The Second Letter of the Apostle Paul to the
THESSALONIANS
Author:
Paul an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Date:
Sometime between 50 and 54 AD.
Themes:
The principal theme in this letter, as in the first letter Paul wrote to them, is the second coming of Christ. Some religious teachers had visited Thessalonica at a time when believers there were undergoing persecution, and troubled them by insisting that the Day of the Lord had already come (2 Thess 2:1-2). The Day of the Lord is the future time connected with the second coming of the Lord Jesus, and, among other things, involves God’s anger and punishment on the disobedient and unbelieving. Opposing the false views of those religious teachers, Paul informed them that the Day of the Lord would not come until the wicked person he calls the “man of sin” (or “lawless one”) appeared. This is the antichrist who will come at the end of this age (1 John 2:18; Rev 13; Matt 24:15-24). Paul encouraged the believers in Thessalonica to be free from fear and to hold fast to the truth about Christ which he had taught them. He concludes the letter with a long warning about idleness and laziness.
Contents:
Love and faith growing in the midst of persecution 1:3-5
The punishment that will come on persecutors
and those who are disobedient to Christ 1:6-9
Christ will be glorified in His people 1:10
Paul’s prayer for them and the reason for it 1:11-12
The second coming of Christ 2:1-2,8
The antichrist, his deeds, his destruction,
and the ruin of his followers 2:3-12
The reason for antichrist’s temporary success 2:11-12
The glorious future of Christ’s believers 2:13-14
Standing firm and strong 2:15-17
Request for prayer 3:1-2
Paul’s prayer and his faith 3:3-5
Exhortation concerning idleness and laziness 3:6-15
The example Paul set 3:7-9
Concluding remarks 3:16-18