1 and 2 THESSALONIANS

 Another town in Macedonia, Thessalonica, was visited by Paul during his second missionary tour (see Acts 20). After he left, Paul heard the people were confused about his teaching regarding the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. The first letter to the Thessalonians is one of Paul’s earliest, probably written in 51 A.D. Six months later he wrote the second letter, apparently having heard the people in that church were expecting the return of Jesus very soon or thought they were already living during the troubled last days.

The key to 1 Thessalonians is the fate of dead Christians who had expected to live until the return of Jesus. See Paul’s response in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11. Explain what he said. Compare his answer here with 1 Corinthians 15—does he say anything different here? Read chapter 1 of 2 Thessalonians. What can you guess about how things have gone since he sent the first letter? What does Paul have to say about those who preached that Jesus was coming back very soon? See 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17. What does he say must happen before the return of Jesus? How might the problem in the previous question account for Paul’s comments in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15?