The two letters to the Thessalonians are of interest from a historical point of view because they reveal conditions that existed in the newly formed Christian communities. They are also of value in that they indicate something of the extent to which the early church was influenced by Jewish apocalypticism in its beliefs concerning the second coming of Christ and the setting up of the messianic kingdom. Jewish apocalypses taught that there would be a resurrection of the dead in connection with other events that would usher in the new age. Paul was able to make use of these apocalyptic conceptions in answering the questions that so troubled the Christians in Thessalonica.
Both of Paul's letters to the Thessalonians were addressed to this one church and were occasioned by the problems associated with that particular group of church members. It is quite unlikely that Paul anticipated any further use to be made of his letters. Little if anything in them throws much light on the theological issues involved in Paul's interpretation of Christianity. The letters do, however, indicate the type of instruction that Paul gave to newcomers in the Christian movement.
