First Thessalonians 1:10 speaks of Christians waiting for the return of Jesus from heaven, the Son whom God raised from the dead, and of his rescue from the coming wrath of God. Paul wrote this to the young church in Thessalonica, a city in northern Greece, to encourage believers who had turned to Jesus despite pressure from their own community.
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 believers as people who are expecting something, not people who have finished the story. Their faith looks forward. They live with the confidence that Jesus will come back from heaven, and that expectation shapes how they behave now, how they treat others, and what they hope for.
The verse then names the one they wait for: God’s Son, Jesus. Paul points to the resurrection as the proof of who he is. God raised him from the dead, which means death did not have the final word over him. The one who will return is the same one who came through death and is alive.
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 coming. The verse does not describe a rescue from every hard circumstance. It describes a rescue from the final judgment, and it presents that rescue as something Jesus himself provides. It is a promise about the future, grounded in what Jesus has already done.
The Context of 1 Thessalonians 1:10
First Thessalonians is one of the earliest letters in the New Testament, traditionally attributed to the apostle Paul and written around the early 50s AD, probably from Corinth. Paul, along with Silas and Timothy, had founded the church in Thessalonica during a short but intense visit, and they had been forced to leave the city after opposition arose. The letter is warm and personal, and Paul writes to encourage a congregation that was young in faith and facing hostility.
The verses just before this one praise the Thessalonians for turning from idols to serve the living and true God. Verse 10 completes that thought by telling us what that turning produces: a settled expectation that Jesus will return and rescue them. Read this way, the verse is not a separate idea dropped into the letter. It explains the hope that holds the new believers steady while they live among people who do not share their faith.
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 waiting for the blessed hope and the appearing of Jesus Christ. Reading it alongside 1 Thessalonians 1:10 shows how consistently the New Testament writers held together the expectation of Christ’s return and the confident hope that accompanies it.
Romans 5:9
Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we will be saved from God’s wrath through him.
(WEB)
Romans 5:9 says that believers have been justified by Christ’s blood and will be saved from God’s wrath through him. It parallels the deliverance from wrath named in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 and explains the basis for that rescue.
A Short Prayer From 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Lord, you are the God who raised Jesus from the dead, and I trust that he is coming back for those who belong to him. When my days feel uncertain, help me to wait with expectation rather than fear. Thank you that Jesus delivers me from the judgment that is coming, and that my future is held in his hands. Shape my daily choices by this hope, so that I live faithfully while I wait for him. Amen.
