Welcome hoggieman!
Agreed, the passage makes total nonsense of the WT teaching that Jesus has returned!
Check out the ESV Study Bible notes
2 Thess. 2:1–2 The False Claim. The Thessalonians were alarmed by a false claim concerning the day of the Lord.
2 Thess. 2:1 Paul discusses Christ's coming (Gk. parousia), his return in glory at the end of the age to save the elect and punish the wicked, and our being gathered together (Gk. episynagoge) to him (see Matt. 24:31 with the related verb episynago; cf. also 1 Thess. 4:16–17). The idea that the day of the Lord had already come (2 Thess. 2:2) may have made the Thessalonians fear that Jesus' coming and the gathering of his people to him were no longer legitimate or realistic expectations. « Less
2 Thess. 2:1 Paul discusses Christ's coming (Gk. parousia), his return in glory at the end of the age to save the elect and punish the wicked, and our being gathered together (Gk. episynagoge) to him (see Matt. 24:31 with the related verb episynago; cf. also 1 Thess. 4:16–17). The idea that the day of the Lord had already come (2 Thess. 2:2) may have made the Thessalonians fear that More »
2 Thess. 2:2 The Thessalonians were shaken into mindless panic and were alarmed or frightened by the false claim that the day of the Lord had already come. Though the source of the confusion was unknown to Paul, he suggests a number of possibilities: a spirit. An alleged prophetic word. a spoken word. A word of teaching or a sermon. a letter seeming to be from us. Paul seems to have suspected that a letter forged in his name was circulating (3:17). the day of the Lord. See notes on Amos 5:18–20; 1 Thess. 5:2–3. Although some believe that the Thessalonians were thinking in terms of a complex of events that would lead to the second coming, Paul seems to assume here, as elsewhere (1 Cor. 1:8; Phil. 1:10; 1 Thess. 5:1–4; 2 Thess. 1:7–10), that the arrival of the day of the Lord and the second coming occur at the same time, as aspects of a single event. has come. The Thessalonians have fallen victim to the implausible notion that the day of the Lord has come, presumably because some source they regard as authoritative has claimed this. There is no reason to think that the idea was part of a developed heresy. « Less
2 Thess. 2:2 The Thessalonians were shaken into mindless panic and were alarmed or frightened by the false claim that the day of the Lord had already come. Though the source of the confusion was unknown to Paul, he suggests a number of possibilities: a spirit. An alleged prophetic word. a spoken word. A word of teaching or a sermon. a letter seeming to be from us. Paul seems to have More »
2 Thess. 2:3–12 The False Claim Refuted. Paul insists that the Thessalonians can know that the day of the Lord has not come.
2 Thess. 2:3 The day of the Lord will be preceded by two events, neither of which has been fulfilled. The first prerequisite is the rebellion. Although some have suggested that this refers to a Christian or Jewish apostasy, in view of vv. 9–12 a rebellion of humanity as a whole against God is probably in view. Just as humanity in Adam has rejected God and has been plunged into ever greater depths of sin as a result (Rom. 1:18–32), so it will move into all-out rebellion against God when the Antichrist appears (2 Thess. 2:4). the man of lawlessness is revealed. This second prerequisite, elsewhere called the “antichrist” (see 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7), will personify hostility to God and his revelation. He will disclose who he is, the rebel par excellence. He is the son of destruction, the one whose destiny is to be defeated and destroyed when Jesus returns (2 Thess. 2:8). « Less
Blessings,
Stephen
