Fragments on the second epistle to the Thessalonians (in the catenae)

2 Thess: Prolog Again concerning the persecutions which the Thessalonians were enduring, he comforts them, from the very preface mentioning the just and great retribution of Christ which defends against the wicked, but crowns the saints. Then, since there was much inquiry concerning the second coming of Christ, when it will come, he also corrects their assumptions about this, so that they might not be preoccupied or carried away by strange teachings. He also sets forth the manner and the sequence of the coming of Christ, which will happen again after the deception of the antichrist. 2 Thess 1,3 Love with righteousness is not only to love but also to be loved in return. 2 Thess 1,6-8 The phrase *if it is just* is not of doubt, but of emphasis and acknowledgement; for it is also said in common practice, as we often say, when it is day: "if it is day." Giving vengeance to those who do not know God, instead of inflicting punishment on the ungodly. With angels of his power in a flame of fire. He represents the terror of the glorious coming both through these things, and through what he adds, encouraging those who have been wronged; for great comfort is not only the reward for their sufferings but also the punishment that comes upon those who have wronged them. 2 Thess 1,10 Because our testimony was believed on that day; for faith here prepares the reward on that day. Which? The one on which Christ will come. 2 Thess 2,1-4 He exhorts them not to be alarmed prematurely before the appearance of the Lord, neither if there are those who say they are prophets in whom is a spirit of deception, nor if words and rumors about the Lord should be sown, nor if some, having forged a letter, should bring it as if it were ours. that unless the apostasy comes first and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and 333 exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship. Do not expect, he says, the Savior before the deceiver who must come first, as I have said. exalting himself above every god or object of worship, that is, above all idolatry; for just as he himself established it, so he himself will overthrow it when he comes, and every heresy, which he set up against the word of truth, so that people might also be condemned on this account, because the idols by which they were deceived, they did not themselves destroy, but the one who deceived them did. The devil established these deceptions from the beginning, turning people away from God little by little and quietly introducing the worship of himself instead, so that when he comes after these things, he might easily bring them under his own power, since they have been deceived and are outside the help of God. And concerning the future deception of mankind, the Savior himself also foretold that it would be difficult for him, when he comes, to find faith on the earth. The man of sin, that is, the antichrist; for he will come to Jerusalem as if to rebuild the temple, and he will stand in the holy place, proclaiming himself to be God. who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god, instead of above all idolatry; and above every object of worship, instead of every 334 heresy which he set up against the word of truth. Just as the scaffolding of an arch, so the heresies among the so-called Jews and Greeks are a preparation for the devil. And just as when an arch has been secured and has taken its proper structure, the scaffolding is taken down, and only the solid arch remains, so the devil has laid down the many heresies and ways of deception as scaffolding, having built up the worship of himself as a kind of arch. 333, col 2 Through this he shows that the idolatry which the devil established, he himself overthrows when he comes. And every heresy which he set up against the word of truth, he himself annuls when he comes, so that also in

Fragmenta in epistulam ii ad Thessalonicenses (in catenis)

2 Thess: Prolog Πάλιν ἐπὶ τοῖς διωγμοῖς οἷς ὑπέμενον οἱ Θεσσαλονικεῖς παραμυθεῖται αὐτούς, ἐξ αὐτοῦ τοῦ προοιμίου μνημονεύσας τῆς δικαίας καὶ μεγάλης ἀνταποδόσεως τοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς τοὺς πονηροὺς ἀμυνομένης, τοὺς δὲ ἁγίους στεφανούσης. εἶτα ἐπειδὴ πολλὴ ζήτησις ἦν περὶ τῆς δευτέρας τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας τὸ πότε ἐλεύσεται, καὶ περὶ τούτου διορθοῦται τὰς ὑπολήψεις, ὥστε μὴ προλαμβάνεσθαι ἢ παραφέρεσθαι ταῖς ξέναις διδασκαλίαις. ὑποτίθεται καὶ τὸν τρόπον καὶ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς παρουσίας Χριστοῦ τῆς πάλιν ἐσομένης μετὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀντιχρίστου πλάνην. 2 Thess 1,3 Ἡ μετὰ δικαιοσύνης ἀγάπη τὸ μὴ μόνον ἀγαπᾶν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνταγαπᾶσθαι. 2 Thess 1,6-8 Οὐκ ἀμφιβολίας ἐστὶ τὸ εἴπερ δίκαιον, ἀλλ' ἐπιτάσεως καὶ ὁμολογίας· καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἤθει εἴρηται, ὡς πολλάκις φαμέν, ἡμέρας οὔσης· «εἴπερ ἡμέρα ἔστιν». ∆ιδόντος ἐκδίκησιν τοῖς μὴ εἰδόσι τὸν θεόν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ἐπάγοντος τιμωρίαν τοῖς ἀσεβοῦσιν. Μετ' ἀγγέλων δυνάμεως αὐτοῦ ἐν φλογὶ πυρός. τὸ φοβερὸν τῆς ἐνδόξου παρουσίας παρίστησι καὶ διὰ τούτων, καὶ δι' ὧν ἐπάγει τοὺς ἠδικημένους παραθαρρύνων· μεγάλη γὰρ παραμυθία οὐ μόνον ὁ μισθὸς ὁ ὑπὲρ τῶν παθῶν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ κατὰ τῶν ἠδικηκότων αὐτοὺς γενομένη τιμωρία. 2 Thess 1,10 Ὅτι ἐπιστεύθη τὸ μαρτύριον ἡμῶν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ· ἡ γὰρ ἐνταῦθα πίστις προευτρεπίζει τὸν μισθὸν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ. ποίᾳ; ἐν ᾗ ἥξει ὁ Χριστός. 2 Thess 2,1-4 Παραινεῖ αὐτοὺς μὴ θορυβεῖσθαι ἀκαίρως πρὸ τῆς ἐπιφανείας τοῦ κυρίου, μήτε εἰ προφῆται λέγοιεν εἶναι ἐν οἷς πνεῦμα πλάνης ἐστίν, μήτε εἰ λόγοι καὶ φῆμαι περὶ τοῦ κυρίου κατασπείροιντο, μήτε εἰ ἐπιστολήν τινες πλασάμενοι κομίζοιεν ὡς ἡμετέραν. ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ 333 ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα. μὴ προσδοκᾶτε, φησί, τὸν σωτῆρα πρὸ τοῦ πλάνου ὃν δεῖ πρότερον ἐλθεῖν, καθὼς ἔφην. ὑπὲρ πάντα θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα ὑπεραιρόμενον, οἷον ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν εἰδωλολατρείαν· ὥσπερ γὰρ αὐτὸς αὐτὴν συνεστήσατο, οὕτω καὶ αὐτὸς ἀνατρέψει αὐτὴν ἐλθών, καὶ πᾶσαν αἵρεσιν, ἣν ἀντέθηκε τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, ἵνα καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο κατακριθῶσιν οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ὅτι τὰ εἴδωλα ἐφ' οἷς ἐπλανήθησαν, οὐκ αὐτοὶ καθεῖλον, ἀλλ' ὁ πλανήσας. τὰς δὲ πλάνας ταύτας ἐξ ἀρχῆς συνεστήσατο ὁ διάβολος, ἀφιστῶν τοῦ θεοῦ κατὰ βραχὺ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ ἠρέμα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προσκύνησιν ἀντεισάγων, ἵνα ὅταν μετὰ ταῦτα ἔλθῃ, πεπλανημένους αὐτοὺς καὶ ἐκτὸς ὄντας τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ βοηθείας, εὐχερῶς ὑπαγάγηται ἑαυτῷ. περὶ δὲ τῆς ἐσομένης πλάνης τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ σωτὴρ προεῖπεν ὅτι δυσχερὲς ἐλθόντα αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν τὴν πίστιν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἁμαρτίας, τοῦτ' ἔστι ὁ ἀντίχριστος· ἥξει γὰρ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα ὡς ἀνοικοδομήσων τὸν ναόν, καὶ στήσεται ἐν τῷ ἁγίῳ τόπῳ θεὸν ἑαυτὸν ἀναγορεύων. ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ὑπὲρ πάντα μὲν λεγόμενον θεόν, ἀντὶ τοῦ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν εἰδωλολατρείαν· ὑπὲρ δὲ πᾶν σέβασμα, ἀντὶ τοῦ πᾶσαν 334 αἵρεσιν ἣν ἀντέθηκε τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας. ὥσπερ ὑποσκευὴ ἁψῖδος, οὕτως αἱ αἱρέσεις παρὰ τοῖς λεγομένοις καὶ Ἰουδαίοις καὶ Ἕλλησι προπαρασκευή εἰσι τῷ διαβόλῳ. καὶ ὥσπερ ἁψῖδος σφιγχθείσης καὶ λαβούσης τὴν οἰκείαν κατασκευὴν ἡ ὑποσκευὴ λύεται, καὶ μένει μόνη ἡ ἁψὶς στερεά, οὕτως ὁ διάβολος τὰς αἱρέσεις τὰς πολλὰς καὶ τὰς τῆς πλάνης ὁδοὺς ἀντὶ ὑποσκευῆς ὑπέθηκεν ὥσπερ ἁψῖδά τινα τὴν ἑαυτοῦ προσκύνησιν ἐπισκευάσας. 333, col 2 ∆ιὰ τούτου δείκνυσιν ὅτι τὴν εἰδωλολατρίαν ἣν ὁ διάβολος συνεστήσατο, αὐτὸς ἐλθὼν ἀνατρέπει. καὶ πᾶσαν αἵρεσιν ἣν ἀντέθηκεν τῷ λόγῳ τῆς ἀληθείας, αὐτὸς ἐλθὼν παραλύει, ἵνα καὶ ἐν