Commentary on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

I grew up with the legendary R.E.M. song, “It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine).” I was in fourth grade when that song was first released (1987). It seemed silly and whimsical to sing it then, because I was just a kid without a care in the world. When you get older, you start to worry more about yourself, and when you get really old (I just started wearing reading glasses, and I grunt now when I try to get up from the couch), you worry about your community and even the fate of the whole world. 

Paul and the Thessalonians sometimes worried about a religious apocalypse where angels and demons clash with one another and the universe hangs in the balance. We might not worry about that particular problem, but we have potentially world-ending issues in the news related to ecological disaster, AI threats, economic collapse, and nuclear warfare. But even if Paul had such extinction-level threats like we have in our time, he would have probably given the same advice: Thank God for his generous salvation, and don’t worry about things above your security clearance. (This mentality, by the way, is not about being passive; it is about living and acting like God is good and God is great.)

In 2 Thessalonians 2, we get to the heart of the eschatological worries besetting the Thessalonian church. Apparently, they came to be convinced that Doomsday had arrived (verse 2). We don’t know what led them to that idea. False prophets? Bad omens? An earthquake? Meteor shower? Or plain old “sky is falling” paranoia? I suspect some human foul play was involved because Paul was insistent that they should not listen to any eschatological nonsense (verse 3). 

Judgment Day is coming, Paul affirms, but certain cosmological events will unfold before the end—before the end-end. You can read 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12 for the full rundown of the who, what, and how: the rebellion, the Man of Lawlessness, the Restrainer. (This all sounds like a rejected script for a D.C. Comics superhero movie, by the way.) Paul’s point is not to sketch out a full timeline of eschatological events. His point is that some big things are yet to happen, and there is really nothing we can do to stop them (unlike issues of political strife and economic turmoil, matters that we certainly can and must address). 

Paul’s narration of a big showdown of the powers of good and evil is mind-boggling. And questions abound: Who is this “Lawless One”? What temple and where? What is the “mystery of lawlessness”? What “signs” and “wonders”? This section of Paul’s letters has all the marks of apocalyptic literature: cosmic in scope, eschatologically oriented, and laden with symbolic language without explicit “de-coding.” But that is part of the point: We aren’t meant to know all the details. And even if we did know the details, we couldn’t stop it. 

All we can do is be sure to stand on the side of light, truth, and goodness. After all, those who fall prey to the lies of the Deceiver have opened themselves up to delusion because “they refused to love the truth and so be saved” (verse 10). Such people don’t cross over to the dark side in an instantaneous decision; they often drift little by little away from the truth, away from justice, through white lies and self-justification, and next thing they know, they can’t tell right from wrong anymore (verse 12). 

What helps the Thessalonian believers to stand on the side of light is not their inherent goodness or morality, but the grace of God, their consecration through the Holy Spirit, and their commitment to the truth of God (verse 13). This truth is not a personal belief, nor the US Constitution, nor a favorite modern teacher or pundit; it is the singular apostolic tradition (verse 15) that Christians have come to identify with Holy Scripture. 

Our hope is found, not in clever podcasts and provocative YouTube videos, but in the Gospel’s message of Christ’s love and grace, which alone lays our foundation for “eternal comfort and good hope” (verse 16). Paul’s goal in 2 Thessalonians was to bring reassurance that Christian hope is secure, not because we are prepared by knowing exactly how history will unfold, but by knowing in whose hands we are held—namely, those of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Tips for preaching 2 Thessalonians 2:1–17

#1: The devil is in the details. Meaning: the more you try to “de-code” all the details of the apocalyptic rebellion and ensuing battle, the further you will get away from Paul’s point, that none of us can stop it, and we can’t defeat this Lawless One; only Christ can. We are meant to be awed by the grandeur of this cosmic showdown and recognize we can only survive by humble dependence on Christ.

#2: Warn about deceivers. Paul was clear about the fact that people will say “this” or “that,” and the people of God have to know better than to buy every theological theory and idea that is peddled in the marketplace of ideas (verses 2–3). Our attitude should be caution and fact-checking. Test any ideas against what is written in Scripture.

#3: Preach hope. Experts in marketing and advertising know that fear can be a powerful motivator, but it wears off pretty quickly. But give someone a deep, true, and lasting hope, and their life will be elevated in a way that has a lasting effect. Come what may, Paul is certain that even when things might be at their bleakest, the Lord Jesus will swoop down and destroy evil with the “breath of his mouth” (verse 8). We might not know how the world ends, but we do know who wins in the end, and he will claim victory without a scratch. 

#4: Encourage thanksgiving. Paul’s primary response to this harrowing apocalyptic scenario is one of thanksgiving: “But we must always give thanks to God …” (verse 13). When we are scared, thanksgiving is usually the first thing to jettison as anxiety takes over. But it is crucial to affirm that no matter what is happening or what may come in the future, we are blessed along with the Thessalonian Christians to be “beloved by the Lord” (verse 13) and showered with grace (verse 16).

Truth be told, this text probably does not get included in very many sermons; it requires a lot of explanation and exegetical nuance. And some preachers who naturally get excited about 2 Thessalonians 2 probably obsess in an unhealthy way over eschatological speculation. That is, ironically, the opposite of Paul’s purpose. Paul provided no names of future tyrants, no months and years of cataclysmic events, no specific nations or lands involved. Preachers are encouraged to avoid unnecessary and distracting speculation about “times and seasons” (1 Thessalonians 5:1), as Paul says, and to underscore the two things we can be sure of: “The Lord is faithful” (2 Thessalonians 3:3a) and our time will be well spent in our remaining days in this present season if we “direct [our] hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ” (3:5).

Recommended resources

Blackwell, B. C. et al., ed. Paul and the Apocalyptic Imagination. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2016.

Gupta, Nijay K. 1 & 2 Thessalonians. New Covenant Commentary Series. Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2016.

Gupta, Nijay K. 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Zondervan Critical Introductions to the New Testament. 

Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019.

Johnson, Andy. 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Two Horizons. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016.

Marshall, Molly T. 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Belief. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2022.