Historical Setting
Thessalonica was a large and important port city. In Acts 16 Paul gets thrown out of Philippi for preaching and from there he goes to Thessalonica. In Acts 17 Paul preaches at the synagogue there. Some Jews responded; other Jews rejected Paul. There was an uproar and the Christians in the city had to spirit Paul and Silas away in the dark of night. Paul continued the missionary journey and ended up in Corinth where he spent almost 2 years.
Eventually, Timothy joined him in Corinth and brought news of Thessalonica, particularly about arguments over what happened to believers when they died.
Author
Paul is the undisputed author of this letter.
Date
We date this letter around 50-51 AD. 1 Thessalonians is the earliest written evidence of Christianity that we possess. There are a number of “creedal” statements in the letter – sayings that were known by everyone, much like our Creed today. See 1:9-10, 4:14, and 5:10. These statements highlight the significance attached to the death and resurrection of Jesus from the beginning of Christianity.
Theology
The main theme of this letter is the parousia, the end times, or Jesus’ second coming.
Outline
- Thanksgiving 1:1-3:13
- Exhortations 4:1-12
- The Paurousia 4:13-5:11
- Final exhortations 5:12-22
- closing 5:23-28