Topic: Introduction to Second Thessalonians
Picking up from last week’s overview of First Thessalonians Pastor and author Chuck Swindoll offers this introduction to Second Thessalonians.
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.
Paul explained to them that this future time of tribulation had not yet come because a certain “man of lawlessness” had not yet been revealed (2 Thessalonians 2:3). 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 (2:6–7). 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.
The apostle Paul, in concern for the Thessalonian believers who were trying to stand firm in their faith under pressure from false teachers, taught the Thessalonians in this letter that their hope in Christ’s future return should serve as an encouragement to them in their suffering, motivating them to live responsibly for Him. Paul always connected his teaching on Jesus with the practical growth he expected to see as a result of such a deeply held faith.
Paul knew that hope in Christ would encourage perseverance in godly living. And hope is exactly what we lack today, one of the great roots of this gradual slip into increased self-centeredness. As you read the words of 2 Thessalonians, allow them to rekindle your hope and fan into flame your desire to live in God-honoring, industrious ways.
(https://insight.org/resources/bible/the-pauline-epistles/second-thessalonians)
See you Sunday!
Dr. Scott Kallem