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Second Thessalonians was written to correct some erroneous teachings, falsely reported as coming from Paul. The problem was that some had mistakenly assumed that their tribulations and persecutions were because the "Day of the Lord" had come and they had been missed and not taken up to be with the Lord, either that or Paul's teaching concerning the Second Coming was wrong. Paul writes this second letter to correct these false beliefs.
There is no doubt that Paul wrote this letter. It is important because it was among his first and because it contains so much about the Second Coming of Christ. It is believed that Paul wrote this letter about AD 54 when he was 42 years old.
The church at Thessalonica was founded by Paul, Silas and Timothy as recorded in Acts 17:1-11. Now when they, Paul, Silas and Timothy, passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks, he reasoned with them on the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, saying, "This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ." Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas as did many of the devout Greeks. There were also a few women who joined them also. This was the beginning of the church at Thessalonica. Timothy was its first minister. He not only kept Paul appraised of what was going on, he also carried the letters back and forth from the church and from Paul.
Thessalonica was the chief city in Macedonia. It was named after the sister of Alexander the Great. It was a "free" Roman City because of its declared allegiance to Rome during the early Roman wars. It was a great commercial and trade center.
With this introduction, let us look at the second of these short, but very enlightening, letters.
| Encouragement in Suffering. | |
|---|---|
| Suffering Helps Us Grow | 1:1-4 |
| Suffering Prepares Us for Glory | 1:5-10 |
| Suffering Glorifies Christ | 1:11-12 |
| Enlightenment About the "Day of the Lord". | |
| The Apostasy Must Take Place | 2:1-3 |
| The Temple Must be Rebuilt | 2:4-5 |
| The Restrainer Must be Removed | 2:6-12 |
| The Church Must be Complete | 2:13-17 |
| Establishment in Christian Living. | |
| Prayer and Patience | 3:1-5 |
| Working and Eating | 3:6-13 |
| Hearing and Doing | 3:14-15 |
| The Conclusion | 3:16-18 |
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