1 and 2 Thessalonians

1. The City  Located in Macedonia  Capital  Ignatian Way passed through city  Paul came on 2 nd Journey

2. Authorship  For Paul – 1 Thess.  External evidence – tradition  Claim of epistle  Primitive church situation  Harmonizes with Acts

 For Paul – 2 Thess.  External evidence  Claim of author

3. Date And Occasion  Paul was waiting in Corinth for news from church after he had been forced to leave  Timothy and Silas return with report and questions in response to which the letters were written

 1 Thess. – AD  2 Thess. – shortly after first, 51 AD

4. Purposes  1 Thess.  To express relief at firm stand  To encourage to endure persecution  To rebuke idleness  To explain 2 nd coming

 2 Thess.  To encourage them to endure persecution  To correct idea regarding return of Lord  To command church to discipline idlers

7. Theme  A connection exists between the 2 nd coming of Christ and practical Christian living.