2 Thessalonians Written

This letter cannot have been written much later than the first, because its contents are similar, and the same associates of Paul, Silas and Timothy, are mentioned at the beginning of the letter. This second letter was probably occasioned by the return from Thessalonica of the bearer of the first epistle, from whom Paul learned that his words concerning the imminence of the second advent were being misunderstood and misapplied by certain elements in the church. Therefore Paul gave to this new exposition of his teaching concerning the second coming of Christ a strongly prophetic tone, revealing to his readers that certain great events, especially the reign of Antichrist, would precede Christ's return. These considerations are the basis for dating the second letter to the Thessalonians not long after the first, either in the last months of A.D. 51 or in the early months of A.D. 52, while Paul was busily engaged in building up the Christian church at Corinth.