Texts: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Introduction
Ordinary
Time. That is the portion of the liturgical calendar that we have been in since
June. The anticipation and celebration of Advent and Christmas is long past.
The period of Lent, the horrors and Holy Week, and the joy of Easter are now
distant memories. The power of the Spirit given at Pentecost might seem to be
just barely holding us together, getting us from one week to the next. The
humdrum of everyday routines and the regular cycle of the passing of seasons
keep us engaged and busy. Yet it seems like it often becomes almost unthinking
rote actions that we perform. Even the liturgical calendar, with its reminders
of Christian history and life, might be just another routine that we move
through year after year.
Have you realized
that the first Sunday of Advent returns in just three weeks? When we think
about Advent, it is almost always in association with Christmas. But Advent is
a season that looks not only to the first Christmas, but also to the future return
of Christ. These last few Sundays of the church year contain readings that bring
us full circle from the first Advent to the anticipated second.
Second Advent and the Rapture
The Second
Advent, or the Second Coming, of Jesus Christ, even if the general belief is
nearly universally accepted by Christians, there is broad range of emphasis
that is placed on it and how often you might hear it preached. There is also a
huge diversity of specific beliefs, ideas, and details about it. The Second
Advent has been the source of date setting for Jesus’ return, doomsday cults,
dispensational theology and the Left Behind series, all manner of
prophetic interpretations, and strong influences on national and international
politics. It is not a benign doctrine. What someone or a group of people believes
about the return of Jesus does have effects that go beyond their immediate
circle, and they can be wide-ranging.
The text for
today that is found in 1 Thessalonians, specifically 4:17, is where the
doctrine of the rapture finds its origins. The general doctrine of the rapture
should not be controversial. The hymns I chose for today all refer to it in
some way.[1]
But when “rapture” is mentioned among Christians today, what comes first and
foremost to mind is a specific rapture doctrine that finds its speculation and
novelization in the Left Behind series. (For clarity’s sake it should be
noted that the Presbyterian Church (USA) rejects dispensational theology and its
applications, including the kind of rapture scenarios found in Left Behind.[2])
There are
many other variations on views of the rapture. Historically, most of the views
are quite recent, with many of the variations appearing in the 19th
century or just before. These years, with modernist philosophy coming of age,
with industrialization and technological advancements, but also with
increasingly deadly conflicts, brought about increasing interest in the
theological study of the end times. With pessimism that Christianity could
actually change the entire world, and with the world seeming to go from bad to
worse, many prophetic and apocalyptic texts seemed to have direct and literal
applicability to the times that were being seen and experienced.
I should add
here that my own personal history includes many years in a church denomination
that arose from such an apocalyptic reading and creative interpretations of
prophetic texts. We did not believe in dispensationalist theology, but we had
our own unique spins on the concepts of the millennium, tribulation, resurrection
of the dead, and judgment. We had almost a checklist of when, what, and how
things were to happen leading up to the return of Christ. Granted we didn’t
know the exact time, but there was a sequence of events that preceded the
Second Coming. Although this was quite different from what is found in Left
Behind, looking from the outside
now, the principle doesn’t seem that different. Although the Second Coming was
something for us to look forward to, there was also a very real sense of fear
that I would miss out for missing the signs and not being ready when the events
unfolded.
Context of Thessalonians
Although in these
modern times, Christians have looked to the text in 1 Thessalonians as
primarily eschatological (i.e., end times) and supporting the doctrine of the
rapture, is that what Paul meant and what the recipients at Thessalonica drew
out? The answer is neither yes nor no.
The opening
sentence of this subsection (pericope) is often glossed over, but it is quite
puzzling when we think about it. It reads,
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and
sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who
have no hope.[3]
Why are the Christians
in Thessalonica grieving their dead as if there was no hope for them? Had they
not heard about the resurrection of the dead? The next sentence reads,
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so,
through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died.[4]
Paul
includes the Thessalonians as those who believe in the resurrection of the dead
in Jesus. So, what is the problem?
The common
response is that they (including Paul at the time of writing this letter) believed
Jesus would return while they were still alive, and thus the death of some of
them in the interim raised questions. But the resurrection of the dead at
Jesus’ return should solve any issues, shouldn’t it?
The problem
seems to stem from a misinterpretation of what Paul had taught them. Paul
taught that the age to come had already begun. At least in part. But it appears
that the Thessalonians thought the age to come had come in its fullness. One commentary
explains this confusion in this way.
In our reconstruction of the millennial radicalism of this
congregation, it appears that death was thought to have been abolished with the
dawning of the new age, which explains why they would grieve “as others do who
have no hope.” An important effort to resolve this puzzle was made by Joseph
Plevnik, who suggested that an apocalyptic doctrine of assumption into paradise
as a way of escaping death had been taught by Paul, which the Thessalonians
erroneously took to mean that those already dead would not be caught up, or
raptured (Plevnik 1984: 274–83). They are lamenting “as though there is no
afterlife or resurrection” (Richard 1995: 225) because, as I would explain it,
having already been resurrected by their membership in the new age, there would
be no further resurrection for those who have died. In effect, the congregation
thinks it has already been raptured by means of its charismatic ecstasy,
placing them beyond death. This would explain both the shock at the death of
loved ones and the fear that they had “believed in vain.” However one explains
this unprecedented confusion on the part of the Thessalonians, it is clear that
they “feared their dead would lose out on the chance to be assumed to heaven at
the time of the parousia”.[5]
Summarized,
the Thessalonians believed that because the new age had already come, they had
already been resurrected, and that there would be no additional resurrections. Their
fear and dismay may have further been influenced by Greek and Roman ideas about
what happens to those who die. One idea that existed was that those who died
did not cease to exist, but that they continued in a diminished form.[6]
Without a resurrection, they would forever be stuck in a state where they were
not able to enjoy communion with God and the rest of the saved. The loss of
ability to have relationships was perhaps more fearful to them than death in
the present life.
The ideas concerning
heaven as a place for the righteous, the resurrected being caught into heaven, and
the trumpet call were already part of the cultural milieu of the time, in
Jewish and Greco-Roman thought. Paul was not inventing something completely
new. He was reinterpreting what was already accepted among the people of his
time. In other words, he was utilizing the language, images, and metaphors of
the time to communicate theology. Greg Carey writes as follows regarding
eschatological texts in the Bible:
Eschatological texts feature a profoundly poetic
dimension, even when they are not written as poetry… A great deal of
eschatological material works through images and lyrics, often appropriating
images from antecedent texts or refracting images over against—more precisely,
in interaction with—one another…[7]
Paul is not making doctrinal claims; although he is not
writing poetry in the conventional sense, he’s speaking the peculiar kind of
poetry characteristic of eschatological literature.[8]
In other
words, Paul is not giving his readers a detailed and specific checklist of how
Jesus will return. He is using imagery, metaphor, and language common at the
time to correct an erroneous interpretation of one of his teachings that had
caused the Thessalonians to fall into despair.
It’s All About Hope
The study of
end times, eschatology, often leads to fear. “Will I make it?” is often the
question at the end of hearing about the rapture, regardless of the specifics
of it.
For Paul,
the return of Jesus Christ is all about hope. It is about reuniting and
restoration. When we speak about the return of Christ, when we talk about the
end times, let hope be the theme and the purpose of our speech. If anyone walks
away with fear about the end times, it is a signal that perhaps we have
miscommunicated and a chance to reflect and improve our communication for the
next time.
In the name
of God who inspires hope,
In the name
of God who will complete our hopes,
And in the
name of God who sustains our hopes…
Bibliography
Allen, R. J., & Cornwall, R. D. (2023). Second
Thoughts about the Second Coming: Understanding the End Times, Our Future,
and Christian Hope. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.
Black, J. (2014, March 22). Ascension to the
heavens in ancient mythology. Retrieved from Ancient Origins:
Reconstructing the Story of Humanity's Past:
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/ascension-heavens-ancient-mythology-001471
Carey, G. (2023). Death, the End of History, and
Beyond: Eschatology in the Bible. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox
Press.
Dunn, J. D., & Rogerson, J. W. (2003). Eerdmans
Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co.
Johnston, S. I. (2017, March 31). Many (Un)Happy
Returns: Ancient Greek Concepts of a Return from Death and their Later
Counterparts. Retrieved from Coming Back to Life (McGill University
Library): https://comingbacktolife.library.mcgill.ca/article/view/8/51
PC(USA) 118th General Assembly (1978). (2010, March
17). Eschatology: The Doctrine of Last Things. Retrieved from PC(USA)
Presbyterian Mission:
https://www.presbyterianmission.org/resource/eschatology-doctrine-last-things/
Poythress, V. (2009, March 13). Understanding
Dispensationalism. Retrieved from Westminster Theological Seminary:
https://faculty.wts.edu/lectures/understanding-dispensationalism/
Tabor, J. (2023, November 4). If I Ascend to
Heaven … Paul’s Journey to Paradise. Retrieved from Biblical Archaeology
Society:
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/people-in-the-bible/if-i-ascend-to-heavenpauls-journey-to-paradise/
[1]
PH 6 Jesus Comes with Clouds Descending; PH 449 My Lord! What a Morning; STF
2282 I'll Fly Away (Presbyterian Hymnal; Sing the Faith)
[2]
[3]
1 Thessalonians 4:13 (NRSVue).
[4]
1 Thessalonians 4:14.
[5]
[6]
[7]
[8]
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