2 Thessalonians - Introduction

Some of the Thessalonian believers, after reading Paul’s first letter, had got the idea that Jesus was about to come again very soon. Paul had written that the end would come suddenly (1 Thessalonians 5:3); but the Thessalonians understood from this that Jesus was coming immediately. For this reason, many of the Thessalonians had completely stopped working, and were simply sitting around waiting for the Lord to appear! Therefore, Paul wrote this second letter to correct the Thessalonians’ mistaken thinking and behavior. Paul writes to them saying, in effect: “Get up; go back to work; don’t be lazy.”