Getting Biblical in Daily Life
The First and Second Epistle to the Thessalonians are theological masterpieces that have influenced billions of people over the last two thousand years. We will now attempt to condense all their goodies into a couple pages of super short summary…and we'll do it…blindfolded!
No, not really. But wish us luck anyway.
Who Wrote These?
This is an easy question, right? Paul of Tarsus wrote 'em. Ever heard of him? Saint. Apostle. All-around good guy (source, p. 1199). Case closed.
Not so fast. While it's true that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians, there's quite a bit of debate about whether or not he wrote 2 Thessalonians. Maybe you even noticed some of the weird difference and similarities between the two:
• They both cover the roughly the same topics in the same order. Paul must have really liked that structure.
• Some sections even have the exact same wording. Whoa. Good memory, Paul.
• The letters have slightly different views of the second coming. In 1 Thessalonians, Jesus is gonna return soon. In 2 Thessalonians, we'll need to wait a bit first.
• 2 Thessalonians doesn't really include many personal details about Paul. He did like talking about himself sometimes.
• 1 Thessalonians is super warm and friendly, while 2 Thessalonians is kind of cold. Why so chill, Paul?
Scholars who think Paul wrote this second letter say that it was probably written within a few months of his first letter. Apparently, the Thessalonians got the first message and totally misinterpreted what Paul was saying, so he had to pick up pen and parchment again to correct them.
But if Paul wanted to let the Thessalonians know that they were in the wrong, why did he use the exact same structure and argument? Why not come up with something new? Paul was also no stranger to calling out Christians who misunderstood him. Just look at both his letters to the Corinthians where he repeatedly scolds those guys for not getting it. 2 Thessalonians has none of that righteous anger. It just doesn't make a lot of sense (source, p. 1213-14).
We here at Shmoop are gonna go with the "Paul…you are not the author" camp on this one. It's probably more likely that an anonymous guy who knew Paul's letters just wrote a new one under his name. People did it all the time in the ancient world. In fact, there are seven other letters in the Bible attributed to Paul that probably weren't written by him. Today, we call it plagiarism, but the early Christians called it a really good way to get people to read what you wrote.
Of course, you're totally allowed to disagree (lots of really fancy Bible scholars do). We won't judge. And Shmoop never lets a little disagreement about biblical interpretation come between friends.
Why Did They Write These?
Now that we (kind of) know who wrote these letters, we're asking ourselves one question: why? It's pretty clear that Paul wrote 1 Thessalonians out of sheer joy. He's just gotten back an awesome report from Timothy on what's going on in Thessalonica, and he's super relieved. He was kind on pins and needles because the church was being persecuted there and he was worried that the Thessalonian Christians were gonna give up (1 Thessalonians 3:5). Nevah!
Now, why did our anonymous author write 2 Thessalonians? Well, it seems like some random Christian didn't much like the way people were interpreting Paul's first letter. Is the day of the Lord already here? Nope. Can Christians just laze around and wait for the end of the world? Double nope. And who better to tell these confused Christians this than "Paul" himself? (Source, p. 1214.)
Apocalypse Very, Very Soon
The main crux of both letters to the Thessalonians is that Jesus is coming back—and it's gonna be awesomesauce. Both letters also give specifics about what the return of the king (of kings) will look like:
The Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Impressive, right?
Even though no one knew exactly when this would happen, there are some hints in the letters. Paul says that the day will come suddenly and unexpectedly like "a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). S, stay alert, y'all, and make sure you're getting some seriously fun items crossed off your bucket list.
2 Thessalonians has some even more specific details about the end of life as we know it. When the "man of sin" is revealed to the world all hell will break lose. Literally:
That day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction[…] And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed when his time comes. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming. (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6-8)
Naturally, lots of people have tried to predict when Jesus would come back based on these passages. Even the author of 2 Thessalonians had to deal with people of that time thinking that maybe Jesus had already come back and they missed it (2 Thessalonians 2:2). Um, we think the angels and trumpets would be kind of a dead giveaway.
Why were the early Christians so focused on the second coming of Christ? Well, it was obviously a really early part of the Jesus tradition. Compare what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians to what Matthew writes in his gospel around 35 years later:
The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven" with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31)
It also kind of makes sense when you think about it. Here you have a persecuted religious minority who can't seem to get the kind of traction they are hoping for around the Roman Empire. They know that only they've got the truth, but pretty much everyone hates them. So if God is the great guy they know him to be, he's totally going to prove them right one day. Just think how silly all those non-believers will feel when they see the Lord descend from Heaven on a cloud flanked by angels and trumpets blaring. (Source, p. 1201.)
The Wrath of God
But, a divine I-told-you-so will be the least of these non-believers issues when the man himself returns. There's gonna be wrath and lots of it:
• "You turned to God […] to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming." (1 Thessalonians 1:10-11)
• "When they say, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape!" (1 Thessalonians 5:3)
• "For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus." (2 Thessalonians 6-8)
• "All who have not believed the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned." (2 Thessalonians 2:12)
Yikes. So not only will God reward the wicked; he'll also smite the heck out of the sinners.
More Details Please
So good people go to Heaven, and bad people go to…the other place. But what else will happen when the world ends? We need more info in order to get prepared.
Paul is pretty clear that those who have died while waiting for Jesus haven't missed the boat. Jesus will resurrect them (not as zombies, we hope) and they'll get to share in eternal life with God. He's adamant that since Jesus died and rose again, essentially that's what's gonna happen to everyone (1 Thessalonians 4:14). We know—it kind of sounds like zombies, but it isn't…we don't think.
Stairway to Heaven
So how does one assure their place in this the glorious new world with Jesus? If you ask Paul (and we did), he'd say you need faith, hope, and love (1 Thessalonians 5:8). It's kind of his thing.
By faith, he means having faith in Jesus. Only those who followed Jesus in their lifetimes will get that free pass to float into the clouds. Hope is all about hope for the future. Paul thinks that people need to have the right ideas about the second coming and all the things that God will do when the world ends in order to have a lock on entry to Heaven. Love is more complicated. This involves the way we treat each other—and, boy, does Paul have lots of advice on this front.
Love Is All…Er…One of the Three Things You Need
Though Paul says the Thessalonians are already excelling at loving each other, he encourages them to "do so more and more" (1 Thessalonians 4:10). By that he means that the Thessalonians should be respectful and helpful to other Christians, but also to non-believers:
• "Aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we directed you, so that you may behave properly toward outsiders and be dependent on no one." (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12)
• "See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all." (1 Thessalonians 5:15)
When you consider that non-believers were not the friendliest bunch, this is a pretty tall order. Of course, these guys will be experiencing the wrath of God pretty soon, so maybe it is better just to be polite for now.
Even Paul's thoughts on sexuality are based on his views on love. We tend to think of what people do in the privacy of their own bedrooms as, well, private, but Paul saw this way differently. Sexual morality was something that affected the entire community, and he just couldn't keep his nose out of other people's beds.
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6)
You'll notice that he talks about private sexytimes in terms of how this affects the whole community. God wants purity for everyone, so everyone needs to toe the line here. The group can also set itself apart from those lusty Gentiles if everyone controls their sex drives. He also doesn't want anyone to "exploit a brother or sister" sexually. We guess it does take two to tango. Or three, if you speak French.
Finally, the author of 2 Thessalonians doesn't see the impending destruction of the world as any reason to slack off. He comes down pretty hard on laziness:
When we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right. Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers. (2 Thessalonians 3:10-15)
Again, if one person in the group isn't pulling his or her weight, everyone suffers. People need to get moving (and get loving) or else face the consequences in the community. It sort of reminds us of the story of the Little Red Hen. If you don't help bake the bread, you're sure not gonna get to eat it in the end.
We Shall Overcome
According to Paul, doing all this good stuff would make you one awesome Christian. (We hope they looked good in white robes and a harp.)
But until that day comes, he says, the rest of the world might not react so politely. Clearly, Christians were being persecuted left and right for their beliefs:
• "You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit." (1 Thessalonians 1:6)
• "You suffered the same things from your own compatriots as they did from the Jews." (1 Thessalonians 2:14)
• "We sent Timothy […] to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions." (1 Thessalonians 3:2-3)
• "We ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring." (2 Thessalonians 1:4)
• "This […] is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. For it is indeed just of God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to the afflicted as well as to us." (2 Thessalonians 1:5-7)
Okay, so this kind of stinks, but it's no cause for panic. Suffering builds character, right? In other words, it's "intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God" (2 Thessalonians 1:5). Paul wears his suffering like a badge of honor most days, so while he isn't thrilled that his brothers and sisters are getting picked on, he also thinks some good can come of it.
It's the End of the World As We Know It
1 and 2 Thessalonians pretty much jive with the rest of the New Testament on this end of the world stuff. Jesus talks about it in the gospels and Paul mentions it a ton in his letters. It was pretty typical view among Christians of the early church. Jesus was going to return and everyone would feel really stupid for not believing them. Just look at the Book of Revelation as an example. The heavens open up, plagues rain down, and God takes back what is rightfully his (read: the world).
They were off by at least 2,000 years. But, hey, no one's perfect.