We come now to the matter of the apostle's caution, which is in the second verse: ‘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 is at hand.'
In which words take notice:—
1. Of the error disproved: that the day of Christ is at hand.
2. The effect which this error might produce; trouble and unsettled ness of mind: that ye be not soon shaken in mind or troubled.
3. A removal of all the supposed foundations of this error, or the means which these impostors used to entice them to embrace it. Three are mentioned—spirit, word, and letter.
[1.] Nor by spirit; that is, pretence of spiritual revelation; be not soon shaken in mind by it.
[2.] Nor by word; some word of the apostle, which they pretended to have heard—and that is another sleight of deceivers; some tradition or doctrine delivered by the apostle by word of mouth.
[3.] Nor by letter as from us. This may be understood—(1.) Either of some passage in the former epistle; for the apostle saith there, 1 Thes. iv. 17, ‘Then we which are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ;' and because he joins himself with them, they thought he should survive until that day. Or else those warnings which the apostle gives them: 1 Thes. v. 1-3.
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