II Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17 has the theme of the man of lawlessness, the coming of the Lord, and the wise counsel of how to respond to any moment that has an “end is near” quality to it.
The passage provides a fascinating glimpse into the rift in the early church over the status of apocalyptic language and imagery. Many of the books of the New Testament demonstrate a profoundly apocalyptic worldview (e.g., Mark, Romans, I Corinthians, II Thessalonians, Revelation), but some groups were uncomfortable with or unpersuaded by this portrayal of reality. It is a dispute that continued as the church grew and expanded. It remains a point of contention even in the present day. The central issue of II Thessalonians concerns the early Christian expectation of the “day of the Lord.” In I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11, Paul emphasized he did not know when the Parousia would take place. He is replying now to further questions. He says the end is not imminent, but he also says certain signs must precede it. Paul indicates a chronological pattern to the day of the Lord. Paul is mixing his metaphors. Each metaphor, when pressed, will not fit with each other. Thus, even though he suggests a chronological dimension to the day of the Lord, he does not give enough draw the scene on a sketchpad. He is dealing with a mixture of code, metaphor, and political cartoon.[1] The imagery of these verses leads some persons to conclude that someone other than Paul wrote this letter, largely because we do not read its themes in other letters.[2]
What is unique about II Thessalonians 2:1-5 is that some leaders have led some members of the church in Thessalonica to believe that the day of the Lord had already come. The purpose of the author is thus to correct this mistaken view by explaining that certain precursors to the day of the Lord had not in fact occurred. He focuses upon the chronology involved in the day of the Lord and the Parousia or coming of Christ. He states the issue in II Thessalonians 2:1-2. 1 As to the coming (παρουσίας) of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, suggesting a fraudulent report promulgated in the name of the author and his associates, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. The day of the Lord is an idea that has its roots in the prophetic tradition of Israel. One can arrange the way in which the prophets seemed to have understood the day of the YHWH (“Lord” in the Greek versions of the Old Testament) into three categories. The first of these is the warning that the day of the Lord will be a time of judgment against the nation or nations that have attacked or threatened Israel. The second category also relates to a punishment or judgment of God, but in this case the object of God’s wrath is Israel; the day of the Lord will bring God’s wrath against his people for their failure to keep the covenant. The third use of the day of the Lord by the prophets is much more positive. In these instances, the day of the Lord will bring redemption and blessings for Israel, and in some texts, also for the nations and the entire created order. Early Christians, drawing from all three categories, transformed this Old Testament tradition of the day the Lord by applying it to the second coming of Jesus. (Authors refer to it in a number of ways, including “day of the Lord,” “day of Christ,” “day of judgment,” or simply “that day” or “the day.”)
Why did a group of Christians believe the resurrection had already happened? If this is a letter of Paul, and if such a belief is an example of Gnosticism, then the gnostic beliefs arrived within church by the 50's, which would be quite early. The author of the letter does not explain exactly why the rumor of Christ’s return so troubled the Thessalonian Christians, but it does not take much to figure that out. In his first letter to this church, Paul said that at Christ’s return, the faithful would be “caught up in the clouds ... [to] be with the Lord forever” (4:17). As time went on, some Christians, at least among those in Thessalonica, became worried that the day of the Lord had already occurred, and they had somehow missed it. So, if indeed Christ had already returned and none of the Thessalonians had been suddenly airlifted, that meant that they were among those — gulp! — left behind. No wonder they responded with alarm! They were DOOMED! Or so they thought. Thus, the letter may refer to a misunderstanding of I Thessalonians, wondering that if we are "children of the day," why isn't there a resurrection. The Gospel of Thomas (51) seems to reflect such sentiments: “His disciples said to him, "When will the rest for the dead take place, and when will the new world come?" He said to them, "What you are looking forward to has come, but you don't know it."
Another possibility is that those who were claiming that the day of the Lord had already come were operating with an understanding of the Christian life in which the present benefits of life in the Spirit made irrelevant for them the future return of Christ. This group would then be like those among the Corinthians who believed that the reception of the Spirit nullified typical ethical constraints and made irrelevant the future resurrection of the dead. Over against this “spiritualized” notion of the day of the Lord, the author of II Thessalonians sets the traditional, apocalyptic expectations that the early church seemed to accept, while this passage focuses upon an antichrist figure whose nefarious activities will end when Christ returns.
John Calvin opined that people misunderstood what Paul had said in I Thessalonians and indulged their curiosity unseasonably as to the specific time for the end to come. He thinks of this as ruinous speculation. He then offers the insight that when anyone says a day is near, if it does not arrive quickly, human impatience leads the human spirit to weaken and despair. He refers to others in history who have fixed a date, but whose effect has been to lessen belief that Christ will return.
Thus, Paul writes this second letter to disabuse them of that notion. He explains that Christ will return on God's timetable and that certain things must first occur. Paul cautions his new Thessalonian brothers and sisters not to allow every rumor of a report they may hear about the prophesied day of the Lord to take them in. Paul is offering words of counsel and comfort to the Thessalonians. They are growing fearful and restive, convinced that the events of the apocalypse are exploding like popcorn all around them. They started to see every tragedy, every hardship through an eschatological lens - raising anxieties and blood pressure among the faithful. These Thessalonian Christians are like people trying to get some sleep with fear and anxiety filling their minds. They could not wait for the daylight of the Lord's return. Paul had written about the sudden nature of Christ's second coming in I Thessalonians 2:19 and how important it was for Christians to be prepared for that event (I Thessalonians 5:1-11). Paul's message was meant to offer comfort (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Instead, his words seemed to cause too much uncontrolled, uninformed excitement. Some stopped working. Some could not think or talk of anything else. Some were mentally "shaken up." Some were spiritually discombobulated. At this point, Paul intervenes. He counsels his Thessalonian "brothers and sisters" to calm down, to "not be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed."
In verses 3-5, Paul urges them not to succumb to eschatological frenzy. He suggests the day of the Lord requires a certain chronology he is not seeing present. Paul provides a swift synopsis of what he had said about the events that will surround the approaching "day of the Lord." Anyone who claims to know the precise meaning of II Thessalonians 2:1-5 is saying more than is possible, given that two millennia have passed since these words were first penned. Beyond that, extant literary evidence that might illuminate the passage is sparse. Even the original recipients of the letter were confused as to the identity of "the lawless one" and his relationship to "the day of the Lord." Without a doubt, it is presumptuous to make any definitive assertions about these five verses.
Paul is aware that deception is a live possibility when it comes to apocalyptic expectations. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless two decisive occur.
First, the rebellion (ἀποστασία) comes first. Revolt (apostasy) mentioned here suggests they already knew about it. It means "secession" or "defection." It refers to those now Christian, while also referring to those had who fallen from the faith. He refers to a large-scale public revolt. "Rebelliousness" and "lawlessness" may confront the church and challenge the faith of Christians in every age and generation. Scripture evidences a constant line of non-eschatological antichrists emerging to threaten Christ's followers on a regular basis. Nevertheless, only one genuine Antichrist personally embodies sinful opposition to God's sacrificial gift of Jesus Christ in those final days. In terms of chronology, how general does the rebellion to which the author refers need to become? It seems as if rebellion is a continuous state of humanity.
Second, the lawless (ἀνομίας) one is revealed, suggesting the end of time will reveal the identity of this person, making him a rival messiah, having power to persecute Christians, the one destined for destruction. The supreme embodiment of evil, is associated with this rebellion. Even as he maintains the evil superiority of this lawless one, Paul pronounces his doom. He is the one destined for destruction. Paul clearly defines this lawless one as an individual - not some amorphous, anti-Christian force or sentiment that will permeate our world. I say this, in contrast to John Calvin, who thought it referred to a kingdom, and that given the reference to worship, he identified it further as Roman Catholicism and the recent spread of Islam. However, the personal nature of the descriptive actions in verse 4 gives this singular leader a character all his own. As an individual, this "lawless one" is also quite specifically an eschatological figure - and therefore is not present until those final "end times" themselves have dawned. The apostasy will be due to a being given three names: man of lawlessness, son of perdition, the enemy of God. Note the similarity to Daniel 11:36.
"The king shall act as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods. He shall prosper until the period of wrath is completed, for what is determined shall be done.
Later works call him anti-Christ.
I John 2:18
Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour.
4:2-3
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world.
II John 7
7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist!
For historical background of this image, some scholars think the threat of Caligula in 40 AD to have his statue placed in the temple was a foretaste of what the final anti-Christ would do. Although not explicitly called so, the “lawless one” is clearly an antichrist figure. Adapting a tradition found in a variety of Jewish apocalyptic texts, some early Christian authors describe an opponent (or opponents) of Christ who would appear before the second coming. This antichrist (or antichrists) would persecute and wage war against the members of the Christian community but the triumphant return of Christ would defeat him. In Mark 13, for example, Jesusrefers to wars, famines and the like which will precede his return, and included in this scenario are individuals who will attempt to deceive the community (13:5-6, 21-22). We can find the most vivid and sustained representation of the rise and fall of the antichrist in the book of Revelation. The story is familiar to most, but I will simply refer to his rise and fall.
Revelation 13:11-18
11 Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; 15 and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.
Even in Revelation, the story of the Beast is that he is an agent of Satan who deceives humanity and sets himself for worship as a religious figure and as tyrant in the political sphere.
4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. The throne is probably the Jerusalem temple, connected with Mk 13:14. The crowning sin of this lawless one is that he will attempt to proclaim himself to be God and set himself up in the temple of God for worship. In the time of Paul, this would be possible, given the Roman emperor cult. The actions of Caligula may have inspired such fears. What Paul precisely means by "the temple of God" is not entirely clear. It may mean the church; it may mean heaven itself. However, John Calvin thought he knew, since the temple was in ruins in his day, even as in our day. He thought it referred to the form of worship engaged in by the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. In an increasingly secular age of our time, how will this be possible? Who is this person? Of course, Revelation expands the mystery to a number, 666. Was it Nero, as many early interpreters suggested? If so, what does that mean for today?
Paul closes his cautionary words about the nature of the end times with a gentle reminder: 5 Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? Paul himself, not Silas, Timothy, or some other apostolic aide, had carefully instructed these Thessalonians in the particulars of Christian eschatology.
The author of II Thessalonians makes the case that the day of the Lord could not yet have come because the apocalyptic scenario that precedes the return of the Lord clearly had not occurred. However, the author has raised the matter of the chronology of the approaching end. He does so in order to pacify concerns raised by the people of the church. In the process, the author has created puzzles for future generations of interpreters.
Part of the wisdom of the history of interpretation on this passage is that with all its puzzles, the basic message is that we ought not to be idly curious about such questions. The common expectation of the first Christians and their leaders was that the risen Lord would return to the earth to redeem believers and to bring judgment upon wickedness. Quite naturally, the expectation led to questions concerning when it would occur. Yet, such questions often lead to skepticism that it will happen at all. Such a response was already present in the New Testament. Although the expectation of the return of the Lord leads to a sense of accountability to the one who is coming, too much focus upon when robs the present of its significance and power. All too often, it can lead a sense of absence rather than presence.
Athanasius (Four Discourses Against the Arians, 3.49) notes that if we knew our personal end, or the end of the world, we would disregard the interval. Our ignorance of the end leads us to increase our watchfulness and readiness day by day. Too many Christians seem unwilling to admit that the Bible itself, as well as our interpretation of it, participate in the human condition of finitude and time. Our condition is one of not knowing the future. If we dare to take Mark 13: 32 seriously, Jesus himself did not know. The Bible does not abrogate this human limitation of not knowing the future. Even in our modern (or post-modern time, if you prefer), it may well to admit that even with all our added years of interpretation and struggle with this passage, we cannot improve upon the early admonitions to keep awake, to be ready, and to wait.
Our time has its apocalyptic dimension as well. Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking predicts that humanity will not survive the next thousand years. British astronomer Martin Rees gives us only a 50-50 chance. Stephen Petranek, editor-in-chief of Discover, troubles audiences with his lecture, “15 Major Risks to the World and Life as We Know It.” Environmentalist Paul Ehrlich writes of “humanity’s prospective collision with the natural world” when population, economic growth and technology reach a critical mass yielding a doomsday scenario in the not-too-distant future. He shorthands this as “I=PAT” — Impact equals Population times Affluence times Technology. In his projection, one does not just add these elements but multiplies them.
The apocalyptic mentality focuses upon the urgency of the moment. Søren Kierkegaard may not have held doomsday convictions about the planet, but he did about the church and the culture that surrounded it. He tells the story, or parable, of a theater where a variety show is proceeding. Each show is more fantastic than the last and receives the applause of the audience. Suddenly the manager comes forward. He apologizes for the interruption, but the theater is on fire, and he begs his patrons to leave in an orderly fashion. The audience thinks this is the most amusing turn of the evening, and cheer thunderously. The manager again implores them to leave the burning building, and the audience again applauds vigorously. At last, he can do no more. The fire raced through the whole building and consumed the fun-loving audience with it. Kierkegaard opines: “And so, will our age, I sometimes think, go down in fiery destruction to the applause of a crowded house of cheering spectators.”
St. Cyprian wrote to Donatus: This seems a cheerful world, Donatus, when I view it from this fair garden under the shadow of these vines. But if I climbed some majestic mountain and looked out over the wide lands, you know very well what I would see. Brigands on the high road, pirates on the seas, in the amphitheaters mean murdered to please the applauding crowds, under all roofs of misery and selfishness. It is really a cruel world, Donatus, an incredibly troubled world. Yet amid it, I have found a quiet and holy people. They have discovered a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of this sinful life. Authorities despise them and persecute them, but they care not. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are the Christians ... and I am one of them.
I think I have some responsibility to share how I think Christians today can think about apocalyptic matters. We will need to step back and think at a broader theological and philosophical level. If we think of God through the life-giving Spirit as present in all times and in all places, persuading and luring people toward what is true, good, and beautiful, then we do not look toward a future when God will suddenly use coercive force to impose divine rule over nature and human history. This statement relies upon accepting a philosophical perspective indebted to Hegel and Whitehead and worked out as process theology. It embraces a form of pan-en-theism. In this context, Jewish apocalyptic provides powerful imagery for the ongoing battle between the forces that advance human flourishing and the forces that oppose that flourishing. At certain moments in history, the battle becomes fierce because political and economic powers align against those who advance human flourishing, focusing upon the persecution of the people of God. A government that views the people of God as a threat to it is a government seeking godlike authority over the lives of its people. This battle occurs in every generation and culture. The victory of God comes in defeating beastly forces within humanity, a victory symbolized by actualizing a hope for nature and humanity to reside within the peaceful, loving, and just embrace of the Infinite and Eternal, a time when all that is shall respect the worth and dignity of self and the other. Such images remind us that actualizing this hope will mean willingness to see it as a battle between opposing forces in which we will need to decide on which side we will fight. Making that decision will call us to be wise and discerning people, for, in contrast to the clear images of Jewish apocalyptic, the self-destructive forces of the flourishing of humanity will not announce themselves as agents of Satan but will come masquerading as the power that will bring human flourishing to its highest. It will show itself in its willingness to use coercion and violence to implement its vision.
I offer a brief meditation on how we can deal with the “end is near” mentality.
One way to deal with the “end is near” mentality is to defuse the issue. Paul attempts to defuse the issue. Critics today deflate the air in the balloons of contemporary gloom-and-doomers. Gregg Easterbrook, a senior editor at The New Republic, looked into a number of current doomsday claims and found that they’re not too sound. Other critics have challenged Ehrlich’s I=PAT assumptions. Ronald Bailey, science correspondent for Reason magazine, argues that “history shows that the I=PAT identity largely gets it backward.” He points out that globally, women are having fewer babies, indicating that the world population will peak in about 50 years at around 8 billion, a number the planet can handle without setting off an apocalyptic crisis. Further, he says, “affluence and technology, far from harming nature, actually promote its flourishing.” Overall, in developed countries, the air becomes cleaner and the water clearer. And even current agricultural technology, if put into play around the world — something that’s increasingly possible as affluence grows — could “easily feed 10 billion people, with better diets.”
Of course, we can almost always find optimists and pessimists, and there may be some new danger over the horizon that we have not noticed yet, but at least at present, nothing we face is likely to be the end of everybody. We personally confront more risk from bad diet than we do from any of the dark global possibilities out there.
Still, events larger than our usual experience of life can cause at least four sorts of nonproductive reactions:
Some people prepare for departure. They simply check out. If they do not have a plan to escape, they will get one. They are out of here. History tells of several groups who decided that difficult times were signs the end was near. They got rid of their possessions, quit their jobs and settled down to wait for the Lord’s appearing, but they were wrong. Today, we are likely to check out in other ways. We withdraw from community. We refuse to get involved. We would like to move away from the noise and chaos to a place of quiet and rest. We are looking for ways to simplify our lifestyle, not because to do so might be better for the survival of the planet, but because it might be better for our own survival.
Other people give out. The sheer volume of the bad news exhausts them. Most Americans who vote, and even those who did not, no doubt breathed a huge sigh of relief knowing that for the first time in 18 to 24 months, they will have a respite, however brief, from the daily barrage of political campaigning and mudslinging. They are tired and can scarcely deal with it anymore. Moreover, many are ready to conclude that we must be living in the Last Days. The signs seem to abound.
The implications of this eschatological world-weariness are enormous. Many no longer believe that they make a difference. They think that no matter what they say or do, nothing will change. They can stand on a corner and shout at the top of their lungs, but people will continue to simply pass by.
Others are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, and have come to believe that the social problems we face are inevitable, and will only be ultimately ameliorated by the return of Jesus and the inauguration of the Peaceable Kingdom at some future day. They are not interested in the transformation of this society when such a transformation is impossible, and when the ultimate transformation is just a portent away.
Some people freak out. Their fear immobilizes them. Go back about to the night of the great Chicago fire of 1871. On that same night, another wildfire raged in nearby Wisconsin, consuming the city of Peshtigo, several nearby villages and 1 million acres of forest. Nearly 1,200 people perished, and there might have been more but for the efforts of a priest, Peter Pernin. As the voracious fire drove people ahead of it, many made for the Peshtigo River. When Father Pernin got there, however, he found most people still on the riverbank. They had looked at the immense conflagration and concluded that Judgment Day had arrived. So they stood there, thinking there was nothing to do but await their fate. Father Pernin, not buying that notion, started shoving people into the water, which broke the spell and mobilized the terrified crowd, who — seeing the water as the water of salvation — leapt in and saved themselves. It is always good to remind ourselves at such times to embrace our baptismal vows, and that no matter what is happening, it is not over for the planet until God says it is over.
Most of us, however, probably zone out. We do not react at all. It is just a part of life to us, and we forge ahead, or as President Bush urged us to do in the post-9/11 weeks, we go shopping. Because — to tell the truth — these kinds of catastrophic possibilities do not really concern us. What really chills us to the bone are other things: Cancer. Heart disease. The children and the friends they are keeping. The marriage. Relationships. Job security. Retirement. Think about it. It is things like this — not dirty bombs or sarin gas — that really concern us.
II Thessalonians 2:13-17 has the theme of further thanksgiving, encouragement, and prayer. The passage represents an abrupt change of tone and topic from the exotic apocalyptic material that precedes it, and it seems to represent a continuation of the salutation in 1:3-4. 13 But we must always give thanks to God for you, drawing a sharp contrast with his previous discussion of “destruction” or “perdition” that awaits “the lawless one,” brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose (I Thessalonians 1:4) you as the first fruits[3] for salvation (I Thessalonians 5:8-9) through sanctification (I Thessalonians 4:3, 7) by the Spirit, clarifying that salvation is accessible to believers through the progressive work of the Spirit that weans people away from truth and an obedient life. God also chose them through continuous and intentional belief in the truth. God chooses to bless others and bring a rich harvest. In contrast to the lawless one, God has chosen his readers, beloved of the Lord as they are, receiving sanctification by the Spirit, and their belief in the truth. 14 For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, identifying the means God used to call them, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, giving them the reason God has called them. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions (παραδόσεις) that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter. What he said while he was there was just as important as the letter. Tradition is not dead. It comprises all that is necessary in acknowledging Jesus as Lord. After spelling out distinctly the radically different consequences awaiting steadfast believers (justification, sanctification, glorification), versus "rebellious" and "lawless" ones ("destruction" or "perdition"), Paul now takes a moment to remind his listeners to "stand firm" in the teaching that Paul himself has taught them. In one sense, our faith is a fragile thing. What we believe, but more importantly, what we have experienced in our hearts, we need to pass on to our children and grandchildren. Each generation needs to hear again the good news, the gospel, in such a way that they respond. It is our responsibility to handle such holy things with great care to ensure their continued strength. Far from a dead tradition, what we pass on to this generation must be a lively faith.
The passage ends with a standard benediction (2:16-17). "Standing firm" is something disciples cannot hope to do on their own, especially in light of the daily challenges, the large and small antichrists, which threaten believers. Paul closes his words here with the solemn hope. 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. God will enable this steadfastness. Only through divine love and grace can we receive "everlasting" or "eternal comfort" and "good hope." Paul's closing words encourage "hearts" and strengthen hands and lips toward good works and words.
The advice Paul offers amid their doom and gloom, end is near mentality to the Thessalonians is still good advice. “Stand firm and hold fast.” SF/HF. Stand Firm/Hold Fast. Postmodern Christians, so accustomed to not standing firm or holding fast to anything, Paul now invites to do that very thing. Stand on something. Stand for something. Stand by someone.
God has chosen us and called us. We have a vocation. We learn to be Christians throughout the course of life. The event of our election and calling is the coming of Jesus Christ. Yet, the event then needs to become an event now, in our lives. Our embrace of that event of the past binds us to Christ and to the apostolic witness concerning him.
William James was a psychologist who wrote about five types of decisions which we make. Most of our decisions are relatively easy. The reasonable decision is a simple balancing of the books, settle on the one reasonable course of action, and do it. A drifting decision is when we allow ourselves to drift in a direction with little reason, mostly because there is no good reason for either course of action. The impulsive decision arises from within us and we act almost automatically. However, there are two decisions which require effort. The willful decision is one made with great inward effort of the will, almost forcing ourselves to do what we believe to be right. The final type of decision involves a change of perspective. This occurs when something causes an important change in perspective or a change of heart.
What does it mean to you that you are a Christian? Was it simply a rational decision? Did you have nothing better to do? Was it an impulsive decision? Did you almost have to force yourself? Or was there a genuine change of heart, an inward change, a time when you gave yourself unreservedly, totally, to Jesus Christ. Is this a decision which makes your whole life different because of that decision? That is the work of God, the sanctification of the Spirit, making us new persons in Christ. What did we do to Jesus today? What did we do for Jesus today? What did we do with Jesus today? We simply need to look at our hands prayerfully to perform the best examination of conscience.[4]
The tradition/teaching becomes part of our lives as we engage in personal study and prayer combined with public worship and the teaching we experience in small groups. I realize it can feel monotonous. We may become bored. Yet, I know of no other way to keep alive the tradition/teaching of the apostolic witness alive in our lives. Here is a well-known reminder. A letter to the editor of British Weekly said this: "It seems ministers feel their sermons are very important and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have been attending church quite regularly for 30 years and I have probably heard 3000 of them. To my consternation, I discovered I cannot remember a single sermon. I wonder if a minister might spend time more profitably on something else?" For several weeks people expressed the pros and cons of this view. Then someone responded in this way: "I have been married for 30 years. During that time, I have eaten 32,850 meals, mostly my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet ... I have the distinct impression that without them, I would have starved to death long ago.
So on what are we to stand? One word. Teaching. The NIV translated “traditions” in 2:15 as “teachings.” Paul defines these teachings as the concept that “God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2:13). We are to stand, then, on the idea that God has chosen us. The writer also notes that “For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2:14). We are to stand, then, on the additional notion that God has not only chosen us, but has also called us.
And to what are we to “hold fast”? One word. Tradition. Actually, it is the same word, translated “tradition” by the KJV and NRSV and other versions. The word has a rabbinic pedigree that recalls the time-honored custom of rabbinic interpretations being handed on and handed down to the next generation. Our faith is a body of truth on which we are called to stand firm, and to which we are invited to hold fast. SF/HF.
Passages like this remind me of the fragile quality of the Christian faith and life. It relies upon people today sharing their faith and life with the next generation. It relies upon an event occurring in their lives today, which we call faith, that embraces an event of the past in Jesus Christ. We keep learning what that turn of faith in our lives will mean in our lives. That becomes our vocation in the course of our lives. We face dangers from a world that always has some doom and gloom to face. We face dangers from within as we keep thinking that we know better than the apostles what it means to be Christians. Even a small amount of knowledge about church history reveals how desperately wrong the leaders of the church can become. Yet, the sanctifying work of the Spirit and the embrace of truth did not stop. Not even the mess that is the history of the church could stop that. Thus, I say fragile, because the church is always within a generation or two of becoming nothing more than a museum of history and architecture.
[1] N. T. Wright (Simply Jesus [New York: HarperCollins, 2011], 199-200).
[2] New Testament scholars continue to debate whether Paul authored this letter. Often, the implication is that it should not carry as much weight if it was not. However, I think we need to re-consider this notion. It would affect, however, what we consider the teaching of Paul. The church has considered this brief letter as part of its canon, its rule of faith, the standard to which it needs to remain faithful. Any reading of the history of the canon will see that it was messy. Part of the messiness, it seems from a modern perspective, is apostolic authorship, which was clearly one of the criteria for inclusion. However, no church, to my knowledge has re-considered the constitution of the canon. My point, of course, is that regardless of the process, these few chapters are part of the canon of the church.
Does II Thessalonians express the teaching of Paul? Paul would have written it soon after the first letter. II Thessalonians is written in Paul’s name, and it is related in content and wording to I Thessalonians, which is certainly by Paul. Some features in the letter have led some scholars to doubt that Paul is the author. Why repeat the teaching of I Thessalonians so closely in chronology? Others suggest that the letter appears to replace the eschatology of I Thessalonians 4:13-5:11. Mearns (1980-81) believed II Thessalonians corrects the excess of I Thessalonians. The reference to the “lawless one” and the situation that will accompany his rebellious behavior (2:3-12) is not found in Paul’s undisputed letters, and it is unusual that it is not mentioned in I Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul discusses the imminent coming of the Lord. For many, the evidence tips slightly in favor of pseudonymity, but certainty is precluded. Scholars seem evenly divided on the matter.
[3] Some texts render verse 13 as "God chose you from the beginning." Others (the NRSV included) declare, "God chose you as the first fruits ...." Both ideas are biblical and Pauline. However, if "first fruits" is intended here, it is the only time Paul associates that designation with the idea of election or chosenness. F. F. Bruce favors "first fruits" rather than "from the beginning."
[4] Mother Teresa, Jesus, the Word to be Spoken: You need only ask at night before you go to bed, "What did I do to Jesus today? What did I do for Jesus today? What did I do with Jesus today?" You have only to look at your hands. This is the best examination of conscience.
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