Based on reading Paul's two letters to them, the church in Thessalonica seemed to be very concerned about the Lord's return, arguably in an unhealthy way. Here Paul has to warn them about false teachers who are trying to tell them that they missed it and are now stuck like Chuck in the muck (to quote one of my former pastors). He also wants to warn them about an actual sign that the Lord's return is near, that the man of lawlessness takes the seat of honor in the temple.
I'm not going to try to dissect what all this means. I do think it is important to note that Paul cautions about imposters. We have needed that warning ever since as there have been a lot of imposters over the centuries. How do you avoid being fooled by imposters? In verse 15 Paul admonishes his readers to hold firm to the traditions they were taught. I think it is safe to translate these traditions to modern readers as the Bible. (In my view, the original traditions have been so corrupted, we aren't sure what they were beyond what has been laid out for us in the Bible.) The Bible is where we have preserved the original teachings of the Christ and the early Church leaders. So, when we hear something new, we should test it.
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