AN INTRODUCTION TO THE BOOK OF SECOND THESSALONIANS

The Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians was written in A.D. 51-52 from Corinth soon after his first letter. Some members from the congregation in Thessalonica had inferred that, since the coming of the Lord Jesus was imminent, there was no point in continuing to work on this earth. Paul went on in the Second Epistle to explain that certain events must happen before the Lord Jesus' return. In particular, there would be a world-wide rebellion against God, led by one who would become incarnate in the forces of lawlessness and anarchy. These persons were being held in check by a power which Paul did not need to name in writing, since his readers already understood what he meant. He told the Thessalonians not to live at the expense of others, but to get back to work. Some of the Thessalonian Christians were apparently confusing the suddenness of the Lord's coming with its immediacy.

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