What is the topic addressed by Paul in the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians?

Image © Ron Bell from GoodSalt.com

How are these words relevant to us today? In what way do we face similar challenges within our church regarding end-time events (date-setting, conspiracy theories, and the like), however different our context? What similar principle do we find here that we also constantly confronted? 2 Thess. 2:1-3.

There is no clear evidence in this passage that the church was asking questions about the second coming of Jesus. Paul himself perceives a problem and addresses it. The concept of “gathering to him” recalls what Paul wrote in the previous letter (1 Thess. 4:15-17).

In this passage, Paul’s words recall the warning that Jesus Himself had given (Matt. 24:1-13). The Thessalonians had been “quickly” destabilized by conflicting information they had received in the short time since Paul had written his first letter.

Paul doesn’t identify the specific source of their confusion. Perhaps it hadn’t even been revealed to him. By “spirit” (2 Thess. 2:2) he likely refers to a prophetic teaching, either that of a false prophet or a misunderstanding of Paul’s first letter. The second possible source is the spoken word, a teaching passed from mouth to mouth among the members. When he mentions a letter “supposed to have come from us” (NIV), Paul is either referring to a letter forged in his name or a misuse of one of his genuine letters.

No matter how carefully a pastor may watch over a church, there are multiple ways in which false ideas can take root. It is sometimes easier for members to accept a report or rumor than to examine the Scriptures carefully for themselves. Sometimes the new ideas may even be biblical to a point but are promoted out of balance with complementary Bible teachings.

The latter seems to have been the problem in Thessalonica. The Thessalonians knew many correct things about the second coming of Jesus and the events preceding it. But they tended to emphasize one extreme or another of the teaching without its balancing perspectives. They had failed to heed Jesus’ warning about chasing after signs of His return (Matt. 24:4-8). As a result, in 1 Thessalonians they lamented the delay of Jesus’ return (1 Thess. 4:13-15). In this chapter they seem to have drawn the conclusion that they were already in the midst of final events.

Print/PDF/Email