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The Pastoral Epistles of Saint Paul
Talk by Metropolitan Jonah (Paffhausen), part 32. 2 Thessalonians 1-3.
February 7, 2023

Topics include: 

(1) On suffering; "Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord". God will vindicate us in His time. It is pointless to assign various happenings (disasters, etc.) to afflictions sent by God. But God is sovereign and uses afflictions to help people far beyond our ability to comprehend. Escaping suffering is not a Biblical doctrine. We must persevere, stand fast, and not be swept away. The Saints are our examples, having endured to the end, even in martyrdom. He will grant us relief from suffering when He comes. 
(2) On the Apostasy: the Second Coming will not precede the Apostasy. We see massive apostasy today: socialist, gay, and feminist agendas, support for abortion, and other unspeakable, unthinkable things among many churches. There has already been a great falling away from Christ in Europe and the US. Russia has gone through the communist apostasy and has come out the other side. It embraces faith and opposes western influence. But, we don't cast stones at others ... we must judge ourselves. The Orthodox Church profoundly lacks self-criticism. We are at fault for our tolerance within our societies. We must stand for the integrity of the Gospel. Sometimes we have to know what demands civil disobedience; 
(3) On the antichrist. The teaching of St John of Damascus on his identity. Meaning is "instead of Christ". The antichrist proclaims himself to be the Son of God and does miracles but lives a life of licentiousness. He deceives many because they willingly refuse to love the truth. Will be a great military man and a "hero of Israel", bringing them the kingdom they seek in this world. The Patristic commentaries identify the "one who restrains" as the Roman Empire. Later others saw the Tsar as that restraining one; 
(4) On 2:15: There is a hidden tradition, the inner vision of the Church, and its practices, that took longer to write down than the letters; 
(5) On working and idleness: Paul set an example to imitate by working for his own living and not sponging off the Church. Idleness is not good, nor living off the state. Rather, work hard and so be able to offer charity to those who really need it.