2 Thessalonians 2:5-Paul Rebukes the Thessalonians For Not Remembering His Teaching on the Day of the Lord

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. 4 The one who for his own benefit opposes, yes even, for his own benefit exalts himself against each and every so-called god or object of worship. Consequently, he himself sits down inside the one and only God’s temple in order to present himself as God. 5 Do you not remember that while I still living among each one of you, I was regularly communicating these things to each one of you? (My translation)

2 Thessalonians 2:5 continues the second major section of Second Thessalonians, which began in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 and ends in 2 Thessalonians 2:17.

It addresses the Thessalonians’ relationship to the eschatological day of the Lord, which is composed of the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, which ends the former.

Specifically, it addresses the relationship between the rapture or resurrection of the church and the eschatological day of the Lord, i.e. the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

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.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 actually marks a transition in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17.

Specifically, this verse marks a transition from the prophetic statements recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and the one’s recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7.

The former as we noted asserts that the eschatological day of the Lord is absolutely not taking place unless the Antichrist has first rebelled against God by presenting himself in the rebuilt Jewish temple as God.

The latter asserts that the Spirit who indwells each member of the church and restrains evil and the manifestation of the Antichrist must be removed in order for the eschatological day of the Lord to be present.

So therefore, a comparison of 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 with 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 indicates that the manifestation of the Antichrist’s rebellion against God and the Holy Spirit’s removal from earth will signal that the eschatological day of the Lord is taking place.

2 Thessalonians 2:5 is actually a question within a question and thus anticipates an assertion within an assertion.

Paul is asking the Thessalonians, “do you not remember what when I was living with you that I repeatedly communicated these things to you?

Because of the presence of the emphatic negative adverb ou (Οὐ), “not” this question clearly expects a “yes” answer.

So they should have remembered “these things” which is a reference to Paul’s teaching in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

The accusative neuter plural form of the demonstrative pronoun houtos (οὗτος), “these things” is referring to his statements in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.

They assert that the eschatological day of the Lord is absolutely not taking place unless the Antichrist has first rebelled against God by presenting himself in the rebuilt Jewish temple as God.

Therefore, Paul is emphatically saying in this rhetorical question that the Thessalonians should have remembered that he communicated to them that the eschatological day of the Lord is absolutely not taking place unless the Antichrist has first rebelled against God by presenting himself in the rebuilt Jewish temple as God.

Thus, Paul is not asking a genuine question that seeks an answer but rather he is posing a rhetorical question that is making an emphatic assertion.

Consequently, they should not have been easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by either a spirit, or by a message or by a letter allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy which asserts that the day of the Lord is taking place.

Obviously, he is referring to his statements in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, which assert that the eschatological day of the Lord is absolutely not taking place unless the Antichrist has first rebelled against God by presenting himself in the rebuilt Jewish temple as God.

Now, as we noted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 contains a reference to the rebellion led by the Antichrist against Jesus Christ during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week and the contents of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 describe this rebellion in detail and in fact, it defines for the reader what Paul means by this rebellion.

First, the rebellion of unregenerate unrepentant humanity led by Antichrist against Jesus Christ will have the Antichrist opposing, yes even exalting himself against each and every so-called god or place of worship.

Thus, he will oppose and exalt himself against the God of Israel, who the New Testament identifies as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

He will also oppose and exalt himself against the place in which they will be worshipped during the seventieth week, namely the temple in Jerusalem which will be rebuilt during that period or prior to this period after the rapture of the church.

Undoubtedly, the Jews who build this temple will not be believers in Jesus Christ.

However, they will be building a temple for the God of Israel, which the New Testament again identifies as being the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit.

Thus, these Jews will build this temple ignorant of this fact.

However, this does not change that God considers this temple to be His since Paul asserts here in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 that this temple is the possession of the one and only God.

Secondly, the rebellion of unregenerate unrepentant humanity led by Antichrist against Jesus Christ will have the Antichrist sitting down in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem during the midway point of the seventieth week of Daniel while displaying himself to the public as possessing the attributes of God.

This action on the part of the Antichrist during the seventieth week of Daniel is not only prophesied about in Daniel 9:27 but also Daniel 11:36 and this action desecrates the temple and is described by Daniel as an abomination.

Now, in 2 Thessalonians 2:5, the apostle Paul poses a rhetorical question to the Thessalonian Christian community which asks, “Do you not remember that when I was living with you that I repeatedly communicated these things to you?”

It is not a genuine question seeking an answer but rather a rhetorical question which is making an emphatic assertion.

Thus, Paul is saying to the Thessalonians that they should have remembered that the eschatological day of the Lord is absolutely not taking place unless the Antichrist has first rebelled against God by presenting himself in the rebuilt Jewish temple as God.

Therefore, they should not have been easily shaken from their composure or alarmed by either a spirit, or by a message or by a letter allegedly from Paul, Silvanus and Timothy which asserts that the day of the Lord is taking place.

The fact that Paul has to remind the Thessalonians of these things as he does in 2 Thessalonians 2:5 indicates that the Thessalonians were in fact shaken from their composure and alarmed by this false doctrine.

This does not mean they were out of fellowship with the Lord.

This interpretation is supported by the fact that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy in chapter one of Second Thessalonians commends the Thessalonians because their post-justification faith in the gospel was growing to an extraordinary degree.

They also commended them because their divine-love for each other was growing to a considerable degree (2 Thess. 1:3) despite the fact that they were being persecuted by the unregenerate citizens of Thessalonica (2 Thess. 1:4).

Consequently, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy boasted about the Thessalonians to other congregations in the Roman provinces of Macedonia and Achaia (2 Thess. 1:4).

Therefore, it appears that the Thessalonian Christian community was simply confused with or unsure of the timing of the day of the Lord in relation to the rapture and the church.

This is true of many in the Christian community today in the twenty-first century.

This confusion caused some if not all in the Thessalonian Christian community to be shaken from their composure and alarmed by this false doctrine that the day of the Lord was taking place in their day and age.

Also notice that the question that Paul poses to the Thessalonian Christian community in 2 Thessalonians 2:5 is a rebuke.

In this question, he is asserting that if they took the time to recall what he regularly taught them while he was still living with them, then they would have never lost their composure or been alarmed and deceived by this false teaching.