2 Thessalonians 1:1-3

New Catholic Bible

Footnotes

1. 2 Thessalonians 1:1 The salutation is identical to that of First Thessalonians (1:1) except for two additions: (1) God is called “our” Father (v. 1), the Father of Christians—his Fatherhood of Jesus is expressed in other Letters (e.g., 2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3). (2) The phrase “from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” is added to v. 2 to identify the sources of “grace and peace.” Paul regards Jesus as the Deity in the fullest sense since he names him on a par with the Father as coauthor of the favor and the relationship promised in the blessing.
2. 2 Thessalonians 1:3 Paul thanks God for the progress made by his valiant community in their faith, love, courage, and good name. All this will be manifested and judged at the Lord’s Coming, which Paul describes once more by utilizing the dramatic scenario current among the Jews of his day. Woe to those who oppose God, for they will be immediately distanced from the Lord. But what glory there will be for those who believe!

   ³ 
   The concept of revelation, or apocalypse, that emerges in this passage represents an essential idea of the Old and New Testaments: our religion is, above all else, something that precedes and transcends time. In history God is constantly manifesting himself as the Savior of humanity. To illustrate it, one can have recourse to the grand imaginative visions of the judgments set forth in Isa 24–27; Dan 7–12; Mt 24–25; Mk 13; and Lk 17:22-37; 19:11-27; see also introduction to the Book of Revelation.