Source: http://montreal.anglican.org/comments/archive/cpr32l.shtml
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 22:21:44+00:00

Document:
The Revised Common Lectionary gives the reading as 1:15b-2:9; however, this appears to be an error.
1:1: “the second year”: mid-August to mid-September 520 BC. [ NOAB] NJBC says that the date is August 29, 520.
1:1: “Haggai”: The word means festal. [ NOAB] Ezra 5:1-2 says that Haggai and Zechariah prophesied, and that Zerubbabel and Joshua set out to rebuild the Temple with the help of the prophets. Ezra 6:14 says that the Jews prospered “through the prophesying of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah”.
1:1: “Zerubbabel”: The name is Babylonian, meaning offspring of Babylon. He was son of one of Jehoiachin's sons: either of Pedaiah (see 1 Chronicles 3:17-19) or of “Shealtiel” (as here and in Ezra 3:2). [ HBD] He was a royal descendant from David, so continuity in leadership with the pre-exilic community is maintained (see also Clipping on “Joshua”). Zerubbabel’s return from exile is mentioned in Ezra 2:1-2. [ CAB] He is also mentioned in Ezra 3:8; 4:2-3; 5:2; Nehemiah 7:6-7; 12:1, 47; Haggai 2:21, 23; Zechariah 4:6-7, 9-10; Matthew 1:12-13 (the genealogy of Jesus); Luke 3:27.
1:6: Because armies lived off the land, the passage of the Persian army through Judah to conquer Egypt probably contributed to the shortage of food.
1:6: “a bag with holes”: Possibly the first biblical reference to coins. Coinage was practised in Asia Minor in the 600s BC. It spread through the ancient Near East due to Persian influence.
1:8: “hills”: At the time, the hills were still covered with trees. As Nehemiah prepares to move back to Judah, he asks King Artaxerxes for “a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king's forest, directing him to give me timber to make beams for the gates of the temple fortress, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy” (see Nehemiah 2:8). See also Nehemiah 2:8; 8:15. Note that there is no mention of cutting stones for the new Temple. The city was probably filled with the stone remains of Solomon’s Temple.
2:1: The date is October 17, 520. [ NJBC] This would be during the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles), a feast closely associated with the Temple and messianic fulfilment: see 1 Kings 8:2; John 7:2, 37-39; 8:12-59. Perhaps for this reason, some scholars see 2:6-10 as being messianic.
Verse 3: From a time before Israel was strictly monotheistic, 96:4 says “For great is the Lord , and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods”.
Note the following pattern of pronouns applied to God: vv. 1-2 “you”, “your”; v. 3 “his”; vv. 4-7 “your”; v. 9 “his”; vv. 10-13a “your”; v. 13b “his”; vv. 15-16 “you”, “your”; vv. 17-21 “he”, “his”. The psalmist alternates between addressing God and speaking of God, probably to the congregation.
Verse 1: “victory”: NJBC translates the Hebrew word as salvation.
While Comments takes the position, with CAB and NJBC, that Paul did not write 2 Thessalonians, some scholars insist that he was the author. Perhaps he wrote the early part of Chapter 1.
In the early days of the Church, many expected Christ to come again in their own lifetimes. Jesus’ words found in the gospels can be read this way, but other interpretations were and are possible (and likely).
Verse 1: Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17: “But we do not want you to be uninformed ... about those who have died ... through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. ... we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord himself ... will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever”.
Verse 2: “not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed”: NJBC offers not suddenly to be shaken from your wits or be upset.
Verse 3: “the rebellion”: Inter-testamental Jewish apocryphal literature (e.g. Jubilees 23:14-23) uses this word to refer to the general revolt of Israel against God’s law. The Protestant Reformers saw the lawless one as the Pope. Premillenialists down through the years have identified the lawless one with the political or religious opponent of the moment.
Historical-critical study of this passage, however, insists that it be read together with all apocalyptic literature. It should be regarded as a distinctive theological interpretation of God, the cosmos, and Christ. This makes it unnecessary to ask whether the author meant the restrainer (“the lawless one”) to be the Roman Empire, as many think – or even Paul's mission to the Gentiles, as a few hold.
Verse 3: “the lawless one”: The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament has the Greek word used here, along with the word for rebellion to translate the Hebrew word Belial, a figure associated with the forces of darkness and often the name for the Devil. In the Qumran literature, Beliar is the chief of the powers of darkness; he is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 6:15. Note v. 9: “The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan”. [ CAB] 2 Esdras says that the evil in the world will become very widespread as the end times approach.
Verse 5: NJBC sees “these things” to be basic Christian instruction: not details of a given apocalyptic scenario, but a warning of what the faithful must be prepared to face, especially the threat to their faith. See also Mark 13 (the little apocalypse); Matthew 24-25; Luke 21:5-36.
Verses 6-7: The author speaks of both the then-current threat, a false prophet in the midst of the Thessalonian church, and the future appearance of many false prophets before the elimination of evil forces in the world.
Verse 6: NJBC offers a rather different translation: You know the seizing power, so that the rebel himself will be manifested at his own proper time. He says that the Greek word he translates as seizing power means possessing and holding fast but not restraining. He sees the current power as being (close to) manic possession by a kind of demon or spirit which has shaken the readers out of their wits: see v. 2 (as he translates it).
Comments assumes that it is the Devil, as does CAB.
Verse 7: “the mystery of lawlessness”: The counterfeit and opponent of the mystery of godliness. Colossians 1:26 speaks of “ the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints”. See also 1 Timothy 3:16. [ NOAB] For “lawlessness”, NJBC offers rebellion.
Verse 7: “is ... at work”: The Greek word, energeia , meaning is active, also occurs in v. 9 (“working”) and v. 11 (“powerful”). The present threat to stability in faith is a foretaste of the much worse future one, which the Lord will triumphantly resolve.
Verse 7: “but only until the one who now restrains it is removed”: NJBC offers but the seizer must be for the present, until ousted. The seizer must be (or try to) seize, possess, for the present until he is put out of the way (or otherwise disappears).
Verse 8c: Christ will eliminate the lawless one by coming again.
Verse 13: “chose you as the first fruits”: NJBC says that called from the beginning (offered in a footnote in the NRSV and found in various manuscripts) is preferable. It stresses God’s initiative in calling us.
Verse 15: “our letter”: NJBC says that the Greek word, epistole, is generic here so the author supposes more than one letter.
Verse 36: “angels”: The Sadducees did not believe in angels. Jesus makes the risen godly equivalent to the heavenly beings who wait upon God. Acts 6:15 tells us that the members of the council “saw that his [Stephen’s] face was like the face of an angel”. See also Matthew 18:10.

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