Abstract
This article investigated the presentation of the future existence of the believers in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians. It analysed how the eschatological language of this letter reflects a situation in Thessalonica which has grown worse since the writing of 1 Thessalonians. It went on to explain to readers how this situation is handled by reflecting on it in terms of a divine plan and by portraying a future in which their suffering will come to an end. A close reading of some passages in 2 Thessalonians which speak of the dispensation which will follow on the glorious return of Christ at the end were presented during the course of this article. It investigated Christ’s glorification at his return and delineated the way in which this return affects and determines the existence of those who accepted Paul’s proclamation of the gospel. The future glory of the Lord is revealed, experienced and shared by believers in a mystical manner. The article ended with a brief discussion on the traditions which determined this perspective, the context in which the eschatological portrait must be understood and how the portrait of the future serves to support the community of saints in their time of suffering.
Highlights
In research on 2 Thessalonians, Pauline authorship is one of the issues of contention, especially because of the author’s pronouncements on the future.1 Already on this level the importance of the letter’s eschatology is evident
The expectation of Christ’s return only after the appearance of a man of lawlessness (2 Th 2:3), for example, is regarded as conflicting with a supposedly imminent expectation of the parousia in 1 Thessalonians 4:15, 17.2 Other issues which seem to contradict Pauline authorship are the man of lawlessness, his actions in the Jerusalem temple (2 Th 2:4) and the strong, vindictive language3 about future judgement in 2 Thessalonians 1
For example, attention has been drawn to similarities between the two letters and lack of convincing arguments against Pauline authorship
Summary
This article investigated the presentation of the future existence of the believers in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians It analysed how the eschatological language of this letter reflects a situation in Thessalonica which has grown worse since the writing of 1 Thessalonians. A close reading of some passages in 2 Thessalonians which speak of the dispensation which will follow on the glorious return of Christ at the end were presented during the course of this article. It investigated Christ’s glorification at his return and delineated the way in which this return affects and determines the existence of those who accepted Paul’s proclamation of the gospel. The article ended with a brief discussion on the traditions which determined this perspective, the context in which the eschatological portrait must be understood and how the portrait of the future serves to support the community of saints in their time of suffering
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