Commentary on 2 Thessalonians

1.1–2 : Salutation.

The epistolary opening is similar to the one in 1 Thess with the exception of a longer greeting.

1 :

On Silvanus and Timothy, see 1 Thess 1.1 .

1.3–10 : A thanksgiving prayer with apocalyptic expectations.

One long sentence in Greek, this thanksgiving prayer (cf. 2.13 ) relates the community's progress and concludes with an apocalyptic commentaryon the vindication of the believers.

3–4 :

2 Thess, like 1 Thess (cf. 1 Thess 1.3n. ), has a triad, but 2 Thessspeaks of faith, love, and steadfastness (not hope).

4 :

Both persecutions and afflictions refer to suffering,but the first, with a focus on external suffering, is more specific than the latter.

7–10 :

Vivid descriptionsfirst applied to God in the Hebrew Bible now communicate something about the end‐time appearance ofJesus (cf. the angels in Zech 14.5 ; the flaming fire in Isa 66.15–16 ; glorified in Ps 89.7 ).

10 :

The writer's allusion to that day anticipates 2.1–12 , a refutation of the claim that the day of the Lord had already occurred.

1.11–12 : God's election.

In prayer form, the writer describes God's role in bringing to fruition a callin the believers' lives.

12 :

Again, the writer draws on Isaiah ( 66.5 ), but avers that Jesus (not God, as inIsaiah) will be glorified.