The Purpose of the Epistle
In the first epistle, Paul corrected the error that had arisen among the Thessalonians concerning the saints who had died, or fallen asleep (1 Thess. 4:14-18). In this second epistle, Paul corrects the error that they had concerning the living saints (2 Thess. 2:1-8).
God knew that down through the years Christians would become confused about these things and included this epistle in the canon of Scripture to correct these false notions. It seems that this epistle is needed today more than ever, since many Christians have the idea that the Church will go through the seven-year Tribulation period that is going to come upon this world (Dan. 9:27; 12:1; Rev. 3:10). Most of these mistaken ideas come from not distinguishing between the two phases of the Lord’s coming—the Rapture and the Revelation (Appearing) of Christ—which Paul carefully distinguishes in both of his epistles to the Thessalonians. (See pages 26-28.)
Simple Outline of This Second Epistle
• Chapter 1—Comfort for the saints who were passing through persecutions and tribulations resulting from being identified with the name of Christ.
• Chapter 2—Correction for the saints concerning the false eschatological teaching that they had received regarding the order of events surrounding the Appearing of Christ.
• Chapter 3—Counsel as to how to treat the practical problems that result from the bad eschatological teaching in chapter 2.