2 Thessalonians 2:1

But now, brethren, concerning that famous coming of Christ so often spoken of, ch. i. 5, &c. (and mentioned to you by me 1 Thess. v. 1.) for the destroying and cutting off the crucifiers of Christ and persecutors of Christians, (see note [b] Matt. xxiv,) the thing which is justly looked on by you as the period of your miseries and persecutions so universally caused by them, and which consequently will be attended with the plentiful coming in of disciples to the Christian profession, and with a greater liberty of public assembling for the worship of Christ than our persecutions and dispersions will now afford us (see note [d] Rev. i.); concerning this matter, I say, I beseech you,

[a] by] The preposition ὑπὲρ is oft taken in the notion of περὶ, of, or about, or concerning, or for, as that denotes the matter of the ensuing discourse, as when we say in English, Now, for such a matter, or point, or question, which is the form of entering upon any discourse. And thus it seems to be understood here, making the coming of Christ, &c., the things which he proceeds to discourse of; which having been touched upon in the former Epistle, ch. v. 1, (and it seems that which was said in that Epistle, misunderstood by them in some circumstances,) he proceeds, as in a known matter, to speak of it, and so ὑπὲρ will be best rendered concerning.

[b] coming of our Lord] Παρουσία τοῦ Κυρίου, the coming of the Lord, hath been at large explained, note [b] on Matt. xxiv, to signify the coming of Christ as a judge to destroy the Jews, as psalm xcvi. 13. For he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; and as psalm xcvii. 5, the hills melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, the very παρουσία τοῦ Κυρίου here,) and by that means to rescue those that were persecuted by them: and this is by St. James, ch. v. 7, 8, called by this title, παρουσία τοῦ Κυρίου, the coming of the Lord, and that then ἐγγίζουσα, approaching, and further expressed, ver. 9, by the Judge standing before the doors; and so there is little reason to doubt but that it so signifies here. It is true indeed that 1 Thess. iv. 15, παρουσία τοῦ Κυρίου, the coming of the Lord, is used for the final day of doom; but the phrase here appears not to refer to that place: for after the description of that to the end of that fourth chapter, the apostle, ch. v, begins περὶ δὲ τῶν χρόνων καὶ τῶν καιρῶν, but concerning the times and seasons, as of somewhat which was then approaching, and presumed to be sufficiently known among them, and on that subject he tells them, that they know that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night. Now to this

2 Thessalonians 2:2

That ye be not removed out of the truth, (which ye have already been taught, and believed from Christ and us,) either by the pretended or misunderstood revelations or inspirations of some, or by any thing said to you by me when I was with you by word of mouth, or by that which I wrote to you in the former epistle, ch. v. 2, as if it were our affirmation that this now were the period of time wherein the day of the Lord, his coming to judge and destroy the Jews, were instantly a coming; I foresee the danger of this mistake to you, that if you believe this, and find yourselves confuted by the event, it will be matter of great trouble to you, and may possibly shake your constancy, and

[c] is at hand] The word ἐνίστκεν here notes the immediate approach of this day, or the instant coming of it. So ἐνεστῶτα, the things just at hand, Rom. viii. 38, and 1 Cor. iii. 22, are set opposite to τὰ μέλλοντα, the things to come, which were future, but after some time, not so immediately to come to pass. And this being the direct and exact notion of the word, is a key to the whole matter. For that this day was ἐγγίζουσα, drawing near, had been oft affirmed by the apostle, and, as Lactantius saith, (see note [a] on title of the Epistle to the Romans,) commonly foretold by Peter and him in all their preachings; and 1 Thess. v. 1, he had further given them warning that it would come as a thief in the night, that is, on a sudden, unobservably or unexpectedly. This it seems was mistaken by them, and the suddenness and unobservableness of it when it should come, interpreted by some to denote the immediate, instant approach of it, at that time wherein he spake. This error of theirs they founded on three things: 1st, on the revelations which some had received in this matter, and which were understood to this sense; which is the meaning of διὰ πνεύματος, by spirit, the spirit of prophecy, either truly such, or pretended to be such; 2dly, on the discourses and affirmations of St. Paul when he was among them, which is the meaning of διὰ λόγου, by word of mouth; 3dly, on the words of his former Epistle, where he had said, ch. v. 2, that it cometh as a thief in the night, and that when they said, Peace and safety, τότε αἰφνίδιος αὐτοῖς ἐφίστatai ἄλεθρος, then a speedy destruction invadeth them; which last they interpreted, as if he had said, ὅτι ἐνίστκεν, that it were now instant or present at hand, and so founded their doctrine upon St. Paul; which is the meaning of ὡς δι’ ἡμῶν, as if we had thus taught, either by word of mouth, or by that Epistle, or by both, that this day of the Lord was now instantly a coming: where, as the mistake was no more than by interpreting ἐφίστatai by ἐνίστκεν,

2 Thessalonians 2:3

And therefore let not this cheat by any artifice be put upon you, being of so dangerous importance if you believe it to be taught by us; but resolve on this, that before that come, first there must be, according to Christ’s prediction, a great departure or defection from the faith to the heresy of the Gnostics, (or perhaps this may be the meaning of the departure, that in the order and method of things foretold by Christ, one thing must solemnly precede, the Christians breaking off their compliance with the impenitent Jews, leaving them as obdurate, and departing avowedly to the Gentiles, Matt. xxiv. 13;) and secondly, Simon Magus, that wicked impostor and accursed person, owned to ruin, together with his followers the Gnostics, shall shew themselves in their colours, having for some space concealed their malice;

[d] falling away] That ἀποστασία in its natural signification imports no more than abscession or departure, is clear by the verb ἀφίστημι, from which it immediately comes. So Acts xv. 38, when it is said of John τὸν ἀποστάντα ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ Παμφυλίας, sure it signifies no more than that he had departed from them, not from the faith of Christ in our modern notion of apostasy; and in that place the king’s MS. reads ἀποστατήσαντα, which is a verb made from ἀποστάτης, apostate, and yet there signifies no more than leaving or forsaking their company, not the faith of Christ, at that time. Thus the word is used distinctly in this matter of Moses’s law, Acts xxi. 21. ἀποστασίαν διδάσκετε ἀπὸ Μωσίως, thou teachest the Jews in Asia, &c. to forsake the Mosaical law. And therefore it is possible that the word ἀποστασία here may signify either, 1st, this departing of the apostles from the Jews, leaving them and departing to the Gentiles, which was indeed a great provocation to the Jews to persecute them most bitterly, and so might be made use of by the Gnostics as the opportunity most fit to exasperate the Jews against them; or else, 2dly, the departing of the believing Jews from the Mosaical observances, circumcision, &c., and this also sharpened the persecutors against them. And so St. Luke uses the word ἀποστὰς, Acts xix. 9, of Paul, when the Jews were hardened and disobedient, and spake evil of that way before the multitude, ἀποστὰς ἀπ’ αὐτῶν ἀφώρισε τοὺς μαθητὰς, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, that is, he (and the Christian believers) forsook and separated from them, and betook himself to the Gentiles of Asia; and so at other times he did, Acts xiii. 46, and finally, Acts xxviii. 28. And to this the apostle seems to exhort the Hebrew believers, Heb. xiii. 13. Let us therefore come forth to Christ without the camp, make an express separation from the unbelieving Jews, bearing Christ’s reproach, that is, although we be persecuted by them for doing so. But besides these, there is the ordinary vulgar notion of apostasy, which may very probably be meant here, a notable discernible apostatizing of Christians to that abominable impiety of the Gnostics, of which St. Paul, 1 Tim. iv. 1, affirms, ἀποστή-

[e] man of sin] Ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτίας, the man of sin, is here the denotation of a very wicked sort of people: and though it be in the singular number, must not yet in any reason be confined to a single person, but to some one or more ringleaders and their followers. Thus we know Χριστὰς, Christ, signifies him as he is the head of his church, and is sometimes used to signify the whole society of Christians, (see note [d] on Gal. iii.) And so ἀντίχριστος, antichrist, is sure no single person considered alone, but in conjunction with his followers. And in this latitude proper names of persons are prophetically used to signify people, Jezebel for this heresy of Gnostics, the whole set of them, (see note [n] on Rev. ii.) and many the like. And accordingly here it cannot be strange that the ἄνθρωπος ἁμαρτίας, the man of sin, should signify more than one single person, viz. Simon and the Gnostics. So likewise for all that follow, υἱὸς ἀπωλείας, the son of perdition, (one fit and sure to be destroyed, as בְּנוֹת, the son of death, one that shall surely die, 2 Sam. xii. 5.) ὁ ἀντικείμενος, he that opposeth himself, (a circumlocution of Antichrist,) and ὁ ἄνομος, the wicked one, ver. 8. All which are here set to denote that impious sect under him, which is known by the ancients by the title of πρωτότοκος τοῦ Σατανᾶ, the first-born of Satan, that accursed Simon the magician. That it was some magician is clear by what is said of him ver. 9, of the working of Satan evidenced in him, ἐν πάσῃ δυνάμει, καὶ σημεῖοις, καὶ τέρασι ψεύδους, &c., ver. 10, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders: and accordingly saith Theophylact, Ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν ἔχων Σατανᾶ ἐν ἑαυτῷ δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐνεργούντα, “It is a man that hath Satan in him working by him,” (which one beside many other circumstances sufficiently prove that it was not Caius, or any other of the Roman emperors, as some have conceived.) And that it was particularly Simon Magus appears by Eusebius, l. 2. c. 12, who at the beginning of Claudius’s reign mentions his coming to Rome, and there describes him διὰ τῆς τῶν ἐνεργούντων δαιμόνων τέχνης δυνάμεις μαγικὰς ποιήσαντα, (words directly parallel to this ninth verse,) doing such miracles there by the help of the devils, that he was

2 Thessalonians 2:4

He, I mean, who opposes himself against Christ, setting himself up (and being acknowledged by the Samaritans and others) for the chief or first God, superior to all other gods, and accordingly is publicly worshipped by them, and assumeth to himself distinctly that he is God.

[f] worshipped] Σέβασμα in this place being joined with λεγόμενον Θεόν, called God, not to distinguish it from the former, but with an ᾖ, or, to explicate the former, or to extend it further than the former might be thought to extend, must signify, not the worship itself, but that which is worshipped, whatsoever that is. The nations and people of the world, all of them, acknowledged and worshipped somewhat which they called God or Numen, but all false and idol-nothings, save only the one Creator of heaven and earth; yet on these they bestowed those magnificent titles of God, and great power of God, and other the like: and to comprehend all those titles by which all those false gods

HAMMOND ANNOTT. VOL. II. T

[g] sitteth in the temple of God] What καθίσαι εἰς τὸν ναὸν Θεοῦ ὡς Θεὸν, to sit on the temple of God as God, signifies, cannot now be difficult after the consideration of the former passages, notes [e] and [f]. For being owned by all Samaria as the supreme God, and worshipped, as was said, θυμιάμασι, καὶ θυσίαις, καὶ σπονδάις, by incense and sacrifices, &c., it cannot be doubted but these were performed to him in those places which had been set apart to the worship of the true God; and so that is to sit or place himself in the temple of God, ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἐστὶ Θεὸς, vaunting or declaring himself that he is God, assuming those honours to himself. Thus saith Justin Martyr, Apol. 2. of some, that is, of him and Helena his strumpet, that they did λέγειν ἑαυτοὺς εἶναι θεοὺς, “affirm themselves to be gods.” And so Irenæus, Docuit semetipsum, &c. “He taught that he was God.” See note [e]. To this purpose it is that Justin Martyr affirms that Claudius erected him a statue at Rome on Tiber, betwixt the two bridges, inscribed Simoni Deo sancto, “to Simon the holy God:” every such statue or image being, according to the theology of the heathens, a kind of ναός, or temple or chapel, where the god to whom the statue was consecrated was said to dwell. And although Petrus Ciaconius in Opuse, suspects this to be a mistake of Justin, because about that place in Rome an. Dom. 1574, a basis of a marble statue was digged up with this inscription, Simoni Sancto Deo Fidio sacrum, &c., yet the authority of Justin, writing this so soon after to the emperors of Rome, who could and would have discerned his falsity if it had been such, will be abundantly sufficient to oppose to this conjecture, especially when Irenæus insisting on it soon after him, and Tertullian, better acquainted with that city and story than to be thus imposed upon, have added their confirmations of it; and many writers of the church of Rome after them continued the tradition unquestioned, till this conjecture set up against it.

2 Thessalonians 2:5

If you remember, this very thing I foretold you, when I was among you preaching the gospel; and therefore in any reason I must not now be interpreted to any contrary sense, ver. 2.

2 Thessalonians 2:6

And now you cannot but discern what it is which makes some stop in this business; their season of shewing themselves, and making open profession of all hostility and hatred against the orthodox Christians, is not yet come. The peculiar season will be when the apostles have given over preaching to the Jews, as hopeless and refractory, and so go to the Gentiles, Matt. xxiv. 13, and consequently break off that more tender compliance with the Jews; for as long as that holds, the Jews will not be so sharp against the Christians, and consequently it will not be yet so fit a season for the Gnostics to discover their venom against them.

[h] withholdeth] Κατέχειν here signifies to hinder, to restrain him that is there spoken of, that is, the ὁ ἀντικείμενος, the impious proud adversary, Simon Magus and his Gnostics, ver. 11, from putting off their disguise, and revealing themselves in their colours, that is, cruel professed enemies to Christ and Christians: and by the addition here of ἐν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ καιρῷ, in his own season, some conjecture may be made

2 Thessalonians 2:7

And, therefore, though this sort of men be already formed into a sect, under their ringleaders Simon and Carpocrates, &c. yet at this time it is carried more closely; they are not broken out into

needs come first.

[i] mystery of iniquity] It must here be explained, 1st, what ἀνομία, iniquity, and 2dly, what μυστήριον, mystery, and 3dly, what ἐνεργεῖται, acted, here signify. For ἀνομία, that may signify no more than some great enormous sin or conjuncture of sins; and so will very fitly be applied to this sect of the Gnostics, who were the vilest sort of people in the world in respect of their abominable lusts, perjuries, joining with idols, &c. But the notion which seems to be most proper to this place is somewhat superadded to all this, viz. their malicious bitter persecuting of the orthodox Christians. This is the notion of ἀνομία, iniquity, Matt. xxiv. 12, upon the increasing of which many should be offended, ver. 10, and their love of Christ, zeal to Christianity, should grow cold. And then it will be easy to conjecture what is the mystery of iniquity, viz. this villainy in both parts of it, the vile sins of these men, and their bitter hatred to Christians, both somewhat disguised and kept secret, not professed and avowed, (because it was not yet seasonable,) but yet acted underhand more warily. And that is the meaning of ἐνεργεῖται, agitur; for the word is generally used in a passive sense, (see note [b] on Gal. v.) and so signifies this which is spoken of to be already acted, ἀρχὴν εἴληφε, hath received its beginning, saith Theophylact. And so in other the epistles it is affirmed, that there were among them emulations, contentions, strifes, seditions, confusion, and every evil work, all this together with the unclean abominable sins, ἤδη, already acted among them, but as yet more secretly and closely, only waiting their opportunity to break out and shew themselves at a time of the best advantage, when that compliance of the Christians with the Jews, the observation of the Mosaical rites, (one of which was, that they that were Jews should not converse with those of another nation, John iv. 9,) should be laid down, removed out of the way, the apostles every where leaving the Jews, and departing to the Gentiles, laying down the use of the Mosaical rites, and calling their disciples to come out from the Jews, as they do Acts xix. 9. Heb. xiii. 10, 13. Gal. ii.—v.

2 Thessalonians 2:8

Then immediately shall this sect of Gnostics shew itself, join with and stir up the Jews, and bring heavy persecutions upon the Christians, and (having this opportunity to calumniate them to the Jews) behave themselves as their professed opposers. And Simon Magus shall set himself forth in the head of them; whom, as a professed enemy of Christ, Christ shall destroy by extraordinary means by the preaching and miracles of St. Peter: and for all the apostatizing Gnostics that adhered to him, they shall be involved in the destruction of the unbelieving Jews with whom they have joined against the Christians.

[k] that Wicked] That ὁ ἄνομος, the wicked, here, is the same with ὁ ἀντικείμενος, the opposer, ver. 4, there is no question; and that this was Simon and his followers, hath been shewed (note [e],) and clearly appears by the character, ver. 9, that his coming is κατ’ ἐνέργειαν τοῦ Σατανᾶ, according to the working of Satan in all power, and signs, and lying wonders; that is, that they used sorcery, and did many strange things (such prodigies as the devil could help him to act) by that means, and as it follows, ver. 10, succeeded very prosperously among many hypocritical, unsincere, carnal Christians, who were (by their indulgence of lusts, and promise of immunity from persecutions, and by the strangeness of their sorceries, Simon undertaking to fly in the air,

2 Thessalonians 2:9

This person whom now I speak of and his followers are such as by magic do many strange things, to deceive men into an admiration of themselves;

2 Thessalonians 2:10

And by baits of lust, &c. they work upon the generality of wicked carnal Christians; and this as a punishment for their not being brought to sincere repentance and true faith by the gospel, but preferring the satisfaction of their own humours and passions and prejudices, John viii. 45, before the doctrine of Christ, when it came with the greatest conviction and evidence and authority among them, Tit. ii. 11.

2 Thessalonians 2:11

To which purpose we pray for you continually, that God will by his grace enable you to walk worthy of that high calling or privilege, that of being Christians, owned and vindicated by him, and powerfully accomplish and complete in you all the good works and fruits of faith and patience which may render you acceptable in his sight:

And this is the cause why God suffers mere magicians to deceive them by false miracles, and by that means to bring them to believe all kind of falseness; false gods, false ways of worship, deceitful, cheating, false miracles, to get authority to those and all manner of heathen, licentious, vicious practices, the consequents of those errors, and the most contrary to evangelical truth:

2 Thessalonians 2:12

That Christ may have the honour of your patience, and you be rewarded for it according to the great mercy and goodness of God in Christ Jesus.

CHAP. II.