It is one of the "Pastoral Epistles"
Passage about meeting Jesus in the clouds (Parusia)
Opposition to some kind of Jewish mystical philosophy
Thought to be earliest document in NT
Those unwilling to work shouldn't eat
Seems to be patterned on Colossians
Contains a household code
The Man of Lawlessness and the Restrainer
concerned with the teaching of sound doctrine (opposing the false teachers)
Heavy use of family language and metaphors
Thought by most to be pseudonymous
Realized eschatology
Realized Eschatology
The cosmic supremacy of Christ
Detailed qualifications for the offices of bishop and deacon
Letter opposes the idea that the end has already come
Household code
Putting on the "whole armor of God" to defend against spiritual, cosmic powers
Letter intended to comfort and encourage readers who are facing persecution
Accommodations made to the values of Greco-Roman society so that the church might lead a "quiet peaceable life"
Unity of Jew and gentile in the church
Pauline authorship is disputed
Thessalonians are concerned about those who have died
