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1 Thessalonians 1:1
1 Paul, [Paulos] and [kai] Silvanus, [Silouanos] and [kai] Timotheus, [Timotheos] unto the church [ekklesia] of the Thessalonians [Thessalonikeus] which is in [en] God [theos] the Father [pater] and [kai] in the Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ: [Christos] Grace [charis] be unto you, [humin] and [kai] peace, [eirene] from [apo] God [theos] our [hemon] Father, [pater] and [kai] the Lord [kurios] Jesus [Iesous] Christ. [Christos] KJV-Interlinear
1 Paul and Silvanus and Timothy to the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. NASB
Paul means, small or little. Silvanus means, who loves the forest. And Silvanus often times called Silas means, three. Timothy means, honor of God, valued of God.
The story of the Thessalonians is found in Acts 17. When Paul was there, a rebellion caused him to leave that city. Silas and Timothy were sent back to preserve and maintain that starting church and later they returned to Paul.
It was upon this occasion of good news that they brought to Paul, that this first letter of encouragement was written to the Thessalonian Church.
The central theme of this letter is ‘waiting.’
The Thessalonians were in a bit of a hurry for the final judgment, and of course little did they know that it was not to occur for nearly 2000 years, and we are still waiting for the next Biblical event (the Rapture) to occur.
But waiting not only applies to the final judgment, it applies to your daily individual life as well. Folks want things to happen fast or right now, in their life. And for the most part, most of us do not listen enough, nor learn enough until we are much older in our life before we learn that there is a great deal of history unfolding right before our eyes.
History not only has to unfold for the world as a whole, but that whole is really the collective histories of every individual who has, is, and will live on this earth. And steadily, day by day, God brings it all together, one piece at a time.
It usually takes us years or decades or longer before we can see how history is being fitted together.
Satans, ultimate goal is one world government. Ruled by him of course. That counters the one world rule of Christ which will occur in the Millennium. Satan has to be first though.
He began his rule by trying to destroy humanity before Noah’s flood, but that didn’t work. He tried to build up empires from the Assyrian Empire to the Roman Empire. But those six empires did not work (review our study in Revelation).
There is only one empire remaining, the seventh, for Satan, but he has to wait until God has assembled the nations, and aligned them up in every detail, for Satan’s final attempt. But this is jumping ahead a little in our study.
The Thessalonians are addressed in the Father and through the Lord, Jesus Christ. There is but one God and Savior, one plan and one history, one faith and one ultimate destiny for those who have believed in the one and only Savior, Jesus Christ.
Many plans and philosophies float around this world, but many are the plans of man, and of them all, none will ever succeed.
