Rumors and Disinformation

(False information about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion among the believers of Thessalonica – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

The Apostle Paul addresses false claims about the Day of the Lord in his second letter to the Thessalonians. Incorrect information concerning Christ’s return is disrupting the congregation. Paul attributes the source of the disinformation to either a “spirit,” a word (‘logos’), or a letter, “as if from us”; supposedly, from Paul and his coworkers.

The Church has been plagued by false information and overheated expectations about Christ’s return since its founding. Paul’s letters to the Thessalonian congregation attest to this reality.

The instructions and exhortations that follow in the second chapter of 2 Thessalonians are addressed to the congregation, not to the world in general. Paul is concerned about deceptions that could cause Christians to abandon the Apostolic Faith.

[Letter - Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash]

Paul lists two events that must occur before Christ’s ‘Parousia’ or “arrival” (παρουσια), the final day when the Son of God will gather his saints. First, “the revelation of the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction.” Second, “the Apostasy.” The fact that these events have not occurred demonstrates that the Lord's Day has not arrived.

Paul prepared his readers for this discussion in the first chapter of the letter. Despite hostility from the surrounding pagan society, the church has exhibited “endurance and faith in all their persecutions and tribulations.” God will “afflict those men who afflict” His saints, and He will provide “rest” and “glory” to His people when Jesus is “revealed from Heaven” - (2 Thessalonians 1:3-10).

More dangerous than persecution is the threat of deception from false prophets and other deceivers within the Church. Jesus also warned his disciples not to be disturbed by false teachers who spread false reports about his return and the conclusion of the present age. The congregation of Thessalonica is facing this very situation:

• “Beware that no man deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the messiah, and they will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be troubled, for these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet” – (Matthew 24:4-6).

• “Now, we urge you, brethren, concerning the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him, that you are not quickly shaken from your mind, neither troubled, whether from spirit, whether from word or from letter, as by us, specifically, that the day of the Lord is imminent” - (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2).

The English term “arrival” in the preceding passage translates the Greek noun ‘Parousia,’ the word used by Paul for the return of Christ in several of his letters. The Greek noun means the arrival or presence of someone or something - (1 Thessalonians 2:19, 3:13, 4:15, 5:23, 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 2:8-9).

In the passage, Paul refers to the saints who will be gathered to the Lord when he arrives. This echoes the words of Jesus when he predicted that when he next appears, he will send his angels to gather the saints. Paul, likewise, referred to this gathering in his first letter to the Thessalonians:

• “For as the lightning comes forth from the east and is seen even to the west, so the arrival [‘Parousia’] of the Son of Man will be. <…> And he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, AND THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, FROM ONE END OF HEAVEN TO THE OTHER” – (Matthew 24:27-31. Note the allusion to Isaiah 11:11-12, see below).

• “And it shall be in that day, that the Lord will again show his hand, to be zealous for the remnant that is left of the people, which will be left by the Assyrians, and that from Egypt, and from the country of Babylon, and from Ethiopia, and from the Elamites, and from the rising of the sun, and out of Arabia. And he will lift up a standard for the nations, and he will gather the lost ones of Israel, and he will gather the dispersed of Juda from the four corners of the earth” – (Isaiah 11:11-12, the Septuagint or LXX).

• “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left unto the arrival [‘Parousia’] of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven, WITH A SHOUT, with the voice of the archangel, and WITH THE TRUMPET OF GOD, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will together with them be caught up in the clouds, to a meeting with the Lord in the air. And thus, we will be with the Lord forevermore” – (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17. Note the verbal allusion to Psalm 47:5, the Septuagint [“God arises with a shout, the Lord with a sound of a trumpet”]).

Paul locates this gathering on the Day of the Lord. Jesus will arrive in glory to gather his church. The Bible associates this day with the arrival of the Lord to save and vindicate His people, but also to judge the enemies of God - (Acts 2:20, 1 Corinthians 1:8, Revelation 6:12-17). For example:

• “The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. And it will come to pass that whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. For in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall the saved one be as the Lord has said, and they that have good news preached to them, whom the Lord has called”- (Joel 2:31-32, from the Septuagint).

• “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. For you yourselves know accurately that the day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night. When they are saying, Peace and Security, then sudden destruction comes upon them, AS TRAVAIL UPON A WOMAN WITH CHILD; and they will certainly not escape”- (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3. Note the allusion to Isaiah 13:8).

Paul exhorts the Thessalonians not “to be troubled.” The Greek verb translated as “troubled” or ‘throeō’ occurs in the Greek New Testament only here and on the lips of Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount of Olives. The Apostle is echoing Christ’s warning about coming deceivers (“See that you are not troubled!” – Matthew 24:6, Mark 13:7).

The followers of Jesus must not believe false information about Christ’s coming, regardless of the source - “Whether by spirit or by discourse or by letter, as by us.” Paul is unsure at this point how the false rumors arrived in Thessalonica. The term “spirit” is ambiguous, but it may refer to a spiritual gift such as prophecy.

The Greek word translated as “word” or ‘logos’ could refer to several types of verbal communication. The significance of the noun “letter” is obvious. The clause, “as if by us,” means that someone erroneously attributed this information to Paul and his coworkers.

TWO EVENTS

The English phrase “imminent” of 2 Thessalonians 2:2 translates the Greek verb ‘enistemi,’ which means “to stand in, to set in.” In the Greek clause, the verb is in the perfect tense, signifying a completed action. Here, it indicates something imminent, or perhaps an event that has begun and is now underway.

The misinformation spreading in the congregation pointed to the alleged imminence of the Day of the Lord. The Apostle Paul responds by reminding believers of the two key events that must occur before that day: the Apostasy and the unveiling of the Son of Destruction.

The reference to the “word” received “as from us” is a verbal link to the conclusion of this literary section (2 Thessalonians 2:1-17), where Paul encourages the Thessalonians to hold fast to the Apostolic doctrines they have received from him and his coworkers:

• “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, beloved of the Lord, since God chose you from the beginning for salvation, in sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of the truth, to which he called you through our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions that you were taught, whether by word or by epistle from us” – (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15).

• “Now, we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw yourselves from every brother that walks in a disorderly way, and not after the tradition that they received of us” – (2 Thessalonians 3:6).

• “Now, I implore you, brothers, note those who are causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling, contrary to the doctrine that you learned, and turn away from them” – (Romans 16:7. See also 1 Corinthians 11:2, 15:58, Jude 1:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:14).

Regardless of the source, believers must not heed voices that deviate from the Apostolic Tradition. By adhering firmly to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, we will avoid apostasy and deception and attain salvation and glory when Jesus returns.

The Apostle Paul has prepared his readers for the important information that he is about to disclose. In the first place, the two reasons why the Day of the Lord has not commenced, the main events that must precede that day.

Secondly, warnings about a future deceiver who will cause some members of the congregation to abandon the Apostolic Faith, perhaps many. When Jesus arrives in glory, he will destroy this Son of Destruction.

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

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SEE ALSO:

• Two Pivotal Events - (The Little Horn in Daniel is the model for the Man of Lawlessness described by Paul to the Thessalonians)

• Impostors and Beasts - (The New Testament warns that false prophets will appear, causing many believers to abandon their faith and betray Jesus Christ)

• The Great Gathering - (The saints will be assembled before Jesus on the Last Day, and the wicked will be collected for judgment and cast from his presence)

• Rumores y Desinformación - (La información falsa sobre el Día del Señor causó alarma y confusión entre los creyentes de Tesalónica – 2 Tesalonicenses 2:1-2)