2005 Bible Reading

2 Thessalonians

This page is not a commentary, nor an outline. It is something to bear in mind in this kind of reading. These materials I learnt from two books by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart (How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth; How To Read The Bible Book By Book). You could consult these books if you are interested.

(Pastor Raymond)

There is an obvious “cooling” of the warmth that readers of 1 Thessalonians have come to expect in his second letter. What caused such a shift? It appears from the content of 2 Thessalonians that there may be two main reasons. First, Paul has learnt that someone has apparently taught in his name, that the day of the Lord has come and gone. To combat this, Paul stresses in 2:15 that the Thessalonians ought to pay attention to his oral teaching and his letters. The second reason could well be that Paul is rather dissatisfied that some in the church have still not heeded his earlier instructions to work, and continued to conduct their lives in idle.

Despite of the observations above, Paul’s love towards this congregation is still plainly in view in his thanksgivings and prayers. It seems that to a missionary, there is always care and affection towards a church that he personally established.

This is a short letter but it contains one of the most intriguing and difficult passages. In Chapter 2, Paul speaks of the events prior to the second coming of Christ to convince the Thessalonians that that day has yet to come. Paul mentions, “Man of sin,” “the one who holds it back,” and “the lawless one,” without a single explanation as if these terms are self-explanatory to the Thessalonians. Whether they too knew the meaning or not, it is impossible to ascertain now. There are many interpretations put forward by various commentators and there is hardly a consensus. Notwithstanding, the truth that Christ will return to defeat His enemies, to judge those who do not love truth, and to save those who have been elected and have stood firm in the faith, is uncompromisingly depicted by Paul in this letter, so that the church should not be shaken in her faith.

There is quite a bit of teaching regarding “work” in this letter. Some have suggested that it has to do with those Thessalonians who have in the hope of Christ’s imminent return, given up their jobs and just waited. But this suggestion doesn’t appear to square with the information gleaned from this letter, because in Chapter 2 Paul appears to tackle the misbelief that Christ has already returned. More probable is the reason that Paul has to once again teach them to devote to fruitful work because the Thessalonians, especially those aristocratic Greeks (“not a few prominent women” in Acts 17:4), have a cultural contempt towards menial tasks. Paul believes that Christians, irrespective of their background, should not hold such an attitude in the corporate lives of the church. They should not engage in such behaviors (“idle and busybodies” in 3:11), because that will lead to conflicts amongst members. For this reason, Paul again uses his own life as a model to exhort them before the problem is further aggravated.

2 Thessalonians, despite its brevity and difficult texts, outlines rather clearly the right and wrong. It unmistakably sets forth God’s covenantal faithfulness because He will pay back trouble to those who trouble the church, and He will comfort and glorify those in the church who are troubled.