The letter is more focused on problems in the church and may reflect the receipt of later news from the thessalonians. The expression, a mystery, in the scripture sense of it, is something secret or undiscovered. Paul wrote ii thessalonians in the early ad 50s and the mystery of iniquity, the mystery of lawlessness, was already working. It is traditionally attributed to paul the apostle, with timothy as a coauthor. Thanksgiving for the faith and love which saves christians at the second coming of christ 1. Second epistle to the thessalonians read the bible online. His first letter to them had given rise to further questions, and paul is attempting to answer them in his second letter. Also, i make a distinction between the rapture in chapter 4 and the second coming in chapter five. The second epistle to the thessalonians begins with almost the same wording as the first epistle.
Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. Second thessalonians was evidently prompted by three main developments in the report paul received from an unknown source. It was the babylonian mystery religion, started by simon the sorcerer acts. But just as the book of revelation describes great rejection of jesus during the. It says not to be troubled by a previous letter written as if by paul, whi.
Nov 18, 2012 this is the holy book of 2 thessalonians, known as the second epistle of paul the apostle to the thessalonians. Traditionally, it is believed to be written for the church in thessalonica by apostle paul, likely in corinth shortly after the first epistle which was written in about 5051 ce, although there were debatable charges that it is. Summary of the book of 2 thessalonians story of the bible. For every biblical reference to the first coming of christ, there are eight references to his second coming. The book of 2 thessalonians was written shortly after the book of 1 thessalonians, probably within a few months. Consequently, the translation not only misses the point of what paul was saying, but it renders the exact opposite sense which he intended. An introduction to second thessalonians an argument of second thessalonians a selected bibliography for 1 and 2 thessalonians. Enduring word bible commentary 2 thessalonians chapter 2. Judges ruth the first book of samuel the second book of samuel the first book of kings the second book of kings the first book of chronicles the second book of chronicles ezra nehemiah esther job book psalms proverbs. We must be submissive to divine rule if we would be consistent and confident christians. Dont believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter. This is the same word which is used in 2 thessalonians 2. Since the subject matter of the second letter has a number of thematic similarities to the first, paul probably had received a second report from the city detailing continuing questions or problems regarding the end times.
The situation in the church seems to have been much the same. Summary of the book of 2 thessalonians story of the. Scriptural evidence of the second coming 2 thessalonians 2. Second thessalonians was undoubtedly written to deal with the embarrassment resulting from pauls belief that jesus would return in his own lifetime, yet died disappointed. Popular theories of the identity of the restrainer. A majority still hold to pauls authorship of 2 thessalonians. In his welldocumented book, pagan and christian creeds, edward. Summary of the book of 2 thessalonians bible survey. However, such arguments have not convinced current interpreters. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the lord, and from the glory of his power. Modern biblical scholarship is divided on whether the epistle was written by paul. There was circulating in the thessalonian church a. The christians in thessalonica were still baby christians when paul wrote 2 thessalonians.
This summary of the book of 2 thessalonians provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of 2 thessalonians. Tom constables expository notes on 2 thessalonians this is also available in the net. The mystery of iniquity, therefore, is a scheme of error, not openly discovered, whose influence is to encourage. Pauls thankful spirit for the thessalonians is prompted by their christian virtues v 3, their divine election vv 47, and the reports of others concerning the church in thessalonica vv 810.
For the mystery of iniquity there is a mystery of iniquity as well as of godliness, the one in direct opposition to the other. Paul needed to address the three troubles the church in thessalonica faced. The church in thessalonica still had some misconceptions about the day of the lord. Mar 17, 2020 second thessalonians was undoubtedly written to deal with the embarrassment resulting from pauls belief that jesus would return in his own lifetime, yet died disappointed. Watch our overview video on 2 thessalonians, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Pauls authorship of 2 thessalonians has been questioned more often than that of 1 thessalonians, in spite of the fact that it. In the ot alone, 17 books give prominence to the second coming for a total of 1,845 times.
Book of second thessalonians overview insight for living. Part of the understanding of what is happening in 2 thessalonians 2. This would place the writing of the epistle during pauls extended stay at corinth on his second missionary journey cf. Galatians, in which paul gave a similar warning galatians 1. Nine of these book are letters to local churches like the one in thessalonica. We believe this disappearing from the midst will happen at the time the church leaves the earth at the rapture. The second epistle followed shortly after the first epistle in a. Genesis exodus leviticus numbers deuteronomy joshua judges ruth the first book of samuel the second book of samuel the first book of kings the second book of kings the first book of chronicles the second book of chronicles ezra nehemiah esther job book psalms proverbs ecclesiastes song of solomon isaiah jeremiah lamentations ezekiel daniel hosea joel amos obadiah jonah micah nahum habakkuk.
Constables notes on 2 thessalonians 7 each of us also needs to make sure that lawlessness does not characterize our personal lives. Second thessalonians is the ninth of pauls letters. Second thessalonians appears to have been written just a few months, possibly a year, after first thessalonians. Because of its similarity to 1 thessalonians, it must have been written not long after the first letter perhaps about six months. This is the holy book of 2 thessalonians, known as the second epistle of paul the apostle to the thessalonians. Paul wrote 2 thessalonians from corinth in ad 51 within months of writing the first letter. The persecution that the thessalonians faced was not the tribulation. Campbell morgan, living messages of the books of the bible, 2. The literary structure of 1 and 2 thessalonians david alan. Youll find david jeremiahs introduction to the book of 2 thessalonians on page 16911692 of the jeremiah study bible.
In a short period of time about 19 or 20 years after the resurrection of jesus christ the mystery of iniquity was already at work, and it. Also in the first four verses of 2 thessalonians 2 paul taught that the second coming and the rapture could not happen until there was a falling away. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work. To the church of the thessalonians in god our father and the lord jesus christ.
665 1078 653 1072 1283 295 90 536 514 597 1125 1512 995 1093 308 764 6 964 1143 752 325 1364 523 992 18 732 469 1073 1447 1541 428 27 1410 225 524 672 162 105