Second Epistle to the Thessalonians

There is a great dissimilarity between the two; this is not only one of words, small phrases and concepts but extends to the total structure of the two letters which is in addition different from what is taken to be the standard Pauline form.

Murphy-O'Connor, along with many others scholars, argues that the current text of 2 Thessalonians is the product of merging two or more authentic letters of Paul.

"[14] Bruce Metzger writes, "Paul calls attention to his signature, which was added by his own hand as a token of genuineness to every letter of his (3:17).

"[16]: 44 [17] Other scholars who hold to authenticity include Gregory Beale,[18] Gene L. Green,[19] Ivor H Jones,[20] Leon Morris,[21] Ben Witherington III,[22] Paul Foster,[23] and Kretzmann.

Regarding Nicholl's argument for authenticity, on the one hand, it is worth noting that at least some forged Pauline letters were written well after a date modern scholars might deem early enough for the letter to be considered Pauline, such as the Third Epistle to the Corinthians, estimated to have been written around 160-170 CE; forgers were not forced to write close in time to the writers they imitated.

In his book Forged, New Testament scholar Bart D. Ehrman puts forward some of the most common arguments against the authenticity of 2 Thessalonians.

Scholars include Beverly Roberts Gaventa,[30] Vincent Smiles,[31] Udo Schnelle,[32] Eugene Boring,[33] and Joseph Kelly.

"[35] Perrin bases this claim on his hypothesis that prayer at the time usually treated God the Father as ultimate judge, rather than Jesus.

"[37] Brown believes that the majority of scholars who advocate pseudonymity would place it towards the end of the first century, the same time that Revelation was written.

These scholars emphasize the appearance of "that man of sin" in the second chapter of this letter, whether this personage is identified with the Antichrist of 1 John and Revelation, or with a historical person like Caligula.

Biblical commentator and pastor John MacArthur writes, "The emphasis is on how to maintain a church with an effective testimony in proper response to sound eschatology and obedience to the truth.

This error is corrected in chapter 2 (2:1–12),[41] where Paul tells the Thessalonians that a great tribulation must occur before Christ's return.

[43] In 2 Thessalonians 2:15, Paul instructs his readers to "[h]old fast to the traditions (Ancient Greek: παραδόσεις, Latin: traditiones) which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by our letter.

[46] Cyril of Jerusalem shares a similar view in his Catechetical Lectures, argues that the traditions stated by Paul should be preserved and memorized, at a minimum in the form of the Creed.

[49] The letter continues by encouraging the Thessalonian church to stand firm in their faith, and to "keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you received from us [...] do not associate with him, so that he will be put to shame.