2 THESS. 2:2 NWT "INSPIRED EXPRESSION."
Many translations of 2 Thessalonians 2:2 translate PNEUMATI as simply "spirit." That is how some of the major Bible versions so render. See King James Version, New Revised Standard Version (1989), New American Standard Bible.
Why did the NWTTC translate as they did? Which could be said to be the 'better' rendering? Please note the following:
"[1 Thess. 2:2]"either by spirit, by word or by letter as from us." It seems that after 1 Thessalonians had been read to the assembled congregation there was no dearth of "interpreters." One individual would be telling everybody about an "inspired message" or "prophetic voice"("spirit") which he had recieved(or so he thought so)..." William Hendrickson in New Testament Commentaries- 1 & 2 Thessalonians, The Banner of Truth Trust(Edinburgh/Carlisle, Penn. 1976 reprint)-p.168. italics ours.
"...Three unsettled means are suggested (1) spirit- report of a special revelation given to Paul...". The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, edited by C. F. Pfeiffer(O.T.) and E. F. Harrison(N.T.), London/Edinburgh, 1962, -p.1363. italics ours.
"[ 2 Thess. 2:2] "spirit"- ie, a pretended revelation uttered by a false prophet..." italics ours. A Commentary on the Holy Bible by Various Writers, edited by Rev. J. W. Dummelow, MacMillian & Co, London, 1921.
"He[Paul] speaks of three possible ways in which they might be affected. "Spirit" (NIV has "some prohecy") must be understood in the light of the fact that the early church expected supernatural communications from time to time, for example, through the ministry of the prophets(cf. 1 Cor. 14:29-30; 1 John 4:1). It means some revelation divinely communicated." The New International Commentary on the New Tesament, The First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians, Leon Morris, Wm. B. Eerdman Publishing Co.1991, p214 -italics ours.
A Linguistic Key To The Greek New Testament:
"[2 Thess. 2:2]..PNEUMA spirit. It could refer here to some type of spiritual revelation(Lightfoot; Notes).Rienecker/Rogers, 9th edition, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan.-italics ours.
The above shows that the word "PNEUMA" can have a 'special' sense and it could be argued that it would be better not to simply translate literally as "spirit" when the writer is using the word to denote an "inspired message" or a "report of a special revelation."
So the following from the two volume Bible encyclopaedia Insight on the Scriptures, published by the Watchtower & Bible Tract Society is informative:
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Inspired Expressions- True and False. The Greek word pneu'ma (spirit) is used in a special manner in some apostolic writings. At 2 Thessalonians 2:2, for example, the apostle Paul urges his Thessalonian brothers not to get excited or shaken from their reason "either through an inspired expression [literally, "spirit"] or through a verbal message or through a letter as though from us, to the effect that the day of Jehovah is here." It is clear that Paul uses the word pneu'ma (spirit) in connection with means of communication, such as the "verbal message" or "letter." For this reason Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (p. 126) says on this text: "By this the Apostle intends a spiritual suggestion, pretended prediction, utterance of a prophet."(Translated and edited by P. Schaff, 1976) Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament states: "By spirit. By prophetic utterances of individuals in Christian assemblies, claiming the authority of divine revelations."(1957, Vol. IV, p. 63) Thus, while some translations simply render pneu'ma in this and similar cases as "spirit," other translations read "message of the Spirit" ( A[merican] T[ranslation] ), "prediction" ( JB )," inspiration" (De Ostervald; Segond [French]), "inspired expression" ( NWT )."The apostle John also uses the word 'PNEUMA' in this special sense aswell. Note the following comments:
"[1 John 4:1] MH PANTI PNEUMATI PISTEUETE] Cf. Didache xi.8...All spirit-inspired utterances are not to be accepted as necessarily true..."- p.107, italics ours. The International Critical Commentary; A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Johannine Epistles by Rev. A. E. Brooke, Edinburgh, T & t Clark, 1912.
"In encouraging the readers not to trust every spirit, but to test the spirits, the author is using spirit to refer to the power or energy which is inspiring a particular utterance on a particular occaision. Paul writes in 1 Cor. 14.32: 'It is for prophets to control prophetic inspiration;' literally: 'the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets.' Paul and our author share the same world of thought. In this world of thought, even when speaking of the activity of the Spirit of God, people used the word spirit in two ways. It referred to the Holy Spirit generally; it could also refer to the Holy Spirit active on a particular occasion. It was not unusual for people to use the word spirit to refer to the inspiring force behind any such event, and to speak, then, in the plural of the spirits of events, even when they were sure it was the one Spirit behind all events. The sense, then, of test the spirits, to see whether they are of God is: check each occasion or utterance claimed to be inspired, to see whether this is really so.
"The obvious reason for exercising such discernment is that there will be false claims. The author understands these, too, as spirit-inspired, but the spirit inpiring them is not the Spirit of God.... [The author] is more concerned to identify the two opposing systems and thus enable his readers to distinguish the spirit of truth from the spirit of error(4.6).
"Understanding the passage within its own world of thought in this way is much more convincing than to take spirits in some modern sense as the equivalent of 'attitudes' or 'approaches' or to see spirits just as general reference to individual human beings as spirits. Rather the author understands spirits as beings or forces and their manifestations in the world. The spirits are at work in individual human beings, inspiring them. This is very clear when we see how the author relates his warning to the concreate situation facing the readers."
"...The author shares the common understanding of the time that prophets are people who speak on the basis of inspiration. Recognizing which prophets are true and which are false becomes an inportant task in any religion which claims inspiration..." The Johannine Epistles, Willaim Loader, Epworth Commentaries, Epworth Press ,1992: p.47,48. -underlining for emphasis ours.
Insight on Scriptures(WTB&TS) comments on John's use of the word "PNEUMA" here at 1 John 4:1:
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.... John urged Christians to "test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God." (1Jo 4:1-3; compare Re 22:6.) He then went on to show that God's true inspired expressions were coming through the genuine Christian congregation, not through unchristian worldly sources. John's statement was, of course, inspired by Jehovah God, but even aside from this, John's letter had laid a solid foundation for making the straightforward statement: "He that gains the knowledge of God listens to us; he that does not originate with God does not listen to us. This is how we take note of the inspired expression of truth and the inspired expression of error." (1Jo 4:6)"And again regarding 1 Timothy 4:1 this same encyclopeadia says:
"Paul's words make it clear that there are true "inspired expressions" and false ones. He refers to both kinds at 1 Timothy 4:1 when saying that "the inspired utterance [from Jehovah's holy spirit] says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons." This identifies the source of the false "inspired utterances" as the demons. This is supported by the vision given the apostle John in which he saw "three unclean inspired expressions," froglike in appearance, proceeding from the mouths of the dragon, the wild beast, and the false prophet, and which expressions he specifically states are "inspired by demons," serving to gather earth's kings to the war at Har-Magedon.-Re 16:13-16."
Hence, the New World Translation is being both very accurate and supplying the right meaning to the word PNEUMA in certain places so that the modern English reader gains the proper thought of the original writer.