First Epistle to the Thessalonians

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New Testament
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The First Epistle to the Thessalonians, also known as the First Letter to the Thessalonians, is a book from the New Testament of the Christian Bible.

The first letter to the Thessalonians was likely the first of all Paul's letters, most like written by the end of A.D. 52. It was written after Timothy had returned from Macedonia, relating the state of the church in Thessalonica (Acts 18:1-5; 1 Thess. 3:6). While, on the whole, the report of Timothy was encouraging, it also showed that many errors and misunderstandings regarding Paul's teaching of Christianity had crept in among them. Paul addresses them in this letter in order to correct the church and exhorts the Thessalonians to purity of life, reminding them that their sanctification was God's will for their lives.

This entry incorporates text from the public domain Easton's Bible Dictionary, originally published in 1897.

Paul addresses them in this letter to encourage and reassure the Christians there. He gives thanks for the news about their faith and love; he reminds them of the kind of life he had lived while he was with them, and then answers questions that had arisen in the church about the return of Christ: Could a believer who died before Christ's return still share in the eternal life that his return will bring? And when will Christ come again? Paul writes this letter to the Church at Thessalonica and encourages them to go on working quietly while waiting in hope for the return of Christ.