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Abstract reads : "The NT describes Christians as those who wait for Jesus (1 Thess 1:10). Despite this clear teaching, the concept of waiting has been neglected in scholarship, both Pauline eschatology and recent material on 1 & 2 Thessalonians. This thesis seeks to contribute towards a theology of waiting with a view to offering suggestions for greater clarity in eschatology and mission and ethics as they relate to eschatology. Based in a word study on the concept of waiting, this thesis establishes key words and texts for research into waiting: ἀναμένω (1 Thess 1:10), προσδέχομαι (Luke 12:36; Acts 24:15; Titus 2:13; Jude 21), ἐκδέχομαι (Heb 10:13, 11:10; Jas 5:7), ἀπεκδέχομαι (Rom 8:23, 25; 1 Cor 1:7; Gal 5:5; Phil 3:20; Heb 9:28), προσδοκάω (Matt 24:50; Luke 12:46; 2 Pet 3:12, 13, 14), and μακροθυμέω (Jas 5:7, 8). This thesis focusses on ἀναμένω in 1 Thess 1:10: its meaning in relevant non-biblical literature; and its meaning in its immediate and wider literary contexts. This focus is to ensure proper analysis because 1 Thess 1:10 has been neglected, despite its high significance as a fundamental description of being Christian in the richly eschatological 1 & 2 Thessalonians. In LXX, Philo, and Josephus waiting is understood primarily as remaining in a state until the future arrival or occurrence of something, and so indicating lack. It carries nuances of passive receptivity, expecting duration and, yet, being ready. It is also contrasted with acting prematurely, being impatient and of actively obtaining. In 1 Thess 1:10 they wait to be with Jesus. For Christians, to be with Jesus at the parousia is the purpose of his death and the essence of salvation. A broader consideration of 1 & 2 Thessalonians reveals that waiting highlights both future salvation, viz., being with Jesus, and also Jesus’ present exaltation. Consistency in the meaning and nuances of waiting is established by examination of related words and texts (listed above). Implications follow for eschatology: greater clarity in the language of already-not yet eschatology, namely, of faith and Spirit, or of sight and physical presence; and, against certain views, a lack of emphasis on current progress in terms of renewal of creation, and that waiting suggests the parousia is an event in world history. Implications for mission are then discussed: that waiting indicates the goal of mission and importance of personal conversion. Implications for ethics are then considered: that waiting does not lead to withdrawal but allows for robust living well in this world oriented towards Christ’s imminent arrival."