A Practical Apocalypse

The purpose of this essay is to exegetically examine 1st Thessalonians 5:1-11. In this exercise I will seek to elucidate the intention of the author in writing as he has and to show how the specific subject matter of these verses interrelates with the major themes of the Epistle. That Paul is the author of 1st Thessalonians is almost undisputed. Green is in agreement with Wanamaker who comments, "No contemporary scholars of repute seem to doubt the Pauline character of the letter." The position taken in this paper, consistent with the majority of scholarly opinion, is that the letter was written around AD 50-51 from Corinth on the occasion of Paul hearing Timothy's report on the Thessalonian Church.

Although Donfried comments that, "little consensus has been reached with regard to the purpose and intention" of 1st Thessalonians; clear themes and a distinct structure can be easily detected. At the most basic level the letter seems to have two distinct parts. The first part, chapters 1 through 3, has a focus on thanksgiving and encouragement while the second part, chapters 4 and 5, while continuing this theme, changes "tone" to concentrate on applied parenesis. As well as this general division this same dual purpose can be detected in varying degrees in most subsections. It is the opinion of not a few scholars that much of chapters four and five is written in response to questions posed to Paul by the Thessalonian believers, either in a letter or through Timothy.

Though eschatology appears to be the overriding theme from 4:13- 5:11 it will be my contention that Paul is primarily concerned with very practical and `now' issues facing the Thessalonians. For Paul the issue is how faith in Christ's Parousia affects the C...

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...the midst of difficult circumstances. It has been further argued that, for the purposes of encouragement and exhortation, Paul is seeking to set the entirety of the Thessalonians experience in a theological and eschatological framework. Grief, social exclusion, life, death and persecution are all addressed in relation to Christ's Parousia. It is this Parousia which supplies the motivation for actively pursuing the Christian lifestyle and which stands as the focus and expectation of Christian hope.

That such an approach is essentially correct seems to be supported by the apostle himself when he exhorts the believers to encourage and build up one another in verse 11. Having set the example of how to apply Christian doctrine in difficult circumstances Paul offers the Thessalonians and the modern reader a `practical apocalypse' in which to ground life and faith.