PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians
Paton James Gloag [1823–1906] · 79,175 words · 88 reading sections
The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 1
THE PULPIT COMMENT ARY EDITED BY THE VERY REV. H. D. M. SPENCE, D.D. DEAN OF GLOUCESTER AND BY THE REV. JOSEPH S. EXELL, M.A. II. THESSALONIANS <!Etposmion anb ~omilttir5 BY REV. P. J. GLOAG, D.D. ~omili£5 b~ @ariou5 ~utJ.)or5 REV. PROF. T. CROSKERY, D.D. REV. W. F. ADENEY, 11.A. REV. B. C. CAFFIN, M.A. REV. …
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I 2. THE OccASION OF THE EPisTL&. The persons to whom this Epistle was written were "the Church of the 'l'hessalonians" ( eh. i. 1 ), or the Christian converts in the city of Thes~a- lonica. We have already fully discussed this point in the introductory remarks to the First Epistle. In order to understand this Second…
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t 3. THE DATE OF THE EPISTI,E. This Epistle was evidently written shortly after the First. Silas and Timothy, as in the First Epistle, are conjoined with Paul in the salutation, ctnd were consequently still in his company when he wrote this Epistle. But when Paul left Corinth, we are not informed that these two fellow…
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PAUL TO THE THESSALONIANS. EXPOSITION. OHAPTEB L much as they 111'8 mentioned directly befnr,- (see note to 1 These. i 2). Are bound; feel CoNTENTS.-Paul, after the address and ours .. !ves morally constrained. To thank salutation,commences this Epistle by render• God alwaya for you, brethren (comp.I Thess. ing tha…
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you in the Churohea of God ; tb1tt is, in those can merit se.lvation ttS a reward from God is Churohea with wliich we come in contact; not containe,l in ll_1is passage. As all meu namely, the Church Rt Corinth and the are smnors, salvation con ouly be obtained Churches in Achnin.. It would appear from thl'ough the m…
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opostles, the champions of the faith, and literally, ,hall pay ~ penalty; ,hall mjf~ still less with us Jews, the saints of Israel; pu11iahment (R.V.), With everlasting de- but with us, the writers of this Epistle, struotion; or rather, e'lten e'lterlasting dutnJe., namely, Paul and Silas and Timothy. When tum; the …
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the l!phere or element. of hie glory. Bll th!"t o~ God would oount you worthy of l&inta; not the holy ,mgcls who will ac- th111 oitlh_ng; or mtl1er, o_fyour calling (R.V.). oompany him to judgment, but holy men The calhng wae, propel'iy spel\ldng, only the whom be h&S redremed with his blood, commencement of the Chr…
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HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 8.-Thanksgiving for the spiritual progress of the TheBBaloni,ans, Timothy had brought the apostle tidings of their faith, their love, their sufferings, and their patience. I. THE GROUNDS OF HIS THANKSGIVING. .. Because that your faith ~oweth exceed- ingly, and the love of each one…
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L To GROUND OF HIB PBill!BII. " For your patience and falth ln all your per- secutions and tribulRtions that ye endure." 1. .Afftictiorn,, wh,ther in the form ~f•harp persecutum or of more geM/"CU trottbk, are the lot of God's faithful children. They are "appointed. thereunto" (1 Thess. ii. 3). 2. It ia the glory of…
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afflic~ you "-th~ penalty partaking of the very character of the sin. On the other band, God 1s not 1 • unrighteous to forget your work of fidtb and labour of love." The afflicted sb11II be recompensed with "rest," RB well as reward for all their p11tience. II. THE TIME OF THE JUD0MENT. "When the Lord Jeans shall be…
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(M11tt. X%V. 34). This is "the grace that is to be brought to them at the revelation of Jea111 Christ" (1 Pet. i. 18). (2) They shall receive rest-" rest with us," as the Lord's recompense for all their sufferings. It points to their release from persecutions. (a) There is a res~ sabbatism-" for the people of God" (Heb…
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ing their nature on the throne ; for "he ia not uhamed to call them brethren" (Heb. ii, 11). (2) In their being clothed with his righteousneas-" comely with the comelineee he has put upon them." (3) In their "reigning with him," and "being glorified together" (2 Tim. ii. 12 ; Rom. viii. 17). They shall be "partakers of…
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bring& the cross of Christ, the presence of God, within the range or our mental view. The.t holy vision will dre.w us nee.rer ever by its constraining power, quickening e.nd deepening in our hearts the faith which first brought us by the leading of the Spirit to the Saviour. The faith of the Thes~alonians was growin…
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is more precio111 than that of gold which perisbeth. Gold is tried by fire; God's people are tried in the furn11.ce of affliction. Affliction, meekly bome, bath a refining power; it elevates and refines the whole character; "it yieldetb the peaceable fruit of righteous- ness to them that are exercised tbereby.n Faith i…
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bill reiro.rrection and ascension. Now they are sent forth to minister for them that ahall be hei?'ll of salvation; they encamp round about those who fear the Lord, and deliver them. They help in carrying on hill blessed work of love. But they are holy; they hat.e evil; they must tum away from those who have yielded…
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glory derived Croon the Indwelling of the bleeeed Spirit whom the world seeth not neither knowcth. Now they are the eone of God ; when he shall appear, they aha.Ii he like him, for they shall see him as he is. 2. Its nature: the wnvei1ed presence oj Ghrist. He shall be glorified in his saints. "I am glorified in them…
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Vars. 1-12.-Manifestation of solemn interest. .Address and salutation. "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the Church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ; Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." The address is the same as in the First Epistle to the Thes…
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other Churches with which they had correspondence. What they especially gloried in wa~ the patience of the Thessalonians. Persecution had come upon them after perse- cut10n; they were then end11ring afflictions. But they had nobly stood their ground. '!'heir patience was sustained by faith-faith in a kind and wise P…
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&his judicial Ire mUBt have a fearful aspect to the ungodly, The description here be11ra a close resemblance to what is found in Dao. vii. 9, 10: 11 J beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Aooieot of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, e.od the hair of his head like the pure wool : his throne wa…
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81 the word is In the same sentence at the close of Romane, It indicat.ee the absolute eternity or God. Applied to life, as it very frequently is, from the nature of life and from the Divine guarantee, it means life that is endle&B and, 118 it is expreBBed in one place, indissoluble. It still remains a question whet…
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Ver. 2.-<Jrace and peace. St. Paul opens his Second Epistle with the expression of the same good wishes which he expressed in his earlier Epistle. There is no need of a spiritual parsimony for reserving highest benedictions. The best can be breathed freely, because there is no end to the resources of God. But we need n…
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Ver. 8.-Growing faith. In his former Epistle St. Paul congratulated the Tbest!a- lonians on the fruits of faith, love, and hope which he saw among them (1 'l'h888. i. 3), and he prayed for the increase of their love (1 These. iii. 12). Now he is thankful that their faith continues to grow, and that their mutual affecti…
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their pen,eoution patiently; yet nothing wu done for their redreu. Was not thlll a break-down of justice? The case is like that of the psalmist, who wae perplexed at the prosperity of the wicked till he went into the sanctuary, and then, by faith and the knowledge of unseen Divine law, umh·rstood their end (Ps. lxxi…
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future occasion. Jesus Christ cannot endure eternal injustice. He is strong to execut.. as well as righteous to desire judgment. . III. THE PERBONB CONDEMNED. Two classes are named. 1. Too~ who are {gnOf'Mlt of God. The heathen world seems to be here referred to. Why should these benighted people be punished for their…
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Ver. 12.-<J-loriji~d. I. THE GRBAT BND OF TRB CHRISTIAN VOCATION rs TO GLORIFY TBB NAHE OF CHRIST, The blessings for which St. Paul has been pmying are to lead up to this great resull 1. The Christian lives for Christ. Christ is the chief Corner- Btone of the finished temple as well as the Foundation with which the …
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Whu11 th11t restraining inffnence was removed, of it might not be a 10uroe of disorder in the lhe mnn ofein would he revenled,nccompanied Chnroh" (Jowett); but such a eenee ie to" w i11, powers 11nd signs and wonders of false- artificial. H ie beet to render it "concern- hood, and would succeed in deceiving those in…
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1"8pori of llOme of the apostle's wor, ls. either Paul he.d instructed the Thessalonlane (comp. erroneous or misunderst.ood. Nor by letter. l Tim. iv. 1-8). First; nRruely, before the Not the apostle's former Epistle to the Thes- oomin11: of the day of the Lord. And the.t BRioni11.na, the paBBRg88 in which concernin…
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Theesalonioo, had told them of these things: tianity were being laid. Thus the apoe&le he had instructed them concerning the warned the Ephesie.ns that false tee.chera nature of the apostasy and the coming of would arise from among themselves; to the man of sin ; so thot, as already observed, Timothy he writes of those…
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irresistible might of Cbnet at hie coming- truth. Not only did they not reoeive the that the mere breath of his mouth ie suffi- truth when it wu offered them, but, what cient to oonsume the wicked (oomp. 181\. xi. was worse, they ,vere destitute even of a love 4. "He shall emite the earth with the rod of the truth. …
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Here the desoriptlon of tl:.e me.n of ■in reference being to the whole clalllMI, being oonclude1, e.nd hence the second division of "chosen to salvation in sanctification ol the the Epistle oloses. The succeeding verses Spirit e.nd belief of the truth." He oe.lled you. Whom God elects from eternity, he 1hould have bee…
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Ver. 13.-Sanctijication. 1. Its nature. It denotes separation and consecration. It consists in the mortification of sin and the production of holiness. 2. Its properties. Universal, adapted to our peculiar characters, discernible, progressive, in this life always imperfect, constant, and eternal. 3. lts Author. The Hol…
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Vers. 3-8.-The rise of the apostasy and the revelation of the man of ain must precede the second advent. This fact would assure them that a period of time of at least indefinite extent would intervene before the day of the Lord. "Let no man deceive you by any means." I. THE COMmG OF THE APOSTASY, "Because the day will…
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,l<'l!cription does not apply to the pope or the papacy: (a) Because the pope, though the hP.ad or a syst.c-m of idolatry, does not oppose God or exRlt hims .. lf ahove him but rather owns himself " e. servant of servants of the most high God," and blesses the people, not in his own name, but in the Name of the Triu…
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versonal advent of Juus (Jhriat. 2. TM language implies the suddennesa and the completeness of th• overthrow of the man of sin, who th,reby becomes "the 80'n of perdi- tion." 3, The picture presented may be identical with the Gog and Magog conspiracy wliich i, to follow th. millennium. (Rev, xx. 7, 8.) The Lord puts th…
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VeI'II. 13, 14.-Apostolic thanh;giving for the election and lhe calling of the Thessa- lonians. I. Tm; DrVINE ELECTION. "God bath from tlu beginning chosen you." 1. There is an "elecr ion acco,·ding to grace" (Rom. xi. 6). lt is not to be confounded with the calling, which is an effect of it. " Whom he predestinated…
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Vere. 16, 11,_:.Prayer afkr exhortation. The comprehensive prayer for blessing with which he concludes is strictly after the apostle's manner. I. TBE AUTIIOBS OF THE BLESSINGS PRAYED FOR. "Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father." The order of mention i8 unusual, though the name of Jesus occurs fir…
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near at band-at Coiintb. Even in th8l'8 early days things which he had said were misunderstood; his authority was claimed for words which he had never spoken , and strangest of all, there were written letters bearing his name which were falsely as~ribed t.o him. We ba1·e our trials now. We are troubled, some of us, …
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seem to be already marshalled In preparation for an awful struggle. It must come Holy Script11re warns us; it will culminate in the revelation of the man of sin. H~ will be revealed-out of previous obscurity; the apparition will be unveiled out of dark- ness. 2. His character. He is a ptrson, a man of miahty intellect…
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Satan. AB Goo work<>th in his sRints both to l\•ill and to do of his good p\e11sure, so Satan worketh in this his representative with Ali the awful energy of diabolical wioked- .:iess. The antichrist, SD.ys llengel, stands in !he same relation to Satan as Christ to llod. The anticliri~t will work miracles, but they …
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significance to every act of wilful, unrepented ein; e'Yery such act brings a man nearer (how near he cennot tell) to that most awful state whence there is no repenta11ce. Then comes judicial blindness; the light that was within them becomes darkness. 'l'h_ey would not believe the truth of God, now they believe the lie…
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TbeBSRloniRns knew the history of our Lord's life and death, and the doctrines of the Christian faith, only through the ornl teaching of St. Paul, The First Epistle was the only part of the New Testament Scriptures known to them; probably the only part as yet in existence. St. Paul had taught orally for several year…
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sente.tions founded upon an alleged Epistle of the apostle. The existence and circuia- tion of e. fabricated Epistle seem to be hinted at in the words at the close of this Epistle: "The salutation of me Paul with mine own han<l, which is the token in every Epistle: so I write." If the Thesse.lonians accepted of these r…
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oppo!ll!th." It ie not said, "He that opposeth Uhrist," but, from the way in which Christian thought is interwoven with the whole paragraph, we may understand that to be the meKning. We may, therefore, regard the movement as described by the designation "antichrist" with which John supplies us. As it is in its origi…
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of _Christ, There is a manifestation of good going forward, as well as a manifestation of evil. It must yet be shown in human history that there is an essential loveliness belonging to tho Christian life. Many Scriptures promise a period of conquest for the Church. ·when the Church extends its conquests there will b…
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espeoially of the oh&racter of God, there is &n e&sy transitio!l to unriahteousness. There are many ways in which they can persuade themselves, that they ~ay exercise liberty in their manner of living. They do not need to pray to God ; they do not need to rend God's Book ; they do not need to keep God's day ; they do…
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the beginning, i.e. from eternity. When God contemplated the creation or 11, race of men, and contemplated at the same time the incursion or evil into human nature and human history, be also contemplated human salvation. It was also within the Divine plnn (going out into all particulars) that the Tbessalonians among ot…
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So it is a great advantage to us, that we are not left to our own childish and foolish thoughts, but that we have the written instructions of our heavenly Father. It is by holding to these written instructions, as an unchanging element iu tho midst of all the tests to which we nre subjected, in the •ni<lst or all th…
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of an evil hflart and the burden of an evil world, of our being placed where there will be no more need of comfort-in the presence of the eternal Love. It is also a good hope, in its being well founrleJ-not founded on our own thoughts, but founded on ~he. charnct~r a~d work and promise of God. It is a. hope ,~hich i…
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deluded fanRtics as well as of deliberate deceivers. 2. False apostoltcal tradititm. " By word" probably menns by repnrt,,d word of St. Paul, which word, however, never really came from him. Thus early were false traditions afloat. See the mistalten tradition about St. John (John xxi. 23). If these erroneous traditi…
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expected ae the reeult of \uiet improvement wit.hout relapse. Between the preeent and that" great Divine event dark chasms of iniquity yawn. Every age bas thought it could detect signs of this evil in its midst. So the unbelief and corruptions of our own day are taken by some to be "signs." Unhappily the language of th…
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itstlf. Truth is to the soul what light ls to the body. It is natural for men to love the day, unnatural for them to shun it. In a right and healthy state we should love truth simply as truth, whatever else it be. 2. Christian trnth is peculiai·ly attmctiuc. Scientific truth is beautiful, philosophic truth is valuab…
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Vera. 16, 17.-.A benediction. I. THE BOUBCEB OJ' THE BENEDICTION. A true benediction is more than an expression of good wishes. It is a prayer by one who has especial weight in intercession, although it is expressed to the person for whom it is offered. The benediction of so great and good a man as St. Paul is of great…
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Sin" in the author's work entitled 'Introduction to tl,e Pauline Epistles.' For dissertations un the Man of Siu, the reader is referred to Alford's ' Greek Testament,' vol. iii., Prolegomena., pp. 55--68, 3rd edit.; Eadie's • Commentary on the Thessnlonians,' pp. 329-367; .!~lliott's • Hone ApocalyptiCII!,' vol. iii …
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The prediction or St. Paul beal'I! a still more striking r~semblance to tho vision of Da~iel concerning the wicked and persecuting king (D~n. :r.i.) than to eithor the Anti- chnst of St. John or the beasts of the Apooalypse. That prophecy of Daniel received ita primary acoomplishment in Antiocbus Epiphanes, the grea…
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observes, "As the Saviour had Solomon and other saints a.s types of his comin<>, so we may rightly believe that Antichrist bad, a.s a. type of himself, that most wick~d king AntiochUB, who persecuted the saints and profaned the temple" (on Dan. xi. 35). There was e. diversity of opinion among them regarding the meaning…
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on the other he.ad, repudiates this hypothesis e.s extravagant: "Some persons of extravagant imagine.tion," he observes, "suppose that Nero, having been conveyed to a distant region, i8 still alive; and to him they apply the Sybilline verses ooncernint:r 'the fugitive who slew his own mother, being to come from the …
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Western wae the pope. It is a remarkable circumstance that all three-the Greeks, the Romans, and the Protestants-were at one a.s rega.rrls the restraining influence; this they regarded as the imperial power-the Roman empire, either in itself or continued in the Greek a.nd German empires. The modem views concerning …
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bl' ill led RBtray by hie erroneous opinions. How such & view is " entirely coneletenl with the &postle's inspiration" is difficult to unden;tand, even although we employ the term "inspiration" in a very br,-ad sense. The power of foretellina the future is denied to the sacre<l writers. •• We take them," observes Dr…
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exeoute judgment on Jerusalem; and although Nero did not personally undertake anything against the Jews, yet he did so by his lieutenant Vespasian. The apostasy was the departure of the Christians into the errors of the Gnostics. Dollinger, however, considers that there may be a more complete fulfilment in the last day…
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emperor remove from Rome to Constantinople, than the papacy al'08e-the restraint on the Bishop of Rome was removed; and after the Roman empire in the West came to an end by the dethronement of Augustulus, the power of the pope mightily in- creased. But the great point of inquiry i1-ls there a sufficient resemblance…
844 wordsSource & rights
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.