hen written.]

The Epistle was written from Corinth on the occasion of St. Paul's
first visit there. When St. Paul had to leave Beroea in A.D. 50, Silas
and Timothy remained (Acts xvii. 14, 15; xviii. 5). He sent for them
to meet him at Athens, and when they had come, he despatched Timothy to
Thessalonica (1 Thess. iii. 2). In October A.D. 50, St. Paul arrived
at Corinth from Athens: Timothy and Silas rejoined him at Corinth, and
the letter was written soon afterwards, probably early in A.D. 51.

[Sidenote: Character and Contents.]

The immediate cause of the Epistle was the arrival of Timothy with news
from Thessalonica. The apostle's reasons for writing were: (a) to calm
and encourage the converts whom he had so abruptly left; (b) to urge
them to perform their ordinary duties. They had fallen into a state
bordering on religious hysteria. Quite determined to be true to
Christ, they had been demoralized by the strain of facing constant
hostility. They had begun to take excessive interest in unfulfilled
prophecy and eschatological speculation. The result was that
individuals had become careless as to the performance of simple duties.

The apostle comforts the Thessalonians by reminding them {128} of the
happiness and reality of their own spiritual experience. He wishes
them to see plainly the working of God both in his own preaching of the
gospel and their acceptance of it. On the one hand, he gladly
recognizes the _faith, charity, hope,_ and constancy under persecution:
the story of their conversion, as it had been known everywhere, has won
many friends for the Faith (i.). On the other hand, St. Paul is aware
that his own conduct has not been unworthy of an apostle. Probably to
vindicate himself against Jewish calumnies, he declares that his
ministry at Thessalonica was bold, pure, honest, and gentle. Moreover,
he did not quarter himself upon his converts; he worked with his hands,
and was just and fatherly (ii. 1-12).

After a thanksgiving for the manner in which they received the word of
God, he speaks of his eager wish to see his friends again. He had sent
Timothy that he might comfort them, and Timothy has returned with glad
tidings. He prays for their establishment in holiness (ii. 13-iii. 13).

He goes on to exhort them to avoid impurity and work quietly, and then
he speaks of the eschatological difficulties. The Thessalonians
wondered whether the Christians already dead would miss a share in