The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 27

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 concerning man of sin; in whom sin ~ 88 it were, the advent had been misinterpreted (Paley); personrned, as righteousness 1s in Chri•t. for, if this were the C88e, the apostle would Be reve&led. The apostle considers the ml\n have expreeBed himself mol"8 plainly and of sin &11 the connterpMt of Obrist; ns would not ban repudinted it; but some Christ was revee.led, so she.11 the me.n of sin letter. either forg-ed in the apostle's name or be revcru.ed. The son ot perdition; whose pretending to inculcate his vieWB. A.a from sin nec-essl\rily conduots to perdition; not llB. These words npply to the l88t two p~r- here the perdition of his followers, but his ticulars: " Let no preten<led eaying or pre- own perdition. The snme ne.me whioh was tended letter of mine disturb you in this applied by our Lord to Jude.a Iacariot matter." A.a that-t.o the effect tbe.t-the (John xvii. 12). day of Christ; or, as the best manuscripts Ver. 4.-Who opposeth; or, the opposer, rea<l, of tM Loro,. Is at hand; literally, 111 tnken substantively. The objeot of oppo- preamt, ro R.V. The verb is llO translated sition is not so much believers, as Christ; in the other pnssnges where it oocurs (Rom. he is e.ntiobrist, the opponent of Christ. viii 88; l Cor. iii. 22; Gal. i. 4; Heb. ix. 9), And yet antichrist is not Sate.n, the gree.t except in 2 Tim. iii. 1, where it ought also ' adversary (l Pet. v. 8; Rev. xii. 10), fur he to have be<>n so rendered. It ia, however, is expressly distinguished from him (eh. ii. ditlionlt to concehe bow the Tbessalonians 9), but the instrument of Satan. As Satan could think that the day of the Lord was entered into the heart of J ude.s hc,niot, the actually present. We cannot imagine that son of perdition, so does he take possession they thought that Christ bad already come of the man of sin. And exalteth himself for judgment. To escape the dillicnlty, e.bove; or rather, against, in a hostile man- some conceive that uthe day of the Lorri" is ner. All that is called God : not only against not identical with" the coming of the Lord," . all the false gods of the bee.then, but e.lso but the.t, besides the actne.l advent, it in- against the true God (comp. De.n. vii. 25; cludes the events which are its antecedents xi. 36). Or that is worshipped; tho.t is e.n and concomitants (Eadie). It appears, how- object of worship. The same word the.t is ever, best to suppose that the word is a used in Acts xvii. 23, "As I pe.sse<l by e.ncl strong expression for the imminence of that beheld your devotions "-the objects of your day; that the hour of the advent wos about worship. So that he as God. The words t.o strike. The Thessalonians ought always "as God" are to be omitted, e.s not found in to be living in a state of preparation for the the best mnnuscripte. Bitteth in the temple day of the Lord, as that day would come of God. According to some, the temple of suddenly and unexpectedly ; but they were Jerusalem (De Wette, Liineme.nn, Ee.die), not to be so impressed with a sense of its eitl,er as it then existed or e.s restored ac- immediatenesa as to be deprived of their cording to the prophecy of Ezekiel. But it 80ber reaBOn. appee.rs more correct to r!lfer the expression Ver. 3.-Let no mm deoeive yon by any metaphorice.lly to the Christie.n Church. It means; in any way, not only in e.ny of the is a favourite mele.phor of Paul to compe.re foregoing methods, " by spirit, or word. or believers in pnrticule.r. or the Cbnroh in letter," bnt in any way whate~r. For (that general. to the temple of God (comp. l Cor. day ,hall not mme). The bracketed words iii. 17; vi. 19; Epb. ii. 20-22). Showing- ar11 not in the original, hut e.re correct Iy exbibiting-himself that he is God. Hie supplied for the compktion of the seuse. sitting in the temple of God wns e.n aaser- Except there come a fa.lliJJ.g e.way; or, the tiou of bis divinity; he cln.imed to be apotrlaB!f; namely, tbe.t apostasy about whlch regarded and worsl,ipped as God. This the apostle, when in Thes.-alonica, had in- was the crowning act of his impiety; not structed his ree.ders. The falling away here only, like the Rome.n emperors, he demo.nded alluded to is evidently religious, not politic-al. to be worshipped e.s one of many gods, but Henoe it cannot be the revolt of the J~ws be claimed to himself the prcrugntive of from the Rome.ns, or any of those revolts the Godliead, not only to the exclusion of the and disturbances which then occurred in false gods of heathenism, but even of the the political world. Nor must we conceive true God. thai the man of sin himself is here meant; Ver. 5.-Bemember ye not, that, when I for this apostasy precedes his coming wu yet with yon, I told you these things 1 -prepares the way for bis e.dv~nt; it is These words conte.in a reproe.ch. Had tho nut the result, but the cause, of his eppear- '1'1,eade.loniims remembered the instrnctiona 111,ce. The word, then, is to Le ta.ken gene- of the apostle, they would not have been rally to deaate that remurkable "fe.lli11g l!O soon shaken from their sober reneon or 11way" from Christianity ooncerning which trouhle<l. 'l'he 11poHtle, wbeu he w1111 in un. 11. 1-17.] THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIAN&. 25