2 Thessalonianschapter 2
17 verses · Paul · about AD 51 · Paul's letters
Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.
Introduction
Paul, Paul's letters, 2 Thessalonians Overview.
This is the chapter the letter was written for. A report had reached the church, perhaps in a letter falsely carrying Paul's name, and it had frightened them badly. Paul answers by recalling what he had taught them in person during his short stay. Listen for the things he says must happen first, and for the one he calls lawless. Notice how the chapter turns from those who are perishing to those God has chosen. Read it as a steadying word for people who had been shaken.
Context
- Who
- Believers rattled by a message, real or forged, claiming to come from Paul himself
- What
- Paul's correction of the report that the Day of the Lord had come, his teaching on the rebellion and the man of lawlessness, his thanks for those God chose, and his call to stand firm.
- Where
- Written from Corinth to the church in Thessalonica, the chief city of the Roman province of Macedonia.
- When
- About AD 51, a few months after 1 Thessalonians, during Paul's stay of a year and a half in Corinth.
- Why
- To steady believers alarmed by a false claim about the Day of the Lord and to hold them to the teaching Paul had given them in person.
Historical context
Forgery was a live danger. Letters were dictated to a secretary and carried by hand, so a name at the top proved nothing. Paul's habit of signing the last lines in his own large handwriting was a security mark, and this letter says so outright.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
A ruler demanding worship was not a theory in that generation. The emperor Caligula ordered his own statue set up in the Jerusalem temple around AD 40, and only his death stopped it, an event so recent that older hearers remembered the crisis. Greek cities also built temples to the emperor and honored him as lord and savior on coins.
The chapter names a lawless man who takes his seat in the temple of God and displays himself as God. Read in a premillennial frame, this points ahead to a real individual in a real sanctuary before Christ's public appearing, not to a mood or a movement.
The restraining power in verses 6-7 is the letter's famous unnamed thing. Paul says the Thessalonians already knew what he meant, and we do not; the main readings are Roman law and order, the Holy Spirit's work through the church, and an angelic restraint. The house reading is that the restraint is lifted before the lawless one is unveiled, but the identification itself is honestly left open.
Significance
The panic was practical: if the day had come and they were still here, they had been left behind. Paul's answer is a sequence, the rebellion and the man of lawlessness come into the open first, and neither has happened.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
The chapter also teaches them to be careful with what claims to be revelation. A letter, a spoken word, a prophecy, none of them override what they were plainly taught in person.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Day Has Not Come: First the Falling Away
2 Thessalonians 2:1-2
our being gathered together to Him: A report by spirit or message or letter claimed that the Day of the Lord has already come. The verb is enesteken, which the King James softens to at hand. Paul writes so they will not be easily disconcerted or alarmed.
2 Thessalonians 2:1
“Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ - The phrase “by the coming,” is not here, as our translators seem to have supposed, a form of solemn adjuration. It is not common, if it ever occurs, in the Scriptures, to make a solemn adjuration in view of an event, and the connection here demands that we give to the phrase a different sense.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
2 Thessalonians 2:1
“The Greek noun is nowhere else found except in Heb 10:25, said of the assembling together of believers for congregational worship. Our instinctive fears of the judgment are dispelled by the thought of being gathered together UNTO HIM ("even as the hen gathereth her chickens under her wings"), which ensures our safety.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the Day of the Lord has already come: Someone was telling the church that the Day of the Lord had already arrived. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the Greek verb usually means is present, which is why the claim alarmed them.
2 Thessalonians 2:2
CHRYSOSTOM, and after him ALFORD, translates, "is (already) present" (compare 2Ti 2:18), a kindred error. But in 2Ti 3:1, the same Greek verb is translated "come." WAHL supports this view. The Greek is usually used of actual presence; but is quite susceptible of the translation, "is all but present."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:2
“Be not shaken in mind - In judgment. Or terrified - As those easily are who are immoderately fond of knowing future things. Neither by any pretended Revelation from the Spirit, nor by pretense of any word spoken by me.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
until the rebellion occurs: Two things come before that day: the rebellion and the revealing of the man of lawlessness. His other title, the son of destruction, is used elsewhere only of Judas at John 17:12.
2 Thessalonians 2:3
“But the man of sin, the son of perdition - Eminently so called, is not come yet. However, in many respects, the Pope has an indisputable claim to those titles. He is, in an emphatical sense, the man of sin, as he increases all manner of sin above measure.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:3
“3 Let no man deceive you by any means-- From these words it appears that some among the Thessalonians had mistaken the apostle's meaning, in what he had written in his former epistle about the coming of Christ, by thinking that it was near at hand,--that Christ was just ready to appear and come to judgment.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Thessalonians 2:4-5
He will oppose and exalt himself: above every so-called god or object of worship, the course of the king in Daniel 11:36. The seat in the temple of God follows the line from Daniel 9:27 through the Lord’s warning at Matthew 24:15.
2 Thessalonians 2:4
“Who opposeth and exalteth - He stands against and exalts himself above all Divine authority, and above every object of adoration, and every institution relative to Divine worship, σεβασμα, himself being the source, whence must originate all the doctrines of religion, and all its rites and ceremonies; so that sitting in the temple of God - having the highest place and authority in the Christian Church, he acts as God - taking upon himself God’s titles and attributes, and arrogating to himself the authority that belongs to the Most High.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:4
“And the Apostle Paul also, saying, "For though ye have served them which are no gods; ye now know God, or rather, are known of God," has made a separation between those that were not [gods] and Him who is God. And again, speaking of Antichrist, he says, "who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped." He points out here those who are called gods, by such as know not God, that is, idols.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IIIpatristic
What Restrains, and the Strong Delusion to Follow
I told you these things: Paul reminds them that the rebellion and the lawless one were part of his first preaching in Thessalonica. The Greek tense shows he told them often. This answers the claim that Paul changed his mind about the Lord's coming between the first letter and the second.
2 Thessalonians 2:5
“Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? - The whole subject of the second coming of the Saviour seems to have constituted an important part of the instructions of Paul when at Thessalonica. He now refers them to what he had told them respecting the great apostasy, to show that his views had not changed, and that he did not mean to have them understand that the world would soon come to an end.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:5
Remember, &c.--confuting those who represent Paul as having labored under error as to Christ's immediate coming when writing his first Epistle, and as now correcting that error. I told you--more than once, literally, "I was telling," or "used to tell."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Thessalonians 2:6-7
And you know what is now restraining him: The restraint is named first in the neuter, what is now restraining him, then in the masculine, the one who now restrains it. The Thessalonians knew its identity from Paul’s teaching in their city, and the letter leaves it unwritten.
2 Thessalonians 2:6
“And now ye know - By what I told you when I was with you. That which restraineth - The power of the Roman emperors. When this is taken away, the wicked one will be revealed.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:6
“The removal of the withholding power will be when the civil polity, derived from the Roman empire, which is to be, in its last form, divided into ten kingdoms (Re 17:3, 11-13), shall, with its leading representative head for the time being ("he who now letteth," Greek, "withholdeth," as in 2Th 2:6), yield to the prevalent godless "lawlessness" with "the lawless one" as its embodiment.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the mystery of lawlessness is already at work: In Paul's letters a mystery is something hidden until God makes it known. Albert Barnes reads this as an evil working quietly that had not yet taken its full shape. Bengel, cited by Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, calls it one impurity spreading itself over many ages.
2 Thessalonians 2:7
“For the mystery of iniquity - On the meaning of the word mystery, see the notes on Rom 11:25; compare 1Co 2:7; Eph 1:9; Eph 3:3; Col 1:26. It means properly what is hidden or concealed; not necessarily that which is unintelligible. The “mystery of iniquity” seems here to refer to some hidden or concealed depravity - some form of sin which was working secretly and silently, and which had not yet developed itself.”
2 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:7
“Therefore, as the end of this world approaches, the condition of human affairs must undergo a change, and through the prevalence of wickedness become worse; so that now these times of ours, in which iniquity and impiety have increased even to the highest degree, may be judged happy and almost golden in comparison of that incurable evil.”
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius · written before 325 · The Divine Institutes, Book 7, Chapter XVpatristic
2 Thessalonians 2:7
"Judaism infecting Christianity is the fuel; the mystery of iniquity is the spark." "It is one and the same impurity diffusing itself over many ages" [BENGEL]. only he who now letteth will let--The italicized words are not in the Greek.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
And then the lawless one will be revealed: The revealing and the end come in one sentence: the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth. Isaiah 11:4 stands behind the words, where the King will slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
2 Thessalonians 2:8
“We have heard that the Lord Jesus not only judges but also punishes in the Spirit. For neither would he punish Antichrist, whom, as we read, "the Lord Jesus shall slay with the Spirit of his mouth," unless he had already judged him as fit for punishment … but the unity of the divine action remains undivided, since Christ cannot be separated from the Spirit, nor the Spirit act apart from Christ. For the unity of the divine nature cannot be divided.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Holy Spirit 3.7.44patristic
2 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:8
“Whom the Lord shall consume - He shall blast him so, that he shall wither and die away; and this shall be done by the spirit of his mouth - the words of eternal life, the true doctrine of the Gospel of Jesus; this shall be the instrument used to destroy this man of sin: therefore it is evident his death will not be a sudden but a gradual one; because it is by the preaching of the truth that he is to be exposed, overthrown, and finally destroyed.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Thessalonians 2:8
“He is seized and "cast alive into the take of fire" (Re 19:20). So the world kingdoms, and the kingdom of the beast, give place to that of the Son of man and His saints. The Greek for "destroy" means "abolish" (the same Greek is so translated, 2Ti 1:10); that is, cause every vestige of him to disappear.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 Thessalonians 2:9-10
The coming of the lawless one: The lawless one has a parousia of his own, the word used of the Lord’s coming in verses 1 and 8. It is accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder.
2 Thessalonians 2:9
“But whichsoever of the two it is, I want to know why he comes "in all power, and with lying signs and wonders? " "Because," he says, "they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved; for which cause God shall send them an instinct of delusion (to believe a lie), that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Marcion Book Vpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:9
“Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan - Greek, κατ ̓ ἐνέργειαν τοὺ Σατανᾶ kat' energeian tou Satana. According to the energy of Satan; that is, the energetic or efficient operation of Satan. The word rendered “after,” it need not be said to one who looks at the Greek, does not refer to time, but is a preposition, meaning according to; in conformity with; meaning that the manner of his appearing would be accompanied by such works as would show that the agency of Satan was employed, and such as he only could produce.”
they refused the love of the truth: The deception takes hold on those who are perishing. Paul places the cause in their will, since they were offered the truth that would have saved them and would not love it. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the truth as the gospel of Jesus, against the lie of verse 11.
2 Thessalonians 2:10
“Others may call them pious frauds, but the apostle called them unrighteous and wicked frauds; and, indeed, all fraud (which is contrary to truth) is an impious thing. Many are the subtle artifices the man of sin has used, and various are the plausible pretences by which he had beguiled unwary and unstable souls to embrace false doctrines, and submit to his usurped dominion.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12
For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion: The judgment fits the refusal: God will send them a powerful delusion, the Greek energeia planes, a working of error. The order is the text’s own, since they first disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness, and the delusion confirms a choice already made.
2 Thessalonians 2:11
“And for this cause - Because they choose error, or their hearts love that more than they do truth. The original reason then of their embracing and adhering to the system was not an arbitrary decree on the part of God, but that they did not love the truth. Hence, he gave them up to this system of error. If a man strongly prefers error to truth, and sin to holiness, it is not wrong to allow him freely to evince his own preference.”
delighted in wickedness: The verse pairs two things, unbelief toward the truth and pleasure in wrong. John Wesley reads the love of sin as the cause. Albert Barnes notes that the verb means to judge and then to condemn, a court's verdict on those who chose the lie.
2 Thessalonians 2:12
“That they all may be condemned - That is, the consequence of which will be, that they all will be condemned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness - That is, who believed not the truth, because they loved sin.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Chosen From the Beginning: Hold the Traditions
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14
But we should always thank God for you: God has chosen the brothers from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. The means are bound into the choosing.
2 Thessalonians 2:13
“And the apostle also teaches that the Holy Spirit sanctifies. For he speaks thus, "We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brothers dearly beloved of the Lord; because God chose you as first fruits for salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth." So, then, the Father sanctifies, the Son also sanctifies, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies; but the sanctification is one, and the grace of the sacrament is one.”
Ambrose of Milan · written before 397 · On the Holy Spirit 3.4.27-28patristic
3 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:13
“But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you; - see the notes on 2Th 1:3. “Because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation.” The following important things are affirmed or implied here: (1) That God had chosen or elected them (εἵλετο heileto) to salvation. The doctrine of election, therefore, is true. (2) That this was from “the beginning” ἀπ ̓ ἀρχῆς ap' archēs; that is, from eternity; see the Joh 1:1 note; Eph 1:4; 3:9-11 notes. The doctrine of eternal election is, therefore, true.”
2 Thessalonians 2:13
“We are not the elected of God because we were holy, but that we might be holy. Being chosen of God, we must not live as we list; but, if we are chosen to salvation as the end, we must be prepared for it by sanctification as the necessary means to obtain that end, which sanctification is by the operation of the Holy Spirit as the author and by faith on our part.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Thessalonians 2:13
“God hath from the beginning - Of your hearing the gospel. Chosen you to salvation - Taken you out of the world, and placed you in the way to glory.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
To this He called you through our gospel: God's choice from the beginning in verse 13 reached the Thessalonians in time through Paul's preaching in their city. Matthew Henry calls the gospel the outward call of God, made effective by the inward work of the Spirit. Its goal is a share in Christ's own glory.
2 Thessalonians 2:14
“Whereunto he called you by our gospel - He made the gospel as preached by us the means of calling you to salvation. That is, God has chosen you to salvation from eternity, and has made the gospel as preached by us the means of carrying that eternal purpose into effect. To the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ - That you may partake of the same glory as the Saviour in heaven; see the notes on Joh 17:22, Joh 17:24.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:14
“As they were chosen to salvation, so they were called thereunto by the gospel. Whom he did predestinate those he also called, Rom. viii. The outward call of God is by the gospel; and this is rendered effectual by the inward operation of the Spirit.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Thessalonians 2:15-17
Therefore, brothers, stand firm: The chapter closes on footing: stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter. Paradosis here means the apostles’ own teaching, handed on while the canon was still forming.
2 Thessalonians 2:15
“Therefore - In view of the fact that you are thus chosen from eternity, and that you are to be raised up to such honor and glory. Stand fast - Amidst all the temptations which surround you; compare the notes on Eph 6:10-14. And hold the traditions which ye have been taught On the word “traditions,” see the notes on Mat 15:2. It means properly things delivered over from one to another; then anything orally delivered - any precept, doctrine, or law.”
1 more voice on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:15
“Since therefore we have such proofs, it is not necessary to seek the truth among others which it is easy to obtain from the Church; since the apostles, like a rich man [depositing his money] in a bank, lodged in her hands most copiously all things pertaining to the truth: so that every man, whosoever will, can draw from her the water of life. For she is the entrance to life; all others are thieves and robbers.”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book 3patristic
Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father: Paul prays to the Lord Jesus and to the Father together, naming the Son first. Henry draws from this that prayer may be made to Christ. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown set the eternal comfort against the passing comforts of this world, with good hope for the future still to come.
2 Thessalonians 2:16
“Referring both to our Lord Jesus (Ro 8:37; Ga 2:20) and God our Father (Joh 3:16). everlasting consolation--not transitory, as worldly consolations in trials (Ro 8:38, 39). This for all time present, and then "good hope" for the future [ALFORD]. through grace--rather as Greek "IN grace"; to be joined to "hath given." Grace is the element in which the gift was made.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
3 more voices on this verse
2 Thessalonians 2:16
“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.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 Thessalonians 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. 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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 Thessalonians 2:16
“THE Thessalonians had been much disturbed by the predictions of different persons that the day of Christ was at hand. There always have been pretenders to prophetic knowledge who have fixed dates for the end of the world and, by their fanaticism, have driven many into lunatic asylums and disturbed the peace of others. Some of this band had worried the saints at Thessalonica.”
strengthen you in every good word and deed: The prayer asks for two gifts, comfort for the heart and firmness in what they say and do. Albert Barnes reads the good word as true doctrine and the good deed as the practice that follows from it. A church shaken by false reports needed both.
2 Thessalonians 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.”
How this psalm is built
The form: A correction of a false report, built on teaching the readers already had, followed by a thanksgiving, a charge and a prayer, as Chrysostom classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Two comings set against each other | The chapter opens on the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ at verse 1 and speaks of His arrival at verse 8. At verse 9 it gives the lawless one a coming of his own, worked by Satan with false signs and wonders. The word revealed follows the same pattern: the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven at 1:7, and the lawless one is revealed at 2:3, 2:6 and 2:8.The text of 2 Thessalonians, counted from the Berean Standard Bible in the store, 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and 2:1 to 9. | 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2 Thessalonians 2:8, 2 Thessalonians 2:9 |
| The truth refused and the truth believed | The word truth stands three times in the chapter. At verses 10 and 12 the perishing refuse the love of the truth and disbelieve it. At verse 13 the brothers loved by the Lord are chosen to be saved by faith in the truth. The turn at verse 13 sets the two groups side by side.The text of 2 Thessalonians, counted from the Berean Standard Bible in the store, 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 2:12 and 2:13. | 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:12, 2 Thessalonians 2:13 |
| The king of Daniel 11 | Verse 4 describes a man who will exalt himself above every so-called god. Daniel 11:36 describes a king who will exalt and magnify himself above every god. Paul draws his picture of the lawless one from Daniel.The text of 2 Thessalonians 2 and Daniel 11, read side by side from the Berean Standard Bible in the store, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Daniel 11:36. | 2 Thessalonians 2:4 |
How the chapter is built
7 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 1 and 2 name the subject and the false claim. Verses 3 to 12 set out what must come first: the rebellion, the revealing of the man of lawlessness, the restraint that holds him back, his end at the Lord's arrival, and the deception that goes with him. Verses 13 and 14 give thanks for those God chose and called. Verse 15 is the charge to stand firm, and verses 16 and 17 are a prayer. John Chrysostom reads verse 2 as evidence that some had forged a letter in Paul's name (Homily on 2 Thessalonians 3).
The debated reading: what restrains
Verses 6 and 7 speak of what now restrains the lawless one and of the one who restrains until he is taken out of the way. Paul says the Thessalonians knew what he meant. Tertullian held that the continuance of the Roman empire holds back the end (Apology, chapter 32). John Chrysostom held the same (Homily on 2 Thessalonians 4), and John Wesley reads it as the power of the Roman emperors (Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on 2:6). Severian of Gabala held that the Holy Spirit is the restrainer (Pauline Commentary from the Greek Church, on 2:6). Theophylact of Ohrid records both readings and follows Chrysostom (Commentary on 2 Thessalonians, on 2:6). Augustine confessed that he could not tell what Paul meant, since Paul spoke to readers who already knew (City of God 20.19). Each position is stated by its holder and the page settles none of them.
The debated reading: the temple of God
Verse 4 says the lawless one will seat himself in the temple of God. Cyril of Jerusalem read it as the temple of the Jews (Catechetical Lectures, Lecture 15). John Chrysostom read it as the temple in Jerusalem and also every church (Homily on 2 Thessalonians 3). Matthew Henry read it as a usurper of God's authority inside the Christian church, and he applied it to the bishops of Rome, as many Protestant readers of his time did (Commentary on the Whole Bible, on 2:4). Each position is stated by its holder and the page settles none of them.
Where the chapter reaches
The chapter picks up the teaching of 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 5:11 on the coming of the Lord and the Day of the Lord. Verse 4 draws on Daniel 11:36. The false signs and wonders of verse 9 stand with Matthew 24:24, and the lawless one with the antichrist of 1 John 2:18.
Keep studying
Studies8
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on 2 Thessalonians 2:1 and John Chrysostom, Homily on 2 Thessalonians 3, on 2 Thessalonians 2:2.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; J. B. Lightfoot, Notes on the Epistles of St Paul; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on 2 Thessalonians; John Chrysostom, Homilies on 2 Thessalonians; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.