2 Tessalonicenses 1

ARC · Chapter 1/3

1Paulo, e Silvano, e Timotheo, á egreja dos thessalonicenses, em Deus nosso Pae e no Senhor Jesus Christo:

2Graça e paz de Deus nosso Pae, e do Senhor Jesus Christo.

3Sempre devemos, irmãos, dar graças a Deus por vós, como é de razão, porquanto a vossa fé cresce muitissimo e a caridade de cada um de vós abunda de uns para com os outros

4De maneira que nós mesmos nos gloriamos de vós nas egrejas de Deus por causa da vossa paciencia e fé, e em todas as vossas perseguições e afflicções que supportaes;

5Prova clara do justo juizo de Deus, para que sejaes havidos por dignos do reino de Deus, pelo qual tambem padeceis;

6Pois é justo diante de Deus que dê em paga tribulação aos que vos atribulam,

7E a vós, que sois atribulados, descanço comnosco, quando se manifestar o Senhor Jesus desde o céu com os anjos do seu poder:

8Como labareda de fogo, tomando vingança dos que não conhecem a Deus e dos que não obedecem ao evangelho de nosso Senhor Jesus Christo:

9Os quaes por castigo, padecerão eterna perdição, ante a face do Senhor e a gloria do seu poder,

10Quando vier para ser glorificado nos seus sanctos, e a fazer-se admiravel n'aquelle dia em todos os que crêem (porquanto o nosso testemunho foi crido entre vós).

11Pelo que tambem rogamos sempre por vós, para que o nosso Deus vos faça dignos da sua vocação, e cumpra todo o desejo da sua bondade, e a obra da fé com poder;

12Para que o nome de nosso Senhor Jesus Christo seja em vós glorificado, e vós n'elle, segundo a graça de nosso Deus e do Senhor Jesus Christo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Paul commends the growing faith and perseverance of the Thessalonians amid persecution, assuring them that God will bring justice against those who afflict them. He prays that they will be found worthy of God's calling.

Explanation

The church was still suffering persecution, and Paul uses this as proof that they will be counted worthy of the Kingdom of God, since they are paying a real price for their faith. He describes the final judgment as a moment of divine justice, in which the faithful receive relief and those who rejected the gospel face consequences. This is not a vengeful threat, but an assurance that present suffering is not the final word. Today's application is that persevering in faith under pressure has eternal value, even when justice seems slow in coming.

Fun facts

  • The reference to the Lord's coming 'in flaming fire with his mighty angels' (1:7-8) echoes prophetic language from the Old Testament, such as Isaiah 66:15, linking divine justice with images of purifying fire.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:1Paul writes this second letter shortly after the first, to the same church of Thessalonica, now to correct an overreaction: some there had wrongly concluded that Christ’s return was already happening, and had even stopped working because of it.
  2. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:2The greeting of grace and peace repeats Paul’s standard formula, coming from both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  3. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:3Paul opens with gratitude, highlighting two concrete signs of spiritual growth: their faith growing exceedingly and their mutual love strengthening among them.
  4. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:4Paul tells other churches, as a positive example, how the Thessalonians endure persecution without giving up their faith. He is not praising the absence of suffering, he is praising the patience within the suffering that continues.
  5. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:5Paul interprets the Thessalonians’ perseverance amid suffering as proof of God’s righteous judgment, which will count them worthy of his kingdom.
  6. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:6Paul comforts the persecuted church with the idea that God will balance the accounts: whoever causes suffering will also receive suffering as part of the final judgment. It is a reasoning of compensatory justice, common in both Jewish tradition and Greek texts of the time about divine punishment.
  7. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:7Paul promises rest for the persecuted Thessalonians, a relief that will come together with the visible appearing of the Lord Jesus coming from heaven with his mighty angels.
  8. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:8Fire was a traditional image of divine judgment, widely used in the Old Testament, and here it describes Christ’s arrival accompanied by punishment for those who rejected the gospel. It is not a literal description of how this will happen, it is solemn judgment language, the kind of imagery readers of the time already recognized from this literary genre.
  9. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:9“Destruction” here indicates ruin and separation, and the text adds that this separation happens “from the presence of the Lord” — that is, far from his presence. It is one of the New Testament passages about final destiny that still generates plenty of discussion among translators and scholars today.
  10. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:10Paul describes Christ’s coming not as an isolated event, but as a moment when he is recognized and admired precisely through the lives of Christians themselves, since “saints” here means those who belong to him, not people of exceptional virtue. It is the positive counterpart to the judgment described in the previous verses.
  11. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:11Paul says that he prays continually that God will make the Thessalonians worthy of the calling they received, and powerfully fulfill both their good purposes and their work of faith.
  12. 2 Tessalonicenses 1:12Paul explains the ultimate goal of this prayer: that the name of the Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified through the Thessalonians, and that they also be glorified in him, by the grace of God.

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