New Testament · 48 of 66

2 Thessalonians

The Letters

The Letters

When
c. AD 51–52
Written by
Paul
Chapters
3

The big idea

Some thought the day of the Lord had already come. Paul says the man of sin must come first, so stand firm, hold the traditions and keep working.

Themes

  • Steadfastness
  • Holding the traditions
  • Work
  • The man of sin

Memory verse

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
2 Thessalonians 2:15 · KJV

Key passages

  • 1:3–12Justice at his coming
  • 2:1–12The man of sin
  • 2:15Hold the traditions
  • 3:6–13If any will not work

Links to other Scripture

  • Daniel 7The beast and the saints
  • Matthew 24:4–14Let no man seduce you
  • 1 John 2:18Many antichrists
  • 1 Corinthians 11:2Keep the ordinances

Read the text

Choose a chapter to read it here in the King James Version. Verses with a dotted underline have notes from Bible scholars. Tap one to open them.

Notes from

Chapters

King James text and the commentaries of Henry, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Gill, Clarke, Calvin, and Keil and Delitzsch are in the public domain. Tyndale Open Study Notes are used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, from tyndaleopenresources.com. Texts were reformatted for this site.

Journal prompts

Keep a journal or notebook for your study. Write your answers there, in your own words.

  1. Where do you see Christ in this book?
  2. Some of the Thessalonians stopped working because they expected Christ any day. How do you stay ready and still keep doing what is in front of you?
  3. Paul says to stand fast and hold the traditions. What practices keep you steady?
  4. He prays that the Lord would direct their hearts into the love of God. Pray that over someone by name.
  5. In one sentence, this book is about…