2 Thessalonians Introduction

Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians is a follow up to the first. It appears to have been written shortly after 1 Thessalonians, in response to certain reports that had come to the apostle regarding the Thessalonians’ progress (3:11). Paul was still in Corinth and unable to leave his work there. However, he continued to maintain a keen interest in the little church to the north which had shown such promise (1:3-4), despite some continuing serious problems.
While Paul was encouraged by their faith and steadfastness, he could see that many in the assembly were still very confused about the second coming of Christ. Paul even suggests the possibility that some are deliberately misrepresenting his teaching on this all-important subject (2:2). The possibility of such a deception is supported by counterfeit letters purportedly written by the apostle.
He exhorts them to pay special attention to his signature so that they may distinguish the genuine letters from the false (3:17). Paul knows the ultimate source of this trouble is Satan himself, the “evil one” (3:3), and he is confident that the Lord will protect them.
Nevertheless, this misunderstanding had left many in the church to forsake their occupations, to lead undisciplined lives, and to breed unrest among the people by becoming busybodies and beggars, living off those who still maintained gainful employment (3:6-15). Still others had become discouraged, thinking the day of the Lord had already begun and that they had somehow missed it.
They had expected Christ to destroy their enemies. Yet they were still suffering persecution. Paul addresses these problems He explains that while the time of the Lord’s coming cannot be predicted, it will be a spectacular event that no one could miss. Furthermore, if the day of the Lord had already begun, then many other events would already have taken place (2:1-12).
Since they had seen none of these events, they could be sure they had not missed the Lord’s return. In the meantime, they should take heart in the fact that from the start, God’s purpose was to include them in the glorious event of Christ’s coming (2:13-14). As for those who were presuming upon the good graces of their brethren, they should get to work or expect not to eat (3:6-15).