“…not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come“
Verse 2 gives us Paul’s occasion for writing chapter 2. The Greek shows that this is a purpose clause–”that you not be shaken in mind.” It […]
Archive for October, 1999
“…not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come“
as though the day of Christ
Some manuscripts read “the day of the Lord.” If the phrase “the day of Christ” were the right text then […]
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…”
Paul now turns to warn the Thessalonians against deception by a religious system. The year-old church underwent severe persecution. Some religionists of that day spread […]
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…”
for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,
The Rapture is a signless, immanent event; it could occur without any preceding […]
“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…”
and the man of sin is revealed,
The second sign of the Day of the Lord is the revelation of the man of sin. A […]
“…who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God“
Our passage describes the true disposition of the coming world dictator, the antichrist. We saw in verse 3 that he was lawless and headed […]
“Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things?“
Do you not remember that when I was still with you
Paul taught prophecy to brand new Christians just one year prior to his writing 2 Thessalonians. He taught them about The Day of the Lord. Paul did not regard […]
“And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time“
In verses 6-12, Paul continues correcting the Thessalonian thinking that the Day of the Lord [the Tribulation] had already come. He shows that the Tribulation could not have come because there is now a restrainer keeping the man of lawlessness […]
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way“
For
Verse 7 explains verse 6.
the mystery of lawlessness
The word “mystery” does not mean something spooky or an enigma in its New Testament usage. It is a truth not revealed […]
“For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way“
only He who now restrains will do so
The question as to who does this restraining is difficult to answer. Some argue that it was the Roman Empire that restrained lawlessness […]