More than a Greeting

This letter from the apostle Paul was probably written shortly after his first letter to the church in Thessalonica. The apparent occasion for 2 Thessalonians is an update Paul has received concerning the church (2 Thess. 3:11). Three issues in particular demand further instruction and application: (1) the ongoing experience of persecution (see 1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 3:1-5); (2) an unsettling rumor concerning the day of the Lord (see 1 Thess. 5:1-11); and (3) the ongoing presence of idlers among the church (see 1 Thess. 4:11-12; 5:15). Paul broadly addresses these themes in 2 Thess. 1, 2, and 3 respectively.