The city of Thessalonica, named after a sister of Alexander the Great, was
built within sight of one of the great religious landmarks of ancient Greece.
Southward, across the Thermaikos Bay, the people could see the distant
slopes of Mount Olympus, traditional home of the gods in their culture. From the founding of Thessalonica in 315 BC, its inhabitants stood within sight of what they regarded as divine. The community of Jews who settled at Thessalonica were likewise zealous, having persecuted Paul, Silas, and others for teaching that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 17:2–9, 13). Not surprisingly, the
Christians at Thessalonica demonstrated an intense piety as well as deep
curiosity about the return of Jesus.
This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.
Historical and Cultural Setting
According to reports that reached Paul at Corinth, the Christians of Thessalonica were still standing firm under persecution (2 Th 1:4). But false notions “concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him” (2:1) had gained currency in the Church. The resultant excited, almost hysterical, expectation (2:2) had led some to
abandon their regular occupation and to lead an idle and disorderly life in
dependence upon the charity of the church (3:6–12).
Debates About the Authorship
Some critical scholars have seriously questioned the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians. The chief arguments against Pauline authorship are listed below, followed by further considerations.
Argument: The second letter largely repeats the first, and this marks it as a
forgery.
The statement is an exaggeration; about one third of the second letter is
parallel to the first, and even this does not give the impression of
mechanical copying, such as might be expected from a forger, for the
material occurs in a different order from that in the first letter.
Argument: The second letter teaches differently about the end times from
that of the first. The first letter stresses the fact that the coming of the Lord
will be like that of a thief in the night, while the second points to certain
events as signs that must precede and will therefore forewarn of the second
coming.
It should be noted that this same double emphasis is found in Jesus’ own
teaching concerning His return (Matthew 24:6–8, 36). Paul does not abandon the teaching of the first letter in the second; he simply defines it more sharply
by the statement that certain events must precede the second coming of
Jesus. Neither Jesus’ nor Paul’s words provide a means of forecasting the
end.
The strongest arguments for authenticity are the lack of any motive for a forgery, and the genuinely Pauline tone and character of the second letter. Even some of the scholars who question the authenticity of the letter admit that there is nothing in it that could not have come from the pen of Paul.
Purpose and Recipients
Paul’s second letter is his answer to the congregation’s concerns about the
return of Christ. It therefore sounds two notes. For those who indulge in
overheated fantasies about the end times, there are sobering words that
point to the events that must necessarily precede the coming of the Christ
in glory (2 Thessalonians 2:1–12). For the despondent and the fearful there is an
eloquent and reassuring recognition of the new life that God has worked in
them and a comforting emphasis on the certainty of their election by God
(1:3–12; 2:13–15). Paul turns the church from both excitement and
despondency to that sober and responsible activity which is the hallmark of
the genuinely Christian hope. The hoping church must work for its
living in sober industriousness and work for its own health as the Church of
God.
Summary Content
2 Thessalonians 1:1–2 Paul greets the Christians in Thessalonica as fellow
members of the Body of Christ (the Church) and blesses them with God’s
grace and peace.
2 Thessalonians 1:3–12 Paul gives thanks for God’s grace at work among
the Thessalonians, by which He has created faith and love in them. He
points to the persecuted Thessalonians as examples for other Christians of
their time and ours. God’s judgment will be carried out by the Lord Jesus at
His second coming on the Last Day.
2 Thessalonians 2 Paul warns the Thessalonians not to be misled regarding
the second coming of Christ, thinking that the day of the Lord has already
come. He describes those apocalyptic events yet to take place before the
return of Jesus, specifically the revelation of the man of lawlessness. He also
calls on the Thessalonians to stand firm in the faith the Lord has given
them. He reminds them that both their calling and comfort have God as the
source.
2 Thessalonians 3 Paul requests prayer for his missionary work and
obedience to what he has commanded them. Those who are idle are to be
avoided and even denied fellowship in order that this might cause them to
repent, amend their ways, and return to their fellow believers. Paul
concludes his letter with a prayer for peace and, in his own hand, a blessing
of grace.
Luther on 2 Thessalonians
In the first epistle [5:2], Paul had resolved for the Thessalonians the question of the Last Day, telling them that it would come quickly, as a thief in the night. Now as is likely to happen—that one question always gives rise to another, because of misunderstanding—the Thessalonians understood that the Last Day was already at hand. Thereupon Paul writes this epistle and explains himself.
In chapter 1 he comforts them with the eternal reward of their faith and of their patience amid sufferings of every kind and with the punishment of their persecutors in eternal pain.
In chapter 2 he teaches that before the Last Day, the Roman Empire must first pass away, and Antichrist set himself up as God in Christendom and seduce the unbelieving world with false doctrines and signs—until Christ shall come and destroy him by his glorious coming, first slaying him with spiritual preaching.
In chapter 3 he gives some admonitions, especially that they rebuke the idlers who are not supporting themselves by their own labor. If the idlers will not reform, then the faithful shall avoid them. And this is a stiff rebuke to the clergy of our day. (AE 35:387–88)
Read the Lutheran Bible Companion to find more commentary on 2 Thessalonians or any book of the Bible.
Scripture: ESV®.
The quotation from Luther’s Works in this blog is from Luther’s Works, American Edition, vol. 35, pp. 387–88 © 1960 by Augsburg Fortress. Used by permission of the publisher.
Blog post adapted from pp. 579–83, 587 in Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary © 2014 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
