21.6

What Was the Rumor? (Box 21.1)

The Thessalonians were shaken and alarmed by a rumor that “the day of the Lord is already here” (2 Thess. 2:2). What did they think had happened?

• Did they think that the persecutions that they were experiencing were the “birth pangs” indicating that the second coming was certain to occur within a matter of days (cf. 1 Thess. 5:3)?
• Did they think that Jesus had already come back and was putting together his kingdom somewhere on earth?
• Did they think that something like the “rapture” had occurred and that they had been left behind (cf. 1 Thess. 4:15–17)?
• Did they think that Christ had returned in some mystical sense, perhaps embodied in the spiritual unity of the community?
• Did they think that the “day of the Lord” was something that did not require a literal second coming but, rather, could be realized spiritually through a life of faith that overcomes all difficulties (cf. 1 Cor. 4:8)?