The Second Epistle of St Paul to the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians)

The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, in the Vulgate Epistola II ad Thessalonicenses, follows close on the First Epistle to the Thessalonians, and the two belong together. The young Church of Thessalonica, persecuted from its first weeks, had taken fright at rumours that the day of the Lord was already upon it. St Paul answers in three chapters, and gives in chapter 2 the most precise prophecy of the Antichrist in his Epistles. Short as it is, it has shaped Catholic teaching on the end of the world, on Sacred Tradition and on work.

Who wrote 2 Thessalonians?

St Paul the Apostle, writing with his companions: "Paul, and Sylvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1). Sylvanus is the Silas of the Acts. At the end Paul takes the pen himself: "The salutation of Paul with my own hand; which is the sign in every epistle. So I write" (2 Thessalonians 3). He had warned against a letter "as sent from us" that he never wrote (2:2).

The Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913 notes that the early Fathers witness to this letter even more clearly than to the First. St Ignatius of Antioch borrows the phrase "the patience of Christ" (3:5) in his Epistle to the Romans. St Polycarp, writing to the Philippians, names Paul as its author and uses 3:15. Marcion's canon, about AD 140, counts it among the Pauline letters. St Irenaeus quotes it by name: "in the Second to the Thessalonians, speaking of Antichrist, he says, And then shall that wicked be revealed" (Against Heresies III, 7, 2). Its style matches the First Epistle so closely that even the critics Harnack and Jülicher accepted it as Paul's.

Some modern scholars hold that a later disciple wrote it in Paul's name, chiefly because they judge its teaching on the end to differ from that of the First Epistle. The Catholic Encyclopedia answers that no motive for such a forgery has ever been shown, and that the two letters agree: the first says the day will come "as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5), the second says certain signs must come first, and Our Lord teaches both in the Gospels. On 18 June 1915 the Pontifical Biblical Commission answered that it is not lawful to say the Apostle taught that the Second Coming would happen in his own lifetime.

When was 2 Thessalonians written?

At Corinth, a few months after the First Epistle, during Paul's eighteen-month stay in that city on his second missionary journey. We know this from the greeting. Silas and Timothy are still with him, and they were together at Corinth: "And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was earnest in preaching" (Acts 18). After Corinth, the Acts of the Apostles never shows Silas at Paul's side again. The old subscription "from Athens" found in many manuscripts cannot be right.

For the First Epistle the Encyclopedia gives the two datings current in its day, 48-49 or 53-54, and places the Second "not long after"; the stay at Corinth is now most often placed about AD 50-52. With the First Epistle, it is among the earliest books of the New Testament.

Why was it written?

Paul had founded the Church of Thessalonica, capital of the province of Macedonia, on leaving Philippi. Jews "moved with envy" raised a riot, "and besetting Jason's house, sought to bring them out unto the people" (Acts 17), and the missionaries had to leave by night. Persecution went on. Some took the First Epistle to mean that the coming of the Lord was at hand, a false letter in Paul's name may have spread the alarm, and some had stopped working to live as busybodies. The Second Epistle answers all three.

What is 2 Thessalonians about? A summary

The letter falls naturally into its three chapters: comfort in persecution, the signs before the day of the Lord, and the duties of daily life.

Persecution and the just judgment of God (chapter 1)

Paul gives thanks "because your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you towards each other, aboundeth" (chapter 1), and boasts of their patience in "all your persecutions and tribulations." Their sufferings show "the just judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God." When "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with the angels of his power, in a flame of fire," the persecutors "shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord," and the faithful shall have rest.

The revolt and the man of sin (chapter 2)

This is the heart of the letter. "Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself as if he were God" (2 Thessalonians 2, verses 3-4). Something "withholdeth" him for now; "the mystery of iniquity already worketh," but "he who now holdeth" holds him back "until he be taken out of the way."

Then "that wicked one shall be revealed whom the Lord Jesus shall kill with the spirit of his mouth." He will come "according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders," and those who "receive not the love of the truth" will be deceived. Paul then turns to the faithful, "chosen... firstfruits unto salvation," and charges them: "stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle" (2:15, numbered 2:14 in the Douay and the Vulgate).

Prayer, work and the disorderly (chapter 3)

Paul asks their prayers "that the word of God may run" and promises: "But God is faithful, who will strengthen and keep you from evil" (chapter 3, verse 3). He tells them to withdraw from "every brother walking disorderly" and gives his own example: "in labour and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you." He repeats the rule he had given them in person: "if any man will not work, neither let him eat." The idle must work "with silence" and "eat their own bread," and the disobedient be admonished "as a brother." The letter ends with a blessing, "Now the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place" (3:16), and Paul's own signature.

The Catholic reading of 2 Thessalonians

Who is the man of sin?

The Church has always read "the man of sin" (homo peccati, called "the man of lawlessness" in some modern versions) as the Antichrist, the great adversary who will come before the end of the world. Challoner's note insists that a particular man is meant, "as is evident from the frequent repetition of the Greek article: the man of sin, the son of perdition, the adversary."

St Paul's picture agrees with the king of Daniel 11 who "shall magnify himself against every god," with Our Lord's warning of "false Christs and false prophets" who "shall shew great signs and wonders" (Matthew 24), with St John's "as you have heard that Antichrist cometh" (1 John 2), and with the beast of Apocalypse 13. St Cyril of Jerusalem's fifteenth Catechetical Lecture, on the Second Coming, draws heavily on this chapter. We set out the whole teaching in what God says about the Antichrist.

What is the revolt, or "falling away"?

The Vulgate's discessio, the "revolt" of the Douay ("falling away" in the King James), translates the Greek apostasia. Challoner notes that the ancient Fathers generally understood it of a revolt from the Roman Empire, "which was first to be destroyed, before the coming of Antichrist," and that it may also mean a revolt of many nations from the Catholic Church, which "will be more general in the days of the Antichrist." St Cyril, in the fourth century, already saw it in the heresies of his day: "For men have fallen away from the right faith... This therefore is the falling away, and the enemy is soon to be looked for."

Who is the restrainer?

Paul says the Thessalonians "know what withholdeth," because he had told them in person (2:5-6), and he does not write it down. Most of the Fathers took it to be the Roman Empire. Tertullian asks: "What obstacle is there but the Roman state?" (On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 24). St John Chrysostom reports that some said the grace of the Spirit, "but others the Roman empire, to whom I most of all accede" (Homily 4 on 2 Thessalonians). St Augustine lists the opinions and admits with candour: "I frankly confess I do not know what he means" (City of God XX, 19). Scripture does not let us fix the day, as our article on the end times explains.

Tradition, written and unwritten

2 Thessalonians 2:15 (2:14 in the Douay) is a classic text for Sacred Tradition. The Apostle commands the faithful to hold what they received "by word" as firmly as what they received "by our epistle." Challoner comments: "See here that the unwritten traditions are no less to be received than their epistles." St John Chrysostom drew the same conclusion: "Hence it is manifest, that they did not deliver all things by Epistle, but many things also unwritten... It is a tradition, seek no farther." The Council of Trent (Session IV, 1546) teaches that the truth of the Gospel is contained "in the written books and the unwritten traditions," and receives both "with an equal affection of piety and reverence."

"If any man will not work, neither let him eat"

The verse (3:10) is about the will: "will not work," not "cannot." It condemns idleness, not poverty or sickness. St Thomas Aquinas explains that whoever has no other lawful means of living is bound to work, "as though to say: The necessity of manual labor is the necessity of meat" (Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 187, a. 3). We gather the wider teaching in what God says about work.

Judgment and hell

Chapter 1 is one of the plainest New Testament texts on the eternity of punishment: the wicked "shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord." That separation from God is the pain of loss, the chief torment of the damned, as we explain in the Four Last Things and in does hell exist?.

Famous verses of 2 Thessalonians

The Douay follows the Vulgate, which joins verses 10 and 11 of chapter 2, so from there to the end of that chapter its numbers run one behind the King James Version (KJV) and most English Bibles; we give the KJV number with the Douay number beside it.

• 2 Thessalonians 1:9. "Who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1).
• 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. "Unless there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition" (2 Thessalonians 2).
• 2 Thessalonians 2:11 (Douay 2:10). "Therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying" ("strong delusion" in the King James). Challoner explains: "God shall suffer them to be deceived... in punishment of their not entertaining the love of truth."
• 2 Thessalonians 2:15 (Douay 2:14). "Therefore, brethren, stand fast; and hold the traditions which you have learned, whether by word, or by our epistle."
• 2 Thessalonians 3:3. "But God is faithful, who will strengthen and keep you from evil" (2 Thessalonians 3).
• 2 Thessalonians 3:10. "If any man will not work, neither let him eat."
• 2 Thessalonians 3:16. "Now the Lord of peace himself give you everlasting peace in every place. The Lord be with you all."

Its place in the canon and the liturgy

2 Thessalonians has the same name and the same three chapters in Catholic and Protestant Bibles: 46 verses in the Vulgate and the Douay, 47 in the King James, which divides one verse of chapter 2 in two. It stands among the fourteen Epistles of St Paul, after the First Epistle to the Thessalonians and before the First Epistle to Timothy. It was never among the disputed books: the Councils of Rome (382), Hippo (393), Carthage (397), Florence and Trent (Session IV, 1546) all list it. Our text is the Douay-Rheims Bible, translated from the Latin Vulgate.

In the 1962 Roman Missal, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8, on the revolt and the man of sin, is the Epistle of Ember Saturday in Advent. In the Roman Breviary its first lessons (1:1-12 and 2:1-4) are read at Matins on the Saturday of the fourth week after Epiphany, after the First Epistle. Its verse 3:5, adapted as "Dominus autem dirigat corda et corpora nostra in caritate Dei et patientia Christi," is the short lesson of Prime through the year. Follow these days in our liturgical calendar and pray the Hours in the Breviary.

How to read 2 Thessalonians

Read 1 Thessalonians 4 and chapter 5 first, since this letter corrects a misreading of them. Then read the three chapters at one sitting. Go back to chapter 2 slowly, with the Latin beside the English, and with Daniel 7, Mark 13 and the Apocalypse at hand. Leave aside speculation about dates, which St Paul himself rebukes, and end with the practical charges of chapter 3. For the Apostle's life, see our article on St Paul.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote 2 Thessalonians?

St Paul the Apostle wrote it, with Silvanus (Silas) and Timothy named in the greeting, and he signed it in his own hand (3:17). St Polycarp and St Irenaeus already name Paul as its author, and the Church has always received it as his.

When was 2 Thessalonians written?

It was written at Corinth a few months after 1 Thessalonians, while Silas and Timothy were still with Paul, during his eighteen-month stay there on the second missionary journey (Acts 18). That places it about AD 50-52, among the earliest writings of the New Testament.

What is 2 Thessalonians about?

It strengthens a persecuted Church and promises that God will judge justly (chapter 1). It corrects the error that the day of the Lord had already come by naming the signs that must come first: a revolt and the revelation of the man of sin (chapter 2). It ends with charges to hold the apostolic traditions, to work quietly and to correct the idle (chapter 3).

How many chapters are in 2 Thessalonians?

2 Thessalonians has 3 chapters in every Bible: 46 verses in the Douay-Rheims and the Latin Vulgate, 47 in the King James and most modern versions, which number the end of chapter 2 one higher. You can read it here from 2 Thessalonians 1, with the Latin and English side by side.

Who is the man of sin (man of lawlessness) in 2 Thessalonians?

He is the Antichrist, a particular man who will come before the end of the world, oppose God, demand worship and deceive by "lying wonders" (2:3-9). The Fathers, from St Irenaeus and St Cyril of Jerusalem to St Augustine, read the passage this way, as do Challoner's notes.

Who is the restrainer in 2 Thessalonians 2?

St Paul does not name it, because he had already told the Thessalonians in person (2:5-6). Tertullian, St John Chrysostom and most of the Fathers understood it to be the Roman Empire and the order it kept; others, as Chrysostom reports, said the grace of the Spirit. St Augustine honestly confessed he did not know, and the Church has never defined it.

What is the falling away in 2 Thessalonians 2?

The Douay calls it "a revolt" (Latin discessio, Greek apostasia). Challoner notes that the Fathers generally understood it of a revolt from the Roman Empire, and that it may also mean a widespread falling away of nations from the Catholic faith before the Antichrist comes.

What does 2 Thessalonians 3:10 mean?

"If any man will not work, neither let him eat" condemns deliberate idleness, not those who cannot work. Some in Thessalonica had stopped working and lived as busybodies at others' expense. As St Thomas Aquinas explains, whoever has no other lawful means of living is bound to work.

What does 2 Thessalonians 2:15 mean about tradition?

The verse, numbered 2:14 in the Douay, commands Christians to hold the traditions received from the Apostles "whether by word or by our epistle," that is, both oral teaching and written Scripture. The Council of Trent teaches that Scripture and Tradition are both to be received with equal reverence.

Read the whole Second Epistle to the Thessalonians verse by verse, Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, Latin Vulgate and Douay-Rheims (Challoner revision, 1749-1752), with Challoner's notes; Acts of the Apostles 17-18; St Polycarp, Epistle to the Philippians XI; St Irenaeus, Against Heresies III, 7, 2; Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh, 24; St Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lectures XV; St John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, Homily 4; St Augustine, The City of God XX, 19; St Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, q. 187, a. 3; Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree on the Canonical Scriptures (1546); Pontifical Biblical Commission, response on the Parousia in the Epistles of St Paul (18 June 1915); The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), "Epistles to the Thessalonians"; Missale Romanum (1962); Breviarium Romanum (1962).