2 Thessalonians · chapter 2 of 3
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2 Thessalonians 2 corrects the idea that the day of the Lord had already come. Paul explains that the rebellion and the revealing of the man of lawlessness must come first, who opposes God and deceives with false signs, but whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth. He then thanks God that he chose the Thessalonians for salvation and urges them to hold to what he taught them.
This is one of the most debated passages in the New Testament. Someone had spread, perhaps through a supposed prophecy, a spoken message or even a letter attributed to Paul, the idea that the day of the Lord had come. That unsettled the believers. Paul answers with teaching his readers already knew in part, and which today calls for humility in interpretation.
Paul asks the Thessalonians, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, whether by a spirit, a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from the missionaries, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive them: that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
Paul reminds them that he already told them this. Now they know what is restraining him, so that he may be revealed in his own time. The mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is out of the way. Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. His coming is by the activity of Satan, with false signs and wonders and every wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they believe what is false and are condemned.
By contrast, Paul thanks God for the Thessalonians, beloved by the Lord, because God chose them from the beginning for salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth, and called them through the gospel to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So they must stand firm and hold to the teachings they received, by word or by letter. He closes with a prayer that the Lord Jesus and God the Father, who gave them eternal comfort and good hope, comfort their hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Paul warns that the day of the Lord will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed. The pastoral concern is to prevent deception: believers must not be swept along by anyone who claims that day has already arrived.
The Lord Jesus will kill the lawless one with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of his coming. However impressive the power of deception, it ends with the mere presence of Christ; the outcome is decided.
Paul gives thanks because God chose them for salvation through the sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth. God's choice and the human response of believing go together, and they are presented as a reason for gratitude, not pride.
Believers must stand firm and hold to the teachings they received by word or by letter from the apostles. The answer to deception is not speculation but faithfulness to apostolic teaching.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: That the day had already come. — 2 Thessalonians 2:2
Answer: The rebellion must come and the man of lawlessness be revealed. — 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Answer: He takes his seat there, proclaiming himself to be God. — 2 Thessalonians 2:4
Answer: He will kill him with the breath of his mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearance of his coming. — 2 Thessalonians 2:8
Answer: Because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. — 2 Thessalonians 2:10
Answer: Stand firm and hold to them, whether by word or by letter. — 2 Thessalonians 2:15
This chapter calls for steadiness more than curiosity. Faced with rumors about the end of the world, dates or named figures, Paul's answer is not to be alarmed, to know the apostolic teaching well and to love the truth. In a group you can talk about how to distinguish what the Bible states clearly from what each Christian interprets with caution.
It also encourages: the outcome is decided and God chose his own. That is no reason for arrogance but for gratitude and perseverance. A good practice is to review aloud what the apostles taught about Christ and his return, and ask the Lord for comfort and firmness for each person in the group.
Paul ends the passage with a prayer of comfort and encouragement. In chapter 3 he turns to the practical: he asks for prayer for his own ministry and corrects those who stopped working while expecting an imminent end.
Christians have understood him in different ways: a specific person who will appear before Christ's return, sometimes called the antichrist; an oppressive power or system that recurs in history; or a first-century figure whose evil foreshadowed the end. All readings agree that he opposes God, deceives and will be destroyed by Christ.
Paul does not name it because his readers already knew. Proposals include political order and law, represented by the Roman Empire or by governments in general; the Holy Spirit; the preaching of the gospel or the church; and an angelic power. The text states that something restrains him for now and that God controls the timing of his appearing.
Some see a literal temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem; others, the Jerusalem temple before its destruction in AD 70; others, the church, which the New Testament calls God's temple. What is certain is the image: someone occupies the place that belongs only to God.