And 2 Thessalonians, sometimes scholars say Paul comes across kind of harsh, cold, authoritarian. So there there are a group of scholars who believe that Paul didn't write 2 Thessalonians. It may have been written by a disciple of Paul who, after Paul's death, felt that this was going to be a teaching in the legacy of Paul that would be helpful for a particular group of people.
There are others who say, no, I think Paul did write 2 Thessalonians, because this has been what the Church has always believed for thousands of years. And no one in the early Church really questioned 2 Thessalonians. No one in the early Church, second century, third century, fourth century, really up until the s, no one really thought differently about that. They didn't question whether or not Paul wrote it. My perspective on this is really how we think about what authorship is and how we determine authorship.
I feel like sometimes we can out-think, outsmart ourselves, and say, oh, because this word is different or because this tone is different, it must be a different person. But I write in all different kinds of ways. In part an inheritance from Jewish apocalypticism, this belief held that the messianic kingdom would be ushered in by a sudden catastrophic event, at which time the heavenly Messiah would descend on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
When the first Christians accepted the idea that the man who had died on the cross was the real Messiah, they were convinced that he must return to earth to complete the work that he had begun.
The manner of his second coming was conceived in accordance with the apocalyptic conceptions. This belief was common among the early Christians, and Paul accepted it along with the rest. Although the Christians were quite insistent that no one knew the exact time when this second coming would take place, they felt sure that it would occur during the lifetime of those who were then members of the Christian community.
After Paul left Thessalonica, some of the people who belonged to the church died. Because Jesus had not returned, serious doubts arose in the minds of those Thessalonians who were still living, for they had been led to believe that Jesus the Messiah would return before any of them died. As they saw it, Paul was mistaken on this point, which then caused them to wonder whether he might also be mistaken on other points as well.
Obviously, an explanation of some kind was in order, and this situation, more than any other single factor, prompted the writing of Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians. In his statement regarding Jesus' second coming, Paul says that he has in no way abandoned his faith that the return of Jesus to this earth will take place in the near future. Concerning those who died or who might die before Jesus returns, he states that they will be raised from the dead and will share equally with those who are still living at that time: "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
And so we will be with the Lord forever. No one knows just when it will come, but all are admonished to live in such a way that they will be ready for it at any moment. Paul's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians is in one sense a follow-up to the first letter.
The apostle, therefore, took extra care in this letter to make sure the Thessalonians understood not only his views on the end times but also what his handwriting looked like, so they would be able to identify letters as authentically his Second Thessalonians distinguishes itself by the detailed teaching it presents on the end times.
False teachers had been presenting fake letters as if from Paul and telling the Thessalonian believers that the day of the Lord had already come. This would have been especially troubling to them because Paul had encouraged them in his previous letter that they would be raptured before the day of wrath came upon the earth.
Comparisons with other passages in Daniel, Matthew, and Revelation reveal this man to be none other than the Antichrist.
But Paul encouraged the Thessalonians not to worry, because the Antichrist would not come until a mysterious restrainer—the Thessalonians apparently knew his identity—was removed from earth —7. The identity of this restrainer has been heavily debated, though due to the nature of the work the restrainer does, He is likely the Spirit of God working redemptively through the church.
When the believers leave the earth in the rapture, all who remain will experience the wrath of the tribulation. In contrast to the warm emotional tone of 1 Thessalonians , 2 Thessalonians includes some blunt commands as Paul addresses bad behavior and bad thinking.
Still, there is a regular swing back and forth between reproof and warm encouragement. Sign In.
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