Salutation
(Almost identical to greeting of 1 Thessalonians)
Paul includes Timothy and Silas along with his own name
He does not use the title “apostle”
(There was probably no issue regarding his authority)
He includes a greeting of “grace and peace”
He adds “from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”
It suggests that God is the source of grace and peace 

Thanksgiving for their perseverance

1:3        Paul gives thanks to God for their spiritual progress
              We “ought” to thank God – sense of obligation
              It is right and appropriate
              He describes this progress in terms of their faith “growing
              more and more”
              Faith could be trust or the body of teachings
              And their love for each other is increasing
              (In 1 Thess, Paul prayed that their love might increase –
              that prayer was answered)
              Faith and love are foundational to Christian life
              Verbs are in present tense – suggests faith and love
              were still growing

1:4        Paul boasts about their faith to other churches
              Generally, they did not boast, but here they could not
              remain silent
              In spite of adversities, believers have remained faithful to               Christ
              They have been “enduring” persecutions
              Verbs here are present tense as well; persecutions were
              ongoing

1:5        Their work is a testament to God’s righteous judgment
              It is he who gives strength to endure
              His judgment is “right” – evidence of the genuineness of               their faith
              His future judgment will include recognition of their
              sufferings
              Not that they will “earn” it; rather it will be God’s gracious
              gift
              It is based on their decision to believe in Jesus
              God does not “send” suffering; suffering is what happens
              to Christians
              Their resolve in the face of persecution confirms their               relation to God

1:6-7     Treatment of persecutors
              People will reap the consequences of their actions
              They will be punished in accord with the sufferings they’ve               inflicted
              Their future sufferings will be much worse than present               tribulations
              Ultimately, they will be denied entrance into the kingdom
              In turn, the persecuted will find rest
              Relief will come when Jesus is revealed
              Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his powerful               angels
              Power belongs to Jesus; angels will be in attendance
           
1:8-10  Consequences for persecutors
              He will punish those who “trouble” you
              Troublers do not know God and do not obey the gospel
              These are people who rejected the word (not those who’ve
              never heard it)
              They had the opportunity but did not take it
              Some people hear and respond; those that don’t are               accountable
              They will be punished (literally, “pay the penalty”)
              The penalty fits their crime
              Their punishment will be everlasting destruction
              They will be shut out from the presence of the Lord and the               majesty of his power
              Their punishment, then, is separation from the Lord
              In talking about the Lord’s power, Paul is encouraging
              them in the face of their not having much in societal power
              Mostly, though, his point is the destruction of those who do               not obey gospel
              They will receive their “wages” on the day he comes
              Jesus will come to be glorified in his holy people
              Believers are the “holy ones”; they will be vindicated on
              that day
              Those who believe will marvel at the Lord
              They, of course, would be included as believers

Constant prayers
Paul and company continually pray for them that they may be worthy of God’s calling
In the end, all that matters is God’s appraisal of us
It will be determined by what we allow him to do through us
It will also have a bearing on our future glory
Paul prays that by God’s power, He [God] will fulfill every good purpose in them
Expression is literally “good pleasure of goodness”
The inspiration is always God’s, and God will complete their good intentions
Paul prays this so that the name of Jesus may be glorified in you
The “name” means the person
In other words, Paul prays so that the Lord Jesus may be glorified by their good and holy lives
They don’t have to wait for the Second Coming; they can do this now
This should not give us a sense of pride; rather all glory is given as grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ

II -- 2:1-12 – The Delay of Day of the Lord

The false claim
The section begins with a plea concerning “coming” and “being gathered”
When Jesus comes, it will be one event and a solemn occasion
They should not become “easily unsettled” or “alarmed”
“Unsettled” usually described action of raging sea – wave-tossed
It involves a sudden shock to the mind
Three things might unsettle them:  a prophesy, report, or letter
It might allegedly be from Paul saying Day of the Lord had already come            
(This could relate to something he said in 1 Thess re: the Day coming suddenly.) 
One thing led to another and “suddenly” became “soon,” and “soon” became “NOW”
Some Thessalonians believed that the Day of the Lord had already started

The man of lawlessness, the antichrist
They should not be deceived (possibly by false teachers)
The rebellion had not yet begun
Word is generally used in a political sense; here it probably relates to apostasy
Basically there will be a final upsurge of evil
This will be evidenced by deliberate opposition to the church
This will be the church’s “great tribulation”
In all this, the man of lawlessness will be revealed
He is characterized in terms of his opposition to God
It is unclear whether this refers to an individual, group, institution, etc
It is generally referred to as the “antichrist”
Given that he is to be “revealed,” it suggests that he already exists in some fashion
He is also characterized as “the man doomed to destruction”
He will oppose God and will exalt himself over everything that is called God
He will try to usurp God’s place and His claims
He will try to set himself up in God’s temple (figuratively speaking)
In short, he will proclaim himself to be God
(In 40CE, the emperor, Caligula tried to place his statue in the temple)

These events have not yet occurred
Paul reminds them of his previous words in this matter
They should remember what he has already told them
According to Paul, they also know what is holding the antichrist back
(What was apparently obvious to them, however, is hidden from us.)
Educated guesses include “God” or the “Holy Spirit” as holding him back
Others think that perhaps Paul saw his own ministry in that capacity
Nonetheless, the reason he is being held back is so that he can be revealed at the proper time
In short, it is the time that God will choose for revealing him
Until then, the antichrist is at work in the world opposing God

The revealing of the lawless one
Eventually the lawless one will be revealed – only to be destroyed
The Lord Jesus will overthrow him by the breath of his mouth and the splendor of his coming
It suggests that his overthrow will be easy
It does not say the lawless one will be destroyed, just rendered powerless
When Jesus comes in his splendor, the lawless one will be impotent
It will not be able to stand in the presence of the Christ
The work of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan
There will be all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders
(There is no additional information about how this works)
 Miracles, signs, and wonders are often used of the apostles’ works
Here, however, they will be used for deceit or evil
The motive of the lawless one is only to deceive
Satan’s work will be seen in every evil that deceives
His target will be those “who are perishing”, i.e. the unbelievers
They are perishing already because they refuse to love the truth and be saved
(The “truth” is obviously the gospel)
These are people who had the opportunity to hear and understand, but chose to reject the word of truth

The lie
Because they refuse to love the truth, God will send them a powerful delusion
(This causes some problems in suggesting that God further deludes them.)
Nonetheless, it suggests that God turns them over to their own devices
Those who close their eyes to the truth will be misled by falsehood
He does this so they will believe the lie – the denial of the truth
Such is the work of Satan
But this also accords with God’s plan
Those who refuse to believe in the truth and delight in wickedness will not be able to see the light of the gospel and the glory of Christ
There are consequences for refusing to believe                     

Exhortation to stand firm

2:13-14       Giving thanks
                      Paul now turns away from those who are perishing to
                      give thanks for those who have been faithful and are
                      being saved
                      (This is very similar to the beginning of the book)
                      They feel obligated to thank God always for the                       Thessalonians
                      They are affectionately addressed as “brothers” and
                       are loved by the Lord
                      The basis of their thanksgiving is that God chose them
                       from the beginning through the sanctifying work of the
                      Spirit and belief in the truth
                      These verses summarize how one becomes a
                      Christian
                      First, they are graciously chosen, then the Spirit works
                      through them, and finally there is the human
                      response of faith in being receptive and in accepting
                      the Spirit
                      God’s purpose was to choose them to share in the                       glory of Jesus Christ
                      The means, of course, was in the preaching of the                       gospel by Paul

2: 15             Hold on to the teachings
                      So then, they should stand firm in those teachings,                       whether by word of mouth or letter
                      Thus far, their steadfastness has been encouraging
                      Paul wanted them to continue to do so regardless of                       what the future might hold
                      They were to “hold to the teachings,” the traditions
                      that had been shared
                      Regardless whether by word or letter, God would                       always be the source

2:16-17        Final petition
                      Finally, he prays that they will be encouraged and                       strengthened in every good deed and word
                      The petition is addressed to the Lord Jesus Christ
                      and God our Father
                      It is only through the Son that people have really come                       to know the Father
                      God so loved us that he gave us eternal                       encouragement and good hope
                      This is evidenced by his giving of Jesus
                      On this basis the Thessalonians were encouraged
                      to offset their persecutions and doubts
                      By God’s grace they should speak and act in                       accordance with what they already are

A request for prayer
In addition to Paul’s prayers for them, he asks them to remember him in prayer
He asks for their support in his preaching of the gospel
They should pray that the message be spread rapidly and be honored
The gospel will be honored only insofar as it is reflected in the lives of those who’ve heard it
His second prayer is that they be delivered from evil and wicked men
The ones who are wicked and evil are the ones who oppose the gospel
It could include both Jews and Gentiles
For Paul pragmatically states, “Not everyone has faith”
(No doubt faith in this context refers to Christian faith)
Despite the lack of faith, however, the Lord God remains faithful
God can be relied upon and will not leave us to fend for ourselves
He, therefore, will strengthen and protect them from the evil one
(The evil one = Satan)
Paul prays that they will be delivered from satanic power
Because Paul trusts God, he knows he can trust the Thessalonians
Because of God’s grace, they will continue to do the things Paul commands
All of this is possible because God will direct their hearts towards God’s love and Christ’s perseverance
(“God’s love” could be either His love for us or our love for Him – both work)

IV -- 3:6-15 – A Warning Against Idleness
(It’s noteworthy that this follows his teachings on God’s grace and love)

Paul’s example of himself
Paul commands them to keep away from every brother who is idle
Idleness was not in accord with what Paul had taught them
Those who were idle were ignoring his teachings
They already knew how to follow his teachings – by following his example!
He was not idle while he was among them
(Paul’s trade as a tentmaker is well known)
Nor did they eat food without paying for it
Indeed, they had worked night and day to keep from being a burden on anyone
He is holding himself up as a model for all to follow
(This caused many problems for several churches who believed they had a duty to provide for Paul and his companions.  As their spiritual leader, he had the right to ask for their financial support, but he turned it down.)

The Maxim
Now, however, Paul reminds them of his years of labor and states: “if a man will not work, he shall not eat”
This may have been a well-known proverb or a maxim created by Paul
This is God’s will for his people
He is not condemning “unemployment,” but the unwillingness to work

Continued instruction
Those who are idle (not busy) are, in fact, “busybodies”
They were using their extra time to interfere in other people’s lives
Paul “commands” them to settle down and earn the bread they eat
Paul is firm, yet he does not abandon these people

How to deal with “busybodies”
First believers are to continue doing right
If they’ve been tempted to “join the crowd,” they should refrain from such thinking
They should never tire of doing what is right
Yet, they should be aware of those who refuse to accept these instructions
They are to separate themselves from these individuals
They would be denied the fellowship of the church
In so doing, the offender would be ashamed
That alone might motivate him to settle down and become a useful member
Regardless of his response, he should be warned as a brother, not as an enemy
He should be able to “learn” from his discipline
Rehabilitation is the goal

Paul ends with two short prayers
The first is for peace
He prays that the Lord of peace will give them an enduring peace
The Lord alone can give peace
That peace should continue regardless of outward circumstances
Paul signs the letter with his own hand
He claims this was the distinguishing mark of all his letters (not!)
It was unusual for an author to put his name at the end
It was not unusual for an author to add a few words at the end
Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all
Almost identical to ending of 1 Thessalonians
Paul continues to demonstrate what he preaches, identifying them as brothers
He shares with them the grace of God in Christ