1 Thessalonians – Hebrews Flashcards
1 Thessalonians – Content
A letter of thanksgiving, encouragement, exhortation, and information for very recent Gentile believers in Christ
1 Thessalonians – Author
the apostle Paul, joined by his traveling companions Silas and Timothy
1 Thessalonians – Date
A.D. 50 or 51, while Paul is in Corinth, probably the earliest document in the New Testament
1 and 2 Thessalonians – Recipients
- quite new converts to Christ in Thessalonica, mostly Gentile (1:9-10)
- Thessalonica was a northern Aegean seaport that also sat astraddle the Egnatian Way
- in the time of Paul it was the chief city of Macedonia
1 Thessalonians – Occasion
- the return of Timothy to Paul and Silas in Corinth
- Timothy had been sent to Thessalonica to see how the new believers were doing (see 3:5-7)
1 Thessalonians – Emphases
- Paul’s loving concern for his friends in Thessalonica
- Suffering as part of Christian life
- Holiness regarding sexual matters
- The need to do one’s own work and not live off the largesse of others
- The resurrection of the Christian dead
- Readiness for Christ’s coming
2 Thessalonians – Content
A letter of further encouragement in the face of suffering, of warning against being misled regarding the coming of the Lord, and of exhortation for some to work with their own hands and not sponge off others
2 Thessalonians – Author
the apostle Paul, joined by his traveling companions Silas and Timothy
2 Thessalonians – Date
A.D. 51 (probably), very shortly after 1 Thessalonians (although some would reverse the order of our two letters)
2 Thessalonians – Occasion
Paul has received word that some (probably by prophetic word) have spoken in Paul’s name to the effect that the day of the Lord (=the coming of Christ) has already taken place, plus the fact that the disruptive loafers spoken to in 1 Thessalonians have not mended their ways
2 Thessalonians – Emphases
- The sure salvation of the Thessalonian believers and the sure judgment of their persecutors
- The day of the Lord is still ahead and will be preceded by “the rebellion”
- Those who are idle and disruptive should work for their food
1 Timothy – Content
An indictment of some false teachers—their character and teachings—with instructions on various community matters these teachers have brought to crisis, interspersed with words of encouragement to Timothy
1 Timothy – Author
the apostle Paul (although doubted by many)
1 Timothy – Date
A.D. 62-63, from Macedonia (probably Philippi or Thessalonica), apparently after his (expected) release from the imprisonment noted in Philippians 1:13 and 2:23-24
1 Timothy – Recipient(s)
Timothy, a longtime, younger companion of Paul, and (ultimately) the church in Ephesus (the grace-benediction in 6:21 is plural)
1 Timothy – Occasion
- Paul has left Timothy in charge of a very difficult situation in the church in Ephesus, where false teachers (probably local elders) are leading some house churches astray
- Paul writes to the whole church through Timothy in order to strengthen Timothy’s hand in stopping these straying elders and some younger widows who have followed them