False Alarm. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2.
Dear Elect of God,
Up to this point, the content of the letter has been greetings thanksgiving. As we begin chapter 2, Paul shifts to one of the two main themes of the letter – concerns about the coming of the Lord.
Assembly (v. 1). The coming of the Lord will involve the “gathering together to him” of his saints. This is important because those who are in Christ will be in that gathering. If Christ had come, Paul and the Thessalonian Christians would have been part of the crowd that was assembled in his company. If you are in Christ for sure but you are not in that gathering, then Christ has not come yet.
Alarm (v. 2). There was alarm already in Thessalonica. The panic was caused by the claim of some teachers that the Lord had come already. Of course, this would have meant that the Thessalonians missed the Lord’s coming. Paul tells them to calm down and ignore the teaching, no matter where it originated. He mentions several possible sources: _A Spirit._Obviously, such a spirit would have claimed to be from God. The fact that it would communicate a falsehood confirms its origin. It is not from God. At times the claim that a spirit has communicated with a person is just a lie. Some preachers think that claiming to have spoken to a spirit lends credence to their teachings. But a lie is a lie. It does not matter who tells it.
A Spoken Word. This could simply have been a straight word spoken by a teacher. It also could have been a claim of revelation from God. In this case, it would have been equivalent to a prophecy. Whatever the case, this too was a lie.
A Supposed Letter. It seems that the false teachers were willing to forge a letter and attribute it to Paul and his companions. That anyone would go to such lengths to deceive is evidence of evil designs. That Paul mentions this possibility at all, makes it highly likely that it had happened. This would also explain the assertion by Paul that this letter is genuine, the final greetings having been written in Paul’s own hand.
There are many people who are sincerely wrong in their teaching. But there also are some who deliberately twist the truth. Beware both, but especially the intentional deceivers. There are some who have made the gospel an enterprise.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.