1. The author of 2 Thessalonians carefully imitates key vocabulary and themes from 1 Thessalonians, so much so that scholars wonder why he would simply repeat so much from a letter he previously wrote. As Ehrman notes, a good way to judge whether a letter is authentic or not is to look at the differences rather than the similarities. Explore this point by examining the teaching on eschatology (eschaton: “end”; logos: “statement”; i.e., “thoughts on the end of this age”) found in 2 Thess 2:1-12.
a. What specific concern does the author address, and how does he refute this idea with his own argument? (Be specific as to the precise order of events in the author’s eschatology.)
In 2 Thessalonians, specifically in 2:1-12, the author is addressing the discussion surrounding the second coming of Jesus Christ and/or the end of times. The author is attempting to refute the idea that the day has already come and is already happening. The author argues, in 2:3-5 that there are people deceiving the Thessalonians about this time of Christ already being here and that the end of days will not come until there is a revolution against all of the evil in the world (which he symbolizes as one specific person or embodiment of “evil”, although it is then stated in the footnotes that perhaps the author is actually referring to a specific person from those times, such as an emperor or a false prophet). The author goes more into detail about the importance of revealing this evil which, when revealed or realized by humans, will then be “destroyed” by Jesus through “the manifestation of his coming” (2:8). He then finishes by saying, in a way that seems almost like he is attempting to be consoling, that the people that do not believe in Christ or in the messages the Thessalonian church is trying to spread, are people who were directly and deliberately misled by God so that they can be punished… purposefully. I am not sure what this last part really has to do with the end of days, as it seems more so to push the church members in Thessalonica to not try and recruit more people for their church and to instead view them as purposefully derailed from the message(s) of God.
b. Compare this teaching with the eschatology of the historical Paul, specifically 1 Thess 4:13-17; 5:2-3, 23; 1 Cor 7:26, 29, 31; 15:51; Rom 13:11-12. What do these passages reveal about Paul’s thoughts on the timing of the end?
In 1Thessalonians, Paul seems to be more concerned with letting the Thessalonians know that the dead will be raised up and sent or brought to heaven first and then the living people will be brought there. Paul does not really speak so much on exposing an evil doer or on a revolution but instead mainly comforts the Thessalonians about the people who have died, since many thought that the coming of Christ would perhaps be sooner than people around them could begin dying, and subtly hints that the time of Christ has not yet come, “…we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord….” (1Thess 4:15).
In 1Corinthians, Paul sounds even farther from how he does in 2 Thessalonians. In 1Corinthians, Paul is basically making it sound as if the time is coming soon, that there is not really anything that humans can or cannot do to bring it about, and that it will be tragic, “in view of the impending crisis” (1Corinthians 7:26). In 1 Corinthians, Paul is concerned too with people not really changing the present circumstances that they live in because the end of days is so impending. This lack of change is somewhat similar to 2Thessalonians where the author is saying not to try and change people who do not believe (not to convert anymore people?). However, it is still vastly different as in 1 Corinthians, Paul is claiming that the coming of Christ is very very imminent, and is not waiting on an evil entity to be exposed and expunged (as with 2 Thessalonians). Also near the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul does not put so much emphasis on a heaven or a grand ascension into the clouds, or even on death, but instead claims that the coming of Christ will still raise the dead, and then will change the entire (assumed believing) population of humans (1 Corinthians 15:51).
Romans 13:11-14, is a smaller eschatology and discusses mainly how the coming of Christ is near and therefore, now would be a good time to start being kind and stop doing, “works of darkness” (Romans 13:12). There is not much focus here on raising people up from the dead or really of salvation, just more of being present of worldly materials and desires as well as negative actions or speak.
When looking at all of these texts, it really seems that Paul has no idea what he is talking about. He seems to twist whatever story he has believed to be true so that it fits the exact situations of whomever he is writing. Which, I guess could be great during that specific time period, but now that these works are as widely spread as they are, I think its really awful. If there was a truth he was being told, why could he not keep his story straight? The only other thing I was thinking was that maybe as time went by his understanding was evolving, i.e he was moving from a very literal space of thinking that we would ascend to clouds to a more symbolic and deeper understanding that there will/would simply be a shift in the world or in consciousness (as in Corinthians) although I think this could be 1)more of my own projecting that reality 2)not true because I think these letters are out of order for that to even be plausible. It just seems to me that Paul was pretty manipulative of what he considered to be facts. There is one more underlying thread though which is that he is fairly insistent that people consider being and/or try harder to be “good”.
c. What social and historical events might have led the author of 2 Thessalonians to change Paul’s eschatological teaching?
I am guessing there was maybe an emperor or some sort of political leader or prophetic movement which the author of 2 Thessalonians was not so excited about. The author puts a whole lot of emphasis on finding and overthrowing an evil power in order to bring Christ back. So, the author must know and understand that people are restless for this day to come, and is therefore using their fears and doubts to further the authors own political or fear based agenda. Pretty lame.