Doel van 1 en 2 Tessalonicenzen: Meer overeenkomst dan verschil

Purpose of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. More similarities than differences This article examines the purpose of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. In the first half of both letters Paul thanks God for the faith, love and hope of the Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians Paul expresses his love for the readers with the purpose of strengthening his relationship with them. In 2 Thessalonians, written shortly after 1 Thessalonians, he seemingly do not regard it as necessary to repeat the nature of this relationship with the Thessalonians. In his first letter he calls the Thessalonians to a life of sanctification. In 2 Thessalonians he did likewise in his exhortation to the busy bodies (3:11). In both letters Paul writes repeatedly and extensively about the parousia, especially in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:1-11, and in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 and 2:1-12. However, Paul’s intention in writing these passages is not to explain the nature of the parousia, but to emphasize the aspect of paraclesis from the perspective of the parousia