'To the end He may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness before

God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all

His holy ones (angels)' (author's translation).

And in verse 2 the apostle speaks of sending Timothy to comfort them --

'that no man should be moved by these tribulations' (3:3).

We have not to rest our faith merely upon deduction, comparison and

inference, for in 2 Thessalonians 2:1,2 the apostle declares that those who

were spreading abroad the teaching that the day of the Lord was at hand, were

false teachers, speaking the doctrine of demons:

'Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,

and by our gathering together unto Him, that ye be not soon shaken in

mind, or be troubled, neither by Spirit, nor by Word, nor by Letter as

from us, as that the day of Christ (or of the Lord) is at hand' (2

Thess. 2:1,2).

This was a threefold attempt to deceive.  The words 'by spirit' refer

to the miraculous gifts in the church, which, being travestied by Satan,

required to be 'tried' to see that they were 'of God'.  The evil is countered

in this chapter by that sanctification of 'the Spirit' that is associated

with 'belief of the truth' (2:13).

'By word' refers to the method of passing on the instruction.  The

apostle, at the close of chapter 2, reminds them of the source of authority:

'Hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our

epistle' (2 Thess. 2:15).

And in 3:17 he pointedly refers to the false 'epistle':

'The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every

epistle: so I write'.

Returning to chapter 2, we find that the apostle declares that a series

of prophetic events must take place before the Lord's Coming:

The apostasy must come, for such is the word 'falling away'.

The man of sin must be revealed.

The revelation of the Wicked One must take place.

This will be preceded by great Satanic signs, and wonders and

lying miracles.

When these things have come to pass, then only will the Coming of the

Lord take place:

'Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and

shall destroy with the brightness of His coming' (2 Thess. 2:8).

This takes us back to the first chapter, unless we are to understand

that upon two separate occasions the Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire

taking vengeance.  As we have no warrant for this suggestion, we conclude

that the 'tribulation' from which these believers should find 'rest' at the

Coming of the Lord is the tribulation connected with the 'man of sin' of

chapter 2.  This tribulation is 'such as was not since the beginning of the

world to this time, no, nor ever shall be' (Matt. 24:21).  This unparalleled