Rumor And Unrest
RUMOR AND UNREST
2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-2
A broad exposure to God’s word and quiet reflection on its meaning is the best preventative for panic in a time of crisis.
At this point Paul speaks about the excitement and unrest in the congregation. In his earlier letter he had spoken of the coming of the Lord and of the gathering of believers to him (1 Thessalonians 4:16f.; 5:10; see also Mark 13:26f.). He had made it clear that while the Day of the Lord comes suddenly, its arrival will not be a surprise to “the children of the day.” The finest preparation for its appearance is a life of watchfulness, soberness and prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:2-10). In spite of this instruction, a rumor of the imminent appearance of the exalted Lord appears to have unsettled completely the thought and action of a number within the fellowship. They were behaving irrationally and irresponsibly. If the end of the world were already upon them, what time remained for getting ready to meet the Lord? If the Lord were at hand, what need remained for working?
The rumor, which circulated as certain truth, was that the Day of the Lord would come before the end of the year. (In the papyri, Paul’s term “has come” is used with reference to the current year.) It is difficult to trace its source. What Paul had said in the first letter allowed the interpretation that the Lord would come during their generation (1 Thessalonians 4:17). It is possible that they misinterpreted what he had said about the awesome suddenness of his appearing (see 1 Thessalonians 5:2f.).
What is clear is that Paul’s authorization was claimed for the statement that the Day of the Lord had come. The apostle emphatically denies the report and categorically dismisses any allegation that in prophecy, in ordinary conversation or in a letter, he had proclaimed that the crisis of consummation was at hand. The ease with which the congregation had been disrupted was particularly disturbing, since Paul had given them specific instructions about the conditions that must prevail before it would be meaningful to talk about the end of the world (2:5). The apostle had the right to expect a degree of maturity on the part of believers, whose responsibility was to pass all rumors and reports through the grid of truth committed to them in the apostolic instruction.