A threefold occasion for writing the Epistle befalls Paul, 1. The Argument of the Epistle, 2. The time of writing. That it was written after the former Epistle, and a long time after the principate of Gaius Caligula, is asserted against Grotius, 3. There are three parts: I. The Consolation of the Thessalonians undergoing persecutions (2 Thessalonians 1). II. Instruction concerning the coming of the Lord, with the signs preceding it, and the seduction to be avoided (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:5). III. An Admonition concerning brethren to be avoided (2 Thessalonians 3:6-18). Interpreters of the Epistle, Ancient, Reformed, Lutheran, Roman Catholic; and also a Synoptic Table, 4.