2nd Thessalonians Chapter 2
Originally posted Thursday September 18, 2008
General Comment: In the first chapter the
writer has addressed the issue of what might be called "apocalyptic
fervor" within the Thessalonian church. This has been triggered by a
period of "persecutions and afflictions" which is being
interpreted as the sign of Jesus' return and his carrying out of God's
judgment. The source of their understanding of such signs is not clear. In
Paul's letters while he writes of suffering (1 Thess. 1:6) and awaiting the Parousia (1 Thess, 1:10), he does not dabble in forced interpretations
of current events as predictive sign posts pointing to the
end. Paul encourages faithful waiting, leaving the future events up to God
(1 Thess. 5:1-3). In Paul's
description of Christ's return his focus of attention is always
on heavenly events initiated by God and not earthly ones (1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:16-17). By
the last decade of the century, when the current letter was written, a
significant change in perspective had occurred. The timing of Christ's return
is no longer understood apart from the experiences of the Christian
communities. Now there are historic realities moving people to search for
meaning in the events and personages of their day. The Parousia is being
predicated upon earthly signs. Persecutions and afflictions which once were to
be endured as testimonies to faith, have become signs of the end to be studied
as sources of evidence. The "thief in the night" analogy just won't
do. We have to know the thief's name, where he is from and what he is doing. So
much for the unknowable mind of God.
2nd Thessalonians Chapter
2:1-13 The Man of Lawlessness
The
writer of 2nd Thessalonians begs the believers to calm their
apocalyptic hysteria and hold firm to the faith as first received. They
are being deceived, "shaken in mind [and] alarmed" by local
or itinerant end-time prophets who have proclaimed that the final gathering for
the "Day of the Lord" has already arrived (MT 23:37). Deception might come from a human teaching not of the
Spirit. There are special appeals to movements of the Spirit (charismatic)
and spurious letters from those outside the Pauline circle of disciples. All of
this is deception. As a corrective to these misleading pronouncements that the
Day of the Lord is already here the writer sets forth specific
signs imbedded in events which must come first before the end.
Before
the Day of the Lord can appear, two events must occur: a rebellion
(apostasy) and in the rebellion the revealing of the "man of
lawlessness" (not 'man of
sin') who is "destined for destruction" (the son of his own
destruction). The writer describes the "lawless one" as the leader of
apostasy - the rejection of the Gospel and abandonment of one's faith. To
follow the Greek text, he is "the one setting himself [up] against and
exalting himself above all that are called gods or as an object of veneration,
one sitting in the temple of God, there presenting himself as if he were
God." To aver that this is a difficult passage is an understatement. There
is no satisfactory identification of the "lawless one" with any person
of history, though many have made determined attempts to do so. We would better
understand the writer's intent by taking the "lawless one" as a
collective term relating to a general fragmenting of Christian
faithfulness to the Gospel - thus, "rebellion," which would
point toward a growing apostasy or abandonment of belief. This does not answer
the question of what is leading to this apostasy among some of the
Thessalonians. Perhaps it was the delay in the Parousia which allowed
for a number of alternative theories to arise regarding the end time. This
certainly is the situation reflected in the three letters of John written near
and after this letter.
It
is certain that the writer has in mind a lapsing of faith. He suggests
that the forces leading to this apostasy, all the work of Satan, are being
restrained, perhaps by God working through the faithful remnant of
believers, preventing a complete spread of the apostasy. The removal of
such a restraint - when the lawless one's time has come, although it makes
matters worse for a while, eventually leads to his annihilation by the
returning Christ. The working of Satan through the lawless one
has deceived the minds of many who believed the falsehoods they
heard, causing them to abandon the true faith. It was a delusion God had
allowed so that the full extent of unrighteousness would be revealed and
condemned at the coming of Christ.
2nd Thessalonians Chapter
2:13-17 Chosen for Salvation
Now
the writer directly addresses the believers of the community who have not been
lulled into apostasy (rebellion) by false prophecies, heretical teaching
or forged letters. They are the "beloved of the Lord," chosen
(because of faith) as the first fruits from the beginning "for salvation
through sanctification." These are clearly those who have continued in
their faithful belief in the truth (the Gospel) proclaimed to them in the
beginning. They are the ones who, rejecting all deceptions, will obtain
"the glory of our Lord." But the time of delusion has not ended. The
unrestrained attack of the lawless one doing Satan's work lurks close by.
Therefore, the writer exhorts the believers to "stand firm and hold
fast" to what they were taught, by word and by letter. On this he
pronounces his benediction, invoking God and Christ's comfort and
strengthening, in heart and mind as they continue "in every good work and
word." By doing so they truly become the "first fruits" that
make the whole community holy.
No comments:
Post a Comment