Kelly - 2 Thessalonians 2

Ugh...This is a yucky chapter. I second Jordan's comments on "the end of times" -- this just isn't the focus of my faith and it's hard to get too involved in the disputes of the Thessalonians on the topic.

My Haper Collins Study Bible has notes that explain that the author of this book is probably not Paul (and the author of 1 Thessalonians probably is Paul). The two books together get into the disputes going on between various leaders of the time.

The biggest was the "the end isn't coming" problem. The earliest gospels have quotes from Jesus saying things like "this generation will not pass away until I come again." Which caused some serious confusion when "this generation" started passing away and the anticipated second coming of Christ had not happened.

In that context, I read the 2nd letter to the Thessalonians. But since I don't care too much about the context, it's really hard to care about the letter. ...

Except to say that Jesus doesn't do what we expect. The Messiah wasn't what the Jews expected - he was humble and poor and ate with sinners, not conquering the Romans. So I expect he won't do what we expect in the future. The constant anxiety about the second coming is a little absurd. All I know about Christ is that he loves me and he does the unexpected. I have enough to worry about in my faith life without wasting my time trying to figure out Christ's plans for creation.

I say it now to the author of this letter, I said it in 2000, I'll say it to the Mayans in 2012, I say it to the authors of the Left Behind series. I have enough to worry about trying to figure out my own life and loves and problems without debating the cosmic possibilities.