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The Second Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, often referred to as Second Thessalonians and written 2 Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It is traditionally attributed to Paul, because it begins, "Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;" (2 Thess. 1:1) and ends, "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle: so I write" (2 Thess. 3:17). The dating of the book is believed by many scholars to be written between 52-54 AD, shortly after the First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written.[1][2]
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The authenticity of this epistle is still in widespread dispute. As Ernest Best explains the problem,
Of the books in the New Testament suspected of pseudepigraphy, 2 Thessalonians has the most evidence to support its authenticity.[4] While Paul's authorship of Second Thessalonians has been questioned more often than his authorship of 1 Thess., there is more evidence from early Christian writers for his authorship of Second Thessalonians than that of First Thessalonians.[5] The epistle was included in Marcion's canon and the Muratorian fragment; it was mentioned by name by Irenaeus, and quoted by Ignatius, Justin, and Polycarp.[6]
G. Milligan observed that a church which possessed an authentic letter of Paul would be unlikely to accept a fake addressed to them.[7] So also Colin Nicholl[8] who has put forward a substantial argument for the authenticity of Second Thessalonians.[9] He points out that 'the pseudonymous view is ... more vulnerable than most of its advocates conceded. ... The lack of consensus regarding a date and destination ... reflects a dilemma for this position: on the one hand, the date needs to be early enough for the letter to be have been accepted as Pauline ... [on] the other hand, the date and destination need to be such that the author could be confident that no contemporary of 1 Thessalonians ... could have exposed 2 Thessalonians as a ... forgery.'.[8]
Another scholar who argues for the authenticity of this letter is Jerome Murphy-O'Connor. Admitting that there are stylistic problems between Second Thessalonians and First Thessalonians, he argues that part of the problem is due to the composite nature of First Thessalonians (Murphy-O'Connor is only one of many scholars who argue that the current text of Second Thessalonians is the product of merging two or more authentic letters of Paul.) Once the text of this interpolated letter is removed and the two letters compared, Murphy-O'Connor asserts that this objection is "drastically weakened", and concludes, "The arguments against the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians are so weak that it is preferable to accept the traditional ascription of the letter to Paul."[10]
Those who believe Paul was the author of Second Thessalonians also note how Paul drew attention to the authenticity of the letter by signing it himself: "I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, which is how I write in every letter.".[11] Bruce Metzger writes, "Paul calls attention to his signature, which was added by his own hand as a token of genuineness to every letter of his (3:17)."[12]
Other scholars who hold to authenticity include Beale,[13] Green,[14] Jones,[15] Morris,[16] and Witherington.[17]
At least as early as 1798, when J.E.C. Schmidt published his opinion, Paul's authorship of this epistle was questioned.[18] More recent challenges to this traditional belief came at the turn of the 20th century from scholars such as William Wrede in 1903[19] and Alfred Loisy in 1933[20] challenged the traditional view of the authorship.
Many today believe that it was not written by Paul but by an associate or disciple after his death, representing what they believed was his message, so Ehrman,[21] Gaventa,[22] Smiles,[23] Schnelle,[24] Boring,[25] and Kelly.[26] Norman Perrin observes, "The best understanding of 2 Thessalonians ... is to see it as a deliberate imitation of 1 Thessalonians, updating the apostle's thought.".[27] Perrin bases this claim on his hypothesis that prayer at the time usually treated God the Father as ultimate judge, rather than Jesus. However, some form critics have disagreed, instead holding that only Palestinian Jews would have had any problem worshipping Jesus as God.[28]
Thessalonica was the second city in Europe where Paul helped to create an organized Christian community. At some point after the first letter was sent, probably soon, some of the Thessalonicans grew concerned over whether those who had died would share in the parousia. This letter was written in response to this concern. The problem then arises, as Raymond Brown points out, whether this letter is an authentic writing of Paul written by one of his followers in his name.[29]
If this letter is authentic, then it might have been written soon after Paul's first letter to this community—or possibly years later. Brown notes that Paul "most likely visited Thessalonica several times in his journeys to Macedonia". However, if the letter is not authentic, Brown notes that "in some ways interpretation becomes more complex."[30] Brown believes that the majority of scholars who advocate pseudonymity would place it towards the end of the first century, during a period where evil on a global scale was actively working against Christianity, the same time that Revelation was written. These scholars emphasize the appearance of "man of sin" in the second chapter of this letter, whether this personage is identified with the Antichrist of 1 John and Revelation, or with a historical person like Caligula.[31]
The traditional view is that the second epistle to the Thessalonians was probably written from Corinth not many months after the first. Apparently the first letter was misunderstood, especially regarding the second advent of Christ. The Thessalonians had embraced the idea that Paul had taught that "the day of Christ was at hand", that Christ's coming was about to occur. This error is corrected (2:1-12), and the apostle announces what first must take place before the end times. The "Great Apostasy" is first mentioned here as is the "Katechon".
A passage from this book reading "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat", (2 Thess. 3:10), was later adapted by Vladimir Lenin as an adage of the Soviet Union, He who does not work, neither shall he eat.
This article incorporates text from Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897), a publication now in the public domain.
Online translations of the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians:
Exegetical Papers on Second Thessalonians:
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Second Epistle to the Thessalonians
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| Preceded by First Thessalonians |
New Testament Books of the Bible |
Succeeded by First pastoral epistle to Timothy |
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