Второе благовестническое путешествие святого апостола Павла с Силой и Тимофеем 52–55 годы (Деян.15:36–18:22)

Having established peace in the Church of Antioch, Saint Paul said to Barnabas: “Let us go again and visit our brothers in all the cities in which we preached the word of the Lord, how they live” (Acts 15:36). Barnabas willingly accepted the offer, but expressed a desire to take his nephew Mark with him. But Saint Paul immediately opposed this. Saint Paul did not find it convenient to take the young man who had so unexpectedly left home from Pamphylia with him for such an important task, which required complete selflessness and devotion to him. However, Barnabas stood his ground and refused to accompany Saint Paul. So they separated. Barnabas and Mark went to their homeland, the island of Cyprus, and Saint Paul to the cities where he founded the Churches of Christ. He was joined by Silvanus or Strength. His devotion to the cause of St. Paul, despite his close connection with the Jewish Christians, is sufficient proof that he was a man of high intelligence and loving heart. His very name Silvanus, as well as the fact that he was also a Roman citizen (see Acts 16:37), make it possible to conclude that he had some connection with the pagan world, for which he could therefore be a more suitable evangelist. In any case, it was a blessing for St. Paul to have such a worthy collaborator. St. Paul's first goal was to establish the Churches that he had already founded. As a result, he began his journey by visiting the Churches of Syria and Cilicia (see Acts 15:41). Perhaps they stopped for a while in the city of Tarsus and from here, through the famous Cilician Gate, along the most convenient road they headed to their colony, namely Derbe. Having established the Church here, they went to Lystra. The following incident is related from their visit to Lystra. During his previous visit, Saint Paul converted young Timothy to the faith of Christ. In the house of this young man's mother, Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, he and the Force were probably received. These two pious women were Jews who had now accepted the Christian faith. Eunice's marriage to a Greek and the uncircumcision of her son indicate a not particularly strict adherence to Judaism, which, as incompatible with an unhypocritical faith (1 Tim. 1:5), most likely contributed to their acceptance of the Gospel. And St. Paul himself testifies to their sincere religiosity and the careful education in the Holy Scriptures which they gave to their child. After his conversion to Christ, Timothy became a true Christian, as “testified by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Saint Paul wished to take him with him” (Acts 16:2–3). Of the many whom Paul loved, no one was dearer to him than the young disciple from Lystra. He considered him like his son. "To Timothy my son"; “my true son in the faith”; “my beloved son” - these are the titles with which he addressed him (1 Tim. 1:2, 18; 2 Tim. 2:1). And he reminds the Philippians how he knew Timothy's faithfulness, since he, “as a son to his father, served him in the gospel” (Phil. 2:22). And Timothy so completely, heart and soul, united with Saint Paul that among his many disciples and companions the apostle did not find anyone so truthful, so selfless, so sincerely devoted to the cause of Christ as Timothy (see Phil. 2:20-21). They knew each other well (see 2 Tim. 3:10–11). But as much as St. Paul loved young Timothy, he loved his Churches even more; and if any Church needed warning or guidance, or the apostle himself wanted to know how well it was prospering, he always sent his beloved son there to comfort the persecuted Churches of Macedonia (see Acts 19:22; Phil. 2:18-20), to calm the troubles in Corinth (see. 1 Cor. 16:10) or to be an overseer of the Church of Ephesus (see 1 Tim. 1:3) with its many troubles without and within. In general, no name is so closely associated with the name of St. Paul as the name of Timothy. In addition to the two letters to him, he is mentioned together with Saint Paul among those five persons in whose name other letters are inscribed (First and Second to Thessalonians [Thessalonians], Second to the Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians). He was with St. Paul during most of his second journey (see Acts 16:3, 17:14, 18:5), he was with him at Ephesus (see 1 Cor. 4:17, 16:10), he accompanied him on his last journey to Jerusalem (see Acts 20:4), he comforted him at his first bonds in Rome (see Phil. 2:18-20); Saint Paul asks him to bring him the phelonion, books and parchments that he left with Carpus in Troas, and to stay with him at his second bonds in Rome, while he can still be seen alive (see 2 Tim. 4:9-13). Such was the youth who now became a colleague of St. Paul. For the success of preaching among the circumcised, or “for the sake of the Jews” (Acts 16:3), as the writer says, Saint Paul himself circumcised Timothy, since he was uncircumcised, although his mother was a Jew. Saint Paul realized that everyone would look at Timothy as an uncircumcised pagan. No true Jew would eat with him, and therefore it would be impossible for him to act as a preacher of the Messiah in the synagogues, which they always visited at the very beginning of their labors in each place. If, on the other hand, everyone knew that he was a Jewish youth by birth, since, as a general rule, nationality was calculated by mother, then an uncircumcised Jew among any Jewish population would only be an object of disgust. Therefore, Saint Paul decided to circumcise Timothy in order to condescend to the weakness of the weak (see Rom. 15:1; 1 Cor. 9:20). The circumcision was followed by his formal initiation. The whole Church was assembled, the young man made a public confession of his faith (see 1 Tim. 6:12); the elders and Saint Paul himself solemnly laid their hands on his head (see 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6). The prophecies by which he was chosen for a great work (see 1 Tim. 1:18) were confirmed by the primates, who, now, entrusting him with great responsibilities, at the same time warned him of the dangers inseparable from these duties (see 1 Tim. 1:18, cf. 4:14, 6:12). The grace of the Holy Spirit descended like a flame into his heart (see 2 Tim. 1:6), and the meek young man from Lystra from that time became a dedicated companion of the great apostle in his labors and wanderings, the fruit of which was the conversion of the world to Christ. The work of the holy evangelists thus began under extremely encouraging circumstances. All three worked together and selflessly. In every city they visited, they announced the decisions decreed by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, and the churches “were strengthened in the faith and increased daily in number” (Acts 16:4–5). Of course, from Iconium they went to Pisidia Antioch, where the Church of Christ was. Having confirmed her in the faith, they went to Galatia (see Acts 16:6). Apostolic activity in Galatia (Acts 16:6) The writer of the apostles says nothing about the preaching of Saint Paul in Galatia, except that he went through the “Galatian country,” i.e. as if in passing, without the intention of preaching the Gospel here. But from the Epistle to the Galatians it is clear that several Churches were founded in Galatia, precisely on his second evangelistic journey. Galatia is a region surrounded by Paphlagonia, Pontus, Cappadocia, Phrygia and Bithynia. It was inhabited by Greeks, Gauls and, in considerable numbers, Jews. The Galatians, according to the testimony of the ancients, were generally religious, and by nature they were receptive, impressionable, prone to living change, to innovation. According to the testimony of one later Greek historian, the Galatians rushed to everything new with such greed that if they had only seen the edge of the philosopher’s cloak, they would have immediately grabbed and clung to it, like steel plates cling to a magnet. Saint Paul and his companions came to them sick (see Gal.4:14). There is nothing more natural than that extensive wandering across the scorching plains and chilling mountain passes of Asia Minor, the constant change of climate, severe bodily fatigue, whirlwinds of fine blinding dust, insect bites, the coarseness and scarcity of daily food contributed to the return of the apostle’s eye disease, with attacks of dizziness. Meanwhile, his health was already greatly affected. But, despite his bodily weakness, or rather, as a result of this weakness of the flesh, Saint Paul's preaching about Christ acquired that intensity, that victorious seriousness, which made such a strong impression on the receptive Galatians, especially under the influence of the grace of the Holy Spirit, that they saw in him the Angel of God and were ready to give their healthy eyes, if only he would not suffer (see Gal. 4:15). With what liveliness and attentiveness they accepted his teaching about Christ! It was as if they themselves beheld with their own eyes the suffering of the Lord Jesus (see Gal. 3:1), about whom he preached to them. It is not known how long Saint Paul stayed in Galatia with his companions. The evangelistic activity of the Holy Apostle Paul in Europe (Acts 16:6–8) From Galatia the holy apostles went to Mysia and intended to penetrate the numerous rich cities of Western Bithynia. But their plans, unknown to them, were upset. The Holy Spirit did not allow him into a country that was not destined to be converted soon and not by him and which played an important role in the history of the Primitive Church. Without attempting to stop to preach in Mysia, they went straight to Troas (see Acts 16:7–8), where a miraculous foretelling of the will of God awaited them, directing their preaching. Here at night a Macedonian husband appeared to Saint Paul and began to ask him in these words: “Come to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). When Saint Paul told his companions - Silas, Timothy and Luke (the last of them must have joined the apostle here) - his night vision, they all understood that this was an indication of the will of God for their further path, and immediately set off for Macedonia (see Acts 16:10). Having joined Saint Paul in Troas, Luke became the apostle’s most beloved companion after Timothy. He accompanied Saint Paul to Philippi and then, seven years later, joined him there again, so that he would never again be separated from him during the entire period in which we have the opportunity to follow his life. How deeply Saint Paul was attached to Luke is evident from the title given to him - “beloved physician” (Col. 4:14). How completely Luke was devoted to Saint Paul is evident from the apostle’s touching remark: “Luke alone is with me,” he wrote from Roman bonds (2 Tim. 4:10). Luke shared the dangers and terrible shipwreck of St. Paul's journey; he visited and consoled him in prison, first in Caesarea, then in Rome, and he became the biographer of the great apostle. As Eusebius and Jerome think, Luke was one of the pagans of Antioch; an observant, educated man, fluent in Greek style, as can be seen from his books - the Gospel and Acts; he was also a doctor. Where and by whom he was converted to the faith of Christ is unknown, but the fact that he joined Saint Paul and became his companion hints at his acquaintance with Saint Paul in Antioch, where, perhaps, he was converted by Saint Paul. Sermon of the Holy Apostle Paul in Philippi (Acts 16:12–40) Filled with lofty hopes, inspired by the consciousness of the leadership of the Spirit of God, the holy evangelists sailed from the port of Troas and two days later landed at Naples, the harbor of the Macedonian city of Philippi. Macedonia was conquered by the Romans, turned into a province and divided into four districts, with four capital cities - Amphipolis, Thessalonica, Pella and Pelagonia. St. Paul probably intended to visit all these cities. But he visited only Thessaloniki and Philippi, which received more privileged importance than Amphipolis. Philippi was primarily a military and agricultural city, inhabited by Greeks, Romans and, probably, Slavs; That’s why there were very few Jews here, so they didn’t have their own synagogue, but only a small prayer house outside the city, by the river. This explains that there was no indignation and unrest against the holy missionaries from them. When Saturday arrived, Saint Paul and his companions went to the Jewish prayer house to be the first to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to them. But it was still early; Several women proselytes were sitting near the prayer house. The apostles, sitting down, entered into a conversation with them about the faith of Christ. Among the women sat one Lydian proselyte, a native of the city of Thyatira - she belonged there to the class of dyers. The extraordinary luxury of that time created a great demand for purple in the Roman market, and Lydia (that was the woman’s name) found profitable sales for her craft among citizens in Philippi. The seed of the word about Christ fell on her heart. She sincerely believed in the Lord, and after her all her household believed, and her whole house was baptized. She persuaded St. Paul and his companion to lodge in her house; They did so, and from there they began to influence others (see Acts 16:13–15). Her house became a meeting place for believers and a place for announcing those who wanted to believe. The preaching of the evangelists was successful, helped by the believing women. Saint Paul in his letter mentions two of them, Euodia and Syntyche, who enjoyed great fame in Christian society, although they did not agree with each other on everything (Phil. 4:2). Of the male co-workers with him, Saint Paul mentions Epaphroditus, Clement, Sizygus the fellow-fellow and many others, whose names are written in the book of life (Phil. 4:3). On the other hand, success in preaching, albeit indirectly, was helped by the enemy of our salvation himself. There was one maid there who had an inquisitive spirit, a soothsayer who brought income to her masters. She followed the evangelists and shouted: “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). This went on for many days. The evil spirit foresaw that this would lead to rebellion against the evangelists. As long as this did not interfere with the apostolic work, Saint Paul endured, and when it turned out that this sermon from the spirit of flattery could harm the sermon from the Spirit of Truth, he turned and rebuked that spirit in the name of the Lord and drove him out of the servant. This, apparently, was what the enemy wanted. Now expelled, he outraged the servant's masters, who lost their income from the soothsayer. They grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the square to the leaders of the city. But when they appeared before them, they did not say that they had lost their income, but presented themselves as zealots for the safety of the city and Roman honor. “These,” they complained about the apostles, “are some alien Jews who are disturbing our city and preaching customs that we Romans should neither accept nor practice” (Acts 16:20–21). The people repeated this after them. One must assume that appeals to the faith of Christ became very noticeable in the city. The commanders ordered the apostles to be naked and beaten with sticks until they were wounded, and then, plotting to do even worse to them, they ordered them to be taken to prison, their feet put in stocks so that they would not run away, and they were tightly guarded. But the power of God does not fit. The holy apostles, burning with Divine fire, prayed and sang praises to God in prison. And so, around midnight there was a great earthquake, at the same instant all the prison doors opened and the bonds of all the prisoners were removed. The prison guard, “waking up and seeing that the doors of the prison were open, drew a sword and wanted to kill himself, thinking that the prisoners had escaped.” But Saint Paul stopped him, saying: “Do not do yourself any harm, for we are all here” (Acts 16:28), which the watchman immediately became convinced of when fire was brought on his order. The watchman immediately realized that this was not a mere accident, but the action of the highest Divine power, and, amazed by this, fell in trepidation at the feet of the apostles, and, leading them out, prayed: “My lords! What should I do to be saved? They said to him: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you and your whole house will be saved.” And they preached the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house” (Acts 16:30–32). Everyone believed and was baptized that same hour. Sleep is forgotten, the rest of the night is spent in spiritual joy by the whole house. Dawn broke, and the authorities, who had treated the evangelists so cruelly yesterday, fell into confusion. Whether they were frightened by the earthquake, or the news of the event in prison reached them, in any case, they were ashamed of their gross injustice and sent servants to the prison to free “those people” (Acts 16:35). But Saint Paul, in order to erase the impression of yesterday’s dishonor to the preachers of the Christian faith, demanded that the authorities themselves come and lead them out of prison with honor, since they were citizens of Rome, and meanwhile suffered punishment without trial. The authorities were afraid of responsibility; they immediately came and apologized to the apostles, asking them only to leave the city. But the apostles did not immediately leave; for them in the city there was something more valuable than freedom and life itself, this was the young Church of believers. They hurried to Lydia's house, where they found the brothers gathered. The apostles instructed them for the last time, arranged their religious life, giving them leaders and guardians of faith and life according to faith. Having arranged all this, they went further, leaving Luke and Timothy here to lead the Church (see Acts 16:40). The evangelistic activity of the apostle in Thessaloniki and Berea (Acts 17:1–15) Leaving Philippi, Saint Paul and Silouan went to the beautiful city of Amphipolis, located 50 miles south of Philippi. But for some reason they didn’t stop here to preach. From here, along the wooded shores of the Strymon Gulf and Lake Bolba, they walked another 50 miles to Apollonia. But they did not stop here either, but after walking 60 versts, they reached the capital of all Macedonia, the famous city of Thessalonica, where they remained to preach. Thessaloniki (in ancient times - Ferma, now among the Greeks - Thessaloniki, among us - Thessaloniki) lies like an amphitheater on the slope of a mountain, in the depths of the Fermenaean (Thessaloniki) Gulf. Thessalonica, thanks to the sea and the trade road, was a prosperous, commercial and densely populated city of Greeks, Romans and Jews, with rather low morality. The Jews had a synagogue here, one in all of Macedonia. Here the holy apostles found accommodation for themselves, in the house of a Jew, who Jesus changed his name into the Greek manner - into Jason (see Rom. 16:21). To provide himself with food, Saint Paul was forced day and night to resort to the hardest labor - making tents (see 1 Thess. 2:9). True, the temporary and voluntary help of the Philippians (see Philippians 4:15–16) slightly alleviated his needs. Having settled in this way, saints Paul and Silas went on the first Saturday to the Jewish synagogue, and here, explaining the prophecies and proving on the basis of them that the Messiah Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that “This (Messiah) Christ is Jesus, whom I preach to you” (Acts 17:2-3). This is how the apostle taught three Saturdays in a row. Some of the Jews were convinced of his teachings and joined the Church of Christ. Among them, Aristarchus was especially outstanding for his subsequent piety and especially for the fact that he was almost the only ardently devoted convert acquired by the Apostle Paul from among the people of circumcision. He shared with him the labors and dangers in Ephesus (see Acts 19:29, 20:4), in Jerusalem and in bonds (see Col. 4:10). A considerable number of proselytes and Greeks accepted the Faith of Christ (see Acts 17:4), and among them there were many women with a fairly prominent and influential position in society. From this we can probably conclude that the holy apostles preached their teachings in private meetings and in the homes of converted proselytes, where they could (without touching the prophecies) present the doctrine of the faith in a way that was understandable to the pagans. Revealing the teachings of faith, Saint Paul did not hide from those who accepted it those dangers that are always ready to meet Christians for the Gospel on the path of Christ (see 1 Thess. 3:4), and so that they would not waver in faith, he planted in their hearts hope for a bright future in the Kingdom of Christ, with His coming to earth. It is unknown when He will come, so they must always be ready to meet Him. This readiness consists in a godly life, regarding which the holy Apostle Paul gave the most detailed commandments on behalf of the Lord (see 1 Thess. 5:2-24). It was not enough to say how to live and please the Lord; it was necessary to actually arrange such an order of life that would correspond to the teaching taught (see 1 Thess. 4: 5-6). For this, Saint Paul asked, convinced, begged each of them, “as a father of his children... to act worthy of God” (1 Thess. 2:11–12), with complete selflessness, just as “a nursing mother tenderly treats her children” (1 Thess. 2:7). The success of the preaching, as elsewhere, was especially facilitated by Divine grace, which appeared in abundance “in power... and with many evidences” in signs and wonders and in the outpouring of grace-filled gifts on those who believed (1 Thess. 1:5). And indeed, the truths of the Gospel found good soil in the Thessalonians: their faith and life according to faith were a model for all of Macedonia and Achaia, the news of their wonderful revival under the influence of faith spread everywhere (see 1 Thess. 1:7; 2 Thess. 1:3-4). They had shortcomings and vices brought from paganism, especially fornication, idleness and living at the expense of others, which the Apostle Paul noticed and corrected in his epistles (see 1 Thess. 4:3–8; 2 Thess. 3:6–12). With all this, Saint Paul did not think of leaving Thessaloniki soon, seeing a lot of harvest here. But, as elsewhere, the Jews rebelled against him. Probably prompted by jealousy that many proselytes and pagans quickly and easily joined the faith of Christ preached by the apostles, and they were abandoned, the zealots of Judaism incited the idle people against the apostles, instilling in them that the holy apostles were the general troublemakers of the people, everywhere corrupting them and the Roman Empire, preaching that it was necessary to recognize as king not Caesar, but a certain Jesus. This was the usual slander of the Jews, invented by the high priests against Jesus Christ (see 1 Thess. 2:15). The Jews managed to confuse the people and even the mayors, at least for the first time. The people, fearing responsibility before Caesar, became noisy and agitated, and since the disciples of the holy apostles managed to hide them, he seized Jason, in whose house the apostles lived, as an opponent of Caesar, and brought him to the mayor. But the mayor, having examined the case, did not believe the people’s accusation and, taking a certificate - an explanation from Jason - released him (see. Acts 17:9). The apostles still could not, given such excitement of the people, remain in Thessaloniki, and at night they left the city, where the seed of faith they had sown had grown and blossomed so abundantly, and headed towards the peaceful city of Veria, away from the large trade route. They covered the 90 miles separating Veria from Thessaloniki, of course, not without difficulty, especially when crossing many streams and rivers flowing into the Galiaktom River. But they were consoled by the success of their preaching. In the Berean synagogue, where they entered, they met Jews less stubborn, less treacherous than in Thessaloniki and other places. When Saint Paul presented to them his usual arguments from the psalms, from the prophet Isaiah and from the prophet Habakkuk, regarding the Messiah, that He had to suffer, die and rise again, regarding faith as a means of justification, the Jews, even fully understanding the purpose and logical conclusion of his arguments, did not attack him with hostility, but turned out to be more reasonable than the Jews of Thessaloniki. They were more generous, simple, sincere and devoted to the truth. Instead of angrily rejecting this new Gospel, they searched the Holy Scriptures daily and diligently in order to test the arguments and references of the holy Apostle Paul with the authentic testimony of the word of God. The consequence of this was that both the Greeks and many of the Jews believed, not only the men, but also the women of the more honorable classes. Among these simple-minded Bereans, the apostle probably spent several weeks of peace, because twice during this stay Saint Paul tried to go again to his beloved Thessalonians, but unforeseen circumstances prevented him (see 1 Thess. 2:18). In Veria, the Apostle Paul acquired one devoted and faithful friend of the Gospel, Sosipater. But then the Thessalonica Jews, enemies of the Gospel and St. Paul, reached the news of the peaceful success of the preaching in Vereya, and they immediately sent ambassadors to stir up the people there against the apostles (see Acts 17:13). Once again, St. Paul received a warning about this in advance from one of his devoted friends. In view of this, it was necessary for Silas and Timothy, against whom there was less malice of the Jews, to remain in Berea to lead the young Church here, and Saint Paul was forced to leave the city. Therefore, the Christian brothers accompanied him towards the sea (see Acts 17:14-15), and then to Athens, while the apostle ordered the brothers accompanying him so that Silas and Timothy, whom he had left in Berea to lead the Church, “come quickly to him” (Acts 17:15). This was probably in the fall. Sermon of the Holy Apostle Paul in Athens (Acts 17:16–34) The city of Athens was the center of pagan education - sciences, arts - and idols, of which there were many throughout the city. And here there were Jews who had their own synagogue. First of all, Saint Paul visited this synagogue on the Sabbath day and talked with them. But there probably weren’t many of these conversations. We do not find in the scriptures any traces of the sermon with which he addressed them, nor information about how the Jews treated it. Saint Paul launched his main activity in the market square of Athens and in a way that he, apparently, had not previously resorted to anywhere else - talking daily and publicly “with (all) those who met” (Acts 17:17). His personality and teaching soon attracted general attention. Athens has always been a city of idle people, owing to that idle curiosity and incurable chatter that were its outstanding characteristics. In the motley crowd of the apostle’s casual audience in the market square there were also so-called philosophers, but their philosophy was no better than a simple game of loud phrases, a boring repetition of hackneyed terms, a meaningless echo of empty formulas, some kind of chaos in which everything was turned upside down (F.W. Farrar. Op. op. Book. VIII. Chapter XXVII). St. Luke mentions that "some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to argue" with St. Paul (Acts 17:18). The former were defenders of sensual pleasures, the latter – of pride and arrogance. When Saint Paul tried to lead their thoughts to the highest subjects of religion, spoke to them about Jesus and the resurrection, they treated his teaching with visible disdain. Some called him a vain talker, a chatterbox, while others concluded that “he preaches about foreign deities.” Some of St. Paul's listeners were overcome by curiosity along with a desire to have fun with something new. As far as they understood him, it seemed to them that he was proclaiming a new religion. And since it was impossible for everyone to listen to him in the market square, they took him to the Areopagus, a building adapted both for legal proceedings and for public speeches, and here they said to him: “Can we know what this new teaching is that you are preaching? For you are putting something strange into our ears. Therefore, we want to know what it is?” (Acts 17:19–20). “Athenians! - Saint Paul tells them in response to their request, - judging by the numerous churches, idols of gods and altars in your city, one might think that you (apparently) are particularly devout. I noticed an altar with you, on which is written: “To the unknown God.” You honor God without knowing Him. I will tell you about Him. This Unknown to you is the One True God, the Creator of the world and everything in it. He is Invisible and Omnipresent; He, the All-Satisfied and All-Blessed, does not live in churches made by hands, and therefore has no need for the service of human hands. He Himself gives everyone life, breath, and everything. He is the Creator of the first human couple, from which the entire human race descended. He is the Provider of people, who has appointed everyone a time and place to dwell on earth. Having given man free will, He gave him the freedom to turn to Him as the Creator and Lord, imprinting His image in his spirit so that it would be easier for man to find and feel Him. And your own poet felt this and said: “We are a race - relatives to Him, because we all move and exist through Him alone.” If we humans are His race, then there is no point in comparing God to anything material or made of material by human hands. Despite all this, people did not know Him for many centuries. But now this dark time of ignorance has passed - the Lord sends a message to unbelievers so that they repent of their errors and come to know Him, for the day of righteous judgment is approaching, in which the Lord will righteously judge the world through the Man He has appointed, the very same Jesus, whose work He sealed and certified by raising Him from the dead.” But Saint Paul’s listeners did not allow him to tell them about the most important thing in his preaching - about Christ, His teaching, His atoning sacrifice on the Cross. They found his speech uninteresting. They began to disperse, and only a few of them, as if out of politeness, told him: “We will hear from you about this at another time” (Acts 17:32). Having left the Areopagus, the apostle came away with a strong conviction that the word of the cross is foolishness for those who are perishing, for those who seek human wisdom. He gained a few followers here. Saint Luke calls Dionysius the Areopagite, the woman Damari and others with them, perhaps from their family (Acts 17:34). It was obviously useless for Saint Apostle Paul to remain in Athens, and he headed to Corinth. The evangelistic works of the Holy Apostle Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1–16) Saint Paul sailed to Corinth, which was at that time the capital of southern Greece, which formed the Roman province of Achaea. After five hours of sailing along the Gulf of Sarona, the ship could anchor near the low green shores, hills and pine forest of Cenchray. From there, walking along the Examil Valley for a distance of 15 versts, he could arrive at the city itself, nestled under a huge mass of rocks. Here the Apostle Paul was destined by God's Providence to live for almost two years and found the famous Church. The city into which the holy Apostle Paul now entered was no longer ancient Corinth, completely destroyed, but simply a colony of Julius Caesar, as renewed, and organized, and populated by veterans and freedmen from slaves. Standing on a bridge between two seas, the colony (with its two harbors: Lechaean - on the Corinthian Gulf and Cenchrean - on the Saron Gulf) quickly attracted trade from East and West. Ships were conveniently transported from one harbor to another along the so-called “earth canal.” The Jews, with their keen commercial instincts, foresaw good trading profits; the Greeks, attracted by the fame of the place itself and the glory of the famous Isthmian Games, flocked in droves under the patronage of the Roman colony. The wealth of the East and West flocked here. Luxury and delicacy developed, and with them the debauchery of life. Corinth was a bazaar of everyday vanity. Its population was motley and diverse: Greek adventurers, Roman philistines, with an admixture of Phoenician scum, a lot of geshefta Jews (i.e., moneylenders and traders. - Ed. ), retired soldiers, philosophers, merchants, sailors, freedmen, slaves, artisans of all kinds, peddlers and agents of every kind of vice. There was only no aristocracy and respectable citizens here (F.V. Farrar. Op. cit. Book VIII, Chapter XXVIII). As can be seen from the letter written from here to the Thessalonians, Saint Paul suffered extremely from bodily weakness and anxiety, from external adversity and from internal unrest. He reminds the Thessalonians that he had already warned them of his and their own sorrows, and touchingly speaks of the comfort he received from the news of the strength of their faith in the midst of their suffering (see 1 Thess. 3:4-7). He was especially indignant at his pure soul and grieved when he saw the gross immorality of the city, famous for its debauchery even among the most debauched cities of decaying paganism. The very name of Corinth became synonymous with the name of ugly revelry and debauchery. This terrifying debauchery of Corinth depended on the mass of sailors constantly arriving here from everywhere, who made the city a den of vices of all kinds, and partly on the enormous numerical superiority of slaves. Their religion itself contributed to this debauchery. Thousands of priests were dedicated to the service of uncleanness in the vile church of Aphrodite of Pandem. From the East and West the scum of all kinds of abomination merged into this new Sodom of classical culture. The Apostle Paul most often addresses the Christians of this city with solemn warnings and burning indignation, with severe prohibitions of carnal sin (see 1 Cor. 5:1, 6:9-20, 10:7-8; 2 Cor. 6:14, 7:1). He writes to the slaves and artisans converted from the vile Corinthian dens that they are mired in the abyss of sin and shame (see 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 2 Cor. 12:21). In relation to this particular city, the sad proposition is expressed that in the world of paganism, a pure, honest life was almost an unfamiliar thing (see 1 Cor. 5:9-10). It was a city of drunkards, a city of charlatans and deceivers of all kinds (F.W. Farrar. Op. cit. Book VIII, Chapter XXVIII). In such and such a place (more than anywhere else and when) it was necessary for the Apostle Paul to show himself an example of abstinence even in things that are permissible. And therefore, so that any greedy shopkeepers-artisans would not accuse him of seeking their own benefits, he decided not to accept anything from their hands precisely in those forms, so that someone would not say that he, like the mass of industrialists of all kinds, acts only for selfish reasons (see Acts 20:34; 1 Cor. 9:12; 2 Cor. 7:2; 1 Thess. 2:9; 2 Thess. 3:8). In Corinth, he found refuge with his like-minded people Aquila and Priscilla (his wife), who moved here from Rome and earned their living by making tents. This craft was also familiar to Saint Paul, and with this labor he earned his livelihood, although not always sufficient (see 2 Cor. 9:8-9; 1 Cor. 4:11-12, 9:4). His first sermons, as elsewhere, were in synagogues to Jews. Their subject, just like everywhere else, is the promised Messiah, predicted by the prophets, who is Jesus Christ. The teachings of the apostle were also heard here by pagan proselytes. Probably his preaching was not limited to one synagogue on the Sabbath day only. The Jews and Hellenists affected by it in the synagogue probably talked with him both in his apartment and somewhere else. But, as can be seen from the writings of the apostles, the holy Apostle Paul seemed to restrain his apostolic zeal. When Silas and Timothy returned to him from Macedonia with good news about the state of the Macedonian Churches, then the Spirit urged him to more persistently testify that Jesus is the Christ (see Acts 18:5), which he began to do, proving that all the prophecies were definitely fulfilled in the Lord Jesus. The ruler of the synagogue, Crispus, and his whole household believed in the Lord Jesus, and many other Corinthians believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8). But there were a lot of unbelieving Jews, which they expressed by their opposition and slander of both him and the path of the Lord. Therefore, Saint Paul, seeing their bitterness, shook off his clothes and said to them: “Your blood is on your heads; I am clean; From now on I go to the Gentiles to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God,” and left the synagogue (Acts 18:6). The meaning of his words is this: “The blame for your death is on you, I am clean of it. I showed you the path of salvation and proved that there is no other. If you don’t want to believe, stay in your destruction.” But he did not go far from the synagogue, but chose as a place for his preaching to everyone who wanted to listen to him, both Jews and pagans, the house of Justus, who worships God, located near the synagogue (see Acts 18:7), wanting, perhaps, to arouse the jealousy of unbelieving Jews. Here the work of preaching went more successfully, and many believed and were baptized. But there were many Jews who did not believe, whom the success of the apostle’s preaching made even more embittered and bitter against him. Such evil and stubborn bitterness could not hide from Saint Paul and could not help but disturb him due to the consequences he had already experienced so recently in Thessaloniki and Vereya. In his Epistle to the Thessalonians, he asks them to pray that he will get rid of “disorderly and wicked people” (2 Thess. 3:2). It is true that he understood this circumstance when he wrote to the Corinthians themselves: “And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in great trembling” (1 Cor. 2:3). Being in such fear and trembling, perhaps Saint Paul thought about leaving the city, but the Lord appeared to him in a vision at night and said: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will harm you, because I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10). The apostle became strengthened in spirit and zealously preached the word of God for a year and six months (see Acts 18:11), and the Lord helped him with many signs and wonders (2 Cor. 12:12). Consequently, there too Saint Paul healed the sick, cast out demons, revealed the thoughts of the heart, commanded the elements, and the like. Such signs were everywhere inseparable companions of the preaching of the Gospel. They, combined with the special power of the spirit of preaching, turned to Christ, and not the word of wisdom, which Saint Paul did not pursue, despite the presence of the wise men who listened to his words. He himself says that especially in Corinth his preaching was short. He spoke only about Jesus Christ crucified as the only Savior of people, under the condition of faith in Him. And that this undoubtedly is so, how could he prove to a pagan? He did not prove, but only said: “Look, in the name of this Crucified One I say to the sick person: be healthy,” and he recovers. Believe that He is definitely the Savior!” And everyone who did not have a hardened heart believed, and the God of this age did not manage to blind their eyes so much that they could not see the light even in broad daylight. The hidden and insidious enmity of the “promiscuous and crafty people” of the Jews, about which St. Paul complained to the Thessalonians and asked for their prayers for the success of his preaching in Corinth (see 2 Thess. 3: 1–2), finally expressed itself in open indignation when a new proconsul, Gallio, who enjoyed the reputation of a “nice” man for his good nature and courtesy, was appointed to Corinth. Angry at Saint Paul and his teaching, the Jews in a whole crowd grabbed the apostle and, with shouting and noise, took him to the proconsul's trial, hoping that “dear Gallio” would respect their complaints and accuse the apostle, who, according to them, taught “people to honor God not according to the law” of Moses (Acts 18:13). But “dear Gallio” was not at all inclined to interfere in the religious disputes of the Jews, and he, like the majority of the Roman nobility, did not like the Jews themselves. Therefore, without allowing St. Paul to say a word in his defense, he said to the complainers: “If there were a civil crime or an immoral act here, then I would have reason to delve into the matter and listen to you, but when it comes to doctrine, about simple names and about your law, then sort it out for yourself; I do not want to be a judge in this matter” (Acts 18:15). Having thus extinguished the complaint, Gallio ordered the court to be cleared and the complainants expelled from the court. Seeing that the proconsul found the Jewish complaint against the holy apostle illegal, the Greeks took him under their protection and took revenge on the Jews for him. The leader of the Jewish party was the head of their synagogue, Sosthenes. He was now captured by the Greeks and beaten right before the trial, in front of the proconsul himself and with impunity (see Acts 18:17). Over the head of the apostle there was clearly God's protection, and after this indignation he remained in Corinth “quite a few days” (Acts 18:18), establishing churches. The first letter of the Holy Apostle Paul to Thessalonians (Thessalonians) During his stay in Corinth, the holy apostle wrote the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. This can be concluded from the following considerations. From the epistles to the Thessalonians it is clearly seen that the holy apostle, both in thought and feeling, was in what happened in Thessaloniki; and all this is written in the same way as one can only write about events that took place in the recent past; this is further indicated by the fact that the desire to see the Thessalonians, which was born to Saint Paul immediately after his separation from them (see 1 Thessalonians 2:17), was still alive in him at the time he wrote the letter to them, and equally among the Thessalonians - to see him (see 1 Thessalonians 3:6). Therefore, they have not met yet. Then, from the very teaching of the epistle it is clear that it is written to a convert, for it sets forth the elementary, simplest truths of Christian teaching and morality. Finally, Saint Paul makes it clear that he writes his epistle immediately after Saint Timothy returned to him from Thessaloniki (see 1 Thess. 3:6); in the Acts of the Apostles it appears that Timothy, having returned with Silas from Macedonia, already found the apostle in Corinth (see Acts 18:5). Therefore, the epistle was written in Corinth. The time of writing it can be determined by the following considerations. Aquila and Priscilla, with whom Saint Paul settled in Corinth, moved here from Rome as a result of the decree of Claudius, this decree falls in the year 52. Aquila had already settled down in Corinth when Saint Paul arrived in Corinth and settled with him, so this circumstance must be attributed to the year 53. The writing of the message is expected by the end of this year, or rather, by the beginning of 54. But other perplexities arise, namely: if a letter to them was written so soon after the conversion of Thessalonians, then how in such a short time could their faith become glorified throughout Macedonia and Achaia (see 1 Thess. 1:7) and their charity managed to expand throughout Macedonia (see 1 Thess. 4:10)? But both could naturally happen even within a few weeks. Thessaloniki was a seaside city and stood on the overland trade route. People from all sides entered or left it every day in large numbers, and every significant event that took place there was spread everywhere. Since the conversion of Thessaloniki was unusual among signs and wonders, such an outstanding event could not be hidden from anyone and naturally became the property of rumor, which spread it everywhere. Another bewilderment arises from the concern of the Thessalonians about the fate of their dead; they could not have many of them in a short time. But in order for such anxiety to be born, it is not necessary that there be many of them, one might even say that they are not required at all. It is enough to think that since all the good of Christians is expected from the second coming of Christ, but the time of this coming is not determined, then what will happen if one of ours dies, and we ourselves die, and He has not yet come before that time? What will happen to the dead? If there was at least one person who died, and the time was a time of persecution, then this question could flare up even more vividly. Reason for writing a message We have already seen that the holy Apostle Paul left Timothy in Macedonia in Philippi to strengthen the faith of the young Church founded there by the Apostle. Then Timothy came to him in Athens (see Acts 17:15–16, cf. 1 Thess. 3:6). The force remained in Macedonia. But he probably did not bring any reassuring news, except perhaps that the Churches were suffering persecution. It was necessary to reinforce those who were suffering. The apostle himself could not go there, so as not to endanger both the young Church and himself from fanatics. Therefore, he decided to send Timothy to Thessaloniki (see 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2), who was not personally known to the Thessalonians, and therefore could conveniently hide from the hateful vigilance of the enemies of the Gospel, so that he would confirm the faith of the believers and comfort the mourners, so that “as the tempter would not tempt anyone” (1 Thessalonians 3:1-5), and then, having learned what they had, he would announce it to the holy apostle. Timothy brought the news about the state of the Church of Thessalonica to Saint Paul already in Corinth (see Acts 18:5), where he preached the Gospel. The news Timothy brought was very comforting to the apostle. The Church of Thessalonica, despite attacks and oppression, remained unshakably firm in the faith (see 1 Thess. 2:14, 3:6-8), so that it could be set as a model for Christians throughout Macedonia and Achaia, and the fame of its heroism spread everywhere (see 1 Thess. 1: 7-8). At the same time, she was distinguished by her active brotherly love (see 1 Thessalonians 4:9–10), and in general by her faithful fulfillment of the moral rules taught to her on behalf of the Lord by the apostle (see 1 Thessalonians 4:1), which the Thessalonians always remembered with love (see 1 Thessalonians 3:6). But Timothy told the apostle about the shortcomings he noticed among them and some of their bewilderments. Namely, not all of them have yet renounced the vices of pagans and Jews: some were carried away by sensuality - fornication, others succumbed to the lures of self-interest, others did not care about the affairs of their calling and indulged in laziness. Nevertheless, those who believed were in great concern about the fate of their deceased relatives - Christians, believing that only those who would live to see His appearance, and not those who died, would be honored with the benefits of the second coming of Christ. Do not the news brought by Saint Timothy about the shortcomings of the Thessalonians and the instructions that the holy Apostle gives them at the end of the letter (see 1 Thessalonians 5:12–22) hint at? Namely, wasn’t there disobedience to the superiors of the Church, weren’t others carried away by revenge, didn’t they consider everything indiscriminately indifferent, wasn’t there any reprehensible attitude towards the gifts of the Holy Spirit and especially the gift of prophecy? It is also not surprising that both the broad description of the conversion of Thessalonians and the manner of action of the holy apostle towards them (see 1 Thess. 1:4, 2:13) are directed against the speeches heard by Saint Timothy that were unfavorable for the apostle and the Gospel. Has anyone spread rumors that the faith of Christ has nothing Divine (for the answer to this, see 1 Thess. 1:4-10), that its preachers only see their own benefits (for the answer to this, see 1 Thess. 2:1-9); that if the faith they proclaimed were true, then the Jews would accept it, but they persecute it (see 1 Thess. 2:14–16); that the apostle, by his appearance in Thessaloniki, only led those who believed into trouble, and he himself disappeared (for the answer to this, see 1 Thess. 2:17, 3:13)? This state of the Church of Thessalonica prompted the apostle to write a letter. For the first time, from the beginning of his apostolic activity, Saint Timothy, of course, corrected a lot in Thessaloniki and explained. But even if he did everything necessary there, what was done required approval by the apostolic authority. And so the holy apostle writes a letter in which he speaks about everything that happened to the Thessalonians from the day of his arrival to them until Timothy returned from them, and puts his apostolic judgment on everything, in the form of strengthening them in faith, consoling them in sorrow, pacifying them from perplexity and protecting them with comprehensive rules of behavior and the moral mood of their hearts. In the epistle it is easy to notice the inscription and greeting (1:1), the historical part (1:2–3:13), in which the apostle recalls all the events concerning the Thessalonians, from the time he came to them until the time of writing this epistle, the moral and dogmatic part (chapters 4–5), in which the apostle teaches moral lessons and between them inserted the teaching about the second coming of Christ and the general resurrection, but in such a way that and it is also aimed at arousing moral alertness, and conclusion (5:25-28). First Epistle to the Thessalonians 1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 We always thank God for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, 3 always remembering your work of faith and labor of love and patience of trust in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father, 4 Knowing your choice, brethren beloved of God; 5 For our gospel to you was not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit, and with much evidence, as you yourselves know what we were like among you. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word through much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has spread not only to Macedonia and Achaia, but also to every place the glory of your faith in God has spread, so that we do not need to tell you anything. 9 For they themselves tell about us, what kind of entrance we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God 10 And look for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus, who will deliver us from the wrath to come. 1:1. The holy apostle, according to the custom of his time, at the beginning of the letter puts his name and, along with it, the names of his collaborators in Thessaloniki - Silouan (Silas) and Timothy, testifying to those Thessalonians that all three with one mouth preached one gospel that saved them, but at the same time, what his collaborators did among them was done as if by himself. Further, Saint Paul designates to whom he writes the letter - the Church of Thessalonica, a society of believers organized into the Church - with shepherds, celebrants of the Sacraments and ministers of the word, and their flock. To this is added the characteristic feature of this Church - “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,” that is, gathered and founded not arbitrarily, but at the command and assistance of God and organized according to His plan and for the glory of His name; A Church that honors the true God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and is in living communion with Them (cf. John 15:4, 17:21; 1 John 2:5, 5:20). The apostle and his co-workers send their greetings and good wishes to such and such a Church: “grace and peace to you.” Grace is a form of greeting to the Greeks (see Acts 23:26), peace to the Jews (see Judges 6:23; 1 Chronicles 12:18; Luke 24:36; John 20:19, 21:26). Both of these greetings among the Greeks and Jews related to earthly life and external well-being. But the apostle connects them and elevates them to the meaning of the fullness of salvation in Christ Jesus. Wishing the Thessalonica Church grace, he wishes her God's favor towards them and living communion with God through faith in the Lord (see Titus 1:2; John 1:17). Wishing them peace, he desires inner harmony of life and a joyful feeling of purity and holiness from the action of grace in them. The apostle desires both from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, as the only Source of grace and peace: the Father - as the Source of advice about salvation, and the Lord Jesus Christ - as the Accomplisher of salvation. Part one - historical (1:2–3:13) In this part of his letter, Saint Paul recalls all the events concerning the Thessalonians, pointing out in everything the action of God's Providence, in order to instill in them the conviction that the faith they accepted is from God; and even more so to inspire them to stand firm in it, despite sorrows and hardships. To do this, he depicts the bright state of the Thessaloniki Church in itself, in God’s relation to it and in its relation to all others (1:2–10), his stay with the Thessalonians, imprinted by the high moral character recognized by them (2:1–16), his fatherly concerns for them (2:17–3:13). Section one. The bright state of the Thessalonica Church (1:2–10) 1:2. Saint Paul joyfully thanks God for everything good in Thessalonians. He always, at all times, carries in his heart feelings of gratitude to God, and not only for those who are perfect, but for everyone, and those who are weak in faith and deeds, but who belong to the body of the Church of Christ, washed by His Blood. In his prayers, remembering them, he lifts up grateful feelings towards God. He thanks God for the Thessalonians, thinking about the perfection of their Christian character and God’s election of them. 1:3. The perfections of the Christian grace-filled life are expressed in the preservation and observance of the three basic Christian virtues - faith, hope and love, poured out by the Holy Spirit into the hearts of Christians. Without them, no Christian disposition or behavior is possible. The Apostle recalls how these virtues were manifested among Thessaloniki Christians: faith in deeds - persistent, constant in all circumstances of life, love in work - worries and sacrifices in alleviating the lot of Christians and in all help (see 1 Thessalonians 4:10), hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, as an essential subject of Christian hope - in patience amid temptations and persecutions (see Acts 17:5-9). And all these virtues the Thessalonians showed before God and the Father, they dedicated them to Him, at the thought of Him, as if in His presence, they performed them, therefore, with all diligence and zeal, with all sincerity and purity of motives. In addition, God showed many mercy to the Thessalonians in their very election. 1:4. Election by grace is the realization of God’s love for people, according to which He brings into fulfillment through Jesus Christ from eternity only the plan for the salvation of sinners known to Him. Its beginning is in vocation, in which the act of election is performed. Those who follow this calling enter into the state and honor of the elect. Thus, those who are called are chosen, those who are chosen are justified, those who have retained justification are glorified (see Rom. 8:29–30). Seeing clearly that the Thessalonians were included in this wondrous plan of God for the salvation of people, Saint Paul in joy for them thanks God, who in their election showed the extraordinary greatness of His power and love, which is why He calls the Thessalonians brethren, beloved by God. On what is the conviction of St. Paul based that the Thessalonians were chosen by God? - On miracles, when they are called to faith and in the life that follows their calling. 1:5. I know (as Saint Paul says to the Thessalonians) that you are God’s chosen ones, because the Lord accompanied our preaching to you with His power - with signs and wonders and by sending down to you the gifts of the Holy Spirit: the gift of tongues, prophecy and others, so common in the primacy of the Church of Christ (see 1 Thess. 5:19-20). In addition to these general gifts of the Holy Spirit, the Thessalonians received from God many other miraculous confirmations of the truth of the words of the Apostle, for example, in dreams and visions. The Thessalonians themselves saw all this and know what God did for them through the apostle, and he was only an instrument - an organ of God for them. 1:6–7. The Apostle Paul also sees that the Thessalonians are God’s chosen ones in the fact that they became imitators of the Lord Himself and the Apostle, who endured sorrow for the truth with joy. And the Thessalonians accepted the preaching of the Apostle in the midst of persecution and sorrow, but did not grieve, as was natural to expect, but rejoiced, because the Holy Spirit filled their hearts with the joy of salvation, expelling from it the feelings of sorrow. So, in their diligent acceptance of the Gospel, unwavering loyalty to it and, as can be seen from the latter, in a complete change of life according to its spirit, the Thessalonians became a model for all believers in Macedonia and Achaia. Further, the Apostle Paul depicts the third side of the bright state of Thessalonians - their glory among all the Christians of that time along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. 1:8. The news not only that the Thessalonians believed in Christ the Lord, but also the words of the apostolic sermon, the words of the Lord, which converted them to faith, quickly rushed (in Greek “resounded like an echo”) along the entire coast of Northern and Southern Greece, so that the apostle and his co-workers did not need to talk about the affairs of faith of the Thessalonians, in order to excite similar competition in others, “for what should they hear about?” from the apostle and his co-workers, they themselves told them about this, warning them” (Chrysostom). 1:9–10. The rumor about the faith of the Thessalonians embraced the entire apostolic activity of St. Paul among them, precisely what kind of entrance he had to them, that is, how and what he preached to them among signs and wonders and how wonderfully the change in the souls of Thessalonians took place, how easily and with what readiness they turned from the false service of dead idols to the service of the Living and True God, that is, to faith in Him and life according to His commandments and hope for a future blessed life, which the Son of God gives to those who believe in Him. For He, as the God-man Jesus, died, was resurrected by the power of God from the dead, ascended into heaven and will come to earth again to judge people: those who do not believe in Him will suffer the wrath of God - a righteous punishment, and those who believe in Him He is already here on earth, delivering from the coming wrath (see John 3:14-18, 5:24). Section two. About the apostle’s stay with Thessalonians (2:1–16) In the second section of the historical part of the letter, St. Paul describes his stay with his colleagues and his work in Thessalonica, touching mainly on two issues: the characteristics of his life and work among them, their faith and courageous perseverance in the faith. St. Paul reveals both in detail. But why was this necessary, when he himself says that the Thessalonians know all this? Although the message does not contain direct indications that there were in Thessaloniki those who doubted the Divinity of the teachings of the holy Apostle and his personality and with their doubts shook the faith of others who were weaker in faith, there is indirect evidence or hints of this in the message. Thus, Saint Paul in this chapter certifies with an oath the truth of his testimony (v. 5:10), that it would be superfluous if anyone had no doubts about them; in other cases he refers to the testimony of the Thessalonians themselves (vv. 1, 5, 10, 11). The points of doubt are indicated by the Apostle Paul (vv. 1, 3, 5, 9). Based on them, one can make the following guess. Seeing a sudden, too drastic change in the lives of those who turned to Christ, some ill-wishers of those who believed, and perhaps even non-believing relatives, as if caring for their relatives who believed, could confuse them with such speeches: “Some unknown person, named Paul, offered you a word about Jesus, who is called Christ, whom you did not know before, and persuaded you to believe in Him and worship Him as God. And now you, who were hitherto pagans or Jews, are Christians. Did you do it well? Isn't it a dream - the belief of Christians? Are their hopes not in vain? Did Paul deceive you? Or is he himself under seduction under some unclean influence? How many Jews do we have? And they are reluctant to believe. Yes, Paul himself only showed up and left, and he has no concern for you, but you endure sorrow and persecution.” Such speeches could not, of course, confuse everyone, but it cannot be said that they did not confuse anyone, especially those who believed after the apostle’s departure from Thessaloniki. Those who wavered in the faith could be confirmed by those who were more firm in the faith - shepherds and teachers. But a more authoritative statement was also needed. Saint Paul does this in his epistle, referring both to his sermon (2:1-6), and to his work in Thessaloniki (2:7-12), and to the Thessalonians themselves (2:13-16). 1 You yourselves know, brethren, about our entry into you, that it was not ineffective; 1 2 But having first suffered and been mocked in Philippi, as you know, we dared in our God to preach to you the gospel of God with great effort, 3 for in our teaching there is no error 2, no unclean motives 3, no guile 4; 4 But just as God has made us 5 worthy to entrust the gospel to us, so we speak, pleasing not men, but God, who tests our hearts. 5 For we never had before you any words of flattery, as you know, or any form of self-interest: God is my witness! 6 We do not seek human glory, either from you or from others: 7 We could appear with importance, like the apostles of Christ, but we were quiet 6 among you, just as a nurse tenderly treats her children. 8 So we, out of zeal for you, 7 wanted to convey to you not only the gospel of God, but also our souls, because you have become kind to us. 9 For you remember, brethren, our labor and exhaustion: working night and day, 9 so as not to burden any of you, we preached the gospel of God among you. 10 You and God are witnesses, how holy and righteous and blameless we have acted before you who believe, 11 For you know how each one of you is like a father to his children, 12 We have asked and urged and entreated you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who has called you into His kingdom and glory. 13 Therefore we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you received it not as the word of men, but as the word of God, as it truly is, which is at work in you who believe. 14 For you, brethren, have become imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea, because you also suffered the same things from your fellow tribesmen as those from the Jews. 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and His prophets, and drove us out, and do not please God, and oppose all men, 16 who hinder us from telling the pagans to be saved, and through this they always fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath is coming upon them to the end. 17 But we, brethren, being separated from you for a short time in face, and not in heart, sought all the more eagerly to see your face. 18 And therefore we, I Paul, wanted to come to you once and twice, but Satan prevented us. 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of praise? Are you not also before our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy. 2:1. They probably said in Thessalonica: “These people (St. Paul and his companions) walk in vain, idle wanderers, deceiving or being deceived themselves.” Saint Paul says to this: “We are not like that, you yourself know our entrance to you, how we entered into spiritual communion with you, how we preached the Gospel to you with signs and wonders, how you believed, how the Holy Church was formed from you. Therefore, we were not with you in vain (in glory, “not in vain”).” 2:2. “You yourselves know,” continues Saint Paul, “that we came to you from Philippi, where we had just suffered, you know how our enemies tore our clothes, beat us to the point of wounds with clubs, put us in prison with our feet in stocks, and were reviled (in Greek “were reviled with hurtful words”) (cf. Acts 16:23-37). If our work were empty, then after our suffering we would not continue it. Meanwhile, among you we dared (in Greek “unabashedly, fearlessly dared”) - we dared, with confidence in God’s help, to proclaim the Gospel of God, and not our dreams, and again with many feats (in Greek “struggle”), with tirelessness and struggle with the minds of the listeners, especially with the Jews (see Acts 17:2). 2:3. That our work is not empty is proven by the fact that our teaching is not some kind of error in which we are entangled, it is not the work of unclean forces that deceive with false signs and wonders, or some kind of evil intrigue for a political purpose (cf. Acts 17:7), but was received directly from God.” Thus, the Apostle Paul denies for his sermon three usual sources of human error: self-deception, indoctrination and political error - and together points out its real source in God, and then rejects the evil purposes and methods falsely attributed to him. 2:4. God saw that we are fit to receive the Gospel in purity and to convey it to others with the help of His grace, without any admixture from the corruption of our minds and hearts. Since we have been given such trust by God, we cannot turn out to be unfaithful to Him: what is entrusted to us is what we pass on to others, we do not mean to please people, but we only care about pleasing God, Who knows that in our hearts nothing is hidden from Him. 2:5–6. St. Paul now proceeds to indicate the spirit, modes, and methods of his preaching. Three criticisms, possible or actual, are dismissed by Saint Paul - in flattery, in covetousness and in love of glory. Caressing, or flattery, is an extremely repulsive course of action. It casts a shadow of suspicion on the conscientiousness of the flatterer’s activities and gives the right to suspect him of unclean motives, covetousness and love of fame. Therefore, Saint Paul dismisses this criticism, saying that our word was alien to flattery, both in the manner of speech and in its content. We did not act among you out of self-interest - this was not in our hearts, God, who knows our hearts, is witness to this. We were also not seekers of human glory, we did not demand honors, we did not boast, and this is not only with you, but everywhere and in front of everyone. II. Characteristics of Saint Paul's activities (2:7–12) Having put aside any possible or actual criticism of his preaching, St. Paul then portrays his work on the positive side in short but powerful terms. 2:7. It is possible that in Thessaloniki there was criticism of the very way of activity of St. Paul. They could say that the apostle, as a messenger of God, should appear to them and act with the importance due to him. But Saint Paul and his companions appeared to them humbly, like slaves. Saint Paul says that, yes, we had the right to appear to you with our due “importance, as the apostles of Christ,” but out of love for you we appeared humble, meek; Moreover, out of love for you, we treated you so carefully and tenderly, as a mother treats her young children, sheltering them at her breast. 2:8. Saint Paul’s love for the Thessalonians was so strong and selfless that he wanted not only to teach them the teachings of Christ, but also, as it were, to pour his soul into them - what was good in his soul, to completely transfer to their souls, out of one impulse, that they became kind to him. From what is it clear that the apostle loved the Thessalonians as a mother loves her child, and was ready to give his soul to them as his beloved? 2:9. From this it is clear how the apostles acted among the Thessalonians. St. Paul says, “Remember our labors and toils among you. We took care of you day and night. Either we taught you faith and life in Christ, or we worked for our livelihood, so as not to be a burden to any of you, so that they would not think that we are teaching for self-interest.” Such was the activity of the apostles to convert the Thessalonians to Christ. 2:10. Here Saint Paul depicts the moral nature of the activity upon the conversion of Thessalonians to Christ - feelings and dispositions that are subject to evaluation by conscience and God, therefore, for confirmation, he turns to the testimony of their conscience and to God. He seems to be saying this: “I call upon my and your conscience and God, the Witness of my and your conscience, as witnesses, that we acted holyly, reverently, with the fear of God towards you, always remembering that we are doing God’s work in the sight of God, righteously, fairly towards you all and irreproachably, blamelessly – chastely (cf. Titus 2:12) in relation to ourselves.” The behavior of the apostles was so bright, pure, and attractive to the eyes and conscience of the Thessalonians, enlightened by faith! 2:11–12. Having converted the Thessalonians to faith in Christ, the apostle had to teach them to act worthy of God - to live by faith in every good deed (cf. Col. 1:10; Rom 6:11) - in family and civil life. In accustoming the converts to the new order of life, he spent a lot of work. It was necessary to speak with each of the converts, and with others, perhaps many times, resolving their difficulties and perplexities, natural during the transition from one already familiar order of life to another, completely new one. Everyone could have everyday circumstances that required an explanation of how to act in them according to the Gospel. St. Paul indicates how he acted, namely: as a father with children - with authority, imbued with paternal love, he asked, begged, convinced, generally acted on their minds, convinced, aroused sympathy, disposed them to love the new way of life as godly, saving, in general, acted on the heart, begged (in the glory of "witnessed") with the words of Scripture, inspiring the will to the determination to live in a new way, despite difficulties and sorrows. A new way of life is necessary for them, because they have now become, by faith, subjects of the new King, whose laws they must fulfill, for which He will introduce them into His glorious Kingdom. III. The faith of the Thessalonians and their courageous perseverance in faith (2:13–16) Having indicated the signs of the Divinity of the Gospel teaching in the circumstances of his stay with the Thessalonians, Saint Paul further indicates the signs of the Divinity of his word in the acceptance of it by the Thessalonians. They themselves felt and accepted it as the word of God, and suffered for it. As for the unbelief of the Jews, they are always like that. 2:13. You know, as Saint Paul says, how many sacrifices we have made, how much work, attention, and heartfelt care we have expended to convert you to faith in Christ. You believed and crowned our labors with success, therefore we rejoice and thank God. He instilled in your heart the conviction that the word heard from us has its source in God. It is the word of God, as it really is. You felt that together with our word an invisible force entered your heart, drove away the darkness of the errors that were in it and aroused in you the energy of dormant spiritual forces. You yourself realized this and were convinced that our word was the word of God, and you accepted it as such. And it still operates in you, internally enlightens your concepts, corrects your feelings, streamlines your morals, and externally it is accompanied by the gifts of the grace of the Holy Spirit, which you receive according to the measure of your faith. From the very suffering of the Thessalonians for their faith, according to his word, he borrows proof of its Divinity. 2:14. Saint Paul wants to confirm in the Thessalonians the idea that in the dispensation of salvation everyone suffers - the Lord, His apostles and all believers. This is the law of the truth about Christ Jesus appearing on earth - the division of people and the rebellion of one against another (see Matthew 10:35-37). Non-believers are armed against believers, because the first, having accepted faith in Christ, under the influence of the action of Divine grace, sharply changed both in their thoughts and in their behavior, and thereby separated from their fellow tribesmen, thereby arming them against themselves. This change is proof of the divine revelation of the faith that produces it. On the other hand, those who are persecuted endure and firmly stand their ground. Where is this from? From the Divine power of the word received with faith. This is how the Churches of Christ endure, even where Christ Himself acted, where the Holy Spirit descended on the holy apostles - in Judea, and also from their fellow tribesmen. If faith in Christ were not from God, then the Jews would not have accepted it and would not have suffered persecution from their fellow tribesmen for it. As for the unbelieving Jews, they always did this to their destruction. 2:15–16. There is no need (as Saint Paul says) to be embarrassed by the unbelief of the Jews; they always turned out to be disobedient to God. God sent them prophets - they beat them, the Lord Jesus came - and they killed Him. The Lord sent us, the apostles, to them - and “they drove us out.” From them we turned to the pagans with the word of the Lord, and here too they prevent us from proclaiming the word of truth. All this is because they do not love God, and they do not make pleasing Him the main goal of their lives, and therefore they rebel against the truth, not loving God. And they are unkind to people, always going against what God sends that is beneficial for people. The Lord had mercy on them for a long time, but now the wrath of God, not temporary, as before (for example, the Babylonian captivity and liberation from it), but final, is ready to fall on their heads. All because they, having killed the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, overflowed the cup of their sins (Matthew 23:32) and thereby exhausted God’s patience. Section three. The concerns of the Holy Apostle Paul for the Thessalonians after his departure from Thessaloniki (2:17–3:13) Having depicted what his arrival in Thessaloniki was like, the apostle now speaks of his relations with the Thessalonians after his departure from them, in order to show that his course of action was everywhere and always impeccable. Just as in Thessalonica he was a tender mother and loving father for them, so far from them he continues to be the same: he grieves in separation from them and wants to see them sooner (2:17-20); sends Timothy to them to confirm and reassure them, and at the same time to receive information from them himself (3:1-5); rejoices upon receiving good news, thanks God for it and again expresses a desire to see the Thessalonians (3:6–10), sends them his good wishes (3:11–13). I. Sorrow in separation and desire to see the Thessalonians (2:17–20) 2:17. St. Paul says something like this: “By being removed from you for a short time, we have become orphans. Just as orphans, due to their loneliness, experience the greatest sorrow for their parents, so too we barely had time to be separated from you in person before we began to yearn in our hearts, and therefore with great desire we sought ways to see you again.” Probably, in order to convey to them from the teachings of faith everything necessary for affirmation in it. 2:18. Prompted by such a fiery desire and especially feeling his loneliness (since Silas and Timothy were in Thessaloniki at that time), he, Paul, repeatedly gathered to visit them, but each time Satan prevented him from doing so. Perhaps, then, in order to prevent the spread of the light of the Gospel, he incited the Jews to kill the apostle when he came to Thessaloniki. Why did Saint Paul care so much about the Thessalonians? 2:19. Because the Thessalonians, like all pagans, now converted to the faith of Christ, at the general Last Judgment will be hope for the apostle, as a support for joy and receiving a crown of praise - brilliant glory for their labors from the Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. 2:20. Saint Paul once again expresses in a positive form the same idea that the Thessalonians are both glory and joy for him. 1 And therefore, unable to bear it any longer, we decided to remain alone in Athens, 2 And we sent Timothy our brother and servant of God and our fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to confirm you and comfort you in your faith, 3 so that no one will be shaken by these tribulations: for you yourselves know that this is what we are destined to do. 4 For even then, as we were with you, we predicted to you that we would suffer, as it happened, and you know. 5 Therefore, I, unable to bear it any longer, sent to find out about your faith, lest the tempter tempt you and our labor become in vain. 6 Now that Timothy has come to us from you and brought us good news about your faith and love, and that you always have a good memory of us, wanting to see us, just as we do you, 7 Then we, in all our sorrow and need, were comforted by you, brethren, for the sake of your faith; 8 For now we are alive as you stand in the Lord. 9 What gratitude can we give to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice in you before our God, 10 Praying with all earnestness night and day to see your face and to complete what is lacking in your faith? 11 May our God and Father Himself and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord fill you and fill you with love for each other and for everyone, with which we are filled with you, 13 That your hearts may be established blameless in holiness before God and our Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. Amen. II. Timothy's Epistle to the Thessalonians (3:1–5) 3:1. Saint Paul seems to say this: “You are my joy, you are my glory, and I, not having the opportunity to be with you personally, do not know what state you are in, therefore, being no longer able to bear the anxiety of the unknown, I decided to send Timothy to you, remaining alone in Athens, without employees.” 3:2. Since Timothy was not yet personally known to the Thessalonians, and yet he was supposed to replace the apostle himself among them, the Apostle Paul recommends him to them. “He is my brother, to whom I entrust you. He is a servant of God, the executor of His instructions, our collaborator, my helper in preaching the Gospel. He was sent to you to confirm you in your faith, to comfort those who grieve due to persecution, so that none of you will fall away from Christ.” 3:3. It is very natural that the young Christian society, which had so recently learned the beginnings of its new faith, could be greatly shaken by troubles and oppressions, which struck the heart more sensitively the more directly they followed the acceptance of the Gospel, and the closer there were to other persons who, having not accepted the Gospel, enjoyed a quiet life. This is what St. Paul means when he says, so that anyone, due to sorrows due to accepted convictions and new Christian rules of life, should not waver in fidelity to them, and carried away by the lure of a calm life and flattering expectations, should not deviate again to the former path. Their faith could also be shaken by the sorrows of the apostles themselves. They are messengers of God and work miracles, but they endure beatings, prison, and bonds! The Apostle recalls what he said many times before, that sorrows are inseparable from the apostles and Christians in general, that is why they were born, it is so determined from above (cf. John 16:33; Matt. 10:16; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Cor. 4:9). The Apostle warned them about this. 3:4. The apostles, apparently, did not captivate their followers with flattering worldly joys and hopes, but, revealing the matter of faith, spoke about the possibility of serious consequences of confessing faith, so that whoever wanted to believe would believe sincerely, and not for the sake of bait. That the tribulations predicted in advance befell the apostle and the Thessalonians, this alone elevates the faith they accepted and strengthens the conviction of its sincerity. In addition, it is also a consolation for them in these circumstances that St. Paul himself calls their sorrows his own. 3:5. But, in addition to external enemies, Christians, especially young converts, have an even stronger enemy - the tempter - Satan, who, taking advantage of external sorrows, can shake faith through tempting thoughts. Bearing in mind these external and internal temptations of the Thessalonians, Saint Paul impatiently and hastily sends Timothy to them to find out whether they are firm in the faith and have not succumbed to temptation. Otherwise, the fruits of his labors—the glory of the Gospel of Christ—might have been in vain. III. The joy of the Holy Apostle Paul upon receiving good news about the Thessalonians (3:6–13) 3:6. Saint Timothy brought the apostle good news from Thessaloniki about the faith and love of the Thessalonica Christians, that is, that they remain true Christians, preserving the essence of Christianity (see 1 Tim. 4:6), have a good memory of him and always want to see him, as he does with them. Saint Paul calls all these joyful news good news (in the slavic “good news”) for himself, a word that in the New Testament usually means the good news of the salvation of the world by the Lord Jesus Christ (see Luke 1:19). 3:7. Having received such joyful news about you, says St. Paul, we forgot our personal sorrows, heartfelt and external needs, troubles, and were comforted for the sake of your faith, that you, just as you accepted the faith and began to live according to its spirit, continue to this day. Why was Saint Paul so happy? 3:8. Because life for him was the success of faith and the Gospel of Christ. He would consider it death for himself if the Thessalonians wavered in Christian faith and love (Chrysostom). But they stand in the Lord, unshakably believe in Him and follow His commandments, and here he, the apostle, lives by this. 3:9. Saint Paul seems to say this: “How desirable your firmness in faith was to me, and how I feared for it! But the news about you exceeded my expectations. This is a great blessing from God for me. I don’t have the strength to adequately thank God for this. My joy for you knows no bounds, I say this as before God.” 3:10. Having thanked God for the firmness of the faith of the Thessalonians, he also adds to this his unceasing prayer night and day, so that now the Lord would grant him the opportunity to personally see the Thessalonians in order to “complete what was lacking in their faith.” True, the latter, as a spiritual mood, was strong among them, but the content of faith was not all taught to them; So, they knew incompletely about the resurrection of the dead, and perhaps about something else. IV. Saint Paul's prayerful wishes to the Thessalonians (3:11–13) Saint Paul, at the conclusion of the historical part of the letter, prays to God that He will direct his path to them, and increase them in Christian perfection. 3:11. God the Father, working in us for our salvation through the incarnate Son of God and the Holy Spirit, who descended by the grace of the Father, “may he direct our path to you,” will indicate the time, remove obstacles and arrange everything favorable for the deceased journey to you. Personally, the apostle himself does not decide anything in advance, but everything is as God wants. 3:12. Saint Paul prays to the Lord Jesus, as the Accomplisher of our salvation, that He will increase the number of believers in Thessalonica and fill them with love, which is the bond of perfection (see Col. 3:14; 1 Cor. 13), so that they love not only fellow believers, but also all people (see 1 Tim. 2:1; Titus 3:2) as sincerely as he loves them. 3:13. Saint Paul wishes the Thessalonians love, because it is the only support for complete moral purity. Love for one's neighbor, says Chrysostom, blocks all access to sin. And there is absolutely not a single sin that the power of love cannot destroy. It is more convenient for weak brushwood to withstand strong fire than for a creature of sin to resist the power of love and purity before God, therefore, unfeigned and sincere, which alone can appear at the second coming of the Lord. The apostle prays to establish hearts blameless, because “from the heart come evil thoughts” (Matthew 15:19). You can be evil without doing any evil, feeling hatred, deceit, rejoicing in the misfortune of your neighbor, and so on. To be pure from all this constitutes holiness. With the strongest encouragement to cultivate holiness in oneself, Saint Paul points to the second glorious coming of the Lord Jesus with all the saints, to reward each according to his deeds. With the final word “Amen,” the apostle wants to say that his prayerful goodwill is not a consequence of a momentary passion, but the fruit of his constant and firm desire for them for the most essential good in Christianity, saying, as it were: “So be it, be it, be it!” Part two – moralizing (chap. 4:5) It sets out moral lessons on the special moral needs of Thessalonians about chastity, brotherly love and hard work. Probably, such lessons were caused by the moral state of the Thessalonica Christians, as was reported to the Apostle by Saint Timothy (4:1-12). Then the doctrine of the second coming of Christ and the corresponding moral teaching are expounded (4:13–5:11). Finally, the moral traits that determine the moral structure of Christian societies and every Christian at all times and in every place are listed (5:12–24). Section one. Lessons on the special moral needs of the Thessalonians (4:1–12) There is no doubt that these lessons were caused by what Timothy conveyed to the Apostle about the moral state of the Thessalonica Church, but Saint Paul presents them in the form of a conclusion from the previous one. Here we hear Saint Paul praying that the Lord would more and less fill the hearts of the Thessalonians with love for each other and confirm them in purity and chastity. But the formation of the Christian life depends not on grace alone, but also on a person’s own efforts, so he invites them to take care of this themselves. In the first place he puts an admonition about chastity, protecting it with the strongest motives, because unchastity blocks the entrance of grace into the human soul and poses a decisive obstacle to any success in the Christian life (4: 1-8). Then the apostle reminds us of brotherly love (4:9–10), and finally adds a lesson about hard work (4:11–12). 1 For this reason, brethren, we ask and plead with you by Christ Jesus, that ye, having received from us how you ought to walk and please God, may abound even more in this, 2 For you know what commandments we gave you from the Lord Jesus. 3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 so that each of you knows how to keep his own vessel in holiness and honor, 5 and not in the passion of lust, like the pagans who do not know God; 6 So that you do not deal with your brother in anything unlawful or selfishly: for the Lord is the avenger of all these things, as we told you and testified before. 7 For God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness. 8 Therefore he who is disobedient is not subject 10 to man, but to God, who also gave us his Holy Spirit. 9 But there is no need to write to you about brotherly love; for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, 10 For this is what you are doing to all your brothers throughout all Macedonia. We beseech you, brothers, to prosper more 11 And be diligent in your efforts to live quietly, to do your own work, and to work with your own hands, as we have commanded you; 12 So that you may act decently toward those outside and not lack for anything. 13 I do not want you, brothers, to be ignorant about the dead, so that you do not grieve like others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, then God will also bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will not warn those who are dead; 16 because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first; 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. I. Advice on Chastity (4:1–8) 4:1. Having expressed his prayerful wishes to the Thessalonians, Saint Paul invites them to take care of the same things. And how does he offer? Not as one invested with power from above, but as an equal, a sincere well-wisher - asks and begs, and not only for the sake of self-love, but also for the sake of Christ Jesus. What is he asking for? - So that they not only continue to live as he taught them both in word and by his example, but so that they succeed more and more in a godly life. 4:2. The Thessalonians know how to live in a manner pleasing to God, for Saint Paul personally conveyed to them the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ about this. 4:3. The Lord wants them, like Christians, to be holy - morally pure from fornication, as the main obstacle to holiness. 4:4–5. So that they know how to guard their meager vessel - their body (cf. 2 Cor. 4:7), as a vessel of their spiritual life from defilement by fornication, in holiness, purity, as the sanctuary of the Spirit of God, as the church of God (1 Cor. 6:19), not in the passion of dishonor - lust (cf. Rom. 1:26), but in the honor of dispassion. Carnal movements in themselves are natural and sinless, but when a person uses them for pleasure, arbitrarily excites them and is ready to satisfy them, then he lusts, sins, and through frequent satisfaction he forms in himself an inclination to enjoy them - a passion of lust, which burdens, torments and tyrannically torments him and turns him away from the grace of God and the Christian life in general. This is how the pagans lived, who did not know God, who did not have the fear of God in their conscience and heart, and this is how Christians like them live, without the grace of God and His fear. 4:6. In addition to desecration of the body, as a vessel of the soul, lustful passion leads a person into sin against his neighbor, extending illegally to his wife and children. She, like a covetous man, steals them from him. Therefore, the Apostle Paul asks the Thessalonians not to transgress the limits set in this regard by God - “everyone have his own wife” (1 Cor. 7:2), but for violating this will of God he threatens punishment. For the Lord especially takes vengeance for fornication, as it most humiliates His image in man. The Apostle Paul spoke and testified about this in detail, and certified the Thessalonians personally when he visited them. 4:7. God is the avenger of fornication, because we, Christians, are called by Him to holiness and purity of chastity, and not to prodigal impurity. Why does Christianity begin in baptism with the renunciation of unclean deeds and the vow of purity - chastity (cf. 1 Pet. 4: 1-7). 4:8. At the conclusion of this section, Saint Paul says that whoever neglects this commandment of chastity, does not care about its exact fulfillment, does not show disrespect and contempt to man, but to God Himself, the avenger for its non-fulfillment, and expels from himself by his uncleanness the Holy Spirit, given to us by God for our purity - holiness (cf. 1 Cor. 6:19; Eph. 4:30). II. Lesson on Brotherly Love (4:9–10) 4:9. There is no need to offer - write - or lessons to you about love for your neighbors (Saint Paul speaks to the Thessalonica Christians). The Lord Himself, through His Holy Spirit, which He gave you upon your conversion to Christ, pours love into your hearts (cf. Rom. 5:5) and teaches you the ability to show love to each other. Then they will ask: why is he writing about her? In this Saint Chrysostom sees great prudence and spiritual wisdom, through this the apostle achieves two goals. Firstly, it shows that this virtue is so necessary that there is no need to teach it, for everyone knows what is of great importance for everyone. Secondly, by expressing himself in this way, he admonishes them more than even when he addresses them with edification. For, assuming that they lead a righteous life, even if they did not live so, and therefore without urging them to do so, he leads them to this life. 4:10. Proof of the active love of the Thessalonians, which they were taught in Christianity, is their love for all their brothers throughout Macedonia. Saint Paul begs them to succeed in this love even more and more. III. Lesson on Hard Work (4:11–12) 4:11. From Saint Timothy, the apostle learned that some of the Thessalonians were restless, they loved, according to their previous habit, to wander around uselessly everywhere - such people are prescribed silence, to avoid rumors, noise, to love homebodies in order to avoid unpleasant clashes; others are careless about their affairs - he advises such people to take care of their duties at home, according to their position; others did not want to work, lived in idleness, ate other people's things - such are commanded to work with their own hands, earn their own living, live by their own labor, and not at the expense of others. This is how Saint Paul personally commanded them to behave. 4:12. Having indicated the rules of good behavior, Saint Paul also indicates their purpose, so that they can be an example for those outside the Church of Christ (cf. Matt. 5:16). And he especially commands them not to ask anything from anyone, especially from outsiders, not to bother anyone with their needs, but to work themselves so as not to need anything. Section two. The doctrine of the second coming of Christ with the moral conclusion from this doctrine (4:13–5:11) Saint Paul therefore inserted his teaching about the second coming of Christ into a series of moral lessons, so that the thought of the second coming would have a stronger effect, in a corrective sense, on those who live in the wrong and confirm those who are correct. That is why, having outlined his teaching, he points out in it an incentive for wakefulness and constant sobriety. I. The Purpose of the Doctrine of the Second Coming of Christ (4:13–18) Saint Paul personally told the Thessalonians that the Lord Jesus Christ would come to earth again in His glory for judgment and reward. The Thessalonians thought that He would come during their lifetime and that only those who would be alive at that very moment would be participants in His benefits. But then what will happen to those who have already died? Not knowing how to resolve this issue, they were worried about the fate of not only the dead, but also their own, since everyone could die before the second coming. The Apostle gives an answer to these requests of theirs. The Lord will come, but His Kingdom will not be on earth. He will descend from heaven, and both the living and the dead will be caught up to meet Him; the latter will first be resurrected for this purpose, and all together will then be with the Lord. 4:13. I want, says Saint Paul, to convey to you an accurate understanding of the situation of your dead for your peace, so that you do not grieve, do not grieve over their fate, as the pagans who have no hope of resurrection grieve. 4:14. Grief for the dead comes, firstly, from separation from them, and secondly, from the unknown of what will happen to them. The apostle weakens the first cause of sorrow when he says in this verse that at the second coming of the Lord God will bring the dead again into fellowship with us; the second - in subsequent verses, saying that those who died after the resurrection will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord and there they will always be with Him. If we believe, says St. Paul, that Christ, the Head of the body of the Church, all believers, died and rose again, and this cannot but be believed as the basis of Christianity, then we must also believe that the members of His body will also be resurrected, with the only difference that our Head Himself, by His power, as God, has risen, and His members will be brought with Him, God will resurrect Him with His coming to earth and bring Him into His Kingdom. By members of the Lord, the apostle means the dead Thessalonians - those who died in Jesus, that is, with faith in Jesus. What will happen to those who die not in Jesus? Or will the Lord not resurrect them? He will resurrect, but will not bring him with the Lord Jesus into His Kingdom. 4:15. Now about those who will live to see the second coming of the Lord. They will not take advantage of its benefits before the dead. For Saint Paul, not from himself, but by the word of the Lord, by direct revelation to him from God (cf. 1 Cor. 7:40, 15:51), says that we who remain alive will not forestall the dead, we will not taste the blessed life with the Lord without them. 4:16. The apostle clearly shows that those who remain alive will not precede those who have died at the coming of the Lord, revealing even the picture of the second coming of the Lord: the Lord will appear, the dead will rise, and then they and those who remain alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord. In this most precious advantage of believers, the living will not be preferred in any way to the dead. Saint Paul depicts the very appearance of Jesus Christ this way: at the announcement (in glory, “in command”), with which God, worshiped in the Trinity, will pronounce the determination that time is over, the moment has come - may the dead rise, and may everything appear in a renewed form! The commandment of God will be accepted by the first Archangel - of course, Michael - the guardian of the people of God (see Dan.9:21, 10:5, 13:21, 12:1), and announced by his voice to the other Heavenly Powers, which, through the trumpets of God (cf. Lev.23:24; Num.10:2, 31:6) will proclaim the commandment of God to all the ends of the earth. From the sound of these trumpets, as from His “let it be” (Gen. 1:3–6), the dead who died in Christ will rise with faith in Him and with the hope of the resurrection in Him, first (in glory, “first”). What? - Before the rapture, being taken up in the clouds, to meet the Lord with the living. 4:17. Saint Paul does not say anything about the fact that the living, in accordance with the resurrected, will change, put on an incorruptible body (see 1 Cor. 15: 51-52), does not say anything about the fact that there will be a judgment and the condemnation of some to torment, and others to bliss, but goes straight to the essence of the resurrection - the salvation of people when they taste eternal blessings in ineffable glory, beginning with the meeting of the Lord and then in an everlasting life with Him stay. Both those resurrected and those who have lived up to this moment will be raptured - will rise, like the Lord Himself during the ascension (see Acts 1:9-11; Matt. 24:30) on the clouds - in the air, to meet Him coming to take them; and He will indeed take them, according to the promise He made (see John 14:3), into His Kingdom, so that there they will forever enjoy the bliss of communicating with Him and contemplating His glory (see John 17:24). 4:18. This is the purpose for which Saint Paul taught the Thessalonians his teaching about the resurrection of the dead and the second coming of the Lord, so that with this teaching they would console each other in their judgment about the fate of the dead and, patiently enduring the sorrows of life, would say to each other: eternal bliss - this is the reward that awaits true believers! II. Moral application of the doctrine of the second coming of Christ (5:1–11) From the teaching of Christ's second coming it naturally follows that we must watch and be sober in order to be worthy to be with Christ in His glorious Kingdom (5:4–11). But in order for vigor and sobriety to be continuous and without weakening, St. Paul, as an encouragement, teaches about the suddenness of the second coming of the Lord (5:1-3). 1 Now there is no need to write to you about times and seasons, brethren; 2 For you yourselves know with certainty that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety,” then destruction will suddenly come upon them, just as the pain of childbirth comes upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that the day should overtake you like a thief. 5 For you are all sons of light and sons of day: we are not sons of night nor of darkness. 6 Let us therefore not sleep, as do others, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep sleep in the night, and those who get drunk get drunk in the night. 8 Let us, being sons of the day, be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation, 9 because God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain 11 salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 who died for us, so that whether we wake or sleep, we might live together with Him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are also doing. 12 We ask you, brethren, to respect those who labor among you, and those who preside over you in the Lord, and those who admonish you, 13 And honor them with love because of their work; be at peace with each other. 14 We also urge you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil; but always seek the good of each other and everyone. 18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 20 Do not disparage prophecies. 21 Test everything, hold on to what is good. 22 Abstain from all kinds of evil. 23 May the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved completely without blemish at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful, and he who will do this. 25 Brothers! pray for us. 26 Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss. 27 I adjure you by the Lord to read this message to all the holy brothers. 28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. A). The suddenness of the Lord's appearance (5:1–3) 5:1. Regarding the time of the coming of the Lord, Saint Paul tells the Thessalonians the same thing that the Lord said to His disciples (see Acts 1:7), and that the Apostle spoke to them personally while he was with them, so now there is nothing to write about it. What do they know? 5:2. I personally told you precisely and definitely that the time of the coming of the Lord is unknown to anyone, but that day will come suddenly, like a thief coming at night, when everyone is sleeping and not expecting him. Perhaps the Lord will appear at midnight, like the bridegroom in the parable of the ten virgins. 5:3. The Lord will come generally suddenly and for those who will wait for His coming, and especially for the careless. For before the coming of the Lord, they will not expect Him much, but will say: now we have nothing to worry about, everything is fine - “peace and security” (in glory, “affirmation”), that is, everything is solid, everything is calm outside and inside. Then destruction will suddenly come for them - a misfortune that is overwhelming, destroys everything and, moreover, hopeless, from which there is nowhere to go, there is no escape. The same will happen to those who are more attentive. The apostle likens for them the time of the second coming to the sudden pangs of a wife giving birth. The woman giving birth knows that she is about to give birth, but the painful moment of birth seizes her suddenly, unexpectedly. Such will be the coming of Christ. In this comparison of the coming of Christ with the giving birth, Saint Chrysostom sees a solution to the bewilderment; before the coming of Christ, the Antichrist will reign on earth for three and a half years, Elijah the prophet will come - the signs are very sharp, so as not to notice them and not wait for the coming of Christ. But He will still come suddenly and unexpectedly. Just as a pregnant woman knows that after a certain period of time she will give birth, but many will give birth on the road, in the field, generally outside the house, others will give birth ahead of time, in any case, the hour of birth is not known to them. So, people, especially the careless ones, will definitely be struck by the destruction - the sudden approach of the hour of Christ's coming - even though they will see and know the signs of the coming of the Lord. B). Lessons in Watchfulness and Sobriety (5:4–11) 5:4. If the day of the coming of the Lord comes suddenly, like a thief in the night, then naturally you need to stay awake in order to be safe. Moreover, Christians must stay awake, because they are “sons of light,” of day and not of night. Christians are “not in darkness” - ignorance of Divine things, the source of error and vices, not in the darkness of spiritual life, the works of darkness, so that the day of the coming of the Lord finds them unprepared to meet Him. It will be sudden for them, but since they are awake and waiting for it, it will not bring them any sorrow. 5:5. Why aren't Christians in darkness? Because they are “sons of light,” sons of Him who is the Light of the world, enlightened by the light of the Gospel teaching, reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit and living in the light of the face of God - according to His will, bright in knowledge, life, hopes; therefore they are not weak, not dark, not darkened. This is what Christians should be like in their meaning and purpose. 5:6. If, in their meaning, Christians are sons of light, then in reality, in their lives, they must be such. So, “let us not sleep”, let us not live in carelessness and oblivion of the day of judgment, like others who do not know Christ, but “let us stay awake” cheerfully, energetically, let us act like the sons of light and “be sober,” we will not allow bad thoughts, sinful inclinations, passionate hobbies and vicious deeds. Why should Christians live this way? 5:7. Because not being awake - sleeping and not being sober - being drunk usually happens at night and not during the day, and you, says St. Paul, “sons of light and day,” you should not sleep, be careless, blinded and revel in addictions, sensuality, passions, and, having drunk with them, lose your Christian consciousness. 5:8. The reminder to stay awake and attentive brought to mind St. Paul's military guards keeping watch. Just as a warrior on guard carefully watches to see if the enemy is creeping up, and in case of an attack he is armed to repel the enemy, so we should not only watch for the tricks of our moral enemies, but also be ready to repel them at all times, arming ourselves, as a Christian should, with faith, love and the hope of salvation, as the main principles of Christian life and strong weapons to repel an enemy attack. Faith reflects the arrows of lies, unbelief, excitement; love is the lure and attraction of sin and passions; hope - all the fluctuations of fidelity to present troubles and sorrows and the unknown of the future, assuring that the Lord will never leave us if we do not depart from Him, will protect us and protect us, and will undoubtedly lead us into His eternal Kingdom. Full of faith, hope and love is the son of the day. His gaze is bright and joyful at everything he does in the Spirit of faith, his conscience is bright from deeds of love. Everything around and ahead is bright from hope and devotion to the will of God. “If God is for us, who is for us?” (Rom.8:31). Here is a real cheerleader and teetotaler! What is this confidence based on? 5:9–10. On the fact that the Lord called us not to be condemned to eternal torment (see 1 Thess. 1:10; Matt. 25:46), but so that we would receive salvation, purchased for us at the highest price - the Blood of the Only Begotten Son of God. Having such proof of God’s love for us, let us have faith in Him, love for Him and our neighbors, and good hope that He will save us, bought so dearly. Therefore, whether the coming of Christ finds us alive or we die before that (“we will sleep”), we will still be honored to be with Him forever. 5:11. If the Lord has called us Christians to such salvation in Christ Jesus, then you have nothing to grieve. Whether sorrow befalls you, console yourself with the hope of what awaits you. Whether your soul is upset by perplexities and unkind movements of the heart and flesh, with cheerfulness and sobriety, create your thoughts, feelings, dispositions and deeds, in faith, hope and love, always helping each other, as you do. Section three. A list of moral lessons that determine the structure of Christian societies and every Christian at all times and in every place (5:12–24) It is not difficult to see that in the lessons offered by St. Paul, he first offers the virtues on which the structure, firmness and well-being of Christian societies rests (5:12-15), then sets out the characteristic features of a truly Christian life in every Christian (5:16-22), and finally indicates the final goal towards which everyone should strive (5:23-24). I. Virtues on which the structure, stability and welfare of Christian societies rest (5:12-15) A) Strong union with shepherds and among themselves (5:12–13) Union with shepherds is determined by recognition of their dignity and power, reverence for them and love for them. Union between each other is expressed by common peace. On these two unions the work of God is built and strengthened. 5:12–13. Shepherds, according to the teaching of the Holy Apostle Paul, work, preside and admonish. They work to satisfy all spiritual needs, proclaim the word of truth (see 1 Timothy 5:17), baptize, confess, administer communion and perform all other prayer orders. They preside, oversee behavior, religious order in Christian society, lead in everything - whether in church meetings or in the general external life of Christians, they are also representatives before God for all believers. Finally, shepherds admonish (in glory, “punish”) in various cases of perplexity, mistakes, and errors (see 2 Tim. 4:2). This is the vigil of shepherds for the souls of their flock (Heb. 13:17). Saint Paul expresses the attitude of the flock to the shepherds with the words: “Respect and honor them primarily with love for their work - for the work of serving, for presiding and presiding, and for admonition and guidance.” He only lists the deeds of the shepherds, but gives a commandment about the duty of the flock, albeit in a mild form - “we ask” (in Slavic “we pray”) you. Heartfelt union with pastors is the first foundation of Christian societies, the second is the living union of all Christians among themselves, expressed in common peace. Therefore, having spoken about the first, St. Paul adds: “be at peace with each other and in your conscience” (in the slav. “be at peace”) B) Mutual support among one another in true Christian life (5:14–15) Union with pastors and among themselves serves as the basis for the formation and state of life of Christian societies, and well-being depends on the mutual assistance and assistance of all to each and each to all. The Apostle now speaks about this assistance, mainly spiritual. 5:14–15. Saint Paul begs the brethren of Christ's Church, and especially its shepherds and teachers, to admonish those who are disorderly, who do not act according to the order established by God, violating the general peace of the Church - its tranquility, and thereby disgrace the Christian community. The Apostle commands to admonish such people, that is, not to reprimand them, but to convince them to understand the inconsistency of their behavior with the title of Christian and to correct themselves, to console the faint-hearted. The one who loses heart from troubles, misfortunes, oppression, persecution and deprivation, sorrows and illnesses is cowardly; cowardly - cannot bear insults, cowardly - cannot bear temptations for Christ (Chrysostom). Support the weak. Those who are weak are those who are weak in the knowledge of faith (see Rom. 14:1-2), in convictions, in the rules of Christian life and are prone to either fall from the faith or fall into sins. By weak we can also mean those who, in cases of wrongdoing, can defend themselves. The Apostle Paul implores those who are successful and strong in faith to support the weak in the name of the duty of love. Be patient with everyone. He who, when faced with troubles and insults from others, suppresses unpleasant feelings of anger in himself, is patient, and he who maintains an undisturbed peaceful disposition towards another, despite the fact that this person continues to act hostilely against him, is long-suffering. Patience and long-suffering are primarily based on love (cf. 1 Cor. 13:4), which is why St. Paul begs that it be given to all people, no matter who they are. “See to it that no one repays evil for evil.” But among the troubles there are those that especially contribute to irritation, such as humiliation, personal insult, and intentional evil. It is difficult to resist impulses of vexation, anger and revenge, while revenge puts a stain on the entire Christian society, especially before the pagans. Therefore, Saint Paul puts the virtue of long-suffering under the supervision of the entire Christian community - see, let the meek and calm restrain the hot ones. But always seek kindness to each other and to everyone. Those who want to take revenge look for ways to do evil for evil, and you, says St. Paul, take care to do good instead of evil, and be intensely concerned about this, seek (in Slavic “pursue”) to achieve this goal and thereby extinguish destructive enmity. II. Characteristics of the Christian Life in Every Christian (5:16–22) St. Paul first indicates the highest manifestations of spiritual life in Christ Jesus, which are joy, unceasing prayer, ever-present thanksgiving (5:16-18), then he identifies the producers of such a life: Divine grace, which in all is revealed by burning of the spirit, and in some, in addition, by special gifts, for example, the gift of prophecy (5:19-20), and everyone’s own efforts, revealed in considering what is good and what is bad, and in forcing oneself for good and in opposition to evil (5:21–22). A) The highest manifestations of spiritual life (5:16–18) The course of spiritual life in everyone is this: having sincerely repented and accepted the firm intention to work for the Lord, then accepting the grace of the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments, a person begins, burning in spirit, to try to please God, avoiding all evil and doing all good. When, as a result of labors and exploits, the soul begins to be cleansed of passions, then a feeling of healing and salvation is awakened in it, which fills the heart with joy, just as a recovering patient rejoices. At the same time, the heart, clinging more and more to God and constantly having Him before its spiritual gaze, gives birth to unceasing prayer, in which it pours out both petition and thanksgiving. 5:16. Man was created for joy, for heavenly life; now in the Lord Jesus Christ, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, he returns again to his first state. Although outwardly he is not yet in Paradise, but inside he has already received a heavenly system. The essential basis of a Christian's joy is the renewal of fallen nature. In regeneration the seed of new life is placed in the image of the risen Lord (see Rom. 6:4). Having begun from this moment to live according to the spirit of renewed life, he is more and more freed from the bonds of sinful corruption and filled with a feeling of spiritual healing. This feeling is almost the same as the feeling of resurrection. Therefore, the joy of a Christian is a reflection of his spiritual state. To the extent that he recovers spiritually, he rejoices; his feeling of joy is not arbitrary, but a direct result of his spiritual state. Therefore, the words of the apostle “rejoice always” mean: always be in a healthy spiritual state, hope and active love, the fruit of which will be unceasing joy in the heart. In this state, external troubles and sorrows do not affect him. From the outside he may be considered sorrowful, but in himself he constantly rejoices (see 2 Cor. 6:10). 5:17. Continuous prayer is an integral feature of the Christian spirit. The life of a Christian, according to the apostle, “is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). He needs to constantly remain in Him with his attention and feeling; this is unceasing prayer. On the other hand, every Christian is a church of God in which the Spirit of God lives (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16, 6:9; Rom. 8:9). This Spirit, abiding in him and interceding, always prays for him “with groanings that cannot be uttered” (Rom. 8:26) and through this teaches him to pray unceasingly. It should be obvious to everyone that the apostle’s commandment is not limited to just fulfilling the prescribed prayers at certain hours, but requires always walking before God, dedicating all affairs to God, the All-Seeing and Omnipresent, kindling a warm appeal to Him with the mind in the heart. All life in all its manifestations must be imbued with prayer. Its secret is love for God, it directs our heart to Him and unites us with Him (see 1 Cor. 6:17). 5:18. With unceasing joy and constant prayer, gratitude to God for these gifts is so naturally necessary that there would be no need to remind about it. But Saint Paul, commanding the Thessalonians to thank God, adds the word “for everything,” which expresses the idea that God must be thanked in all circumstances of life - good and bad, for the All-Good God, without whose will not a single hair of our head will fall, educates man with everything, intending to reveal all his good sides. That this is how a Christian should live and act, this, says St. Paul, is the order established by the Lord Himself regarding all Christians. B) Producers of spiritual life in Christ Jesus (5:19–22) 5:19. A sinner who has decided to live piously, who has sincerely repented of his sins, receives in the Sacraments the grace of the Holy Spirit, under the influence of which zeal is kindled in his soul to fulfill everything that his conscience points to as the will of God. This burning of the spirit with zeal for pleasing God and salvation can be maintained and strengthened, or it can be extinguished. The spirit is warmed up with zeal most of all by deeds of love for God and neighbors, by fulfilling the commandments of the Lord, by prayer and contemplation of God, by crucifying one’s flesh with passions and lusts. It is extinguished by the deviation of attention from God and the affairs of God, immersion in everyday worries and especially carnal knowledge. With the extinguishing of this spirit, the Christian life also extinguishes. A person begins to live carelessly and carelessly, not caring whether he has suffered a bad thing or a good one. Warning against this disastrous step, the apostle inspires not to quench the spirit of zeal for salvation, leaning toward what is contrary to it, but, on the contrary, to warm and nourish it with what is akin to it (cf. Rom. 12:1). This is how the general Christian spirit is revealed, descending for repentance and faith into the soul of everyone through the Divine Sacraments. Its essence is the fire of jealousy. It has a different direction, depending on the faces. For some, it is entirely directed towards self-correction through strict deeds, for others - primarily towards works of love, for others - towards the improvement of Christian societies, and for others - towards spreading the preaching of Christian teaching (see, for example, Acts 18:25). In all these directions, “not to quench the spirit” means not to suppress its demands, suggestions and dispensations, but to prudently satisfy them. 5:20. In the primal Church there was a special gift of prophecy (see Rom. 12:6; 1 Cor. 12:10), and those who possessed it were called prophets. It is clear that this gift was not always the exclusive property of some of them, but it could and did come to every believer. Excited by this spirit, the believer realized that he had received a revelation, and felt the ability and need to enthusiastically present the truth he contemplated in prophecy to other believers, in order to inspire them with it, just as he himself was inspired by it. The truths communicated by the prophetic spirit did not exclusively concern the future, but also the present, for the purpose of edification, comfort and confirmation (see 1 Cor. 14:3). In a state of prophetic inspiration, speech poured out with greater liveliness and energy than in ordinary, calmer teaching, therefore, obviously, it had a greater influence on the listeners. Of course, the gift of prophecy in the case of external troubles, when consolation was needed, and in internal difficulties, when authoritative apostolic admonition or confirmation was needed (for example, in the absence of the apostles), was very necessary in the primal Church, for through it the Lord Himself consoled, created, and confirmed the believers. But, as Saint Chrysostom thinks, along with the true prophets, dreamers and even false prophets began to appear, who began to pass off either their dreams or the suggestions of the devil as Divine revelation, as a result of which Christians began to neglect and disparage the gift of prophecy, perhaps even forbidding the prophets to speak in the assembly. In view of this, Saint Paul writes to them: for the reason that you have several false prophets, for their sake do not oppose the true prophets and do not turn away from them. 5:21–22. Saint Paul, as it were, solves the bewilderment: what then? Should we really accept false prophets? No, but tempt everything, that is, both false and true, examine everything with testing, accept good prophecies, that is, accept them as the true revelation of God, and reject false ones (Chrysostom, Theodoret). To discern whether what is being said in a prophetic spirit is from God, or whether it is the speaker’s own dream and the enemy’s delusion, the primal Church had a special gift - discernment of spirits (1 Cor. 12:10). In general, not only in prophecy, but also in every deed in the life of one who is zealous for pleasing God and salvation, against every good undertaking, an evil thought arises, and sometimes an attraction, arising from a heart that is not yet cleansed of passions, so that in fulfilling the first you cannot do without struggling with the latter. Therefore, St. Paul writes: hold on (in the slavic “shovel away”), distance yourself, turn away from every kind of evil, from every even the slightest form of evil, so that you can more freely hold on to what is good. This is so that one goodness reigns in the entire being of man. Saint Paul speaks about this further: 5:23. “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved completely without blemish at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” III. The last goal to which all should strive with hope in its fulfillment (5:23–24) The last goal to which every Christian who is zealous for his salvation should strive is to cleanse himself from all passions, so that nothing unclean remains in any part of his nature, but so that the whole of him becomes pure and blameless before the face of the All-Seeing God. This is why Christians are chosen (see Eph.1:4). In fallen man, passions poison the entire composition of his nature with the poison of sin. When a sinner realizes his sinful life, sincerely repents of it, makes up his mind and begins to live not to please passions, but to the will of God, then, with the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit, he will begin to overcome passions, as a result of which his natural powers will gradually approach their original purity, to which they were intended at creation and created by the Creator. When a person achieves this purity in himself, then he becomes a saint, but as long as he only goes to this, he is sanctified. But God leads His chosen ones to this perfection with the participation of the forces of their jealous spirit. This is why Saint Paul prays about this, inviting the Christians themselves to do the same. 5:23. Man cannot renew his nature, corrupted by passions, through his own efforts, but only with the assistance of the God of the world Himself. And the first thing He gives to those who are zealous for their salvation is inner peace with conscience and with Him, which is why St. Paul calls Him the God of peace. The consciousness of this world in itself is primarily the result of sanctification. The inner world that has arisen in the consciousness excites the spirit with zeal for the perfection of sanctification - holiness, which is again accomplished with the assistance of the grace of God, for which St. Paul prays: may He sanctify you, “make you holy and blameless ... before Him” (Col. 1:22), so that nowhere in you there will remain any filthiness, vice or anything from such, but that you will be “holy and blameless” in to all (Eph. 1:4), cleansed “from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (see 2 Cor. 7:1), all perfect in all their composition - in spirit, soul and body, may God keep them blameless. The body is our animal-vegetative organism, with all its functions and needs, the soul is the organ of our internal conscious phenomena, sensations and ideas, with their types of rational, heartfelt and volitional activity, the spirit is the organ of communication with God, a God-conscious, God-seeking and God-living force. Its essential features are consciousness and freedom, its driving principles are faith in God, a feeling of complete dependence on Him and confidence in Him. Manifestations of the life of the spirit are the fear of God, the action of conscience and the thirst for communion with God, expressed (from the outside) in dissatisfaction with anything created. This is the breath of godlike life that God breathed into Adam at his creation. The spirit, uniting with the animal soul, transformed it into the human soul, which is therefore akin to both animals and the human spirit. The normal structure of man is this: the spirit is in God and receives its strength from God, under his control is the soul, under the spirit and soul is the body. When man fell away from communion with God, the spirit, without God’s help, lost power over the soul, and that over the body. The life of the fallen became predominantly carnal, sensual, with weak strength of soul, and even weaker strength of spirit. The calling grace of God acts directly on his spirit and, reviving the fear of God, conscience and thirst for communion with God, turns a person to the Lord Savior, Who imparts to him the powers of grace in the Sacraments and thereby again returns the spirit to the dominant position in man. From this time on, the blessed spirit begins to powerfully control spiritual forces and actions. Having become accustomed to autocracy in a sinful life, the soul does not suddenly give in, hence struggle is an inevitable part of Christian life. The body is a passive instrument of mental and spiritual life. Fallen life, sinful, passionate, sensual, settles and grows stronger primarily in the body. The grace of God, guiding the spirit in the labors of restoring fallen man, teaches him, first of all, to take this fortress, in which everything sinful and passionate takes refuge and from which it receives reinforcement. Hence the strict physical exploits - the crucifixion of the flesh with passions and lusts, in order to drive out and kill by hunger, cold and other exploits all corruption, every seed of passions, so that the body does not become a slave of sin, but serves the spirit. Hence, everyone understands when the spirit, soul and body are pure. The spirit is immaculate when it is entirely in God, not only does it not submit to the soul, but subjugates it to itself and directs and arranges it in its own way. The soul is immaculate when, suppressing all passion in itself, it follows in everything the contemplations, suggestions and tastes of the spirit, and does not allow anything contrary to this, either in the sciences, or in the arts, or in general in its actions, and controls the body, turning it into its instrument. The body is pure when it strictly adheres to its nature, avoiding everything lustful. Grace, which restores the forces of nature of fallen man, is not something separate from God, but is the restoration of communion with God, interrupted by the fall and now restored again as a result of God’s turning of the spirit to himself and surrendering himself to Him. Having expressed such high wishes, the apostle hastens to remove any hesitation of hope for their fulfillment by the fact that God is faithful to Himself. 5:24. God, who called you, says St. Paul, into His Kingdom, where nothing unclean will enter, will undoubtedly cleanse you in advance and renew your nature. This is as true as God who called you is faithful. In conclusion, the apostle expresses several heartfelt wishes to his Thessalonians. His expressions are brief, but full of deep meaning and feeling. 5:25. He is completely devoted to God and expects everything from His goodness, asking for prayers for himself. The whole concern of the Apostle Paul is about the success of the Holy Gospel. He asks the Thessalonians to pray so that God will preserve his health, give him the strength he needs for this, and arrange circumstances favorable for preaching the Gospel and his success. But why does the apostle ask the Thessalonians for prayers for himself, when with him, as with all the apostles, according to His promise, is the Lord Himself, “who makes haste and confirms the word with signs that follow” (Mark 16:20; Matthew 28:20)? What forced him to do this was not humility alone and his example for others, but the awareness of the power of common prayer, as the Lord Jesus Christ commanded in the example of the prayer “Our Father” given by Him. Such is the spirit of life in Christ Jesus that everyone individually recognizes himself as nothing, and if he has anything or desires to have something, it is only by virtue of communion with the whole body of the Church, of which Christ is the head. That is why Christians always pray for each other, and although everyone realizes that the Heavenly Father is also his Father, his tongue cannot say: “My Father!”, but always calls out according to the commandment “Our Father”! Mutual prayer is a direct fruit of brotherly heartfelt love and evidence of living communication between everyone. It constitutes the soul of Christian societies and the entire Church - both earthly and heavenly. If the apostle asks for prayers from the brethren, then who can do without them?! Chrysostom says to his flock: “If the apostle said this (“pray for us”) out of humility, then we are not out of humility, but for the sake of great benefit and because of the desire to acquire something great through you, we say: pray for us too. For if I have taken upon myself the responsibility of interceding for all of you and will have to give an account of this, then your prayer becomes all the more necessary for me.” 5:26. He breathes love for his spiritual children and wants to express it in the most tender way. Love attracts mutual hugs and kisses. The Apostle, moreover, wants to hug and kiss the Thessalonians as children born of his gospel (see 1 Cor. 4:15). Unable to personally hug and kiss them, he instructs his successor shepherds to do this, as well as to read this message. We can imagine this touching picture when the shepherds, having gathered all the Christians together and read the message to them, began to hug and kiss everyone on behalf of the apostle. Saint Paul commands kissing with a kiss to the saints, such as the saints can give to the saints, in purity of heart, with a respectful attitude towards each other, as persons who carry the Lord God within themselves. This happens on the Bright Resurrection of Christ, as a testimony to the common joy of the Resurrection of Christ the Lord. Saint Chrysostom sees in this word of the Apostle an encouragement for everyone to preserve mutual love, which makes those separated by space inseparable. “Keep the fire of love within yourself, for distance is not an obstacle for it; on the contrary, it fills all the space that separates it (from the beloved object) and is everywhere.” 5:27. Nothing interests him as much as the fruitfulness of the teaching he preaches. The message written to the Church of Thessalonica, to all believers who make up this Church, of course, would be read by everyone. But how? Could be read separately by everyone. The Apostle Paul commands, under an oath before the Lord, that it be read in a general meeting of the Church before everyone. For what? In order for its message, interpreted in some places by the pastors, to be equally understood and accepted by the entire Church, which might not have been the case when reading it separately. Or maybe this was meant in order to have a stronger effect on the lost by the public reading of the message, and all the more powerfully to warn others against temptations. The Apostle says: “I adjure you by the Lord!” Why the spell? It is true that Saint Paul foresaw that, due to some fears or considerations, the shepherds might not read this epistle in front of everyone. To reject this, he conjures them in the name of the Lord to read before everyone, thereby depriving all incentives for non-public reading. Read in front of everyone, no matter what comes of it. This is the will of the Lord, and there is no need to argue. 5:28. Finally, since in him, the apostle, according to his consciousness, everything is produced by the grace of God (see 1 Cor. 15:10), then he desires the same grace for the Thessalonians more than any other good. Grace is the basis of Christian life at its beginning, continuation and end. Naturally, Saint Paul wishes it specifically for the Thessalonians, so that it may be preserved, multiplied and grown in them through their efforts. There cannot be a better wish for Christians. Where the grace of Christ is, there are all the blessings of Christ. On the other hand, the desire for grace is a reminder of the duty to fulfill the conditions under which grace instills itself in the hearts of believers and remains in them. Be faithful to grace yourself, and grace will never retreat or become scarce. In this regard, the apostle seems to be saying to the Thessalonians: “Try to attract the most abundant grace to yourself, living worthy of what has already been given to you” (Theophylact). With the word “Amen” he affirms his blessing and the entire message. Second Epistle of the Holy Apostle to Thessalonians (Thessalonians) Reason for writing and content of the message Having sent the First Epistle to the Thessalonians with his co-workers, Silas and Timothy (see 2 Thessalonians 1:1), Saint Paul continued his evangelistic activity among the pagans in Corinth, despite the slander and opposition of the Jews. But towards the end of his stay and activities here, the Jews openly rebelled against him, and a struggle began before the court of the city rulers (see Acts 18:12–17). During this time of rebellion for the apostle (see 2 Thess. 3:2), a rumor reached him (2 Thess. 3:11) that in the Church of Thessalonica, despite its general prosperity, new perplexities arose again about the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Although it was a rumor, it was furnished with such evidence that Saint Paul had no reason to doubt its faithfulness and therefore could not help but be concerned about the position of the Thessalonians. Saint Paul wrote to them that the Lord would come suddenly, but he used the expression “we who are left alive will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord” (1 Thess. 4:17), which gave reason to think that the Apostle Paul was expecting the coming of the Lord before his death, therefore it would come soon. This probably struck some with fear, from the imagination of those amazing phenomena that would accompany this coming, and in others, perhaps, it irritated a strong desire to quickly see the glory of the Kingdom of Christ. And everyone was put in such a mood that one could say about them that they were moved from their minds (2 Thess. 2:2). This opinion became all the more persistent and all the more alarming because people appeared who claimed that they had received a revelation of this kind; others referred to the fact that they had heard this from the lips of the apostle himself, while others even presented a message as if it had been written by the Apostle Paul himself. It is not surprising that the first epistle made this idea at least probable where the apostle speaks of the unexpectedness of the appearance of the Lord. At the same time, it was also said that that old shortcoming of Thessalonians - a passion for a careless, idle and restless life, which was noticed by the apostle during his personal stay in Thessaloniki and about the correction of which he then insisted and wrote, moreover, in the first letter, remains among Christians. Some indulge in it in the old way, without thinking about correcting their behavior. Having received such news, Saint Paul could not help but be concerned to bring order to this mood of the Thessalonica Christians: to calm their minds, dispel wrong thoughts, and correct bad morals. It is for these very purposes that he writes his second message to them. He was prompted to this by apostolic zeal and fatherly love for those converted. He could not see that there was any stain on Christians, and he was jealous to present every Church to the Lord as pure, without any filth or defect. In the message, he thanks God for the success of the Thessalonians in Christian virtues, encourages them to continue, especially to endure persecution and sorrow in the hope of future blessings, dispels their wrong thoughts that the day of Christ has already arrived, predicting that it will not come until the enemy of truth appears - the Antichrist, and finally, encourages them to correct the disorderly walkers by the power of conviction and apostolic authority. The main thing in this message is the establishment of precise concepts about the signs of the second coming of Christ. Praising the good qualities of the Thessalonians and encouraging them to be patient is, as it were, only an introduction to the presentation of these concepts, and the instruction on the correction of disorderly persons is a private addition, although edifying for everyone, it does not concern everyone, because only some people were faulty. Time and place of writing the message The second letter to the Thessalonians was written shortly (five or six months) after the first letter. Saint Paul at this time was still in Corinth, which is evident from the fact that in the inscription of his epistle, he, along with himself, as in the first epistle, puts his companions - Silas and Timothy, and both of them were with him only in Corinth. After Corinth, we meet Saint Timothy with him in Ephesus (see Acts 19:22); but Silas is not mentioned anywhere later, as a companion of St. Paul. The epistle was written towards the end of St. Paul's stay in Corinth, which can be concluded from the fact that St. Paul asks them to pray for his deliverance from evil and evil people (2 Thess. 2), which he probably hints at the uprising against him in Corinth (see Acts 18:13–17), which happened at the end of his stay there (see Acts 18:18). Thus, if his first epistle was written in 54, then the second was probably written in the same year. After the usual inscription and greeting (1:1-2), St. Paul first (in the first part of the letter) praises the good behavior of the Thessalonians and exhorts them to persevere in patience (1:3-12). Then (in the second part - the religious one) he dispels wrong thoughts about the second coming and gives corresponding moral lessons (2:1-17). Finally (in the third part - moral correction), he denounces those who behaved badly and convinces them to improve (3:1-15). The letter ends with the traditional conclusion (3:16–18). Second Epistle to the Thessalonians 1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 It is always right that we give thanks to God for you, brothers, because your faith increases, and the love of each one of you increases among you all, 4 so that we ourselves boast in you in the churches of God, in your patience and faith in all the persecutions and tribulations you endured 5 as proof that there will be a righteous judgment of God, so that you may be worthy of the Kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 For it is right before God to repay those who insult you with tribulation, 7 And for you who are insulted, you will be gladdened together with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven, with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 9 who will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 When He comes to be glorified in His saints and to appear marvelous on that day among all who believe, just as you have believed our testimony. 11 For this reason we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of the calling and accomplish every good pleasure and work of faith with power, 12 Let the name of our Lord Jesus Christ be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ 1:1–2. This inscription and the greeting are similar to those of the first message, so there is no need to repeat their interpretation here. Thanks to God for the growth of the Thessalonians in Christian virtues, the apostle encourages them to further successes, especially to the feat of martyrdom - enduring persecution and sorrow, with the hope of future blessings. Section one. Commendable qualities of the Christian life of the Thessalonians (1:3–4) 1:3. The apostles deeply took to heart every success of Christians. They did not relate externally to the cause of Christianity - not in the way that the sermon was said, the Gospel was proclaimed, but there as everyone wants. No. They considered it their duty not only to proclaim Christ, but to root Christianity in their hearts and introduce it into life. They especially cared about this and constantly prayed, and then rejoiced when their desire was fulfilled and thanked God for it. So here, the Apostle Paul prays for the Thessalonians, so that the Lord would fill them with virtues (cf. 1 Thessalonians 3:12). Now, seeing that his desires and prayers are being fulfilled, he thanks God for this in justice, as required by the bright state of Thessaloniki, for it is from God. Truly this is God’s work: despite persecution and sorrow, their faith grows (in glory, “exceeds”), that is, it outgrows all troubles, stands like an indestructible rock among the waves, and on the basis of faith, their mutual love multiplies. Common sorrows bring those suffering closer together, they evoke compassion, compassion - mutual assistance, support, and this is a matter of love. Thus, sorrows strengthened love, and love, in turn, alleviated suffering and gave courage. All the Solunians were burning with love for each other, and love bound them like brothers, like members of one family. 1:4. In his first letter, Saint Paul noted their distinctive features in the Thessalonians - “work of faith, labor of love and patience” of hope (1 Thess. 1:3), and here he claims that these virtues were not only preserved in them, but also increased to perfection. Thus, earlier he said that their faith increases, their love multiplies, and in this verse he says that their patience in faith, revealed in the midst of persecution and tribulation for their faith, is so great and steadfast that he sets them up as a model in all the Churches founded by him, and boasts about them, of course, attributing the praise to the grace of God acting through him (cf. 1 Cor. 15:10, 1:31 ). Section two. Comfort for the Thessalonians in patience and encouragement to persevere in it (1:5–10) The Thessalonians excelled in virtue and exemplarily, patiently endured persecution and sorrow for their faith. But so that sorrows and persecutions do not break their patience, the apostle with special power restores in their minds such truths that are especially capable of establishing patience. Precisely, there is a Righteous God, Who sees the righteousness of the sufferer and the burden of his sorrow, and in due time will reward him according to His righteousness. With particular persistence, he restores in the minds of Thessalonians the certainty of retribution (1:5–7) and then depicts the circumstances under which it will take place and what it will be like (1:8–10). I. Certification of certainty of retribution (1:5–7) Saint Paul proves the truth that there will be judgment and just retribution in this way. The righteous suffer here, and the wicked prosper. If there is a Righteous God, and He is, then, undoubtedly, there will be another life, when the first will receive the due reward, and the second will receive the due punishment. 1:5. Saint Paul seems to say this to the Thessalonians: the persecutions and sorrows you have complacently endured convincingly point to the just judgment that is about to take place, at which you will be awarded (or that you will receive on it) the blessed Kingdom of Heaven as a reward. What indicates such a judgment, is it complacent patience or persecution and sorrow? Both. Compassionate patience amid persecution and sorrow clearly proves that in the soul of the sufferer there is a strong conviction that there will be righteous judgment and retribution, and this is based on the fact that there is a Good and Righteous God. Persecution also leads to the same conclusion. If there is a Good and Righteous God, then He will not allow the unfaithful to always triumph over those faithful to Him - there will one day be judgment and retribution, so that those who suffer for their faith will receive the Kingdom of Heaven, for the sake of which they endure so much here on earth. 1:6–7. Yes, it cannot be otherwise. By judgment, as the apostle says, you will receive the Kingdom, because the truth of God demands this. It is righteous with God to reward everyone according to his worth. According to this law of truth, you, together with us, the apostles (cf. Luke 22:29-30), will receive joy, and those who insult you will receive sorrow. This will not happen in the present order of things, but in the second glorious coming of the Lord, when He descends from heaven to earth with hosts of Angels to execute judgment on all those living on earth. II. What will be the reward and how will it be accomplished (1:8–10) The apostle reveals the circumstances under which retribution will take place. He does this for the purpose of keeping people more firmly away from sin, and then inspiring them to complacently endure all sorts of wrongdoing for a just cause. This is precisely what is achieved by presenting the picture of the Last Judgment and retribution. How will the Lord appear at judgment? In glory, as the King and Lord of all, surrounded by the “Angels of His power” - the messengers of His power, the executors of His commands, in which His boundless power will be revealed, as, for example, the Angels will sound the trumpet and the dead will rise. 1:8. Next, He will appear in flaming fire (cf. Ps. 96:3; Dan. 7:10), which will also serve as an instrument for carrying out judgment - vengeance, not revenge, which is not characteristic of God, but the demand for justice, rewarding according to deserts, over those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel. Who are they? In the time of the apostle, the pagans were called those who did not know God (see 1 Thess. 4:5; Gal. 4: 8; Rom. 1:28; Eph. 2:12), and those who did not listen to the Gospel were mainly the Jews (see Rom. 10: 3; 1 Thess. 2: 15-16). But since God’s judgment will be universal, the words of the holy Apostle must be understood more broadly not in relation to nations, but in relation to the moral and religious state of all people. Not only those who reject the existence of God and His Providence and the Gospel will be subject to God’s vengeance, but also those who, while recognizing Him and the Gospel, do not live according to the Gospel, do not obey His teaching. 1:9. On such will be the vengeance of God, but what will it consist of, how will it befall sinners? - They will suffer a punishment that is righteous according to their deeds, which will be extremely painful - eternal destruction. They will feel that they are finally perishing, and yet carry the conviction that they will never perish, at every moment as if being born again for new torment. By whom and how will death be accomplished? “From the face of the Lord, from the glory of His power,” unbelievers and sinners will see on the face of the Lord and Judge a formidable and inexorable anger, and at the same time they will feel His boundless power punishing them, they will be suppressed by it and thrown away from Him like lightning, as soon as the menacing word comes from His lips: “Get away from Me,” and they will be cast into Gehenna. But the same face of the Lord the Judge, and the same His power will pour inexplicable joy into the hearts of all who believed and remained faithful in the faith. This will be the purpose of the second coming of the Lord. 1:10. He will come then to be glorified and wondrous among His saints (having struck, as if in passing, with one formidable appearance of sinners, He will turn all His attention to showing His mercy in glorifying His faithful). How will He glorify them? - He Himself will be glorified in them, will clothe them with His glory, so that the glorified ones themselves and even the Angels will be surprised at this and glorify Him Himself, and it did not enter the heart of man “what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). “God is wonderful in His saints” (Ps. 67:36) often happens here on earth. His holy apostles were marvelous in their power, carrying in their meager vessels the great grace of God, with which they conquered the entire universe. Marvelous were the holy martyrs and ascetics who endured terrible torment and rejoiced. Particularly marvelous are the moral changes from drunkards to sober, from proud to humble, and the like. But here this is not seen or respected by everyone. Then the light of the glory of God’s grace will shine before everyone, and it will be obvious to everyone what perfections someone has acquired through their labors on earth and in what ways the Divine glory is manifested. On that glorious day, the truth that we now preach, says St. Paul, will prove unquestionably true. The testimony of the apostles that they preach not their own, but inspired by the Holy Spirit, will turn out to be true, everyone will admit it. Section three. Prayer for the success of Thessalonians in Christian perfections (1:11–12) So that the Thessalonians would be worthy to receive the blessings depicted by the apostle on the day of the glorious coming of the Lord, the apostle prays for them, so that He would grant them this. 1:11. In order for God to be glorified and wondrous in the Thessalonians, Saint Paul always prays that the Lord, with His gracious help, will make them worthy of the title of Christians in a holy life (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10; Eph. 4:1). What do they need for this? May God fulfill “every good pleasure of goodness” - that which the goodness of God desires for people, all the blessings that are given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ - the grace of regeneration, sanctification, communion with God, adoption (see Eph. 1:5). Saint Paul prays that the Lord would accomplish all this with the Thessalonians by His grace, so that they, having cleansed themselves of their sins in repentance, would try to cleanse themselves of passions and become a worthy dwelling place for the Holy Trinity. May he “also accomplish the work of faith with power.” Saint Paul prays that the Lord will help the Thessalonians to preserve and demonstrate their faith in all its strength and fullness in deeds, and especially in patience. Having preserved their faith in its entirety and cleansed their souls of passions, they will be rewarded with a blessed life at the coming of the Lord. 1:12. We pray, the apostle continues, for the fullness of your perfection, so that here, seeing your holy life, you may “glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16) and us, the bearers of His grace, and in the future life, when He comes to be glorified and wondrous in His saints, He may appear glorious and wondrous in you, “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” If we are worthy that God will be glorified in us, and we in Him, then all this is God’s work, all is the grace of Christ according to His good pleasure. With the news about the bright side of the life of the Thessalonians, Saint Paul also received information about some of their faults, one of which darkened their Christian knowledge, and the other, their Christian behavior. The first was that they allowed themselves to be carried away by the opinion that the day of Christ’s coming had already arrived, the second was that some of them continued to indulge in idleness and live at the expense of others. The apostle could not leave such shortcomings in their lives without correction, therefore the second part is called religious correction, and the third - moral correction. Part two – religious correction (2:1–17) An opinion arose among the Thessalonians that the day of the coming of the Lord was approaching. Some spoke about this in a prophetic spirit, others as if they had heard about it from St. Paul himself, and there were also those who pointed to a letter supposedly written by the apostle himself, in which the same idea was confirmed. The Solunians believed all this and became excited, some from fear, others from joy, that they would soon see the Lord and gather with Him. 1 We pray to you, brothers, regarding the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him, 2 do not rush to waver in mind 13 and be confused 14 neither from the spirit, nor from the word, nor from the message, as if sent by us, as if the 15th day of Christ is already approaching. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means: for that day will not come, unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 He who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits in the church of God as God, showing himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I told you this? 6 And now you know what prevents him from being revealed in due time. 7 For the mystery of iniquity is already at work, but it will not be completed until the one who now restrains is taken out of the way. 8 And then the wicked one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the revelation of His coming. 9 whose coming, according to the work of Satan, will be with all power and signs and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception of those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, so that they will believe a lie, 12 Let all those who did not believe the truth but delight in unrighteousness be condemned. 13 But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and faith in the truth, 14 to which I have called you by our gospel, to attain 16 the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand steadfast and adhere to the traditions which you have been taught, either by our word or by our epistle. 16 But our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, our God and Father, who loved us and gave us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, 17 May he comfort your hearts and strengthen you in every good word and deed. Section one. The Apostle explains the injustice of the Thessalonians’ thoughts about the second coming of the Lord (2:1–8) I. One Should Not Be Worried for Any Reason (2:1–2) 2:1–2. Everything was explained in detail, but then some rumors got in, and everything was forgotten at once, everyone got carried away by them. The apostle asks them, as if in bewilderment: why are you doing this? The Lord will come, and we will gather around Him; take care only to become worthy to meet Him. You are now busy calculating the moment of His appearance, and as soon as you heard that He was about to come, without making out who was speaking and whether he was telling the truth, you were already confused, lost your head, were afraid, not knowing what to start and what to take up. Perhaps someone, reflecting on the sudden coming of the Lord and deciding to wait for Him every hour, came to the thought that the day of the Lord was coming, and then, inspired by this thought, spoke an inspired word about it in the congregation. Such a person might seem to be speaking in a prophetic spirit. Another confirmed, and the apostle seemed to say so; the third added: there is also a message from the holy apostle about this. And the talk spread everywhere and threw everyone into confusion. It didn’t occur to anyone to discuss the matter. II. The coming of the Lord must be preceded by the appearance of the Antichrist (2:3–5) 2:3–5. Be careful that in the future no one deceives you with something similar to what you have been deceived by now! Have you forgotten what I told you personally when I was with you, for unless the falling away comes first, the day of the Lord will not come, neither will the Lord come. What is the retreat from and what kind? The Apostle was obviously talking about this retreat that would come before the coming of the Lord. He mentions this in other messages. Thus, in the First Epistle to Timothy, he writes: “The Spirit (of God) clearly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, listening to seducing spirits and teachings of demons” (1 Tim. 4:1, cf. 2 Tim. 3:1; 2 Pet. 3:3). And the Lord Himself predicted that at the end of the world “the Gospel will be preached throughout the whole world” ( Matthew 24:14), but along with this, “many false prophets will arise and deceive many,” and that “because iniquity will increase, the love of many will grow cold” (Matthew 24:11–12), so that when He comes, “will he find faith on earth” (Luke 18:8) So, before the coming of Christ there will be a departure from the true faith and from. evangelical Christian morality. Based on the above evidence, the moral and religious state of people recently seems to be as follows. The Gospel will be known to everyone, but one part of the people will remain in disbelief, the other, the largest, will be heretical, inventing their own faith, albeit on the basis of the word of Scripture. There will be no number of these independent faiths. There are already many of them, and there will be even more. Whatever the kingdom, it has its own confession, and there, whatever the region, and then - whatever the city, and in the end, perhaps, whatever the person, whatever the head, then has its own faith. Where they build a faith for themselves, and do not accept the faith given to God, it cannot be otherwise, and all such will appropriate the name of Christians, there will be a part who contain the true faith, as it was betrayed by the holy apostles and preserved in the Orthodox Church, but even of these, a considerable part will only be true believers, but in their hearts they will not have the order that is required by faith, having loved the present age. This is the wide area of ​​retreat expected in the last days! Although the Christian name will be heard everywhere and there will be churches and church rites everywhere, all this is only an appearance, but inside there is a real retreat! On this soil the Antichrist will be born and will grow in the same spirit of appearances without the substance of the matter. Then, having given himself over to Satan, he will clearly apostatize from the faith and, armed with his deceitful machinations, he will lure everyone who does not hold Christianity in truth to an obvious apostasy from Christ the Lord, forcing himself to be considered God. The chosen ones will not be carried away, but he will have an attempt to deceive, if possible, them too. To prevent this from happening, these evil days will end. The Lord will appear on earth and destroy the Antichrist and all his work by the appearance of His coming. It is this clear retreat from Christ to the Antichrist as God that the apostle understands, according to the interpretation of the holy fathers. Who is the Antichrist himself? According to the characterization of Saint Paul, he is a “man of sin” (in glorified “lawlessness”), as if he embodied all iniquities - he will be born lawlessly, will live lawlessly, will spread lawlessness everywhere, and will perish in lawlessness. But he will be a man, like anyone else, consisting of soul and body, only a complete instrument of Satan. Not Satan in the form of a man and not the incarnation of Satan, but a man in whom Satan will live and act through him as through his obedient instrument. “Son of Perdition”, who arbitrarily gave himself up to destruction and goes to it with the consciousness that he is perishing, a lost, desperate person, and not only himself perishing, but will try to destroy other people as much as possible. He who opposes God and the Lord Christ in everything will force us to reject God and Christ and to honor ourselves instead of Them. “Exalted above everything called God or shrine,” he will disdain everything that people will then call Divinity, objects of reverent religious honor - churches, icons, etc., and consider himself above them, “so that in the church of God he will sit as God.” There will be somewhere the capital of the Antichrist, where he will sit as God in a finished, old church or in a newly built one, declare himself God, and in all other churches to worship himself he will put up his images, “pretending himself to be God.” He will surround himself with such, albeit illusory, glory in this church, he will perform such signs and false wonders that everyone who followed him will see the appearance of God in this (see Dan. 11: 31–32). However, (the apostle interrupts his speech), I already told you about all this personally, while living with you, and you have already forgotten (he remarks, as if reproachfully). III. The Antichrist will not appear as long as there is something holding him back (2:6–8) 2:6. Now, having remembered what was said to you personally and taking into account what was written before this, you know, Saint Paul says, what is holding him back (the Antichrist) and what is the reason why the Lord is delaying His coming. The Apostle personally told the Thessalonians that he was delaying the coming of the Antichrist, but we must guess, because he did not deign to reveal this to us. According to the paternal interpretation, by restraining, preventing the appearance of the Antichrist, we mean: firstly, the spiritually gracious power of the Holy Spirit and, secondly, civil power - autocratic power. When the Gospel passes through all the nations living on earth, and selects from among them all those who are capable of accepting it and for this purpose being sanctified and reborn by the grace of the Holy Spirit, then the end of the present order of things will come, the end of the world will come, or the last days, in which the Lord has determined to come to earth again and bring judgment on all those living on earth, in order to bring some into the Kingdom of His glory, and condemn others to eternal destruction. This coming of the Lord will be preceded by the appearance of the Antichrist, in which God will allow evil to be revealed in all its fullness and power, so that those who do not belong to the flock of the Lord will be revealed and expose themselves. A certain time has been set for this. It is this determination of God—when something will happen—that keeps the Antichrist from appearing into the world before the time indicated by God. On the other hand, by holding back retreat one can understand royal, autocratic power. She, having in her hands ways to restrain popular movements and herself adhering to Christian principles, will not allow the people to clearly evade them, she will restrain them. When the royal power falls, and people everywhere establish elective self-government, then the Antichrist will have room to act. It will not be difficult for Satan to prepare votes in favor of the renunciation of Christ, as experience showed during the French Revolution, and partly at the present time. There will be no one to restrain this autocracy. They will not even want to listen to a humble declaration of faith. So, when orders are established everywhere that are favorable to the revelation of anti-Christian aspirations, and when the time determined for this comes, the Antichrist will appear, wait until that time, and hold back. He will appear not contrary to the will of God, but in accordance with His predestination - Providence. But the Lord will not allow the Antichrist to deceive even His chosen ones because He wanted such evil for people, but because people will bring themselves to this. He deliberately postponed this moment until the last possible opportunity, waiting to see if anyone would appear who wanted to turn to Him and serve Him. When none of these appear and there is no one to wait for, then the Lord will take His restraining hand, evil will spill out with all its might, and the Antichrist will appear. God does not want to take away the freedom given to a person, but only always surrounds her with such instructions, by listening to which she can choose a good direction, but if she chooses evil, she is to blame. 2:7. The mystery of lawlessness is something new in the temptations of the devil, which was not known in the Old Testament. Before the coming of Christ, Satan had already used how to lead people astray from the path of truth, and now, seeing that believers, by the power of the Cross of Christ, not only resist him, but also drive him away, he himself began to act against them differently. What is now the plan and what is the purpose of Satan's action, and what is his secret? Its mystery is obviously the opposite of the mystery of Christian piety, which consists in the fact that God the Word “appeared in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16) and took on human nature. Believing in this destroys the kingdom of sin - Satan's. The satanic mystery is aimed at undermining faith in Christ as God, and, indeed, even in the apostolic age, Satan raised heretics - Ebionites, Docetians, further, Arians, Nestorians and many others, and continues to act to this day, for example, in the person of Count Leo Tolstoy and in a whole galaxy of foreign Renans, Strauss, and the like. And in all the heresies they erect, the main thing is that they reject or distort faith in the incarnation of God the Word in Christ Jesus. It is this evil that will grow, and when corruption, which is in a close internal relationship with unbelief, moral corruption leads to unbelief, and unbelief justifies licentiousness, thus expanding and strengthening it. The Holy Seer saw the embodiment of immorality and unbelief in the face of a harlot wife, who had “mystery” written on her forehead (Rev. 17:5). So, this “mystery of iniquity,” invented by Satan, “is already at work,” says St. Paul. Antichrist predecessors have already appeared, but the appearance of the Antichrist himself is being held back by God and our Lord Jesus Christ. His incarnation has not yet completed its work. We must give time to the teaching of the Gospel to penetrate everywhere and revive all who are capable of this, and then that son of perdition will be allowed to appear before the world in his true form. 2:8. When the time determined by God comes and the one who is holding back is removed, “then it will be revealed” - a “lawless person” will be born and begin to act, a person who does not want to know any law and acts only at the suggestion of the destroyer of the human race, to please his depraved, evil and proud disposition. He will appear and be recognized as the universal ruler, whom everyone will worship as God. But, in order not to especially frighten the Thessalonians with the image of his atrocities, Saint Paul interrupts his speech about the Antichrist and hastens to console them, saying that the Lord Jesus Christ, as soon as he comes to earth, will immediately kill him “with the spirit of His mouth,” by the decision of His will - as soon as He dies, and he will not be, and will “destroy” (in Slavic “will abolish”), making his very place empty, idle, as if he wasn't there. And not only will he abolish him, but he will make empty all his deeds - ghostly deeds, and all his followers - lawless people, and all sin and untruth. And the all-bright Kingdom of truth and goodness will come Section two. The Apostle hastens to console and strengthen the Thessalonians in the temptations expected from the Antichrist (2:9–12) In order to more strongly encourage the Thessalonians to adhere to the Divine truth they accepted, the apostle depicts the deceit of the Antichrist and his followers. The following questions are addressed here. Why will the Antichrist be successful? – Through their false miracles and all kinds of deception (v. 9). Why will they believe him? - Because there will be no truth in themselves, everything will be fundamentally perverted (vv. 10-11). What will happen from this? – All unbelievers and unjust people will be judged and punished and will go to destruction (v. 12). Hence the conclusion: “Rejoice!” The Thessalonians should rejoice that they accepted the truth and contain it. This will save them from the machinations of the Antichrist and the harmful consequences of being carried away by him. You just need to adhere to the proposed truth. I. The success of the Antichrist will depend on his false signs and wonders (2:9) 2:9. The Antichrist will appear fully armed with false signs and all deception. He will come as a man, but Satan will give him his power and authority (Rev. 13:2), and he, in imitation of the Lord and the holy apostles, will perform signs and wonders, but not true, but false, illusory ones, for example: “he will bring down fire from heaven to earth before people,” he will put spirit into the image of the beast, “so that the image of the beast will speak and act in such a way that he will be killed.” “Whoever does not worship the image of the beast” (cf. Rev. 13:13-15) With his false signs and wonders he will create charm in people, bewitch them, bewitch them, and in order for them to believe his lies and deception and fall behind the truth, he will deceive with flattering speeches and various tricks and tricks. Who will the Antichrist deceive with his lies and cunning? II. Only those who have not accepted the love of the truth will believe him (2:10–11) 2:10. He will deceive those who are perishing, those who have fallen away from God and the Lord, who despise His commandments in their hearts and, knowing that they are heading to destruction, do not want to turn onto the path of salvation. And they will perish not because God destined them for destruction, but because they themselves loved a destructive way of life and disposition, “because they did not accept the love of the truth for their salvation,” they did not love the truth, they do not have it in their hearts, although they see it. The essential truth is that God sent His Son into the world to save the world with His Blood and teaching. He who cleaves to the Lord and His teaching loves the truth, and vice versa. 2:11. The evil spirit is constantly trying to take over all people and would have taken over if the Lord had allowed it to do so. God will protect people until the last moment when people do not want to fight evil at all and there is no longer any hope for their correction and turning to God, then He will take away His hand holding back the evil spirit, allow it to take possession of people, and it will take full possession of them. III. Why will the unbelievers die? (2:12) 2:12. All these who did not believe the truth, who did not accept the living gospel sermon with their hearts and who did not arrange their feelings and dispositions according to it, on the contrary, who gave themselves over with all their hearts to the lies and deception of the Antichrist, will be condemned to eternal destruction. Section three. The source of consolation for the Thessalonians is to be faithful in faith (2:13–15) 2:13. You, Thessalonians, as Saint Paul says, have no need to grieve or fear for your fate, thanks and glory to God, He loved you, provided for you from eternity, chose you and predestined you for salvation (cf. Rom. 8:28). By the action of the grace of the Holy Spirit and your readiness to accept our preaching, the Lord sent you the grace of the Holy Spirit, which sanctified you, gave birth to true faith and revived it. 2:14. To this sanctification of you by the grace of the Holy Spirit, faith and salvation through them you were called by our preaching. God sent us to you, gave us a word, and He imparted such power to our word that, listening to it, you accepted it as the word of God and agreed to follow his call. The end and goal of the calling will be the achievement of glory - glorifying here on earth, with one’s good life, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself (see 1 Cor. 6:20), and there, in the future life, glorifying oneself with the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ (see John 12:26, ​​17:24). 2:15. God has chosen you from all eternity, led you to faith, and bestowed grace. Make an effort on your part to stand steadily in the order of the new life introduced to you. Our perseverance is a necessary condition for salvation; it is the main driving force of Christians. Namely: we must strictly hold, preserve, observe everything from the apostolic tradition - the apostolic lessons, for the Lord Himself said to them: “Go, teach” (Matthew 28:19). The apostles already taught not only what one should believe in, but also how one should live; all this was called tradition (in Greek, “lessons”). Some of them were taught orally, from mouth to mouth to listeners, others - in writing; the latter - where the disciples were separated from the apostle by a large space, as, for example, here - Corinth and Thessaloniki. Thus, the word and scripture are tradition - a lesson, these are two forms of apostolic teaching, therefore, they have the same dignity. That is why Saint Paul commands the Thessalonians to strictly adhere to both. But since man is weak and changeable, then Section four. The apostle prays for the Thessalonians to be established in sound doctrine and faith (2:16–17) 2:16–17. Saint Paul told the Thessalonians to stand and adhere to Holy Tradition and Scripture. But you cannot be saved by your own strength alone, without God’s help. Therefore, he asks God to help them in this, to confirm them “in every good word and deed,” in right teaching and virtuous life. To revive the hope of receiving what we ask for, Saint Paul first exposes God’s love for us - the source of all Divine bounty ("who loved"), and then by the very act of showing us mercy ("who gave"). What has He already given? “Everlasting comfort and good hope through grace.” The grace that God gives to believers fills their hearts with joy and consolation, for spiritual fruit is joy and peace (see Gal. 5:22). This consolation is from God and is not only temporary, but eternal, pointing to future eternal blessings, “what eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and has not entered into the heart of man” (1 Cor. 2:9). The fruit of this consolation is good hope, hope of receiving comforting benefits in the future. This is how good God is to us, having loved us! Saint Paul asks God the Generator to make the Thessalonians partakers of His blessings, to console the hearts of those experiencing sorrow, to confirm the Thessalonians in “good word and deed,” in Christian teaching and good Christian life, without which there can be no consolation in sorrows. Part three – moral correction (3:1–15) 1 Pray therefore for us, brethren, that the word of the Lord may spread and be glorified, just as it is with you, 2 and so that we can get rid of disorderly 17 and crafty 18 people, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, who will strengthen you and keep you from evil. 4 We are confident about you in the Lord, that you do and will do what we command you. 5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. 6 We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who walks disorderly, and not according to the tradition which was received from us, 7 For you yourselves know how you should imitate us; for we did not commit outrages among you, 8 They ate no one’s bread for free, but labored and toiled night and day, so as not to burden any of you— 9 not because we lack power, but to give ourselves to you as examples for us to follow. 10 For when we were with you, we commanded you this: if anyone does not want to work, neither should he eat. 11 But we hear that some among you walk disorderly, doing nothing but being fussy. 12 Such we exhort and persuade through our Lord Jesus Christ, that they should work in silence and eat their own bread. 13 But you, brothers, do not become weary in doing good. 14 If anyone does not listen to our word in this epistle, take note of him and do not communicate with him, so as to shame him. 15 But do not consider him an enemy, but admonish him as a brother. 16 May the Lord of peace himself always give you peace in everything. The Lord is with you all! 17 Greeting with my hand, Paul's, which serves as a sign in every epistle; I write like this: 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Moral lessons begin from verse 6, and in verses 1–5 the holy apostle places thoughts that seem to complete his message of petition, hope and goodwill. As the holy interpretive fathers think, he did this in order to soften the hearts of those exposed and make them receptive to his lessons (Chrysostom). Section one. Final petitions, hopes, good wishes (3:1–5) 3 1–2. Saint Paul asks the Thessalonians to pray for the success of his preaching about Christ Jesus, so that the word of the Lord, commanded to the apostles by the Lord (see 1 Thess. 2:13), like a river of abundant water, would spread unhindered (see 2 Tim. 2:9), spread everywhere and be glorified both externally - with signs and wonders (cf. Mark 16:20) and, most importantly, internally - acceptance of the word and the grace-filled rebirth of those who accepted it, just as it was in Thessaloniki. Saint Paul also asks to pray that the Lord would deliver him and his preaching from the “disorderly” - stubborn loudmouths who do not listen to any reason, but with their screams and noise only create confusion, “evil people” - cunning, malicious, everywhere opposing the work of the preaching of the apostles (cf. Acts 18:12-18). For not everyone believes in the word of the Lord. 3:3. There were many of them everywhere, and there were them in Thessaloniki. To console the Thessalonians, Saint Paul says that the Lord, having chosen them for salvation, will not abandon them, and now He, “He who began, will also complete” (Phil. 1:6), will establish them with His power in every good word and deed and will save them from the evil one, from the devil, who teaches all evil either directly himself, or through evil and crafty people. 3:4. And he further adds that the matter of salvation depends on the Lord, which will undoubtedly be accomplished by Him in you, only under the condition that you always do His holy will, communicated to you through us, as you have done until now. 3:5. What Saint Paul expected for the Thessalonians from the Lord and from them for the Lord, this is what he now prays for. Namely, so that the Lord would keep them firm in the faith, he asks to grant them the patience of Christ, which Christ Himself showed during our salvation. And so that the Thessalonians continue to fulfill the will of God revealed to them by the apostles, he prays to give them God’s love for God and for everything Divine, for in love is the fulfillment of the law and the strength of patience itself, so that they would not only be externally serviceable and steadfast, but internally, in the very depths of the soul. Section two – moral speech (3:6–15) The main drawback of the Thessalonians, noticed by the apostle, was their idle, vain and parasitious life, the apostle reproached some of them for this in his first letter (see 1 Thess. 4:11, 5:14); but they, apparently, have not corrected themselves, so he reproaches them now, but much more sharply than in the first time. I. The Apostle expresses the general law of Christian conduct (3:6) The apostle gives this law in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to maintain Christian good behavior. Anyone who does not live like this should be excommunicated as someone who does not belong to the community of believers. We command (in slav. “command”) by the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ, given to us for the establishment of His Kingdom on earth, to withdraw (in slav. “to leave”) - not only not to follow his example, but also to excommunicate him from communion with the brethren - every Christian brother who does not live as the apostle established to live and behave, but who lives according to his own will - disorderly. Having expressed the general law, the apostle applies it to the Thessalonica apostates from him. II. The Apostle explains the guilt of the Thessalonians using specific examples (3:7–11) A) The apostle’s own example tells a different story (3:7–9) 3:7–9. You know, he says, that you, as our disciples in Christianity, should imitate us in your lives, just as we, the apostles, imitate Christ (see 1 Cor. 11:1). But while living with you, we “did not riot,” that is, we did not violate the order we had established for Christian life with you, we did not parasitize, we did not eat anyone’s bread for nothing, but we spent day and night, with the exception of necessary rest, in work and asceticism, sometimes teaching you, sometimes working for our own food, so as not to be a burden to anyone if we lived at someone else’s expense. We did this not because we did not have the moral authority to use the contents from you, for the Lord also says, “In that house (where they will be received) stay, eat and drink what they have” (Luke 10:7, cf. 1 Cor. 9:14). But they did this so that you would imitate us in hard work and homesteadiness. B) And his direct commandment teaches otherwise than what they do (3:10) 3:10. This is why the direct commandment of the Apostle was given - whoever does not want to work has nothing to feed him with bread, but if anyone eats bread, it is without any right to do so, either through his own impudence, or through the mercy of others. So, labor, whether physical or spiritual, is inevitably obligatory for everyone. Whoever does not want to work, no matter who he is, whether rich or poor, “below and eat,” even if he eats, he eats with the violence of his conscience, with sin. But what? So, there is no need to help the poor and lazy? The apostle gives an answer to this further, in verse 13, and here C) Definitely indicates the vice of the convicted rioters (3:11) 3:11. There are some among you, says the apostle, who, despite such obligatory incentives to good behavior, do not behave at all as they should. They do nothing that they are supposed to do, they do not like to sit at any serious and constant work, but spend time pleasantly for their own pleasure; These are the fussers (in Slavic, “deceitful”, in Greek, literally “all-curious”), wandering around squares, streets and houses, scouting, spying and gossiping. Who they were - whether they were beggars, neglecting the work of their hands, preferring parasitism to work, or generally frivolous idlers, is not clear from the words of the apostle, but it is only clear that there were many of them - “some”. III. The apostle offers a way out for those who are faulty and a way of behavior for those who are healthy (3:12–15) 3:12. Wanting to correct such people, the holy apostle exhorts and convinces in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, so that they do not wander idly here and there, but sit at home at work, whoever has what, and not in noise, fussiness and chatter, but seriously - “in silence” and concentration, and through this they do not live at the expense of others, but earn their own food as best they can with their own hands. But you still need to give alms to such people. 3:13. The Apostle commands the good Christians of Thessaloniki not to be bored, not to be burdened, not to be exhausted by “doing good,” meaning by this their charity towards the defective. In fact, idle parasites could even involuntarily lead to difficult thoughts, for what and why should those who earn their own bread by the sweat of their brows have to share it with those who do not want to do anything? Saint Paul, as if to console the workers, says that you, who have hitherto shown charity even to these parasites who are accustomed to eating other people’s bread, do not lag behind this course of action, do not change this attitude towards them, continue to do good to them, without getting bored or burdened by it and without allowing the thought that your good is wasted. The need must be seen in those who ask, and not pay attention to their malfunction. But the apostle corrects parasites in a different way. 3:14–15. In what way does the apostle admonish parasites? If they are not brought to their senses by his message, then he makes the following order to the superiors: to keep them under notice, to report them to him by message, of course, naming them for further orders, and to the servicemen themselves “not to communicate” with them, to shun them, but without hostility and indignation, but to admonish them as brothers, letting them know that by their behavior they are disgracing Christian society, which must be pure and holy in all its members and in all respects. 3:16. So that there would be no disputes about his orders regarding idle parasites, the apostle prays to the God of peace to give them peace always in everything, to eliminate all reasons for discord in words and actions, and so that the Lord would be with them all, and with Him every good would be multiplied among them for salvation. 3:17. The apostle calls the blessing and prayer expressed in the next verse a greeting. The apostle writes himself, with his own Paul’s hand, and promises to always write with it in every epistle from now on. This is to prevent deception by forgery. He seemed to say this: in which message these words of prayer (see v. 18) turn out to be written not by my hand, then it is not mine. And so that you can accurately check this, here is the handwriting of my hand, “I write like this.” 3:18. With these words, the apostle seemed to want to express such goodwill to the Thessalonians: if the grace that saves us remains with you, then it will heal all your infirmities, for such is the power of grace. Grace dwells in complacent souls, filled with simple faith and brotherly love. May we also be given the opportunity to have such souls that we too may be protected from everywhere by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who accepted us among the believers and brought us to the Father in the Holy Spirit (Theophilus). Organization of the Corinthian Church. Travel to Jerusalem Over the head of Saint Paul there was clearly God's protection, however, it was unsafe to further tempt the Lord, and he decided to leave Corinth, yielding to the malice of his enemies and the enemies of the Gospel. The remaining “days of satisfaction” (Acts 18:18) were probably used for final orders regarding the order in the Corinthian Church that he established, its governance and for the election and ordination of elders, as the Apostle Paul usually did in all places. During his one and a half year stay in Corinth, the holy apostle founded the Churches of Christ not only in Corinth, but also in Cenchrea (see Rom. 16:1) - the harbor and suburb of Corinth, and in other places of Achaia (see 2 Cor. 1:1). The Church of Corinth included predominantly pagans, the majority of the pagan population there (see 1 Cor. 12:2), but there were also many Jews, an ancient pious population (see 1 Cor. 10:1). Judging by worldly relations, among the believers there were not many wise ones, but still there were, there were not many nobles, but there were, there were not many rich, but there were some. The majority consisted of simpletons, poor and unlearned, but these external differences were smoothed out more or less by the influence of spiritual perfections. One received the “word of wisdom and understanding,” another the “gift of healing,” another the “working of powers” (the gift of miracles - ed.), another “spiritual reasoning,” another the “language of generations,” another the “language of telling,” another the gift of prophecy and many others, and all this according to one and only right—according to the measure of faith (see 1 Cor. 12:7–10, 13:1–3, 14:26). Justus is remembered by name among those who believed, in whose house the first church meetings were probably held; Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, who believed with all his household and was baptized by the Apostle Paul himself (see Acts 18: 7–8); Guy - after the host of Pavlov (see Rom. 16:23; 1 Cor. 1:14); Stephen, also baptized by the Apostle Paul, whom the Apostle especially praises with his entire household (see 1 Cor. 16:15); Chloe with her household (see 1 Cor. 1:11); Fortunatus, Achaic (see 1 Cor. 16:17) and a certain beloved Epenetus (see Rom. 16:5); Thebe, deaconess of Cenchrea (see Rom. 16:1–2); Sosthenes, beaten on the occasion of the uprising against the Apostle Paul, but not as a Christian (see Acts 18:17), then became a true believer and was with Saint Paul in Ephesus during the writing of his epistle (see 1 Cor. 1:1). Also Erastus, city builder (economist) Quartus (see Rom. 16:23; 2 Tim. 4:20). Probably all these persons were the closest collaborators of the holy Apostle in the dispensation of the Church and zealous continuers of his work. Against the Jews, the enemies of the Holy Apostle Paul and the Gospel, during the absence of St. Paul, the Lord sent to Corinth an eloquent man, knowledgeable in the Scriptures and an ardent believer in the Lord Jesus - Apollos, a Jew, born and raised in Alexandria. It was him, taught the faith in Ephesus, that the Lord chose and sent to Corinth to counteract the Jews. Arriving here, Apollos, by the grace of God, greatly contributed to those who believed, for he strongly refuted the Jews publicly, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ (see Acts 18:24–28). The actions of Apollos in Corinth brought much benefit to the Christians there, and St. Paul compared the effect of his preaching there to watering a newly emerging plant. This means that his word flowed abundantly and watered the souls of everyone. Having arranged everything necessary for the Holy Church in Corinth, Saint Paul said goodbye to the brethren and decided to go to Jerusalem, where he had not been for almost three years. He wanted to be present at the upcoming holiday, most likely Pentecost. He took Aquila and Priscilla with him and went to Cenchrea, to the seaport, where a small Church had already been formed. In gratitude for some deliverance, perhaps from the violence of the Jews, he took the vow of a Nazirite. In accordance with this vow, he abstained from wine and let his long hair grow, 19 which he cut off in Cenchrea in order to offer it as a burnt offering along with the sacrifices in Jerusalem. On the ship, together with his companions, he safely reached Ephesus. His arrival here coincided either with the eve of the Sabbath, or with one of the three weekly meetings of the Jews in the synagogue, and he immediately, leaving his companions, with his usual zeal appeared among the Ephesian Jews, of whom there were many here and who enjoyed the influence of Judea. Having listened to St. Paul's sermon on the crucified Messiah, they found themselves quite interested in it; They asked the Apostle Paul to stay with them longer, but he was in a hurry to Jerusalem and promised them, if it was God’s will, to return here soon. Then he again boarded the ship and sailed to Caesarea, and from here he hurried to Jerusalem, where he greeted the Church (see Acts 18:22). With whom he saw in Jerusalem and how he fulfilled his vow, nothing is known. It can be assumed that the Judaizing Christians who surrounded the brother of the Lord, the Apostle James, were dissatisfied with him for accepting pagans into the Church of Christ without the obligatory fulfillment of the ritual law of Moses, so some of them decided to follow on his heels in order to counteract the success of his preaching, in which they succeeded to a large extent, as will be seen from what follows. From Jerusalem, Saint Paul went to Antioch, where a warm and hospitable welcome awaited him. Error - to glory. “beauty”, from Greek. – deception of others (cf. Matthew 27:64; Eph.4:14) and self-deception. Impure motives - to glory. "uncleanness". According to the teachings of the holy fathers: Chrysostom, Theodoret and others, here we must understand evil spirits as the source of magic, sorcery, and superstition. Cunning - to glory. “flattery”, from Greek. - cunning, deceit, in a broad sense - conspiracy, indignation against the established order. In the latter sense this word is understood by the holy fathers. God has honored - to glory. “I will be tempted”, from Greek. - to test and, after testing, to be found fit (cf. 1 Cor. 16:3). In glory – “tisi”, from Greek. - meek, quiet, supportive. Used in relation to superiors to inferiors, king to subjects, parents to children. In glory - “those who desire you”, from Greek. - a strong desire to connect with someone, to enter into a heartfelt union with him. In glory - “tax”, from Greek. - serve, pour. The Greeks counted the day from dusk to dusk - night and day. Night and day is a common phrase expressing the continuous continuation of time during the day. In glory - “sweep away”, from Greek. - to throw with contempt, to neglect. From Greek - acquisition by purchase. In glory - “we pray”, from Greek. - means strict suggestion. In glory - “strive with the mind”, from Greek. - lose your mind, get lost. In glory - “to be horrified”, from Greek. - get scared by a sudden knock. In glory – “will be present”, from Greek. - it has arrived. In glory - “receipts”, from Greek. - delivering something to others. In glory – “evil”, from Greek. - ridiculous, stupid, unable to act in accordance with circumstances, time and place, stubborn screamer. In glory - “evil”, from Greek. - cunning, malicious. According to the legal rite of purification, which served as the end of the Nazirite vow, Saint Paul had to shave his head, and certainly in Jerusalem. But since it was often impossible for a wandering Jew to be in the Holy City at the very time when the period of his vow ended, the Nazarite was apparently allowed to cut his hair under the condition, however, that he keep the cut strands until he brought the burnt offering - the sin offering and the peace offering in the church, when the hair on the head was shaved clean and all burned in the fire, under the offering of the peace offering (F.V. Farrar. Op. Vol. VIII, chapter XXIX).