Clarification

     I can't help but laugh at the background story for 2 Thessalonians. I just finished 1 Thessalonians, which ends with a reminder to remain alert because Jesus is going to return as a thief in the night. The Thessalonians, in typical human fashion, read this letter and assumed Paul meant that Jesus was coming back in two or three days. The Thessalonians panicked, closed their shops, stopped going to work, and sat on top of a hill wondering what was taking Jesus so long. Paul, after most likely banging his head against a table for several minutes, wrote 2 Thessalonians to clarify. So, if you've ever read the Bible and been confused by what it said...you're not alone. Let's see how Paul deals with this PR disaster.

     The greeting is the same as 1 Thessalonians, identifying Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy as the writers, wishing grace, peace, etc. He then gives a similar opening to the last book, saying that they thank God for them always because of how their faith and love grow, and that they tell other churches about how well these guys put up with persecution. I almost imagine this opening as the obligatory compliments given before you correct something incredibly stupid a worker has done. This is Paul's "Mr. Smith, you know we consider you an invaluable asset to this company, and no one appreciates your unmatched work ethic more than I, but..."
     Nevertheless, there's some meat here in the opening, so let's look at the things Paul brings out of this unfortunately mistaken church.


    "We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other,"
- Obviously, the fact that they have faith and love for each other is a plus. They have faith enough to close their shops, and love enough to make sure everyone else does the same. It's funny how the most confident, charismatic people often end up being the ones that are wrong. Imagine if the Thessalonians had gotten the message correct and spread it with the Chicken Little fervor they applied to the false message.


"so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;"
- An interesting statement here. The persecution they're enduring is proof of God's righteousness in judgment, and it's being done so that they'll be considered worthy of the Kingdom. God is righteous, and if He's not dealing with you like a righteous king would, then you're obviously not considered part of His Kingdom.


"since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you,"
- Part of the reason telling other churches about this helps is because it includes stories about how God has repaid those who are persecuting the Thessalonians. So, rest easy, because persecution helps build you up, and those who perform will get what's coming to them.


" and togive you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,"
- And we'll get a break when Jesus does come back.


" in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,""
- ...yeesh. Coming back to the repayment the persecutors will receive...it's not pretty. There is fire, and pain, and eternal separation from God.


"when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. "
- The image here is that Jesus comes down, rights all the wrongs, and then is worshipped. In a way, we perform a small version of this celebration in every worship service. When Jesus comes back, He will come down, vanquish all evil, and we will all glorify Him. When Jesus came down here the first time, He died on the cross, vanquished our evil, and now we worship Him until He comes down to do it again.


      Paul then says they're praying for them that they would be considered worthy of this calling (And, after that description, I bet they are too) and they would have the power to do everything God's calling them to do, ending with a good reminder that the purpose of it all is so that Jesus will be glorfied, not that their hides will be saved.
     As far as communication goes, this really is a brilliant opening. You have to image all of the people gathered around on hills or in fields, the ghost town behind them, waiting for Jesus to return. A messenger runs up to them with a letter from Paul, which is greeted with cheers because he was the one who showed them that they needed to abandon everything and wait on this hill for Jesus. Instead of getting right into "It has come to my attention that there has been some miscommunication about my previous letter..." Paul starts with a typical opening and goes into a description of the day of the Lord, at which I'm sure the crowd was hollering and cheering. He got them on his side and let them know he wasn't here because he changed his mind, which let him segue into the real point in the next few chapters. Excellent writing. I love it.