1:5 This is evidence: Even before the Judgment, clear distinctions between the righteous and the wicked are emerging in Thessalonica: on one side, believers are suffering and yet holding fast to their faith; on the other, persecutors are harassing and abusing them in godless ways. This is a sign of blessedness for Paul's readers (Mt 5:9-10) and a frightening omen for their oppressors (2 Cor 2:15-16). righteous judgment: God will judge the world through Christ (Acts 17:31) with perfect justice and impartiality (Rom 2:9-11; 1 Pet 2:23; CCC 682). the kingdom of God: The heavenly inheritance of the saints. In Paul's theology, fidelity through suffering is a means of sanctifi-cation, i.e., it helps to make us worthy of the kingdom (Acts 14:22; Rom 8:17). See note on 1 Thess 2:12. Back to text.

1:7 flaming fire: Symbolic of divine scrutiny and judgment (Is 66:16; 1 Cor 3:13-15). Back to text.

1:8 inflicting vengeance: Assurance that Christ will right every wrong and repay the wicked for their malice should encourage believers to refrain from avenging themselves by personal retaliation (Rom 12:19; 1 Thess 5:15). do not know God: Unenlightened pagans (1 Thess 4:5). do not obey the gospel: Such as the unbelievers of Israel (Rom 10:16). Back to text.

1:9 eternal destruction: Not annihilation or the termination of existence, but an everlasting state of spiritual death, disinheritance, and damnation. For Paul, hell is nothing less than eternal separation from the peace and presence of the living God. Other biblical ideas and images fill out the picture of this terrifying prospect: the damned will endure "tribulation and distress" (Rom 2:9), "eternal punishment" (Mt 25:46), and "unquenchable fire" (Lk 3:17; cf. Is 66:24) (CCC 1033-36). See word study: Hell at Mk 9:43. Back to text.

1:10 that day: The final "day of the Lord" (2:2). his saints: Or, "his holy ones". This could refer to the redeemed People of God (Jude), but it is more likely a reference to the holy angels (1:7; Ps 89:7). Either way, their appearance in glory will magnify the glory of Christ, whose divine splendor shines through them (Phil 3:21; Col 3:4). See note on 1 Thess 3:13. Back to text.

1:11 we always pray: Paul and his coworkers practice what they preach on the subject of continuous prayer (1 Thess 5:17). Back to text.

1:12 our God and the Lord Jesus Christ: Several times Paul mentions the close relationship between the Father and the Son in his Thessalonian letters (1:1, 2; 2:16; 1 Thess 1:1; 3:11). Back to text.

2:1-12 Paul combats misinformation in Thessalonica that the day of the Second Coming is at hand. This appears to be the teaching of doomsday prophets who may have gotten the idea from a misreading of 1 Thessalonians (especially 1 Thess 5:2). In any case, they apparently forged a letter to this effect in Paul's name and claimed to have had personal revelations to back it up. To silence these troublemakers and steady his shaken readers, Paul lays out the eschatological sequence of events that must take place before the "day of the Lord" dawns on the world (2 Thess 2:2). Though the basic outline of this prophecy is clear, no clear consensus exists in ancient or modern scholarship on how to understand many of its details (CCC 673-74). Back to text.

2:1 the coming of our Lord: The return of Christ, who will come again in glory (Acts 1:11) to judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42). our assembling: Believers, both living and deceased, will be taken up with the Lord into heavenly glory (1 Thess 4:16-17). Back to text.

2:2 shaken . . . or excited: False prophets are unsettling Paul's readers, whose suffering and affliction seem to reinforce allegations that the tribulation of the last days is under way and is about to give way to the Second Coming (1:6; 1 Thess 2:14). by spirit or by word: I.e., by charismatic revelations. These need to be measured against apostolic teaching in order to test their authenticity (1 Cor 14:29; 1 Thess 5:20-21). by letter: I.e., by a forged document claiming to come from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy (1:1). Paul considers this a form of deception (2:3). the day of the Lord: The Day of Judgment. See note on 1 Thess 5:2. Back to text.

2:3 the rebellion: Or, "the apostasy". Paul envisions a time of terrible confusion and massive falling away from God at the end of days (1 Tim 4:1-2; 2 Tim 3:1-5). the man of lawlessness: A man of extraordinary evil. When he comes, he will deify himself, claiming to be God (2:4); he will dazzle the wicked with displays of his power (2:9); and he will deceive the world with falsehoods of every kind (2:10). Most identify this figure with "the antichrist" prophesied by John (1 Jn 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 Jn 1:7) (CCC 675-77). son of perdition: A Semitic way of saying "one who is doomed to destruction". Jesus gave this title to his betrayer, Judas Iscariot (Jn 17:12). Back to text.

2:4 exalts himself: The Antichrist will declare himself God and demand to be worshiped. the temple of God: Identified differently by different interpreters. (1) Some (e.g., St. Irenaeus, St. Cyril of Jerusalem) see it as a reference to the Jerusalem Temple. This view entails a belief that the sanctuary, which now lies in ruins, will be rebuilt in the end times. (2) Others (e.g., St. John Chrysostom, St. Ephraem the Syrian) see a reference to the Church, since in Paul's theology, believers make up the true Temple of God (1 Cor 3:16; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21). (3) It is also possible to understand the expression metaphorically, i.e., as a visual description of the Antichrist's supreme arrogance in putting himself in the place of God. • Paul's portrait of the Antichrist is modeled on the blasphemous villains of biblical history, such as the king of Babylon, who wanted to make himself like the Most High and sit enthroned in heaven (Is 14:13-14), the prince of Tyre, who claimed to be a god and sit in the seat of the gods (Ezek 28:2), and the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV, who exalted himself above every god and desecrated the Jerusalem Temple with a pagan altar and idol (Dan 11:36; 1 Mac 1:20-24, 54). Back to text.

2:7 mystery of lawlessness: The secret operation of evil in the world. Readers are already getting a taste of this through the bitter experience of persecution (1:4). The steady build-up of iniquity throughout history is paving the way for an explosion of evil in the last days (CCC 385). Back to text.

Word Study

Restraining (2 Thess 2:6)

Katechō (Gk.): a verb meaning "hinder", "restrain", or "retain". It is used three times in the Thessalonian letters and 14 times elsewhere in the NT. Its usage in 2 Thessalonians is challenging to interpret. In 2 Thess 2:6, Paul speaks of a mysterious power (neuter) that holds back the man of lawlessness and delays his appearance in the world. Then, in 2 Thess 2:7, he seems to speak of a person (masculine) who performs this function until, at last, he steps out of the way and the man of lawlessness makes his terrifying debut. The identities of this force and figure have been greatly debated in both ancient and modern times. For many, the restraining power is the law and order enforced by the Roman Empire, and the restrainer is the Roman emperor himself. Others contend that the Holy Spirit (neuter in Greek) is the restraining power and that God the Father (masculine in Greek) is the Person who issues the restraining order. Still others interpret the restraining force as the missionary efforts of the Church and the figure who embodies this mission as Paul. Unfortunately for us, Paul felt no need to describe further the restrainer because he had already instructed his readers on this point when he was with them in person (2 Thess 2:5-6).

2:8 Jesus will slay him: Christ will descend from heaven as a divine Warrior to destroy the man of lawlessness with a word and trample the last remnants of evil underfoot (1 Cor 15:24). the breath of his mouth: Or, "the Spirit of his mouth". • Paul is alluding to Is 11:4, where the Messiah appears as a judge who vindicates the poor and oppressed and slays the wicked with his powerful word. Back to text.

2:9 activity of Satan: Suggests the man of lawlessness is an instrument in the hands of the devil. pretended signs: Displays of demonic power that will captivate sinners and lead them blindly astray. These are not miracles in the strict sense, which are properly the work of God, but illusions that make sinners think the power of God is being witnessed. Back to text.

2:11 a strong delusion: God will respond to the wicked by worsening their problem. Because they will defy God and willfully reject the truth, he will permit them to love their evils and errors without the merciful restraint of his grace (Is 6:9-10; 29:9-10). See note on Rom 1:24. • Paul says "God will send" because, by his own just judgment, God will permit the devil to do these things. Being judged in this way, sinners will be deceived; and being deceived, they will be judged (St. Augustine, City of God 20, 19). Back to text.

2:13 God chose you: By an eternal decree of love (Eph 1:5). sanctification: The processes of becoming "holy", which Paul naturally links with the Holy Spirit's work within us. See note on 1 Thess 4:3. Back to text.

2:15 the traditions: The teaching that Paul handed over to his readers, whether in writing or by oral instruction. This was the standard against which doctrinal claims (2:5) and moral behavior (3:6) were to be measured and judged. Even Paul's personal example was a form of apostolic catechesis (3:79; 1 Cor 11:2; 2 Tim 1:13) (CCC 75-76, 82). • The apostles did not hand down everything in writing; many unwritten things were handed down as well, and both written and unwritten are worthy of belief. So let us also regard the tradition of the Church as worthy of belief (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on 2 Thessalonians 4). Back to text.

3:1-2 Paul requests intercession for the progress of the gospel and the protection of missionaries entrusted with it. It is because Paul lived and worked in the midst of constant danger that he relied on his churches to pray for a safe and successful ministry (Rom 15:30-31; 2 Cor 1:11; 1 Thess 5:25). Back to text.

3:1 the word of the Lord: The gospel message itself. See note on 1 Thess 2:13. Back to text.

3:4 which we command: Whether in person (3:10) or in writing (3:6, 12). Back to text.

3:6-15 Paul addresses an embarrassing situation in the Thessalonian Church. Certain believers, perhaps enamored with the idea that Christ could return at any moment, became idlers, who stopped working for a living, freeloaders, who relied on the charity of others to support themselves, and busybodies, who started meddling in the affairs of everyone else. Paul insists they should return to work, earn their own living, and mind their own business (3:12). He urges the Church to get involved in correcting this problem by warning such brothers (3:15) and, if necessary, shunning them if they refuse correction (3:14). See introduction: Purpose and Themes. Back to text.

3:8 toil and labor: Paul and companions supported themselves with a trade or some other form of employment on top of their missionary work. Paul was teaching the Thessalonians by example about the dignity and necessity of human labor (CCC 2427). See notes on 1 Thess 2:9 and 4:11. Back to text.

3:10 when we were . . . with you: Suggests idleness was already an issue when Paul ministered among them. This is why his earlier letter urges the Church to "admonish the idle" (1 Thess 5:14). let him not eat: I.e., let him not live off the labor of others without contributing efforts of his own. • Manual labor aims at obtaining food, removing idleness, curbing fallen desires, and enabling almsgiving. As a means of acquiring food, work is commanded as a precept, so that one who has no other means of livelihood is bound to work. This is signified by the words of the apostle (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, 187, 3). Back to text.

3:14 may be ashamed: Disciplinary exclusion from the life and liturgy of the Church would serve (1) to deter others from living or contemplating a life of idleness and (2) to induce repentance from the offenders in the hope of restoring them to full fellowship. Back to text.

3:17 I, Paul, write this: Paul takes up the pen to write the final greeting with his own hand, having dictated the rest of the letter to a secretary. His personal signature and remarks authenticate the epistle as a genuine apostolic work (1 Cor 16:21; Col 4:18). He stresses the point here because the Thessalonians may have received a forged letter that alleged to be from Paul but was not (2 Thess 2:2). every letter of mine: Implies that Paul was in the habit of sending out letters. The statement strikes many scholars as odd, since the Thessalonian letters are the two earliest NT writings that come from Paul. Some take this as evidence that someone other than the apostle—most likely a later disciple, familiar with the corpus of Pauline epistles—must be the real author of this letter. The argument is ingenious, but it must be remembered that not all of Paul's correspondence necessarily made its way into the collection of NT books. It is possible that some of his letters were neither canonized nor preserved (see, e.g., 1 Cor 5:9 and Col 4:16). The existence of noncanonical letters written during Paul's early ministry is not established with certainty, but it cannot be ruled out. Back to text.

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