Paul writes this second letter to the Church at Thessalonica in celebration that their faith is working. This is a church that knows how to tribulate. As I’ve previously noted: Finding yourself on the outs with those still clinging to this world is expected and desirable. It reveals who is His and who is not. It reveals how just His justice is. In the paradoxical realm of God, it is justice that His people suffer in a world that is hostile to Him.
The issue that Paul wrote to address shows up in this second chapter. It seems that someone had been teaching the folks there that the reason for their persecution was that Christ had already returned and they had missed it. Paul warned them not to believe such nonsense, regardless where they claimed such teaching came from. He mentions a bogus letter claiming to be from him, along with supposed words of revelation. There are certain events that must precede the Day of the Lord.
Paul reminds them in outline what he had previous taught in detail. Sadly, those details are not recorded anywhere.
First, there must be an apostasy, a rebellion against genuine faith in Christ among church folks. There have always been a certain portion of church members who are fake in various ways, not part of the Elect. Jesus warned about this in the Parable of the Tares. At some point near the Day of Harvest, they will distinguish themselves.
Connected to this will be the rise of the Antichrist. He will mislead the churches from within. The return of Christ will be shortly preceded by a fake Christ, someone whose false claims will be quite plausible, except he won’t come to meet us in the air, as noted in the previous letter.
This person will claim to be God Almighty in the flesh, seizing control of all organized religion. Paul is clearly referring to Old Testament warnings in Isaiah 14:13-14, Daniel 11:35, and Ezekiel 28:2-9. He will come with signs and miracles, but not the real power of the Cross. Instead, his ministry will deceive everyone who is not Elect. God will have sent this one precisely to for that purpose. There will be something critical missing, something obvious to those who walk in their convictions, by their faith and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
In previous commentary, I wrote: There is a clear distinction between those who embrace the Cross and those only pretending. The Cross is death and those who don’t quite grasp the nature of mortification aren’t there yet. The Antichrist will come with an easy gospel, signs and wonders; a solid majority of humanity will embrace whatever he’s selling. It’s not as if this hasn’t been offered in numerous packages already, but it has never gained a universal following in any sense. The final revelation of the Antichrist will provide the context that will so clearly separate those who willingly give all for Christ versus those who seek something else, because the reign of Antichrist will seek to destroy those who really do know the truth and recognize him.
If possible, the Antichrist will not allow the Elect to live in peace. Yes, we will certainly know it, we won’t miss it when that Son of Lawlessness arises. His persecution will be very specifically targeted at faith itself. That hasn’t happened yet. Paul refers to some force that restrains this creature until the time is right, a teaching we would dearly love to find, but is not mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. All we can say is that it is some unknown work of the Holy Spirit. At any rate, when He actually returns, Christ will snuff him out with no effort.
Paul ends this chapter giving thanks that the Elect at Thessalonica aren’t so easily fooled. He encourages them to continue in the faith they learned from Paul, and from Christ Himself in their hearts.
