seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
1 Thessalonians 1:1 Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters[b] loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
a. 1 Thessalonians 1:1 Greek Silvanus, a variant of Silas
b. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family; also in 2:1, 9, 14, 17; 3:7; 4:1, 10, 13; 5:1, 4, 12, 14, 25, 27.
This is from bible-studys.org.
There is, in my opinion, no doubt at all that the letter to the Thessalonians was written by Paul. Thessalonica was a seaport city. It was located in the Macedonian area. This might have been the largest city in Macedonia. The seaport made it a large city. Thessalonica was a mixture of Greeks and Romans. Many Jewish merchants headquartered here.
In Thessalonica, Paul's main subject to the people was the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His second coming. Paul was the founder of the church in Thessalonica. It was on his second journey that Paul founded the church. There was not as much resistance from the Jews here, as in some of the other areas. Let me say there was much persecution here, but not from Judaizers in the church.
It is believed that this is the first of the letters of Paul to be written. It is also believed that Paul wrote this from Corinth. It was written somewhere around 50 A.D. Give or take a year or two.
Paul does not mean that these people became Paulites. They were Christians. They followed Paul because he showed them the way to follow Christ. We know from the book of Acts that Paul was so persecuted here by the Jews, that Paul had to depart.
This was not Jews, in the church. They were Jews who did not believe in Christ. They were not Judaizers. It is so strange that the greatest growth in the church is in time of persecution. The joy, they experienced then, was not experienced because of things that happened around them, but the opposite. This joy was from within, despite the persecutions around them.
Paul felt that the coming of the Lord was very near. Of course, it was for him, because none of us live much beyond one hundred years old. It is near for each of us, whether we are part of those physical dead who rise first, or whether we are those living who will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. We shall rise, because He arose.
Our hope is of the resurrection in Him (Jesus). Notice, we are delivered from the wrath to come, not the tribulation to come. The wrath of God occurs the last three and one half years of the great tribulation period. When the wrath of God falls on this earth at the end of the Gentile age, we Christians will be standing around the throne of God in heaven.
This is from enduringword.com.
And you became followers of us and of the Lord: The Thessalonians stopped following other things but followed after Paul and the Lord. Paul says that it was a good thing for them to follow him, and he wasn’t shy about saying “follow me” because he knew where he was going.
Having received the word in much affliction: The Thessalonian Christians distinguished themselves because they received the Word, even in much affliction. The message they heard came with adversity; yet they received it, and Paul thanked God because of it.
“The word for ‘affliction’ outside the Bible usually denotes literal pressure, and that of a severe kind. The corresponding verb, for example, was used of pressing the grapes in wine-making till they burst asunder, and so metaphorically came to mean very great trouble.” (Morris)
How you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven: When the Thessalonians received the Word of God from Paul, they responded to it by leaving their idols, and they gave themselves to serve the living and true God. Their reception of the Word and their faith in God was shown as true because they did something with the Word of God.
Even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come: Paul pointed to the essence of salvation in saying Jesus delivers us from the wrath to come. We are saved from something, and that something is the righteous wrath of a holy God.
This is from bibletrack.org.Paul has only good things to say about these folks. After his initial standard greeting in verse 1, he expresses his prayer for them in verses 2-4. His commendation of them continues through the entire first chapter, commending them for being examples in Macedonia and in Achaia and beyond. They had embraced Paul's ministry and teaching wholeheartedly, which served to validate their "election". Notice particularly verse 10, "And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come." The Greek form of the phrase "which delivered" in that verse is a present active participle indicating a continuous action, "Jesus, the one delivering us." As we'll see in the latter portions of this epistle , "the wrath to come" is undoubtedly a reference to the tribulation from which we are to be delivered (spared) by Jesus Christ. When you're looking for verses that suggest a pre-tribulation rapture, count this one.
Poor Paul.... yep... I am sad for the guy.... I don't believe he was an Apostle.... but he was definitely a disciple because his works show us that. He changed. Instead of holding the murderer's coat.... he was the one willing to be beaten. Paul became an organizer.... he kept the churches moving... he kept the widows and orphans fed and sheltered because of the churches he set up. I doubt he manned the soup kitchen.... but he arranged for the ingredients and the place. Paul thought he was going to get to hug Jesus in person... here on earth. Paul was certain that the problems the Christians were enduring were a sign the Tribulation had begun. Paul actually thought that the beating he endured was the beginning of "the end of the world as we know it".
2,000 years later.... no one has been able to hug Jesus in person... here on earth. Since Paul's days there have been numerous wars, earthquakes, meteor showers, floods, fires, and global pandemics. Paul had no clue what humans will have to endure to get to hug Jesus in person.... here on earth.
Back to the church.... they gave up their idols. There were a lot of people who made money off the sale of shiny baubles... or idols. When Paul started telling people about Jesus... the people responded.... Jews and Gentiles.... and they were so busy working for the church.... and they were giving so much of their money to the church... the idol business took a huge drop. That would not do..... the venders were livid.... and when they found out it was Paul and his preaching that caused their financial downturn.... well they took matters into their own hands.... and beat Paul nearly to death.
Paul hasn't been around for a while... but still those Christians weren't buying the shiny baubles... or idols anymore. So the venders kept trying to put the church out of business. After all.... who did these people think they were.... everyone depended on the money made from making and selling idols at the docks... it was a thriving business... who did they think they were! There weren't any rubber bullets or pepper spray back then... there were stones and knives and swords.
Paul thought his beating was a sign of the Tribulation.... and 2,000 years later we're still singing "It's the end of the world as we know it"...
