2 Thessalonians - Books of the Bible Laminated Outlines

Outline of 2 Thessalonians

This chart outlines the main characteristics of the Apostle
Paul’s Second Letter to the church of Thessolinica.

profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction,
for instruction in righteousness: That the man of
God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all
good works. 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The Outline of 2 Thessalonians

Formal opening, 1:1-2 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I.        Personal words: appreciation and encouragement, 1:3–12
A.                Thanksgiving for growth, 1:3–4
B.                Consolation in persecution, 1:5–10
               1.        The honor of suffering for Christ (v. 5)
               2.        The promise of God’s retribution (vv. 6–7a)
               3.        The revelation of Jesus as the time for retribution (vv. 7b–10)
C.        Prayer for the Thessalonians, 1:11–12
               1.        For the fulfillment of God’s calling in their lives (v. 11)
               2.        For the glorification of Jesus’ name (v. 12)

II.        Doctrinal correction: the second coming and steadfastness, 2:1—17
A.                Details about the day of the Lord, 2:1–12
               1.        Introduction: no need for distress (vv. 1–2)
               2.        Two things that must first happen (vv. 3–4)
               3.        The present restraining of Antichrist (vv. 5–7)
               4.        The character and end of Antichrist (vv. 8–10)
               5.        Delusion as judgement (vv.11–12)
B.                Exhortation to steadfastness, 2:13–17
               1.        Grateful assurance (vv. 13–14)
               2.        Exhortation (v. 15)
               3.        Prayer (v. 16–17)

III.        Practical instruction: confidence and discipline, 3:1—15
A.                Paul’s need and confidence, 3:1–5
               1.        Request for prayer (vv. 1–2)
               2.        Expression of confidence (vv. 3–5)
B        .        Discipline for the disorderly, 3:6–15
               1.        Withdrawal from the idle command (v. 6)
               2.        Paul’s example commended (vv. 7–9)
               3.        The principle to be practiced (v. 10)
               4.        The disorderly exhorted (vv. 11–12)
               5.        The church instructed (vv. 13–15)

Conclusion, 3:16–18

As with 1 Thessalonians, there is no on theme that includes everything in this letter, but the eschatological
emphasis is still one of the most important themes (1:7-10; 2:1-12; perhaps 3:5).

The Events that led to the writing of 2 Thessalonians

Unlike 1 Thessalonians, the second letter does not make reference to specific
circumstances in the background. The following seem obvious.

Someone had taken the first letter to Thessalonica. We are not told who it was. That messenger would have
returned, reporting about developments at Thessalonica and the need for further instruction.

Paul, still unable to go in person, decided to write again.

Paul’s purposes in writing 2 Thessalonians

Each of the three chapters of this letter appears to deal with a specific problem that had been reported to Paul.
These suggest three main purposes.

First, Paul wrote to encourage them in their persecutions A comparison between the earlier, brief reference to
this (1 Thess. 1:6; 2:14; 3:3-4) and the second letter’s lengthy treatment (1:4-10) suggests that persecution had
become more severe in the interval.

Second, Paul wrote to give specific instruction relative to the Lord’s coming, as seen in chapter 2. Apparently
a false teaching (or at least a misunderstanding) had arisen–that the day of the Lord had already come–and
Paul felt compelled to correct that error.

Third, Paul wrote to exhort the idle and to instruct the church how to discipline them (3:6-15). Apparently the
idleness had grown worse and was creating disorder, and more than the mild admonishing of the first letter (1
Thess. 4:11-12) was called for. Paul
especially needed to teach the church to discipline the disorderly.

The date and place for the writing of 2 Thessalonians

There are two main reasons for placing the the composition of 2 Thessalonians fairly soon after 1
Thessalonians while Paul was still at Corinth.

First, is the fact that Silas and Timothy were still with Paul when 2 Thessalonians was written (1 Thess. 1:1;
2 Thess. 1:1-2).

The Second reason for this dating is the fact that the main problems behind the
second letter are similar to those discussed in 1 Thessalonians. (1) the eschatolical
emphasis is similar; (2) there is still persecution, (1 Thess. 3:3-4; 2Thess. 1:4-5); (3) there is still
misunderstanding related to the doctrine of the second coming; and (4) there is still the problem of those not
working and taking advantage of their brethren (1 Thess. 4:11-12; 2 Thess. 3:6-15).