2 Thessalonians

In the ancient world, the designation of author did not always have a precise meaning. There are three possible relationships between the writer and the work written. The first possibility is that the writer is the author of the ideas expressed. Paul wrote Romans. The second possibility is that the writer comes from the author’s school. In this case, the writer may attribute the name of the school’s founder to the work to enhance its credibility. The author or school’s founder, however, remains the authority behind the work. The work contains the ideas of the school’s founder. The third possibility is deception or outright fraud. In this last case, the writer attributes the work to a famous person to enhance the writer’s ideas not the ideas of the famous person whose name is attributed to the work.

In the next three blogs, I will examine Second Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians. These letters are attributed to Paul, and fit either category one or category two as described above. Following these three letters, we will look at the Pastoral Letters—First and Second Timothy and Titus. These last three letters are fraudulent. They fit into category three.

Scholars are evenly divided as to whether 2 Thessalonians was written by Paul. On the one hand, the author claims to be Paul. “Surely you remember me telling you about this when I was with you” (2:5). The author further states that the letter was hand written by Paul (3:8). The basic message is also Pauline: Jesus is coming for those who suffer and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who do not acknowledge God and refuse to accept the good news of the gospel will burn (1:7-8).

The letter addresses a specific problem. There were some members in the congregation who were so convinced that the end was here that they had stopped working (3:6-15). The author’s message was that though the end was coming soon, it may not be right away, and that those who had stopped working should return to work.

The issue regarding authorship centers around the subtle shift in eschatological expectation. In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, he urges the congregation to remain on the alert because Jesus will return without warning like a thief in the night. This message is consistent with the theological views presented in the other authentic letters. In 2 Thessalonians, the author says that there will be plenty of warning. Jesus will return only after the Rebel, the antichrist, has established his throne in the temple of Jerusalem, and declared himself to be God (2:4-5). There is no mention of an antichrist in the authentic letters.

Paul is either writing toward the end of his ministry and responding to a different type of problem (the refusal of some to work) or a disciple of Paul’s school is using Paul’s name in order to provide greater credibility to the message in the letter. Because the message of the letter is in the main Pauline, we can rule out fraud as described in category three above.

I take the side of pseudonymity, that the letter was written by a disciple of Paul, because of the different approach to eschatology contained within the letter. The vast majority of conservative biblical scholars believe the letter to be authentic. Regardless of who is right, I don’t believe that this academic debate has much significance!