In chapter 2, Paul moves on to address a specific issue related to the return of Jesus and the Day of the Lord. Someone in the Thessalonian church community had been spreading wrong information in Paul’s name, saying that God’s final act of justice on human evil, the Day of the Lord, was upon them. According to them, judgment day had come. These people had likely been predicting dates for the end of all things and were frightening other Christians. Given the difficult circumstances of the Thessalonians, you can see why this would cause some concern. They were afraid for their lives and vulnerable to someone claiming that Jesus had already returned “like a thief in the night,” as Paul described in his first letter (1 Thes. 5:2). Maybe God had abandoned them to their suffering.
This really upsets Paul because his letter is being grossly misrepresented. The return of Jesus should inspire hope and confidence, not fear! He reminds them of all he had taught about Jesus’ return when he was still in town, leaving here only a short summary. In fact, it’s a little too short, and the paragraph has many puzzles and problems with interpretation. What is clear is that Paul cites a well-known theme from Isaiah 13-14 and Daniel 7-12.
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The kingdoms of the world will continue to produce rulers who rebel against God, like Nebuchadnezzar or the king of the North. These leaders exalted themselves to divine authority and sowed the seeds of their destruction. For Paul, the prophecies about these ancient kings show a pattern, which he saw fulfilled in his own day with the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero, and which he expected to see repeated again. History will repeat itself, eventually culminating with a rebellious ruler, empowered by evil itself, who will wreak violence and havoc in God’s world—but not forever. When Jesus returns, he will confront “the rebel” and all those who perpetrate evil, delivering his people.
Paul’s point here was not to give later readers fuel for apocalyptic speculation. Rather, he’s trying to comfort the Thessalonians by recalling the teaching of Jesus, who said that the events leading up to his return will be very public and obvious (Mark 13). In other words, they don’t need to be scared or worried that they’ve been abandoned, but they do need to stay faithful until Jesus returns to deliver them. In his closing prayer (2 Thess. 2:16-17), Paul asks Jesus and the Father to comfort and strengthen the Thessalonians so that they may stay devoted to the way of Jesus.
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