2 Thessalonians 1
New Catholic Bible
Salutation[a]
Chapter 1
Address and Greeting. 1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Perseverance in Faith[b]
A Word of Praise. Brethren, we must always give thanks to God for you, and it is only right that we do so. For your faith grows ever more, and the love that all of you have for one another continues to increase. 4 Therefore, we boast incessantly of you to the Churches of God for your steadfastness and faith despite all the persecutions and tribulations that you have had to endure.Judgment and the Coming of the Lord. 5 All this is proof of God’s just judgment, and it shows that you are worthy of the kingdom of God, for the sake of which you are suffering. 6 It is only just that God will repay with suffering those who make you suffer 7 and grant relief to you who are suffering, and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.
8 He will come in blazing fire to inflict punishment on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, excluded from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on that Day when he comes to be glorified by his holy ones and to be adored by all believers, among whom you will be present since you believed the testimony we offered to you.
11 Prayer for the Community. Therefore, we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and by his power bring to fulfillment every good resolve and every work of faith. 12 In this way, the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ.[c]
Footnotes
- 2 Thessalonians 1:1 The salutation is identical to that of First Thessalonians (1:1) except for two additions: (1) God is called “our” Father (v. 1), the Father of Christians—his Fatherhood of Jesus is expressed in other Letters (e.g., 2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3). (2) The phrase “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” is added to v. 2 to identify the sources of “grace and peace.” Paul regards Jesus as the Deity in the fullest sense since he names him on a par with the Father as coauthor of the favor and the relationship promised in the blessing.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Paul thanks God for the progress made by his valiant community in their faith, love, courage, and good name. All this will be manifested and judged at the Lord’s Coming, which Paul describes once more by utilizing the dramatic scenario current among the Jews of his day. Woe to those who oppose God, for they will be immediately distanced from the Lord. But what glory there will be for those who believe!
3
The concept of revelation, or apocalypse, that emerges in this passage represents an essential idea of the Old and New Testaments: our religion is, above all else, something that precedes and transcends time. In history God is constantly manifesting himself as the Savior of humanity. To illustrate it, one can have recourse to the grand imaginative visions of the judgments set forth in Isa 24–27; Dan 7–12; Mt 24–25; Mk 13; and Lk 17:22-37; 19:11-27; see also introduction to the Book of Revelation. - 2 Thessalonians 1:12 The grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ: another translation possible is: “The grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
