from peri, "around," and kephale, "a head," is used figuratively in Ephesians 6:17 , with reference to salvation, and 1 Thessalonians 5:8 , where it is described as "the hope of salvation." The head is not to be regarded here as standing for the seat of the intellect; the word is not so used elsewhere in Scripture. In Ephesians 6:17 salvation is a present experience of the Lord's deliverance of believers as those who are engaged in spiritual conflict; in 1 Thessalonians 5:8 , the hope is that of the Lord's return, which encourages the believer to resist the spirit of the age in which he lives.