In this second letter to the church in Thessalonica, Paul explained that Christ's second coming had not happened yet, and that two things needed to take place before He would come. The first is there would be an apostasy, a falling away from the faith, and the second was that the man of lawlessness, the son of destruction would be revealed. Interestingly, Jesus used the phrase, son of destruction, in reference to Judas Iscariot in John 17:12. Paul then described this man of lawlessness as someone who disregarded God, and exalted himself as God while sitting in God's sanctuary publicizing it. Augustine said of this passage, "I frankly confess that the meaning of this completely escapes me!" One thing that is clear is that the Lord Jesus Christ will overcome this man of lawlessness. Another thing that is clear, is that when Christ comes again in His glory on that great and terrible day of the Lord, the unbelievers will be separated from God, and the believers will radiated the Lord's glory. In this letter, Paul commended the church of Thessalonica for their faithfulness to the Lord. They also were instructed to work hard, and for those who did not work, should not eat. If there was a wayward brother, they were to disassociate with them in order for them to feel shame and repent, but they were not to treat him as an enemy. The church was encouraged to not grow weary in doing good.
