Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Critical and Exegetical Handbook to the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians
Epistle. This message was in the main consolatory. The church, in spite of persecution and trial, continued stedfast and unshaken in the faith (i. 6, ii. So that its members could be named as examples for Christians in all Macedonia and Achaia (i. And their heroic faith was everywhere spread abroad (i. They were also distinguished by their active brotherly love (i. 3, iv. 9, and, upon the whole, by their faithful adherence to those rules of conduct pointed out to them by the apostle (iv. Moreover, they had an affectionate remembrance of the apostle (iii. And their congregational life had so ?ourished that the gifts of the Holy Spirit (v. 19) and prophecy (v. 20) were manifested among them. But Timotheus had also to tell of defect and incompleteness (iii. The church had not yet succeeded in preserving itself unstained by the two cardinal vices of heathenism sensuality and covetousness (iv. 3 ff.) they had not every where shown to the presbyters due respect and obedience (v. And in consequence of their thought and feeling being inordinately directed to the advent of Christ, an un settled and excited habit prevailed, which led to the neglect Of the duties of their earthly calling, and to idleness (iv. 11 ff). Lastly, the church was in great perplexity concerning the fate of their deceased Christian friends, being uncertain whether only those who were then alive, or whether also deceased Christians, participated in the blessings of the advent (iv. 13 ff). Concerning this subject, it would appear, to' judge from the introductory words of iv. 13, that the Thessalonians had requested information from the apostle.
The design of the Epistle accordingly was threefold. 1. The apostle, whilst testifying his joy for their conduct hitherto, would strengthen and encourage the church to persevering stedfastness in the confession of Christianity. 2. He would exhort them to relinquish those moral weaknesses by which they were still enfeebled. 3. He would calm and console them concerning the fate of the deceased by a more minute instruction in reference to the advent.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
