John Calvin Commentary 2 Thessalonians 2

Now I beseech you, by the coming. It may indeed be read, as I have noted on the margin, concerning the coming, but it is more fitting to view it as an earnest entreaty, derived from the subject at hand, just as in 1 Corinthians 15:31, when discussing the hope of a resurrection, he uses an oath by that glory which is to be hoped for by believers.

And this has much more force when he charges believers solemnly by the coming of Christ, not to imagine rashly that His day is near, for He at the same time admonishes us to think of it only with reverence and sobriety. For it is customary to charge solemnly by those things which we regard with reverence.

The meaning therefore is: “As you greatly value the coming of Christ, when He will gather us to Himself, and will truly perfect that unity of the body which we still cherish only in part through faith, so I earnestly implore you by His coming not to be too quick to believe, if anyone should affirm, on any pretext, that His day is near.”

Since he had in his previous letter alluded to some extent to the resurrection, it is possible that some fickle and fanatical persons used this as an opportunity to designate a near and specific day. For it is unlikely that this error had arisen earlier among the Thessalonians.

For Timothy, on returning from there, had informed Paul about their entire condition, and as a prudent and experienced man had omitted nothing important. Now if Paul had been notified of it, he could not have remained silent on a matter of such great consequence. Thus, I am of the opinion that when Paul's letter had been read, which contained a vivid depiction of the resurrection, some who were inclined to indulge their curiosity philosophized inappropriately about its time.

This, however, was an utterly destructive notion, as were other things of a similar nature, which were afterwards spread, not without Satan's cunning. For when any day is said to be near, if it does not arrive quickly, people, being naturally impatient with longer delay, begin to lose heart, and that loss of heart is soon followed by despair.

This, therefore, was Satan’s cunning strategy: since he could not openly destroy the hope of resurrection, he aimed to undermine it secretly, as if by pits underground, by promising that its day was near and would soon arrive. Afterwards, too, he did not stop devising various schemes, aiming to gradually erase the belief in a resurrection from people's minds, since he could not openly eliminate it.

It is, indeed, a plausible claim that the day of our redemption is precisely determined, and for this reason it is applauded by the masses, as we see that the speculations of Lactantius and the ancient Chiliasts brought much delight; and yet their only real tendency was to overthrow the hope of resurrection.

This was not Lactantius's intention, but Satan, with his characteristic cunning, twisted his curiosity and that of others like him, so that nothing in religion remained certain or settled; and even today Satan does not stop using the same methods. We now see how necessary Paul's warning was, for without it, all religion among the Thessalonians would have been overthrown under a plausible but false pretext.

That you be not soon shaken in judgment. He uses the term judgment to denote that settled faith which rests on sound doctrine. Now, by means of that false idea which he rejects, they would have been carried away, as it were, into ecstasy. He also points out three kinds of imposture against which they must be on their guard—spirit, word, and spurious epistle.

By the term spirit he means pretended prophecies, and it appears that this way of speaking was common among the pious, so that they applied the term spirit to prophecies, in order to put honor upon them. For, in order that prophecies may have due authority, we must look to the Spirit of God rather than to men.

But as the devil is accustomed to transform himself into an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), impostors stole this title, so that they might impose upon the simple. But although Paul could have stripped them of this mask, he, nevertheless, preferred to speak in this manner, by way of concession, as if he had said, “However they may pretend to have the spirit of revelation, do not believe them.” John, likewise, says:

Try the spirits, whether they are of God (1 John 4:1).

Speech, in my opinion, includes every kind of doctrine, while false teachers insist by means of reasons or conjectures, or other pretexts. What he adds concerning epistle is evidence that this impudence is ancient—that of feigning the names of others.

So much the more wonderful is the mercy of God toward us, because while Paul’s name was falsely used in spurious writings, his writings have, nevertheless, been preserved intact even to our own time. This, unquestionably, could not have taken place accidentally, or by mere human effort, if God himself had not by his power restrained Satan and all his ministers.

As if the day of Christ were at hand. This may seem to be at variance with many passages of Scripture, in which the Spirit declares that that day is near. But the solution is easy, for it is at hand with regard to God, with whom one day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8). Meanwhile, the Lord would have us constantly wait for him in such a way as not to limit him to a certain time.

He says, Watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour (Matthew 24:32).

On the other hand, those false prophets whom Paul exposes, while they ought to have kept men’s minds in suspense, tell them to feel assured of his speedy advent, so that they might not be worn out by the irksomeness of delay.

Let no man deceive you. So that they may not groundlessly promise themselves the arrival of the joyful day of redemption in such a short time, he presents to them a melancholy prediction regarding the future scattering of the Church. This discourse entirely corresponds with what Christ said to His disciples when they asked Him about the end of the world. For He exhorts them to prepare themselves to endure hard conflicts (Matthew 24:6), and after He has spoken of the most grievous and previously unheard-of calamities, by which the earth was to be reduced almost to a desert, He adds that the end is not yet, but that these things are the beginnings of sorrows. In the same way, Paul declares that believers must wage spiritual warfare for a long time before gaining a triumph.

This is, however, a remarkable passage and one highly worthy of observation. This was a grievous and dangerous temptation that might shake even the most steadfast believers and cause them to lose their footing: to see the Church, established with such labor and difficulty to a considerable standing, suddenly collapse as if torn down by a tempest. Paul, therefore, fortifies in advance the minds not only of the Thessalonians but of all the godly, so that when the Church would be in a scattered condition, they might not be alarmed, as if it were something new and unexpected.

However, since interpreters have twisted this passage in various ways, we must first endeavor to ascertain Paul’s true meaning. He says that the day of Christ will not come until the world has fallen into apostasy and the reign of Antichrist has gained a foothold in the Church. For the interpretation that some have given of this passage, referring it to the downfall of the Roman Empire, is too foolish to require a lengthy refutation.

I am also surprised that so many writers, otherwise learned and perceptive, have blundered in such an easy matter—except that when one person makes a mistake, others often follow in droves without thinking. Paul, therefore, uses the term apostasy to mean—a treacherous departure from God, not by one or a few individuals, but one that would spread far and wide among many people.

For when apostasy is mentioned without qualification, it cannot be restricted to a few people. Now, no one can be called an apostate except those who have previously professed Christ and the gospel. Paul, therefore, predicts a general revolt of the visible Church. “The Church must be reduced to an unsightly and dreadful state of ruin before its full restoration is achieved.”

From this we can readily gather how useful Paul's prediction is. It might have seemed that something so suddenly overthrown and lying so long in ruins could not be God's building, if Paul had not long before indicated that this would happen.

Furthermore, many today, when they consider the long-continued dispersion of the Church, begin to waver, as if this were not ordained by God's purpose. The Romanists also, to justify the tyranny of their idol, use this pretext: that it was not possible for Christ to forsake His spouse.

The weak, however, find something here to rest on when they learn that the deplorable state of affairs they see in the Church was foretold long ago. Meanwhile, the impudence of the Romanists is openly exposed, since Paul declares that a revolt will come after the world has been brought under Christ’s authority.

Now, we shall soon see why the Lord has permitted the Church—or at least what appeared to be the Church—to fall away so shamefully.

Has been revealed. The idea contrived about Nero—that he was taken from the world, destined to return and harass the Church with his tyranny—was no better than an old wives' tale. And yet, the minds of the ancients were so captivated that they imagined Nero would be Antichrist.

Paul, however, does not speak of one individual but of a kingdom to be seized by Satan, so that he might set up a seat of abomination in the midst of God’s temple—which we see accomplished in Popery.

The revolt, it is true, has spread more widely. For Muhammad, an apostate, turned away his followers, the Turks, from Christ. All heretics have broken the unity of the Church with their sects, and thus there have been corresponding revolts from Christ.

However, after warning that there would be such a scattering that most people would revolt from Christ, Paul adds something more serious: there would be such confusion that Satan's vicar would hold supreme power in the Church and preside there in God's place. He describes that reign of abomination under the name of a single person because it is only one reign, though one ruler succeeds another.

My readers now understand that all the sects that have diminished the Church from the beginning have been like streams of revolt, diverting water from the right course. But the sect of Muhammad was like a violent flood that swept away about half of the Church by its force. It also remained for Antichrist to infect the remaining part with his poison. Thus, we see with our own eyes that this memorable prediction of Paul has been confirmed by events.

In the interpretation I am presenting, there is nothing forced. Believers in that age dreamed they would be taken to heaven after enduring troubles for a short time.

Paul, however, on the other hand, foretells that after foreign enemies have troubled them for some time, they will have more evils to endure from domestic enemies. This is because many who professed attachment to Christ would be swept into base treachery, and because the temple of God itself would be polluted by sacrilegious tyranny, so that Christ’s greatest enemy would exercise dominion there.

The term revelation is used here to mean the manifest possession of tyranny, as if Paul had said that the day of Christ would not come until this tyrant had openly revealed himself and had, as it were, intentionally overturned the entire order of the Church.

An adversary, and one who exalts himself. The two descriptions—man of sin and son of perdition—indicate, in the first place, how dreadful the confusion would be, so that its repulsiveness might not discourage weak minds. Furthermore, they tend to stir up the devout to a feeling of detestation, lest they degenerate along with others.

Paul, however, now paints, as if in a picture, a striking likeness of Antichrist. For it may be easily understood from these words what the nature of his kingdom is and what it consists of. For, when he calls him an adversary, when he says that he will claim for himself those things that belong to God, so that he is worshipped in the temple as God, he places his kingdom in direct opposition to the kingdom of Christ.

Therefore, as the kingdom of Christ is spiritual, so this tyranny must also be over souls, so that it may rival the kingdom of Christ. We will also find Paul later assigning to him the power of deceiving by means of wicked doctrines and pretended miracles. Accordingly, if you wish to recognize Antichrist, you must view him as diametrically opposed to Christ.

Where I have translated it as everything that is called God, the more commonly accepted reading among the Greeks is everyone that is called. It may, however, be supposed, both from the old translation and from some Greek commentaries, that Paul’s words have been corrupted. The mistake of a single letter was also easily made, especially when the letters looked very similar; for, where πᾶν τὸ (everything) was written, some transcriber, or overly bold reader, changed it to πάντα (everyone).

This difference, however, is not very important for the meaning, for Paul undoubtedly means that Antichrist would take for himself those things that belonged to God alone, so that he would exalt himself above every divine claim, so that all religion and all worship of God would lie under his feet. This expression, then, everything that is reckoned to be God, is equivalent to everything that is reckoned as Divinity, and σέβασμα, that is, that in which the veneration due to God consists.

Here, however, what is being discussed is not the name of God himself, but his majesty and worship, and, in general, everything that he claims for himself. “True religion is that by which the true God alone is worshipped; that, the son of perdition will transfer to himself.” Now, everyone who has learned from Scripture what things especially belong to God, and, on the other hand, observes what the Pope claims for himself—even if he were only a boy of ten years old—will have no great difficulty in recognizing Antichrist.

Scripture declares that God is the alone Lawgiver (James 4:12) who is able to save and to destroy; the only King, whose role it is to govern souls by his word. It represents him as the author of all sacred rites; it teaches that righteousness and salvation are to be sought from Christ alone, and it assigns, at the same time, the manner and means.

There is not one of these things that the Pope does not affirm to be under his authority. He boasts that it is his right to bind consciences with such laws as he sees fit, and subject them to everlasting punishment. Regarding sacraments, he either institutes new ones according to his own will, or he corrupts and deforms those that had been instituted by Christ—indeed, sets them aside altogether, so that he may substitute in their place the sacrileges he has invented.

He devises ways of attaining salvation that are completely contrary to the doctrine of the Gospel; and, in short, he does not hesitate to change all of religion as he pleases.

What is it, I ask you, for one to lift himself up above everything that is considered God, if the Pope does not do so? When he thus robs God of his honor, he leaves God nothing remaining but an empty title of Deity, while he transfers to himself all of God’s power.

And this is what Paul adds shortly afterwards, that the son of perdition would show himself as God. For, as has been said, he does not insist upon the simple term God, but suggests that the pride of Antichrist would be so great that, raising himself above the number and rank of servants and mounting the judgment seat of God, he would reign not with human but with divine authority. For we know that whatever is raised up into the place of God is an idol, even if it does not bear the name of God.

In the temple of God. By this one term, there is a sufficient refutation of the error—indeed, the stupidity—of those who consider the Pope to be Vicar of Christ on the ground that he has his seat in the Church, however he may conduct himself. For Paul places Antichrist nowhere else than in the very sanctuary of God. This is not a foreign but a domestic enemy, who opposes Christ under the very name of Christ.

But it is asked, how can the Church be represented as the den of so many superstitions while it was destined to be the pillar of the truth? (1 Timothy 3:15). I answer that it is represented this way not on the ground of its retaining all the qualities of the Church, but because it has something of the Church remaining. I accordingly acknowledge that the place where the Pope rules is the temple of God, but at the same time it is profaned by innumerable sacrileges.

Do you not remember? This added considerable weight to the doctrine, because they had previously heard it from Paul's own mouth, so they might not think he had contrived it at that moment. And since he had given them early warning about the reign of Antichrist and the devastation that was coming upon the Church—when no question had yet been raised about such things—he saw beyond all doubt that the doctrine was especially useful to know.

And, unquestionably, this is indeed so. Those whom he addressed were destined to see many things that would trouble them. And when future generations would see a large proportion of those who had professed the faith of Christ revolt from piety—maddened, as it were, by a gadfly, or rather by a fury—what could they do but waver?

This, however, was like a brazen wall—that matters were so appointed by God, because human ingratitude deserved such vengeance. Here we can see how forgetful people are in matters affecting their everlasting salvation. We must also observe Paul’s mildness. For while he could have been vehemently incensed, he only mildly reproves them. For it is a fatherly way of rebuking them to say that they had allowed forgetfulness of such an important and useful matter to steal in upon their minds.