2 Thessalonians 3:16-18

¹⁶Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.

Lastly Paul end his letter to the Thessalonians by praying for peace amongst the church, that Christ will be with them always.

¹⁷I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand, which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. ¹⁸The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

In verse 17 Paul states that the way for the Thessalonians to distinguish his letters is by how he writes/his penmanship, so they will know that the letter has come from Paul and not some false teacher. Evidently, the Thessalonian church would have had some disguising themselves as Paul by sending them false letters.

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2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

⁶In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.

As Paul had just previously mentioned there are some people who do not have faith in Christ, and so he had asked the Thessalonian church to pray against such evil. In this circumstance Paul talks about people who have come to faith in Christ yet are idle and are not living according to the Word that was presented to them.

⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, ⁸nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

The idleness Paul is talking about is those who do not work to earn their keep. In verse 7 Paul mentions how when they were with them they worked so that they would have money to buy their own food rather than be a burden to them as mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 2:6-9 “We were not looking for praise from men, not from you or anyone else. As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us. Surely you remember, brothers, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you.”

⁹We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

In verse 9 Paul shows the way of leadership by example, or in other words practicing what they preach. That they worked to serve as examples of how the Thessalonians should also live. Note also in verse 10 how Paul had given them a rule in regards to work. Paul would have also given them more rules to follow so that they would know how to live holy lives. This is why in verse 6 Paul tells them to keep away from anyone who doesn’t live according to the teaching they had received in case they may turn to sin once more.

¹¹We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. ¹²Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. ¹³And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.

Here Paul gives reason why he writes about idleness, and it is because he has heard about some of them being idle. Paul would have heard this from Timothy his companion, who was sent to check up on how the church was coming along as we read in 1 Thessalonians 3:6 “But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you.”

Paul gives those who are idle a way out of their situation, which is to ‘settle down and earn the bread they eat’. In other words to start working and not be busybodies. Note that this verse teaches there is hope for those who have fallen into sin/slipped in their faith. There is a way to overcome and Paul here demonstrates this by his encouragement to those who had become idle.

¹⁴If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. ¹⁵Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother.

Paul gives the rest of the brothers an instruction on how to properly handle such people who are idle. That is, not to regard them as enemies of Christ and the church but rather not to associate with them so that they may feel ashamed of their actions/lack of and turn/repent and start to do as they were initially instructed.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

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2 Thessalonians 3:1-5

1Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.

Paul continues his prayer for the brothers of Thessalonica by asking them in return to also pray for him and his companions in preaching the Word of God in the same manner as it reached the Thessalonians. For the Thessalonian church had received the gospel only for a short period of time before Paul had to leave due to persecution, yet the word spread rapidly in the region and their growth in faith despite persecution became well known amongst other churches.

2And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men, for not everyone has faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.

In verse 2 Paul asks for prayers of deliverance from evil,which is similar in the prayer that Jesus had taught to pray in Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” He states that not everyone around them has faith in Christ, which is why they should pray for deliverance from such people who are drawn to the sinful nature as they will try to oppose them and drag them away from Christ.

4We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.

In verse 4 Paul displays his trust and faith in the church by having confidence that they will continue on in the Lord even without their presence. He also prays an appropriate prayer for their current circumstance, that they may know the love of God, and to have Christ’s perseverance due to the persecution they are receiving.

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2 Thessalonians 2:13-17

¹³But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.

After Paul had mentioned the end times where the anti-Christ would come, here he contrasts with speaking about the believers of the true God Jesus Christ. Paul here is talking to the brothers in Thessalonica stating that they were chosen to be saved by God in the beginning. He gives thanks to God for choosing to save them from the coming wrath of God that will be poured out in the end times when the anti-Christ makes his appearance. Note that Paul has also mentioned the trinity, where the Father has chosen to save them, the Holy Spirit works through the believer to sanctify them, and how they are saved by their belief in the truth of Jesus Christ.

Similarly in 1 Peter 1:2 “who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”

Ephesians 1:13-14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”

¹⁴He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

Paul states that the work of preaching the gospel was used to call the Thessalonians to believe in Jesus Christ and that this is how the Father had called them. In verse 15 Paul encourages the Thessalonians to stand firm in Christ despite the persecution that they were receiving.

¹⁶May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, ¹⁷encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.

Paul prays that the encouragement and strength they receive comes from God himself  not just from them (apostles and disciples) because God is the source of encouragement, hope in Christ, and strength.

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2 Thessalonians 2:1-12

¹Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers, ²not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come.

Continuing from the previous passage where Paul had begun to mention events to happen at the coming of the Lord during the end times, in this passage Paul clarifies with the church in Thessalonica the event of the end days where the man of lawlessness is revealed. In verse 1 Paul makes mention that he is talking about the coming of the Lord and also how the believers of Christ will be gathered to him at that day. He gives them a warning not to be alarmed at false teaching that people around them are saying that the Lord has already come. He makes mention that there are people that are falsley using Paul’s name to trick them into believing that the ‘prophesy, report, letter’ has come from Paul.

Matthew 24:4-8 “Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

³Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.

Paul makes it clear to the Thessalonian church that the day of the Lord won’t happen until the man of lawlessness (anti-Christ) is revealed, and he continues in verse 4 by giving the Thessalonians foresight into what the anti-Christ will do – he will proclaim to be God in God’s temple. When this event happens then the believers will know that the time of the Lord has come. This event is also mentioned in the book of Matthew.

Matthew 24:15-28 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time. “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.”

Daniel 9:27 “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

Daniel 11:31-32 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.”

⁵Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?

Paul here reminds them that he had previously told them of this teaching while he was with them. By his question in verse 5 obviously some in Thessalonica had either forgotten, neglected, or disregarded this teaching.

⁶And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. ⁷For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way.

Paul here states that because the anti-Christ has not come yet, it is because of the one that holds him back, so that he is revealed at a time appointed by God. And the Thessalonians know who holds him back:  The power of the Holy Spirit (prevailing in the church body/believers) will hold it back until the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, that is when the believers are brought up to Christ.

Daniel 12:1-3 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.”

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.”

⁸And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.

Once he (the Holy Spirit within the church/believers) are taken out of the way (raptured) then the lawless one will be revealed to those who remain. Paul states here that Jesus will overthrow and destroy the anti-Christ with his splendor.

In Revelations John is given a depiction of the Lord in his brilliance. Revelations 1:14-16 “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”

Revelations 19:11-21 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.” Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.”

⁹The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, ¹⁰and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹²and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Note the way that Satan works, by presenting counterfeit teachings to those of Christ. In verse 9 Paul states miracles, signs, and wonders. Even the anti-Christ is a counterfeit of the true Christ. Paul states that those who are deceived by the lies of the enemy perish because they refuse to accept the truth but would rather believe the lie because they delight in wickedness.

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

1 Timothy 4:1-2 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”

2 Peter 2:1-3 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.”

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2 Thessalonians 1:1-12

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

This is the second letter Paul, Silas, and Timothy write to the church of Thessalonica whom they visited shortly before receiving persecution for their preaching the Word of God. Silas and Timothy were Paul’s companions in Christ and had come to know Jesus through Paul. Timothy being of Greek origins was sent to Thessalonica to find out about the state of the church and if the Thessalonians faith had grown, for Paul had feared that their efforts were useless because they had left so suddenly. After the first letter to the Thessalonians Paul finds that their faith did indeed grow however they had misunderstandings in which Paul had to write to them to clear some of the misconceptions. This letter continues from 1 Thessalonians. We notice as common in Paul’s letters the way he introduces himself in the name of God and also speaking on behalf of God by offering his grace and peace to them.

³We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.

Note the changes of the believers attitudes after they accept Jesus as their God and savior. Here Paul states that their faith and love are both increasing. Faith, hope, and love being of great importance to the believer as stated in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

⁴Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. ⁵All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

Obviously by what Paul says in verse 4, the Thessalonians are experiencing all kinds of persecutions and trials because of their faith in God. And as a church they together are enduring the hardships by perseverance and hope that God will see them through. In verse 5 Paul talks about the judgment that God had made in regards to persecution as mentioned in John 15:20-21 “Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.”

Also in Matthew 5:10-11 “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Why is someone counted worthy of the kingdom for suffering persecution? It is because although they are in the midst of peoples accusations, hatred, etc (persecution), they have not denied the true God and have faithfully trusted in the Lord despite their difficult situation.

⁶God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you ⁷and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

Verse 6 tells us that God is a just God. That it is not the Thessalonians who need to concern themselves with the judgment of others but it is the Lord who judges, the Lord who provides for the faithful, the Lord who helps those who are being mistreated.

Psalm 103:6 ‘The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

Note also that Paul mentions that God will bring said justice when Jesus comes again and is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. Paul here is referring to the end times as mentioned in the book of Revelations. This verse gives us insight that the angels of God have power given to them from God to do works for God. Also it refers to Christ coming with blazing fire. In several scriptures in Revelations Christ is seen with eyes of blazing fire, which symbolizes clarity/penetrating insight/omniscience.

Revelations 19:11-12 “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself.”

Revelations 1:14 “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.”

Matthew 24:30-31 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

2 Chronicles 16:9 “For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

⁸He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power

Those that do not accept the Lord Jesus to be their savior of the coming wrath will be shut out from the presence of the Lord as also mentioned in John 3:17-18 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son”

John 12:48 “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

Matthew 24:42-51 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Revelations 20:13-15 “The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

¹⁰on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

In verse 10 when Jesus comes again the believers of Christ will glorify the Lord and praise him. Paul states that this includes the Thessalonians who have believed in Jesus Christ. For those that have believed he gave them rights to be sons/daughters of God and they will be with the Father forever.

John 1:12-13 “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

¹¹With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

With the coming of the Lord and the inevitable end, Paul and his companions pray to God as their only hope/answer that the Thessalonians may be worthy of his calling by faith in God and works of faith. Note that prayer was Paul’s first reaction/action in helping the Thessalonians.

¹²We pray this so 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.

The reason for Paul and his companions prayers is so that Jesus is glorified as mentioned in verse 10 that the holy people will glorify the Lord on the day he comes.

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