What format do First and Second Thessalonians follow?
First and Second Thessalonians follow the format of doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. These earlier letters are final in content and take believers to a higher plane than the prison epistles, directing the Word upward to glory, the catching up to meet the Lord, and the revelation of the wicked one after the church’s departure.
Les explains that after those three letters, we come to the earlier letters that were written, yet they are really final in their content—First and Second Thessalonians. They can now follow the format of doctrine, reproof, correction, and then instruction in righteousness. This is on a higher plane even than what we have in the prison epistles, because First and Second Thessalonians take the Word up to glory. First Thessalonians chapter 4 says we shall be caught up to meet Him in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Second Thessalonians chapter 2 says that after the departure of the church, then shall that wicked one be revealed. Those two letters take us on up to the fruition of everything, when we will finally be in glory with our Crucified, Resurrected, and Ascended Lord.