Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Thessalonians 2:5

"Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?" — 2 Thessalonians 2:5 (ASV)

Do you not remember—This is a rebuke of the same character as those in Romans 6:3 and 1 Corinthians 6:19. Like them, it is leveled at ignorance of what in apostolic days were considered the six fundamental points of Christian teaching (Hebrews 5:12; Hebrews 6:1–2). The doctrine of Antichrist would naturally form part of the instruction on resurrection and judgment.

This explains how the doctrine was enforced so early in the education of the Christian churches—“while I was still with you” (see Introduction to the First Epistle to Thessalonians)—and so emphatically and repeatedly. The word translated “told” is in the imperfect tense, which signifies more than a single action; it means, “I made it my habit to tell you these things.”

Notice that in Paul’s eager personal recollection of this teaching, he for once (and nowhere else) forgets Silas and Timothy, using “I” instead of “we.” Imagine a forger creating a work with such subtlety! Also, note how this refutes the erroneous opinion that Paul, in this epistle, recedes from his former teaching about the Advent and its timing.