Read this if you…
- want to read the earliest surviving Christian document, period
- curious about the original "caught up together with them in the clouds" rapture passage
- like seeing what a Christian church looked like before any of the gospels were written
Skip this if you…
- don't want to read explicitly religious/Christian texts
Depicted in Art
An aged Paul sits at a desk in dim, Rembrandtesque light, pen in hand and an open book before him, paused in thought as he composes the epistle.
Jan Lievens, 1629
Paul stands on a stone platform in a Greek square, arms raised, preaching to a half-circle of Athenians — the canonical Renaissance image of Paul's Greek mission.
Raphael, 1515
Paul stands with arm outstretched, exhorting a seated crowd of Thessalonians — figures lean in, faces lit; the apostle gestures upward as he preaches.
Gustave Doré, 1866
Recommended Editions
King James Version
Oxford University Press · 1611
The most influential and commonly quoted translation in English. The prose rhythm everyone else is responding to, even modern translations.
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Notable Quotes
Pray without ceasing.
- John Calvin, Protestant Reformer & theologian, 1509–1564: "true Christianity … is a faith that is lively and full of vigor, so that it spares no labor."
- Bart D. Ehrman, New Testament scholar (UNC Chapel Hill), b. 1955: "the very first writing of any kind that we have from any Christian author."
- John Wesley, founder of Methodism, Anglican evangelist, 1703–1791: "There is a peculiar sweetness in this epistle, unmixed with any sharpness or reproof."
- William Barclay, Scottish New Testament scholar, 1907–1978: "Across the centuries we can still feel the throb of love in these sentences."
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