II Thessalonians
Purpose
Second Thessalonians was written to correct a serious misunderstanding that had taken hold in the Thessalonian church: some believers, perhaps stirred by a forged letter "as from us" or a prophecy, had concluded that the Day of the Lord had already arrived, and this error was unsettling their faith and disrupting their daily lives, with some abandoning work to wait. Paul writes to steady them with two anchors. First, the church's present sufferings are not the wrath of the Day but a sign of worthiness for the kingdom and of the justice that God will repay to their persecutors. Second, the Day of the Lord has not come and will not come until the "rebellion" comes first and the "man of lawlessness" is revealed, the one who exalts himself above every so-called god and takes his seat in God's temple, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy at his coming. Against lawlessness and deception, Paul sets the believer's anchor: God chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, so stand firm and hold to the traditions taught, and let no idle disorder mark the believer's life but quiet, disciplined work.
Author
Paul the apostle
Time Period
Written c. 51-52 AD from Corinth, shortly after First Thessalonians
Key Themes
- The man of lawlessness and the Day of the Lord
- Steadfastness under persecution
- Deception and truth
- Disciplined work
- God's choosing and sanctification
Outline
Thanksgiving and the justice of God (ch. 1): worthiness for the kingdom, and rest and repayment when Jesus is revealed. The Day of the Lord and the man of lawlessness (ch. 2): do not be shaken; the rebellion and the restrainer; the lawless one's coming by Satan's deception; and God's choice of them for salvation. Exhortation and discipline (ch. 3): prayer for the word, the command to keep away from the idle and disorderly, and the rule "if anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."