2 Thessalonians 2.3a-The Thessalonians Must Not Be Deceived By False Teaching Regarding the Timing of the Day of the Lord
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday August 12, 2021
Second Thessalonians: 2 Thessalonians 2:3a-The Thessalonians Must not Be Deceived By False Teaching Related to the Timing of the Day of the Lord
Lesson # 24
2 Thessalonians 2:3 Do not let anyone deceive any one of you in any way. For, if the rebellion does not take place first, namely the unique person characterized by a distinguishable lawlessness has been revealed, that is, the unique son characterized by a distinguishable destruction, then the Lord’s day is absolutely not taking place. (My translation)
In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, Paul attempts to correct and reassure the Thessalonians that the eschatological day of the Lord does not precede the rapture or resurrection of the church.
He teaches that the Spirit, who indwells each member of the church and prevents the appearance of Antichrist and thus the seventieth week of Daniel from beginning, must be removed from earth before the Antichrist can manifest himself.
Thus, the Spirit and the church must be removed before the seventieth week can take place since Daniel 9:27 teaches that the seventieth week begins with Antichrist establishing a treaty with the nation of Israel.
Therefore, Paul is addressing in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17 the relationship between the church as well as the rapture and the eschatological day of the Lord, i.e. the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
Now, as we noted in 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy in this verse present a polite request to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community.
The contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:1 reveal that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy are politely presenting a request to each member of the Thessalonian Christian community which is in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ’s arrival which will result in the church gathering in the Lord’s presence.
This arrival is again speaking of the rapture or resurrection of the church.
Therefore, the contents of this verse reveal that this request is with regards to the arrival of the Lord Jesus Christ which will result in the dead in Christ and those alive in Christ on the earth gathering in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at the rapture or resurrection of the church.
2 Thessalonians 2:2 presents the content of the request since it identifies for the Thessalonians what Paul, Silvanus and Timothy are concerned about in relation to the rapture or resurrection of the church when they will receive their resurrection bodies and their sanctification and salvation are thus perfected.
This verse reveals that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were politely requesting that the Thessalonians would not be easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by a spirit or by a message or by a letter allegedly from them, which taught that the day of the Lord was taking place when these three men wrote this epistle.
Therefore, this request is in the form of three prohibitions.
The first was that the Thessalonians would not be easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by a spirit which taught that the day of the Lord was taking place when these three men wrote this epistle.
The second is that they would not be easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by a message which taught that the day of the Lord was taking place when these three men wrote this epistle.
The third is that they would not be easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by a letter allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy which taught that the day of the Lord was taking place when these three men wrote this epistle.
Thus, these three prohibitions are related to the three sources from which this false doctrine was being propagated in the Roman province of Macedonia where Thessalonica was located.
The noun pneuma (πνεῦμα), “spirit” refers to the false teaching propagated by false prophets which expressed a viewpoint which is contrary to the Spirit inspired teaching of the apostles and originates with Satan’s cosmic system.
It is used relation to those who taught that the eschatological day of the Lord was taking place in the first century A.D. when Paul penned Second Thessalonians and speaks of the communication of not only prophecy but doctrine as well.
Also, we noted that the noun logos (λόγος), “message” refers to the content which false teachers were communicating regarding the eschatological day of the Lord.
We also noted that the noun epistolē (ἐπιστολή), “letter” refers to written communication addressed to the Thessalonian Christian community from allegedly Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, thus, it refers to a “pseudonymous” letter.
The term “pseudonymity” refers to the practice of publishing one’s writings under a revered person’s name and this is why Paul explicitly identifies himself as the author at the end of some of his letters (cf. 2 Thess. 3:17-18; Gal. ; Col. 4:18), which would guarantee the authenticity of the letter.
Each of these words, pneuma (πνεῦμα), “spirit,” logos (λόγος), “message,” and epistolē (ἐπιστολή), “letter” are the object of the preposition dia (διά), “by” which functions in each instance as a marker of means indicating the means by which the Thessalonians were not to become easily shaken from their composure nor alarmed.
Therefore, each of these three prepositional phrases are expressing the idea that the Thessalonians were not to be easily shaken from their composure nor alarmed “by” a spirit nor “by” a message, nor “by” a letter allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
Thus, these three words represent the three sources from which the false doctrine regarding the eschatological day of the Lord “might” have been propagated throughout the Roman province of Macedonia, where Thessalonica was located.
Paul was not saying that this false doctrine was propagated by all three but rather that if it comes through any of these three or all three, this false doctrine was to be rejected by the Thessalonian Christian community since it contradicted his apostolic teaching regarding the eschatological day of the Lord.
The reference to the day of the Lord or “the Lord’s day” refers to the eschatological day of the Lord, which is composed the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
It takes place sometime after the rapture or resurrection of the church and begins when Antichrist establishes a seven-year treaty with the nation of Israel and ends with the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
During this period, Jesus Christ will exercise His righteous indignation against every unrepentant, unregenerate human being on the earth at that time.
He will do this through the seven seal, trumpet and bowl judgments recorded in Revelation 6-18.
Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 reveals that in relation to the rapture or resurrection of the church, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy were politely requesting that the Thessalonians would not be easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by a spirit or by a message or by a letter allegedly from them, which taught that the day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age.
This request in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 reveals that some or all in the Thessalonian Christian community were shaken from their composure and in a state of being alarmed by being exposed to this false doctrine that the day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age.
This is further supported by Paul’s statements in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-5.
Now, we come to 2 Thessalonians 2:3, which contains a solemn prohibition followed by a hoti causal clause which presents the reason for the prohibition and contains a third class conditional statement which, presents evidence which identifies that the day of the Lord is taking place.
So therefore, verse 3 begins by Paul, Silvanus and Timothy solemnly prohibiting any person to deceive any member of the Thessalonian Christian community in any way.
These three were concerned about false teachers who were proclaiming that the eschatological day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age and this interpretation is indicated by the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2.
The question arises to the identity of these false teachers.
Were they unbelievers or believers in apostasy?
I believe that they were Christian pastors or evangelists or both who were in a state or apostasy or like the Thessalonians were simply confused themselves with regards to the timing of the rapture in relation to the eschatological day of the Lord since only believers would be familiar or interested with the day of the Lord.
Even though they would be very familiar with the day of the Lord, it is unlikely that Jewish non-believers would be propagating this false doctrine.
This is indicated by the fact that the unregenerate Jewish community in Thessalonica would have nothing to do with the Gentile Christian community in that city because Jews had nothing to do with Gentiles.
Thus, they would never walk into the meetings of the Thessalonian Christian community or walk into the Gentile community to proclaim that the day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age.
This prohibition is modified by the prepositional phrase kata mēdena tropon (κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον), ““by either a spirit or by a message or by a letter allegedly from us” identifies the means by which the Thessalonians were not to be deceived by.
The noun tropos (τρόπος) speaks of the means by which the Thessalonians could be deceived into thinking that the eschatological day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age.
Therefore, the noun tropos here in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 refers to a spirit or a message or a letter allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, which asserts that the eschatological day of the Lord was taking place when Paul wrote Second Thessalonians.
Therefore, this indicates that the Thessalonians were being prohibited from being deceived by these false teachers into believing that the eschatological day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age in accordance with any means such as spirit, a letter or message allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.
Therefore, 2 Thessalonians 2:3 begins with Paul forbidding each member of the Thessalonian Christian community from allowing anyone to deceive them into believing that the eschatological day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age in accordance with any means such as a spirit, message or a letter allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy.