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By Jeff Arnette
Most know Paul wrote 1 &2 Thessalonians, but many
forget that Timothy and Silas are also named as authors (1 Thess. 1:1; 2
Thess. 1:1).
Something that’s interesting is that most people agree
that the letter to the Thessalonians is the oldest letter in the New
Testament.
Thessalonica was the capital of Macedonian. Acts 17:19
tells us the story of Paul’s visit to the city. It appears that after he left
Philippi, traveling along the Via Egnatia, he comes to the Capital. This was
basically a Greek city with a strong Jewish population and synagogue. The
local Greek response to Paul’s preaching caused the Jews to be jealous and
formed a mob hoping to stop Paul.
The reason for the first letter seems to be that Paul and
his companions had to leave the city quickly due to the fierce Jewish
opposition. This meant that the new converts would also face severe
persecution and they were unprepared for it being new Christians. As such,
Paul needed to teach them how to handle it. As soon as possible he sent
timothy back to the city to see how they were doing (Acts 18.5).
The reason for the second letter was that Paul had heard
about some misunderstandings in the church that needed to be corrected.
Apparently, some of the Thessalonians had started believing that the second
coming was so close that they needed to prepare for it. Therefore, they quit
their jobs, stopped doing anything required for daily life, and was depending
on the church to support them.
The teaching of both letter’s gives us a clear window into
the lines and beliefs of Christians who lived around 20 to 30 years after
Jesus’ ascension. Just as importantly it gives us real insights into the
heart of the apostle Paul. Both letters deal with Eschatology (the study of
the end times) and should be extremely relevant for today’s church that is
also struggling with the same topics. Let me encourage you to take some time
and study these great letters. It will be worth your time and effort.
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