Background
Composed by the Apostle Paul only two decades after the crucifixion of Jesus, i and 2 Thessalonians join Galatians as the earliest writings of the New Testament. The Thessalonian epistles, best known for their teaching on the second coming of Christ and related events, comprise one of the three major prophetic portions of the New Testament, along with Jesus' Olivet discourse (Matthew 24; Mark 13) and the Apocalypse of John (Revelation).
Background
During Paul's second missionary journey, he and his companions traveled to the free Greek city of Thessalonica, capital of the Roman province of Macedonia (Acts 17:1-15). This urban hub enjoyed commercial advantages owing to its naturally protected port on the Aegean Sea and its location at the midpoint of the Egnatian Way, the major east-west road connecting Rome with Byzantium (modern Istanbul). Jews and Gentiles made up the mixed population of Thessalonica, and though Paul and company seem to have realized most of their evangelistic success with the city's Gentiles, unbelieving Jews emerged as persecutors against both Paul and the Thessalonican converts to Christianity. An attack by antagonists targeting Paul prompted the members of the fledgling church to protect the apostle by sending him on his way after only about a month of ministry among them.
Triumphal arch of the emperor Galerius on the Via Egnatia, Thessalonica, glorifying the Roman victory over the Persians. (www.HolyLandPhotos.org)
Paul's deep concern for the new believers persisted as he made his way to Athens. When Timothy joined up with him in the Achaian capital, Paul commissioned him to return to Thessalonica and check on its church. By the time Timothy returned to southern Greece, Paul had moved on to Corinth, where Timothy caught up with his mentor. The good report of the Thessalonians' perseverance in the faith despite continued persecution occasioned Paul's writing of i Thessalonians. Apparently soon thereafter, fanaticism based on the expectation of Christ's imminent second coming seems to have taken root in the church. Hope for relief from persecution may have spawned the false teaching, or at least its embracing by some believers. Paul writes 2 Thessalonians to correct their wishful thinking and reverse its unproductive outcomes for practical life. Noting the difference in tone between the two letters, some scholars date 2 Thessalonians somewhat later and posit its writing by a disciple of Paul in the apostle's name.
1 Thessalonians
1-3 Celebrating the Faith of a Fledgling Church
Paul composes this letter in the first person plural to acknowledge the part played by his missionary companions Timothy and Silvanus (the Latin form of Silas) in establishing the church at Thessalonica (Acts 15:36-16:3; 17:1-15).
Paul encourages the Thessalonians by commending their acceptance of the gospel despite attendant tribulation and their exemplary tenacity to the Christian faith reputed throughout Greece. In 1:3-5 Paul cites the three primary Christian virtues: faith, love, and hope, with hope denoting not wishfulness for Christ's return but confident expectation of it - an expectation essential for the faithfulness of a church under persecution (cf. 5:8; 1 Corinthians 13). Further encouragement comes from Paul's recognition that God marked the Thessalonian believers for salvation, as sealed by their receipt of the Holy Spirit (1:4-6). That for the Thessalonians conversion to Christianity meant abandoning idol worship (1:9) identifies them as Gentiles, at least predominantly.
The overview of the missionaries' caring, diligent, sensitive ministry among the Thessalonians (2:1-12) climaxes in a celebration of the fruits of the evangelists' labor - the Thessalonians' proper reception of the gospel (vv 1314). On the beating and imprisonment of Paul and company at Philippi (2:2), which propelled them on to Thessalonica, see Acts 16:19-40. Paul professes the purity of his message and motive (2:3-6), enhanced by the missionaries' practice of working for their keep while carrying out their ministry (2:9).
Paul likens the plight of the persecuted Thessalonian believers to that of the first Christians in Judea - Jews who comprised the mother church in Jerusalem despite harsh treatment by their unconverted kin (2:14-16). The apostle's castigation of his compatriots in 2:15 recalls Matt. 23:37-39, where Jesus laments the Jews' rejection of God by killing the prophets and anticipates his own death at their hands. Paul sees his team of evangelists as the inheritors of such expected persecution (2:15-16; 3:3-4), which forced them to leave Thessalonica all too soon and hindered their return (Acts 17:1-15). Eventually, Paul's anxiety concerning the spiritual welfare of the Thessalonians made it worth the risk to send Timothy back for a visit. His good report to Paul comforts the apostle and sustains his intense desire to return to Thessalonica for further ministry.
4-5 Exhortation and Clarification
Paul ends the letter with exhortations regarding practical and theological issues on which the Thessalonian believers need instruction and correction. Note his psychologically astute coupling of praise for their Christian progress with admonition to greater growth (4:1, 9-10). The apostle urges sexual purity as an important component of "sanctification" (being made godly). Honorable sexual behavior will distinguish the Thessalonian Christians from their unbelieving fellow Gentiles (4:5). The apostle's urging to diligence in self-supporting manual labor may counterbalance the Thessalonians' temptation to abandon their jobs (4:11-12; cf. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:10-12) in the expectation of Christ's imminent return.
The apostle assures his audience that deceased fellow Christians will not miss out on the joyful occasion of Jesus' second coming (4:13-18; 5:10). God will raise them from the dead, just as Jesus himself rose from death, and will unite them with those Christians still alive in the "catching up" of believers to meet Jesus as he descends from heaven. Though Paul has just tempered Thessalonian expectations of an imminent return of Christ, he nevertheless urges constant readiness for the event. In 5:4-5, "darkness" signifies both ignorance and evil, while "light" symbolizes knowledge and righteousness. In Eph. 6:10-17, Paul elaborates the theme of the "armor of God," briefly introduced in 5:8.
In closing, Paul exhorts the healthy Chris tian community to appreciate church leaders, confront wrongdoers, support the weak, show patience toward all, forgo revenge, and seek the common good.
2 Thessalonians
1 Eternal Relief from Earthly Affliction
The greeting of verses 1-2 matches almost word for word the opening verse of 1 Thessalonians. The letter then commends the persecuted Thessalonians for their perseverance in the faith and assures them that in the end God will make it right by punishing the persecutors for eternity, while the Thessalonian believers gain eternal relief from affliction. Their current suffering does not indicate divine disapproval; rather, their endurance prompts God to consider them worthy of entering his kingdom N. 5).
2 The Day of the Lord
Paul now warns the Thessalonians against false hopes that their glorious future is already at hand. Verse 2 suggests that the desperate believers have accepted false doctrine attributed to Paul and announcing the arrival of the end times. He reminds the church of his previous (but undocumented) teaching on what must happen before Christ's return: the seizing of God's seat in the Jerusalem temple by a selfproclaimed but false "god," who acts by the power of Satan and wins to himself the wicked, already doomed to judgment for their rejection of the gospel. Restrained for now (by what or whom Paul does not say here; v. 6), the deceptive leader of the unfaithful will meet a quick end on the arrival of Christ. Paul's "man of lawlessness" parallels the "antichrist" of 1 John 2:18-25 and the "beast" of Revelation 13.
The chapter ends with words of encouragement confirming the Thessalonians' election by God for salvation (cf. 1 Thess. 1:4). The reminder should strengthen their tenacity to orthodox Christian teaching and comfort them with the expectation of eternal relief from persecution.
3 Warning against Idleness
In soliciting the prayers of the Thessalonian believers for the successful spread of the gospel, Paul subtly reminds them that he too suffers persecution. He ends the letter with a final, extended exhortation to keep working (cf. 1 Thess. 4:11-12). Some have abandoned their jobs, perhaps in expectation of Christ's imminent return. Paul bases on his own example of economic self-support the command that people pull their own weight by working. He prescribes social ostracism and Christian admonishment as the proper tools for prodding the undisciplined back to a productive life.
The invocation of inner "peace" (v. 16) must have carried special meaning to the persecuted Thessalonian believers (cf. Phil. 4:7).
To confirm the authenticity of this letter, Paul draws attention to his handwriting, displayed in the closing greeting. As per custom, he often employed a secretary to write down the bulk of his letters. Validating the contents of this epistle looms especially important for Paul as he combats false doctrine, perhaps contained in documents that fraudulently bear his name (cf. 2:2).