The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Thessalonians — Section 37

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, by the difficulties which arise from various readings or interpretations, by the doubts thrown by modern writers on this or that book of Holy Scripture, by the conflict of opinions in the Church. It is some comfort to think ~hat we of this ~ge are not alone in our temptations; our position is not one of such smgular perplexity as some of us are apt to think. If we persevere in prayer, if we try to live by faith looking to the Lord Jesus Christ the doubts which vex us will soon be clean•d away. ' II. ST. PAUL'S WAY OF DEALING WITH THAT MISTAKE. 1. He beseeches them. He i1 very gen tie with his convert■, very earnest too, and affectionate; full of'deep anxiety for their spiritual welfare. Aud it was a matter of great importance. St. Paul had dwelt much upon the coming of the Lord. The Parousiawas a subject of much excited talk, much stirring of heart among the Thessalonians. St. Paul had spoken in his First Epistle of" our gathering together unto him;" how •• we that are alive and remain shall be caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air." It was a prospect very blessed, 1·ery awful too; it had been opened out in strong, startling words. They inferred from his way of expressing himself that it was very close at hand, to be looked for immediately ; their excitement was intense. He beseeches them to listen. 2. They must be calm. Religion lies in e. calm, quiet walk with God. It has its emotions, they are at times deep and strong; it bas its enthusiasm, bnt it is ordered and grave. They must not allow themselves to be shaken from their settledjudgment; they must not give way to this trembling, uneasy excitement. They must return to the quiet, steady discharge of the common duties of life; their best strength was in quietness und confi- dence. This was the best preparation for the ooming of Christ. '!'hat coming waa not immediate; much was to happen first. LES&ONS. 1. Learn to be sober, thoughtful, to distrust excitement, to live in patient continuance of well-doing. 2. There will be difficulties, perplexitieil; they are trials of faith; they must be endured in patience and overcome by faith. 3. Prepare for the coming of Christ. The best prepe.re.tion is to perform each duty e.s it comes in faith and prayer e.s Ullto the Lord.-B. C. C. Vers 3--12.-Tlie man of Bin. I. HE MUST OOME BEFORE THE DAY OF TBE LORD. 1. Hi.s revel,ation. He is antichrist-the evil counterpart of the most holy Saviour; he has his revelation, his apocalypse. There must be e.n apostasy before the coming of the Lord-a great, notable apostasy. The apostle bad warned the 'l'hessalonians of it; we need these warnings now. We must not be discouraged when we see scepticism, unbelief, rampant around us. These things must be; Holy Scripture has forewarned us. We must be prepared; we must be calm and steadfast, looking for the coming of the Lord. Such apostasies there have been ; there have been precursors of the man of sin, such e.s Caligula shortly before the date of this Epistle, or Nero shortly after. There have been evil men among the popes of Rome who have exhibited in their lives some of tLe characteristic features of the antichrist. But the apostasy is yet to come; the man of sin is yet in the future; the mystery of iniquity is working even now; it is working below the surface, in secret; hereafter, we know not when, it will burst forth into open day in the revelation of the man of sin. We mnst not look forward to a continual, unopposed progress of the gospel ; we must not expect that religion will go on in ever- extended triumphs, with no checks, no defeats, overspreading the earth more and more with itl! blessed influences. Such an expectation is not warranted either by Scripture or by the sig1,s of the times. Scripture tells us of the coming apostasy, of the revelation of the man of sin. And in the world the forces of unbelief and evil are evidently gathering themselves for a mighty conflict. In our own country, it is true, there has been a great revival of religious zeal, great love for Christ, much earnest, self-denying work for his sake. But alon~side of this there has been a great outburst of infidelity, a widespread scepticism, e. hatred of revelation, manifesting itself in the life and works of men of learning and culture; while elsewhere the revolt age.inst all forms of authority, Divine and human, h11B been more outapoken and far more widely spread. The armies uf God and Satan, tJ.~ powers of good and evil, light and de.rkoeae, faith and unbelief, oe. lL 1-17.] 'l'HE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE Tm:SSALONIANS. 36