Category: 2 Thessalonians

Paul’s letter closes with an encouragement of final blessings to the Thessalonian congregation. To prove that his letter, containing many blessings and also some strong messages, was the genuine article, Paul also included a personal note from himself to them. After all, if Paul’s message was a fake, then the promises and blessings (including those…

Sadly some in the Thessalonian church were not pulling their weight, and relying on others for their welfare. Paul had strong words for those that remained idle, warning them to get back to work and that their fellow church members should discipline them if not. This passage reminds us of the importance and blessing of…

Paul’s letter encourages the Thessalonian church to pray with confidence. Despite Paul’s exciting life, and the ups and downs the Thessalonians faced, Paul was still confident that God answered prayer, and so he asked the Thessalonians to pray for his gospel ministry. He did so because he was confident in God’s faithfulness, God’s work in…

God’s goodness to us is the outpouring of his covenant love, his love which saves us. It is a love which is always shown to us, no matter how much we continue to sin. A love which God showed us by sending Jesus to pay the penalty for our sins, while we were still sinners.…

In the face of a terrible coming evil, and the restrained foretaste of it already lashing their lives even then, it could be tempting to give up and give in. Instead, Paul encouraged them to stand firm and to continue to hold to the teaching which Paul had given them, both when he was with…

Reading of a great apostasy immediately preceding Christ’s return can place us in the same mental place as feeling outmatched by trouble or temptation. If God will send a strong delusion that will draw unbelievers to the Antichrist, how will Christians stand? But as strong as this delusion is, this passage in 2 Thessalonians assures…

Paul’s teaching on the Man of Lawlessness, otherwise known as the Antichrist, is exactly the type of teaching where this error can occur. But Paul wrote his letter to emphasise both the future and the present reality. The mystery of lawlessness is that it is present today but restrained, will one day be loosed, but…

While time will reveal who Paul was speaking about, we are left with plenty that explains the Antichrist’s purposes. And while we might disagree about who the Antichrist will be, we can see the same devilish purposes at play in a restrained way today since many antichrists are busy today (1 John 2:18). Being forewarned…

The Thessalonian church were worried that they had been left behind in a sense as well. Except it was a far greater concern than missed parents or missed transport; it was a concern that they had missed Jesus’ return. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to calm their concerns. They had not been left behind. They…

Jesus’ return will be the final victory and glorification of Jesus by everyone, everywhere. Nobody will be able to deny Jesus that victorious moment, then and forevermore. As Christians, we look forward to that day. Paul also encourages us to see it as a shared victorious moment, when we too will share in Christ’s glory.…