2 Thessalonians

1Chapter

Greeting

1Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving

3We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of every one of you for one another is increasing. 4Therefore we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions that you are enduring.

The Judgment at Christ's Coming

5This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed. 11To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, 12so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Chapter

The Man of Lawlessness

1Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Firm

13But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.
16Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.
3Chapter

Pray for Us

1Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith. 3But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one. 4And we have confidence in the Lord about you, that you are doing and will do the things that we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Warning Against Idleness

6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.
13As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. 14If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. 15Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Benediction

16Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all.
17I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. This is the sign of genuineness in every letter of mine; it is the way I write. 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Study
Chapter 1
ESV

Opening. Paul’s opening here is very similar to 1 Thess. 1:1 (see note). On authorship, see Introduction: Author and Title. The fact that all three missionaries are still together suggests that 2 Thessalonians was written shortly after 1 Thessalonians.

ESV

Thanksgiving and Comfort for the Persecuted Thessalonians. In Greek, vv. 3–10 are one long, unwieldy sentence containing Paul’s gratitude and encouragement.

ESV

Thanksgiving Proper. Paul gives thanks for the faith and love of the Thessalonians, even while they are suffering persecution.

ESV

ought … as is right. Paul is reassuring the Thessalonians that his giving thanks to God for them is both legitimate and necessary in the face of their concern caused by misunderstanding the Lord’s return (2:1–2). Specifically he gives thanks for their increasing faith and love (cf. 1 Thess. 3:6). “Hope” is not mentioned here (cf. 1 Cor. 13:13; 1 Thess. 1:3; 5:8), which may suggest that the Thessalonians were in need of it. The fact that their love for one another is increasing is an answer to Paul’s prayer in 1 Thess. 3:12.

ESV

The Thessalonians are so highly thought of that Paul and his coworkers boast about them to other churches of God concerning their steadfastness and faith in the context of unrelenting and severe persecutions and afflictions.

ESV

Justice Guaranteed When Jesus Returns. The wicked will be punished and the righteous vindicated.

ESV

The Thessalonians’ endurance and faith under persecution constitute evidence of the righteous judgment of God. Since God is granting them the grace to endure, he is clearly on their side and is working to make them worthy for entrance into the kingdom of God. Cf. Phil. 1:28, where the Philippian Christians’ fearless perseverance in persecution is a proof (Gk. endeixis, from the same root as endeigma) that they will be saved and their enemies destroyed when Jesus returns.

ESV

a No one can doubt the fairness of God’s judgment when he dispenses justice according to lex talionis (the principle of an eye for an eye): those now afflicting (Gk. thlibō) the Thessalonian Christians will be afflicted (Gk. thlipsis, a noun from the same root), and the afflicted believers will get relief at the second coming. as well as to us. The Thessalonians are not alone with respect to their suffering for Christ or their destiny when Jesus returns.

CSB

Essentially, hell is separation from God’s presence. For those who refuse God’s grace and influence in their lives, he gives them what they want—no experience of God.

ESV

b The just judgment of God comes in fullness at the second coming, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven (cf. 1 Thess. 4:16–17). Jesus is called “Lord,” which identifies him as Yahweh who executes final judgment (see Isaiah 64; 66; cf. Introduction to Mark: Key Themes).

ESV

in flaming fire. Jesus the judge will be awesome and devastating, and he will instill fear in the hearts of unbelievers. See Isa. 66:15–16; Dan. 7:9–10.

ESV

When Jesus comes again, unbelievers will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, a ruinous and unending judgment of separation from Jesus. Against the idea of the final annihilation of unbelievers, see Matt. 25:46; Rev. 14:9–11.

ESV

when he comes. The punishment of unbelievers and the reward of believers both occur on the day of the Lord (that day), when Jesus comes to save his people. Confusion regarding the timing of the day of the Lord is a major problem in Thessalonica (2:2). Paul’s description of the day in 1:7b–10 would have helped to alleviate the crisis. Jesus will at that time be glorified in his saints, that is, his glory will be seen in them (see Rom. 8:17–18, 30). saints. Lit., “holy ones” (plural of Gk. hagios). Believers will be fully and finally transformed so that they are holy and blameless at the second coming (see 1 Thess. 3:13; 5:23–24). In addition, Jesus will be marveled at among all who have believed. Paul assumes that the Thessalonian Christians are included in this group, so he writes because our testimony to you was believed. To proclaim the gospel is to bear “testimony” to the saving act of God in Christ.

ESV

Prayer Report. Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians is that God will make them worthy of their calling, so that Jesus may be glorified in them.

ESV

To this end. That is, in view of vv. 5–10. our God. Paul unites himself with the Thessalonians with respect to God. make you worthy. Having declared that the Thessalonian Christians will be considered worthy (Gk. kataxioō) of the kingdom when Jesus the judge comes (v. 5), Paul’s prayer for them is that they may even now be made worthy (Gk. axioō) of this calling (see 1 Thess. 2:12). resolve for good. A God-imparted resolution to do good. work of faith. Work inspired by faith.

ESV

according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The glorification of Christ’s name in the Thessalonians occurs when they exalt him as Lord in their daily lives.