Introduction to Paul’s 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians

Table of Contents

• General Info
• Brief Survey
• Key Verses
• Author, Date and Recipients
• Historical Background
• Timeline
• Themes, Purpose & Theology
• Interpretation Hints and Challenges
• Outline

General Info

As with other New Testament (NT) letters written by the Apostle Paul, this epistle is titled according to its recipients, in this case Christians in the city of Thessalonica (now called Salonica or Thessaloniki in Greece).  Second Thessalonians was written to to address some questions and issues that had arisen since the first letter to the local church.  In fact, some issues appear to have originated from an misunderstanding of portions of the previous letter, particularly the portions related to the second coming of Christ.  Therefore, it is likely that the second letter to the Thessalonians followed shortly after the first, probably within a few months at the longest.  Unfortunately, there was no mass communication protocols (cell phones, email, online chats or internet conferences) back then, so Paul had to write and/or dictate a letter, and then get someone to hand-deliver it.  This process usually took weeks or even months.  Thus, the resulting time spans often allowed the false and errant beliefs to spread unchecked.

As with the first letter, the authenticity and resulting canonicity of 2 Thessalonians is almost universally accepted.  Paul identifies himself as the author of 2 Thessalonians (1:1), and even calls attention to his own handwriting at the end of the letter (3:17).  In addition, many of the early church fathers, including Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria, confirm that this letter came from Paul.  Like the previous epistle, only a few modern liberal “scholars” have questioned the letter’s authenticity.

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Brief Survey

The Apostle Paul begins his second letter to the Thessalonians with a customary greeting from Silas, Timothy and himself, and wishes them grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1-2).  He then offers thanksgiving and prayer for their growing faith and perseverance during the persecutions and trials that they were facing.  He then encourages his readers to continue their perseverance despite all their suffering due to their dedication to Christ.  He also prays that God will make them worthy of their calling, and by their faith and deeds, bring glory to the Lord (1:3-12).

In chapter 2, Paul turns to the subject of the coming day of the Lord, a complex set of events that will occur at Jesus’ second coming.  Confusion had arose regarding this subject that Paul had spoke of in his previous letter (1Th 4:13-5:11).  The confusion was compounded by the infiltration of false teachers that were proclaiming that the day had already come (2:1-2).  Paul clarified that that there were still certain events that must occur prior to this day, such as worldwide rebellion against God and the appearance of “the man of lawlessness” (see 2Th 2:3-5 and “Interpretive Hints” chapter below).  Paul then expressed gratitude for his readers’ continued faithfulness and urged them to stand firm in their obedience to orthodox teachings (2:13-17).

In the final chapter 3, Paul requests continued prayers for himself and his companions, and expresses confidence that the church will continue to allow God to direct their paths (3:1-5).  He then gives a warning against idleness and disruptive behavior (3:6-15).  In his final remarks, he prays that the grace of Lord will be with all his readers, giving them peace at all times and in every situation (3:16-18).

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Key Verses

God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.  This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.  He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. (1:6-9)

Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.  Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction.  He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. (2:1-4)

For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming. (2:7-8)

The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works.  He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.  They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.  For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. (2:9-12)

But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.  He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2:13-14)

As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.  And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith.  But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. (3:1-3)

Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way.  The Lord be with all of you. (3:16)

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Author, Date and Recipients

See Author, Date and Recipients of First Thessalonians.

See A Brief Bio of the Apostle Paul and the Historical Background of Acts for additional info on his life and ministry.

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Historical Background

See Historical Background of First Thessalonians for information regarding the founding and development of the city and the church in Thessalonica.

Within a short time of sending off 1st Thessalonians, Paul received news that some of the new Christians in the Thessalonian church had misunderstood parts of the letter, particularly his teaching concerning the end times.  It also didn’t help that some false teachers had also infiltrated the congregation and were spreading erroneous teachings on this and other subjects.  In addition, the situation in the Thessalonian church had deteriorated and the persecution was growing more intense.  He therefore sent off the letter now known to us as 2nd Thessalonians.  Paul was still in Corinth, where he remained a year and a half (Ac 18:11).  As we noted in the “General Info” above, his second letter may have followed his first by only a few weeks and probably no more than a few months.

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Timeline

(1)  These dates are either one or the other (Nisan 14 Passover falling between Thursday sundown to Friday sundown on the Jewish calendar).  The earlier date is the most popular, but there are good evidences and arguments to support either date.

~ Dates are approximated.

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Themes, Purpose and Theology

In this second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul further addressed many of the same theological doctrines and practical issues that he explained in the first letter.  Thus the themes, purpose and theology are also very similar to the first, although we could add that one of the primary purposes of the second letter was to clarify some of the confusion and misunderstanding that arose from the previous one.  He wrote to encourage his readers to remain faithful despite the ongoing persecution that they were enduring (1:3-12; 2:13-3:5).  As with the first letter, the primary theological doctrine was to correct misunderstandings about the Lord’s future return.  Almost forty percent of the verses in the book are related to this topic.  Paul noted that, when Christ returns, the wicked will face final judgment (1:6–10; 2:8), but the righteous will be gathered to Him (2:1).  Paul also instructed the church concerning the man of lawlessness (2:1–12).  See the “Interpretive Hints” chapter below for additional discussion.

As with many of his letters, Paul wrote to meet a specific need or needs of the local church that he was addressing, but since he was divinely inspired, we can almost always find meaning and applications for us today.  In particular, Paul emphasizes the greatness, sovereignty and holiness of a loving God.  In addition, he also stresses the amazing grace of salvation in Christ, the great day of His second coming, and the importance of tending to details regarding our work and other activities during our everyday lives.

Other specific purposes included the reassurance of those who were terrified that they had missed the second return of Christ (2:1–3:5), strengthening his readers in the face of continuous  persecution (1:3–12), and to deal with the problem of some of the church members refusing to work for their own living (3:6–15).

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 Interpretation Hints and Challenges

Some have charged that the second letter to the Thessalonians conflicts with the first letter regard the doctrine of the Second Coming.  In particular the first letter is seen as teaching that the return of Christ was imminent while the second mentions a period of “lawlessness” before Christ’s return.  Upon examination of the contexts of each epistle, we note that the first letter places an emphasis on the suddenness of the Lord’s coming while the second letter features several of the events that will occur before Jesus returns.  Since, as we note above, a primary purpose for the second letter was to clarify some of the confusion and misunderstanding that arose from the previous one, we certainly would not expect Paul to simply repeat the same teachings verbatim that was contained in the first.

Undoubtedly, the most debated questions related to this epistle is the identification of the “man of lawlessness” (2:3-12).  In verse 9, Paul distinguishes him from Satan, but also reveals that he would do the work of Satan, including displaying power, signs and wonders to help accomplish Satan’s purposes.  Throughout history, many evil individuals, groups, and even some actions have been linked with this man of lawlessness.  Yet, Paul and other biblical authors consistently identify this person or group as coming to prominence at the end times.  Paul never actually used the word “Antichrist” in his descriptions.  In the NT, the word (Greek antichristos) is only found in the 1st and 2nd epistles of John), but Paul’s characterizations clearly indicate that he was alluding to the same person that the Apostle John described.  A concise definition might be that he is a person that will be empowered by Satan to function as an enemy of Jesus Christ and the true Church.  Paul also confirms that the Antichrist is currently being held back by a secret power who will continue to restrain the lawless one until this power is taken away.  The secret power is almost certainly this same true Church consisting of believers in Christ whose empowerment comes from the indwelling Holy Spirit until they are are taken away at the rapture (1Th 4:13-18).

Another interpretive challenge from this same portion of the letter (2:1-12) is the phrase, “Day of the Lord”.  Essentially, the day of the Lord is a series of end-time events such as the Rapture, the Second Coming of Christ, the Millennial Kingdom, and the Final Judgments.  Please see the separate article, appropriately entitled The Day of the Lord for a fuller treatment of the subject.

For an OT perspective on the Antichrist, please see our Interpretation of the Visions of Daniel.

For additional perspectives on the end times, please see Four Major Interpretive Views of the Book of Revelation.

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Outline

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