The suffering Christians experience from living in a fallen world will be evidence God presents in the last days when He returns to put the whole world on trial for rejecting His offer of forgiveness. God's righteousness demands He punish evil. Although Hell is an uncomfortable topic, it is real and no one goes there that did not make a choice to reject the alternative, Heaven.

Paul follows up a previous letter to a relatively new Christian community in Thessalonica that had been upset by some false information spread about the antichrist and the end of the world. Paul reminds them of what he had taught them earlier about all the signs to look for of the end of the age and reassures them they had not missed the rapture.

Although Paul was quite pleased with how well the Thessalonians were doing, he did need to address some problematic behaviors. Laziness or confusion about how soon the world was ending led some to give up working for a living. Others were living an unruly lifestyle. Paul exhorts them to imitate his example of working hard to provide for himself and not be a burden to others.