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Second Thessalonians was written shortly after 1 Thessalonians, possibly six months later, following Silas and Timothy’s return after delivering the first epistle in AD 51 or 52. Among Paul’s goals in writing the letter was to encourage persecuted Christians (2 Thess. 1:4-10) and to exhort them not to be idle (3:10–12). Apparently, a misguided view concerning an imminent second coming caused some to stop working (3:11–12). In a section wherein Paul is requesting that the Thessalonian church pray for him, he makes the following statement: “But the Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” (3:3).
Three things rise to the surface and call for our attention. First, God is faithful. God will keep His promise. He can be trusted not to abandon His word. It is the faithfulness of God to His covenant that Jeremiah points to in dark days in Israel’s history: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:22–23). In 1923, Thomas O. Chisolm wrote a popular hymn based on these verses, which includes the refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see;
All I have needed thy hand hath provided—
Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Second, Paul tells the Thessalonians that the Lord “will establish you.” The Greek word translated “establish” is more commonly translated elsewhere in the Bible as “strengthen.” The idea is that when we are “strong in the Lord” (Eph. 6:10), we are equipped for any occasion.
Third, Paul tells the Thessalonian church that the Lord will “guard you against the evil one.” Peter reminds us that “your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He goes on to urge Christians to “resist him, firm in your faith” (v. 9). The word translated “guard” is elsewhere translated “prison” (see Matt. 25:36, 39). Does Paul mean us to understand that Satan is imprisoned, unable to exit and wreak havoc on us? Or does he mean that we are kept safely inside a cell, with a guard at the door preventing Satan from entering and doing his worst? Either way, it is a word of reassurance that Satan will not have his way.
There is a moment in John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress when Christian approaches the Palace Beautiful (i.e., the church). As he approaches, he sees a lion on either side of the path. As he turns to go back, a porter beckons: “Is thy strength so small? Fear not the lions, for they are chained, and are placed there for trial of faith where it is, and for the discovery of those that have none. Keep in the midst of the path, and no hurt shall come to thee.”