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An Assignment Submitted to R. Johnson Submitted by Horeising Zimik

A Study on Paul’s View of Eschatology

Introduction
Eschatology has been an important and interesting area of study for many researchers due
to its novel-like features. It not only absorbs the attention of the readers but also accelerates the
function of all those who cherish its beliefs by providing impetus in this world of uncertainty. On
the other hand, its inexplicable features cause many to consider its contents to be perplexing and
difficult to comprehend.1 Paul’s eschatological teachings has been considered similarly,
nevertheless, many scholars have considered it as a heuristic key in understanding Pauline
theology. J. Christian Beker says that “apocalyptic is not a peripheral curiosity for Paul but the
central climate and focus of his thought,” and that is evident from the Pauline letters, where
apocalyptic persists from the earliest (1 Thessalonians) to the latest letter (Philippians).2
As human beings, born in this world, death becomes an inevitable part of life and so
every individual irrespective of race, gender, caste, religion etc., wonders as to what lies beyond
life after death. This is a common question which every individual seeks for an answer. As for
believers of Christ, there ignites a desire to learn about the last things so that they would not be
ignorant about the coming of the Lord and the Resurrection. Therefore, this paper would
basically give a foundational information for any keen learner concerning Paul’s presentation of
‘the last things.’ In doing so, the readers would be introduced to the various concepts of
eschatology that was prevalent during his time. The researcher is aware of the fact that
eschatology is a vast subject and this paper would be like a drop of water in a mighty ocean.
Therefore, this study would be limited to a few selected passages from the Pauline epistles,
nevertheless the researcher hopes that the readers would be benefitted from this paper.

1. Definition of the term Eschatology

1
S. Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology: Paul’s View on the Parousia and Bodily Resurrection
(Delhi: ISPCK, 2007), xiii.
2
J. Christiaan Beker, Paul The Apostle: The Triumph of God in Life and Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress,
1980), 144.
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The word Eschatology has been derived from the Greek word ἔσχατον which means ‘last’
or ‘final.’ Therefore eschatology is concerned with the teachings of ‘the last things.’3 It has been
in use only since the early 19th century by theologians to refer to that part of systematic theology
which deals with Christian beliefs concerning death, the afterlife, judgement and resurrection,
i.e., individual eschatology.4 Eschatology, traditionally has also been understood as that branch
of theology which is concerned with ‘final’ things. Topics such as future of the world, the
παρουσίᾳ of Jesus Christ, the coming kingdom of God, the last judgement of humankind, the
resurrection from the dead, heaven and hell, the transformation of the cosmos, etc., are all
generally considered under this heading.
This term is now used more generally referring to the whole collection of beliefs and
conceptions concerning the end of history and the transformation of the world which particularly
characterized early Judaism and early Christianity i.e., cosmic eschatology.5 The central foci of
these beliefs are the judgment of sinners and salvation of the righteous. In early Judaism and
early Christianity, eschatological beliefs were often linked with a sense of urgency in view of the
imminent expectation of the end of the age.6 The degree of urgency or imminence however,
varies in accordance with the particular social situation in which such beliefs are thought
meaningful. The future becomes more important than the present since the existing world order
will soon be overthrown.7

1. Background on the Concept of Eschatology in Paul’s World

In order to understand the eschatology of Paul, it is very essential to address the
eschatological beliefs that were prevalent in Judaism such as in the Old Testament, the
apocalypses, and the non-Apocalyptic and Greco-Roman literature. The reason is because Paul
was a Diaspora Jew born in a Hellenistic city called Tarsus and was also an orthodox Pharisee
who believed in the bodily resurrection. His teachings were also influenced greatly by the
intellectual and religious atmosphere of his times. And so, it is quite important that all the said
literature be discussed in brief first.

3
David L. Peterson, “Eschatology” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, ed. David Noel Freedman
(Broadway, New York: Doubleday, 1992), 575.
4
Peterson, “Eschatology,” 575.
5
Peterson, “Eschatology,” 575.
6
Peterson, “Eschatology,” 575.
7
Peterson, “Eschatology,” 575.
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1.1. Eschatological Beliefs in the Old Testament

Generally, it is held that the Old Testament does not quite expose any reflection on the
life after death although dissenting voices are heard and many try to find the eschatological
beliefs.8 S. Sobanaraj says that the Old Testament in fact, does not have any eschatological
beliefs in the narrower sense of the term eschatology.9 However, recent scholarship have stated
that belief in the meaningful existence after death is considered to be a later development in the
history of the Israelite religion. Due to this, many scholars apply broader meaning to extract any
eschatological elements from the Old Testament.10
New Testament phrases such as “latter days” refer to or echo phrases in the Old
Testament, where this wording actually appears in prophetic contexts referring to a future series
of events. Although such technical terms are not always employed, it is apparent that the Old
Testament does address eschatological themes.11 For instance, Isaiah 65:17; 66:22 talks about
Isaiah’s prophecy of a new creation which is actually eschatological in nature with no
eschatological formula being introduced. Another instance is that of Joel’s prophecy of the Holy
Spirit introduced by the phrase “after this.”12
H. Greissmann endeavoured to situate Jewish eschatology even in the pre-prophetic
traditions.13 However, his attempt to trace eschatology in the study of prophets has been
remarked by Mowinckel as a “failure.”14 N.T Wright attempts to trace belief in life after death in
the early phase of Israelite’s faith as well. A couple of places where he finds traces of this are in
the patriarchs’ desire to be buried with their kith and kin, in the theme of restoration and so forth.

Israelites also shared the representation of the world of the dead called ‫( ְׁשאֹל‬Sheol) with people

of other faiths.15 According to K. Kohler, the Israelites believed that “the dead continued to exist
in the shadowy realm of the nether world (Sheol), the land of no return (Beliyaal), of eternal

8
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 60.
9
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 60.
10
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 60-61.
11
G.K. Beale, “Eschatology,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments, eds. Ralph
P. Martin and Peter H. Davids (Leicester: Inter Varsity Press, 1997), 330-331.
12
Beale, “Eschatology,” 331.
13
H. Greissmann, der ursprung der israelitischjudischen Eschatologie, 1905, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity
in Paul’s Eschatology, 61.
14
Mowinckel, He That Cometh, 131, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 61.
15
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 61-62.
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silence (Dumah), and oblivion (Neshiyah), a dull, ghostly existence without clean consciousness
and without awakening to a better life.”16
Regardless of the fact that there were no concrete evidences of future formed as part of
the Israelite creed in the pre-exilic period, they were already aware of the idea of resurrection.
This is because such beliefs were already prevalent among their neighbors, the Canaanites and
that is how the resurrection language found its way in the Old Testament.17 Martin Achard
opines that, “there is little mention of resurrection in the Old Testament; this notion does not
appear except in texts that are rare, obscure with regard to their precise meaning and date.”18

Also N.T. Wright observes that, “nobody doubts that the Old Testament speaks of the
resurrection of the dead, but nobody can agree on what it means, where the idea came from, or
how it relates to the other things the scriptures say about the dead.”19 So apparently, there is the
presence of resurrection languages in the Old Testament texts (e.g. Hosea 6:1-3; Isaiah 26:9 etc.),
however as it has been discussed, it is not spoken in unambiguous terms.

1.2. Eschatological Beliefs in the Apocalyptic Literature

A number of writings in apocalyptic fervor were also composed during the
intertestamental period called ‘apocalypses’. It was termed ‘apocalypses’ because “they claimed
that the divine hitherto hidden for ages was revealed to the respective seers who penned them
down.”20 Most apocalypses were considered as “crisis literature” in some way as they were born
out of the social and political tensions.21 David E. Aune points out that, “apocalypses are often,
and not incorrectly, understood as a form of protest literature in which the oppressed rights of a
minority are legitimated by divine revelation.”22 Scholars like Otto Ploger and Paul D. Hanson
had explained this development primarily as a social-political movement. Generally, the
apocalypses could be understood as the “language of the marginalized.” Russel defines
apocalyptic literature as a literature of the people who saw no hope for the nation in terms of

16
K. Kohler, Jewish Theology: Systematically and Historically Considered (New York: Ktav, 1917), 279.
17
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 63.
18
R. Martin-Achard, Resurrection, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 63.
19
N.T. Wright, Resurrection of the Son of God (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003), 108.
20
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 77.
21
Paul D. Hanson, The Old Testament Apocalyptic (Nashville: Abingdon, 1987), 34, cited in Sobanaraj,
Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 77.
22
David Aune, Apocalypse of John, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 77.
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politics or on the plane of human history.23 Apparently, the apocalyptic thought emerged due to
the distress, despair and the alienation that the faithful had undergone in persecution during the
reign of Antiochus IV (168-165 BCE).
Many scholars are of the view that prophecy and apocalyptic exhibit both elements of
continuity and discontinuity. Additionally, both regard H.H. Rowley’s cliché of the apocalyptic
being the child of prophecy, yet diverse from prophecy, as the maxim.24 Another scholar Rainer
Albertz says that apocalyptic is a scribal working out of eschatological prophecy.25 However,
there is a sharp contrast between prophecy and apocalyptic beliefs as R.H. Charles states that
each has its own peculiar conception of ‘the last things.’26 For the prophets, the eschatological
events mark the turning points while for the apocalypticists, they marked the end of history.
It is widely held among the scholars that there is a great variety not only in the contents
of the apocalypses but also in their eschatology. J. Lindblom defines the marks of apocalypticism
as “transcendentalism, mythology, cosmological orientation, pessimistic treatment of history,
dualism, division of time into periods, doctrine of two ages, playing with numbers, pseudo-
ecstasy, artificial claim to inspiration, pseudonymity, mysteriousness.”27 Having mentioned that,
it is necessary to look upon at the least one marker and so dualism will be discussed briefly.
Dualism is one among the distinctive markers of apocalypses because a whole series of
contrasts appear in them. Contrasts such as “God and man, earth and heaven, history and
‘beyond history,’ ‘this age’ and ‘the age to come,’ wickedness and righteousness, darkness and
light, angels and demons, good and evil, God and Satan.”28 Philip Vielhauer considers that the
essential characteristic of apocalypses is ‘the eschatological dualism’ of the two ages, ‘this age’
and ‘the age to come.’ Due to this, the apocalypses broke from the prophetic eschatology and
adopted Persian model of dualism of the two ages which envisaged the breaking up of a new
age.29

23
Russell, Divine Disclosure, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 79.
24
Hanson, Dawn of the Apocalyptic, 1979, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 80.
25
Rainer Albertz, History of Israelite Religion, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology,
26
R.H. Charles, Doctrine of a Future Life, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 81.
27
J. Lindblom referred to in Rowley, Relevance of Apocalyptic, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s
Eschatology, 83.
28
Philip Vielhauer, “Apocalyptic,” in E. Hennecke, New Testament Apocrypha, vol. 2, ed. Schneemelcher,
trans. Ernest Best, et al. (London: Lutterworth, 1965), 581ff.
29
Vielhauer, “Apocalyptic,” 581ff.
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Although the dualistic elements present in the apocalypses are restricted to mere
eschatological dualism and ethical dualism, there are also presence of features relating to ‘cosmic
dualism’ as found in 1 Enoch 6-19; 64:1f; 69:4f etc., says Sobanaraj.30 This means that the
cosmos is divided under two opposing supernatural forces, God and Satan who represent good
and evil respectively. He also says that the moral conflicts that occur within the individual is
transported into the heavenly realm where the malicious forces wage constant war with the
angels of God till the final consummation.31 Hence, the apocalypticists have been compelled to
look beyond history to the dramatic and miraculous intervention of God who would set right the
injustice done to his people Israel. Nevertheless, the dualism is not a metaphysical dualism
because God will eventually subdue the forces of evil and deliver his people.32
There are also references to future life found in the apocalyptic eschatology. 1 Enoch 6-
36 which was probably written before 170 BC, speaks of ‘the spirits of the souls of the dead.’ A
clear continuity between life on earth and life after death, and the departed could experience the
fellowship with God even in the grave. It also mentions that the souls or the spirt or the souls of
the spirits experience the recompense immediately after death. G.W.E. Nickelsburg says that the
seer “envisions a resurrection of the spirit of the sinners: their spirits, not their bodies, will be
punished”33 (cf. 1 Enoch 22:11; 22:13).

1.3. Eschatological Beliefs in Non- Apocalyptic Literature

There were also non-apocalyptic groups besides apocalyptic movements that were
operational in Palestine. And among them, there were some who believed in the resurrection
after death as represented in Psalms of Solomon, dated in the middle of the first century B.C.
This book actually reflects political and social realities in Jerusalem, namely the conquest of
Jerusalem by Pompey in 63 B.C (cf. 2:1-2) and the pollution of the temple by various Jews34 (cf.
2:3-14). It also envisaged that the end was at hand. N.T. Wright contemplates that this book
shows “strong traces of a revolutionary Pharisaism.”35 It is generally considered that the psalms

30
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 84.
31
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 84.
32
Donald E. Gowan, Bridge Between the Testaments: A Reappraisal of Judaism from the Exile to the Birth
of Christianity (Pennsylvania: Pickwick, 1986), 361, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 84.
33
G.W.E. Nickelsburg, Resurrection, Immortality and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1972), 136, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 86.
34
De Boer, Defeat of Death, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 95.
35
N.T. Wright, Resurrection of the Son of God, 162.
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presume a resurrection of the righteous, yet some of them also claims that there is worldly
reward and punishment for the righteous and the wicked respectively.36
R.B. Wright says, “the eschatological day must come shortly to end the suffering and
persecution of the righteous. This day of judgement will see sinners marked out of destruction,
and the righteous honored and raised to life. Sinners will not share in the resurrection.”37
According to Nickelsburg, resurrection and eternal life is the appropriate reward for the righteous
and destruction the appropriate punishment to the sinners based on their relationship to God in
this world.38 However, there were no indications by the authors of the psalms on whether they
anticipate a bodily resurrection or revive one’s spirit or soul. According to R.H. Charles, there
seems to be no resurrection of the body and that the spirits of the righteous are raised to angelic
status.39 A contrast between the righteous and the sinners has been made in a number of psalms,
the author in 2:31 says: “Raising me up to glory, but putting to sleep the arrogant for eternal
destruction in dishonor they did not know him.” While the life of the righteous “goes on forever”
(3:11), “the wicked will end up their lives in Hades and darkness and destruction” (14:9).40
However, this does not indicate whether they anticipate a bodily resurrection or the reviving of
one’s spirit or soul as these texts are apparently not quite clear about the resurrection from the
dead.41
From all of these, it can be observed that the Hellenistic Jewish authors freely
appropriated philosophical categories to interpret their belief of the future life without ignoring
or abandoning their Jewish beliefs.42 As a matter of fact, they continued to cast their beliefs in
the overall Jewish wisdom framework of God’s providence for his people which is everlasting
reward for the righteous and punishment for the wicked and the ungodly.43

1.4.Greco-Roman View on Eschatology

The Hellenistic milieu contributes quite a lot in explaining the new features in the
apocalypses, especially on the premise that the elements that can most plausibly be understood to

36
Nickelsburg, Resurrection, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology,95-96.
37
R.B. Wright, Psalms of Solomon, 644-645, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 96.
38
Nickelsburg, Resurrection, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 96.
39
R.H. Charles, Doctrine of a Future Life, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 96.
40
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 96.
41
Nickelsburg, Resurrection, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 96.
42
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 104.
43
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 104.
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have derived from the Iranian religious influence emerge not in the Persian period,44 but in Greek
and also “much of the features of apocalypticism, which are paralleled more widely in the
Hellenistic worlds.”45 The Greek influence is especially felt in the teachings of the individual
retribution and immortality of the soul.
The Hellenistic Jewish writings apparently have been influenced by the Platonic idea of
the immortality of the soul (Wis. 3:4; Macc. 9:22) and both these traditions believe that the
righteous would not be cut off by death.46 The body is considered inferior to the soul and a
hindrance to it because it is a created thing. And so at death, the soul will be parted from the
body and exist in herself.47 Several themes which play an important role in Jewish and Christian
eschatology were also the subject of speculation in the Greco-Roman world. There are especially
three such themes which are: “the end of the world, the schematization of history into periods
and the anticipation of an idyllic period following a time of decline or repression.”48 In early
Greek thought, the expectation of the end of the world was a concern of natural philosophy, not
of religious or mythological speculation.49
Stoicism taught a periodic conflagration and reconstitution of the cosmos and this view of
conflagration was attributed to Heraclitus. According to the Stoics, the world though
imperishable was subject to eternal series of world cycles in which all matter was reduced to
pure fire. They also spoke of these cosmic cycles in terms of the beginning and the end and of
significant events which changed the character of the world.50 Though Plato and Aristotle held to
a conception of the eternity of the cosmos, they both thought that civilization was periodically
destroyed by natural disasters and thereafter reborn.51
The Roman adapted the god Aion, a deity who was important in Hellenistic Alexandria,
the ruler of the universe and god of limitless time who was expected to bring about the return of
the golden age.52 In the Hellenistic world, the notion of immortality, originally understood in the

44
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 130-131.
45
Collins, Early Jewish Apocalypticism, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 131.
46
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 131.
47
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 131.
48
George W. E. Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, ed.
David Noel Freedman (Broadway, New York: Doubleday, 1992), 598.
49
Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology,” 598.
50
Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology,” 598.
51
Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology,” 599.
52
Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology,” 599.
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Greek world as the exclusive possession of the gods and one which they jealously guarded, came
to be understood as a permanent or ontological property of the human soul.53 Early Judaism was
inevitably influenced by this conception. However, Judaism continued to associate immortality
with resurrection at the end of days, and few conceptions were as foreign to Greek and Roman
thought as that of physical resurrection.54

2. Concept and View of Pauline Eschatology

The various backgrounds on the concept of Eschatology in Paul’s world apparently sates
that the apostle shared an environment where there was no single system of eschatological belief,
rather the concept of future life was held in a number of ways. Now having discussed the above
backgrounds, it is now apt to look into Paul’s concept of Eschatology. Here, the researcher
would basically focus on two major aspects of Paul’s Eschatology: Paul’s view on Parousia and
Resurrection.
2.1.Paul’s View on the Parousia
The primary term used to express the coming of the Lord is Παρουσίᾳ (Parousia). It is
derived from the Greek verb πάρειμι meaning “be present” and therefore παρουσίᾳ originally
means “presence.” Πάρειμι can also take another sense of “come or approach” which is the actual
sense in the New Testament and thus Parousia frequently means “arrival” as the onset of
presence.55 In regard to the meaning ‘arrival,’ one can further distinguish between the general
concept and the specific use of the word. Paul extensively uses this word in 1 Cor. 15:23 and
mostly in the Thessalonian epistles (1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8 etc.)56 The
majority of the usage of this meaning is attested to the parousia of Christ at the end of time.
Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, answers the queries raised by the anxious Thessalonians
concerning the sharing of the dead and the living in the Parousia of Jesus and in the
resurrection.57 Here, Paul addresses the Thessalonian believers with an affectionate word ἀδελφοί
(brothers) and introduces a new subject. The introductory clause Οὐ θέλομεν δὲ ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν,
“Now we do not wish you to be uninformed,” is one of Paul’s often used introductory formula

53
Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology,” 599.
54
Nickelsburg, “Early Christian Eschatology,” 599.
55
W. Radl, “Παρουσίᾳ” in Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol. 3, eds. Horst Balz and
Gerhard Schneider (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B Eerdmans, 1993), 43-44.
56
Donald Guthrie, New Testament Theology (Leicester: Inter Varsity Press, 1981), 803.
57
Anthony T. Thiselton, Blackwell Commentaries: 1 and 2 Thessalonians Through the Centuries (West
Sussex, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011), 8.
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(cf. Rom. 1:13; 11:25; 1 Cor. 10:1; 12:1 etc.) whereby he introduces something new or present
his own congregations with previously unknown information.58 The brothers were worrying
about “those who are asleep” and so Paul introduces his purpose for supplying the new
information, i.e., to encourage them to cease grieving. Paul then goes further into explaining why
Christians should not grieve in v.14, Ἰησοῦς ἀπέθανεν καὶ ἀνέστη. The reason for Christian
certainty is the divine action in Christ’s death and resurrection. The Christian’s view of death is
not based on some philosophical theories but it is the intervention of God to bring salvation.59
Therefore, Paul directs his audience towards the central doctrines of their faith.

He does not say that Jesus will bring those who had fallen asleep (though this is implied
in the phrase ‘with him’), rather says that God will bring them. The Pauline reasoning seems to
be this, “the same God who raised Jesus from the dead will also raise from the death those who
belong to Jesus.”60 Paul uses the word “died” instead of “sleeping” to speak of Christ, his death
is the wages of sin; and because He endured the full horror implied in that death, He has
transformed death for His followers into sleep.61 The reality of Christ’s death points to the divine
miracle accomplished in His resurrection.62

The Thessalonians were apparently unaware as to how the resurrection and the day of the
Lord would take place. Logically speaking, if the resurrection took place after the Lord’s coming
then those living at that time would have the advantage of witnessing what the dead could not.
But this is not the case here, for the Lord says that both the living and the dead shall be on equal
footing. 63 By the use of the phrase “we who are alive” (v. 15), Paul ranks himself with the living
and signals that he and his contemporary Christians would remain alive until Christ comes.64
Also, just as Christ was raised from the dead, he will raise all those who believed in him as well.

The Parousia is not going to be a silent one as the Lord himself will descend from
heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet’s sound (v.

58
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 139.
59
Leon Morris, The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1957), 85.
60
Hendriksen & Kistemaker, NTC, 113.
61
Morris, The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians, 85.
62
F.F. Bruce, Word Biblical Commentary: 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982),
97.
63
David J. Williams, New International Bible Commentary: 1 and 2 Thessalonians (Peabody, MA:
Hendrickson, 1992), 80.
64
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 155.
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16). Immediately after the Lord’s return, two events will take place one after the other. The first
is the resurrection of the dead, καὶ οἱ νεκροὶ ἐν Χριστῷ ἀναστήσονται πρῶτον. Although they are
already dead physically yet they are still “in Christ” and death cannot impair their membership in
the body of Christ.65 This will be followed by the next event where the believers who are alive,
will be caught up into heaven. Paul asserts that the deceased faithful will be brought to life
before the living will be taken up at the Lord’s coming.66 There are also consequences to Christ’s
return, the phrase “and so we will always be with the Lord,” καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα,
suggests the glorious climax for the believer in these apocalyptic events. Paul here is expressing
his desire “to depart and to be with Christ,” for that is far better according to him. The “we” here
in comprehensively inclusive of all the believers, both the living and the dead, who will share the
same glorious destiny of being “with the Lord” always.67

The discussed passage is considered to be the fullest description of parousia in the New
Testament. Paul’s focus was to tell that it is none other but the Lord Himself who will return and
the end of the age is not to be ushered in by some intermediary.68 The “clouds,” “trumpets” and
“archangel” allude to Jesus’ saying of the end time (Matt. 24:30-31), the meeting in the air may
be inferred from the gathering to join him (Matt. 24:31).69 The coming of the Lord is preceded
by a call to his people to prepare for his coming and this call addresses to the dead and awakens
them.70 “Therefore” in v. 18 points out a practical value for the Thessalonians, i.e., they are to
have no more sorrow concerning those who have already died, rather they were to comfort one
another.71 Thus, Paul clarifies their doubts concerning the dead and the living in the parousia.

2.2.Paul’s Concept of Resurrection

J. Christiaan Beker says, “Resurrection language properly belongs to the domain of the
new age to come and is an inherent part of the transformation and the recreation of all reality in
the apocalyptic age.”72 This is why the resurrection of Christ, the coming reign of God and the

65
D. Edmond Hiebert, A Commentary on the Thessalonian Epistles (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), 200.
66
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 155.
67
Hiebert, A Commentary on the Thessalonian Epistles, 203.
68
Morris, The Epistles of Paul to the Thessalonians, 87.
69
Keener, The IVP Bible Commentary Background: New Testament, 593.
70
Marshall, TNCBC, 129.
71
Marshall, TNCBC, 131.
72
J. Christiaan Beker, Paul the Apostle: The Triumph of God in Life and Thought (Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 1980), 152.
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resurrection of the dead belong together. The resurrection of Christ means primarily the bodily
exaltation of Christ by God and his enthronement to heavenly lordship (Phil. 2:11).73 For Paul,
the resurrection of Jesus is primarily an eschatological event affirming the fact that the new age
has arrived. It clearly involves the risen Lord in some sort of somatic existence although
admittedly it is an existence of a different order. Some selected passages would be addressed
here in order to understand the concept of resurrection better.
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul gives a full description of the resurrection theme and links
Christ’s resurrection to that of the believers. In 1 Corinthians 15:20-28, Paul maintains that
Christ’s resurrection foreshadows the believers’ resurrection which he validates with the
metaphorical usage of ἀπαρχή (firstfruits) and Adam-Christ typology. Thus, the reality of the
future resurrection of the believers in connection with the resurrection of Jesus has been
established. Paul says in v. 22, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall al be made alive,”
a statement which some have claimed to support a universal resurrection to life. Paul asserts that
the resurrection of Christ will take place first then followed by that of the believers of Christ. As
it is apparent in verse 24, the resurrection of the believers at the παρουσίᾳ comes chronologically
prior to the τέλος (end). In fact, ἀπαρχή along with ἀρραβὼν (earnest) provides the theological
framework for Paul to proceed with his argument says Sobanaraj. According to M.J. Harris, the
firstfruit image demonstrates that Christ is “both the pledge and paradigm of the somatic
resurrection of believers.”74 For Paul, Christ’s destiny as the firstfruits of the resurrection
becomes the formative principle in effecting the resurrection of believers.75

In 1 Corinthians 15:35-58, Paul talks about the nature of the resurrection body and
the time of transformation while encountering the Hellenistic Christians who found the notion of
bodily resurrection incompatible with the Greek notion of immortality.76 Paul knew that the
denial of bodily resurrection is destructive to the faith, he treats the issue with great rhetorical
skill called ‘diatribe’ and proceeds to argue by assertion, analogy, Scripture proof, practical
illustration and revelation to show the emptiness of denial and affirm the resurrection.77 The
main focus of his arguments is centered on the continuity and the discontinuity of the

73
Beker, Paul the Apostle: The Triumph of God in Life and Thought, 153.
74
M.J. Harris, Raised Immortal, 218, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 218.
75
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 218.
76
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 259s.
77
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 259.
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resurrection body. Even as Paul cannot conceive of an existence without body, Paul does make
concessions towards a more dualistic view of the material, in his distinction between the present
natural body and the resurrection spiritual body.78

In vv. 36-38, his use of the analogy of seed illustrates the necessity of death, its
transformation, and coming to life. His argument goes further saying that in the eschatological
happening believers will have a new body to conform to the nature of the new creation.79
However O. Pfleiderer comments that it is not quite clear as to whether the resurrection body
will be a completely new one having no relation to the old, or only a new higher form of the old
body.80 The argument of verse 50 is that Christians in their mortal condition cannot inherit the
kingdom of God and they must have more than the natural body to inherit it. Paul in vv. 51-52
does not distinguish between those who are still alive and those who fall asleep, for in both the
cases, they have to attain life through a change.81

Therefore, the present condition of the people does not matter at all but what matters is
the transformation and being clothed with immortality and incorruptibility that the believers
achieve victory over death and inherit the kingdom of God. However, there is a problem that lies
in the arguments of Paul because he was unable to design a coherent view but combined both the
Greek concept of immortality and the Hebrew notion of bodily resurrection.

Conclusion
Having seen all the major discussions, one can find similarities concerning the
eschatological beliefs in the Greek and Jewish writings and Paul’s eschatological view. This is
not surprising because Paul, was a Pharisee who was brought up in a Hellenistic environment.
And during his time, the concept of future life was held in plurality of ways. However, in spite of
the striking similarities, one cannot say that Paul was echoing the idea of other literatures. This
can be proved from 1 Cor. 15:45 where Paul makes an important distinction between the first
Adam as ‘a living being’ and the last Adam as ‘a life-giving Spirit.’82 Although it seems as if

78
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 260.
79
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 260.
80
O. Pfleiderer, Paulinism, 260, cited in Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 260.
81
Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 260.
82
Guthrie, New Testament Theology, 829.
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Paul is echoing the idea of Philo’s heavenly man in referring to Christ as the last Adam,
however, this can be dismissed because Philo’s heavenly man was the first and not the last.83
Also, one can come to a conclusion that the prominent themes in Pauline Eschatology are
Parousia and the Resurrection. And his arguments on both these subjects are directed towards
the strengthening of the believer’s hope and faith. There is no doubt that at the parousia of
Christ, the dead in Christ will be resurrected first and then the ones who are alive would be
raised up with Christ into heaven. Apparently, there are a number of limitations in this paper and
therefore the researcher encourages the readers to study more and have a better knowledge and
understanding of this subject.

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83
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Peterson, David L. “Eschatology” in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2, ed. David Noel
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