Paul has gone back to the end of it all, again. His concern over the Thessalonians understanding of the "end of times" has made its way into these two letters for a fifth time now (1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23). He desperately wants this congregation to understand that the "day of the Lord" has not come yet.
Apparently, someone had tried to convince the church through a "spirit, or a spoken word, or a letter" (2 Thess. 2:2) that Paul claimed the end had already come. They were left with the notion that they had missed the Lord's appearance and were left confused by His oversight of their faithfulness.
This is a tremendous reminder of the power of false teaching. People want to believe. They want to follow. They want to be in the right group. They want to trust. Unfortunately, there are those who want to deceive. There are those who want to control. There are those who want to destroy.
Paul says that they should not be "shaken" or "alarmed" easily. Shaken refers to an earthquake or a ship losing its moorings, and alarmed means "to cry out." Paul instructs them further so they might continue to have faith instead of despair. For the fifth time in these brief letters he speaks about the return of our Lord Jesus.
For the believer today, I believe Paul would tell us to be grounded in the Word of God and moored to that which cannot be moved. How blessed we are to have God's revelation to us in the Bible. We should steer clear of strange teachings, complicated answers, secret interpretations. We should test all the teachings we hear by the teachings we have read in Scripture.
How would you know if my teachings were from the Father? How do you know if I speak His truth or my truth?
O, God, I pray that the light of your word might eclipse the dim reality of my teaching.
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