Matthew Poole and continuators on 2 Thessalonians 3:17

17 The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write .

This the Apostle addeth after he had finisht his Epistle, and taken his farewel, as a proof that the Epistle was genuine, and came from himself. Because it may be there were some then who did counterfeit his Epistles, as there have been many since who have counterfeited Creeds, Liturgies, Gospels, Writings of the Fathers, &c. and he knew it might be of dangerous consequence to the Churches, to have his Writings counterfeited. Hereticks in several Ages, and the Church of Rome particularly hath herein been deeply guilty. And though its probable the body of this Epistle was Writ by some Amanuensis, as is evident of the Epistle to the Romans, that it was writ by one Tertius, Rom. 16.22. and when he tels the Galatians, Gal. 6.11. he wrote their Epistle with his own hand, so Phil. 1.9. it implies sometimes he did not so. Yet this Salutation he wrote with his own hand, which he practised not only in this, but in all his other Epistles, as he here affirmed. And he wrote it in such characters whereby his own hand might be known. Else it was an easie matter for any impostor to write the same words, and the words of it are here set down, but elsewhere explained, and therefore nothing is further needful here.