Page 50 - Pauline Epistles Student Textbook

“Who are still alive” strongly suggests that Paul, his companions, and the church at Thessalonica
might be ones of those who would be alive when Jesus was going to return for the second time. The
Parousia was viewed as imminent. The believers at Thessalonica were taught the basis for their
salvation, that is, the whole preaching and teaching activity they received from Paul and his
companions during their mission work in Thessalonica (2 Thess. 1:10b). Paul warned the believers
there to refuse to listen to those who seek to undermined and invalidated truth by false teaching.
He asked the church to be vigilant. The Greek word for “mind” also can mean “composure.” So, “the
mind as the seat of thinking and understanding has the implication “of mental composure in this
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passage.” The Greek word for alarm is in a present active tense. The thrust of that verb therefore
connotes the idea of something happening continuously. So, Paul wanted them to be continuously
alarmed.

Notice that Paul mentions three possible sources for that false teaching, 1) by spirit’s prophecy, 2)
word of mouth, and 3) by letter (v2b). Further, Paul mentions the nature of the false message: “the
day of the Lord has already come.” Where did this false teaching come from? There is nothing in
the epistles itself that suggests Paul’s and his companions’ knowledge for the source of that false
teaching. It could have been the initial letter that Paul sent to them through Timothy to which the
day of Lord could have completely been misunderstood. It could have been somebody who came to
falsify the work of authentic apostles, Paul and his companions. Whoever that was, the fact is that
Paul was concerned about that subject concerning the day of the Lord and wanted to assure the
church that it had not yet happened.

Man of Lawlessness and Apostasy (2 Thess. 2:3-12)

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Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first,
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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
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God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you
these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his
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time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until
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he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the
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breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the
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lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all
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wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be
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saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in
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order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
(ESV)

In v3a, in reference to v2, Paul encouraged them to not to be deceived “in any way.” “In any way”
could refer to mediums of false teaching alluded to in v2. In v3b, the day of the Lord will happen in
subsequence of two things namely, the disclosure of rebellion and the man of lawlessness. The latter
is doomed for destruction. As we continue, you will notice that Paul will exert much of his effort
discussing more about the man of lawlessness than the apostasy itself.

The Restrainer (v 6)

83 Wanamaker, The New International Greek Testament Commentary: The Epistles to the
Thessalonians, 239.

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