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N e w T e s t a m e n t G u i d e
Thessalonians
By Antonio Fuentes
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This Rock
Volume 5, Number 7/8
 July/August 1994 
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PAUL first came to Thessalonica--modern
Salonika--around the year 50 (early on in the course of his second
apostolic journey). It was one of the most important cities in the
Roman province of Macedonia. Its very busy port, its strategic position
on the main highway between Rome and its provinces in the East, and
its position on the route from Thrace to Acadia meant that many people,
mainly Greeks, gravitated to Thessalonica in search of employment;
it had a sizable Jewish community, with its own synagogue. Zealous
as ever, Paul spoke in this synagogue on three consecutive sabbaths,
explaining that Jesus was the true Messiah, in whom the Old Testament
prophecies found their fulfillment. Only some of these Jews accepted
the Gospel, but many Greek proselytes became Christians as well as
"not a few of the leading women" (Acts 16:25-17:4).
The apostle was immediately persecuted and had to flee the city by
night, leaving his catechetical work unfinished. As soon as he reached
Athens he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica, and Timothy soon returned
with good reports. By this time Paul was already in Corinth and from
there, happy to hear of the Thessalonians' firmness in the faith and
of their affectionate regard for himself (despite what detractors
were saying about him), he wrote to them to console them and clarify
some points of doctrine; two points, particularly the lot of those
who die before the Parousia [the second coming of the Lord] and the
disruption caused by those who refused to work and constituted a burden
on the Christian community in that city.
1 Thessalonians
After thanking God for the steadfast faith of the
Thessalonians, Paul vigorously defends the supernatural character
of his mission. Contrary to what some people were alleging out of
greed and vanity, he had brought them the Gospel "not only in
word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction"
(1:5): "we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests
our hearts" (2:4). A proof of this is the fact that during the
time he spent among them he worked with his own hands, to avoid being
a burden on them (2:9-10). Therefore, he insists on the mutual love
they should have for one another and everyone's responsibility to
pull his weight, to do his daily work and obey those whom God has
placed over him.
Finally he touches on the Parousia and on what happens to those who
have already died when the Parousia comes. The Thessalonians were
in no doubt about the resurrection of the dead, nor did they think
that the Parousia was imminent; but they wanted to know what the position
of the dead would be, for they thought that those who were still alive
at the time of the Parousia would have some kind of privileged position.
Paul sets their minds at rest by assuring them that everyone--the
dead and the living--will share in the Lord's triumphant cortege
because "we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the
Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep" (4:15).
2 Thessalonians
The Thessalonians were very happy with the first
letter, but they began to ask themselves further questions, which
left them uneasy. Paul had not told them anything about when the Parousia
would happen, and some of them, who were perhaps naturally nervous
or impulsive types, were making out that the Parousia was in fact
imminent. This sort of thinking made them disinterested in things
around them.
This is the new theme of Paul's second letter, written some months
later, a letter which is a logical extension of the first. A maritime
city like Thessalonica, with a sizable proportion of unemployed and
idle people, was just the sort of place where gossip, intrigue and
false rumors thrived. And naturally, among recent converts to Christianity,
there were some people who felt disinclined to do a solid day's work
and more inclined to speculate about the future and discuss predictions
than to take Paul's teaching seriously and follow the example of his
hardworking and orderly life.
In this letter, the apostle, after encouraging them to remain steadfast
in the faith, goes into more detail about "the day of the coming
of the Lord." He tells them that it is not around the corner,
for first two main things must happen: the great rebellion and the
advent of Antichrist. These have not happened yet, so why should they
make the mistake of thinking that the Parousia is imminent? We do
not know who or what this Antichrist is, or what power restrains him:
Paul reveals nothing about this. All he does is warn them not to be
impressionable and not to be alarmed by mere rumors, because this
could undermine their perseverance in the faith. "If any one
will not work, let him not eat" (3:10), he tells them; they should
follow the example he himself has given them. This shows that it is
wrong to say Paul thought that the Lord's coming, the end of the world,
was imminent, and that he spread this false idea among the early Christians.
What these letters do contain is an echo of Jesus' prophecy about
the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 17 and Matt. 24) and of the persecutions
the Church will experience until the end of time.
Antonio Fuentes teaches Scripture at the University
of Navarre in Spain.
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