2 Thessalonians 2 - New Catholic Bible (NCB)

The Day of the Lord^[a]

Chapter 2

Has the Day of the Lord Already Come?^{[b] 1} As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we beg you, brethren: ² do not become too easily thrown into confusion or alarmed, either by something spiritual or by a statement or by a letter claiming to come from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord is already here.^{[c] 3} Let no one deceive you in any way.

The Adversary and the Obstacle.^[d] That Day cannot come^[e] before the final rebellion occurs and the lawless one is revealed, the son of destruction. ⁴ He is the adversary who sets himself in opposition to, and exalts himself above, every so-called god or object of worship, and who even seats himself in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.

⁵ Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you? ⁶ And you also know what is now restraining him,^[f] so that he may not be revealed before his time comes. ⁷ For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who restrains it will continue to do so until he is removed.

The Two Comings.^{[g] 8} Then the lawless one will be revealed, and the Lord Jesus will slay him by the breath of his mouth and destroy him by the splendor of his coming.

⁹ His coming will be the work of Satan made manifest in all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, ¹⁰ and in every wicked deception designed for those who are perishing because they refused to accept the love of the truth^[h] and thereby gain salvation.

¹¹ For this reason, God imposes on them a powerful delusion. They believe what is false, ¹² so that all who have not believed the truth but instead have taken pleasure in wickedness will be condemned.

Never Weary of Doing Good^[i]

Call To Remain Steadfast.^[j]However, we must always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth.^{[k] 14} It was for this purpose that he called you through our gospel so that you might come to share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ Therefore, stand firm, brethren, and hold fast to the traditions^[l] that you have been taught, whether by word of mouth or by a letter of ours. ¹⁶ And may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through his grace gave us unending encouragement and a sure hope,^{[m] 17} comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Footnotes

1. 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Paul uses the style and manner of apocalypses, but he speaks first and foremost as an apostle. He employs images and symbols to express where he is going and where he is leading the faithful. From the very beginning of Biblical history, God and Satan (i.e., the forces of evil) are involved in an implacable combat in which human beings are at the same time the terrain and the stakes. Christ is the conqueror of these evil forces. His victory, obtained on the cross, will be manifested on the great Day of his majestic return. We must prepare for this Coming.
2. 2 Thessalonians 2:1 Paul indicates that a problem has arisen concerning the circumstances surrounding the Day of the Lord. In times of crisis, there are always falsehood-mongers to whom the faithful give willing ear—but whom they should avoid altogether. So the Apostle intends to set forth certain features of the Day in order to correct what is being falsely claimed.
3. 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Is already here: Paul insists that the Day of the Lord has not already come, for the final days have not begun and their completion is not imminent.
4. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 Making use of images borrowed from the Prophets and from the authors of apocalypses, Paul brings on stage the forces of evil and the true witnesses of God: they constitute respectively the adversary and the obstacle. The portrait of the adversary gathers together in one personage all the doers of evil who are based on the historical enemies of God’s people in the Old Testament—especially Antiochus IV Epiphanes (see Dan 11:36) who in his supreme folly wanted to make himself a god.
   The obstacle, which was doubtlessly well known to the Thessalonians, stands for a more obscure reality for us; it could refer to the ensemble of believers who work to bring about the Kingdom of God (see also note on 2:6 below). Even though their victory is to be awaited, it is no less assured. This victory is based upon the Paschal Mystery with its twofold aspect of Death and Resurrection. Throughout the centuries, the forces of death and the People of God never cease to confront one another in the life of the world, in the heart of each person.
5. 2 Thessalonians 2:3 That Day cannot come: these words have been supplied in the text in order to bring out more clearly Paul’s meaning; the original sentence is incomplete. The lawless one . . . the son of destruction . . . the adversary: the leader of the rebellion, who will also come to be called “the Antichrist” (1 Jn 2:18; 4:3; 2 Jn 7).
6. 2 Thessalonians 2:6 What is now restraining him: some suggestions about the identity of this obstacle (in addition to the one mentioned in note 2:3b-12 above) are: the Roman State and its emperor; the principle of law embodied in the state; the Holy Spirit through the Church; and the preaching of the Gospel (possibly by Paul himself), for the end could not come until the Gospel was preached to all nations (see Mk 13:10).
7. 2 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul describes what will precede the Lord’s coming. He glimpses, toward the end of human history, a spectacular offensive launched by the forces of evil under the instigation of Satan. A great apostasy will follow (see Mt 24:10-12; Lk 18:8; 21:12-19; 1 Tim 4:1). The lawless one is both anti-God and anti-Christ, but he will not have the last word. On the day, when he thinks he has conquered, he will be confronted with the dazzling manifestation of Christ and completely overcome.
8. 2 Thessalonians 2:10 Love of the truth: one of Paul’s most felicitous expressions, it refers to love of the Gospel, the acceptance of this unprecedented gift that comes from the Father, Christ, and the Spirit. To refuse it is to exclude oneself from love forever.
9. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Paul is thankful that he and his coworkers can look forward to salvation for themselves and for their converts. The beneficiaries of God’s saving work cannot rest on their laurels, however. They must be ever active in good works and keep the teachings (traditions) of the Church. The Apostle goes on to ask the converts to pray for him and his coworkers and calls down God’s grace on them.

   ¹³
   He also sets forth the proper solution for idlers. The Thessalonians must admonish idlers yet deal charitably with their mistakes. Such persons are not to be cast out of the community, but to be given frequent warnings.

10. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 Here we find the same advice as was given in the First Letter. Christian life unfolds in the love of the three divine Persons; fidelity to the authentic tradition that the apostles have transmitted in writing or by living word; prayer; and constancy of effort.
11. 2 Thessalonians 2:13 These two verses show the harmonious working of all three Persons of the Trinity in the divine plan of salvation: God the Father chooses and calls his people; God the Son shares his glory with his own; and God the Holy Spirit imparts his sanctifying grace. From the beginning: another translation possible is: “as the firstfruits.”
12. 2 Thessalonians 2:15 Traditions: i.e., the teachings contained in tradition; they are both oral and written (see 2 Thes 2:5; 3:6; 1 Cor 11:2), just as was the case with rabbinic law (see note on Mt 15:2ff).
13. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 Jesus is here named before the Father; despite the double subject, the verbs in the Greek text are in the singular number. Could the unity of Father and Son be better expressed?