The Forged Letter (2 Thessalonians 2)

Overview ...

In this article ...

The purpose of this article is to highlight Catholic end-time teaching as it relates to this passage. (Additional info)

In Chapter 2 of the book of Second Thessalonians, Paul is writing to clear up some confusion regarding end-time prophecy. He is concerned primarily with two topics...

• The second coming of Christ (the day of the Lord).
• The gathering of believers to Jesus Christ at the final resurrection.

The Thessalonians had received a forged letter making these claims...

• That the teachings by Paul concerning the "day of the Lord" were incorrect;
• That the day of the Lord wouldn't occur in the far future but was already occuring, that it had already come;
• That the trials and tribulations of those living in Jerusalem were the result of the rebellion by the Jewish revolutionaries against the Romans;
• That there would soon be a Jewish political leader, a "savior", a "messiah", who would set up a visible, political kingdom centered in Jerusalem.

Paul is writing to remind them what he had already taught them...

• That the "day of the Lord" (in its true meaning) had not yet come;
• That the Jewish rebellion (the lawlessness) was not a good thing and that it would result in the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem (see Matthew 24);
• That the coming of the "man of lawlessness" (the Antichrist) must occur prior to the "day of the Lord" (second coming of Christ);
• That these Jewish revolutionaries (or one of them) was not this Antichrist.

   End Time Prophecy Leads to Rome | The Kingdom of Israel

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Catholic Teaching

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 675 — 677.

The Church's ultimate trial. Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 675

The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgment. The Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism, especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 676

Examples are Socialism, Communism, and other utopian visions.

The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection. The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven. God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgment after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 677

Notice the sequence of events...

1. Ongoing since the apostolic age — The Antichrist's deceptions, false messianic hopes, the revolt of evil, religious deceptions, secular utopias, false millennial hopes, etc. Perhaps this is better called "the spirit of Antichrist."
2. A future religious deception — Ushers in the person of the Antichrist. The "mystery of iniquity."
3. The rule of the Antichrist — The Church's ultimate trial. Baptized Christians will renounce the christian faith (apostasy). The final unleashing of evil.
4. Antichrist defeated — But not because of Christ's second coming.
5. A period of time, and then finally ...
6. Christ's second coming
7. Final judgment

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Overview of Key Issues ...

The Jewish idea of the "day of the Lord" was (1) to overthrow the Roman empire (under the leadership of a Jewish political messiah), and (2) set up a 1,000 year Jewish millennial kingdom.

Paul's idea of the "day of the Lord" was the second coming of Christ for final judgment of non-believers and eternal blessing for believers.

The forged letter proclaimed the Jewish idea of the "day of the Lord" and claimed to be written by Paul. Even though the "man of lawlessness" (false messiah) was not yet identifiable, the Jewish revolutionaries were well underway in their rebellion against the Romans.

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A few comments about the notion that the Church = "true" Israel...

And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree. (Rom 11:17)

The root of God's plan of salvation is the nation of Israel. But because the Jews did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah, the Jewish nation as a whole was broken off. They will be grafted in when they recognize Jesus as the Messiah; when they join the Church. There will be a future time when this happens en masse.

The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus. . . . St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?" The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles", will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all".

Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 674

Notice that the Jews are reconcilled in the plan of God by acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah. In other words, they must join the Church.

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To understand this passage we have to identify many key phrases...

• The Coming of Christ (v1)
• Gathered to Him (v1)
• The day of the Lord (v2)
• The rebellion (v3)
• The man of lawlessness (v3)
• God's temple (v4)
• Holding him back (v6)
• Power of lawlessness (v7)
• The one who holds it back (v7)
• Taken out of the way (v7)
• Counterfeit miracles, signs & wonders (v9)
• The lie (v11)

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The Forged Letter (2 Thessalonians 2)

Introductory observations:

• The disturbing information in the forged letter was believed by the Thessalonians. Therefore it must have been believable.
• Paul had previously been plagued by the Jews in that area.
• The church in Thessalonica was composed of many God-fearing Greeks (previous converts to Judaism) and some Jews. (Acts 17:4)
• The non-believing Jews were actively opposing Paul and the gospel by starting riots. (Acts 17:5,13)
• The Greek believers were likely versed in Greek philosophical ideas.
• The Jewish believers would likely be susceptible to falling back into Jewish legalism.
• Many Jews were actively seeking a Jewish kingdom and were planning to rebel against the Roman empire. They looked for a Jewish political leader (a messiah) to lead them in this.
• In Chapter one of this book, Paul:
  1. Mentions the trials and persecutions of the church in Thessalonica (v4,5,7),
  2. Affirms that ultimately they will get relief (v5,7,9,10,11),
  3. Affirms that those who are persecuting them will ultimately be punished (v5,6,8,9), and
  4. Commends their faith and perseverance (v3,4,10,11).
  Chapter two follows immediately after these ideas.

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Verse 1

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, . . .

Paul had just mentioned Christ's coming to judge those who were persecuting them. (1:7,10,12) Therefore, the most natural meaning of verse 1 is that Paul is addressing Christ's second coming in which he judges the wicked.

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Verse 2

. . . not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

It's important to identify what the "day of the Lord" is.

In many Old Testament prophecies this phrase is used for judgment by God for wickedness, often against the nation of Israel...

See, the day of the LORD is coming — a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger — to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. (Isa 13:9)

In the New Testament the phrase "day of the Lord" (the Coming of Christ) always refers to the second coming of Christ (and His judgment of the wicked and eternal blessing for believers).

It is also important to identify the false ideas about the "day of the Lord" that the forged letter contained.

The Day of the Lord

• Paul's view (the true view) — the Day of the Lord is Christ's second coming when He comes back to judge the world. The general resurrection of all people, both believers and unbelievers, occurs then.
• The view of the forged letter (the false view) — the Day of the Lord is the establishment of the Jewish millennium under the political rule of a political "messiah" (and the time of tribulation leading up to this).

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Why would the Thessalonians believe that Paul had written the forged letter?...

• It had enough in common with Paul's previous teaching. After all, he had told them that the Jews would rebel against the Romans.
• It contained ideas common in the culture of the day. For example, the idea of a 1,000 year Jewish millennial kingdom was very much in vogue. The Thessalonians merely forgot which information Paul had taught them and which they had picked up from the culture. Paul asks them "don't you remember I used to tell you . . ."
• Perhaps it was delivered by a person they had trusted but who was now a deceiver.

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Why would the Thessalonians be troubled by this letter?...

• The "day of the Lord" in the forged letter was a bad thing for the Christians, much worse than the persecution they were undergoing.
• They forgot that the Jewish revolution against the Romans would fail. In a Jewish millennial kingdom the persecution of Christians would intensify. At least the Romans left them alone (but that would soon change with Nero).
• Their faith that the church = "true" Israel was shaken. It would be hard to keep the faith against the onslaught of so many Jewish agitators trying to convince them that the only way to please God is through the law — even Peter got fooled by this once.
• Paul's concept of the "day of the Lord" was different than that of the forged letter and cast doubt on his apostolic authority raising such questions as — Who were they to believe? What else had Paul lied to them about?

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How did Paul's response comfort the Thessalonians?...

• Not by assuring them that they would no longer have persecution.
• Paul corrected their understanding of the Jewish rebellion and the second coming of Christ (the "day of the Lord").
• Paul assured them that the church as they understood it (including his apostolic authority) was from God.

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Verses 3 and 4

Don't let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God's temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

These are key verses. There are several factors Paul has in mind...

• The persecution the Christians are currently experiencing at the hands the Jews is not the day of the Lord.
• The tribulation in Jerusalem caused by the Jewish revolutionaries is not the day of the Lord.
• There will someday be an Antichrist. His rebellion has nothing to do with the current rebellion in Jerusalem by the Jewish revolutionaries.
• The day of the Lord is associated with the final coming of Jesus Christ, not with the Jewish political millennial kingdom that the Jewish revolutionaries are striving for.

The various phrases in these verses...

• That day — the "day of the Lord" in verse 2. The second coming of Christ. Not the establishment of a millennial kingdom in Jerusalem as envisioned by the Jewish revolutionaries.
• God's temple — The church in which the Eucharist is celebrated. The altar of the Eucharist is the altar of God's temple.
• Rebellion ("falling away" in the KJV) — A time of trial and apostasy which will happen in the church just before the second coming of Christ. The current Jewish rebellion is not this rebellion.
• Man of lawlessness ("man of sin" in the KJV) — The Antichrist who is yet to come. The soon-to-be-identified leader (messiah) of the Jewish rebellion in Jerusalem is not this man of lawlessness.
• Doomed to destruction ("perdition" in the KJV) — The Antichrist will be judged to an eternity in hell for his sins.
• Sets himself up in God's temple ("he as God sitteth in the temple of God" in the KJV) — The Antichrist invades even the Church.

  Even if the Jews someday rebuild the temple it will not be God's temple unless they recognize Jesus as the Messiah.

• Proclaiming himself to be God ("showing himself that he is God" in the KJV) — The Antichrist will proclaim himself to be the long-awaited messiah and will fool many Jews who are still longing for a Jewish millennial kingdom.

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Verse 5

Don't you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?

Paul had already taught them about these things.

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Verses 6 and 7

And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.

In the church age the presence of Christ in the Eucharist holds back the powers of Satan (the Eucharist is the chain which binds him spoken of in Revelation 20). Until this is taken away (through apostasy and neglect) Satan cannot decieve the nations like he will in the future time of the Antichrist. At that time many baptized Christians will completely abandon the faith. Jesus in the Eucharist will be taken out of the way because so many Catholic and Orthodox Christians will fall into apostasy and stop celebrating the Eucharist.

When the presence of Christ in the Eucharist becomes an infrequent event the Antichrist will finally appear on the scene as Satan is released for a short time (see Rev 20:3).

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Verse 8

And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

At the second coming, when Christ comes in glory, he will overthrow and destroy the lawless one (the Antichrist). But note that there will be a period of time after the Antichrist is overthrown before the second coming of Christ.

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Verses 9 and 10

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.

The Antichrist comes with signs, wonders and miracles, but these are counterfeit. The Jews who are fooled by the Antichrist into thinking that he is the long-awaited messiah will interpret these signs and wonders as evidence of his claims.

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Verse 11

For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie

Many will believe these counterfeit signs, wonders and miracles. The "lie" is that it is the Antichrist who is the messiah.

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Verse 12

. . . and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

It is the wicked who will be fooled by the "lie." They will be condemned and will perish just as the man of lawlessness is doomed to destruction (verse 3).

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Verses 13 and 14

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth. He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God chose those who believe in the truth to be saved. This is in contrast to those who believe the "lie" and who will be condemned at the second coming.

The general resurrection of all believers (Old and New Testament saints) occurs at the second coming of Christ.

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Verse 15

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Believers must not be fooled by the "lie" but must stand firm in the truth even when persecuted.

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Verses 16 and 17

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Paul wishes for the persecuted believers to be encouraged by this word.

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