World English Bible · Under Rome
1 Thessalonians 4
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Finally then, brothers, we beg and exhort you in , that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please , that you abound more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through . For this is the will of : your sanctification, that you abstain from sexual immorality, that each one of you know how to control his own body in sanctification and , not in the passion of , even as the who don't know , that no one should take advantage of and wrong a brother or sister in this matter; because is an in all these things, as also we forewarned you and testified. For called us not for uncleanness, but in sanctification. Therefore he who rejects this doesn't reject man, but , who has also given his to you. But concerning brotherly love, you have no need that one write to you. For you yourselves are taught by to love one another, for indeed you do it toward all the brothers who are in all . But we exhort you, brothers, that you abound more and more; and that you make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, even as we instructed you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and may have need of nothing. But we don't want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don't grieve like the rest, who have no . For if we that and rose again, even so will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in . For this we tell you by the word of , that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of , will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. For himself will descend from with a shout, with the voice of the and with . in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet in the air. So we will be with . Therefore comfort one another with these words.
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The world at this moment · Under Rome, 63 BC to AD 100 ›
Judea as a client kingdom and then a province. Roads, garrisons, taxes, crucifixion, and a common Greek language that let a message travel the empire faster than any before it.
- Rome
- The republic tears itself apart in civil war and comes out as an empire under Augustus. What follows is two centuries of relative peace across the whole Mediterranean, enforced by legions and paid for by taxes, with safe roads and safe sea lanes. Every one of Paul's journeys depends on that.
- Judea
- Governed first through Herod the Great, a client king of enormous ability and enormous brutality who rebuilds the temple into one of the wonders of the ancient world, then directly by Roman prefects. Crucifixion is the standard penalty for sedition and is used often and publicly.
- The wider world
- Greek is spoken from Spain to Syria, which means a letter written in Corinth can be read in Rome without translation. Jewish communities already exist in most major cities, which is where the first Christian preaching lands. Mystery religions, imperial cult, and philosophy all compete in the same marketplace.
- Further afield
- The Han dynasty rules China and trades silk westward along routes that touch the Roman world at second hand. In Britain the Roman conquest begins within a decade of the crucifixion.