A simple phone call could have cleared up some of the problems encountered by believers in the early church. But of course there were no phones in the ancient world. Paul had to be personally tracked down wherever he was and be given a letter with questions. He then had to dictate his response and have someone hand-deliver the letter in return. Because of the distances and slow modes of transportation, the process could take weeks or even months. This time gap sometimes allowed false beliefs to spread or to become a part of the beliefs of new churches. This is the case in Second Thessalonians.
Reports had come to Paul of continued progress in the Thessalonian church and their faithfulness to the gospel. But some doctrinal problems had also arisen. False teachers had begun to tell the believers that the day of the Lord was already at hand. They misunderstood Paul's words that the day of the Lord would come suddenly.
Some believers had even stopped working and were just waiting for the Lord. They were losing hope. In this letter Paul reminded them that they had been called by God and saved through Christ's work. He exhorted them to stand firm in Christ and to work hard waiting for Jesus' return.
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