1-2 Thessalonians: Looking Forward
Sources: I. Howard Marshall et al., Exploring the New Testament: A Guide to the Letters and Revelation (IVP, 2002); Raymond E. Brown, The New Testament: an Introduction (Doubleday, 1997); Bart Ehrman, The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings, 3d ed. (Oxford, 2004).
- I. We've Got Mail: Literary Forms and the Relationships They Reflect
The middle of the (missional) New Testament is Paul's collected (missional) letters to churches.
They generally conform to the Hellenistic letter format:
- opening formula (sender, addressee, greeting, health wish — 1 Th 1:1),
thanksgiving to the gods (or God — 1:2-5?),
body or message (opening, middle, closing — 1:6?-5:22),
concluding formula (e.g., greeting, doxology, signature — 5:23-28).
- 'Form criticism' studies the way set forms shape and convey information.
- A literary form (even a bank check) reveals a kind of relationship.
- Paul's use of the form demonstrates his investment in the Thessalonian believers:
- a parent’s relief and anxiety for his children’s well-being (1 Th 3:6-10),
and a mama bear's righteous indignation at persecutors (2 Th 1:3-12).
Why the starker tone?
- If we are in the same church, aren't we in such relationships too?
- II. Major Themes in 1-2 Thessalonians
This is the earliest (or nearly so) picture we have of a Pauline church.
- (Luke-Acts supplies supporting contextual material in Acts 17:1-15.)
- Major themes in both letters:
Prayer (openings, closing, topic transitions) is vital to the church's well-being and Paul's ministry.
The gospel preached brings opposition,
- but
received in the Spirit's power it brings dramatic transformation: sanctification (1 Th 4:3).
- The church is a profound fellowship with familial dynamics.
- Paul uses his characteristic 'indicative-imperative' (1 Th 1-3, then 4-5; 2 Th 1-2:14, 2:15-3:18).
Parenesis: Paul reminds the Thessalonians of what they should already know.
Their faithfulness consists of remembering and practicing it.
- The church's ethics resemble Epicurian virtues (labor, obedience, welldoing, sexual restraint, friendship)
- but are tighter and more intense, and eschatologically shaped, anticipating vindication and judgment:
Rather than sexual detachment, chastity (1 Th 4:1-8);
rather than Hellenic friendship, philadelphia and mutual encouragement (4:9-12, 4:18, 5:11);
rather than contractual justice, edification (5:11);
not just civil 'good citizenship' but children of light in the midst of darkness (5:1-6).
- An unwanted legacy is the trajectory of interpretation of negative comments about Jews in 1 Th 2:14-16.
- III. Eschatology in Thessalonica (and here?)
Jesus' parousia is determinative for the futures of both the living and the dead.
- In the meantime, Christians must be on their guard against trials and dangers: opposition, confusion, false teaching, discord, immorality.
This is called an 'interim ethic' (cf. Montecito Fire Department).
There is less use of (OT) scripture than some other Pauline letters. Why?
- In 2 Thessalonians, Paul also reminds of earlier apocalyptic teaching
- (unattested elsewhere in Paul) concerning the 'man of lawlessness' (2 Th 1:5-12? 2:1-15).
This is not original teaching, but has precedents in the OT and Jesus' warnings:
Isaiah 13-14 (King of Babylon), Ezekiel 28 (Prince of Tyre), and Mark 13 (abomination of desolation).
- How should we receive his eschatology?
- Many arrange these details on a timeline. (Then is 1 Th 4 about “the rapture” that precedes 2 Th’s lawless one?)
They are not mere metaphors, but concern the real world, and continue to resonate even to the present.
