Thessalonians
Thessalonians Thessalonians is based on two different letters that was written to the Christian community in Thessalonica. The purpose of the first letter was to clear up some of the misunderstandings about the return of Christ. The second letters purpose was to still clear up some of the misunderstandings about the Day of the Lord for they thought the day had already come. The first letter to the Christian community was sent from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, though Paul was the main author. Paul was writing to them to clear up their misunderstandings about the return of Christ, also considers it as instructions in holy living. Paul wrote about his longing to visit the church in Thessalonica but he couldn’t because Satan had stopped them
(1 Thessalonians 2:18). Though some believe the second letter to the Christian community is wrote by Paul others do not. Many scholars point out how the writing style, vocabulary, and structure of the 2 Thessalonians are too similar to the 1 Thessalonians. They suggest that it was written by an anonymous author 50 years after Paul’s death, using the 1 Thessalonians as their guideline. The early witnesses for the belief that Paul is not the author are strong and include Igantius, Justin, and Polycarp. Although there seems to be different beliefs on who wrote the 2 Thessalonians, no one will really know. Paul’s reasoning for both letters seems to be along the same point to clear up the misunderstanding of the return of Christ and how the Christian community of Thessalonica was being persecuted for they believed that the Day of the Lord had already come. The first book of Thessalonians was suspected to have been written in 49-51 CE when Paul was on his Corinthian mission. (Acts 17-18) records Paul’s visits to Thessalonica and then to Athens, and to Corinth, which is how they correspond the date of the letter. It has been read that Paul did not starting writing his letters until he started traveling to the various
(1 Thessalonians 2:18). Though some believe the second letter to the Christian community is wrote by Paul others do not. Many scholars point out how the writing style, vocabulary, and structure of the 2 Thessalonians are too similar to the 1 Thessalonians. They suggest that it was written by an anonymous author 50 years after Paul’s death, using the 1 Thessalonians as their guideline. The early witnesses for the belief that Paul is not the author are strong and include Igantius, Justin, and Polycarp. Although there seems to be different beliefs on who wrote the 2 Thessalonians, no one will really know. Paul’s reasoning for both letters seems to be along the same point to clear up the misunderstanding of the return of Christ and how the Christian community of Thessalonica was being persecuted for they believed that the Day of the Lord had already come. The first book of Thessalonians was suspected to have been written in 49-51 CE when Paul was on his Corinthian mission. (Acts 17-18) records Paul’s visits to Thessalonica and then to Athens, and to Corinth, which is how they correspond the date of the letter. It has been read that Paul did not starting writing his letters until he started traveling to the various
Cited: Coogan, Michael D., et al., eds. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Oxford: New York, 2010. Print. The Providence Forum. Resource. Philadelphia National Bible City. The National Bible Association: Encouraging Everyone to Read the Bible. 2009. 25 Nov. 2012. Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction: The Pauline Epistles. The Tyndale Press, 1960. Print. Holmes, Michael W., et al., eds. 1 & 2 Thessalonians NIV Application Commentary, Minnesota, 1998. Print.