Name of the fourteenth book of the New Testament, that consists of an epistle which was most likely written by the apostle Paul and –like 1 Thessalonians– it addresses the church of Thessalonica, then the largest city of Macedonia, with an estimated population of about 200,000 inhabitants, the majority of them being Greeks, mixed with other ethnic groups, including Jews.

The city was founded around 315 BC by Cassander, the son-in-law of Philip of Macedon, whom fathered Alexander the Great, by organizing the area villages into a new metropolis, which he named in honour of his wife, Thessalonike (Θεσσαλονίκη) of Macedon, i.e. the half-sister of Alexander the Great and daughter of King Philip II of Macedon.

However, some scholars doubt the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians on the basis of that the linguistic features of this letter show some deviation from Paul’s style in his other writings, and that Paul does not seem to include himself in the group of living saints who anticipate the Lord’s return, while he did so explicitly in the first letter. It is also remarked that the later epistle seems more formal and that it is assumed that the readers are expected to have a greater knowledge of the Old Testament than what would be expected of gentiles, and clearly more than what is expected of the audience in the first letter.

Again, as in 1 Thessalonians, the main theme of the epistle is the coming of the Lord and the gathering together of the saints with him, whilst in the meantime correcting some misunderstandings that arose, allegedly from a letter, that had confused some members of the church of Thessalonica about the religious truths taught to them by Paul, especially with regards to eschatology.

The epistle is assumed by many scholars to be written shortly after 1 Thessalonians was written, that is between 52-54 AD.

2 Thessalonians Chapter 1; 2; 3.