Paul praises the Thessalonians for turning from idols to serve the living and true God, and for waiting for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, Jesus who rescues us from the coming wrath, 1 Thessalonians 1:9–10. This celebrates conversion, steadfast service, and hopeful waiting. Read in the flow of both Thessalonian letters, the promise points to salvation at Christ’s public appearing. In Paul’s usage “wrath” names God’s final judgment, not a seven year period, so 1 Thessalonians 1:10 assures rescue from that judgment rather than an early removal from the earth before tribulation.
Historical and pastoral context in Thessalonica
The church in Thessalonica was born into pressure. From the start they received the word with affliction and with joy in the Holy Spirit, 1:6. They suffered from their compatriots, 2:14, and Paul knew their faithfulness was being tested. In that setting he instructs them to wait for the Son from heaven. Their hope is not the end of ordinary trials through an early escape, it is the certainty that when Jesus is revealed, their suffering will be answered with vindication and life.
What “wrath” means for Paul
Across Paul’s letters, wrath most often names God’s final judgment. Romans 2:5 speaks of the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. Romans 5:9 promises that we shall be saved from the wrath through Christ. Ephesians 5:6 and Colossians 3:6 warn that wrath comes upon persistent disobedience. Inside 1 Thessalonians, Paul contrasts wrath with salvation at the Day of the Lord, God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:9. The letter interprets its own terms. Deliverance from wrath means final salvation, not a pre-tribulational schedule.
The Greek of 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Paul writes, Iēsoun ton ruomenon hēmas ek tēs orgēs tēs erchomenēs, Jesus, the One rescuing us from the coming wrath.
Ruomenon, from rhuomai, speaks of rescue or deliverance. Paul uses this verb for God’s saving action, 2 Corinthians 1:10, Romans 11:26, rather than for a change of physical location. The preposition ek, from or out of, marks deliverance from the wrath’s verdict and effect. Its parallel in Romans 5:9, saved from the wrath, apo tēs orgēs, carries the same sense. Neither expression encodes timing that requires removal before wrath begins. The emphasis is on the result, rescue from judgment, accomplished by Christ at His appearing.
The letter’s timeline for hope
When Paul describes the Parousia, it is public and climactic. The Lord Himself descends, there is a cry of command, the voice of an archangel, and the trumpet of God, the dead in Christ rise, and the living are caught up to meet the Lord, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17. Immediately after, Paul addresses the Day of the Lord and explains that while that Day brings sudden destruction on the unprepared, believers are sober and awake, and are appointed to salvation, not wrath, 5:1–11. The catching up is bound to the revealed descent and resurrection. Paul does not separate a private removal from the Day’s revelation.
Paul’s follow up in 2 Thessalonians
Paul returns to the same horizon. Relief for persecuted believers comes when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 2 Thessalonians 1:6–10. On that day, retribution for persecutors and rest for the faithful arrive together. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1–2, he treats the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him as one event. The gathering is not placed years before His revealing. This confirms what 1:10 already implied, the waiting church expects the appearing of the Son who saves them from wrath.
Conclusion
1 Thessalonians 1:10 is a rich promise. The church waits for the Son from heaven, and He will rescue His people from the coming wrath. In Paul’s vocabulary and argument, this is salvation and vindication at Christ’s appearing, not a pre-tribulation proof text.
Discussion questions
- How does Paul’s use of wrath across his letters shape your reading of 1 Thessalonians 1:10
- Which features of 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17 show the Parousia is public and climactic rather than hidden
- How do 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11 and 2 Thessalonians 1:6–10 clarify when relief and retribution arrive
- How would you explain the difference between deliverance from wrath and exemption from tribulation
- What pastoral comfort does this passage offer to believers who are already suffering for their faith
want to know more?
BDAG, A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. See rhuomai and orgē for lexical data behind rescue from wrath, clarifies that the phrase denotes deliverance from judgment rather than timing of removal.
F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary, Eerdmans. A concise, historically aware treatment that keeps Paul’s pastoral aims in view and reads 4:13–5:11 as a single argument about the Day of the Lord.
Gene L. Green, The Letters to the Thessalonians, Pillar New Testament Commentary, Eerdmans. Clear on first century Thessalonica and on how suffering frames the church’s hope, helpful for seeing why 1:9–10 sets the theme.
Charles A. Wanamaker, The Epistles to the Thessalonians, New International Greek Testament Commentary, Eerdmans. Strong on Greek syntax and semantics, useful for ek with orgē in 1:10 and the public character of the Parousia.
Jeffrey A. D. Weima, 1–2 Thessalonians, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Baker Academic. Extensive literary and rhetorical analysis that ties 1:10 to the structure of the letter and to 5:9.
G. K. Beale, 1–2 Thessalonians, IVP New Testament Commentary Series, IVP. Accessible exegesis connecting the Thessalonian hope to Day of the Lord themes across Scripture, helpful for general readers who want biblical theology along with the text.
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