2:3–4 The Rebellion,
the Man of Lawlessness
The
Antichrist. Chrysostom: Here Paul discusses the Antichrist and
reveals great mysteries. What is the “falling away”? He calls him Apostasy;
soon he will destroy many and make them fall away.… And he calls him “the man
of sin.” For he shall commit numberless evils and shall cause others to do
them. But Paul calls him “the son of perdition,” because he is also to be
destroyed. But who is he? Satan? By no means. Rather he is a man in whom Satan
fully works. For he is a man.… For he will not introduce idolatry but will be a
kind of opponent to God. He will abolish all the gods and will order men to
worship him instead of God. He will be seated in the temple of God, not that in
Jerusalem only, but also in every church. Homilies on 2 Thessalonians 3.
Masked
Heretics. Cyril of Jerusalem: Such is Paul’s account. And we have
reached the “falling away.” Men, that is, have fallen away from the true faith.
Some proclaim the identity of Father and Son. Others dare to assert that one
should believe Christ has come into existence out of nonexistence. Formerly
heretics were quite evident, but now the church is full of masked heretics. For
men have deserted the truth and want to have their ears tickled.21
Make a plausible case, and everyone is ready to listen to you. Talk of changing
one’s life, and everyone deserts you. The majority have fallen away from the
sound doctrines and are readier to choose what is bad than to prefer what is
good. So there you have the “falling away,” and the coming of the enemy is to
be expected next. Meanwhile, he has begun to send out his forerunners here and
there, so that the spoil may be prepared for him when he comes. Therefore,
brothers, look to yourselves. Watch over your souls carefully. Catechetical
Lectures 15.9.
A
Wise Caution. Augustine: No one can doubt that Paul is
here speaking of Antichrist, telling us that the day of judgment (which he
calls the day of the Lord) will not come without the prior coming of a figure
whom he calls the Apostate, meaning, of course, an apostate from the Lord God.
And if this appellation can rightly be attached to all the ungodly, how much
more to him! There is, however, some uncertainty about the “temple” in which he
is to take his seat. Is it the ruins of the temple built by King Solomon, or
actually in a church? For the apostle would not say “the temple of God” if he
meant the temple of some idol or demon. For that reason some people would have
it that Antichrist means here not the leader himself but what we may call his
whole body, the multitude, that is, of those who belong to him, together with
himself, their leader.… For myself I am much astonished at the great
presumption of those who venture such guesses. The City of God 20.19.2.
His
Own Glory. Augustine: He who speaks on his own seeks his own
glory. This will be that one who is called the Antichrist, “exalting himself,”
as the apostle says, “above all that is called God and that is worshiped.”
Indeed, the Lord, announcing that he would seek his own glory, not the glory of
the Father, said to the Jews, “I have come in the name of my Father, and you
have not received me; another will come in his own name, this one you will
receive.”26 He signified that they would receive the Antichrist, who
would seek the glory of his own name, puffed up, hollow, and so not enduring
but in fact ruinous. But our Lord Jesus Christ offered us a great example of
humility. Tractates on John 29.8.
The
Trial Is Transitory. Basil the Great: In truth, both of our ears
rang on learning of the shameless and inhuman heresy of those who persecuted
you. They had no regard for age, nor for the labors of a life well spent, nor
for the affection of the people. On the contrary, they tortured and dishonored
bodies, handed them over to exile and plundered whatever property they were
able to find, not fearing the censure of men nor foreseeing the fearful
requital of the just Judge.… But, along with these considerations, there came
this thought also: The Lord has not entirely abandoned his churches, has he?
And this is not the last hour, is it? Is apostasy finding an entrance through
them, in order that now the impious one may be revealed, “the son of perdition,
who opposes and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshiped”?
But if the trial is transitory, bear it, noble champions of Christ.… For if all
creation is destroyed and the scheme of the world is altered, what wonder is it
if we also, being a part of creation, suffer the common evils and are given
over to afflictions?… The crowns of martyrs await you, brothers; the choirs of
confessors are ready to reach out to you their hands and to receive you into
their own number. Letters 139. (Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2
Timothy, Titus, Philemon, ed. Peter Gorday [Ancient Christian Commentary on
Scripture; Downers Grove, Ill.: Intervarsity Press, 2000], 109-10)
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