Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
Papyrus 30
Codex Vaticanus
Codex Sinaiticus
Codex Alexandrinus
Codex Freerianus
Codex Claromontanus
The End and the Man of Lawlessnes (2:1—12)
Verses 1–2
"Not to be soon shaken in mind" :, so They should not become like 'a wave of the sea, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine', or shifted away from what they had embraced as articles of faith into their minds and become their sense and judgment, as well as the hope or fundamental article of the Gospel; especially about Christ's second coming, that they should not be easily swayed away from it.
"Troubled": or thrown into surprise and consternation, although the second coming of Christ will not be as terrible to the believers as to sinners, yet it has the sense of awfulness, solemness, and full of concern, so if not told beforehand it might be shocking.
"By spirit": by prophetic pretensions to a revelation from the Spirit, giving a fix time of Christ's coming, which should not be listened nor paid attention to, because this second coming will be 'as a thief in the night'.
"By word": by arguments or reason using probability or enticing words of wisdom using astronomical or arithmetical calculations, or by pretensions as if a word or tradition of Christ or his apostles was received "viva voce" from any of them.
"By letter, as if from us": The forging of apostles' letter and counterfeiting their writings began very early, as spurious epistles of the Apostle Paul were spread out, which obliged him to take a method to ensure his genuine letters. Also, his former epistle contains some things concerning Christ's coming, which could be either misrepresented, or not understood, that it may be interpreted as if the coming would happen while he and others were still alive and on the spot. Therefore, Paul would not want them to pay attention to any enthusiastic spirits, or to any plausible reasoning of men, or oral traditions or to any epistles in his name, or in the name of any of the apostles.
"As though the day of Christ had come": "had come" or "is at hand" or "is at this instant just now coming on", as if it would be within a certain year, in a certain month, and on a certain day. The Alexandrian version, and some others, including the Vulgate Latin version, read, "the day of the Lord"; the Syriac and Ethiopian versions read, "the day of our Lord". Paul would not want them to be tempted to disbelieve or be indifferent about the second coming, because if it did not come true, the people might be persuaded to conclude that there was nothing true in the Christian doctrine. Moreover, the notion of a speedy coming of Christ may cause the disorderly and idle persons among them to be in laziness and negligence. Therefore, in this and the next verse, Paul dissuades them from absorbing such a tenet. Even though Christ's coming is sometimes said to be drawing nigh, or to be quickly, yet not at that instant, because such expressions are used with respect to God, for whom 1000 years are as 1 day, and 1 day as 1000 years; and because the times of Gospel or the Messiah, are the last days until the second coming of Christ, mainly used to keep up the faith and expectation of the saints.
