Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians to reassure those terrified that the day of the Lord had already come. Paul wants to strengthen the Thessalonians in the face of continuing persecution; and to deal with the problem of some of the church members refusing to earn their own living.

Paul assumes that the Thessalonian church knew that the second coming of Jesus Christ would occur at the same time as the coming of the “day of the Lord.” Yet the Thessalonians may simply have fallen victim to a belief that the day of the Lord had already come. The persecution they were undergoing may have fueled their confusion about the end times.