not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come.
The false message seems to have gained a hearing also because it came from several different sources. Paul referred to alleged prophetic revelation, the teaching of other recognized authorities, and a letter Paul had supposedly written that had arrived in Thessalonica (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:17). If the day of the Lord had begun, how could Paul say the Lord’s return for his own would precede that day (1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9)? Note that Paul had taught them a pretribulation Rapture. [Note: See Thomas R. Edgar, "An Exegesis of Rapture Passages," in Issues in Dispensationalism, pp. 207-11; and David A. Dean, "Does 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 Exclude the Pretribulational Rapture?" Bibliotheca Sacra 168:670 (April-June 2011);196-216.] 