First Thessalonians 1:10 tells believers that they are waiting for Jesus to return from heaven, and that he is the one who rescues them from the coming wrath of God. Paul wrote this line near the start of his letter to the church in Thessalonica, a young congregation in a busy Greek port city.
And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.
1 Thessalonians 1:10 (WEB)
What 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Means
The verse begins with waiting. Paul describes Christians as people who expect Jesus to come back “from heaven.” That expectation shapes how they live now, because the present is not the final chapter. The waiting is active and hopeful, not passive, and it follows the turning described just before: the Thessalonians had turned from idols to serve the living God.
Next, the verse names Jesus as the one God raised from the dead. The resurrection is the reason for the confidence. A Christian can wait with assurance because the one who is coming has already conquered death. Paul does not describe a vague future; he points to a specific person with a specific history.
Finally, Paul says Jesus “delivers us from the wrath to come.” Wrath here refers to God’s righteous judgment against sin, a judgment that is still ahead. The verse promises rescue from that judgment through Jesus, not an escape from every hardship in this life. It does not promise a comfortable present or the removal of all suffering. It tells believers where their security lies.
The Context of 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Paul wrote this letter, which is among the earliest of his surviving writings, probably from Corinth around the early 50s AD. He had founded the church in Thessalonica during a short but intense visit, and he was writing to encourage new believers who were facing opposition from their own community. Paul, Silas, and Timothy are named as the senders, and the letter is addressed to the church.
The verses just before 1:10 praise the Thessalonians for their faith, love, and steadfast hope, and say their conversion has become a model for believers across the region. Verse 9 describes how they “turned to God from idols.” Verse 10 completes that thought by showing where that new allegiance leads: a steady expectation of Jesus’s return. That context reveals that the waiting in verse 10 is not abstract. It grows out of a real change of loyalty that cost these believers something.
Key Phrases in 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Titus 2:13
Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ…
(WEB)
This verse also speaks of “the blessed hope” and “the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” It shows the same expectant waiting for Jesus that Paul describes in 1 Thessalonians, linking the return of Christ to the everyday pursuit of godly living.
Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.
(WEB)
Paul writes here that believers are justified by Christ’s blood and saved from God’s wrath through him. It parallels the rescue from “the wrath to come” in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, showing that the deliverance rests on what Jesus has done.
A Short Prayer From 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Lord, thank you that I am not waiting in fear but in hope. You raised Jesus from the dead, and I trust that he is the one who will come again from heaven. When my days feel uncertain, remind me that you hold the future. Help me to live with steady expectation, to turn away from whatever competes for my loyalty, and to serve you with a heart that is ready for your Son. Rescue me from the judgment I deserve, and keep my eyes on him. Amen.
