2 Thessalonians: Stand firm: the day has not come

Where 2 Thessalonians sits

In the story

Act VI, Church · The Journeys, c. AD 48–57

In the Bible

New Testament · Letters · book 53 of 66

Before it in the story

1 Thessalonians

After it in the story

1 Corinthians

The second letter to the young church at Thessalonica, written from Corinth a short time after the first; it guards the church's hope against panic and idleness and gives the New Testament's fullest word on the man of lawlessness.

2 Thessalonians summary

Soon after the first letter, Paul, Silvanus and Timothy write again from Corinth to a church still under persecution and now shaken by a claim, perhaps carried by a letter falsely bearing Paul's name, that the day of the Lord had already come (2:2). Paul first thanks God that their faith and love are growing under affliction, and comforts them with God's justice: when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in blazing fire, He will give rest to His afflicted people and repay those who afflict them, who will suffer eternal destruction away from His presence, while He is glorified in His saints (1:3–12). Then he corrects the false alarm. The day is the coming of the Lord and our gathering to Him, and it will not come until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, who sets himself up in God's place; something and someone now restrain him until God's time, the secret power of lawlessness already works, and the Lord Jesus will destroy him by the breath of His mouth and the splendor of His coming, while those who refuse the truth are given over to the lie (2:1–12). Against that darkness Paul thanks God that He chose the believers to be saved and called them to share Christ's glory, and urges them to stand firm in the teaching they received (2:13–17). Finally he asks for prayer, trusts the faithful Lord, and deals sternly but as family with those who refuse to work, before signing the letter in his own hand (3:1–18). Readers differ on who the lawless one and the restrainer are; the letter's own point is clear: the day has not come, the Lord will finish evil at His coming, and His people must stand firm and get on with ordinary faithful work.

2 Thessalonians in context

Written by

Paul, writing again with Silvanus and Timothy (1:1), and signing the greeting with his own hand as the mark of every genuine letter (3:17)

Written to

The church of the Thessalonians, still persecuted (1:4), unsettled by a claim that the day of the Lord had come (2:2), and troubled by members who would not work (3:6–12)

Setting

Most likely Corinth, a few weeks or months after the first letter, while Paul, Silas and Timothy were still together there (Acts 18:5, 11)

When

c. AD 51, soon after 1 Thessalonians and during Paul's eighteen months at Corinth (Acts 18:11–12).

Why

To comfort a persecuted church with the certainty of God's just judgment at Christ's revealing; to correct the false claim that the day of the Lord had already come by recalling what must come first and how the Lord will end it; to steady them in God's choice and call and in the apostolic teaching; and to command those living in idleness to work quietly, with discipline that seeks their repentance.

Themes of 2 Thessalonians

• Justice at His revealing
• The day has not come
• Evil restrained and ended
• Truth refused, truth believed
• Stand firm in the teaching
• Work while you wait

Key verses in 2 Thessalonians

• 2 Thessalonians 1:7–8

  and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

• 2 Thessalonians 1:10

  on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:3

  Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:8

  And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14

  But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth. To this He called you through our gospel, so that you may share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:15

  Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.

• 2 Thessalonians 3:3

  But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

• 2 Thessalonians 3:10

  For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

2 Thessalonians chapter by chapter

Part 1 · Comfort: the justice of His revealing 1:1–12

1. 1
   2 Thessalonians 1: When the Lord Jesus is revealed

   Their growing faith under persecution shows God is just: at Christ's revealing He will give relief and judge their foes.

Part 2 · The day has not come 2:1–17

1. 2
   2 Thessalonians 2: The day has not come

   The day of the Lord has not come: the rebellion and the lawless one come first, and the Lord will destroy him.

Part 3 · Pray, trust and work 3:1–18

1. 3
   2 Thessalonians 3: Do not grow weary in well-doing

   Pray for the word's progress; the Lord is faithful. Keep away from the idle: work quietly and earn your own bread.

See the outline of 2 Thessalonians