2 Thessalonians Chapter 2 (This Is A Detailed Study Verse By Verse Of Chapter 2. You Will Need To Analyze, Synthesize, And Then Summarize To Fit Your Need.) Series

2nd THESSALONIANS - Chapter 2

2nd Thess. 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, (KJV)

2:1 Now in regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to meet Him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, (Amplified Bible)

A. Concerning the coming. The preposition used by Paul means perhaps something more than ‘concerning,’ and is equivalent to ‘in explanation or defense of.’ The coming of Christ had been misrepresented; Paul now does it justice by setting it in a clearer light. (Popular NT)

B. Our gathering together. That is, the gathering together of all Christians to be forever with Christ, spoken of in the First Epistle, 1Th_4:17. (Popular NT)

2nd Thess. 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

2:2 not to be quickly unsettled or alarmed either by a [so-called prophetic revelation of a] spirit or a message or a letter [alleged to be] from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has [already] come.

A. That ye be not soon shaken out of your mind.

a. Evidently Paul had heard that they had been excited by false impressions about the nearness of the Lord’s coming, and had acted as men who had lost their senses, giving up their ordinary occupations and scandalizing sober-minded people. The word ‘shaken’ ‘marks that agitated and disquieted state of mind, which, in the present case, was due to wild spiritual anticipations’ (Ellicott). This state of mind had been ‘soon’ brought about, i.e. without due consideration, and as soon as any one said to them, ‘Lo, here is Christ,’ or ‘Lo, there.’ To prevent this instability and a disorder so prejudicial to the cause, Paul now again writes to them. (Popular NT)

b. The word here used signifies, properly, to be moved as a wave of the sea, or to be tossed upon the waves, as a vessel is. Then it means to be shaken in any way. The reference here is to the agitation or alarm felt from the belief that the day of judgment would soon occur. It is uniformly said in the Scriptures, that the approach of the Lord Jesus to judge the world, will produce a great consternation and alarm. Mat_24:30, “then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn.” Rev_1:7, “behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” Luk_23:30, “then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills Cover us;” (Albert Barnes)

B. Or be troubled - That is, disturbed, or terrified. It would seem that this belief had produced much consternation among them. (AB)

C. Neither by spirit - By any pretended spirit of prophecy. But whether this refers to the predictions of those who were false prophets in Thessalonica, or to something which it was alleged the apostle Paul had himself said there, and which was construed as meaning that the time was near, is not certain. This depends much on the question whether the phrase “as from us,” refers only to the letters which had been sent to them, or also to the “word” and to the “spirit,” here spoken of. It would seem, from the connection, that all their consternation had been caused by some misconstruction which had been put on the sentiments of Paul himself, for if there had been any other source of alarm, he would naturally have referred to it. It is probable, therefore, that allusion is made to some representation which had been given of what he had said under the influence of the Holy Spirit, and that the expectation that the end of the world was near, was supposed to be a doctrine of inspiration. Whether, however, the Thessalonians themselves put this construction on what he said, or whether those who had caused the alarm represented him as teaching this, cannot be determined. (AB)

D. Nor by word - That is, by public instruction, or in preaching. It is evident that when the apostle was among them, this subject, from such causes, was prominent in his discourses; see 2Th_2:5. It had been inferred, it seems, from what he said, that he meant to teach that the end of the world was near. (AB)

E. Nor by letter - Either the one which he had before written to them - the First Epistle to the Thessalonians - or one which had been forged in his name. “As from us.” That is, Paul, Silas, and Timothy, who are united in writing the two epistles 1Th_1:1; 2Th_1:1, and in whose names a letter would be forged, if one of this description were sent to them. It has been made a question, whether the apostle refers here to the former epistle which he had sent to them, or to a forged letter; and on this question critics have been about equally divided. The reasons for the former opinion may be seen in Paley’s Herin Paulinae, in loc. The question is not very important, and perhaps cannot be easily settled. There are two or three circumstances, however, which seem to make it probable that he refers to an epistle which had been forged, and which had been pretended to be received from him. (1.) one is found in the expression “as from us.” If he had referred to his own former letter, it seems to me that the allusion would have been more distinct, and that the particle “as” (??? ho¯s) would not have been used. This is such an expression as would have been employed if the reference were to such a forged letter. (AB)