Last updated on November 20, 2024
The last part of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian church was about the promise that Jesus would one day return. It was meant to provide encouragement and comfort for them in the midst of their suffering.
I believe that the Bible is inspired by God. I think that’s what Paul means when he writes in a letter to Timothy that it’s God-breathed. It means that it wasn’t simply the work of a human. But it was the work of a human. Case in point…Paul doesn’t have a group of editors that goes through his letters before sending them. He writes what is on his heart. And sometimes he probably wishes that he had been a little more clear in what he wrote. I’m thinking for sure some of the things he said about women in other letters. But this is also one of those examples.
Those in the church in Thessalonica took his words about the second coming to heart. They thought Paul meant that it was right around the corner. Paul had said some strong things in that letter, and it freaked some of them out. Others decided that since Jesus was headed their way, they should chill for awhile. So they quit their jobs and just waited.
Word of this got back to Paul while he was still in Corinth, so he decided to write a second letter, hopefully better explaining what he meant. He encouraged them not to be alarmed, and for those who had quit their jobs, he urged them to get back to work and not be busybodies.
Here’s a favorite verse of mine from this letter…
“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).
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