I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on 2 Thessalonians 1-3.

At the beginning and again near the end of this letter Paul speaks of prayer. He writes as part of his opening beginning that he will continue to pray for those to whom he is writing. Then, as he begins to conclude his letter he asks them to pray for him. This gives us an idea of Paul’s thoughts on the importance of prayer. I know that I do not pray as much, or as deeply, as I should.

Paul writes that the day of Jesus’ return will not come until after the “man of lawlessness” has been revealed. It is not clear to me if Paul is referring to a singular individual, or to a social phenomena. I am not eve< convinced that Paul was clear in his own mind on that. Paul transitions from discussing the “man of lawlessness” and Christ’s return to warning us that not only should we not be idle, but we should stay away from believers who live that way. I think that Paul was referring to two groups of people when he referred to those who lived idle lives; those who stopped working and sold all of their possessions because they were convinced that Jesus would return before all of their money was spent, and those who took advantage of the charity of others to avoid working themselves. Paul’s instruction to us is clear, and consistent with the teachings of the rest of the Bible, we should work hard in order to both care for ourselves and have enough left over to care for those who cannot care for themselves./p>