet Discourse but is doubtlessly aware of the larger biblical context of Jesus' statement also. For Paul such deceptive activity is entirely in accord with the character of Satan, who "masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Cor 11:14) and "has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ" (2 Cor 4:4). Hence, these signs represent his "work" or activity in the world, the visible manifestation of one who remains invisible until he is revealed at the Lord's return.

The terms used here for these false miracles are commonly found in combination in the New Testament referring to the miracles of Jesus or the apostles (John 4:48; Acts 2:22, 43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 14:3; 15:12; Rom 15:19; 2 Cor 12:12; Heb 2:4; cf. Acts 7:36). Here these are literally "power and signs and wonders of a lie," the last term identifying them unequivocally as false because of their power to entice people away from the truth of Jesus. Hence, Paul makes a play on words at the beginning of the verse, speaking of the "coming" of the lawless one, his parousiva ( parousia ), a counterfeit of the coming of Jesus which the readers anticipate (v. 8). Though "coming" is certainly an adequate translation of this expression in this context, the English reader must not misunderstand it as having a future orientation. As noted above, the verb in this verse stresses the present reality of this activity, and parousia indicates less a future coming than the visitation of a dignitary or his presence with a people. Thus, the expression here suggests that the Christians must endure this false visitation, recognizing it for the lie that it is, until the genuine visitation reveals its genuine nature.

It may be argued that the phrase "in accordance with the work of Satan" indicates that Satan is distinct from the man of lawlessness. This may not be the case, however, if Paul's point is that the Christians can already perceive this work of lawlessness, even supported by false signs, to be the work of Satan himself, since they have been taught to expect such counterfeiting by him. Throughout the text "man of lawlessness" then indicates the clandestine activity of Satan in this age, whereas the name "Satan" here reveals the full identity of the one who is secretly responsible for that work.

2:10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing.

The description of the current activity of the man of lawlessness continues here, now with an emphasis on its consequences and the responsibility of those who follow it. "Every sort of evil that deceives" is literally "all deceit of unrighteousness," pointing comprehensively to every aspect of evil which would seduce people away from salvation and toward destruction. By this expression Paul indicates that this seductive influence is to be found in more than what could narrowly be described as miracles. Those who fall prey to this deceit are already under judgment for their choice; hence, Paul uses a present participle, ajpollumevnoi" ( apollumenois , "those who are perishing") to stress that their ruin is a continuing reality (cf. 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15; 4:3).

They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

Though these have fallen prey to the deception of the Evil One, they are not helpless victims. Their fate is a result of their willful decision to reject the message of salvation. Literally Paul's statement is "they did not receive the love of the truth so that they would be saved." By naming "the love of the truth" as the object of their refusal, he stresses that in rejecting the gospel, the heart of God's truth, these have repudiated any commitment to truth of any kind, devoting themselves instead to the deception of the Evil One. They have in effect "exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (Rom 1:25). Having rejected salvation, they are therefore already perishing. Paul's language here is sharply dualistic, drawing a strict division of humanity into two camps, the saved and the perishing. As far as this text is concerned, there is no middle ground of uncertainty.

5. God's Consequent Actions (2:11-12)

¹¹ For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

2:11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie

In the previous verse Paul has noted that the deceptive activity of Satan in no way compromises human responsibility. Here he indicates that Satan's activity in no way compromises God's sovereignty. This same interplay between the deceit of the Evil One, human refusal of God's will, and God's control of the universe is also seen in such episodes as the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, which is both Pharaoh's own action (Exod 8:15, 32; 9:34; cf. 1 Sam 6:6) and the action of God (Exod 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8); the evil spirit which troubles Saul, sent by God as a judgment on Saul's stubborn disobedience (1 Sam 16:14; 18:10; 19:9; cf. 15:11, 16:1); and, most directly, in Paul's statement that in response to human rejection of knowledge of God, God "gave over" humanity to idolatry and degeneracy (Rom 1:18-32).

In all these cases God's rule over the world is preserved along with human responsibility. In each case God sends that which leads to hardening, deception and sin, but in each case he sends it only in response to the rejection of his message which the human subject has already chosen. In effect God gives to those who reject him a greater measure of that which they have chosen for themselves, demonstrating to those with the will to see the consequences of the choice which was made. Here the concept is much the same. Satan's deceptive activity should not be seen as a failure of God's rule over the world. Rather, God's larger purpose of judgment and redemption, in which his free creatures experience the full consequences of their choices, is achieved as the full force of rejecting God's truth is felt in Satan's deceptive power. In this sense, even though the adversary appears to prevail now, he is still subject to the rule of God (cf. Job 1:6-12; 2:1-6), ironically bringing to bear the consequences of judgment on sinful humanity in this age even as he will himself be fully judged in the age to come.

The language of these verses closely connects them to the statement about Satan's deception in vv. 9-10. "For this reason" translates diaΙ tou'to ( dia touto ), used also by Paul in the similar discussion in Rom 1:26, indicating that the acceptance of Satan's deception is the reason God acts as he does here. "Powerful delusion" is literally "a working of error"; ejnevrgeia ( energeia , "working") is the same term used for the "work" of Satan in v. 9 and is the cognate of the verb rendered "is . . . at work" in v. 7. Likewise, "lie" (yeu'do" , pseudos ) is repeated from v. 9, where the NIV translates the same Greek word as "counterfeit." "So that they will believe the lie" is also syntactically parallel to "and so be saved" in v. 10 (both are articular infinitives introduced by eij" ( eis) , indicating purpose), sharply contrasting the consequences of acceptance or rejection of the truth.

2:12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Rejection of the truth is again underlined in v. 12, where Paul reiterates the point of v. 10 that these are judged for their refusal to believe the truth. In place of believing truth these have "delighted in wickedness," literally "approved of unrighteousness." This last expression, ajdikiva ( adikia , "wickedness, unrighteousness") probably stands as a reminder of the lawlessness (ajnomiva , anomia ) of the one who inspires it (v. 7). Paul's aim throughout is to make the readers see that this work of Satan is ultimately used by God in his providence to achieve his own purpose of judgment in the world. We should certainly understand that it is not God but Satan who deceives, but that he does so by the permission of God, who thereby accomplishes his objective to bring to bear on sinners the full consequences of their rejection of his salvation.

The effect of these last four verses on the readers is to do more than correct their understanding of the Lord's coming. By attributing unbelief to the deceptive work of Satan and its consequences to God's judgment, Paul has provided a partial answer to a question which must have troubled the small, persecuted Thessalonian church, namely, why did the truth of the gospel not persuade everyone who heard it? Likewise, this instruction would reinforce their own loyalty to the gospel, since it stated in unequivocal terms the nature of the division between believers and unbelievers.

The complexity of the interpretive issues surrounding vv. 1-12 are such as to require a concluding summary of the interpretation argued above. In short: Paul regards the promised end-time to be already present because of the work of Christ. The prevalence of evil, variously manifested, is ultimately the work of Satan. That fact is already recognized by the Christians, but the world is unaware of it, having fallen prey to Satan's deceptive powers. But when Christ returns, he will reveal Satan and his activity for what it truly is, ending his rule over this age and consigning him to eternal punishment. Therefore, as long as evil still prevails in the world, the Christians can know that God's work is not yet complete. They can therefore be confident in the faithfulness and power of God, remaining true to the gospel despite the difficulties they face and looking forward to their vindication at the final judgment.

IV. RENEWED THANKSGIVING, ENCOURAGEMENT AND PRAYER (2:13-17)

As in 1 Thess 2:13, Paul renews the letter's initial thanksgiving (cf. 1:3). Here the repetition of the thanksgiving allows Paul to remind the readers again of their standing with God as those who have responded in faith to the gospel. This reminder has special impact because of the preceding discussion. The readers need to remember this status as they continue to resist the deceptive power of evil (vv. 9-12). Furthermore, after the emphasis in the preceding section on the work of God which still lies in the future, this section will remind the readers again of what they have already received. If the problem of 2:2 stemmed from seeing all of the promises of God as already fulfilled, the Thessalonians should not conclude from Paul's counter-argument that all of the fulfillment still lies in the future. Remembering what they have already received holds the key for steadfastness in awaiting the fulfillment yet to come.

Such steadfastness is exactly what Paul seeks to stimulate in this section, and so he ends it, as in 1 Thess 3:11-13, with a prayer for the readers' future, focusing on God's work in enabling the readers to remain firm against the pressures of this age. This in turn becomes the transition point for the final section of the letter in ch. 3.

A. THANKSGIVING FOR THE SALVATION OF THE THESSALONIANS (2:13-14)

¹³ But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you ^a to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. ¹⁴ He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

^a 13 Some manuscripts because God chose you as his firstfruits

2:13 But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord,

Paul begins this section with the emphatic personal pronoun hJmei'" ( he-meis ), perhaps to shift the focus of attention after the long discussion of the lawless one (cf. 1 Thess 2:17 and comments above). As in 1:3 (see comments above), Paul expresses the thanksgiving indirectly as that which he "ought to do." Again the term expresses obligation or necessity. That obligation is based on the readers' standing with God. Paul points to this status first with "brothers," his habitual form of address in both letters (1 Thess 1:4; 2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:7; 4:1, 10, 13; 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25; 2 Thess 1:3; 2:1, 15; 3:1, 6, 13), which suggests their shared membership in God's family. The point is reinforced by "beloved by the Lord," which, like the similar phrase in 1 Thess 1:4 (see comments above) stresses that the readers are the unworthy objects of divine favor. There the reference is to the love of God the Father; here "Lord" refers to Jesus, again assuming his divine status equal to the Father. Paul may focus particularly on Jesus' love here because of the earlier focus on Jesus' return or because of the assurance it gives as he returns for judgment.

because from the beginning God chose you

Paul's explicit reason for the thanksgiving is God's choosing of the readers to be his people, again echoing 1 Thess 1:4. As in that passage, this combination of expressions stresses that through their response to the gospel the readers have been incorporated into the people of God, what might be termed the Israel of fulfillment. Such an identity would be too precious to lose through a lack of diligence in resisting the evil power that prevails in this age.

A rather difficult textual problem occurs in this verse, as indicated in the NIV's footnote. The expression ajp ' ajrch'" ( ap' arche-s , "from the beginning") followed in the NIV, appears as ajparchvn ( aparche-n , "firstfruits") in several manuscripts. Either expression is coherent in the context, both have wide attestation in the manuscripts, and the difference between the two, since no spaces appeared between words in Greek uncial manuscripts, is only one letter.

There are, however, several reasons to conclude that "firstfruits" is Paul's original expression here: (1) ap' arche-s is not used elsewhere in Paul's letters, but proΙ /avpoΙ tw'n aijwvnwn ( pro/apo to-n aio-no-n , "from eternity") appears with a similar meaning in 1 Cor 2:7 and Col 1:26 and proΙ katabolh'" kovsmou ( pro katabole-s kosmou , "from the foundation of the world") does the same duty in Eph 1:4; (2) Paul uses ajrchv ( arche- ) to mean "power" everywhere but Phil 4:15; (3) Paul uses ajparchv six other times; (4) in two other texts copyists altered ajparchvn to ajp ' ajrch'" (Rom 16:5; Rev 14:4), even though the latter expression did not fit those contexts. On balance then, the reading in the NIV footnote is probably to be preferred. "Firstfruits" suggests the Old Testament offering of the first part of the harvest to the Lord, a pledge that the remainder of the harvest, though not yet received, would be dedicated to him as well (Deut 26:1-11). As a small group facing an enormous struggle for their faith, the Thessalonian Christians needed the reminder that as "firstfruits" they too were pledged to God as his possession and were the vanguard of a greater people of God to be harvested in the future (cf. 3:1).

to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

The purpose of God's choosing of the readers is their salvation, the very thing refused by those under the deception of evil in v. 10. This salvation comes by two means. "Sanctifying work" or "sanctification" (aJgiasmov" , hagiasmos ; cf. 1 Thess 4:3 and comments above) indicates a making holy, the particular work of the Spirit both in identifying the Christian as one who belongs to God (Eph 1:13; 4:30; cf. 2 Cor 1:22) and in producing in the believer a life that imitates God's holiness (Gal 5:22-25; 1 Thess 4:7-8). It is possible that pneu'ma ( pneuma ) refers to the human spirit here, in which case it gives the object of sanctification: "through sanctifying the human spirit." But Paul's repeated statements elsewhere about the Spirit's work in sanctification suggest that the NIV's rendering is correct. "Belief in the truth" certainly contrasts with the false belief of vv. 10-12, again underlining that those who have believed the gospel are resisting the trend and pressure of this age. Maintaining such belief and growing in the sanctification that accompanies it are the obvious, fundamental responses of anyone who values his standing as one of God's saved people.

While it has been argued that the order of these two phrases, first the work of the Spirit and then faith, indicates that the work of the Spirit is the cause of that faith, nothing in this text indicates that connection explicitly. More likely is the connection which each idea makes to the concepts of the surrounding context than a cause-and-effect connection between them. And as Marshall notes, if the Spirit's work guarantees the result of faith, then the command of v. 15 to remain firm in the faith has little cogency. In fact, the statement that God chose his people "through" or "by" (ejn , en used instrumentally) their faith in the truth is more consistent with the concept of conditional election than the Calvinistic view.

2:14 He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The new sentence here in the NIV is in fact a continuation of the previous sentence. "To this" refers loosely to the entire preceding discussion, including membership in God's people, salvation, the sanctifying work of the Spirit, and belief in the truth; a Greek neuter pronoun o{ ( ho ) refers not to any one word in the preceding clause but to the entire preceding idea. Here Paul stresses that God's choice of the readers is actualized through their response to the gospel (cf. 1 Thess 1:5 and comments above). As noted in the discussion of 1 Thess 1:4 above, Paul's larger concept is not that God first chooses unconditionally those who will be his and then causes them to believe in Jesus; rather, as Rom 8:29 implies, he chooses them conditionally, on the basis of their faith which he foreknows. It is probably significant here that Paul stresses that the call is issued through the gospel: one becomes a member of God's family through heeding the message of salvation (Rom 10:17; cf. Rom 10:10-11), not by a direct operation of God on the heart which then causes belief.

The purpose of this call is to obtain (peripoivhsi" , peripoie-sis , "share"; cf. 1 Thess 5:9) the Lord's own glory (cf. 1 Thess 2:12 and comments above; Rom 8:17, 29-30; 1 Cor 15:43; 2 Cor 3:18; Phil 3:21). In light of Paul's earlier discussion, this glory is primarily what the believers will share with him when they are gathered (v. 1) at his triumphant return (v. 8; cf. 1 Cor 15:43; Phil 3:21), though Paul also understands glory to be a present possession through God's call (Rom 8:30). Again, in light of what Christ's return will mean both for believers and opponents, the need to stand firm in the faith which brought them this salvation is entirely clear to the readers.

B. ENCOURAGEMENT TO REMAIN FAITHFUL TO THE TRADITIONS DELIVERED BY PAUL (2:15)

¹⁵ So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings ^a we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

^a Or traditions

2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you,

The implication of 2Thes vv. 13-14 is now made explicit; Paul uses two Greek particles a[ra ou ( ara oun , "so then") to stress that this command is a direct inference from the previous discussion. Paul uses two verbs to express this command, both in the Greek present tense to emphasize continuing action. The Thessalonians must first of all "stand," as Paul urged in 1 Thess 3:8 (Cf. 1 Cor 16:13), remaining firm in their faith so that the result of their faith, the fullness of salvation, will be theirs. In effect, they are told not to be affected as Paul had described in v. 2. This standing firm is specified with the second verb and its object. Holding a genuine faith means not holding to the gospel teaching which they have received (cf. 1 Cor 11:2). Paul uses paravdosi" ( paradosis ) here, which, as reflected in the NIV's footnote, commonly referred to traditions delivered by word of mouth (cf. 1 Thess 2:13; 4:1; 2 Thess 3:6). This term underscores that the Thessalonian church must remain true to the original gospel deposit, including what Paul has just clarified about the day of the Lord, not accepting any of the innovations or misunderstandings with which they have been confronted. This original deposit is theirs through Paul's own teaching. As Paul noted in the first letter, they can have confidence in this teaching both because of the way Paul brought it to them (1 Thess 2:1-12) and because of what it produced in their lives (1 Thess 1:4-10).

whether by word of mouth or by letter.

That teaching, first delivered orally, is now supplemented by the letters which they have received. Whether Paul is referring to 1 or 2 Thessalonians or both is a moot point, since his expression here implies any letter that he might write. Linking letters to oral teaching reflects Paul's perspective that his letters served as substitutes for his own presence and direct teaching activity with the church. Both now are to serve as the touchstones by which they will measure the content of their faith and evaluate other teaching which they will encounter. That Paul was conscious of the authority of his teaching is abundantly clear here. Though he does not seek to "canonize" his letters with this statement, the authority which he expresses here is the basis for the later formal recognition of his letters as Scripture (cf. 1 Thess 5:27 and comments above).

C. PRAYER FOR THE LORD'S ENCOURAGEMENT AND STRENGTH (2:16-17)

¹⁶ May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷ encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Like the prayer of 1 Thess 3:11-13 (see comments above), this one is expressed as a wish. Paul begins with an emphatic reference to Christ: "himself" translates the Greek pronoun aujtov" ( autos ), which puts particular emphasis on the subject. Paul also mentions Christ before the Father, an unusual position for Paul which may reflect further emphasis, though Paul may have mentioned Christ first to avoid awkwardness with the long phrase describing God at the end of the verse. Having just referred twice to the Lord's glory ( vv. 8, 14), Paul now calls on this glorious one to bring his power to bear on the readers' lives. Likewise, God is the one "who loved us," as in v. 13, and who has acted "by grace," a concept clearly integral to the point in vv. 13-14. Through his gracious love he has already given "eternal encouragement," enabling them to face with assurance the persecutions of the present and the judgment of the future (2 Thess 1:5-10). Likewise they have "good hope," a phrase commonly in use in the first century to refer to life after death, enabling them to face the kind of difficulties described in vv. 3-12 with confidence.

Because he has already given "eternal encouragement," God can be counted on to encourage the readers in every situation. So just as before (1 Thess 3:11-13), Paul prays that God would give to the Thessalonians more of what he has already given them, especially under their pressurized circumstances. "Encourage" is coupled with "strengthen," the Greek verb sthrivzw ( ste-rizo- ), which indicates especially causing the object to be "more firm and unchanging in attitude or belief," again an appropriate prayer when the problems addressed in vv. 1-13 are in view. Paul sees this strengthening of attitude and mind to have a comprehensive effect on behavior, as he prays that it may take place both in "deed and word." The inclusion of this last term may suggest that the Thessalonians' own right proclamation of the gospel, threatened by the false teaching of v. 2, will be reinforced by God's encouragement.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2Th 2:16

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace ,

McGarvey: 2Th 2:17

comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word . [Paul, as a minister of Christ, was endeavoring to comfort and establish the Thessalonians in their words and deeds, and he here prays that Christ himself and God the Father may thus comfort and establish them; and he describes the Father as one who loved them (Joh 3:16), and through mere grace had given them the means of never failing consolation, and a good hope of a final salvation, which is more than consolation.]

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

Second Thessalonians

From Corinth a.d. 50 Or 51

By Way of Introduction

It is plain that First Thessalonians did not settle all the difficulties in Thessalonica. With some there was precisely the opposite result. There was some opposition to Paul’s authority and even defiance. So Paul repeats his " command" for discipline (2Th_3:6) as he had done when with them (2Th_3:10). He makes this Epistle a test of obedience (2Th_3:14) and finds it necessary to warn the Thessalonians against the zeal of some deceivers who even invent epistles in Paul’s name to carry their point in the church (2Th_2:1.), an early instance of pseudepigraphic " Pauline" epistles, but not for a " pious" purpose. Paul’s keen resentment against the practise should make us slow to accept the pseudepigraphic theory about other Pauline Epistles. He calls attention to his own signature at the close of each genuine letter. As a rule he dictated the epistle, but signed it with his own hand (2Th_3:17). Paul writes to calm excitement (Ellicott) and to make it plain that he had not said that the Second Coming was to be right away.

This Epistle is a bit sharper in tone than the First and also briefer. It has been suggested that there were two churches in Thessalonica, a Gentile Church to which First Thessalonians was sent, and a Jewish Church to which Second Thessalonians was addressed. There is no real evidence for such a gratuitous hypothesis. It assumes a difficulty about his sending a second letter to the same church that does not exist. The bearer of the first letter brought back news that made a second necessary. It was probably sent within the same year as the first.

JFB: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

Its GENUINENESS is attested by POLYCARP [Epistle to the Philippians, 11], who alludes to 2Th 3:15. JUSTIN MARTYR [Dialogue with Trypho, p. 193.32], alludes to 2Th 2:3. IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 7.2] quotes 2Th 2:8. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 1.5, p. 554; The Instructor, 1.17], quotes 2Th 3:2, as Paul's words. TERTULLIAN [On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 24] quotes 2Th 2:1-2, as part of Paul's Epistle.

DESIGN.--The accounts from Thessalonica, after the sending of the first Epistle, represented the faith and love of the Christians there as on the increase; and their constancy amidst persecutions unshaken. One error of doctrine, however, resulting in practical evil, had sprung up among them. The apostle's description of Christ's sudden second coming (1Th 4:13, &c., and 1Th 5:2), and the possibility of its being at any time, led them to believe it was actually at hand. Some professed to know by "the Spirit" (2Th 2:2) that it was so; and others alleged that Paul had said so when with them. A letter, too, purporting to be from the apostle to that effect, seems to have been circulated among them. (That 2Th 2:2 refers to such a spurious letter, rather than to Paul's first Epistle, appears likely from the statement, 2Th 3:17, as to his autograph salutation being the mark whereby his genuine letters might be known). Hence some neglected their daily business and threw themselves on the charity of others, as if their sole duty was to wait for the coming of the Lord. This error, therefore, needed rectifying, and forms a leading topic of the second Epistle. He in it tells them (2Th. 2:1-17), that before the Lord shall come, there must first be a great apostasy, and the Man of Sin must be revealed; and that the Lord's sudden coming is no ground for neglecting daily business; that to do so would only bring scandal on the Church, and was contrary to his own practice among them (2Th 3:7-9), and that the faithful must withdraw themselves from such disorderly professors (2Th 3:6, 2Th 3:10-15). Thus, there are three divisions of the Epistle: (1) 2Th 1:1-12. Commendations of the Thessalonians' faith, love, and patience, amidst persecutions. (2) 2Th. 2:1-17. The error as to the immediate coming of Christ corrected, and the previous rise and downfall of the Man of Sin foretold. (3) 2Th. 3:1-16. Exhortations to orderly conduct in their whole walk, with prayers for them to the God of peace, followed by his autograph salutation and benediction.

DATE OF WRITING.--AS the Epistle is written in the joint names of Timothy and Silas, as well as his own, and as these were with him while at Corinth, and not with him for a long time subsequently to his having left that city (compare Act 18:18, with Act 19:22; indeed, as to Silas, it is doubtful whether he was ever subsequently with Paul), it follows, the place of writing must have been Corinth, and the date, during the one "year and six months" of his stay there, Act 18:11 (namely, beginning with the autumn of A.D. 52, and ending with the spring of A.D. 54), say about six months after his first Epistle, early in A.D. 53.

STYLE.--The style is not different from that of most of Paul's other writings, except in the prophetic portion of it (2Th 2:1-12), which is distinguished from them in subject matter. As is usual in his more solemn passages (for instance, in the denunciatory and prophetic portions of his Epistles, for example, compare Col 2:8, Col 2:16, with 2Th 2:3; 1Co 15:24-28, with 2Th 2:8-9; Rom 1:18, with 2Th 2:8, 2Th 2:10), his diction here is more lofty, abrupt, and elliptical. As the former Epistle dwells mostly on the second Advent in its aspect of glory to the sleeping and the living saints (1Th. 4:1-5:28), so this Epistle dwells mostly on it in its aspect of everlasting destruction to the wicked and him who shall be the final consummation of wickedness, the Man of Sin. So far was Paul from laboring under an erroneous impression as to Christ's speedy coming, when he wrote his first Epistle (which rationalists impute to him), that he had distinctly told them, when he was with them, the same truths as to the apostasy being about first to arise, which he now insists upon in this second Epistle (2Th 2:5). Several points of coincidence occur between the two Epistles, confirming the genuineness of the latter. Thus, compare 2Th 3:2, with 1Th 2:15-16; again, 2Th 2:9, the Man of Sin "coming after the working of Satan," with 1Th 2:18; 1Th 3:5, where Satan's incipient work as the hinderer of the Gospel, and the tempter, appears; again, mild warning is enjoined, 1Th 5:14; but, in this second Epistle, when the evil had grown worse, stricter discipline (2Th 3:6, 2Th 3:14): "withdraw from" the "company" of such.

Paul probably visited Thessalonica on his way to Asia subsequently (Act 20:4), and took with him thence Aristarchus and Secundus: the former became his "companion in travel" and shared with him his perils at Ephesus, also those of his shipwreck, and was his "fellow prisoner" at Rome (Act 27:2; Col 4:10; Phm 1:24). According to tradition he became bishop of Apamea.

JFB: 2 Thessalonians (Outline)

• ADDRESS AND SALUTATION: INTRODUCTION: THANKSGIVING FOR THEIR GROWTH IN FAITH AND LOVE, AND FOR THEIR PATIENCE IN PERSECUTIONS, WHICH ARE A TOKEN FOR GOOD EVERLASTING TO THEM, AND FOR PERDITION TO THEIR ADVERSARIES AT CHRIST'S COMING: PRAYER FOR THEIR PERFECTION. (2Th 1:1-12)
• CORRECTION OF THEIR ERROR AS TO CHRIST'S IMMEDIATE COMING. THE APOSTASY THAT MUST PRECEDE IT. EXHORTATION TO STEADFASTNESS, INTRODUCED WITH THANKSGIVING FOR THEIR ELECTION BY GOD. (2Th. 2:1-17)
• HE ASKS THEIR PRAYERS: HIS CONFIDENCE IN THEM: PRAYER FOR THEM: CHARGES AGAINST DISORDERLY IDLE CONDUCT; HIS OWN EXAMPLE: CONCLUDING PRAYER AND SALUTATION. (2Th. 3:1-18)

TSK: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, it is generally agreed, was the earliest written of all St. Paul’s epistles, whence we see the reason and propriety of his anxiety that it should be read in all the Christian churches of Macedonia. - " I charge you by the Lord, that this Epistle be read unto all the holy brethren" (1Th 5:27). " The existence of this clause," observes Dr. Paley, " is an evidence of its authenticity; because, to produce a letter, purporting to have been publicly read in the church at Thessalonica, when no such letter had been read or heard of in that church, would be to produce an imposture destructive of itself. Either the Epistle was publicly read in the church of Thessalonica, during St. Paul’s lifetime, or it was not. If it was, no publication could be more authentic, no species of notoriety more unquestionable, no method of preserving the integrity of the copy more secure. If it was not, the clause would remain a standing condemnation of the forgery, and one would suppose, an invincible impediment to its success." Its genuineness, however, has never been disputed; and it has been universally received in the Christian church, as the inspired production of St. Paul, from the earliest period to the present day. The circumstance of this injunction being given, in the first epistle which the Apostle wrote, also implies a strong and avowed claim to the character of an inspired writer; as in fact it placed his writings on the same ground with those of Moses and the ancient prophets. The second Epistle, besides those marks of genuineness and authority which it possesses in common with the others, bears the highest evidence of its divine inspiration, in the representation which it contains of the papal power, under the characters of " the Man of sin," and the " Mystery of iniquity." The true Christian worship is the worship of the one only God, through the one only Mediator, the man Christ Jesus; and from this worship the church of Rome has most notoriously departed, by substituting other mediators, invocating and adoring saints and angels, worshipping images, adoring the host, etc. It follows, therefore, that " the Man of sin" is the Pope; not only on account of the disgraceful lives of many of them, but by means of their scandalous doctrines and principles; dispensing with the most necessary duties, selling pardons and indulgences for the most abominable crimes, and perverting the worship of God to the grossest superstition and idolatry. It was evidently the chief design of the Apostle, in writing to the Thessalonians, to confirm them in the faith, to animate them to a courageous profession of the Gospel, and to the practice of all the duties of Christianity; but to suppose, with Dr. Macknight, that he intended to prove the divine authority of Christianity by a chain of regular arguments, in which he answered the several objections which the heathen philosophers are supposed to have advanced, seems quite foreign to the nature of the epistles, and to be grounded on a mistaken notion, that the philosophers designed at so early a period to enter on a regular disputation with the Christians, when in fact they derided them as enthusiasts, and branded their doctrines as " foolishness." In pursuance of his grand object, " it is remarkable," says Dr. Doddridge, " with how much address he improves all the influence which his zeal and fidelity in their service must naturally give him, to inculcate upon them the precepts of the gospel, and persuade them to act agreeably to their sacred character. This was the grand point he always kept in view, and to which every thing else was made subservient. Nothing appears, in any part of his writings, like a design to establish his own reputation, or to make use of his ascendancy over his Christian friends to answer any secular purposes of his own. On the contrary, in this and in his other epistles, he discovers a most generous, disinterested regard for their welfare, expressly disclaiming any authority over their consciences, and appealing to them, that he had chose to maintain himself by the labour of this own hands, rather than prove burdensome to the churches, or give the least colour of suspicion, that, under zeal for the gospel, and concern for their improvement, he was carrying on any private sinister view. The discovery of so excellent a temper must be allowed to carry with it a strong presumptive argument in favour of the doctrines he taught....And, indeed, whoever reads St. Paul’s epistles with attention, and enters into the spirit with which they were written, will discern such intrinsic characters of their genuineness, and the divine authority of the doctrines they contain, as will, perhaps, produce in him a stronger conviction than all the external evidence with which they are attended." These remarks are exceedingly well grounded and highly important; and to no other Epistles can they apply with greater force than the present most excellent productions of the inspired Apostle. The last two chapters of the first epistle, in particular, as Dr. A. Clarke justly observes, " are certainly among the most important, and the most sublime in the New Testament. The general judgment, the resurrection of the body, and the states of the quick and the dead, the unrighteous and the just, are described, concisely indeed, but they are exhibited in the most striking and affecting points of view."

TSK: 2 Thessalonians 2 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Th 2:1, Paul urges them to continue stedfast in the truth received; 2Th 2:3, shows that there shall be a departure from the faith, 2Th 2:9, and a discovery of Antichrist, before the day of the Lord come; 2Th 2:15, and thereupon repeats his former exhortation, and prays for them.

Poole: 2 Thessalonians 2 (Chapter Introduction)

THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2

MHCC: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

The second epistle to the Thessalonians was written soon after the first. The apostle was told that, from some expressions in his first letter, many expected the second coming of Christ was at hand, and that the day of judgment would arrive in their time. Some of these neglected their worldly duties. St. Paul wrote again to correct their error, which hindered the spread of the gospel. He had written agreeably to the words of the prophets of the Old Testament; and he tells them there were many counsels of the Most High yet to be fulfilled, before that day of the Lord should come, though, because it is sure, he had spoken of it as near. The subject led to a remarkable foretelling, of some of the future events which were to take place in the after-ages of the Christian church, and which show the prophetic spirit the apostle possessed.

MHCC: 2 Thessalonians 2 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Th 2:1-4) Cautions against the error that the time of Christ's coming was just at hand. There would first be a general apostacy from the faith, and a revealing of the antichristian man of sin.

(2Th 2:5-12) His destruction, and that of those who obey him.

(2Th 2:13-17) The security of the Thessalonians from apostacy; an exhortation to stedfastness, and prayer for them.

Matthew Henry: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians

This Second Epistle was written soon after the former, and seems to have been designed to prevent a mistake, which might arise from some passages in the former epistle, concerning the second coming of Christ, as if it were near at hand. The apostle in this epistle is careful to prevent any wrong use which some among them might make of those expressions of his that were agreeable to the dialect of the prophets of the Old Testament, and informs them that there were many intermediate counsels yet to be fulfilled before that day of the Lord should come, though, because it is sure, he had spoken of it as near. There are other things that he writes about for their consolation under sufferings, and exhortation and direction in duty.

Matthew Henry: 2 Thessalonians 2 (Chapter Introduction)

The apostle is very careful to hinder the spreading of an error into which some among them had fallen concerning the coming of Christ, as being very near (2Th 2:1-3). Then he proceeds to confute the error he cautioned them against, by telling them of two great events that were antecedent to the coming of Christ - a general apostasy, and the revelation of antichrist, concerning whom the apostle tells them many remarkable things, about his name, his character, his rise, his fall, his reign, and the sin and ruin of his subjects (2Th 2:4-12). He then comforts them against the terror of this apostasy, and exhorts them to stedfastness (2Th 2:13-15). And concludes with a prayer for them (2Th 2:16, 2Th 2:17).

Barclay: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS OF PAUL

The Letters Of Paul

There is no more interesting body of documents in the New Testament than the letters of Paul. That is because of all forms of literature a letter is most personal. Demetrius, one of the old Greek literary critics, once wrote, "Every one reveals his own soul in his letters. In every other form of composition it is possible to discern the writercharacter, but in none so clearly as the epistolary." (Demetrius, On Style, 227). It is just because he left us so many letters that we feel we know Paul so well. In them he opened his mind and heart to the folk he loved so much; and in them, to this day, we can see that great mind grappling with the problems of the early church, and feel that great heart throbbing with love for men, even when they were misguided and mistaken.

The Difficulty Of Letters

At the same time, there is often nothing so difficult to understand as a letter. Demetrius (On Style, 223) quotes a saying of Artemon, who edited the letters of Aristotle. Artemon said that a letter ought to be written in the same manner as a dialogue, because it was one of the two sides of a dialogue. In other words, to read a letter is like listening to one side of a telephone conversation. So when we read the letters of Paul we are often in a difficulty. We do not possess the letter which he was answering; we do not fully know the circumstances with which he was dealing; it is only from the letter itself that we can deduce the situation which prompted it. Before we can hope to understand fully any letter Paul wrote, we must try to reconstruct the situation which produced it.

The Ancient Letters

It is a great pity that Paulletters were ever called epistles. They are in the most literal sense letters. One of the great lights shed on the interpretation of the New Testament has been the discovery and the publication of the papyri. In the ancient world, papyrus was the substance on which most documents were written. It was composed of strips of the pith of a certain bulrush that grew on the banks of the Nile. These strips were laid one on top of the other to form a substance very like brown paper. The sands of the Egyptian desert were ideal for preservation, for papyrus, although very brittle, will last forever so long as moisture does not get at it. As a result, from the Egyptian rubbish heaps, archaeologists have rescued hundreds of documents, marriage contracts, legal agreements, government forms, and, most interesting of all, private letters. When we read these private letters we find that there was a pattern to which nearly all conformed; and we find that Paulletters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage.

"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.

I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are

going well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother.

I thank my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe when I was

in peril on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey

money from Caesar--three gold pieces. And things are going fine

with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let

me know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that

I may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because

of that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my

heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends.

I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My

military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health.

Serenus sends good wishes, Agathos Daimonboy, and Turbo,

Galloniuson." (G. Milligan, Selections from the Greek Papyri,

36.)

Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little human nature changes. The lad is hoping for promotion quickly. Who would Serenilla be but the girl he left behind him? He sends the ancient equivalent of a photograph to the folk at home. Now that letter falls into certain sections. (i) There is a greeting. (ii) There is a prayer for the health of the recipients. (iii) There is a thanksgiving to the gods. (iv) There are the special contents. (v) Finally, there are the special salutations and the personal greetings. Practically every one of Paulletters shows exactly the same sections, as we now demonstrate.

(i) The Greeting: Rom_1:1 ; 1Co_1:1 ; 2Co_1:1 ; Gal_1:1 ; Eph_1:1 ; Phi_1:1 ; Col_1:1-2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:1 .

(ii) The Prayer: in every case Paul prays for the grace of God on the people to whom he writes: Rom_1:7 ; 1Co_1:3 ; 2Co_1:2 ; Gal_1:3 ; Eph_1:2 ; Phi_1:3 ; Col_1:2 ; 1Th_1:1 ; 2Th_1:2 .

(iii) The Thanksgiving: Rom_1:8 ; 1Co_1:4 ; 2Co_1:3 ; Eph_1:3 ; Phi_1:3 ; 1Th_1:3 ; 2Th_1:3 .

(iv) The Special Contents: the main body of the letters.

(v) Special Salutations and Personal Greetings: Rom 16 ; 1Co_16:19 ; 2Co_13:13 ; Phi_4:21-22 ; Col_4:12-15 ; 1Th_5:26 .

When Paul wrote letters, he wrote them on the pattern which everyone used. Deissmann says of them, "They differ from the messages of the homely papyrus leaves of Egypt, not as letters but only as the letters of Paul." When we read Paulletters we are not reading things which were meant to be academic exercises and theological treatises, but human documents written by a friend to his friends.

The Immediate Situation

With a very few exceptions, all Paulletters were written to meet an immediate situation and not treatises which he sat down to write in the peace and silence of his study. There was some threatening situation in Corinth, or Galatia, or Philippi, or Thessalonica, and he wrote a letter to meet it. He was not in the least thinking of us when he wrote, but solely of the people to whom he was writing. Deissmann writes, "Paul had no thought of adding a few fresh compositions to the already extant Jewish epistles; still less of enriching the sacred literature of his nation.... He had no presentiment of the place his words would occupy in universal history; not so much that they would be in existence in the next generation, far less that one day people would look at them as Holy Scripture." We must always remember that a thing need not be transient because it was written to meet an immediate situation. All the great love songs of the world were written for one person, but they live on for the whole of mankind. It is just because Paulletters were written to meet a threatening danger or a clamant need that they still throb with life. And it is because human need and the human situation do not change that God speaks to us through them today.

The Spoken Word

One other thing we must note about these letters. Paul did what most people did in his day. He did not normally pen his own letters but dictated them to a secretary, and then added Ws own authenticating signature. (We actually know the name of one of the people who did the writing for him. In Rom_16:22 Tertius, the secretary, slips in his own greeting before the letter draws to an end). In 1Co_16:21 Paul says, "This is my own signature, my autograph, so that you can be sure this letter comes from me." (compare Col_4:18 ; 2Th_3:17 .)

This explains a great deal. Sometimes Paul is hard to understand, because his sentences begin and never finish; his grammar breaks down and the construction becomes involved. We must not think of him sitting quietly at a desk, carefully polishing each sentence as he writes. We must think of him striding up and down some little room, pouring out a torrent of words, while his secretary races to get them down. When Paul composed his letters, he had in his mindeye a vision of the folk to whom he was writing, and he was pouring out his heart to them in words that fell over each other in his eagerness to help.

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS

Paul Comes To Macedonia

For anyone who can read between the lines the story of Paulcoming to Macedonia is one of the most dramatic in the book of Acts. Luke, with supreme economy of words, tells it in Act_16:6-10 . Short as that narrative is, it gives the impression of a chain of circumstances inescapably culminating in one supreme event. Paul had passed through Phrygia and Galatia and ahead of him lay the Hellespont. To the left lay the teeming province of Asia, to the right stretched the great province of Bithynia; but the Spirit would allow him to enter neither. There was something driving him relentlessly on to the Aegean Sea. So he came to Alexandrian Troas, still uncertain where he ought to go; and then there came to him a vision in the night of a man who cried, "Come over into Macedonia and help us." Paul set sail, and for the first time the gospel came to Europe.

One World

At that moment Paul must have seen much more than a continent for Christ. It was in Macedonia that he landed; and Macedonia was the kingdom of Alexander the Great, who had conquered the world and wept because there were no more worlds left to conquer. But Alexander was much more than a military conqueror. He was almost the first universalist. He was more a missionary than a soldier; and he dreamed of one world dominated and enlightened by the culture of Greece. Even so great a thinker as Aristotle had said that it was a plain duty to treat Greeks as free men and orientals as slaves; but Alexander declared that he had been sent by God "to unite, to pacify and to reconcile the whole world." Deliberately he had said that it was his aim "to marry the East to the West." He had dreamed of an Empire in which there was neither Greek nor Jew, barbarian or Scythian, bond or free (Col_3:11 ). It is hard to see how Alexander could have failed to be in Paulthoughts. Paul left from Alexandrian Troas which was called after Alexander; he came to Macedonia which was Alexanderoriginal kingdom; he worked at Philippi which was called after Philip, Alexanderfather; he went on to Thessalonica which was called after Alexanderhalf-sister. The whole territory was saturated with memories of Alexander; and Paul must surely have thought, not of a country nor of a continent, but of a world for Christ.

Paul Comes To Thessalonica

This sense of the wide-stretching arms of Christianity must have been accentuated when Paul came to Thessalonica. It was a great city. Its original name was Thermal, which means The Hot Springs, and it gave its name to the Thermaic Gulf on which it stood. Six hundred years ago Herodotus had described it as a great city. It has always been a famous harbour. It was there that Xerxes the Persian had his naval base when he invaded Europe; and even in Roman times it was one of the worldgreat dockyards. In 315 B.C. Cassander had rebuilt the city and renamed it Thessalonica, the name of his wife, who was a daughter of Philip of Macedon and a half-sister of Alexander the Great. It was a free city; that is to say it had never suffered the indignity of having Roman troops quartered within it. It had its own popular assembly and its own magistrates. Its population rose to 200,000 and for a time it was a question whether it or Constantinople would be recognized as the capital of the world. Even today, under the name Salonika, it has 70,000 inhabitants.

But the supreme importance of Thessalonica lay in this--it straddled the Via Egnatia, the Egnatian Road, which stretched from Dyrrachium on the Adriatic to Constantinople on the Bosphorus and thence away to Asia Minor and the East. Its main street was part of the very road which linked Rome with the East. East and West converged on Thessalonica; it was said to be "in the lap of the Roman Empire." Trade poured into her from East and West, so that it was said, "So long as nature does not change, Thessalonica will remain wealthy and prosperous."

It is impossible to overstress the importance of the arrival of Christianity in Thessalonica. If Christianity was settled there, it was bound to spread East along the Egnatian Road until all Asia was conquered and West until it stormed even the city of Rome. The coming of Christianity to Thessalonica was crucial in the making of it into a world religion.

PaulStay At Thessalonica

The story of Paulstay at Thessalonica is in Act_17:1-10 . Now, for Paul, what happened at Thessalonica was of supreme importance. He preached in the synagogue for three Sabbaths (Act_17:2 ) which means that his stay there could not have been much more than three weeks in length. He had such tremendous success that the Jews were enraged and raised so much trouble that Paul had to be smuggled out, in peril of his life, to Beroea. The same thing happened in Beroea (Act_17:10-12 ) and Paul had to leave Timothy and Silas behind and make his escape to Athens. What exercised his mind was this. He had been in Thessalonica only three weeks. Was it possible to make such an impression on a place in three weeksime that Christianity was planted so deeply that it could never again be uprooted? If so, it was by no means an idle dream that the Roman Empire might yet be won for Christ. Or was it necessary to settle down and work for months, even years, before an impression could be made? In that event, no man could even dimly foresee when Christianity would penetrate all over the world. Thessalonica was a test case; and Paul was torn with anxiety to know how it would turn out.

News From Thessalonica

So anxious was Paul that, when Timothy joined him at Athens, he sent him back to Thessalonica to get the information without which he could not rest (1Th_3:1-2 , 1Th_3:5 ; 1Th_2:17 ). What news did Timothy bring back? There was good news. The affection of the Thessalonians for Paul was as strong as ever; and they were standing fast in the faith (1Th_2:14 ; 1Th_3:4-6 ; 1Th_4:9-10 ). They were indeed "his glory and Ws joy" (1Th_2:20 ). But there was worrying news.

(i) The preaching of the Second Coming had produced an unhealthy situation in which people had stopped working and had abandoned all ordinary pursuits to await the Second Coming with a kind of hysterical expectancy. So Paul tells them to be quiet and to get on with their work (1Th_4:11 ).

(ii) They were worried about what was to happen to those who died before the Second Coming arrived. Paul explains that those who fall asleep in Jesus will miss none of the glory (1Th_4:13-18 ).

(iii) There was a tendency to despise all lawful authority; the argumentative Greek was always in danger of producing a democracy run mad (1Th_5:12-14 ).

(iv) There was the ever-present danger that they would relapse into immorality. It was hard to unlearn the point of view of generations and to escape the contagion of the heathen world (1Th_4:3-8 ).

(v) There was at least a section who slandered Paul. They hinted that he preached the gospel for what he could get out of it (1Th_2:5 , 1Th_2:9 ); and that he was something of a dictator (1Th_2:6-7 , 1Th_2:11 ).

(vi) There was a certain amount of division in the Church (1Th_4:9 ; 1Th_5:13 ).

These were the problems with which Paul had to deal; and they show that human nature has not changed so very much.

Why Two Letters?

We must ask why there are two letters. They art, very much alike and they must have been written within weeks, perhaps days of each other. The second letter was written mainly to clear up a misconception about the Second Coming. The first letter insists that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night, and urges watchfulness (1Th_5:2 ; 1Th_5:6 ). But this produced the unhealthy situation where men did nothing but watch and wait; and in the second letter Paul explains what signs must come first before the Second Coming should come (2Th_2:3-12 ). The Thessalonians had got their ideas about the Second Coming out of proportion. As so often happens to a preacher, Paulpreaching had been misunderstood, and certain phrases had been taken out of context and over-emphasized; and the second letter seeks to put things back in their proper balance and to correct the thoughts of the excited Thessalonians regarding the Second Coming. Of course, Paul takes occasion in the second letter to repeat and to stress much of the good advice and rebuke he had given in the first, but its main aim is to tell them certain things which will calm their hysteria and make them wait, not in excited idleness, but in patient and diligent attendance to the daywork. In these two letters we see Paul solving the day to day problems which arose in the expanding Church.

FURTHER READINGS

Thessalonians

J. E. Frame, Thessalonians (ICC; G)

G. Milligan, St. PaulEpistles to the Thessalonians (MmC; G)

W. Neil, The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians (MC; E)

Abbreviations

CGT: Cambridge Greek Testament

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

MmC: Macmillan Commentary

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 2 Thessalonians 2 (Chapter Introduction)

The Lawless One (2Th_2:1-12)

God's Demand And Our Effort (2Th_2:13-17)

Constable: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

This epistle contains evidence that Paul had recently heard news about current conditions in the Thessalonian church. Probably most of this information came to him from the person who had carried 1 Thessalonians to its recipients and had returned to Paul at Corinth. Perhaps other people who had news of the church had informed Paul, Silas, and Timothy also. Some of the news was good. The majority of the Thessalonians were continuing to grow and to remain faithful to Christ in spite of persecution. Unfortunately some of the news was bad. False teaching concerning the day of the Lord had entered the church and was causing confusion and leading some of the Christians to quit their jobs in expectation of the Lord's return.

In view of these reports Paul evidently felt constrained to write this epistle. He commended his children in the faith for their growth and faithfulness, corrected the doctrinal error about the day of the Lord, and warned the idle to get back to work.

Almost all conservative scholars believe that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians from Corinth. The basis for this conclusion is that Paul, Silas, and Timothy were present together in Corinth (Acts 18:5). The New Testament does not refer to them being together from then on, though they may have been. Paul evidently wrote 1 Thessalonians from Corinth. The topics he treated in the second epistle seem to grow out of situations he alluded to in the first epistle. They reflect a very similar situation in the Thessalonian church. Corinth, therefore, seems the logical site of composition of 2 Thessalonians.

For these reasons it appears that Paul composed 2 Thessalonians quite soon after 1 Thessalonians, perhaps within 12 months.¹ This would place the date of composition in the early 50's A.D., perhaps 51 A.D., and would make this the third of Paul's canonical writings assuming Galatians was his first.

"The external evidence for the Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians is stronger than for 1 Thessalonians."²

Purpose

Three purposes are evident from the contents of the epistle. Paul wrote to encourage the Thessalonian believers to continue to persevere in the face of continuing persecution (1:3-10). He also wanted to clarify events preceding the day of the Lord to dispel false teaching (2:1-12). Finally, he instructed the church how to deal with lazy Christians in their midst (3:6-15).

Message³

We could contrast 1 and 2 Thessalonians by saying that Paul wrote the first epistle primarily to comfort the Thessalonians whereas he wrote the second epistle primarily to correct them.

Paul had said some things in his first epistle from which his readers drew a false conclusion. He had said that Christ would return and His return could be very soon (1 Thess. 4:15-18). He also said the day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night, unexpectedly (1 Thess. 5:2).

In view of what Paul had taught the Thessalonians about the day of the Lord when he was with them (2 Thess. 2:5), they wondered if that day had already begun. They wondered if they were in the Tribulation and if the second coming of Christ was imminent. Teaching from several other sources that confirmed their suspicions (2 Thess. 2:2) intensified their questions about Paul's statements regarding future events that he had written in 1 Thessalonians.

The apostle wrote 2 Thessalonians to correct these erroneous ideas. The return of Christ of which Paul had written was not His second coming but the Rapture. While the day of the Lord would arrive unexpectedly it would be unexpected only by unbelievers. Several predicted events would precede its commencement.

The central message of this epistle is the truth about the day of the Lord.

Paul made an important distinction in this epistle about future events.

In 1 Thessalonians he taught that the Lord's return could take place very soon and that the day of the Lord would come as a thief in the night. Consequently he urged his readers to wait expectantly for the Lord (1 Thess. 4:16-17; 5:2).

In 2 Thessalonians he wrote that the day of the Lord cannot begin immediately. Therefore his readers should continue their work (2 Thess. 2). These statements may seem contradictory, but they are not.

Paul distinguished these two truths in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2. The distinction is between "our gathering together to Him" (v. 1) and "the day of the Lord" (v. 2). He wrote verses 1-12 to show the difference between the first event and the second period.

Paul also gave definite new revelation about the day of the Lord.

He said that presently the mystery of lawlessness is at work (2:7). Paul did not say the mystery of "sin" or "evil" but "lawlessness." He did so because lawlessness (rebellion against divine law) is the root trouble with human life individually, socially, nationally, and in every other sphere. The "mystery" of lawlessness is the new revelation he expounded here concerning the course of lawlessness in the world and history, in space and time.

Second, he revealed that in the future God will remove what is presently restraining lawlessness (2:7). The restrainer probably refers to the Holy Spirit who indwells the church. Lawlessness produces corruption, but the church is the salt of the earth, and salt prevents the spread of corruption. Lawlessness also produces darkness, but the church is the light of the world, and light dispels darkness. Lawlessness is presently working, but what keeps it from running wild is the Holy Spirit's ministry through Christian men and women.

Third, Paul announced that in the future there will also be a crisis: the man of lawlessness will be revealed (2:8). When will God withdraw the Spirit from the world? He will do so when He withdraws the church from the world. When will He withdraw the church from the world? He will do so at "our gathering together to Him" (v. 1, i.e., the Rapture). After that, the human leader of lawlessness will appear. He will be entirely godless, but he will be such a remarkable character that he will convince most people that he is divine. This is the Antichrist.

Finally, Paul taught that after this crisis Jesus Christ will return to the earth to set up His kingdom (2:8). He will come when the man of lawlessness is the prominent character on the stage of history. However when Christ comes, He will destroy this Antichrist and curtail lawlessness (cf. Ps. 2).

In view of this revelation Paul called on his readers to do two things.

First, he called on them to be courageous. He did not want them to be mentally upset (2:2) but comforted and established (2:17). A clear understanding of the course of future events and the time of the Lord's return is essential for the mental and spiritual encouragement and stability of Christians. We need this to be courageous in the face of all the lawlessness we encounter in the world. Give this to the people you serve in ministry.

Second, Paul called his readers to responsible conduct. He instructed them to go on with life, to wait but also to work. Christians must behave responsibly by providing for our own needs. The hope of Christ's imminent return at the Rapture is no excuse for irresponsibility. Paul was not just urging activity (witnessing, praying, etc.) but specifically earning a living.

The gravest danger we face in our world today is not socialism or communism or fascism but lawlessness specifically refusal to submit to God's laws. The person who lives this way is anti-Christ.

We need to recognize this danger for what it is and to combat it by being salt and light in the world. However, we should also remember that Christ will eventually be victorious. This will keep us from becoming frantic and losing our stability.

Each of us also needs to make sure lawlessness does not characterize our personal lives. We must be submissive to divine rule if we would be consistent and confident Christians.

Outline⁴

I. Salutation 1:1-2

II. Commendation for past progress 1:3-12

A. Thanksgiving for growth 1:3-4

B. Encouragement to persevere 1:5-10

C. Prayer for success 1:11-12

III. Correction of present error 2:1-12

A. The beginning of the day of the Lord 2:1-5

B. The mystery of lawlessness 2:6-12

IV. Thanksgiving and prayer 2:13-17

A. Thanksgiving for calling 2:13-15

B. Prayer for strength 2:16-17

V. Exhortations for future growth 3:1-15

A. Reciprocal prayer 3:1-5

1. Prayer for the missionaries 3:1-2

2. Prayer for the Thessalonians 3:3-5

B. Church discipline 3:6-15

1. General principles respecting disorderly conduct 3:6-10

2. Specific instructions concerning the idle 3:11-13

3. Further discipline for the unrepentant 3:14-15

VI. Conclusion 3:16-18

Constable: 2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE THESSALONIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

In this epistle St. Paul admonishes the Thessalonians to be constant in the faith of Christ, and not to be terrified by the insinuations of false teachers, telling them that the day of judgment was near at hand, as there must come many signs and wonders before it. He bids them to hold firm the traditions received from him, whether by word or by epistle; and shews them how they may be certain of his letters by the manner he writes. This epistle was written soon after the former, and also from Corinth, about A.D. 52. (Challoner; Witham) --- From the context we learn that the present is a continuation of the former epistle. He not only rectifies wrong impressions caused by his former letter, but finding that those indolent characters whom he had reprimanded were no ways corrected, he determines to reprimand them still more severely in this letter, which he tells us he writes because he has it not in his power to visit, as he could wish, the Thessalonians.

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Gill: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 THESSALONIANS

This second epistle was written, not from Athens, as the subscription testifies, nor from Rome, as Athanasius ^a supposes; but from Corinth, from whence was sent the former, and where the apostle and Timothy, and Silvanus met; and which was sent about half a year after the other. The design of which is to comfort and support the Thessalonians under the afflictions and persecutions they endured for the sake of the Gospel; and to rectify a mistake they had gone into, and which might be occasioned by what the apostle had said in his former epistle, concerning the second coming of Christ, as though it was just at hand; which might lead them to neglect their worldly business, and duties of civil life, and give the enemies of the Gospel an advantage against the whole of it as false, should not this prove true; as also to exhort this church to take notice of disorderly persons such as were idle, and busy bodies, and withdraw from them, and remove them from their communion, as being not only burdensome to them, but a reproach to their profession.

Gill: 2 Thessalonians 2 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 THESSALONIANS 2

In this chapter the apostle guards against a notion, as if the second coming of Christ was at hand; declares that, previous to it, there must be a great apostasy, and a revelation of antichrist; comforts the saints against fears of being included in this defection; exhorts them to stand fast in the faith, and closes this chapter with petitions for them. He entreats them in a most tender and solemn manner not to imagine that the day of Christ was at hand, and that they would not be disturbed and moved at it; and points unto the several ways, and cautions against them, they might be imposed upon and deceived by men with respect to it, 2Th 2:1 and assigns his reasons why it could not be yet, because before this time there was to be a general apostasy, and antichrist must appear; whom from his character, he calls the man of sin, and from his end, the son of perdition; and describes him as an opposer of God, an exalter of himself above all that is called God, as sitting in the temple of God and declaring himself to be God, 2Th 2:3 of which things he had told them before, 2Th 2:5 nor were they ignorant of what at present hindered the revelation of the man of sin, who was then in being, and was working and growing up apace; only there was something (the Roman empire) which hindered, and would continue to do so, until the fixed time of his revelation was up, 2Th 2:6 when be should be manifest; though he should not always continue, being to be consumed and destroyed by the breath of Christ's mouth, and the splendour of his coming, 2Th 2:8 and the appearance of antichrist in the world, being a matter of considerable importance, it is described by being after the working of Satan, and as attended with lying and false miracles, and with all deceitful and unrighteous doctrines and practices; which reprobate men would be left to give into, as a punishment of their not receiving cordially the truth of the Gospel; upon which account God would give them to such judicial blindness, as to give credit to a lie, which would bring on their final damnation, they not believing the truth, but taking pleasure in unrighteousness, 2Th 2:9, but lest this account of things should be discouraging to the saints at Thessalonica, the apostle styles them brethren; asserts them to be the beloved of the Lord; gives an instance of it, for which he gives thanks, namely, their election of God; the date of which was from everlasting; the means sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth; the end salvation by Jesus Christ; and the evidence of which was their effectual calling by the Gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of Christ, 2Th 2:13 and then he exhorts them to stand fast in the doctrines that had been taught them, either in an epistolary way, or by the ministry of the word, 2Th 2:15 and concludes the chapter with petitions for them made to God the Father, and to Christ who had loved and comforted them, and given them good hope of everlasting things; that they might be comforted more and more, and be established in every good doctrine and practice, 2Th 2:16.

College: 2 Thessalonians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

The pressures of persecution, apparent in 1 Thessalonians, have intensified in this letter. In its three brief chapters the reader perceives the vital importance for suffering believers of confident hope in the Lord's return. Likewise intensified is the problem of idleness. In the face of abuses of Christian generosity, 2 Thessalonians gives a sharp reminder of the individual Christian's duty to live as a responsible member of the community, hard-working and self-supporting.

Much of what was said about the circumstances and organization of 1 Thessalonians can also be affirmed of the second letter (see introduction to 1 Thessalonians above). But unlike 1 Thessalonians, this letter presents two major critical problems. Brief attention will be given to these below.

AUTHORSHIP

Unlike 1 Thessalonians, the second letter has widely been taken as a pseudepigraph, composed after Paul's death by one of his followers who used 1 Thessalonians as a model. Several lines of evidence have been cited to support the hypothesis that 2 Thessalonians is not an authentic letter of Paul.

One of these concerns the letter's eschatology. While 1 Thessalonians emphasized that the Lord's return was imminent, that is, that it could occur at any time (5:1-11), 2 Thessalonians appears to propose a series of preliminary signs which must occur before the Lord can return (2:1-12). If this is indeed the case, then, it is argued, that the tension between the two letters is such that Paul could not have written both. More particularly, it is often argued that the less imminent expectation of 2 Thessalonians reflects a later period in the life of the church, when the vivid expectation that the Lord would return within the lifetime of the first generation of Christians had been disappointed. If so, then it is clearly a production of the generation after the apostle Paul.

Secondly, it is argued that the tone of 2 Thessalonians is considerably colder and more formal than 1 Thessalonians. As an example, "we ought to thank" in 2 Thess 1:3; 2:13 is regarded as less warm than "we thank" in 1 Thess 1:2. Likewise, the repeated use of "command" in 2 Thess 3:6, 12 is said to reflect a less intimate relationship between the writer and the readers. Such a shift in tone is thought to be unlikely if Paul had written both letters, especially if 1 Thessalonians was written first, but is entirely to be expected if the second letter was a pseudepigraph.

Thirdly, the background of the readers appears to be different. 1 Thess 1:9 appears to indicate a predominantly Gentile audience, but in 2 Thessalonians references to the final judgment (1:6-10) and the man of lawlessness (2:1-12) appear to assume knowledge that could be expected only of Jews. It is consequently argued that the second letter was not written for the same church, indicating that the addressee and so also the author named in the salutation are fictions.

Combined with these concerns is the literary style of 2 Thessalonians. In some respects it closely resembles 1 Thessalonians, following a similar outline (including a double thanksgiving: 1 Thess 1:2-10; 2:13-16; 2Thess 2 Thess 1:3-12; 2:13-17) and discussing similar themes (eschatology, idleness). However, it has been argued that the sentence structure of 2 Thessalonians is significantly different from the undisputed letters of Paul. In particular, 2 Thess 2:3-12 is a more complex sentence than is found elsewhere in Paul's letters, constructions with the genitive are more frequent, and subordinating conjunctions are more numerous. Likewise it is argued that a number of terms and concepts from Paul's authentic letters are used in a different sense in 2 Thessalonians. The combination of similarity and dissimilarity is said to point to a post-Pauline imitator, who at some points incorporated elements of Paul's style and substance from 1 Thessalonians and at others reflected followed his own course.

The force of these arguments is considerable, and a large number of contemporary scholars have been persuaded by them to reject Pauline authorship of this letter. However, the idea that 2 Thessalonians is pseudepigraphical is itself problematic. It is first of all difficult to understand why someone would write 2 Thessalonians and ascribe it to Paul, since presumably it contained nothing so controversial as to demand the apostle's authority for its acceptance. Furthermore, if written by a later imitator, that person knew only 1 Thessalonians, since the major parallels are only with that letter. Such a situation would be surprising for a second-generation disciple of Paul. The reference to the temple in 2:4 gives no indication that the Jerusalem temple has been destroyed by the Romans, again surprising if the letter were written near the end of the first century when the fall of Jerusalem was well known. Furthermore, 3:6-15 give every appearance of having been written to a specific congregation in response to a particular problem. It would be most unusual for a letter to be written to specific church in the name of Paul after his death and not be detected as a pseudepigraph. And if all in the church recognized the fiction and accepted it as such, we must explain how the later church forgot the origins of the letter, since all external evidence affirms that Paul is the author (Marcion, c. A.D. 150, and the Muratorian Canon, c. A.D. 180, both ascribe it to Paul). These considerations make the hypothesis of pseudepigraphy less than likely.

In fact, each argument for pseudepigraphy can be explained on the hypothesis that Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians himself. The eschatological tension in fact has less to do with a lessening of expectancy than is often allowed. Exegesis of 2:1-12 in the comments below will indicate that what Paul discusses here is probably not a series of preliminary signs but the present reality that evil and the Evil One appear to dominate and that such dominance is itself proof that the Lord has not yet returned. In this case, there is absolutely no tension between the eschatology of the first and second letters. However, even if this interpretation should be wrong, it is not impossible that Paul would express a different perspective on the Lord's coming in 2 Thessalonians and not view it as contradictory, just as he does in 1 Cor 15:1-58, which stresses the general resurrection, and 2 Cor 5:1-10, which stresses individual immortality.

Likewise, the change in tone between the two letters can be explained by the change in circumstances. In 1 Thessalonians part of Paul's concern was to reassure the readers of his affection for them despite his absence. That need having been met, the second letter - preoccupied with the persecution of the church, the problem about the Lord's return and the idleness of some members - reflects less of the personal warmth emphasized in the first. Furthermore, if Paul used a different amanuensis for each letter, or if Silas and Timothy had different roles in the composition of each letter, the tone and style could easily have changed.

The change from a Gentile to a Jewish background is more apparent than real. As noted in the introduction to 1 Thessalonians, that letter includes a number of phrases which assume knowledge of the Old Testament and Judaism. The Jewish orientation of the second letter is more explicit but hardly necessitates a different audience. This observation also obviates the need for other hypotheses, such as that Paul sent the two letters to two different factions of the church, one Gentile and the other Jewish, or that he sent the first letter to the church at large and the second to the leaders of the church.

The stylistic differences between 2 Thessalonians and the other letters of Paul are real, but they can be exaggerated. The complexity of sentences and concentration of subordinating conjunctions are in fact not two matters but one, since complex sentences require subordinating conjunctions. The sentence of 1:3-12 is exceptional, but it is approximated in Ephesians and Colossians. The authorship of those letters is also disputed, but to base an argument for one letter's inauthenticity on its similarity with another questioned letter is to build a supposition on another supposition. It would be fairer to admit that in a short letter like 2 Thessalonians, a few unusual expressions may create a false impression of stylistic variance. Furthermore, it is admitted by all that Paul's style changed with each letter. Only in Romans, for example, do we find the rhetorical question, "What shall we say then?" (3:5; 4:1; 6:1; 7:7; 8:31; 9:14, 30), and no one disputes the authenticity of Romans on that basis. Alleged differences in the use of key terms and presentation of concepts have likewise been exaggerated. Paul's usage elsewhere is often more flexible than some critics will allow. And 2 Thessalonians contains some Paulinisms which would have been difficult for an imitator to compose. The combination of similarities and differences between the two Thessalonians letters and between the second and the rest of the Pauline corpus is at least as consistent with the hypothesis that Paul wrote both under changing circumstances as it is with the hypothesis of a pseudepigrapher.

Thus, though the controversy over the authorship of this letter is likely to continue among scholars, the arguments against Paul's authorship are not sufficient to overturn the testimony of the letter itself and of the early church. By nature of the case, evidence to prove the authenticity of an ancient document always falls short of absolute proof. But those who have accepted 2 Thessalonians as a genuine letter of Paul can do so with integrity, knowing that the balance of evidence favors their conclusion.

ORDER AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF WRITING

The traditional assumption has always been that 2 Thessalonians was written not long after 1 Thessalonians, while Paul was still in Corinth. Paul had apparently received a report, perhaps from Timothy after the delivery of the first letter, of ongoing problems in the Thessalonian church. The persecution had not abated, misunderstandings about the Lord's return continued, and the willfully idle had not repented. Therefore, Paul composed a second letter to address the developing situation, probably only months after writing the first.

There have been several scholars who have questioned the traditional order, however, postulating that 2 Thessalonians was in fact written first. The traditional order of Paul's letters, these have argued, is based not on chronology but length, longer letters of Paul being placed before shorter ones in the canon. Therefore, internal considerations alone, the evidence of the letters themselves, must determine the order of writing.

The most recent and important advocate of the priority of 2 Thessalonians is Charles Wanamaker. His argument, which in the main follows a line marked out by others, may be summarized as follows. First, the persecution of 2 Thess 1:4-7 appears to be a matter of the past in 1 Thess 2:14. Secondly, the idlers of 2 Thess 3:6-15 appear to be a new problem, while 1 Thess 4:10-12 and 5:14 address it as something well known and already under control. Thirdly, the signature of 2 Thess 3:17 appears to be more fitting in Paul's first letter to the church. Fourth, the eschatological teaching of 1 Thess 4:13-5:11, especially in light of the remark in 5:1 that the readers had no need of such instruction because they had received it before, is more coherently explained if it is an elaboration on 2 Thess 2:1-12, especially if some implications of that passage had been misunderstood. On the other hand, if the church had already received 1 Thess 4:13-5:11, it is difficult to see how they would have concluded that the day of the Lord had already come (2 Thess 2:2), since the dead had not yet been raised and united with the living in the Lord's presence (1 Thess 4:17). Therefore, Wanamaker argues with earlier advocates of the hypothesis that 2 Thessalonians was written by Paul after he received a vague report about problems in the Thessalonian church and was delivered by Timothy in the visit described in 1 Thess 3:1-10.

While Wanamaker has succeeded in showing how little evidence there actually is for the priority of 1 Thessalonians, the case for the priority of 2 Thessalonians is far from proved. External evidence must be weighed also: Marcion apparently referred to 1 Thessalonians as the first letter despite the fact that he did not arrange his canon by length. As far as internal matters are concerned, if 2 Thessalonians was the first letter, it is surprising that Paul makes no reference to it in 1 Thessalonians as a part of his passionate discussion of his prior work with the Thessalonian church (2:1-12) and his attempts to return to them since his departure (2:17-20). Wanamaker suggests that the mention of Timothy's visit may be a tacit reference to it, since Timothy can be assumed to have carried some letter from Paul on this visit. Still, one might expect a more specific mention of so substantial a letter as 2 Thessalonians had it been written first. On the other hand, the references to letters in 2 Thess 2:2, 15; 3:17 are at least consistent with the idea that 1 Thessalonians had already been received, though they do not demand it.

If 1 Thessalonians is prior, as the slight balance of probability suggests, we can assume that the persecution of the church, which may have abated after Paul's departure, has heated up again, or at least that the church is in greater turmoil because of it. Likewise, we must assume that the church's misunderstanding of the Lord's return in 2:2 occurred despite the logical force of 1 Thess 4:13-18. Also, the idle who were warned briefly in 1 Thess 4:11-12 and 5:14 did not heed that warning. Such developments will surprise those who assume that human behavior is always reasonable and orderly, but those who have experienced the give and take of pastoral leadership will recognize that churches and Christians, like stocks, seldom move in a straight line. Against such a background Paul dictated his second letter, seeking to correct the church's course and reinforce its growth.

THEOLOGICAL VALUE

2 Thessalonians focuses primarily on three issues: persecution, the Lord's return, and the problem of idleness. Each has remarkable relevance for today's church.

Persecution is perhaps less a part of the experience of Christians in North America than in other parts of the world. Nevertheless, for many Christians it remains a real threat. More broadly, all believers experience the hostility of unbelievers at various points, and all can be subject to the hurt of their ridicule, even if they are relatively safe from physical violence. 2 Thessalonians provides the important reminder that God notices such suffering and promises to bring vindication for his people. The suffering of the church will one day end.

Likewise, the pervasive dominance of evil, obvious to every modern observer, will one day end as well. Whatever the precise nature of the "man of lawlessness" (2:3), Paul certainly focuses attention on his present activity (2:9-12). Christians who wonder whether their faith is true when they see the opponents of Christianity with the upper hand have their answer in this letter. Evil will continue to run rampant in this age, but when Christ returns, he will utterly destroy every manifestation of it and the One who stands behind it. The goodness and faithfulness of God can be trusted to answer every aspect of injustice in this age.

Unemployment, underemployment and wide gaps in income are no less a social reality now than they were for Paul's readers. And so the need for Christian charity continues as it did in the first century. But the dangers inherent in such sharing are still real as well. Paul's reminders about the need for personal responsibility and self-support (3:6-12), coupled with the reminder to continue in good works of generosity (3:13) are messages to be heeded as today's church considers its role in addressing the pressing issues of poverty and the failures of the secular welfare state.

The observation that problems had intensified since Paul wrote his first letter contains a pertinent message in itself. Even in Paul's ministry, the life of the church was characterized by trouble as much as progress. Yet through such trouble the work and will of God are accomplished. Christians frustrated by the one-step-forward-two-steps-back trajectory of the church can take heart that in similar circumstances the great apostle still found much for which to give thanks and boast (1:3-4; 2:13-14). God's will, which will be fully realized only when Christ returns, is even now being worked out in the life of the church, even when outwardly it appears defeated.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 2 Thessalonians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. GREETING - 1:1-2

II. OPENING THANKSGIVING, ENCOURAGEMENT AND PRAYER - 1:3-12

A. Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Growth and Endurance in Persecution- 1:3-4

B. Encouragement in Light of God's Judgment - 1:5-10

C. The Content of Paul's Prayer - 1:11-12

III. INSTRUCTION ON THE LORD'S RETURN - 2:1-12

A. The Day of the Lord Not Yet Present - 2:1-2

B. The Apostasy and the Man of Lawlessness - 2:3-12

1. The Apostasy and the Revelation of the Man of Lawlessness - 2:3

2. A Description of the Man of Lawlessness - 2:4

3. Reminder of Oral Instruction on the Subject - 2:5

4. The One Who Restrains/Prevails - 2:6-10

5. God's Consequent Actions - 2:11-12

IV. RENEWED THANKSGIVING, ENCOURAGEMENT AND PRAYER - 2:13-17

A. Thanksgiving for the Salvation of the Thessalonians- 2:13-14

B. Encouragement to Remain Faithful to the Traditions Delivered by Paul - 2:15

C. Prayer for the Lord's Encouragement and Strength - 2:16-17

V. EXHORTATIONS - 3:1-16

A. General Exhortations - 3:1-5

B. Exhortations Regarding Church Discipline - 3:6-15

1. Exclusion of the Willfully Idle - 3:6-13

2. Exclusion of the Disobedient - 3:14-15

VI. CONCLUSION - 3:16-18

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV