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II

THE PLACE OF THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN

IN LIGHT OF APOCALYPTIC ISSUES REFLECTED IN

OTHER NE\v TESTAMENT WRITINGS y

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies aDfl Research in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the.degree of Master of Arts . -

Cameron Afzal Faculty of Religious Studies HcGill University ~ Montreal

December, 1982

Copyright © Cameron Afzal 1982

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.. ABSTRACT

This study attempts to place the apocalypse in relation to

apocalyptic issues which were of concern ta early Christian com-

. . munities. These issues are focused mainly on the Parousia, its

time and the impact of its expectation on Church lUe. Pritgitive

Christianity experienced diJficulties resûlting from the expecta-

tion of an imminent Parousia. Similarly, its non-occurrence be-

came the source for a different set of issues. The Church also , .. experienced problems which were caused by inheqted apocalypt~c

traditions.

\ The Book of Revelation lies within the matrix of apocalyptic

.' .~

tradition represented by other writings of the' New Testament. It

.. addresses ~ssue, .hich' arose becau,e of the Church 1 ? a,,,areness of

a "delay" f the Parousia. A primary concern of the author is to

reiutroduce an eschatolagical motivation iuta the life of' early

Christian conununities.\ The Book of Revelation reminds, the Church

.,1-of her eschatological significanQ.:':~ and therefore, reminds her

members of the importance of follm.ring the Lamb.

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RESUME . . " ."<

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. , Cet te ét ude cherche à mett re d'Apocalypse en rappor t avec

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les préoccupation~ apocalyptiqués de la communauté chrétienne

primitiv~. Ces préoëc~ptation9 intéressaient avant tout le moment:

1 pù devant se produire la Parousie, et l'impact de son attente

sur la vie de l'Eglise. Le Christianisme primitif connaissait .. des difficultés C'bnsécutives à l'attente de \la Parousie imminente.

Par ailleurs. le flait que cet événement ne s'est pas produit , . a créé d'autres préoccupations. L'Eglise a également connu

des problêmes créés par ses traditions apoca1yptique~.

. L' Apo..ca lyp se Johanniq ue se trouve dans la matrice de la

tradition apocalyptique représcntéé par d'autres écrits du

Nouveau Testament. Elle port,e sur des, problêmes qui ont surgi

à cause de la conscience dans l'Eglise de la Parousie "retardée."

Un souci fondamental' de l'auteur est de réintroduire un mobile

eschatologique dans la vie des communautés chrétiennes primitives. ,

L'Apocalypse rappelle à l'Eglise sa significat.ion eschatologique,

et par conséquent. rappelle à ses membres. combien il est important

de sùivre l'Agneau~

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PREFACE

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Q'uotations trom ~,eripture, 'except '~he;'t-e othertvise noted, are

from the Revi.sed Standard Version (1971) of the Bible. When Greek

has been used it follows the t~t of the third edi tion of The United

Bible Soci~ti~s' Greek New Testament (Nestle-Aland, Novum Testamen-

tum Graeee~ ed. XXVI).

l wish' to express my" appreciation, for tne support l have re-

,ceived at the Faculty of Religious Studies lÎere at MeGill. l am

gra'teful ta my instructors, the staff of the Reli.gious Studies

Library, and my fellow students who assisted me in the ptlrsuit of

j acaYemic up.derstanding. l am especially grat~ful ta my thesis 1)

advisor 'Dr. Frederik Wisse fo~ his insight and patient coneern.

} Montréal ". December, 1982

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PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

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CONTENTS, , ,

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CHAPT ER ONE" • q. , PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE EXPECTA~foN OF PAROUSIA

/ 0 9

AN IMMINEN':ç

l~ The Fear ,.of Missing Out On Parousia

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2. The Question of the Status of Those Who Had Died Before the Parousia

, 3. The Question of an "Int~iim E'thic"

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CHAPT ER. TWO PROBLEHS ,CAUSED BY THE DELAY OF THE PAROUSIA

1. Questi"Ons Regardin'g the Time ~ oi the 1?arousia

2: The Dange r of Mo raI Laxi ty

C~PTER THREE PROBLEHS CAUSED BY TRADITIONS INHERITED BY THE ,EARLY CHURCH

1. Probiems Caused by Tradition's Inherited from ,Pr.e-Christian Sourcés "

CA) '!;he ProblePl of the General Resurrection of

32

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50

68

68

~e Dead 69

(B) The Status of the Jews at the Parousia ' 78

2. Problems caus~d by Tradi tions Inherited' from 'the Primitive Community 83

(A) The Resolution of Diff~culties Caused by Tradi tions whichpDelimit the Time of the Parousia to the Lifetime of the- First Generation 84

CR) Ap.oc'alypt:i'c Traditions Reflected or Preserved in the Synop'tic Eschatological Discourse

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CRAP.TER FOUR , THE APO,CALYPSE OF JOHN IN LIGHT Ç>F APOCALYPTrC ISSUES REFLECTED IN OTHER NEW TESTAMENT WRITINGS

1. The Place of the Apocalypse in Relation to Issues ,Which A~ose ~ong Ftrst Generation Christians

(~) Issues Arising.out of the Community's Expectation of an Imminent Parousia

(H) The Apocalyps.e and the Issue of the General-' "', Resurrection of the Dead

o} ç .,

(C) The Apocalypse andi/the Status o~ the Jews at the Parou~ia .

2. The Place of the~Apocalypse ih Relation, to Issues Which Arose due to the Delay of the- Parousia

(A) The Apocalypse and Tradi ti ons' Delimi ting the Parousia to the Lifetime of the First Generati'bn

CB)

(C)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A Brief Sketch of the Early' Chur~h' s Response t'o the ne~~y .

TQe Delay of the Parousia in the Apocalypse Qf St. John

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112

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INTRODUCTION .,

--'

The object of this t.hesis is..-to help place the Book of Revelation int}

the life and teaching of the ear"ly Church., The locus of 'this study lies

in placing th~ -Apocalypse in relation ta ~pocalyptic :i,ssu'es which con-'

, fronted early Christian cornrnunities.

The raIe apocalyptic plays in the development of Christian eschatol-

ogy is 'the subject of much debate in modern scholarship .• At the turn of ~ ? ~ Q,

• the century apocalyptic ideas were recognized as an ff.mportant par't of the

1 eschatology of the early Church. Hith the advent or" the "de-mythologiz-

,. 2 3 ing" school and tha t of " realized eschatology" in the firs t half of the'

twentieth century, apocalyptic eschatology was consh:lerf"'d a superficial

0-by-product of a bygone era. As a result, the study of the Book of Reve':'

lation became much les~ of an imperative for many scholars. It i5,only

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• lThis was recogrlized in' terms of the "teaching' ef Je&u,s" by 5cholars

like J. Weiss; Jesus' Proclamation of the Kingdom, tr. by R.H. Hiers and D.L. Holland, Lives of'Jesus Series ed. by L.E. Keck (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971) and A. Sch\.,reitzer, The Mystery of the Kingdûm of Gad, tr. by ~v. Lm.,rrie (London: .A. & C. Black, 1914), âlso The Quest of ilie Historical Je'~us) tr. by H. Montgomery (London: A. & C. Black, 1910). Cf. W.C. Kummel, The New Testament: The Histbry of the InvestigatÜm of its Problems, tr.t by S. Hclean Gîlmour and H.C, Kee (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972) pp. 226-244.

. ed. 44.

2 ' E.g. R. Bultmann, "New Testament and Mythology", Kerygma and My th-

by H.\.J. Bartsch, tr. by R.H. Ful~er (London, S.P.C.K., 1953) pp. l'Y s-

Cf. Kummel, His tory, pp. 363-L.04:

3 ' 0 ool E.g. C.H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (London: Nisbet, 1935);

The Apostolic'Preaching and its Developments (Lonaon: Hodder & Stoughton, 1936) .

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in the .Iast decade that New Testament saholar's hâve again inquired into

the significance of apocalyptic thought during the first hundred yea,+s of

~ the Church.

, The Apocalypse of John h~ ,i tself remained an enigma. Many!>f the

conventional or standard'methods ~hichoproved useful in interpreting New

.. Testament wri tings. have not yielded much fruit for understanding the }.,

Apocalypse. Hs date is still deba.ted, and so also its historical setting. "

~

~ ~his study seeks therefore to shed sorne light,on these basic questions.

Rather than responding to these questions by examin~ng "internaI" and "ex-

ternal lt evidence, a novel approach has been attempted. \

1 The method usèd here involves isolating the apocalyptic issues which

were of concern to early Christian congregations. The course these issues

took in the'life of these cornrnunities,

\ provide a "framework" within which the

and in the teaching of the Church,

l -Apocalypse can be placed. Once

this "frame\vork" is established by locating apocalyptic issues in the rest

af the New Testament, the place of the Apocalypse<;\can' be discovered through \ 0 P~

an examination of l. ts response, if any, to these issues. ,

4 . The meaning of "apocàlyptic" is controversiaL 'A rather narrow

definition of.apocalyptic is' adopted here; one that will help us recover ,

the apocalyptic cQÎlcerns of the fiTst,century.church and also remain'within ", , D

J the bound's of sch'olarly. consensus. AU passages which are generally agreed

_t~ be,apocalyptic concern the Paro~sia o~ Day of the Lord. They refer to \ , "

or describe a futüre reali ty for which hiSrtory has not provided a precedent.

b

4See T.F.ISGlasson, "What is Apocalyptic!~', New Testament Studies 27 (1980) pp. 98-105.

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These references, therefore ~ make use of mythological imagery found in the ~

Church' s inheritance from Judaism and from its Hellenistic environmerrt.5

Apocalyptic is'lâefined here as those expectations, ideas ~ or teaching \vhich )

refers to the future consummation of the age. Issues are defin~d here as

the problems or questions which arpse in particular communities together

with the response of particular Churche's ta these problems. Apocalyptic

issues are the problems arising in Christian communities regarding the

Parousia, or Day of the Lord., together with the resolutions of these prob-

lems 'by the Church as reflected in New Testament writings:

The New Testament testifies ta the existence of apocalyptic isslaes

in two ways. In sorne instances direct reference ta the existence of s~ch

an issue may be made in a' particular passage. The second way involves an

indirect reference. An issue ~y be "reflected" in a particular passage;

upon examina tion the passage is obviously a response to a problem of an

apocalyptic nature wi thin the communi ty.

This study \vill not attempt a fresh examination of apocalyptic passages.

Se~ondary li terature will be used to establish, where poss~ble ~ current

scholarly "consensus" with regard ta the issue behind a particular passage.

Where no consensus is apparent, passages will be discussed in greater de- ~

tail.

, The first chapter of this thesis concerns problems ,arising from the

Church" s expectation of an ïmminent Parousia. ~e second deals with issues

5 5 . B. Frost, Old Testament Apocalyptic, (London: Epworth Press, 1952) ~ p. 248, argues:

it i5 the eschatology which is truth and it i5 the myth which is the dress - but also . • . it is the necessary dress. There can be no "entmythologisierung" ("de-mythologizing") of apocalyptic. ' .• ,' -'

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4

arising from the "delay" of the Parousia". The third chapter involves

apocalyptic traditions inheri ted by 'the Church which proved problematic

for' early Christians. The last chapter attempts to place the Book of , 1

1 • , Revelation in terms of the, issues discussed, in the first three chapters.

It is hoped that this thesis will he a 'positivé step in the clarification

of' a profound and cornplex early Christian work.

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CHAPTER ONE

PROBLEMS CAUSED' BY THE EXPECTATION OF AN

IMMINENT PAROUSIA

The New Testament ~ 'in so 'far as it involves the writlng dO\iIl of oral

tradition~ 'ref1eets a time when the Church had become aware of "the delay

of the Parousia." Much of the New Testament, therefore,. reflects apoc- ~ '.

" alyptic issue& which coneerned the Church during this period • Nevert:he-..... less, the gospels preserve traditions

l from an earlier period when the

expectation of an imminent Parousia had caused differen~ dlfficulties for

the Ch.urch.

There are several possible reasons ~hy the Church of·a later period

would preserve apocalyptic traditions from the pasto One reason is the

obvious desi~e,to ,preserve the sayings ang traditions attributed to Jesus

and tqe Apostoli~ circle. Certain dominical sayings had by this time ae-

quired a status which secured their preservation. A second possible

reason ls that the resolution of a problem caused by "itmninent expecta-

tion" re~ain:: h:IPfUl to the la ter Church in_an~wering perennial ques-.. ,,-,

tïons about the nature of the Parousia .. . Q

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1 When the ward "tradition" i5 used in this study. it carries the specifie meaning of the Greek term m pIA. 6 00'( S. l t refers tO"'"the in­herited, or reeeived teaehing of ,the Church. Cf. R: Bult~a~n, Theology of the New Testament, 2 vols. tr. by K. Grobel (New York: Charles Scrib­nerfs Sons 1951-55), vol. 2 (1955) p. l19f ••

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i' Three types of issues arase because of the Chut'ch' s expectation of -"",

• p' ' f' ,,/ ",~: an imminertt Parousfta. They were. (1) the fear Qf missing out~, on the "

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,Parousia, (2) the question of the statu~ l'of those who had died bef'~éo'"\4e

1)" Parousia, and (3) the question of an "interim eth'ic .• " 0'

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\ , 1. , The Fear of Missing Out on the Pa~ousial!

.'

The problems ta be discussed obere deal n{ainly with particui;r fears o , ~mong ~ome members of the first gener~tion.:J~asically tlfe fear was diat'

some people, either because they were not in the right place or not among

-the right group,"m±gh~ miss out on the Parousia. Passages which counsel

the Church not ta be concerned about 'the time or place of the Parousia' ,

were proba1>ly "once" addressed to such fears. These traditions also point

ta fa!se claims and mistaken notions about the Parousia as the source of

these problems.

These fears can perhaps be expressed in terms of questions which

apparently were on the minds of some' of the earliest Christians. "Can

the Parousia happen while l'm not a,,,are of it?" "Will l recognize ~he

Parousia for what it is?" "Where will the Parousia take place?" "Will

the Lord return on the Mount of Olives, ta Jerusalem, Galilee, or in the

'hills of Judea '2,,2 "And if 50, should we not be waiting where the Lord

2Traditions which may have caused sorne ta believe that the places listed were possible locations for the Parousia may have included: .' Zech. 14:4 for the Mount of Olives; Jerusalem was the site of resurrec-

. s tian appearances, and was also the seat of the Mother Church; W. Mar~en, ~rk the Evangelist; tr. 'by J. Boyce et. al. (Nashville: Abingdon Press 1969) pp. 75-92, argues that Mk. 14:28 and 16:7 calls the disciples ta Galilee ta await the Parousia; Mk. 13:l4b for the "hills of Judea".

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is going to return?" ;;, l'

Questions like the ones posed above are reflected in sayings pre-

served in the synoptic gospels as Mark 13:21) Matthew 24:23-38~ Luke,

17:21-24, and 17:37. Among these are the complex of "Lo here, La there"

sayings which include Mk.13:2i, Mt.24:23,26, Lk.17:2l,23. 3

ings are addressed to a situation in which false claims are

about the Parousia. 4 The prob1em is presented concisely in

.. And if any one says to you, ItLook, here is the Ch?=,ist!" br "Look, there he i8!" •

ana resolved by Mk~13:21b-22:

These

being 0

Mark

, ••.• don't be1ieve it. False Christs and false prophets will arise and show signs and wonders, ta lead astray, if possib le, the elect. •

say-

made

13: 21a:

The resolution of the issue ia simp1y an exhortation to the effect that

the communi ty is not to he misled by such false claims. The consolàtion

offered to those who wonder about the existence of 5uch claim~ i5 that

they were predic~ed beforehand and as such are a fulfillment of prophecy. 5

3rt cannat be determined if these sayings are aIl from the same literary source, or whether they côme down to theii respective writers from different sources in the tradition. For our purposes, it need only be asserted that the sayings reflect the same kind of prohlem. False claims about the time or place of the- Parousia were causing anxiety amoo,g be lievers. ,

4t t will be argued in Chp. III, that the "L9 here, Lo ther,e" sayings in as much as they are part of the Marcan and Matthean versions of the eschatologieal discourse, are part of traditions which coneerned the tUPl­ultuous Events surrounding the fall of Jerusalem (66-70 A.D;). If so, the "Sitz im Leben" of these sayings is the messianic/apo~alyptic en­thusiasm stirred up by the Jewish war. The possibility that these 8ay­ings originated from sorne period of hightened enthusiasm before the w$' cannot be excluded; ~n this case the sayings were added t,a the discourse as further examples of mistaken Parousiac expectation.

SCf. Mk.13:23.

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Matthew and Luke both reflect the fact that the 'nature of the prob-

lem was not simply that false claima were being made about the identity

6 of the returning Lord, but that there was'also anxiety about the place

and the recognition of the Parousia itself. Thus we, read in Matthew

24:26:

So if they say not go o1;!t; if do not believe

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to you l "La, he is i,o the ,wildernes.s," do they say "La, he is in the inner rooms," it.

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The question reflected in this verse is twofald. One as~~ct, to be dis-

cussed later, invo1ves the general question about the place of the Par-

ousia. Another, concerns whether the Parousia will be experienced only

by a select few, or by aIl. Matthew 24:26 may reflect actual occurrences

in the Matthean or eariier community, involving people who withdrew into

the witderness ta wait for the Lord, or who waited in private conclaves. 6

Luke indicates how the ~ommunity beçame susceptible to'these claims l'

when ,one Qf the two versions of the "Lo here, La there" saying ls pref-,

a,ced with Lk.17: 22:

The days are coming when you will desire to see one of ~he days of the Son of Man, and you will not see i t. "

6The phrase '1in the wilderness" may also be a' reference ta "the severai messianic pretenders who Josephus, Bellum Judaicum II.258-263 and V1.285-315; mentions as having arisen in the tumu1tuous period , of the Jewish War. Because the phrase "inner rooms" is reminiscent of the room wi th the locked door in John 20, and maybe the "upper roomtt

of Acts 1:13, this verse may be a referenc~ ta over-zealous believers seeking to recreate the experi~ces of the earliest Christians. * ~

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h "d f h S f M" f h P . 7 porase ays 0 t e on 0 an re ers to t e arOUSla. It is

the enthusiasm, the longing wit~in the community that 1eads ~o questions

and specu1a~ion about the Parousia. This same 10nging, if surrendered

ta, may cause.one to believe that what one wants to happen i8 in fact

happening, and as su ch lead to mistaken c~aims about the arrivaI of the

- 8 Lord.

The solution offered by both Matthew and Luke to this problem is

a saying about the universal impact of the Parousia. Matthew 24:27 9

reads~

For as the lightning cornes from the east and shines as far as the west, 50 will he the coming of the Son of Man.

The saying informs the heare'r that "the manifestation of the Messiah

will,not he reserved for a small company of initiates ..• "the Parousia

will be clear ta a11.,,10 It also stresses the, fact that there will he

no mistaking the occurr&ce of the Parousia "any more than one can

7 See l.H. Marshall, The Gospel of Luke (Exeter: The Paternoster Press, 1978) p. 659; E.E., Ellis, The Gospel of Luke, The New Century Bible, ed. M. Black (Greenwood: The Attic Press, 1977) p.2ll. The alternate view, that the phrase refers to the day~of the historical Jesus, (e.g. Dodd, Parables p.82 n.2; H. Conze1mann, The Theology of St. Luke, tr. by G. Buswell, (London: Faber and Faber, 1960) p .105 n.3) may not be aIl that contradictory ta the sense of the passage as it is being interpreted here. The running "here or there" may be a search for Jesus as He appeared during His life time, this then is contrasted to the looking forward to the consummation of the age.

1

8 Cf. Lk.21:8.

9 Par. Lk.17:24.

IOn. Hill, The Gospel of Matthew, The New Century Bible, ed. by M. Black, (London: Oliphants, 1972) p. 322.

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mistake the occurence of lightning which is universally visi"blé. ,,11

The third evangelis t, who uses the "Lo here, La there" saying

twice (Lk.17:21,23),12 thus also presents two ways in which the prob-

lem can be resolved. One way 1s the solution arrived at above wfth

the use of Lk.17:24. The second way seeks to reso~ve the issues of

false claims about the time of th~Parousia. The passage which ad-

dresses this aspect of the issue is Lk.17:20-21:

1 Being asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of Gad was coming, he answered them, "The ~ingdom of God 1s not coming with signs ta be observed (f{E-Trl. frrl.pCt..­Ti? pif C"!.-blS); nor will they say. l La, here it is!' or 'There:' for behold the Kingdom of God is in the midst of sou."

These verses serve as an introduction to what follows.13

Therefore

they should not be interpreted in isolation, but should be interpreted

in light of the problem regarding faise claims made about the Par-I

14 ousia.

The saying resolves this problem by giving the reader a clear

picture of the exact nature of the false claims. The phrase " )WEJ'~ ,

7J;.pa.I? P?crc..cJS" indicates that'~the problem stems from people trying ta

calculate the time of the end. The evangelist does not negate the

Il Marshall, p.660.

12 . See R. Bultmann, Hlstory of the Synoptic Tradition, tr. by J. Marsh (New York: Harper & Row, 1963) ~r122.

13Ibid ., p.I03.

14 ' The Pharisees would th en becQme foils representing those who hold incorrect views regarding the .time of the Parousia.

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1 f · 15 b h d dt' t t . t d h t th va ue a s1gns, ut e oes con emn a cer a1n a 1 u e a ou e

predictability of the Parousia. Therefore, it can be assumed that

. ,,16 ' the."signs of'the t1mes, "probably the events of A.D. 66-70 and

the presence of false Messiahs, 17 had caused sorne members of the prim-

itive cornrnunity ta believe that the arrivaI of the Lord cao be pre-

dicted or that it could corne secretly.

Luke 17:20-37 is the evangelist's teaching on the Parausia.

It is made up of sayings which may originally have dealt with prob-

lems caused by "imminent expectation." The section,taken as a whole,

however, addresses the evangelist'"s time; that is, prob1ems caused by

the "delay." Luke 17:20-21, is a good example of a solution reaèhed

in an earlier period which proved he1pfu1 in 1ater times by answering

pe.rennia1 questions such as those concerning the time of the Parousia.

The resolution of the issue with Lk.17:21b~ ";600 y~p_ 1 f3can).dC\

'où el:OV kvlos ù}ii:Jv tcJTiv ," can for the evangelist's time be

interpreted as an exhortation on the sudden manifestation of the Par-

ousia. This in i tse1f addresses the prob lem of moral laxi ty which

" 18 aro~e because qf the delay of the Parousia.

The resolution of the issue bath as a problem caused by "imminent

expectation" for the primitive community and one brought on by the

15 The ward C1'1/If:ï.av does not appear in this verse; Cf. Lk.12:

,54-56~ 21:7-36, especially vv.29-31.

16 Lk.12:56.

17 See note 4 on the Si tz im Leben of the "La here» La there" sayings.

18S ee h > II 2 b 1 C p. ,sec. e ow.

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"delây of the Parousia" fctr the .church at the time of th~ ,evange1ist

was tQe same. . When the Parousia occurs i twill be present "in your

midst •. " There will be no mistaking it. The time for "watchfulness"

will be over (Lk.2l:36), 50 there will be no signs (Lk.21:l0-3l). The

Kingdom of God is itself the reality to which the signs pointed (Lk.

21: 31).:r Thus when the Kingdom of God has corne there will 'be no need

ta go "here" or " t here" to look for it. Kûmme1 reads Lk.17:20-2l in

this way: / The Kingdom of Gad will not corne according ta ca1cu1a­tians made in advance, nor wil! any search have to be made for it~ for la, the kingdom of Gad is present in our midst.1

The false clairns, "Lo here, La there," respond not only ta con-. fusion regarding the time of the Parousia, or to questions of exclus-. ivism, but also to anxiety regarding its location. The saying which

resolves the issue, "as lightning flashe~ from eâst to west. , .• " ,

betrays this ather aspecF of the problem. The saying teaches that the

larousia will be universal and omnipresent. t-1atthew, addressing the ..

19W. G. Kümmel, Promise and Fulfillment, tr. by D.M. Barton, Studies in Biblical Theo1ogy 23 (SeM Press, 1956) p.35.

That there is rnuch debate concerning the present tense and the rneaning of the phrase "in your midst" (Cf. Kümmel, Promise pp. 32-35;

. a1so Marshall, pp. 654-656.) need nat concern us. l t is enough ta note that for the evangelist the Kingdom of Gad is integrally related to the persan of Jesus, whether present in the persan or the historical Jesus (c. A.D.30) or in the future. Kümmel, 'Promise p.154 states:

The approaching eschatalogical consurnrnation will allow the Kingdom af that God ta becbrne a reality who has already allowed His

~ redemptive purpose ta be realiz!d in Jesus.

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issue further, adds 24:28 ta the "Lo here, La there" sayi:ng. This

same verse ls used in Luke 17:37 where it is a response ta a specifie

question:

And they said ta him, ""Where, ;'Where the body is, there the be gathered together."

Lord?" He said ta them, ., , eagles . (at Cf,.l: Ta ( ) will

'.Ièhe question presumably means "Where will the Parousia be?" or "Where

~ill we be gathered together for it?,,20 The third evangelist has usea

the saying as the~onclusion ta hLS discourse on the Parausia. This

may point to the importance the question of locality had for the prim-

i tive communi ty. To those \vho wonder where they should be, and how

they should gather, the evangelists respond, just as eagles, or vultures,

are gathered around a carrion, 50 too believers will be gathered for

the Parousia. It is not something to be worried about; it will be a

natural process like the gathering of birds.21

By the time of the evangelists the universality of the ·Parou.sia

is a weIl established teaching in the tradition. This is reflected in

the use of Daniel 7: 13 as teaching regarding the Day of the Lord." If

~

the use of Daniel 7: 13, as teaching on the Parousia- in Mark 13: 26, ",-

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great pgwer and glory,

20 Cf. Mk.13:27/Ht.24:3l, and II Thess.2:1. Marshall. p.669, .

notes that the saying as found in Luke follows more easily the line of thought left off in 17:23. This is precisely where the saying is found in Matthew. It is a response to the "Lo here, Lo there" prob­lem.

21 Alternate interpretations of the verse stress the visibility

of the Parousia. Men cannot "miss seeing the Parousia any more than vul~ures can miss seeing a carrion, (Marshall, p.669), or the Parousia will be as clearly indicated as the presence of a carrion is in­dicated by the presence of vultures (Hill, p.322) .

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is ambiguous with reference to the'universal visibility of the coming

of the Son of,Man, its combination wat~nariah 12:10 fn Matthew 24:

30 ls not. Matthew 24:30 reads:

then will appear the sign of 'the ,Son of Man in heaven, and 911 the tribes of the earth will mourn, 'and they will see the Son of Man comirrg on the clouds , with great power and glory. ~

This tradition could not have been known in communities ~ich were

o anxious abou t mis sing the P arDus ia: ,

It seems reasonable ta conclude

tha t Mt. 24: 30 was comp'iled ei ther in response to this issue, or af ter

it was resolved.

Another example of a problem caused by false clai~s ls found in

II Thessalonians 2:{_2. 22 The passage reads:

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our assemb1ing to meet him, we beg you, brethren, not to be quickly shaken in mind or excited (O'QiIlEU S? VOl ( D,cA.) ~Tro ·Toû Voo s ft'l6è. epo(.7C1"e~c), either by spirit or by word, or by let ter purporting to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come (WS gTf è.Vl,(fT7kcV i 7/l l fd. TaO kl/fiou ).

The problem is that sorne information about the Parousia could cause a

"continuous state of nervous excitement and anxiety.,,23 It is not clear

whether the Thessalonians are already in such a state, or if the author

anticipates the situation. Either case~ the situation must have been

, ,

22Tbe question of Pauline authorship has little bearing on the ~argurri'ent \.,hich is to follow. If the lette~.,ere oot written by Paul, it was still written by someone who fe1t that particu1ar issues needed to be addressèd. The let ter still bears witness to difficulties which confronted early Christian comrnunities.

23 E. Best, A Commentary on the First and Second Epistles to the

Thessalonians, Black's New Testament Commentaries, ed. by H. Chadwick (London: A. & C. Black, 1972) p.275.

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familiar to the author. The problem is caused by the claim that the

Day of the Lord has come. The belief of those who'could hold to this

notion is unè{ear. The perfec t voice of the verb in the phrase" c.J5

(;T, ivl.r5TfkE.v 1 71'/.f(1... /ou kI/troLl "indicates that the belief in-

volves an occurrence in the past which is now present. Many scholars

have interpreted this ta mean tflat the ~aroûsia has been somehow

-internalized by th'ese claimants. 24 This is the usual explanation, ~

because interpreters find it hard to understand how any one who read

Paul~s descr,iptian of the pa~o/ia in

had come"tTrfô contact wi th arG:> Jew1sh

l Thessalonians +:16-17, or who

or Jewish Christian teaching on

the D'~ of the 'Lord, could possibly think t,hat tHe Day of the Lord '-~'? ;

ha~ready come. It therefore had to be thoug~t of as a personal, '

or spiritual experience. The problem with any "internalization of the .' Parousia" interpretation of II Thess. 2: 2 is that, if this was the

case, the author would not have arguetr against it as he does in 2:3_9.25

The author argues that certain things must still happen before the Day

of the Lord can come. If the problem arose because people were io-

ternalizing the Parousia, he would have taught them the correct und er-

s~anding of the Parousia itself (that it is an aIl encampassing event~

something that cannat be missed by anybody). Instead y he tells them

not to be "shaken" because the "rebellion" must still occur, and

24 E.g. A.L. Moore, Commentary on Ioand II Thessalonians, Century

Bible, New Series ed. by M. Black, (London: N~son, 1969) pp.9€-lOOi also W. Schmithals, Paul and the Gnostics, tr. by J.E. Steely (Nash­ville: Abingdon Press, 1972) pp.123-2lB.

25 Best,e p.276Lo.

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.' {-~ rurthermore "the' man- of lawlessness" must be "revealed" and must "take .. -his seat in the Têmp1e of God."

Whether the Thessalonians are a1ready shaken, or the author of

the epi$tle is warning them not to be when they hear fa1se-claims, the ~

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passage may indicate that fa1se claims to the effect that the Lord has

descended somewhere wi th His angels were be1ng made by sorne people

26 somewhere. Rumours to this effect may have been rife in times of

"imminent expectation." If so, the T~essalonians either were. or:

would be anxious about fai1ing to see thiS, event. They may, further-

more, be caught up· ~n ~ state-of anxious anticipation ai the thoug,ht

tha t the consumma tion Qf the age is about to take place. 'Wha t does

one do? Where wouÎd one assemble to meet the Lord? (II Thess. 2: 1)

These and similar questions could be at sta~e in this passage.

The autho,r' s conéern is that the, community might be deceived

abou t the time of the Parousia. He, therefore. infor,ms the Thessa-, ',d'

lonians that they ought not ta be deceived. Certain things have yet o \ _

ta be revea1ed before the Parousia can, occur. (II Thess .2:3-9): Claims

made to the effect that it has already oome are premature.

The idea' tha t Chris tians will be gathered toge,ther for the Par-

ousia which is expressed in II ThesS'.r2:1 i's aiso found in Mark 13:27

and Matthew 24:31. The emphasis in the gospel verses ~s o~ the fact

tha t, Gad', or the Son of Han and, His angels, ,,,ill do the ga ther ing. As ~ ~,

suc}l these passages reflec t the t raditional Jewish apocalyptic hope in

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26 . If ~he let ter is Pauline, the Thessalonians were told in ' ,

l Thess.4: 16 to await this type of event. They may not be aware ttti~lJ .. .,.:.." this event is to be universal.

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~eco~stitutio~ of Israel, the gathering of the exiles on the Day

27 of the Lord. In II Thess. 2: 1 i t is unclear whether the emphasis is

on the act of assembly by the cornrnunity or an ac t of gathering by ,

God. 28 The former is more probable because it is reasonable to assume

" that faise claims of the sort discussed above would not cause anxiety

in communities which were familiar with these Jewish traditions. These

false claims WOu Id only be a problem for Gentile Churches which rad

not yet assimilated the Church's Jewish heritage from the primitive

communitYr Jewish Christians and communities in which sayings 1ike

Mk.13: 27 /Mt. 24: 31 'were known wou1d not be confused by s,uch false

claims. It is because these kinds of problems occurred in ear1y Gentile

communities, and probably still occurred for new converts later in the

first century, that traditions about the universa1ity of the Parousia

-became useful teaching to be inc1uded in the gospels. These traditions

{J.

also satisf;ied second and third generation curiosity about the Par-

ousia even thougi'P problems arising from "imminent expectation" were no

10naer the dominant issue facing the Church. >il'

2. The Question of the Status of Those Who Had Died Before the Parousia ~ -~. ~

~nother issue that arose in the first generation was the question

~ of the'status of those who had died before the return of the Lord,

27 l'Enoch 57:1-3; Testament of Benjamin 9:2; Cf. D.S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic, 01d Testament Li~rary (London: SCM Press 1964) p. 298f.

28 Best, p.27S.<

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This problem is reflected on1y in l Thessalonians 4: 13-18.

The problem in Thessalonica was that sorne rnembers of the community ô

were grieving. This problern arose after Paul had left the newly

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founded community. Paul felt that the Church would he comforted if it . , were given sorne further information or teaching about the Parousia.

l Thess.4:l3 reads:

But we wou1d not have you ignorant, brethren, con­cerning those w40 are asleep, that you may not grieve as others who have no hope.

The, proDlem does not concern the status of loved ones who have died 1 ,

before they had heard the Gospel. This is indicated by Paul's ref-

erence ta the "dead in Christ" in l Thess. 4: l6b'. 29 &

It is not exactly

clear what new teaching Paul expects will assuage the grief of the

TheSS!lOnians.

wi th ~~ death

lo1hat is clear, is that the Thessalonians were familiar ,

and resurrection of Jesus (1 Thess. 4: 14). Tt is also

clear that Paul expects what he tells thern about the Parous.ia and

the general resurrection in 4: 14-17 to console them (4: 18), and ta

resolve tbe problem. o The fact that the Thessalonians were grieving'

29The "dead in Christ" cannot refer to vicariously baptized loved ones, even though this seerns to have been a pracktice in Corinth (1 Cor.15:29). If it were, the problem wou1d have -already arisen and would have been resolved with this notion of vicarious bapti.sm.

The problem if! Corinth was most probably anguish over the status of those who died before hearing the Gospel; vicarious oaptism seems to be the solution arriv~d at for this particular problem. See H. Conzelmann, A Commentary on the First Epist1e tD the Corinthians. tr. by J.W. Leitch, ed. by G.W. MacRae. Hermeneia - A Critical and Histori­cal Commentary on the Bible, ed. by H. Koester et. al. ('philadelphia: Fortress Press 1975) pp.~75-276.

The New Testament, it must b,e noted, does .. 1not seem to address the iflsue of those who have died before the coming Christ, except perhap-s.:--

l " in l Pet.3:l9. The salvation of Old Testament Saints, for example, seems to be assurned: Mk..12:26-27 & par.; Jn.8:56; Heb.llf. This iss'ue was probably resolved among the earliest believers, and was therefore not a burning issue by the time most of the New Testament was written.

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as "others do who have no hope" mÙitates against the idea that they , .'

had heard anythi~g about the generai resurrection of the dead.30

Why 1

,P~ul'wouid not have toid them about the genera1 resurrection while he o' ,

was with them ïs a1so not clear. Given the apocalyptic setting in

which he preaehed; with its expe,ctati,on of an imminent Parousia,31 and

coup1ed wit~ the fact that Paul was in Thessa10nica on1y for a short

, .. time (2 :~l7). he simp1y may have found no occasion to bring up this .,ç .....

~ ~

. topic, fihough he certain1y had spoken about the Parousia i tself (5: Hf.) .

The Thessalonians, ,who believed with Paul that they would pe a~ive for

the Parousia (4: 15), were pr'obably not grieving for themselves. -nhey

". were grieving for theit loved ones. Part of this grief i5 sure,ly,

"

therefo~e, disappointment th~t the P.arousia did not, come bef~e their

f '· d h d d" - d 32 '"' rl.en s a 1e o'

-, - 33 P~u1, p~rhaps using a primitive credal formula, ~stab~ishes

3?In l Corinthians 15:18-19, Pail1 tells those wl:w do not be1ieve in the genera1 resurrection that without this hope they.are to be "pitied". It i9 im'plied in what f0110ws that the doctrine of the general resurrection ànd thè transformation of the living at t,he Par-. U

ousia constitutes th~ hope of. the Chl,lrch .. Cf. pp. 73-75 below;

3lCf. 1 Cor.7:29; Ro.13:11-12.

320ther interpretations of t~is p'assage inelu.de: A.L. Moore, The Parousia in the New Testament, Supplements to Novum Te~tamentum 13 ed. by W.C. Van Unnik'et. al. ,(Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1966) pp~108-109, argues that "the éause of their sorrow i$ é;learly not dtsappointment over the .non-arrivaI of the Parousia .. '. it;ls anxiety over whether (and how) Christian dë~d would experienee the first festive phase of the Varousia." Best, p .181 similar1y ~eels that, the single phrase "the dead shall rise" "is fnsufficient as a first introduction" ta the doctrine of the generai re~urrection. He argues, therefore, that Paul would a1-reaqy have· toid them something about the resurrection of the dead. "Wltft he apparent1y did not do was to give a chronologiea1 position to the resurreetion in relation to the-Parousia and sa the Thessalonians thought the dead ,,,ere going to miss 1 th~ later. "

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understanding of the'general re~urrection in thJir ( hhe Thessalçnians'

~ confessed faith. l Thess.4:l4 reads:

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For s ince we believe tha t Jesus died and rose agai'n, even so, through Jesus, God will bring wïth him those who have fallen asleep.

Paul then informs the community abou't the,general resurrection, and ,its

relationship to the Parousia in l Thess.4:l5-l8:

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For this we declare ta you by ward of the Lord, that we ~ho are alive, who are left until the coming of

" , , the Lord, shall not precede those who havé" fallen asleep: For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel' s calI, and with the sound of the trumpèt of God. And the dead in ChrJ.st will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caughtc up together with them in the clouds ta meet the Lo!d iD the air; anC! sa we shall always be wi th the Lord: Therefore, comfort one another with these words.

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The eu~sory reference ta- the "highlights" of the traditiona!' pictu~e of .'

'the Day of J:he Lord, the cry of command, the archange1, and the sound

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of the trumpet, indicates that these th~ngs w8Fe'probably alrëady known ~ ~

to· the Ihessalonian community. Paul is therefore placing the nëw in-o fj

formation about the r~surrection of the. dead in ta the picture of" the

Parousia ~lreadx held by the ThessaJ.onian commûnÜy.' He does this with

the words "first" and "th.~n" in 4:l6b;-17a. 34

" ~

34It is interesting ta note that Mark omits any mention of a trumpet in its version of the esèhatologicai discourse, even though Matthew men'iions. it in a parallel passagefto Hk.i3:27. Neither evangelist associa tes the gathering of the elect with -the resurrect~n, unless Matthew implfes this with the trumpet calI. Luke also omits °any reference to the sound of the trumpet:

The calI of the trumpet is associated with the return from the exile in Is. 27: 13. Hill, p. 323 ~ believes this is the context in which

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Part of the consolation Paul off ers is the comforting notion that . '.

at the consummation of the age believers will aIl be brought together.

The dead and\ the liVing", ~ogether, neithe~ "preceding" the othe"" wnl

be caught up in the clouds ta meet the Lord. ,The Parousia amons o'tber

-things is an answer ta the pain of separation.

It i5 unlikely that the problem as discussed abQve was felt the ...

same way in any of the Jewish Christian Churches. The~ were already ,

familiar with the doctrine of the genera! re'surrection. They would not

grieve as "those who have no hope."

3. The Question of, an "Interim Ethic"

The expectation of an imminent end of the world radically changed

the believer's'attitude ta the world, and therefore to tne things ~f

this world. This world for the believer is "passing away" (1 Cor.7: 3lb).

However, since the Kingdom of God was at hand 9 but not yet fully

manifest, the primitive community developed an "interim ethic," a way

, Matthew's reference ta the trumpet in 24:31 should be interpreted. Best, p.197, argues that the trumpet calI i!J associated with theophanies of YHWH in Ex.19:13,16,19, and 20:18. ;rt i:~ associated with the Day of the Lord in Zech.9:l4, and app~ars again in the Pauline corpus in l Cor. 15:52. Here it is directly associated with the resurrection pf the dead. Conzelmann, Corinthians, p.29l, states that its use here i8 a "standard apocalyptic requisite;tI he cites 4 Ezra 6:23 and Syb.4:173\ These references concern the end-time in genera! and do nOt specifical1y mention the resurrection of the dead. In the Book of Revelation there are many trumpet caUs, though they are aIl sounded in the context of the end; none are directIy tied to the resurrection of the dead. It is_ possible therefore, that it is Paul who has associated the sound of the trumpet, which originally was meant to announce the presence of YHWH, and the retum from the exile, with the resurrection of the dead ex­pected at the consummation of the age.

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• of life appropria te to and iri preparation for the 'imminent crises and

, 35 ' , and consummation q,f the age. In the earliest stages of the Christian.

community this ethic apparently took the form, of a radical rejection of

36 aIl worldly attachments,: As the community realized that there might

be an extended sojourn in this world, many aspects of this ethic of

radical rejection had ta he modified. The Church had to ,adjust to a

possible long wait for the Parousia.

The synoptic gospels were written at a time when the realization

of the "delay" had already made itself felt in the life of the Church.

The gospels as whole reflect this time w~en the Church realized that

it had to be prepared for an extended stay in the world, while at the

, same time it had to be prepared for tha. consummation of the age. The

synoptic gospels do, however, preserve traditions in the form of

sayings and parahles of Jesus which ref1êct a time when the radical

rejection of worldly attachments was the norm. The Pauline epistles

. reflec t situations which are similar to those reflected in thes~

synoptic traditions, but they also reflect a transition from the

"radical rejection" ethic to g' "delay" ethie in whieh sOme compromise

with the world is deemed neeessarY.

350n the nature of the relationship between this ethic and the Kingdom of Gad see Schweitzer, Mystery, pp _99-105; Cf. Quest, p. 354f.

36 See H. Hengel, Property and Riches in the Ear1y Church, tr. by

J. Bowden (London: SCN ~,~ess, 1974); J.G. Gager, Kingdom and Community, Prentice-Hall Studies in Religion Series, ed. by J.P. Reeder and J.F. Wilson (New Jersey: Prentice-Hal1 Ine. 1965) pp.l9-57; G. Theissen, The First Followers of Jesus, tr. by J. Bowman, (London: seM Press, 1978); J.T. Sanders, Ethics in the New Testament, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975). See also, J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, tr. by J. Bowden (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971) pp.221-223.

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.At ,me time preparation for the Parousia meant a radical rejec-

, tion of worldly ties: material, familial, and perhaps political. Need

for the rejection of material possessions is attested in 'many passages.

Luke 12: 33-34 reads:'

Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the he avens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For whe~e your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Chapter twelve of the Gospel of Luke is the part of the evangelist' s

teaehing on the proper preparation for the coming eschatologieal

crises. 37 Luke 12:25 teaches that "man's. life does not consist in an

abundance, of possessions." Luke 12: 16-21 includes "The Parable of the

Rich Foal" whieh teache,s the transitory nature of wealth in the face

of .death, and Lk.12:22-3l gives assurances ta the' faithful that those

who have given ~p aIl their wealth and property need not be anxious

'béc'ause God will provide for them as He does for "the bi'rds" and the

"liIies." Lùke 12:33-34 then' fàllm.;s with the imperat:j.ve "rrW~? cr""Tc.."

(se Il) adding the note of urgency. The reason for'ihis urgeney. whi,ch

~ i.s also the reason for the rejection of material possessions, is made

•

c1ear in what fol1ows. Luke 12: 35-40 teaches the believer ta be pre-~

pared for the Parousia. In these verses it is made c1ear that the

radical rejection of the world is a way of preparing onese1f. Those

who are caught unprepared will not find the Parousia a blessing, but '-

37See Marshall, pp.SOS-S09.

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will find in it unèxpected distress like the conring of "a thief in the

night. ,,~8

The radical rejection of material possessions indicated in the

, -passage discussed above is also reflected in passages such as the "Story

of the Rich Young Man" and subsequent discussion on the meaning of

discipleship (Mk.IO:17-22 and par.). "The Parable of Lazarus and the ,

Rich Man" (Lk.16:19-3l) illustratés the hazards of wealth, while the

value of selling or giving up everything one owns for the Kingdom of > ,

'God is taugh t in the "P\a rables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl"

(Mt.13:44-46). The latter parables are couched between two other

para~)es dealing with the Last Judgment, and 50 they are presented in

~schatological context. tfu.ether or not they originally belong in

such a context, these passages sti 11 reflect the attitude of the prim-

itive community towards possessions and their proper place in view of

the Kingdorn of God. As such they are best explained as having arisen

in a milieu in which this world and its wealth are seen as transitory.

The rejection of material ties to the world was seen aS necessary

39 preparation for the world to come.

This same expectation of the inminent end of the world is prob­~

ably also responsible for the situation addresse~in II Thessalonians

3:6-13. Sorne members of the Thessalonian community had stopped working.

In view of the fact that elsewhere in the letter difficulties arising

38 See PP.35-59 belo~

"thief in the night" si-urther discussion on the use of the

this passage.

39Cf. Hengel, pp.23-30; Sanders, p.37t.; Jeremias, Theology, ,p. 222.

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from "imm~ent expectation" are being addressed, it is more than likely

that those who have stopped working have done 50 in viêw of the immin­

ent end, which makes work irrelevant. 40

The radical rejection of the world by the primitive community is . also reflected in passages regarding fami1y ties and marriage. Matthew

10:37 reads:

He who loves father or mother more than me is not wor thy of me; he who loves son or daugh ter more than me is not worthy of me ... ;

and Luke 14: 26:

If anyone cornes to me and do es not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and bro.thers and sisters. yes even his own life cannot be my disciple.

This same attitude with respect to- family ties is also found in passages

, 41 like Lk.9:58-62fMt.8:20-22, Mk.lO:28-30 among others. These passages

reflect the belief that aIl worldly relationships are qualified by the

.. p . 42 1rnm1nent arOUS1a. Hatthew 12:46-50 teaches that true bonds are

grounded in the service of God:

Here are my mother and my brothers! For whosoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother .

Simflarly, Jesus' answer ta the Sadducees concerning the resurrec-

tion of the dead at the end of the age shows that rnarr~age ties were

40See B.N. Kaye, "Eschatology and Ethics in 1 and 2 Thessalonians," Novum Testamentum 17 (1975) p.53ff:. Cf. Best. p.339.

41See Theissen, pp.IO-ll, 31-32; Jeremias, Theology, pp.223-227.

42Cf . Gager, pp.32-34; Henge1, p.29. .. "

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considered relevant only in this world and not in the next (Mk.12:18-27

43 and par.). l Corinthians 7, furtherrnore, attes ts that in view of the

imminent end sorne Corinthians, perhaps following Paul's example, were

f .. f . 44 re ral..nlng rom marrl..age. These attitudes towards rnarriage may per-

o

haps reflect a desire on the part of the primitive cornmunity ta antici-

pate the Ki?gdarn of Gad in this world.45

The passages mentioned abo'Ve a11 reflect an ethic of the earliest \

enthusiastic Christian communities in which the Parousia was expected

mornenta7ily.

/'

This'situation, specifically with regard to the Jerusalern

community in its earliest T)eriod, is recalled in Acts 4: 32-37:

Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his mm, but they had everything in 'common •.. There was not a needy persan among them,. for as man y as were passes sors of land or houses sold them, and braught the proceeds of what was sold and laid - them at the Apostles' feet; and distribution was made to, each as any had need.

,t'

In what follaws Barnabas is cited as lia concrete example of the spirit

f 'f' ,,46 o sacr1 lce.

It i5 not hard to visualize the financial difficulties thOat wotild ,

arise from such a radical rejection of the world-. Haenchen points out,.

43Cf , G 34 l ager, p. .

44See Niehael Barre, "Ta Marry or to Burn:1'rupoüoecq i>n l Cor.7:9", The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 36 (1974) pp.198-1~?

45 ' Gager,. p .34, \. 46 E. Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles: A Commentary, tr. and

rev. by R. MeL. Wilson (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1971) p.231.

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for exarnple, tha t the Galil ian Chris tians 47

who we re separated in ,

Jerusalern from their means of livelihood must have become along with

the widows (Acts 6:1-6) a drain,on the resources of 'the community.48

Since sorne incorne was necessary to support the conununity, a system

must have developed rather quickly whereby the Apostles decided who

would sell off their property and who wou Id not. "Cash" would be

needed to support those who had no rneans of support, but houses were

also needed for Christians to gather in (Acts 12: 12). To enable the

primitive communÛY to function in the world an ethic of accormnodation

to the world had also to be developed alongside of an ethic which

1 .called for the radical rej ec tian of th~ world.

This "ethic of accommodation" could also be called a "delay ethic"

in the sense that it was the resu1t of the obvious fact that though

the Parousia was thought ta be near, the Church could not ignore the

materia1 dernands '\lhich existence in this wor1d imposed upon it. The ~

"de1ay ethoic" need not always have been in direct confrontation with

an "ethic of radical rejection," but it did mean the conununity-had ta

adjust to sorne degree of compromise with the world.

This rnoderating or compromising aspect of the developing "delay

ethic" is evident in the Ne,., Testament as early as Paul' s letters.

There îs no directive in any of Paul' s letters asking rnembers of his

Churches ta hand over aU their property té the Apostles, as is c1aimed

47 The Twelve, and "those who ministered unto Him," Acts 1: 12-14.

48 Haenchen, p. 234; See also HengeL, pp. 33-34.

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for the primitive community in Jerusalem by the author of Acts (4: 32-

5: 11). Paul, furthermore, continued working at his trade in arder ta

" support his mission ~vork (Acts 18:3, II Thess.3:7-8). ' Responding to

.' the problern in Thessalonica, where sorne had stopped working, the author

of II Thessalonians, ei ther Paul or another, tells the cornmunity not

to support those who can support themselves (II Thess.3:l0).

In Paul' s first let ter to the Corinthians, we find e~amples of

how a "delay ethic" was being integrated into the ethic which rejects

the world in vie;" of the fas t approaching end. Paul tells the

Corinthians who wonder whether they should remaln married or no~ that

in view of the "impending distress" (T7'" tVé.CTrtJrrf}(V ~V~yk7V) it is

better not ta change one' s worldly affiliations because soon these

things will no longer matter (1 Cor. 7: 26f.) . With this teaching Paul

modifies the calI for a radical rej ec tion' of worldly ,ties and allows

them to remain in place as long as this world 1s present. However, in

..

\ l/ Paull's teaching to the Corinthians, tne radical rej ection of the world

is not condemned but to sorne degree internalized. In l Cor.7:29-3l,

Paul states that though worldly ties exist one must act in such a way

that these ties becorne incidental in their importance for the believer:

l mean, bretheren, the appointed tirne has grown very short; from now on, let those who have wives live as though they have none, and let those who mourn as though they were not rnourning, and let those who re­joice as though they were not rejoicing, and let those who buy as though they had no goods, and let those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings wi th it. For the fOl(ID of this world is passing away~.

Paul thus rnoderates the ethic which demands the radical selling of

everything one has, or the breaking 0 f a11 worldly t ies. In doing so

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Paul main tains the importance of the rej ection of the world as a means

t-

of preparation for the one ta come, but he aIs a recognizes the necessity

of dealing with the world in the interim. He has, therefore, redefined

the rejection of worldly ties ta mean an attitude on the part of the

49 believer.

Paul' s teaching in l Corinthians 7 represents one way ,the Church

accommodated the delay into its conversation with the world. The fn-

ternalization of the calI for a radical rejeetion of the world was

fully developed in tqe Johannine ~ommunity by the time l John was

written. In l John 2~15-17 \"e read:

Do not love the world or the things of this world. If ani one loves thi~ world, love for the Father is not in him. For aIl that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world. And the world passes awaY7 and the lust of it; but he who ~oes the will of Gad ab1des for ever.

"The author implies that if one is attached to the world, if one has

the "lust of it," as it "passes away" one will pass away with it. The

author wants ta stress 'that the members of his eommunity should not ri

love the things of this world, which i8 a particular attitude with il

. SOl respect to one's'life in the world.

The Church's accommodation ta the delay also took another direc-

tian. In time the Church simplYJ rejected aJ) ethic which demanded

49Conzelmann, Corinthians p .133, notes that Paul' s advice "is not ta withdraw into the safe and ùnrestricted realms of the inner life, but to maintain freedom in the midst of involvement;" thus "eschatology really determines the conduct of life" and not the ways of the world.

500n the meaning of "love" in this passage see R. Bultmann, The Johannine Epis.tles, tr. by R. Philip O'Hara et. al., ed. by R.H. Funk, Hermeneia - A Critical and Historieal Commentary on the Bible ed. by H. Koester et. al. (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1973) pp.32-34 especially n. 19. ~

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complete abstinence from worldly activity. This turn of events is

clearly reflected in_ the parables of "The Unjust Steward" fond "The Ten

Mai.dens. "

"The Parable of the Unjust Steward" (Lk.16:1-~3) is used by the

evangelist 'as a response to, the crises caused by the delay of the Par-

o . 51 OUSla. More precisely, in view of the delay the parable was used as ,

a correct~ve for those t-lho in their enthusiastic expectation of the

Parousia found no reason ta deal with money. This parable can perhaps

best be understood against a background similar ta that proposed ~or

52 II ~hess.~:6-l3. People eaught up in an eschatological fervor ex~

press their llimminent expectation" by not workfng or dealing with

/ money. 1

The tone of Lk.16:8 reveal the apocalyptic context for the

parable. Here the "sons of this age" are compared with the "sons

of light":

The mas ter commended the dishonest steward for his " c ~ .. shretvdness; for the sons of this ,.,orld (O( (;IO(

ToU ~i Clvos TouTou ) are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than the sons of light.

The use of sueh phrases indieates a sen~e of imminence with regard ta

the end of the age. q

In light of the contrast dra\ffi bet\veen the "sons

of light" and the "sons of this age, ,. the next verse counsels the be-

lieving eommunity (the "sons of ligh~), on ho,., ta behave ,.,hile ône i5

in this world. The understanding that the "sons of light" are not of

5lJ • Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, tr. by S.H. Hooke (London: seM Prèss, 1955) p.SO.

52 SE\.e p. 25 above.

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this age and therefore of the ways of mammon is presuppos~d. Not being . \

involved in the ways of mammon wou Id a1so have to have been recognized

as a virtue; othenvise, no counsel wou1d have been necessary. The

imperative of the parable is clarified in Lk.16: 10-11. In view of the

de1ay) the proper use of maney is ta be ap-plauded as an indication of

responsibi1ity. However, one can use it but not serve it; one is to '.

be fa~thfu1 ta Gad in one' s use of "unrighteous mammon" (Lk.l6: 13) .

Let us conc1ude this section with reference to "The Parable o,f

the Ten Maidens" (Mt. 25: 1-13) which vividly contrasts two attitudes

towards the expec ta tion of the end of the age. The "Ioolish maidens,"

apparently believing the bridegroorn \vou1d arrive momentarily, take no

extra ail with them for their lamps (Mt. 25:3). The "wise maidens" had

prepared for the possibi1ity of .a delay by t'aking extra flasks of ail

(Mt. 25:4). The bridegroom is de1ayed, and aIl the maidens fall ~slee~.

When' the bridegroom fina1ly does arrive, the foolish maidens do not

have enough ail for th~ wedding. The parable does not condemn those

who fall asleep, as does "The Par able of the Household~r" (Mt. 24:42-44/

Lk.l2: 39) or "The Parable of the Doorkeeper" (Mk.13: 34-36) . They aIl

fall asleep. Those who are no t prepared for the possibility of a de1ay

are condemned; they will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The five

"foolish mé!idens" are left outside the wedding, behind a shut door with

no recogn~tion from the Lord .. The Parable c1early teaches that the

al10wance for the possibility of lengthy ,!ait is proper preparation for

the Pârousia. The parab1e conclud!s with a ward of warning to those

who presume to know that the hour oLthe Parousia is near:

Watch therefore, for you know neither the clay nor the hour:

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CHAPTER TWO '1

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE :pELAY 0F THE' P AROUSIA

Time passed and the Parousia did not occur. Thus questions arasE!"

with respect ta the Church' s expectation of the early arrivaI of the

Lord. These questions needed sorne sort of resolution. The primitive

communi.ty thought of i tself as an "eschatological congregation. ,,1 The

earlies t Chr is tians belj.eved that they were the people who would ex-

perience the fulfillment of Jewish prophecy concerning the coming of

the Kingdom of God. They _no~ only believed that they were living in

the "last times," but that they were the people of thè end-time, "the

chas en ," "the elect, Il and "the saints." 2 Since this eschatological

expectation, or h~pe, was basic ta the self-definition of the primitive

community, resolution of this issue became vital ta the life of the

Church.

The "delay" of -the Parous:l.à is discussed he-re ollly in sa far as

it is an apocalyptic issue, that is only as it concerns the Church '5

expectation of the Parousia and its effect on the moral life of the

- 3 connnuni ty. Problems of this nature faU into two basic categories:

1 See B1Ütmann, Theology vol.l', pp.37-42.

2 ' Ibid., P .38.

3The Christological, and theological implications of the "delay," for example, will not be discussed here.

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(1) Questions regarding the time of the Parousia; (2)" The danger of

moral laxity.

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1. :Questl~ns Regarding the Time of the Parousia

Qu~stiôns regarding the time of the Parousia probably arose under . , ,1

a variety of circumstances. • ~ f ....

Since the primit~ve ~ommun1ty believed

that they were -the people of the end:-time, ·the longer the congregation ,'.

had to wait for the Parousia, the more questions regarding its time l.,

'would become acute. In the earliest~ days the answer .!!.seon" wo.uld ~ - ~....i' _ ..

suffice. However, as the Parousia failed to occ,ur, some people may _ rr

have found .reason ta quèst'ion their faith; this in turn would cause a . ~. y 4

crisÜ:. in the teaching' and practice of th~ Church. Answers were needed t>

to questions suc-h as: "Why hasn' t the Parousia occulred yet?", and - ,

"When '~ill the Lord arrive?"

The time' of tue Day of the L~rd has been a perennial problem ~or

t~ose who ho Id an apocatyptïc world-view. These same kinds of questions

had been addressed by most apocalyp~ic writers ef the Inter-Testamental - .... . d 4 peno . The result of,reflection upon ~his issue was the idea of a

5 divine p1an. The apocalyptis!s of the Inter-testamental period ....

"interpreted the whole of history - past, present, 'and- fùture - in .. #', ,'). •

4 1>

Russel,l, p. 96ff ..• "

, '~R.H: Charles, Eschatology: Heb'rew, Jewish and Christian. Critical·History'of the Doctrine of a Future Life, The Jowett .

. Lectyres 1898-99, ~ (London: Adam' & Charles' :BI~ck, 2na ed. 1913),

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térms of God' s uni fy~ng purpose.,,6 Their idea'of God's purpose did not ,

only i~clude I~rael, but aIl peoples. nations, and the mater~al universe

itself. AH creation' took part in thé drama 'of history.7 The apoc-

alyptic perspective also perceived creation ta be ~'direct~d to a single

goal - the establishment of the Kingdom ,pf 'God - in whi-ch the divine

• . ',' d ,,8 purpos~ will be vind:Lcate~ once an for- aIl. " . The e,arly Church in-

9 herited the ,b'elief in such a plan from apocalyptic J.udaism. , "

The apoca1yptic perspective on history is evident \n the New

Testament in such passages as Galatianp 4:4. where Paul speaks of

Jesus' bi rth.

•• when the time had fully come, Gad s~nt forth His Son, porn of woman. • • •

Aand in the eschatologieal disC'out'se (Mk.13and par.). The escha-

- Ir.

tological diseout'se, liKe other passages which either presup-pose or " .

, refer .ta a d~vine plan, seeks ta place the situation of the Church in

\ 1

the context of the plan. The discours~ need not, however~ be read as

6 Russell, p.2l8.

7 ' Charles, Eschatology p.183. In the course of distingùisbing

between apocalyptie and prophetie eséhatology Charles, p.183 observes: Apocalyptic not prophecy Qas the first to grasp the great idea that aIl history, alike human, cosmologi­cal,. and spiri tuaI ~ is a unit y - a unit y fo110wing, natur~11y as a corollary of the unit y of God preached Y­

by the prophets.

8 ' Russell, p,.223.

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10 a Christian version of a timetable for the end. Rather, it is the

, . evangelist's assurance to his community of its place in the plan, and

that des~ite appearances nothing has gone wrong. 11 Fur~hermpre,

scholars have argued that the authors of the gospels of Matthew and

Luke present the Gospel in terms of a "salvation-history. ,,12 By means

of this èoncept th s'e synôptie writers have attempted to account for

the "delay" by lacing the Christi~n conununity in greater historical

perspective.- This perspective ,carries with it the meaning tha\ the

Church will have' a specifie redemptive function to fulfill before the· ,

Parousia. In these gospels. the Church is presented" as instrumental: ..-"

in the salvation of the world. In 50 far as the activity of the Chur ch . l'

10There is' little agreement as ta whether the system:atization of history into "times and seasons" in books like l Enoch, Jubilees or ,Daniel is ~ctually ta be read as timetables. References ta various "times" or time sequences may. 'vith the use of sacred numbers. have been only meant ta be indications of certain kinds of time. or ages, ' rather than aetual years. 1. Hartmann, "The Function of Sorne So-called Apocalyptic Timetables." Ne\11 Testament Studies 22 (l976) p.8, argues:

What function does a timetable have, i.e. the presentation of Jewish history until the author's days and on into the con5urnmation? ••. it is not a theoretical-informative one in the sense that it forms a calendar at the disposaI '~

of the informed r~deI, nor i:LLt a chronicle _of the 'ij" future from which the privileged reader may gaTn-enllgbt--enment. But it-assuTes tfie man of:faïtfi that fie is'-n~o~t---------­out of God' s sight, that the evil of his mm time i5 forseen, that God will annihilate the present injustice, and that l).e wi 11 do s-o-4-ri- the consutmIlation of times ~ which is neflT.

11 Cf. Hk.13:23, and pp. 96-100 below.

12 E.g. Conzelmann,' The Theology of St. Luke; G. Bornkamm, '~End-

expectation in the Gospel of Natthew." Tradition and Interpretation in Matthew, tr. by P. Scott (London: SeM Press, ]963) pp 15-51 Cf W.C. Thompson, "An Histor,ical Perspective in the Gospel of t>lattheJoT." Journal of Biblical fiterature 93 (1974) pp.243-262.

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i5 set 'into the context 'of hisJory as a unifiecl who le, thJ.s understand-

in& fs a 4e~elopment arid transformation of the Jewish apocalyptic con-, ,

cept of a divine plan. This idea, the peoplp of the Messiah as a part

of a redemptive history directed by Gad, probably prevailed throughout

the early Church. Thus we read in Ephesians 1:9-1Q:

For he has made kJown to us in aIl wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to~s purpose which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of tiroe. to unite aIl things in him. things tn heaven and things on earth .l3

This inherited ~erspective, or view of.history, shaped the Church's

understanding of both the problem of the non-occurrence of the Par-

ousia ànd its solution. It was because the members of the Church

believed there was a plan, that the Parousia could be understood as

" being late, delayed, ,or on time, that is according ta plan. The

resolution of the problem by the early Church reflects her under-.. ,' .

standing of the plan. 'l'he Church either )"aught that the Parousis,

when the plan is better undèrstood, i5 still on time, or that the

Parousia should have occUJ;re'd "but God has changed the plan thu5 de-

laying the Lordls retum. Only in this latter sense is the Parouaia

properly delayed. In the former case the Parousia only seems delayed

from the perspective of sorne members of the community.

The early Church tended to resolve problems caused by the, non-

• occurrence of the Parousia in basically three \vays. The first t,JO

involved teaching that there 15 actually no "delay." One way was to

13Cf • Jn.3:16ff.; t Pet.l:20.

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teach that certain signs had yet ta be revealed, or that ce~tain proph-

~cies had y~t ta be fu1filled, befo~e tqe Lord would return. A second

way invo1ved teaching that the Eime of the Parousia 1s not known by

the Church. The third solution involves the teaching that God has de-I

1ayed the Parousia; it Wé!S supposed to have come, ,but God has held b'ack

the coming of the end until His redemptive purposes are accomplished.

The first way of reso1~ing the problem was integrally tied to the

early Church' s expectation of the "messianic woes." Tl11s eJépectation

is'part of the Church's inheritance from Jewish apôcalyptic. The notion

of the I1mess ianic wo~s" is presented in the New Testament without much

introduction. The earliest readers are expected to be familiar with

14 the idea. .. The "messianic woes" are the tribulations that wère expected to

,- occur before the Day of the Lord. These woes would be due to a last'

attempt by the pm.rers of evi1 to overthrow the powers of good. 15 The

idea goes back at least as far as Daniel 12:lf., and Zechariah 14:13'.

This time of'cosmic travail is also mentioned in books such as l Enoch

(91:5-9; 80:1-8), and Jubilees (23:13-15) in the Inter-testamenta1

era. In New Testament times, the "messianic ~oes" are often desctibed .

",by means of the birth process in which new life ,can emerge through

,pain. A very early use of this rn~taphor, as an illustration of the

calamity before the messianic age, is found in one of the Thanksgiving

14For examp1e, the "woes" are a11uded to \ .. i th the metaphor of 1abor and child-birth in 1 Thess.5:3, and Mk.13:8. If the readers of these passages had no prior understanding of the "woes," and rio familiarity with the metaphor, these passages would make little sense.

15 Rus s e 11 , p. 2 3 4 f.

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Psalms from Qumran (IQHiii 6-10):

1 am in distress like a woman in travail with her first barn, when her pangs come, end grievous pains: on ber birth staal, causing torture in the crucible of the pregnant one; for sons have come ta waves of death, and she who con­ceives a man suffers in her pains; for in waves of death she gives birth to a man-child; with the pains of Sheol he bursts forth from the crucible of the pregnant one, a wonderful counsÏtor with his power; yes a man cornes forth from the waves.

II T~essalon~ans 2:1-12 is a good example of the Church's teach­

ing that certain signs have yet to be'revealed and certain prophecies , 1 •

fulfilled before the Lord will come. T~e problem in Thessa10nica was

due to the expectation of an imminent Parousia hY members of the corn-

. t 17 i h . 1 h' dd . h h' b l' mun~ y; n t 1S passage tle aut or 15 a ress1ng t ose w 0 e 1eve,

or who may believe, that the "day of the Lord has come." His teach-

ing to those who may h'ol'd to this belief, however. reflects the' atJare­

ne~s ot the "delay," or non":occu"i-rence of the Parousia on the part of

the Church. In yfect his reso1ut!on of the issue deals with the ques­

tion of why the Parausia had not come. In II Thess.2:3 the author

tells the cammunity:

Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come, unless the rebellion (~7roC1Tacr(cI.) cornes first, and

( '" -IY -r.:" • )' the man .of lawlessness 0 O(vBpWhOS ''loS aVOfilti..5 1S re;-vealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exaults him­self against every so-ca11ed god or abject of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of Gad prorlaiming hilnself to be Gad.

16TransI'ation by H. Burrows, The Dead Sea ScroIls (New York: The Viking Press, 1955) p.403; For the Hessianic interpretation of this hymn see J.V. Chamberland, "Another Thanksgiving Psa1m," Journal of Near Eastern Studies 14 (1955) pp.32-4l & 181-182; a1so K. Stendah1, "Introduction and Perspective," The ScroUs and the New Testament (New York: Harpe~.'f' Brothers, 1957) p.lU.

17 See pp.14-16 above.

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The Church still awaits the "rebeilion" and the manifestation of the

"man of lawlessness." Furthermore, i t awaits the fulfi1lment of the

prophecy that the "man of lm.lessness" will take his seat in the Temple

of God.18

The term êJ.rro(fT ..... t:1;r;. probably refers

" to the Je\.,rish apocalyp tic b~-

lief that the final consummation will be preceded by a great turning

'" away from God in Istael (J ub . 23: 14 f f. ; l QpHab 2:lff.; 4 Ezra 5:lff.;

also Mt.24:1O-l2; l Tim.4:l; II Tim.3:1-9).19 The terro "man of law-

lessness't refers to the tradition of the eschatological adversary. In

Inter-testamental Jewish \vritings there are references to a figure who

will oppose God at the end of the age. The adversary appears in two

forms. On the one hand, he can be a mytho10gical figure, an evil

lBThis prophecy is probab1y based on Dan. Il: 36ff., and was re­enforced by Caligula's threat to set up his statue in the Temple around 40 A.D. (See D.E.H. Hhiteley, Thessalonians, Ne\.,r Clarendon Bible ed. by H.F.D. Sparks (London: Oxford University Press, 1969) p.lOO) A literal reading of II Thess.2:4 1ends support to a pre-70 A.D. date for the wr;i.ting of the letter. The verse \vould refer to the Temple still standing. "Tov VO\OV JoÎJ Bl.oU " was understood to be a reference to the Jerusalem Temple late in the second century by Irenaeus, Adversus Haeresus V. 30:4. G. Milli~an, St. Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians, (London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1908) p.lOO, argues:

. . • the nature of the context, the use of such a local term as k~ajC1"o.( ,and the twice-repeated def. art. (Tov Vo.Ov 1"oü 9coù ) aIl point to a literaI rcference in the present instance, a co~clusion in which w~ are con­firmed \17hen \17e kecp in VlC\.J the dependence of the \vhole passage upon the description of Antiochus Epiphanes in Dan. Il : 36 f.

However, some scholars interpret the phrase metaphorically to mean the ') heavenly temple, e.g. IV. Neil, The Epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians, Th~ Moffatt Ne\, Testament Commentary ed. by J. z.toffatt, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1950) p.164f.

1geL Best, p.281; t.,rhiteley, p.9a-99.

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h h B 1 " 20 arc etype suc as Satan, or e lar. On the other hand, the adversary

can b,e a figure which is generally recognized to have a human referent,

such as the Adversary in Daniel who is generally recognized to be

An " hE" h 21 t10C us plp anes.

In II 'Thessalonians 2:9-10 we read: .,

The coming of the lawless one by the activity of S~tan will be with aIl power and with pretended signs and wonders, ~nd with aIl wicked deception for those who are to perish, because the y refused tp love the truth and sa be saved.

The description of the Adversary found in II Thessalonians appears to

be a unique combination of traditional motifs wh:lch are found in Jewish

22 apocalyptic literature. Most scholars agree that the "man of law-

lessness" is not a human figure. 23 II T,hess.2:9, hmvever, also dis-

ti~guishes him from Sata~. The eschatological adversary picturecl,here

seems to be a combination of both the traditional c;haracteristics of a

.. 20 E.g. see Assumption of Nases lO:lff.; l Enoch 54:1-6; also the

figure of Beliar in the "War Rule" found at Qumran.

21Antiochus Epiphanes is recognized in Dan.7:8,25,11:36f. by N.W. Porteous, Daniel, Did Testament Library, ed. by G.E. Hright et. al. (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1965) pp.107 ,1l2E., and l56ff.. for example. According ta Russell, p.277, Antiochus or Herod the great~way be the referent of Assumptian of ~Ioses 8: lff.; he also argues that th.e Dragon in the Psalms of Salomon may b~ a reference to the Roman genera1 Pompey.

ilCf. Best. p.289.

23See Moore, Parousia, pp.lll-ll3; Best, p.288ff.; also Whiteley~ p.lOO; Milligan, p.98; Neil, p.164; against.this view J.E. Frame, ~ Critical and Exegetica-l Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, The International Critical Commentary, ed. C.A. Briggs et. al. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912) p.253f., argues that the adversary is a human too1 of Satan.

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mythological -evil archetype, and the human adversaries of the people

of God. The eschatological adversary in II Thefsalonians

1) usurps the perogatives of divinity (2:4),

2) is empowered bY.,Satan (2:9a), 'Ii

3) cornes with power and false signs and'wpnders (2:9b),

4) decelves (2:l0b) , #

5) causes those who refuse to love the truth to perish (2:l0a).24

II Thessalonians teaches that the Parousia will involve the defeat

of the eschatologica\ adversary. This final combat has still to take

place. II Thessalonians 2:8 reads~

And then the lawless one will be revealed and the Lord Jesus will slay ~im with the breath of his ~outh and destroy hi~ hy his appearing and his coming.

II Thessalonians thus gives evidence that the Church, or sorne in the /

Ch urch. tau gh t. those wh 0 asked "When?". or "Why no t • now?". -that the re /

he7/

/

are still signs to be revea1ed and prophecies ta be fu1filled

the advent of the Lord.

/

The synoptic eschato1ogical discourse (Hk.13 and par.) ayt:> bears 1

witness to the presence of this kind of te'aehing. Nark 13: 7' war,ns \

the community not ta misread certain signs, thinking that they herald

the Day' of the Lord itself:

And when you hear of \vars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is not yet.

/

24 Further identi fiéation of the Thessalonial'l adversary may be -im-possible. Best, p.288, argues:

There are . . . many difficulties in the identification of the rebel and our lack of information on Paul's ' original oral teaching (to the Thessalonians) prevents us from solving them.

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Ot~er passages in the dis coursé indicate that at some point the Church . /

~elieved it must fulfill its mission before the Parou~ia. Mark 13'10

reads:

And the gospel must first be preached to aIl the na­tions. 25

" The second way of resolving the problem of the non-occurrence of ..,

the Parcusia was to teach that the time-is unknown. To those who feel

that somethil1g has gorte wrOl1g because the expected time for the Par-

ousia has passed, the Church te aches that the expectation of the Par-

ousia at a particular time is unfounded. ~The time eannot be predieted,

and so one shauld not be-snaken when expected dates for the Parousia

are found ta be false. These instances are nat examples of divine;. - ~-'

promises y-hich have been broKen"Dut human inability to prediet the Ume

of the Day of the Lord.

This way of resolving the issue is found mainly in the synoptic \

versions of the eschatologiea1 discourse. The Narcan and Matthean

versions of the discourse teach that al} the signs wh{ch have been

prophesied, or made knmvn by the traditions of the Church, have been

. 26 fl.,Ilfilled by the time of the writing of "the Gospels. The Church,

therefore, only awaits the Parousia itself. No more signs are ex-"

pected; "he is near,at the very gates" (Mk.13:29). There is therefore

25 Cf. Ht.24:l4; Lk.21:24. Accord1ng to E. Kasemann, Commentary on ~mans, tr. bl' G.H. Bromiley, (Grand Rapids: tHlliam B. Eerdmans'Puh­lishing Company, 1980), pp.306ff. and 312, Paul's belief that he must preach the gospel to the world before the Parousia may be related to these passages.

26 " Jh This interpretation of Hark 13 is argued more completelYWn

Chp. III, sec.2 (B) be1m ....

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no reason not ta expect the Parousia at any time. The time of toe

end, however, i8 left unanswered, and so indefinite (Mk.l.3: 32, -Mt.

24:36). I~ view of the fact that the evangel~sts felt there was time

for gospels to be written, read, and used by the Church, they allowed

for the possibility that this indefinite period could be lengthy.

The third evangelist reworks the Marcan version of the discourse

in arder to make explicit the possibility of a le~gthy wait for the

Parousia. The apocalyptic prophecies in Lk.21:8-23~ like their Marcan

parallels, have by the time of the evangelist been fulfilled. The

third evangelist, therefore, before he relates his version of the

prophecies concerning the end itself, inserts 21:24: " . until

the times of the Gentiles are fulfi11ed." The fulfillment of t~s

prophecy must precede the cosmic cataclysm (21:25-26) which heralds

the coming of the Son of Man. In making this insertion, the evangelist

prepares the reader for a possibly extended period of time before the

- . 27 ParouS~a. Since this prophecy is not delimited, the Parousia cou~d

still come at any moment. The emphasis of the passage, highlighted by

the plural "times," is on a long indefinite period.

The teaching that the' time of the Parousia is unknmm best illus-

trates the belief that God's plan is still in effect. Nothing has gone

wrong. Doubts raised by question~ about the time of the Parousia are

not addressed \"ith r)ferenCe to various elements of the divine plan,

27Conzelmann, Theology p.130; Cf. R.H. Hiers, "The Problem of the Delay,of the Parousia in Luke-Acts," New Testament Studies 20 (1974) PP.l~55, especially pp.154f.

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but are resolved with statements about the limitation of our ability

ta 1hedict Gad' s will wi th regard to the time of the end. This teach-

ing is exemplified in Mark 13: 32: ,{

But of that day or that hour no one knmvs, not èven the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Schoiàrs generally agree that this saying stems from very early in the

tradition. Sorne hold that the saying is a creation of the early

28 Church, while others believe that it may be an authentic saying of

29 Jesus. Kümmel, responding to those who argue the former position,

states "there is no reason ta crea te an even greater difficulty by

ascribing ta Jesus ignorance of the final date in arder to remove the

difficulty of the delay of the Parousia. ,,3D What is estahlished by

this verse is that Jesus did not give his followers an exact account

or the day or hour of the end. This saying may have been used in the

early years 'ta stress the unknm.rn hour of the Parousia while still

'" keeping alive the Churcll' s expectation of its imminence. The point of •

the verse in Hark 13 is ta emphasize the certainty of the Parousia, or

28 1" E.g. Bultmann, History p.123; E. Grasser, Das Problem der Parusieverzogerung in den synoptischen Evangelien und in der Apose1-geschichte (Berlin, 1957) cited by N. Perrin, The Kin.gdom of -God in the Teac.hing of Jesus, New Testament Lib-rary, ed. by A. Richardson et. al. (SCH Press, 1963) p .145f.

29 E.g. V. Taylor, The Gospel According ta Hark, (London: Mac- '

miIlan, St. Nartin's Press, 2nd ed. 1966) p.522f.; G.R. Beasley-Murray, A Commentary on Mark Thirteen, (London: Macmillan & Co. Ltd., 1957) p..,109; C.E.B. Cranfield, The'Gospel According to St. Hark: An Intro­duction and Commentarv, (Cambridge: At the University Press, 1959) p.410f.; B.H. Branscomb, The Gospel of Mark, The Hoffat ~ew Testament Commentary, ed. by J. ~[offatt (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1937) p.239; Kümmel, Promise p.42.

30K • 1 umme , Promise p. 42.

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'the reality of the day of the Lord, i~ the face of the Chur ch 's

ignorâpce of the time. If Jesus 'did not knOtv the hour of the end in

... order to carry out His work of salvation, then the members of His

~Church do not nced to J<now the exact time of th~ Parousia in arder ta

carry oùt their aS50rted tasks in this world. Mark 13 'thus bears

witness that the Lord taught the Church that no-one except the Father

31 'knows the ti,me, not' even angels can speculate on the matter.

This sarrie teach'ing i5 found in Acts 1: 7.32

Here it is presented

. as a saying of the Risen Lord:.

It ïs not for you ta know the t;imes or seasons which the "" Father has fixed by His mm authority.

, Acts 1: 8 counsels members of the Church to bear witness to the Gospel,

"to the eods of the earth," even in the face of this uncertainty about

the time. This solution ta the issue of the time of the Parousia is,

~herefor~, itself an exhortation. It counsels the Church not ta !:te"

31r-latthew adopts Hark's version of this saying (Ht.24:36). Luke amits' it. E. Franklin, Chr"ist the Lord,: A Study in the Purpose of Luke-Acts, (London: S.P.C:K.; 1975) p.14, thinks that this is because the eva~,~i st wanted ~o avoid the "not~ of uncertainty" i~herent in the ;;'.i!!';~é; he thus replaces the verse wlth, 21:34-36 stresslng pre- ) p~ffness for the Day of the Lord. Conzelmann, Theology, p.131, who stresses a continuity bet~.;reen Jesus and the resurrected Christ in Luke 's theology, feels the omission of Mk.13:32 indieates that for "Luke" "the Son" did kno~.;r the hour. He also interprets Aets 1: 7 , together \.;rith the omission of' Nk.13:32 to meah that the evangelist." h~s to expl'ain ~vhy Jesus taught 50 mueh about the last day"and nothing about its time; Slnce this is a problcm for the carly Church, he places his vers:i,on of the sayiog in Acts, which as far as the community is concerned has the same practical information as Nk.13: 32 but here does not compromise the evangelist 's Christology (p.179).

32 Haenchen, p.143, believes that this is the same saying whieh

is found in the gosp4ijls dS Nk.13: 32. The third evangelist omitted it from his gospel saving it for Acts ~.;rhere i t directly ans~.;rers the ques­tion of the delay for the early Church.

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33 preaccupied with calculating the time of the end. The 'correct manner

for the Church ta prepare for the return of the Lord ls to "Watch!"

(Mk. 13 : 37, Lk. 21: 36) .

The third kind of solution to the problem of the non-oc~urrence

of the Parousia is the teaching that there i8 indeed a delay. The J

o

Church may correctly have exp-ected the Parousia, but Gad has altered

His plan and delayed the Parousia ac~arding ta His mm purposes. This,

resolutiontof the issue stems from a particularly Biblica1. or Hebrew.

conception of Gad. God actively participates in h~story.

• He is in

\

dialogue with His people. He can proclaim His will. and, He can

change it when He fee1s the circumstances require it.34

y J ., .' -li

<' The eschatological mater:i:al ill II Thessalonians 2 posslbly pro-

'vides us with an example of this kind of resolution for the problem. /

II Thess.2:6-7 reads:

And you knmv what is restraining hirn nmv (koec vêiv To kfS.ÎtXov o16Q1.n. ) sa that he may be revealed in his time. FO,r the myst:;.ery of lm."lessness is alr~ady at work; only }le who nmv restrains.it will do sa until he ls out of the way (/,ÔVO'l Ô K.rJ..Îl y.CJJv rj,p7i t'W5 h, 'jfÉUDU yiV7kA.t). 35

34yHWH 's relationsh'ip with Saul the first King of Israel is a good example 6f' this diàlogue. ,ym.JH makes Saul King, but when Saul does not respond properly to the commandrnents 0{ Gad and Hi.s prophet 't'Hlm "repents of having made Saul King" (1 Sam. 15 : Il). Cf. H.~.J.

Hertzberg, II.,& II Samuel: A Commentary, Old Testament Library, ed. by G.E. Wright et. al. (London: SCN Press, -1964) p.126. A further ex-

1

ample is to be found in the Book of Jonah. Gad proclaims the destruc-tion of the city Nineveh (3:1-5). ~.Jhen the people of the 'city repent, God repents of having wanted to destroy the city (3:10). Cf. Ex.32:14; Amos 7:3; Jeremiah 18:7-8.

~

350n the difficulty of translating this passage see M. Barnouin, "Les Pro"8lemes de TraductionoiConcernant II Thess. 2: 6-7," New Testament Studies 23 (1977) pp'.482-498.

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The author of die epi,stle tells the Thessalonian ~ornmunity th'llt some-

thing 'is, res&aining, or holding back, 'the ,re~e~1:mg' of the eschato-". 1 •

10giéa1 adversary. 'Whatever this "restr~int," or ,rrestrainer" iS!t 36 l '" _ •• ~,.. d .... ,.

it will continue to he in eff'ê~t .un~il the·.'pro(?lèr t:ime. ,. "' d. ~ " ~1 . ' The 'explanatidn of the" non-occurrence of ,the Parousia as a' delay

l' ... --, t: _~ - ~ _

~ay also be alluded to in t,e gospels. Hints of this teacl)ing are , , 0.1 \.

present il:\ many o.f the Par6usia parables. In "The Parable of the

Wicked a~d' F~ithfUl se;vants" (~(i2..: 41-48;, Mt. 24: 45-49) the w!cked

servant begins to act in .a morally reprehensible manner after dec1aring e ...

. . .. ., '~my master is delayed" .(Lk.12:45; Mt.24:48). 'd-The'Parab1e of the Door-

t .\

keeper"

(Mk.13:35-37)~teache.s that."the",ma~ter" co'uld come,,:"in the . . evéi\ing, at midnight, or at cockcrOtv, ~r Ut the morning," likewise "The

,II " Parable of the Waiting Servants (Lk.12: 35-38) teaches the Chu·rch to be

1

wa,tchfu1 even if the Lord arrives "in the second or third watch." "l'he ..

,r' i!,~';' .' 36Many scholars. have tried to upderstand what the author is re-,."A,;". ,,\ ferring to with the use of the term "k"'Yt'xoy fi or "K",7ï:'X",V'." 0 The

\ ,l<t';, 'Y:..J'.d=')(~v has;, been interpreted by Tertullian, De Resurrectione Carnis " XXtiV, and subsequently by mas t classical interpreters of the passage

as a reference' to the Roman Empire. In recent times the' J.(o:1lxwy has ~ 0 l '1:1

been interpreted ta mean both a good or an evil force. O. Cullnann, O1rist, and Time, tr. by F.V. Filson (Philadelphia: \~estmYn~tér Press, 1950) pp.164ff., 'IollO\"ed by Noore, Parousia pp.113-ll4, influenced 1;>y Nk.13: 10 believe that the author is referri'!1g ta the Gospel or the GospeJ preacher. The end is restrained by the preacher, or the power of the Gospel until those who are ta _be saved have a chance to hear the \~ord. Best, p.301, and \~hiteIey, p.lOI, agree that it is unlikely. the author is referrrng ta an essentially good force like the Gospel. WhiteÙY, p.IOl-102, remarks that the phrase "until he is o~t of the wa)'." in - Greek as \"ell as i;p English is an expression better suited to an enemy of Gad' s purpose than ta ~n t.ho was ta play an important rcle in carrying it out. The confèssion of St. Augustine 1500 years ago in De civ1tate Dei 20: 19 (tr. by M. Dods)' is still appropriate today: 'v-

•• we who have not their (the Thessalon~a.ns) know­ledge wish and a,re not able to even wi th pains under­stand what the Apostle referred to . • l frank1y confess l do not knot.,r what- he means •.

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Parable of the Ten Maidens" (Mt.25:1-13), furthermore, pronounces the

maidens who prepare for the delay of the bridegroom (25 :5) ~o bé' the

wise ones. These parables, at least as they are presented by the

evangelfsts, a11 presuppose an" awareness' of ;: delay because they are

lessons on ho~ the Church should act in the face of a delay.

St. Augustine 37 '

sees a possible relâtionship between ,n,The

Parable of the Binding of "the Strongman" (Hk. 3: 27) '" the II Thessalonian

" "kf/. -rixcJv. Il and the Church' s awareness of the delay of the l'arousis.

Acco"rding to St. Augustine "the strongman .. tt Satan, is bound so that - " \

"the thief," Jesus, can enter, his house and steal his "goods," that 15

38 the. elect. Since it \v'âs part of Jewish apocalyptic speculation,

that in the last days evil ~m.,et:s were bouncl Or thrown into prison,39 1

it is possible that a Christian community which considered itself to ---he living in the last times would interpret the present as a time in

\vhich the forces ff evi! were being bound or res'traine4.

consummate battle between good and evil was being de1ayed.

Thus the

This bellef could then resu1t in two, differing' perspectives in . \vhich the de lay wou1d be; perceived by ear ly Chris tians. For those to

whom the delay meant frustrated hopes and suffering (see Il Thess.1: 5-

10) the clelay càuld be seen as a resu1t of evil forces'. It, is because

/

37 ~ 1 See also Kumme , Promise, p .109.

38D . i e Cl.V tates Dei 20: 7; Cf. Taylor, p .24l.

39S'ee Isaiah 24:21-23; l Enoch 10:11-14,18:12-16, 19:1-2, 21:1-6, 80:4-90:5; Testament of Levi 18:12; also Rev.20:2. , ,

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Satan is still bound, or becaus~ the "man of lawlessness" is prèvented

from being revealed. that his defeat at the hànds of the returning

Lor,d cannot take place. Henee, this may aeeount for the associatjon

-of the "res traint, Il or "li4d.TiXwv," in II Thess. 2:6-7 with the "son of

perdition" and the Itmystery of lawlessness." The l{oI,1È.Xr.JV in this case

may be understood as the forces of rebellion which are being held at­

bay. The fact 1 that this consummate e~il is b~ing held in check pre-

. vents its defeat at the end of the age.

On the other hand, this eveil which is being restr,!},ined, or bound

up, -may als 0 account for the status of those who have not yet heard,

or who who have rejected the Ward of SaI vation. These people, includ-

ing those who have ~heard the \~ord and yet have fallen back into their

sins, are bound up with and in evi1; they are in "Satan '5 house." ,

They will be lost, or de$troyed with Satan if 'he is destroyed: There-

t: fore, for those who' are concerned about people who are bound up with , Satan, either themselves, other members of 'the Church, or those who

./1>, have not héard the Gospel, the 'delay affords precious time necessary

, for salvation. Such passages as Nark 13:10, ns Il: 25 are good

representations of this view. The delay' . ecessary for preach-

:-. ing t.ne Gospel, and so it is a mark of Gofs compassion. He delays

His final j-udgment of evil; He will, not defeat Satan until His elect 1

are freed from Satan' s clutches. Satan Hill not be defeated until his

"goods" have been plunderéd. The elect must first be separated from

Satan, lesf the wheat perish with the tares (Ht.13:29). J

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The delay of the Parousia was therefore understood in the early

Church as bath an indication of Got, s compassion, and as an indication

, of the evil in the world. It is because there is sa much evil, that

roore time i8 needed ta free Gad' s people from Satan' s ways.

By the second cen'~ry. the vieY that the delay "as a mark of Gad' S

compassi~n seems to have~ominated the teaching of the Church.40

The ~

writer of II Peter responds to the question of the delay in II Pet.3:9

as follows:

;t'he Lord is not' slow about his promise as sorne count slow­ness, but is forebearing towards you, not wishing any should perish, but that aIl should reach repentance.

2. The Danger of Haral Laxity

The delay of the Parousia was a threat t:o the moral li,fe of the

·~arly Churc.h. The expectation of an imrninen~ Parousia was a pbwerfl,ll

motivating force behind the high moral standards held by the primitive

community. The "ethic of radical rejection," which called for éi re-

nunciation of worldly ties and activity, ::md the "developing delay

ethic," which stressed non-attachment ta the , ... ays of the eworld, were

bath meaningful in the life of the communi ty speci fically in view of

"the imp~ndLng distress," or "the passing away of the form of this

40 At the end of the second century, Tertullian, Apologeticus 39:2, tr. by S. Theh ... all, from The Ante-Nicene Christian Library ed. by A. Roberts and J. Donaldson, defending the practices of the Church before Roman authori'ties states:

We pray, too .•• for the \velfare of the world, the prevalence of peace, for the delay of the final con­sommation.

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world" (I Cor. 7:26~31). When this motivating force was called into'

question by the fact that the Day of the Lord had not come when ex-

pected, there arose the danger that sorne members of the Chureh would

again be caugh t up in the \olorkings and cares of this world. Involve-

rœnt in buying, selling, and other social responsibilities might con-

fliet wi th or take precedence over the demands of diseipleship. More

impo~tantly, sorne people might again revert ta a former way of life

which the Church held ta be immoral and damaging ta the believers'

, relationship with the Lord.

"";0-

This issue is reflected in severai sayings, exhortations, ~mcl

1

parab1es whic:;h teach the certainty and sudden manifestation of t;he

Parousia. These, passages are predominantly calls for "wakefulness,"

"sobriety," ana "wa"tchfulness." ( "-

f Calls for "wa,t;chfuiness" and "sobriety" in the gospels as weIl ~

as in sorne Pauline ,episdes, emphasize the moral implications of pre-'

paring ror the Parousia. They address prob lems of moral laxi ty, and

in doing so the gospels along with sorne Pauline epistles reflect the

presence of this particular problem in various Churches.

For Paul, moral laxity is only an issue during the "short" interim

41 before the consummation of the age. ,It is a problem for those people

who are not molare that the time for the final consummation is near.

The edils for "watehfulness" in the gospels may also have originally

been used to teach the awareness of, and proper preparation for, the '.

41 E. g. Romans 13: Uf •

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42 fast approaching eschatological crises. These sayings, exhortations,

and parables, h,m-rever, have been reforrnulated hy the evangelists ta

address the problern of preparedness in the face of ,the delay of, the

P . 43

arousl.s. For the evangelists the issue arises specifica11y because

of the Church' s growing a,"areness of a possibly extended delay.

The passage~ incquestion make use of certain metaphors to achieve

their exhoratory purpose. These, are the dual metaphors of sleep/wake-

fulness, and drunkenness/sobriety. These metaphors correspond to the

dual metaphor of day/night which has a mu eh broader use in the New

T~stament. AlI these metaphors have their roots in 01d and Inter­

testamental Judaism.44

Paul was a\.fare of the problems which could arise when the corning

of the Parousia i5 doubted. Though the s1tuation in Thessaloniea~ as ,

reflect~d in l Thessalonians. was not one of doubt. but enthusiasm,

problems caused by the detay were foreseen by Paul as a possibility.

This awareness on Paul's part is refiected in ;r Thess.'5:1-11. The main

issue in Thessalonica was one which had arisen because of the eommunity's

"imminent expectation." The conununity ,.,as grieving over the loss ot,

sorne friends, and was concerned about their status at the Parousia.45

42See Dodd, Parables, pp .122-139; Jeremias ~ Parables, 124-126, 126-139; Theo10gy, pp.10S, 127-141,244.

pp, 38-52.

430n the parables i!~,qUestion, seE' Jeremias, Parables, pp.38-S2; also Dodd, Parables, pp.122-139.

44See E. Lovestam, Spiritual \~akefulnes,s in the Ne,., Testament, tr., by W.F. Salisbury, Lunds Universites Arsskrift N.F. Avd.l Bd.55 Nr.3 (Lund: C\~ Gleerup, 1963) pp.8-24.

45 ' See pp.1B-21 above.

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53

Paul, after having instructed the community pn the general iesurrection

hoping to assuage their grief, consels .them further regard~ng the

sudc:l.enness of the Parousia. l Thess.S:l-S reads:

But as to the times 0 and the seasons, breth ren, you have no need to have anything II/ritten to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord will corne like a thief in the night. tJhen people say "There i5 peace and secur­ity ," then sudden destruction lI/il1 corne upon them as travail cornes upon a woman with chi1d, and' there will be no escape. But you are not in darkness, brethren, for that clay to surprise you like a thief. For you are al1 sons of ligh t and sons of the day; we are not of the night or of the darkness.

1 Thess ~S: 1 addresses a prob1em caus~d by the non-occurrence of

the parousia;46 it addresses questions about" the time. Since the main

4 r

issue in Thessalonica involves "imminent expectation," Paul i5 here

anticipating~lem which may arise in Thessa10nica if grief turns

into disappointment of the fact that the Parousia di~nôt occur before W

members of the comrnunity had died. Pau,l' s counsel both re-affirms 1 v, • i ",.'

their belief, that the Paro'{isia will corne, and reassures them that

they are prepared and will no~-be surprised when it does come.

Paul counse1s the Thessalonians wi th the use of two metaphors for

the parousia "which bring out its unexpectedness, unpredi~tability,

d " " .' b"l" ,,47 an yet ItS Inev1ta l Ity. He tells them that the "day of the Lord

will come like a thief in the night" (5:2) ,48 \vhich implies the cf.istress

46 _ Cf. Best, p.2Q3.

47 Ibid.

48The thief in the night image also occurs in t:he Q-P-aSsage-l.k....-- _ 12:39/Mt.24~43. 'Best, p.205, states that "either the Pauline e:h-pression could have been expanded into the Q parab le or the Q parable could have been summarized in the Pauline phrase." Lovestam, p.86, thinks the image goes back to Jesus; he states, p. 96, that "the ùse of the thief

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assoc~te~ with a robbery as weIl as the unexpected arrivaI of a

robber. Paul goes on to say that the distress the Day of the Lord

brings is as inevitable as the _travail of a pregnant ~wman (5: 3b).

The distress of that Day will come when people do not expect it, "when

they say there is peace and security." Yet its very in~vitability is

expected. This implied in the metaphor of birth: one may not know

the exact time of the birth, but there can be no uncertairtty that a

Jo , pregnant Woman t.,ill suffer labor pains and give birth.

Paul t who is trained in the rabbinic tradition, makes full. use of

aH the rich implications of the metaphor of light and dark ~hich are

1 4 found in the Jewish tradition. 9 In Jewish li~erature "day" has a

\

twofold meaning. It refers ta the age to come, as' in "The Day of the

Lord. '~.- 'lt alS-G--t:efers ta th.,at "light" which enables Israel to walk,

or conduct herself, in a manner which will preserve Israel for the Day , . of Judgment, that is the Torah. "The night," sim:llarly, i6 both the

darkness which envelopes the lives of those who do not have the, light

of the Torah ta guide them, and it refers to this present age, when

the "Children of light," j:~rael, are at the mercy of those in darkness,

h '1 50 t e Gentl es.

simile lacks correspondence •.• in the eschatological imagery O-f the Judaism of that Ume." The question it seems must be left open.

49Lovestam, pp.86-87.

SOSee tovestâ~p.8-24.

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In l Thess. 5: 2, the Day of the Lord is set in cont ras t ta the,

night in which the thief cornes. The night refers bath ta the evil

deeds of unbelievers, works of darkness, and also this present age

when these works are being accomplished. The day /night contrast is

inherent in the idea of the Day of Judgment. Just as things which

are hidden by the cove; of darkness are madf~ible by daylight, evil

deeds will be made pla~n when the Day of Jutt dawns upon this dark

age. Judgment will descend upon those whose works are evil, aince the

Day of the Lord will bring evil works ta light. }udgment descends on

darkness. It is, therefore, only ta those "in the night" that the

Day w~ll dawn with judgment, that is with the distress associated with '

a thief.

Paul tells, 'the Thessalonians that they are "sons of the day," and

therefote need not be surprised, or' overtaken, (kàT«À~Pq) when the Day

of the Lord arrives (I Thess. 5:4) • As "sons of the day" they are "in-

\ heritors of" and "destined for the eschatological day ta come. Il 51

Since they are of the day, that is since their deeds are not those of

people who are in darkness, 52 they'will not be distressed wh en the Day •

of the Lord cornes. Their deeds and acti vi ty in this world are, and

should be, those which prepare thern for, anc! which are guided by the

eschatological day ta come. The Day of the Lord cornes as a thief, ta I!

those in the night, not ta those in (of) the day.

51Ibid ., p.49.

52 Cf. 1 q"hess.5:11b.

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-~-- To ,the Thessalonians the exhortation remains: "BE! sober," and

"Keep awake." They are to do so beeause they are "sons of the'day."

l Thess.5:6-9 reads: ~,.,

Sa then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep ·a\,)'ske and be sober. For those who sleep'sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But, sinee we belong ta the day, let us be sober, and put on the' breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For' God 'has not destined us for wrath, but to obtaln salvatioJl through our Lord Jesus Christ, • • •

,"Sleep" and "dru,nkenness," which correspond to the activities of the

night-time, refer herfr~to a moral way of life which is not enlightened

by the way, or hope, of salvation. Being hawake" and ,"soher," whic'h

are activities proper to the day-time, correspond to a way of life

wl}ich is~guided by the light of salvation, and 50 prepares the believer

53 for the approaehing Day of the Lord. It is because the present age

is characterized by the evil deeds of the unbelievers that it fs

ealled "the nigh t. ,,54 These deeds will, however, be brought to 1ight . .

by ttle Day and will be judged. In the interim, "the sons of light,"

here the Thessalonians ~ are living in this age of darkness. lt is

beeause they are living in this age. that the "sons of the day" need

the armor of fai th, love. and hope to protect them from the darkness.

55 . or evil character of this age. . These ~erms refer to adynamie way

53 Cf. Eph.5:14ff.

54See Lovestam. p.22f.

.J. 55Cf. Eph.6:13ff .

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of living, especially in terms of how one relates ta Qther pe.ople as

weIl as ta God. 56 Faith, love and hope protect the believer; as one ... lives a life of faith, active in love, and filled with hope, one's

conduct in this world is preparation for the next.

The exhortations to be watchful, sober, and awake, recur period­

ically in Paul's epistles.57

They are ethical exhortations, cal1s for

right living. In Romans 13: 11-14, Paul spells out clearly the meaning

of being asleep. and what cons ti tute.s the "works of darkness." Ta be

"asl~eptl is ta be involved in reveling~ drunkenness, debauchery,

licentiousness, quarreling, and jealousy (these things ~urely among

many others). The teaching Paul gives his Church in Thessalonica is

this: Be certain the Parousia is coming; as long as our conduct does

not exhibit the qualities of "the night," or "darkness," then, the

Day of the Lord will not dawn upon 'us with the distress and sUllrise

associated wi th the coming of a thief. The Thessalonians were certain

that the Parousia \vas coming and were living accordingly (1 Thèss.5:4,

Il). yaul knows, hml1ever, htw tenuous this'\certain~y i5 in the face

of great di5appointment and;'grief, and 50 in l Thess.5:1-l1 he seek5

ta re-en force the Thessalonians in their hope.

56Cf . l C 13 or. .

57Cf . l Cor.16:13; Ro.13:l1-14; Also Eph.5:l4-20.

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By the time the evangelists wrote their gospels~ moral laxity in

the face of the delay became, a major issue. There are repeated calis

ta watchfuiness in the go,lS. In Luke 12:35-40, as in l Thess.5:l-11,

the siroile of "the thief in the night" is used to highlight the dif-

ference bet~veen those who are prepared for the Parousia and those who

58 are not. The evange1ist ptesents his reader with t\.J'O contrastin~

situations involving the return of sameane ta a household. He begins

wi th 12: 35 exhorting the reader to: "Let your loins be girded and

~our lamps burning •..• " Then the reader is toid to "be like" ser-

J vants "whom the mas ter finds a\"ake 'Ilhen he cornes" (12: 37a). If he

{J

finds them awake, ,,,Hether he cornes "in the second watch, or the third"

(12:38), he w~l1 "gird himself and have them sit at table," and wi'll

~ "come and serve them" (12: 37b). The evangelist then warns the reader

in 12: 39-40:

But knm., this. if the householder had known at W'hat hour the thief was coming, he tvould not have left his house ta be broken into. You also' must be ready; for the Son of Nan is coming at an unknown hour.

E:ach of the two situations described above; "The Parable of the

Waiting Servants" and the reference ta the l'Unprepared Householder, Il

by themselves may be understood solely as exhortations on preparedness

for the Day of the Lord. Their use in conjunction wi th one another

reflects the need ta teach preparedness in the face of the delay

(12: 38a) which has caused sorne to become rnorally lax. This passage

58See Lovestam, pp.92-95; R. Bauckham, "Synoptic Parousia Parables and the Apocalypse," New Testament S\~udies 23 (1977) pp.165-167.

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as i t stands in the gospel reflects a need to contrast the lot of the

prep ared ~.,i th the lot of those who are not.

To be prcp~red iso ta keep onels "loins girded" and onels "lamp

burning" '( 12: 35) . The "larnp" which symb olized the Torah 'for Israel,

here symbolizes "the light of faith in Jesus Christ;" keeping onels

59 "loins girded" rneans "active preparedness." One i5 prepared by liv-

ing the life reveâled by the light of the burning lampe To the un-

prepared (the householder) the S on of Man cornes like a thief causing

the distress of a robbeI)',;t to the "waiting servants" who are a~.,ake, tl

he cornes "to sit at table)" and to serve. The concluding verse (12:40),

highlights the reason for the cornparis'on: It expresses a shift in

- emphasis; the stress is on the certainty of the Parousia rather than -'1

on i ts nearness. This shi ft addresses doubt wi th regard to the com-

ing of the Lord. The certainty of the Parousia, in <spite of the un-

kno\vn hour, is implicit in the contrast dehneated by the tvw parables.

Either way the Lord cornes, to those awake as a fel}.o'''' servant or

brother, but to those asleep as a thief. The certainty of the Parousia

is stressed; ignorance of the hour bec~es not a reason for doubt but;

Il h f ' "1 60 reason a t e more or V:l.gl ance.

It is particularly irnportant.llthat this passage is follOlved by

Peter' s question in Lk.12: 41: "Lord are you telling this parable for

59 .. 94 Loves tam, p. ,

60Cf. C.L Carlston,' The Parablés of the Triple Tradition, (Philadelphia: Fortrcss P'ress, 1975) pp. "84-89.

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us or for aIl?" The parable w~ich follows, in answer to Peter's ques-", ,/

tion, condemns both those who kqow the correc,t conduet for this l'ife ~

"but use the delay as an excuse for immoraLactivity (12:45), and also ,

those who' are unprepared for the Judgment due to ignor~ce of the

3 correct way of life. The latter' are, however, judged with 1ess severity.

Luke 12:47-48 reads:

And that servant who knew his mas ter , s will, but did pot make ready or act aecording to his will, shall receivEba severe beating. But he who did not know, and did what ' deserved a beating, shall receive a 1ight beating. Every one to whom much is gi ven, of him much wi Il be requireq; and of him ta whom mèn commit mueh they will demand the more.

Peter' s ques tion under1ines the reason for the inclusion of this teach-

ing in the gospel. The evangelis t stresses that the Church, which .. ç!J

both has been to1d ihat the Lord is cOming, and which knows the way of

life that is proper preparation for His advent, has no excuse when it

lapses into the excesses of the unbelievers.

The prob lem of moral laxity in the face of the non-occurrence of

the P.arous,ia is also reflected in the three versions of the eschato-,

10gica1 dlscourse found in the synoptie gospels. These versions are

eaeh compiled from various traditions, wi th Hatthew and Luke using

61 Mark 13 as weIl as traditions of their mm. These traditions ~ within

the discourse, each address particular problems regarding the Churth' s -;:,

61 1 0

Fo,! ~ brief statement on the g~neral scholarly consensus re-garding ,the eschatological discours,,' see J .D.G. Dunn, Unit y and Diversity in the ~ew Testamept, (Phl.ladc1phia: \~estminster Press, 1977) p.328ff.

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expectation of the Parousia. These prob1ems concern such things as t ~- ~

persecution and wltness nlk.13:9-13 and par.), false teachers (Mk.13:

5-6,21-22; Mt.24: 11 ,23-26; Lk.21:8), the dispersion of tQe Church

~

Q1k.U:27; Mt.24:;i>', the des~n ~f tl;le temple (~,,3:14f.; "Mt.

24:'15"f.; Lk·.21:2o.~.),_ and questiQns about the time of the Pat:.ous1a

(Mk.13;28-37 and par.) amo~g other'things: AlI these is~ues needed

sôme sort of resol~t~on because they coui? cause doubt concerning the

teaching" of the Church with: regard to the end-time, and this in turn

~uses moral~laxity. ,~ , -.. _- -..... ,..\

,J L . , The esc~ato~ogical discourse. though it 15 made up of these var-. ,

ious tradition~, e.~ch <ildd~~s!jing parti.c\lI-a'r-=quest-ions about the end-d~!~ < - ..... ~i.. ." ,

.. .. .. ~ time" h{ls been compilec:i by the evangelisfS in order to address the

,'" ~ 62 greater issue of doubt caused by the delay of thè Parousia. I_t_ .is

~ , . -to this issue, directly, that the concluding verses of each version

of the discourse are addressed (Hk.13:3?-37; Mt.24:36-25:46;'Lk.2Î:36):

The purpbse of the Marcan version of the discourse 15 to teach

the Ch'trçh th.at nothing prophesied' for "the end has been left un-

63 0\ accomplished or unfulfilled, save the end itself. The Parousia can ,

~

be expected oat any. time. In the face of this certainty the Church is '.' .,

exhorted to "Ha'tch" (Hk.13:3;3,37): This exhortation is 'puncÙ{ated

with a parable"which' teache~ vigilance: "The Parable of the Doorkeep-o

(Hk.13:35-37) . 1

•

,

In this -parable a servant, a doorkeeper, is left , ,62The evangelists wer~ probably addressing in othis instance, the

doubt caused ~ the non-occurrence of the Parou~a in conjunction with the destruction of the Temple; see Chp. III. sec. 2 (B).

63See Chp. III sec. 2 (B).

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waiting at nighttime; it is a time in which people are inc1ined to fa Il

asleep. The metaphor of wakefulness ïs used here to illustrate the

me'aning .of vigilance. The Church has been left watchful, or awake, ln

the night of this present age. It is to be vigilant and live the llfe J '

proper to those who are awake and not asleep. Mar1(J'13: 35-37 reads:

Watch therefore - for you do not know wnen the master of the house will come, in the evening or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or ln the morning - lest he come suddenly and Und you asleep. '. And ""what l say to you l say to a11: Watch.

"

The evangelist proclaims the certainty of the master' s return in spi te

-of the fact 'that it~at an unknown hour. The delay is no excuse

64 , for sleeping, because the Parousia of the Lord ls still expected.

The Lucan discourse (Lk.2l:5-38) adds emphasis to the fact tnat

the present'is a time for the Chur!h to filfilÎ its mission in ~he

world, with the inclusion of 21:24. Though the Parousia is near,~., ..

t,hird evangelist believes the Parousia will not oecur until the Gentile

missiqn ls accomp1ished. 65 Rather L'lan include "The Parable of the

Doo~keepe·r ," whi~h stresses the sudden, unexpec ted coming of the Son

of M~on those who are -1lasleep," the 1 third e.vangelist aoncludes his

'{ersion of !=he discourse ~with a group of sayings \~hich expresses' in

det'ail the meaning of being found "asleep" at the Parousia. In 21: 34,

he explicitly, calls for vigila-g.ce with regard to th,e cares of this

life:

But take heed to yourse,lves lest your hearts 6e weighed '... ' dmm w,i'th the dissipation and tlrunkenness and cares of

64Cf • Carlston, pp.197-202.

. 65Cf. Heirs, p.154.

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this liie, and that day come upon you suddenly like a J

snare; •••

In what follows, the mètaphors of "watchfulness" and "sobriety" further

~ddress the issue of moral laxity. The evangelist exhorts the Church '-

ta "watch" and "pray" it has the strength ta escape the disasters of

the Last Judgment (21:36). It is implied that one can escape if one

i5 not "weighed down the the dissipation and drunkenness and Cares , ~ - .

of, this life."

,~rff The problem of laxity, especially in d<?ing the will of Gad, is

of particular iinportance ta The Gospel of Matthew. 66 lts 'Version of

"

the escnatological di~cour~e, 'which for the "'mo5t part follows Mark 13,

includes a great deal of' material (60 verses) which expand the Marcan

• conclusion and add ta it. This material deals specifically with the

proper way the Church ?ught ta conduct itself during the delay. This

in itself reflects the need to reaffirm the fact that the delay of

the Parousia does not abrogate the ethics and \l1ay of liCe "éstablished . / in viell1 (lf the expected consummation of the age.

The Harcan passage on "watchfulness" (Nk .13: 33-37) is expanded

in Matthew as follows: Ht. 24: 37-39 compares the present to "the days

of Noah," \l1hen people lived not knowing the flood would come and

s\l1eep thema11 away;.Mt • 24: 40-44 informs the Church that distinctions

ldth regard to salvation will be made when the Son of Nan cornes; Nt.24:

, 45-49, which sets up a contrast between If the faithful and wise servant"

66Cf. Ht. 7:21; Bo:çnkamm, pp.15-24; Càr15ton, p.46.

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0" th_ parous\a is 1 and "the wicked servant," teaches that the delay

no excuse for abandoning the correct way of life necessary for endur~

ing ,the Last Judgment. The '\.icked servant" is he who

• • . says ta himse1 f, "My mas ter is delayed, and begins ta beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken • • • .

In contradisti~ction ta the blessedness awaidng "the faithful and

wise servant," "the master lJ of "the wick~d servant"

• . . will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will punish him, and put him ,,,ith the hypocrites;. there men will weep and gnash their teeth .

The, Natthean version of the discourse inc1udes, moreover, a long

composite of traditions (25: 1-46) which continue his teaching for a

Church faced with a ppssible long wait. After having estab1ished the

, certainty of Judgment for those who are unprepared ,(24: 37-49); the

evange1ist counse1s the Church on the meaning of proper preparation for

the Parousia in the face of the delay. !1atthew 25 is an example of

the eva:ngelist 's fully deve10ped "de1ay ethic." "ThêParable of the

Ten Haidens" (25: 1-13) stresses the ne'ed for the preparation of an ex-

tended stay in this wor1d. "The Parab1e of the Buried Talent" (25:14-

46) condemns irresponsibi1ity and inactivity during the time alotted ,

the Church before the Parousia: What follows is a discourse/parable

an the Last Judgment (2S~31-46). Here the evangelist teaches pre-

cisely what criteria ,viU be used by the Lord to j udge the world 'vhefl

He arrives. The members of the Church will be j udged on the basis of

~e.ther-' or not their love for the Lord was made manifest in the wor1d •.

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The righteous,are ~hose who love God,by loving humanity, those who'

, 67 ' show compassion for others. This passàge, which makes up the con-

. ,clusion to the Matthean VèFSiGn of the discourse, reflects foremost

that there was a need felt by the evangelist to teach members of the

Church that their position at the last judgment will depend on how

\ 68 they act in the possib1y extend~d Interim before the Parousia.

The great emphasis in Matthew on proper living in view of the

expected judgment, ref1ects the degree to w~ich in the eyes of the

evange1ist the activity of the Church continues to condition its

position at the Parousia. The Parousia is certain; its impact as the

dawn of judgment,or blessing d~pends on the way the Church'conducts

!,herself in the Interim. The delay is not a time for irresponsible en'-

thusiasm or moral laxity. The delay is a time for "'watchfulness"

(24:37-51), preparation (25:1-13), growth (25:14-30), and good works

(25: 31-46). ~

As the delay of the Parousia b~came an issue in Christian corn-

munities, the teachers of the Church reaffirmed the certainty of the , Parousia. and ca11ed for "watchfu1ness." This is a calI for high

moral standards. Imp1icit in this calI is the belief that the conduct

67Against L. Cope, '~atthew 25:31-46 'The Sheep and ~he gcats' Reinterpretcd, Il l\'ovum Testamentum 1] (1969) pp. 32-44, \vho believes that the passage ls not intended fo~ the Church; the evangelist. he argues, teaches that the nations will be judged on the basis of their treatment of Jesus' disciples.

68Cf . G. Barth, "Natthew' s Understanding of the Lmv," in Tradi­tion and Interpretation in-Matthew New Testament Library, ed. by A. Richardson et. ,al. (London: SCM Press, 1963) pp.58-159; se~ especially pp.58-62,95. \

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\ of the believer in this world conditions the manner in whieh the Lord

will be reeeived by the believer upon His return. If the believer is

"asleep," the Lord will return "like a thief in the night," that is

with judgrnent. If the believer is "awake" when He cames, Jesus will'

""come wi th blessings "ta sit àt table" and serve with His servants.

The sayings and parables whieh calI for "watehfulness" were prob-

ably used early in the life of the community to foeus attention on the

appr~aching crisis. The evangelists have used these same traditions

to focus the at~éntion of the community on the proper way of life. )'

"" The purposes of both the earlier and later,use of these traditions are

still, ta sorne degree th~sarne: preparation for the Day of the Lord. VII •

~ The evangelists have, however, taken into account the possibility of

an extended stay in this world. The possibility that the Parousia,rnay

')" . still lie far in the future, pforhaps beyond the life-times of ~ome of .. the readers of the gospels, has caused the evangelists to redefine

imminence. There is, at least in Luke and Matthew, a shift in em-

phasis with,regYd to the subject of imminence in the calls 'for "watch­

fulness. " Rathe r than proclaim the nearness of the Day of' the Lord

chronologically', these calls stress the need to live a life in view

of th~ certainty of) the Day of Judgrnent. The Parousia is the reality #

which should provide the context for one's actions. Moral activity

is proper ta thase who belang ta the Day \vhich will da\Vll at the cornihg

of the Lord. Phrases expressing the c~ronological closeness of that

day are used by the evangelists to express the close interrelationship

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(. between one's activity in this world' and one's status in the next.

Imminence is thus redefined to suit a time when the delay was aIl too

real. To be "awake" an(1'-'~b~' is to be aware of the Immed%i'élae-~'J==~ Q

within which one's actions are tied to the judgment. The believer is

to be aware of, and live wtth, the certainty that the Lord is coming

and brings with Himself proper recompence. To be "a\.;rake'" is to be

certain that the Parousia is imminent in spite of the delay; it is

imminent in 50 far as the believer's action in the present conditions

his or her position at the Parousia. Actions in the present, be they

\ motivated by sin or righteousness, be they acts of repentance, praye~,

or the breaking of God' s commandments, a11 have, the quality of de-

... ter~ning ~e impact of the Day of the Lord. "Wake fulness" is the

awareness thàt life in this world determ1nes whether the Parousia of

" the Lord will be the advent of Judgment or blessing.

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\ CHAPTER THREE

PROBLEMS CAUSED BY TRADITIONS INHERITED

BY THE EARLY CHURCH

T~e early Church inherited many apocalyptic traditions from both

ancient Jewish sources and from, the primitive community_ This in-

herited teaching,. or 'iYo.pd..60lfC.S , comprises part of the Church 's reve-

lat ion of the Day of the Lord.

It is evident upon study of the New Testament that Sorne of these //

apocalyptic traditions created diffi~or the early Church.

These issues accordingly fall inta two catagories: (1) ProbTems caused

by traditions> inhérited from pre-Christian sources; (2) Problems caused

by traditions inherited from the primitive community.

1. Problems Caus~d by Traditions lnherited from Pre-Christian

Sources

This section ex?mines t,I10 issues. The first involves the di ffi-

cult y which Jewish traditions concerning the general resurrection of

the dead posed for Gentile converts. The second issue involves the

difficulty \.Jhich the rejection of the Gospel by most Jews posed for a

particular Jewish Christian, Paul. The latter, as an apocalyptic

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issue, is concerned specifically with the status of the Jews at the

Parousia in light of the promises God made to the people Israel in the

days of the Patriarchs and the Prophets.

\ (A) The Problem of the Gener\l Resurrection of the Dead

The'_ doctri!1e of th~ gen_er~~_ resur~ection o~ the dead is' deeply

root~~in Jewish tradition by the time the New Testament was written.

This teaching probably developed in post-exilic Judaism as a way to

, 1, account for God s justice in an unjust age. The partticulars of the

2 general resurrection vary from text to text. In some Inter-testamental

3 texts only the righteous are resurrected, but most fo1low Daniel 12

1 Charles, Eschatology, p.130f., argues that there arose at sorne time a need to hope for the redemption of the individual as weIl as for the reconstitution of the nation. Even 50, as the righteous were in­creasingly oppressed by various cap tors during the exilic and post­exilic periods, a doctrine vhich held that the righteous, even if they had been killed, still inherit a share in the coming Nessianic Kin~dom, would help to resolve questions concerning the righteousness and jus­tice of YHHH. A doctrine of the general resurrection would also be helpful if, as argued by P.D. Hanson, The Dawn of Apocalyptic (phila­delphia: Fortress Press, 2nd ed. 1979), apocalyptic thought originated out of a situation of strife within the nation of Israel: if those who were considered righteous had been killed at the hands of Hebr~w ·op­pressors, this doctrine wou1d help maintain the belief in Cod's righteousness in spite of the seeming injustice of such actions. As things stand, hmo1ever, Russel. p.367, is probably correct; in stating that "the historical occasion rnarking the development of this beHef i8 obscure."

2 Russell, p. 367i:, interprets Is. 26: 19, follO\>'Îng the Syriac and ~he Targum. as the first reference to the general resurrection in Hebrew literature. Here the reference is only toDthe righteous. The notion of the resurrection may be implied in Zech.14:S, but it i8 not explicitly stated until it appears in Daniel 12:2-3.

3 E.g. Song of Solomon 3:13; II Enoch 8:5, 65:10.

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in which aIl are b'rought ta life in arder ta face divine judgment. 4

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs include both strains of thought:

according ta the Testament of Judah 25:1-2, the Patriarchs will arise

first, then, according to 25:3-5, those "who died in grief" and "who

were put to death fOT the Lord's sake;" in the Testament of Benjamin

10:6 the Patriarchs rise first "on the right hand in gladness," and

then according to 10: 7-8 aIl people will rise and "be changed, sorne

into glory and sorne into shame." Like the Book of Revelation (20:4-15)

the Testaments of the Twelve ~fatriarch9 'knows of a double resurrection,

one for the Patriarchs and Holy Martyrs, then one for the lastrjudg-

ment of aIl people.

Paul, who was a Pharisee before his conversion (Phil.3:5) , and

according ta Acts 22:3 was a student of Gamaliel, must have been J

familiar with mu ch that Jèwish apocalyptic had ta offer about the

doctrine of the general resurrection. 5 Although Paul reinterpreted ~

his beliefs in light of his conversion experience, much of what he

preached was rooted in Jewish thought. He taught his Gentile converts

some things which rnay have been "traditional" teaching for the Jews.

Even though ~he '''Gad fearers" in his Greek congregations may have had

sorne previous contact with Jewish apocalyptic speculation, familiarity

with ideas stemming from apocalyptic traditions were probably not the

rule.

4 E.g. l Enoch 28:8; 22:13; Cf. Russell, p.370.

SIn l Corinthians 2:7, for example, Paul speaks about imparting a "secret and hidden wisdom" ta the 'mature. Conzelmann, Corinthians, p.62, believes that this is a reference to esoteric rabbinical specula­tion which involved both apocalyptic and wisdom traditions "which pass into each other."

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In Corinth sorne members of the congregation had difficulty wi~h

the doctrine of the general resurrection of the dead. l Corinthians

15: l2b reads: " • hmv can sorne of you say there is no resurrection

of the dead?" The situation in Corinth was one of doubt; the reality

of the general resurrection at the end of the age was being questione<i.

This doubt was the result of scepticism among Greeks in the face of an

unfamiliar Jewish belief. 6

The tone throughout the chapter is "gentle;"

the "Apostle is anxious not to give offense. ,,7 Paul is therefore not

opposing anyone who is teaching a "heretical" doctrine, but helping

6 See A. Robertson and A. Plummer, A Critical and Exegeticat Com-

mentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians, The International Critical Commentary, ed'. by S.R. Driver et. al. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1911) p. 329. ,

There is still a great deal of debate regarding the precise nature of the problem in Corinth; see J.H. Wilson, "The Corinthians Who Say There Is No Resurrection of the Dead;" Zei tschrift Fur Die Neutest;a­mentliche \.Jissenschaft 59 (1968), pp.90-lD7, for a summary of the pre-sent state of the question. Bultmann, Theology vol.l p.169, believes ~ the problem involves a "gnos ticizing party" who denies a bodily resurrection; see aIs a \-1. Schmitbals, Gnosticism in Corinth, tr. by J.E. Steely, (Nashville: Abingdon Pres~~197l) pp.l55-l59; and J. Moffatt, The First Epistle ta the Corir'r1fuians, The Moffatt Ne\v Testa-ment Commentaries ed. by J. Hoffatt (London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd., 1938) p.240, who believes the problem involves "mystical enthusiasts." Paul's dissussion in l Cor.15 does not address mystical or gnostic enthusiasts. Bultmann, who is followed by Conzelmann, Corinthians p.260, recognizes this, and bath scholars argue therefore that Paul has mis­understood the problem; thinking that the doctrine of the resurrection has been denied in total, he proceeds to deai with the issue as such.

The argument that sorne Corinthians found the doctrine of the gen­eral resurrectlgn'too fantastic has a lot to r~commend itself. The view that Paul is misinformed leaves open the question of how he could be so weIl informed about the Corinthian situation 50 as to deal with it properly in the rest of the epistle and yet misunderstand the prob­lem'behind l Cor.15. Furthermore. once one starts to posit misunder­stan,ding on Paul's part, there can be-no limit to exegetical speculation.

7R,ob'ertson and Plummer, p.329.

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the Corinthians in their unbelief. Acts 1'1: 32 besrs witness to the

fact that scepticism among Paul's Gentile listeners when confronted

" with the doctrine of the résurrection of the dead was not unique to , Corinth.

8 l Cor.15:33-34 bears ev:Ï!'dence that doubt about the doctr;f.ne

of the resurrection had weakened the faith of sorne Corinthians. This

was probably the result of debate with fellow Greeks. This doubt had

caused sorne to faU away from the moral way of life which Paul had

taught them. l Cor.15:33-34 reads:

Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good maraIs." ~ sober as one ought, and sin no more. For sorne have no knowledge of Gad. l say this "to y~ur shame.~

Paul resolves the issue by tying the generai resurrection ta the

resurrection of Jesus. which is part of the Corinthians confessed faith.

Paul ·asserts the historieal 'bodily resurreetion of Jesus by recounting

,"the Apostlic witness upon which the Christian confession is based (I

. 10 Cor .15: 3-11) . He then informs the Corinthians that this resurrection

èf-Jesus, ta which the Apostles beaT witness, is the same kind of

resurrection he preaches \"ith regard ta the rest of humanity at the

final consummation. In l Cor.lS:l3, Paul flatly states that a rejectiQ11.

of the doctrine of the general resurrection is a rejection of the

sef. Haenchen, p.526.

9The underlined phrase, "lI(V1y""ft. ~//{a;ws ,'.' is translated".dif­ferently here than in the RSV. The term "'~l{v1y!l.ré'.." when translated "Be sober" better highlights the lapse in maraIs implied in this passagel

IOSee R.J. Sider, "St. P;ul's Understanding of the Nature,and Significance of the Resurrection in l Corinthians 15: 1-19," ~ Testamentum 19' (1977) pp .124-141.

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resurrection ~f Christ: -,"

But if there is no resurreètion o"f the dead, then Christ could. not have been raised •

If this is the case, the ~hole of Paul' s preaching, and therefore the , "

redempti on he preached to the Corinthians is meaningless (15: 14) :

Paul informs the doubters that the resurrection on the Day bf the Lord

constitutes the hope of the be1iev~ng community. Without this hope

Christian faÜh is to be pitied, because those who hold to it ho1d to

something which perishes \.,rith this' life. l Cor.15:l7-19 reads:

If Christ has not been raised, your fai th is futil~ and you are still ln your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If ,for this life only we have hoped in Christ, \.,re are of aIl men most to be pitied.

Ta sorne degree the sacrifices the believer makes in this t.,rorld only

make sense if there is a beHef in the resurrection and an after-life.

Thése sacrifices make up a large part of Christian lif~. ~.Jhy should

, one put his or her life in danger for others, or abstain from taking

part in the revelling and excesses which are the pastime of so many

people in this world? l Cor .15: JO ,32:

Why am l in peril ev'ery hour!'. . . What do l gain if, humanly speaking, l fought beasts in Ephesus? If the dead are not raiSed, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

The believeis faith .is not futile. God has gi ven the believer a

. . prqmise in the form of the resurrection of Jesus that death is van-

guished. Jesus has been raised as the "first fruits~' of t~~ general

resurrection. Jesus' vic tory over death in His resurrection ls {:Cod's

promise of victory Qver death at the con9ummation of the age.

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" , -The relationship between the general' resurrection and .Jesus' i5 ,

made c'lear with' Paul 's use of the term '''first fruits." The term im-

plies both a ,promise made by Gad nd the means by which that promise :.

Qill be fulf~lled. l Cor.15:20-23 reads:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first\ fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man ---:/ came death, by a man has .cgme a180 the resurrection bf the dead. For as 'in ~m a11 d'ie, so also in Christ ,shall aIl be made alive. But each in hiS,own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who b~long to Christ.

Adam and Christ are the archetypes which detepnineothe status of human-

kind. The assumption"is nin Adam" a1l die - the Gospel which Paul

preaches to the doubters in Corinth is that in Christ's resurrection

aIl shall "be made a1ive." Christ' s resurrection and the general

resurrection are integra11y related in Paul 's eyes. As the "first

fruits" of toe genera1 resurrection, Jesus is not only the first to

be resurrected,ll but His resurrection is also the first installment,

1 12 or "deposlt on a purchase" which God makes on beha1f of the general

resurrec·tion. Furth,ermore, "first fruits" "implies a cornmunity of

13 nature." It also ref~rs to the H'ebrew understanding of the signifi-

canee of offer~ng~the "first fruits" of the harvest ta YHtm. When the

first frults of the harvest were offered up to YHWH in the Temple, the

whole harvest in a sense \vas offered up to YH\m~ and cthus sanctified.14

As the .flf:l.r:st 'fruits" of the generaLresurrection. Jesus' resurrection

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Il Conzelmann, Corinthians, p.268,

12Kasemann, p.237, interpreting Romans 8:23.

13 l\\ RobéYLson and Plummer, p.351.

14Ibid ., 'pp.351-352. \....

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"embodies a11 those ~ho are ta be resurrected in ~m. "Those who be-

.10ng to Chr~st" will be made alive ,_because they have already been

sanct1fied in His resurrection. If thè Corinthians, therefore, ho1d

~.' ta their faith in Christ as preached to them,by Paul, thE} doctrine of

J the general resurrect10n shou1d in no T/Jay be a stunbling black for }

their faith. The r~surrection, both Jesus' a~'that await~ng humanity

'at the final consummatJon, constitutes the hope of the be1ieving com-

muniFY.

In 1 Corinthiens 15:35, Paul anticipates questions which were

, 1/;. ~ ... ~ _ p,lO.op~ly"aslted whenev:r Paul first' spoke about t:he genera1 resurrèction . 'w;ith Gentile converts:

/. " But sorqeone will élsk, "How'are the dead raised? With what

kind of body do they come?"

Paul é;lnswers these questions by assur~ng the community that there will

" 'be a miraculous transformation of the earth.1y body into the "spiritual ,

body." o ' 15

He does not expiain the mechanics of this transformation, but

uses an analogy to he1p the Corinthians become accustomed to the doc-

trine. JU&t as a "dead" seed when p1anted into the ground i5 miracu-, '0

'" 10u51y transformea into a ne,., living plant, the ear'thly body will also ;

16 be transforméd through death. l Cor.14:44 reads:

it is sown in weakness, it is raised in pm.;er. It is smm a physical body, l.~> is rai/ised a spiritual

, 15This may support Robinson and Plununer's p.36'6~ tran lation t.he 'phrase "Trw5 È.ydpOVTd.( O( Vl-K.oi; ft as a rhetorical que - n it 'possible for the dead to be raised?'~, $-1hich wouJdc not require an explanation of the resurrection process.

l6Cf . R.J. Sider, "The Pauline Conception of the Resurrection Body in l Corinthians 15:35-54," New Testament Studies 21 (1975) pp. ~28-439. '

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body. If there is a physical body, there 15 aloso a spiritual body.

Paul refers e~licitly to difterent bodies each proper to its own

circums tances (15: 39-41,53) • T~e Spiritual body' is the body proper to

the resurrechon. 17 Paul does not teach the immorta1ity of the soul;

he does. howev~r. draw a clear distinction between the earthlY,body and

the spiritual ohe. ' l Cor.15:50 reads:

r tell you this brethren: flesh and blood o cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishab le.

This statement highlights the degree ta ;which the doctrine of the gen­

""" eraI' resurrection is tied in Paul's thought ta his understand:i.ng of

salvation. The gulf t.rhich separates the earthly body from the spiritual

alsb separates people from the Kingdom of God. This separation is over-

come by God in a transformation through death (15: 36,43-44). It ls,

furthermore, a transformation accomplished through the death of .Christ:

He whose death and resurrection are the arche type for the death and

resurrection of those who live and die "in Christ" (I Cor.15:20-2l;

Rom.6:4-9). l cor.15:3.6 ard 42 reads:

• • • What you, SOW ~~not come to life unless ft dies • . • • s6 it is with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown perishable is~aised imp~rishable. ''-

" Paul evidently considers "dying_~~Hh Christ" CR. 6: 8) to be the rea1

transforming death. In l Cor.1S:51, he says, "not aIl will sIeep,"·

but those who don't sleep "will be changed also." At the Parousia

PRobertson and Plunuuer, p.36S; Conzelmann, Corinthians. p.281

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tho~e who are dead will he raised in their new bodies, whÜ.e those who

are alive will be transformed "in the twinkling of an eye" at the

sound ~the last t~umpet.

According ta II Corinthians 5: 1-2', this new body i8 already being , . kept for the believer in heaven:

For we knmV' that if the earthly tent we live in 18 destroyed, we' have a building tram God,' i. hou'se not made with hands, ete ma] in the he avens.~ Here indeed we 'groan, and long to put on our heaven1y dwelling .•• 18

In the verses that fo110w Paul again refers ta the bodily transforma.-

tian he expects at the Parousia. Here he expresses his wish that he

won't "be unclothed" and "found naked," but "further clothed 50 that

what is mortal will be swallawed up by life (II Cor.5:3-4). Paul i5

referring here, with the metaphor of c1othing, to his wish that he re-

main alive until the Parousia. He wishes he will not have ta put 'off

his body in dea th, "be' unclothed" and "found naked," but "further

clothed" in the transformation of his physical body that which is mortal

. h' 1 19 ~nto t e lrnrnorta .

Questions concerning the resurrection body, and the resurrection

. in general, must have been asked in other Gentile Churches at other

times. The lack of ,any men~ion of problerns of this nature in the

l8C• K. Barrett, The Second [pistle to the Corinthians, Harper's New Testament Commentaries, ed. by H. Chadwick (New York: Harper & Row, 1973), p .152 notes that "the metaphor is hopelessly mixed; putting on is concerned wi th clothes, we do not put on building."

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19Ibid ., p.l56; seeoalso t.J. Lillie, "An Approach to II Corinthians 5:1-10," Scottish Journal of Theology 30 (1977) pp.59-70. ...

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gospels or later epistles progably indicates ,that these ideas became

familiar and generally a~cepted throughout the later Church. As Ume

passed Centiles, became more familiar with Jewish traditions.

(B) The Status of the Jews at the Parousia

. This issue concerns the status of the Jews regarding the redemp .......

tion promised them by God~ in light of their ~rejection of the Messiah

and the Gospe 1. This issue i8 dis cussed here only insofar as it i8 an

apoealyptic issue, that is as it concerns God's plan for the end of

the age. In the New Testament this apocalyptic question only concerns

Paul. This may indicate either that the issue was of no interest to

others, or more probably that it wasO resolved by the time most of the

New Testament was ·written. It is signifi cant, however, that by the

time Romans was written enough Centiles thought that the JëtolS had been

rejected by God, thus forfeiting any hope of salvation, so that Paul

fe1t he must address them with this question (Ro.l1:13-25).

Paul clearly presents the- problem and his resolution of it in

Roman s 9-11. In Romans 9: 1-5 he expresses his anguish re'garding his

people and their rejection of the Gospel:

1 have a great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my l, heart. For l could wish that l myself were accursed and

eut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kins­men by race. They are Israeli tes, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenan ts, 0 the gi ving of th!? law, the \\Torship, artd the' promises; to them belong the pat­riarchs, and of their race aceording to the flesh, ls the Christ;

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Israel is the people to whom God has prom'ised redemption. How cou1d

they have rejected the salvation offered them through Christ? What

does ttis mean in the context of God's redemptive plan? Has He re-

jected Israel, and taken back His -word to the Patriarchs? What of

H" "?20 l.S promlse.

Paul tackles this issue by ass~rting first and foremost God's

perogative .as creat-or, His freedom to act. This is clearly stated in

Ro.9: 18:

Sa then He has mercy upon whomever He wills, and He hardens the heart of whomever He wills" 0

Paul's argument in Romans 9-11 presupposes belief in the existence of

a divine plan. Paul invisions a "salvation history. ,,21 By establish-

ing Gad as creator, with "free will," Paul establishes God's "right"

H " "22 to 1S creatl.on. He can create ex nihifo, something where there

previously \"as nothing;23 His perogative to act includes His ability

to create history according to His own purposes. 24 Paul' s understand-

ing of predestination consists of the belief that God can and does act

~OCf. Ro.9:6,l4, Il:1,11.

21Cf. Kasemann, pp.264-266,273ff.

22Ibid., p.266.

23 Cf. Ro.9:25-26.

24 Cf. C.E'.B. Cranfield, the Epistle to the Romans, 2 ed. bY,J.A. Emerton & C.E.B. p.471ff.

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A Critical and Exegetica1 Commentary on Vol., The International Critical Commentary, Cranfie1d (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1981)

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as the creator, not only of humanity, but of history. ,His doctrine of

predestination is to be understood in the light of God' s etemal pur-

poses for His creation, purposes which embody God 's right', to act so­

teriologically.25 God acts tvith the freedom of msrcy. 26

Paul understands bath Israel' 5 rejection of the Gospel and his

.CMn "Gentile mission in terms of God's ,plan. Israel '5 trespass has a

d~vine origin. Romans Il:11-15 ~éads:

So l ask, have they (Israel) stumbled 50 as ta fall? By no means! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, sa as to make Israel jealous. No\-' if their trespass means riches for the Gent!.les, hmv much more will their full inclusion mean! Now l am speaking to you Centiles. lnasmuch then as l am an Apostle to the Gentiles, l magnify my ministry in arder to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save sorne of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

Israel's "trespass" has enabled the salvation of the Gentiles. The

divine purpose of this action is highlighted with Paul 's use of the

phrase "ta make Israel jealous." It ts a reference ta Deuteronomy

32:21, which Paul has quoted to the Romans in 10:19.27

Paui uses Dt.

32:21 ta set,both his Gentile mission and the rejection of Israel into

>- the context of Old Testament prophecy. As such Israel 's "trespass"

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/ , The n-otion of "jealousy" expressed in this passage is perhaps

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25~asemann, pp.264-266.

26Cranfiefd, pp.472,484.

27 Ibid ., p.556.

28See Dt.32:36ff.

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best understood in the context of the apocalyptic notion "the first

shaH be la~t, and the last first," the apocalyptic reversaI of the

norm. 29 "The fi rst" in tl10rldly righteousnJ:!ss, is "the last" ta be ,

justified. The Gentile mission is both, that which precedes the full

.redemption of Israel and that which enables this. t~ be accomplished

• (" t he .last," the Gentiles, must first. be justified). S,ince Paul's

.. apocalyptic hope, the redemption of Israel, now means the redemption

of I!he nations, Paul can interpret this conversely to' mean that I~rael

is redeemed becaus~ God redeems the nations. .As such God's rede~tive ---purposes are being re;:;'lized in the Gentile mi~sion (hence Paul mag-

nifies it) •. as well as in Israe1's rejection of the Christ which lead

to that mission. This is the apocalyptic turning of the tables.

IsraÇ!1 is, therefore, still the object of God' s redemptive actiyi ty

even in its "trespass;" its redemptian, hml1ever, means. that the re­

demption of the nations must first be accomplished.30

, The .significance af the phrase "lHe from the dead" in Ro.ll:15

is that i,t highlights the purpose of t\e whole passage: the redemption

of Israel i8 the last stage, .the zenith, of; God's plan of reconciliation

29S KH 304f ee ascmann" p. .

30Cf. Ro.lI: 25. It is a.lsa ta be noted that the phi~se "som~,of them" in Ro.ll:

14, refers speci fically to those Jews who have been redeemed as a re­suIt of the Apas tles' work. I t does not refer ta the fact that those JeW8 who will eventually be redeemed will only be few in number. Cf. Cranfield, p.559. In Ro.ll: 13-14, Paul i8 placing his ministry, which involves 'the saving "of sorne of them," inta the con,text of the greater di vine plan which encompasses the whole history of Israel, the wark of a11 the Apostles, and the future redemption awaiting "aIl Israel" at the cansummation of the age.

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'" for the world. The phrase refers to the resurrection of the dead on

the Day of the Lord.3l

In Roma~s 11:25-26, Paul brings his argument to a climax, and ex-

plains that wha~ is happening to Israel is to be understood "as' a mys-

·tery" revealed in terms of God's redemptive purp.ç.se:

Lest you be wise in your own concei ts, l want you ta un­derstand this rnystery, hrethren: a hardening has ,come upon part of Israel, ~nt;il the full number of Gentiles . come in, and sa a11 Israel will be saved (1(0/( o'VTc.JS 1r~s '1apc\.~').. OrJGtl CfE.TA\); as, it is written, "The deliverer will come from 'Zion, he will, banish ungodliness from Jacob. • ."

J

For Paul, Israel's rejection of the Gospel, its "hardening," i5 part

of God's purpose. As such, it also is divinely limited; it will last

only until the "full numher of Gentiles come in," Cranfield argues:

While Israel' s unhelief was something plain for aIl to see and not needing ta he revealed, the fact that a di vine hardening was involved was something which could .properly come under the heading of JI U(1"T.1p'(Jv. It could not he known by unaided 'human reason. 32

When the full number of Gentiles aré brought into the community of the

people Israel, then the hardening wMch enahled this inclusion will

end. Then Cod's promises \.;i11 have been fulfilled; His people Israel

will be delivered from "aIl ungo-dliness." For Paul, the mystery of

31See K~sel))ann, p. 307; Cranfield, p, 563. Even though according ta Kasemann, p.30·7,~ the majority of

scholars today interpret the phrase figuratively, both he and Cranfield, p.563, agree that it is tu he interpreted in'light of Ro.ll:25. ~e argues:

Genti le Christians, tao, must take into esehatological significance of Israel. c1ear in \.,hat follows (11: 17-24), which thetical.

32 > Cranfield, p.57S.

account the This is made is not paren-

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Israel's disobedience is resolved with his conviction that at the con-· ~

summation of the age, with the reconciliation of the world "all Israel

wil]" be saved." , ---

Paul does not resolve' this issue as did the Gentile Church at a

later time: to say that the Church replaces Israel as the people of

33 God, "a new Israel." In Paul~s eyes, the Gentiles are brought into

the community ,of Israel, ïWild branches" grafted on

tree" (Ro.ll:17-24). Is~ael's "hardening" is not a

,. ta a domestic "olive

sign of God's re-

jection, but it is to be understood in tenns of the "mystery" of God' s

activity. For Paul, even Israel's rejection of Christ is a sign of

God' s love for Israel, because it is through this rejection that both

34 Israel and the nations are redeemed. It is through Jesus, crucified

and resurrected, that God has begun and will accomplish His work of re-'-r-

demption.

2. Problems Caused by ,Traditibns lnherited from the Primitive' Com-

. munit y

The gospels preserve traditions which reflect a variety of cir-

cums tances . It is evident rhat sorne traditions from 'earlier periods

..., ""1

causea dit:ficultie~·· in later times. These issues will be discussed , .

under. t\~O subject headings: (A) The resolution of difficulties caused

,33See Kase~ann, p.261; Cranfield, p.448 .

.-~ 3~Cf. Hk;8:3l with 10:45; Jn.lO:18; Rev.5:9.

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by traditions which delimit the time of the Parousia to the lifetime

of the first generation; (B) Apoca1yptic traqitions reflected or pre-

served in the synoptic eschato-lO-gical discourse. The latter includes

a composite of traditions about the Temple and the "signs,': of the end

which were inherited by the gospel writers.

(À) The Resolution of Difficulties Caused by Traditions Which Delimit

the Time of the Parousia to the Lifetime of the First Generation

The earlies t Chris tians expected the Parousia to occur in their

own lifetime. The gospels preserve some sayings whid~ reflect this

expectation.35

These sayings are presenteq as '\.rord of Jesus" which

herdltl the coming of the Kingdom of God before the .death' of sorne in

the first generation. Mark 9:1 (and par.) liS possibly

It iS,.~prese!1ted here ~ng with its of such a saying.

Matthew:

the best example.

parallel in

And he said to them, "Truly l say to you, There are sorne standin here who will not taste death untl1 the see the Kingdom of God corne in power. 1 ICn'IITittS ~~t icrT'IJ{oT",v ~ " ," ",Ir .,..., l 01 "lItS 011 ,'47 YtUO'cJVIcIC( 901. Vd..lotJ tt.J5 eN loWCflV '?V Pd>,t1'II\L,c(V To(j

8cc>û O\7Àv9vit1.v i:v cfuvt<j4t'.)

35 ' Mk.9:1, 13:30, Mt.lO:23, and their parallels.

36The underlined phrase follows the Authorized Version and The Jerusalem Bible; ft dif fers from the RSV.

The precise meaning, and therefore the translation of this verSe has been the subject of much debate; see KUmmel, Promise pp.15~36--. Dodd, Parables, p.53, prefers "unti1 they have seen that the Kingdom of God has come with power," and 50 too the RSV. The tram:ilation used above ls supporte? by Branscomb, p.l54; Taylor, p.385; Kümmel, p.26-27;

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l-fatthew 16:28:

Truly, l say ta you, there are sorne standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.

There is a consensus among scholars that 'Mk..9: l \vas an iso1ated

37 saying before it was included into the gospels. The original setting

.is therefore obscure. Whether Mark 9:1 is an authentic saying of

38 39 Jesus, or stems from early Christian prophets, or is \ another kind

of creation originating with the primitive community,40 this saying,

and others like it still represent the belief of the earliest Chris-

tians. If this were not the case, there would be no reason for the

evangelists to inc1ude such sayings in gospels which were meant to be -')

E. Nardoni, "A Redactional Interpretation of Mark 9: l," The Catholic - 8th lieR 1 Quarterly 43 (1981) p. 370; D. E. Nineham, Saint Mark, West-

> minster Pelican Commentaries, ed./ by D. E. Nineham, (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1963) p.23l. Nineham, p.232, as well as Kümmel, p.27 point out that Matth.ew 16:28 interprets the saying in terms of the future appearance of the Lord.

37 Nd' 366 See ar on1, p. .

38T .W• Manson, The Teaching of Jesus, (Camblridge: University Press, 1931) pp.278-283; R.H. Fuller, The Nission and Achievement of Jesus, Studies in Biblical Theo1ogy 12, (London: SCl-l Press, 1954) pp.27-28;· Kümmel, Promise, pp.25-28; Jeremias, Theology, pp.135-137; N. Perrin, Kingdom, p .137.

39B. S . Crawford, "I\ear Expectation in' the Sayings of Jesus," Journal of B1blical Literature 101 (1982) pp.225-244.

,

40Bultmann, History, p.121; Conzelmann, Theo1ogy, p.104j Nardoni, p.368-370j N. Perrin, in "The Composition of Mark 9:1," Novum Testa­mentum 11 (1969) pp.67-70, changes his previous opinion, see n. 35, and argues that Hk.9:1 is a creation of the evangelist. Harx&.en, p.205, states na consensus will probably never be reached here." ~

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read by second, third or later, generation Christians. 41 "

The delay of the Parousia meant that these-sayings had to h'e re~

interpreted to suit the circumstances of the evange1ists; they had to

be able to account for the delay. The third evange1ist altered the

form of his version of the saying (Lk.9:27). He drops-the words

l~1Àueuj(l\1I Éli b/JV'~J1(( (come in power) allowing for a reinterpreta-

tian of the sayingj the emphasis now is on "seeing the Kingdom of

42 Gad" rather than on its coming in power.

The context in which the saying is placed by the evange1ists may

possibly reflect how this saying was used by the Church in their time.

Regardless of its original purpose, the saying is used, positively by

the evangelists. Though they had to reinterpret the saying to account

for the delay, the saying was a1so used by them to help bols~r the

-community' s faith in the Parousia. The context of MarK 9: 1 reflects

the fact that the saying may have c,!used difficulties, how these dif-

ficul ties were res oIved, and the posi ti ve use to which this saying was

put.

By A.D. ;3,43 the death of some of the first disciples, the fa1l

of Jerusalem along with the l'lon.-;occurrence of the P~rousia, the

41 If these sayings had gained dominical status by the time of "the

evangelists, their content must have been believed true at sorne earlier time. Had the primitive community net entertained such beliefs, the evangelists, writing between 70 and 100 A. D., would have inc1uded these sayings at a great risk to their credibility'.

42See Conzelmann, Theology pp.103-l04; Cf. B.H. Streeter, ~ Four' Gospels, (Nel.' York: Nacmil1an Co. 1925) p.520, argues that the evangelist interprets the "Kingdom of God" as the Church.

4jA tentative date for' the writing of Mark; see p. 99, n. 78. j'

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dispersion of the Mother Church, and continued persecution among other

f t t . b t d db" d' h P . 44 Sil ac ors, con n. u e to ou t regar 1ng t e arOUS1a. orne say ngs

, of Jesus were probably also cause for doubt. This is evident from the

45 condemnation which directly precedes, Mk.9:1, Mk.8:38:

For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulter­ous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Han be ashamed, \l1hen he cornes in the glory of his Father wi th the Holy Angels.

Mark 9:1 together witl1 th~ account of the transfiguration which follows

(Mk.9:'2-13) addresses this "shame" or doubt regard:i.ng the coming of the ,

Lord.

o

A relationship bet\veen Mk. 9: 1 and the account" of the transfigura-

tion has beeI~ seen at -least as early as .. the end of the second cen.turyl "-

in Clement of Alexandria' s Excerpta ex Theodoto. Regarding th.~ purpose

of the Transfiguration chapter 4: 3 reads:

And besides, it was necessary that that word also which the Saviour spoke should be fulfilled, "There are sorne of these standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Han in glory." Therefore, Peter, and James and John saw and fell asleep. 46

44See p.94 below.

45The sarne order of verses is found in Mat thew and Luke.

46Trans1ation by R.F. Casey, The 'Excerpta ex Theodoto' à.rf Clement of Alexandria, St udies and Documents Vol. l ed. by K. Lake .& S. Lake (London: Christophers, 1'934) p.43.

Jerome, The Romilies of St. Jerome vol. 2, tr. by Sister Narie Liguori Ewald, The Fathers of the Church Series vol. 57, ed. by J. Deferrari et. al. (lvashington: The Catholic University of America Press, 1966), p.161, also argues for a relationship:

(In reference to Mk. 9: 1) t.]bat He is actual1y saying 15 that they sha11 not die before they have seen

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Furthermore, the author of II Peter sees a relationship bet,,,een the

47 transfiguratioo and the promise of the Parousia (II Pet.l:16-21).

In more reeent times many s eholars have also seen a re1ationship be-

tween Mk.9: 1 and the transfiguration,. and th us bet\-leen thè trans­

figuration and the pr~pheey of the Parousia inherent in Mk..9: 1.48

The evangelist has reinterpreted Mark 9,: 1 sueh that the trans-

,p

figuration account is the fulfillment of the prophecy that the Par-

ousia will be verified by Apostolie witness. His purpose in doing '1

so 1s not jus t to "explain away" a "hard" say{ng of Jesus" but ta

bols ter fai th in the Parousia~ The transfiguration aceount is not

meant as a fulfillment of the phrase "the Kingdom of Gad coming in

power." Rather, it .i's meant as a referenee to the Apostolic witness

of the glory ta come. The believer is th US assured that the Parousia

is certain. The> account of the transfiguration complements Mari. 9:1.

Him ru1ing as King. • (In reference to the trans-figuration) Thi.~, they say, is lZhrist ruling; ..•

\ When they saw Him transfigured upon the mounta!n they saw him in the glory that wou1d be His. This, there­fore, is the meaning behind the words: They shall not taste death, until they have seen the Kingdom of God - whi ch came to pass six clays later. ~

Y-

47See p. 91 bel~w.

1 48G•H• Boobyer~ St. Nark and the Transfiguration Story, (Edin-burgh: T. & T. Clark, 1942), p.20ft. argues that "the transfiguration prophesies the Parousia;"'see also Taylor, p.385; Nineham, p.23'2; Nardoni, p.367; T.J. Weeden, Mark - Traditions in Conflict (Phila­delphia: Fortress Press, 1971) p.119; F.R. McCur1ey, "'And After Six. Dayso' (Mark 9: 2): A Semitic Literary Deviee," Journal of BibÜcal Uterature 93 (1974) pp.67,~81. Against any relationship see Bultmann, HistoEY, p. 260; Conze1mann, Theology, pp. 56-57.

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This is àn ecc1e"i013gical resolution of the problem. It teaches

that the vision of glory tQ. come ,is preserved in the witness of th!,!

Church. Sayings '"hich refer to a Parousia delimited to the first gen-

eration are thus reinterpreted to mean that the first generation, here

the pil1ar Apost1es, beàr witness to the reality of the coming Parousia .

. me ecc1esiological setting, for this saying and for Apostolic witness,

is emphasized in the Matthean context of the passages in question ....

Peter's confession (Mt.16:16) and the subsequent sayings which pro­

n~unce ~Jter the foundation stone of the Church (Mt.16:16-20) serve as 'II

,a prelude to the teaching on disci,1eship (16: 24) and suffering (16: 25-

27), and also the com~ng of future g10ry (16: 28-17: 13) .49 '.

• l "

This ~ame kind of reinterpretation ls probably behind the use of

Mark 13:30: , r

Tru1y, l say to JOU, this generation ~i11 not .P~ss away before CflJ.Xfls ob ) aIl these ·things take place.

An is01ated saying,50 has been used by the evangelist to serve a specifie

purpose in the eschato10gica1 discourse. , P

Mark 13: 28-32, addresses the

evangelist's community, or situation. There i5 doubt regarding the.Par-ç 1

ousia. His purpose is to establish its certainty. This saying is used 1

to ground the belief in the Parousia of his genèration in the witness '

" ~. -

Bornkamm, p. 42, argues "The conception of the Church expressed in (Mt.) 16:17-19 finds its counterpart ap.d basis in the Christo1ogy and context of 16:13-28." This context probably extends unti1 17:13.

1

50KÜIDme1, Promise p.60; Bultmann, History p.123; Branscomb, p.239. ,

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51' ' of the Apostolic generation. "This generation," represented by the

pillar Apostles of 13:4, bear witness to the fulfillment of "aH these , .

(\ things" mentioned in 13: 5-27, and therefore also to the Parousia (l)'!

24-27). - The "signs" have been fulfilled; only the Parousia is still

awaited. 52 Certainty 1s provided in the fact- that ,lI t his generation," 1 •

f1'

the finit $eneration, 1s witness to the fulfillment of aIl the "signs" ,0

of the;' Lord r s 'coming. The next: saying, Mk.13: 31, resolvesr doubt in

the Ma.rcan community resulting from the death of certain members of •

the Apostolic generation: "Heaven and earth will pass ,away ~ but my

words will 'not pass ,away." These "words," which promise the Church c, ,~ ,

the Parousia, though "heaven/' "earth," and the Apostolic generation,

9"pass away," are sti~l valid assurance that the Lord i~ coming. 'Nark

13: 32, which follows, quali~ies the delimiting features of 13: 30 by ."

leaving open the exact::' time of the Parousia.

The early Church used these difficult sayings inherited ft;'m the

a primitive cOTIUnllnity to teach 1ater generations that their hope for the

If • .. ..

" "

Parousia ~s grounded in the Apostolic witness of the glory to come. . , , '

The later datings of the synoptic gospels .is significant in this regard.

Many of the first generation had probably died, including promine~t

members of the Apostolic cornmunity. If these sa'N:!Jgs were still being

6' interpreted as they were in the primitive community, they would have

o

".,. 51This daes nat prec1ude the possible presence of sorne members

of the first generation among the Marcan community.

52See. pp. 96-100 belm.,. ..

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catised more doubt in the Parousia than fal.t:h. ) ,

., Indeed, by the end of the first century Sorne did question the

re~li ty of the Parousia because they be1ieved that sorne of ,the tra-

ditions handed on to them from the primitive cornmunity we.re in error.

l Clement 23: 3f. reads:

Wret;ched are th~ double-minded, who doubt 'in their sou1 and say "He have heard these things even in the days of our fathers, and behold we have grown old, and none of these things have happened to us." ••• Truly his will shall be quickly and 5uddenly accomp1ished, as Scripture aI50 bears wi tness that "he shall come quickly and shall

53 not tarry •.• .. , , \. ~" .... J

This is also the kind of si tuàtion to which the author of II pe;.ter ad-

dresses his epistle; it i5 a community marked by his "p,rophecy" in

54 3: 3-4:

. i ••• scoffers will come in the 1ast days.. • • sayl..ng,~.

"h'here "Ï.s the promise of~is coming? For ever since \" the fathers fell asleep, aIl things have continued as they were from the beginning of creation."

The author previously in .the letter\ has defended

tion of. the Parousia by re~~rring h~S readers to \

the Church 1 S expecta-

the wi tness ef the

fi . 55

tran~ guratlon. Early in the second ~entury, the author of II

Peter understands the witness of the transfiguration to be an assurance

53Translated by K. Lake, The Aposto'lic Fathers 2 Vols •. The Loeb ClassicalLibrary, ed. byT.E. PagE! et. aL, (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952) 1 vol. p.51.

54Se~ J.N .D. Ké1ly, A COIIlI'lentary on the Epist1es of Peter and of Jude, Black's Ne\.,., Testament Commentaries, ed. by H. Chad~Yick (London: Adam & Charles Black, 1969) pp.355-357.

55See J .H. ~eyrey: "The Apo1ogetic use of the Transfiguration in II Peçer 1:16-21," The Catholic Biblica1 Quarterly 42 (1980) pp.504-S19.

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of the Parousia. Like the synop~ic evangelists he has tied togethei

the transfiguration~-:and the promise of the Parousia. • Ir Petdr 1: 16-18

reads:

For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when t.Te made ~ ~nown to.you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Çhrist, b~ut we ~ere eyewitnesses of his majesty. For ~.,rhen he re­

cei ved. honor and ,glory from God the Father and the voice was borne to him by the Majestic Glory, "This is rny be­loved son, with whom r am weIl pleased," we hea'rd this voice borne from heaven, for we were with him On the holy mountain.

The Johanni~e community, howevèr, resolved problems caused by these

difficult sayings much differ~ntly from t;J1at outlined above. In John

21:20-23, the death of the last mernber of the Apostolic generation prob­

ably "caused .a crisis in the Parousia expectation of the Church. l,56 , The Fou1;"th evangelist resolves the problem by effectively arguing that

(

the Church has misunderstood sayings like the one recounted in, Jn.21:20.

John 21:22-23 reads:

Jesus said ta him, "rf it is my; will that he r,emain unti1 l come, \.hat is that to you? Follow me!" The saying went out among the brethren that this disciple was not to die; 1et Jesus did not say ta him that he \vas not to die, but, "If it is my wiLL that he ,remain until l come, what is that to you?"

56 R.E. Brmm, The Gospel According ,to John 2. Vols., The Anchor Bible, ed. by W.F. Albright et. al. (New York:' Double, Day, 1970) p.1118.

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(H) Apoca1yptic T,radi tions Reflected or Preserved in the Synoptic

Eschatologica1 Disc~urse -

" (

, There is genera1 agreement among scho1ar~, today t;hat the synoptic

, ~ eschatologica1 discourse is a Compos1te of different traditions.

Matthew 24 and Luke 21 :,5-38 are thought ta be dependant to sorne deg~ee

on Mark 13.57

Mark 13 may'not hm"ever'have ori-ginall,y been a li,t~~rary 58

" . ùnH but.' has, been ~ompiled by the evangelist. These traditions hav~

)

~

.57Cf. Hill, p.318 regarding Matthew, and Conze1mann,. th~ology, p.12lf. regarding Luke.

58 ~ See Taylor, p.498f,.; Beas1ey-Murray, Mark 1,3, pp.1-18; We~de~,

pp. 72-73; Marxen, p.16t;' Bultmann, History, p.122; Jeremias, Tt\eology., 123-127; L. Gaston, No Stone On Another, Supplements to Novum ,Testa­rœnturn 23, ed. by W.C. Van Unnik et. al. (Leiden: E.J. Bri1l, lnO) • pp.61-64; Kümmel,'Promise, p.104.

Scholars differ on questions regarding the sources used by the evangelist for the construction of this chapter. Hany have be1ieved that a Jet,;ish Apocalypse lies behind much of tpe discourse. BeasIey­Murray's extensive study on the history of the exegesis of Mark 13, Jesus and the Futm;e, (,London: }!acmi11an & Co., 01954) points out the assumptions benind this theory and its weaknesses; as is shown,in pp.

. 33ft. a1most every verse in the discourse has been considered eithér part of the so-called Jet"ish apocalypse, or 'part of the Christian additions. Variants of this- theot'y, hot"ever, persist unti1 today: e. g. Künunel, Promise, pp.94-l04; Weeden,'p.90f-. Still many other theories have been put forward in recent times: Beasley-Murray, Hark 13, pp.lO-18, upholds the view that the discourse was bjuilt upon teaching which originated with Jesus; Gaston~ pp.4l-64, argues that the evangelist compiled the chapter out of sayings of the Risen Lord; and L. Hartmann, Prophecy. Interpreted, tr. by N. Tompkinson, Coniectanea Biblica: New Testament Series 1 (Lund: CWK G1eerup, 1966) believes discourse is the remnant of a "Dahiel Midrash" spoken by Jesus of Nazar;eth.

This s tudy, proceeding under the assumption tha t the': discourse 1 in its present form was compiled hi the evangelis t,. ;inquii'n' in~ )

, his purpose, and the function of the discourse as teaching iMhe - , Church at his time. The prcesentation of the traditions \"hicQ consti­tute Mark 13 as a discourse of Jesus, prec1udes the possibi1i ty that Hark 13 was considered strange or abhorrent on the 1ips of Jesus by the Marcan communi ty. \fuether these' traditions ori gînate wi th Jes\us, the primitive community, or a Jewish'a~oca1ypse, they are used èy the evangelist as Christian ~eaching addressing issues of importance for,his community. ~I

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'b'een brought to~ethel in the gospel for specifieo purposes relevant te il

the eircumstances of t~e evangelist's eommunity.59 The purpose of the , . eschatologiea~ diseourse ts ta bolste~ faith.in the Parousia by ground-

, ing its -expeetatiQn in fulfilled prqpheey.

'J,;he- conclusion of t~ discourse, l-lk.13:28-37, ,reflects the situa-

tion O'f the Marcan community, a comrnunity whieh en tertains sorne doubt fI.,... • /

"l".)" ~

regarding the Parousia. 60 The' exhortati~ns to ,t'wa tchfulness" are' ad-1

'dressed .to moral 'lax:lty ,.,ithin the Chureh,61 Mlc13:32' addresses ques- ,'L

tions regarding the tirne of the parolisia,62 while 13: 30 addressès the •

-'" 63 " source of sorne of these doubts. The rest of the diseo~tse builds up J' ,

.. ' to these verses; they constitute the, exhortative portion. of the evan-

gelist's teaching. Mark 13:1-27 provides the basis for this exWor~ation.

The eschatolog'ical discourse is presente'd by th.e evang:'list aS "a

response 'ta a questipn put ta Jesus by Sorne discip les.

reads: .. Mark 13:1-4

Ô'

And as he came out of ehe Temple.., one of his disciples said to him, "Look " Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wondcrful buildings!" And Jesus said ta him', "Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another, that" will not be thrown down. " And as he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andre,., asked him

59Cf • Narxen, pp .166-189 ; Heeden, pp.73-l00. <J

60S ee Heeden, p. 89f., especially n. '34. ,

" 61S ee pp.6L-63 above.

" 62

pp. 61-62 abo~ , See . 63

See pp.89-90 above.

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, t>4 A prophecy about the dest;.ruction of the Temple is f"ollowed not only

by 'a 'l.uestion ;-egarding the time, but aIso' with" a reCJ.uest for a sign

indicaÙn~ \vhen "thesè things" are to be a·ccomplish~d. ,.' 'ç' ~,

The eschatologica1 discour~e' as a \vhol~ concerns th~ Parousia and

, h h' h d' . 65 d' h '" . j f h d i f t e events W:LC pr~ce e lt, an not t e t~me 0 t e estruct on 0 0

the Temple. The phrase "17;YE. hliilè< l.(fTCI(( ", (when will this be) 'refers ~ f~

back to the prediction of the destruction of the T~mple;66 Since the .1

,evangelist has compiled tr<;tditions \vh;i.ch conc(i!rn the Parousia as the . . 6'7

answe):' to the discip'Ies' question aBout the d~s truction of the Temple,

a relationship between the Parousia and the destruction of the Temple

is presupposed by the evan~elist. Furthermore, th-e association of the

destruction of the Temple and tlle Parousia must also have Ibeen

64 . There i8 a consensus \)1hich holds that W.~.13: 2 i5 not a prophecy

"after the fact;" see Bult~ann, History, p.399; also Beasley-Murray, fi

Mark 13, p.24; RÜInmel, Promise, p.IOO; Taylor, p.50l. , There is alpo agreement that this saying is probab!Y'an -authentic

sayiI}g ~f Jesus; Bultmann, History, pp.'120"':121,399; Kümmèl, Promise, p.lOO;. Beasley-Murray, Mark 13, p.22; Gaston, p.16lf., holds that it ' doesn' t stern from Jesus but early in the Christian prophetic\)traditiot;l.

'" 65K" l P' 98 . umme, rom~se, p. .

66Ib{d. , 99 100 ... pp. - • , '

67 -Gaston, pp.63-64, correctly observes that Othis is probably the

'unique, and Hmos t important" contribution of the evangelist to the discourse. (1

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t ~ ~. 68 pr supposed by the original readers -of the gospel., Oth~rwise

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the

trhe' iscourse would make little sense. Why wouldl!sayings' concerning

1 ~ / Par{)usia~. or the end-time constitute an answer ta a q..uestion regarding

~

the .time of the destruction of the Temple? 1

The presupposition that ,the Parousia and :the d'estruction tcM the

Temple are related underlies the pro'blem 'faced by the evangeilst as a

teacher in h-is community. The di:ffic'ulty to wb~b he addresses his . ... Il

• t., discourse will be"made cleai" after a brief sket,ch of Mark 13.

l) • H • Jesus' predicts the destruction of the Tempie. This is followed

by a question regarding its time, along with a 'r~que'st for a sign . • . . .

The main body of the 1 discourse i'5 made up' of sayings and warnings con-

cerning the events which are to pre"cede the Parousia. These sayings

" all recall exp~riences and' events~ which ~ are' known to have occu rred in

.~ 69 '.; the years leading up to and including the Jewish war of A.D," 66-70, ..

Nark 13: 5-6 and 13: 21-22, recall the me::sianic pretenders and r~bellious

. 70 uprisïngs which \olere inci ted in Palestine between 50 and 70 A. D. ,

. Historical, occurrences rnay a'lso lie behind· the traditions cast 'in

apocalyptic l'anguage in Mk.13:7-8. 71

Taylor notes that these verses

'68C.aston, pp. 457-468. also argues tJ:1at the primitive' community ex­pected the Parousia with the fall of Jerusalem. Since he dates Mark be­fore. 70, h~ believes th~t the evangelist shares this conviction. It Will be argued below that thfl' evangelist knmols o.f this expect~tion, but '1rriting after 70, he addressed Mk.13 ta the-disappointment caused by its failure to o'ccur.

69 See Branscornb, p.23lf.; Weeden, pp.90-97; Narxen, pp.17l-173 • . . 1 ~

70 \ ' S . See p.8. n. 6 above; also Mar:llfn, p.17l.

71 l 'or Taylor, p.505~ Cf. Weeden, p.92;'H.B. Swete, The Gospel Accord-

ing ta St. Mark, (London: Nacmillan & Co., 3rd ed. 1927) pp.298-299.

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refer to:

Current historical eventE .. may be in mind: risings in Pa1est:ltne, th~ Pa:t;'thian invasion, the .famine in the time of Claudius (Aets Il:28), the earthquakes at Laodicea (A.D.61) and Pompeü (A.D~62).

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72 Màrk 13:9-13 vividly recall the experiences of the primitive eommunity.

~ 4._,

The events assoeiated \.,i.th the faH of Jerusalem are recal1ed in Mk. ~ . 73.

13: 1,4-23.

After:recounti~g 'these events, which were ta precede the end (Mk.

13:5-23)~ the evangelist presents his readers with a propheGY of the • ,L

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coming of the Son of Han on ,the Day of YHWH, in Mk.13:'Z4-Parousia, the

27. 74 "This is the eliU:~x of the discourse. " ~ There is no vision or /

des~ription 0; a Templ'e being d7stroyed in this "passage. 75 ~ This abs~nce'

is not wh~t one would expect from a discourse whicp. sets. out to au.swer \

.- a question about "When" "the stones" of the Temple are ta be "thrown

72 See B l H' 122 K" 1 TI' 100 M '<il:' u tmann, lstOry, p. ; umme, ~ romlse, p. ; arxen, p.17lf.; Gaston, p.l7f. ÀJ

73 ., See Gast,on, pp.Z3-29; H. Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kin.gdom,

tr. by H _ de Jongste, ed. by R. O. Zorn (Philadelphia: The Presby-'terian and Reformed P'ub"lishing 'Company, 1962), pp.488-497; lv.L. Lane, The Gospel According to St. Mark, The New InterI?-ational Commentary, ed. F.F. Bruce (Grand Rapids: 'Eerdman's Publishing Company, 1974), p.466f.

, . 74see Kümmel,- Promise, pp .• 102-l03; Gaston, pp.3l-35; Lane, pp.474-

477; Harxen, pp.184, 187; Heeden, p.9lf. See L. Hartmann, Prophecy, pp .156-157, for s tudy on the dependence of Mk .13': 24-Z8 on the language and imagery of Jewish literature' on the Day of Ymm~

75 0 , ' • • ,,-.

, Against E. P. Gould, A Critiea1 and Exegetfcal C~en tary on the Gpspel According to St. Hark. International Critiea! Commentary, ed. by S.~. Drive: et. aL (Edinburgh: T. & • Clark, 191Z), pp.24l, 249-253, who argues t:qat the ~assage is des ribing the fall of .. Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple figu atively; see also Gaston, p.484f.

\" for sijllilar conclusion regarding Mat;: ,e\v' 24:29-31.

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f\ to a request for a \'sign" when "these things"

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dmm," an,d "to resPRnd . , \j "are aIl to be accomplished.!' Inste'ad, 'the reader ig presented wi\h

a vivid ~desc~~ption of the Son of Man coming in glory to gather His

elect trom the four winds.

,We must look for a refe;renoe té> ..t:he destruction of the Temple

elsewhere in the discourse. As is 13tated above, the' traditi'ons f.sutnd,

.fn Mk.13: 14-23 n~c,gll events associated wi th the fall of JerLsalem. Cl

They recall the horrorS' felt ~y those who had t~l;~ k ordèr ta es-

o cape the destruction of the- ci·ty. ' Sig~s su~h as\ there not being enough . \

time to gét one's èoat (l3:1~), a lament for nursi'~mothers:(13:17),

or a prayer that ~the tribulation not happen in winter "~3: 18) aIl h'ave

the teno.r' of an actual ciisis, '\.,ar-time conditions," and not s~ylized

. ". 76 . ap<?ca1yp tic horrors. The Jewish \.J'ar did indeed culminate in bath the

" "'-destruction of tbe Temple and Jeru~alem in 70 A.D. Inasmuch as the

\

Il" ' sayings in Mk.13: 14-23 reflect this period, they consti tute part of 'the

evangelist's inheritance from the Jerusa1em Church. They are traditions

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inherited from those who have experienced th.~s period of tribulation.

1 ~

, The destr~ction of the Temple i's the referent of thé enigmatic phrase ...

'!/o, pbl. À. u YfCi.. 7ip ~f7rW{f(.c.J~' in Mk.13: 14~

Bu~ when you see the abomination' of desolation 77 (~' ~b~ÀlJr~~ T1j.s if714t..JfJ'é.GJ5) standing where it ought not

, 1

76See Taylor, pp.513-514; Heeden, p.92; 'against Hartmann, pp .151-154, who believes that these verses are eschatological based.on Lof' s flight from Sod~m. 1

Prophecy, teaching

<77 • , The underlined phrase follows the Authorized Version which di,.,f-

fers from the RSV reading: "the desolating' sacrilegl!!." The AV better emphasizes the desolation which is an abomination, ,S opP,osed to an abomination which makes things deso1ate. tfuen "I?~ &f..71't.JtrE:.4Jj' is read as a genitive of content, Nk..13:14a implies the tulhllment of Dan.ll: 3\ rather than peing ~imply a restatement of the propbecy. .

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'ta be (let the reader understand), then let:" thôse, in Judea flee to the mountains ••• 78.

.... The d~iculty addressed by MM"k 13 now becomes clear. The Temple

been destroyed, the Mother Church dispersed, and still the Parousia ,

not occ ured. Has .something ~,

gone wrong wi th the plan?

~ The task of the evangelist is twofold. He must reassure his com-

• munit y, which probably inc~udes some members of the dispersed Jerusa.lem L.

Chu,rch/ that their traditions concerning the end-time and so also their ~

e~pect~tion of the Parousia are still valida Nothing ohas gone wrong

. . 'with the p).an. He must als'o stress the certainty of the Parousia in

the face of its non-occurrenc"e when ekpected. The association of'the , destruction of the Temple tlnd the Parousia was part of the expectation

a

inl'l.er.ited by the Marcan' c.ommuni ty.

78 , Most of the debate on the· date of this gospel hinges on the in-

terpretation of' this verse: see ,Beasley-Hurray, Futur'e. Does the verse refer to an apocalypti.c prophecy of a desecration of the, Temple? If so the ,gospel can be~ dated befpr!" A. D. 70. Does it refE\!p. ~o the destruction of the TemÇl1e? If 50, .it ls to be dated,after A.D.70. The mairr~que5tion aSked bY,those who at:gue the former is "\.Jhy hasp't,the evang:e1ist been more specifie if hè is indeeèl. referring to the destruetio\1 of the Tem­ple?" If it is argued tI;at Mark was written before A.D.70, it is gen­era11y agreed to have been written only, a fet., years before; s"ee Taylor, p.3l. Indeed, mQst commentators who date Harl< before 70 interpret Mark 13 as being written fot: ·those t.,ho must' flee Jeru,sa1em; see Har:fen, pp. 181-183; Lane, p.467f'.; Gould, p.247.· Gi-ven the association of "the • , destruction 0f the Temple with the Parousia, sinee ,the f.a11 of the ~i ty was imminent. why would any one wri te a gospel? ~llio wou1d read i t, and hm., \-lOu1d it be circu1ated amidst 'a11 the confus'ion of the end? Cf. G. Rohde,' Rediscovering tne 'Teaching of the Evangelists, .tr. by D.M. Barton, The Net., Test~ment Librar'y, ed. by A. Ri~h~rdson et. al. (London: SeM Press, 1968)' p.139, especially n. 53. A dhe after 70 is more prob­able, both in viet., of the interpretation of. 13: 14 and ïts' place in the discourse put forth be1m", and becatise the eyangelist fe1t fhere might be enough time before thé' end for a gospel ta be useful.

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The evange1ist reso1ves this prob lem with his use of the community' s

inherited traditions, that is he compiles Mark 13. The events which

occurred before the Jewish Har are presented as the IIbirthpangs" of the

Messianic age. Though the conunu~ity efPected the end to come when they

had experienced the "signs" manifest before the Har, the,evangelist re­,,~

, minds the community in 13:-7-8 that the end did not come at that time

as sorne may have expected. The persecution of the Church, reca11ed in

13: 9-p, which was expected before the end would come is a1so iné1uded

in the period of the "birthpangs." He tells the community iÎ.n \vhat

follows, 13: 14-23, that the awai ted "Messianic Hoes" expected at the

" dawn of the Messianic age were realized during the-t--r-i-&u-1a-t-ion-o-~~he~--

Jewish Har (13: 19-20). The significance of 13: 14 is brough t out in

this context. The form~.1lation of the verse, and th us its purpose, is

not to calI attention ta the de~tn,1ction of the Temple as such. r.hat

fact was only aIl too real in the decade after 70 A. D. Mk.13': 14 ca1ls

at tention to the destruction of the Temple as the fulfillment of

prophecy. The writer of Matthe\" correctly interprets the reference ta .,.

Daniel in the phrase "the abomination, of desolation" (Mt.24: 15).

More importantly, 13: 14f. cons t i tutes the fuI fil1men t of Jesus' prophecy

about ,the Temple and the disciples' request 'for a "sign." The destruc-

~

tion of the Temple is the slgn that "these things" \"i11 aIl be accom-

pIt shed. It is the sign th'at Gad ,vill bring thi\",orld t'o an end; it

points to the cosmiè destruction ",hich will brinp.; about the end of the "

79 age.

79 \

For the meaning of CiIJ/fÇ,ov as a portenteaus act which points to something yet ta corne, s~e K.H. Rengstorf, on 0'7ftEiov in The TÎleo1ogica1 Dictionary of the New Testament, V. vIÏ ed. by G.\} Freidrich, pp • 216-217 •

101

The des truction of the Temple as the consummate sign is the ful-

~

fil1ment of the Church's expectation of "signs;" the "messianic woes"

have occurred. The community is now ta expect nothing 1ess than the ..4

f ,

Parousia of the Lord itself. Jesus has beerl a~ked for a sign (13:4)'"'"

and this has been fillfilled. !ts fulfi11ment is what the evangelist

wants the reader ta understand in 13:14. The readers of the gospel do

not need ta be to1d that the Temple has been destroyed. Rather, th~y

need to be to1d that its de",struction was the fu1fi1lment of the Church's

apoca1yptic expectations. Its destruction is the fulfi11ment of pro­

phecy, 80. and is a1so the consummate sign pf the coming éf the Day of

81 the Lor,d. The Marcan cornrnunity is--ammred that the recent 'history

of the Church has been foreknown and expected (13: 23).

"The Parable of the Fig Tree" (Mk.13:28:-29) is used' to i11ustrate

the evangelist's Interpretation of "current events:"

From the fig tree learn its 1esson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth i ts 1eavês, you know that summer is near. 50 also, when you see these things. taldng place, you knm., that he is near, at the very gates.

The evangelis t reminds hlS communi ty that they are am~mg the generation

. 82 who have witnessed the things described in 13:5-23 take ",place. Now,

"after that tribulation" (13: 24), they are to expect the Parousia; "he

is near." Rather than doubt, because the Parousia did not occur with

80 r Dan.ll:31; Cf. B. Rigaux, "BLlEI\YI1ATH2 G.PHI1D:5:Efl'2 Mc. 13:14;

A , Ht.24:l5," Bib1ica 40 (1959) pp.675-683. Hk.13:l4 also refers to the fulfil1ment of 13:2.

81 rt fulfil1s the request for a sign in 13:4. The sigRificance, of the Temple for the Jerusa1em Church must not be uhderestimated. E.g. Aèts 2:46. 5:42.

82 Cf. Gaston, p.453f. \

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the destruction of the Temple, the Church should take hea~t because it

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1s a sign of ~he nearne~s of the Lord'. The disasters experienced by , d

the Church indicate, like the budding of a fig tree, that the summer

of the Parousia is not far off.

Mark 13:32 sets "the who1e discourse in perspective. The communitr,

-1s no longer to await the fu1fillment of any "signs." It awaits the

Parous1a itself. If any one is concerned about the reality of the Day

of the Lord, they have only to look towards Jerusalem. Th~ exact hour,

of the Parousia is not known. So it.can come at any time. The Church,

therefore,. ls to "watch ~" that' it may not be found "sleeping." No one

knows the time;- but the Chur ch' has aIl the "signslt it needs to know that

, ,tne parow:jia is certain.

, <

The other synoptic evang~ists add to- and clarify Mark 13 for their

mm cOl1'!I:luni ties. Matthew inc1udes the \Vords "TIj.s (J7S 1'(QIf~,,(f/o(S " in

the disciples' question to Jesus which opens the discourse (Mt.24:3).

The associélttion between the destruction of the Templ,e and the Parousia

is thus made exp li ci t at tne' outset. Nark 13: ~4, is also c1arified

with the addition of a'n~ference to the Prophet Daniel in Mt.24:l5.

The Lucan discourse, Lk.21:5-36, diminishes ,the si~ificance of

the fall- of Jerusalem as the consummate "sigu" of t:Ite Parousia. The

fal1 of the city is one eVent, or "sign," among many which cOfljtitutes l' "

Godrs' plan for the end-time. Mark 13:14-22 i8 clarified in Lk.2l:20-24 " ,

with explicit references to ~he fal1 of Jerusalem and the di'spersa1 of

Israel. The Lucan exposition of Mk.13: 14-22, in Lk. 21: 20-24" offers

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further evidence that the Church interpreted the destruction of the

Temple as a tiroe when its inherited apocalyp.tic prophecies were ful-

fi~led. Luke 21:22 reads: p .... ~ ~

for these are the days of vengeance, ta fulfill aIl that is 'wri t ten.

\ What follows the Lucan account of the fall of Jerusalem indicates

the differing perspectives adopted by the synoptic evangelists with , ,

regard to the eschatological plan. The authors of Mark and Matthew Q ,

were satisfied t'o consider aIl the prophecies for the, end-time fulfilled, 1

but to consider the tiroe of the end'itself unrevealed. Their gospels

present an open ended version of the divine0

plan which is aIl but con- ~

summated in A.D. 70. The author of Luke oroits the verse discountift:::::::://<"

knowledge, of the time of the end to aIl but the Father. Instead, he

reGords an apprehension of the divine'pla~ which ihcludes an un{ulfilled

proph~cy concerning lI t he tiroe of the 'centiles" after recounting the fall ,.

of Jerusalem. Luke 21:24b reads:

'> o

and Jerusalero will. be trodden down byo the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

"The 'inclusion of this prophecy allows for an extended period of time

béfore thè" Parou~ia. 83 This, gospel teaches that the delay itself is ,

part of the revealed eschatological plan.

The overarching purpose of the threé verslons of the eschatological

discourse' ls the sarne. They assure" the Church that the:re ls a plan,

that aU that has" happened chas been foreknown, nothin& has gane wrong, "

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and the Parousia ls Sti11\ to come. The Church should, "watch" ;: .. , ,

main firm in its expectation of the Lord.

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And then the y will see the Son of Man corning in clouds

w!th great pm.er and glory. And then He 'viU send out

the angels. and gather His elect from the four winds,

from the ends of the.earth to the ends of heaven. 84

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CHAPT ER FOUR

THE APOCALYPSE OF JOHN

IN LIGHT OF APOCALYPTIC ISSUES REFLECTED J

IN OTHER Nm.;r TEST MŒNT WRITINGS _

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Chapters one 'through three examined apocalyptic issues reflected

in the N~w Testament apart from the Book of Revelati9n_ This chapter

W1l1 examine the Apocalypse against this background; its place i& re-

iation to the apocalyptic concerns of the early Church may thereby be

established. The Apocalypse will be discusseH under two subject head-

ings: (1) 'The place of the Apocalypse in relation to issues which f 0

arose among first generation Christians; (2) The place of the Apocalypse

in relation to issues which arose due to the delay of the Parousia.

Tl:te division ot apocalyptic issues in this manner is 'only pro-

visional. These categories represent the chronological progression in­

hereryt in the Ch~rch's adjustment to tne no~occurrence of the ParOUS1a.

Issues arïsing due to "imminent expectation" preceded issues caused by

the delay; as Christians were confronted tiy the "delay," apocalyntic

issues changed accordingly. Hmolever, while these categories d~lineate

the "evolution" of apocalyptic issues in the J,ife of the Church, onc

,> Il should recognize the problems Inherent in positing simple linear pro-

gression. It 1S understood that first generation~Christianity, which ;'

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dea1t pz::imari1y wi th apoca1yptic issues caused ,by "imminent expecta­~

tion," may ~ in particu1ar instances"had to address prob1ems caused . ' , by the de1ay ,of the Parousia. Simi1ar1y, though the de1ay \-laS the

primary source .for the emergence of apocalyptic issues for the 'Church ,

after 70-A.D., new CODvert~ in the second or third generation along

with conununities which exper!enced a resurgence of "imminent expecta-\

tion" probab1y had sorne of the same difficu1ties prevalent during the

ear1y years of the Church.

1. The Place of the Apocalypse fn Relation to Issues Which Arase .. Among First Generation Christians

thP~ook of Revelation does not speak direct1y ta any of' the prob­

lems which were pecu1iar ~o first generation Christianity. Issues

1

which arase. due ta the expectation of an imminent Parousia, questions

about the status of the Jews at the Parousia, and questions about the ..r='

doctrine of the genera1 re~urrection, do not concern the author Qf the

Apocalypse. John addresses his book to difficultie~which arase be-

fh fhp ·1 cause ote non-occurre11~e 0 t e arOUS1.a.

Significantly~ the absence of direct reference to these issues

does not mean that the Book of Revelation bears no relationship to

them: The Apocalypse does include traditions \"hich represent the

lSee Sec.2 (C) be1ow.

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107

resolution of these issues by the early Church. Traditions ~hi~ arase .

in response ta problems peculiar ta the first generatlon have bec~me

part of the Apocalypse's inherited teachfng. These traditions have been

put ta new use; they are incorporated into the author' s exhortation tp'

the Church of his day.

CA) Issues Arising due te the Church's E~ectation of an Imminent

Parousia

The Apocalypse is not addressed to those who fear they may miss

out on the Parousia, nor to the concern reflected in l Thess.4:l5-l8

about the status of those who had died. Furthermore, it does not re-

flect d:1.Î ilculties which the primiti~e" connnunity expe'rienced due to

its "interim ethic."

Inasmuch as the Apocalypse preserves traditions from an ear1ier

period,2

i t contains a fe\y pass~e6 whicn reflect the resolution of sorne

issues ,yhich arase due ta "imminent expeètation." The presence of such

passages in the Apocalypse, similar to their presence in the synoptic

gospels, are examples of traditions initial1y used in respons,e ta a

particular p,roblem, ,-lhich in 1ater times were used to satisfy other

needs. Revelation 1:7 is one such passage:

Beho1d, he is coming with the c1ouds, and every eye \ViII see him, every one who pierced him; and aIl the tribes of

2See L.A. Vos, The Synoptic Tradi tions, in the Apocalypse, Vrije Universiteit te Amsterdam (Kampen: J.H. Kok, 1965); R. Bauckham, "Synoptic Parousia Parables and the Apocalypse, Il Ne,,, Testament Studies 23 (1977) pp.162~176.

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the earth \.,i11 wail on account of him. Even 50. Amen.

This passage is similar ta Matthew 24:30. Bath are constructed from

. 3 Dani'el 7: 13 and Zechariah 12: 10. The tradition combining Daniel and

Zechariah probab1y predates bath the writing of Matthew and the Apoc-

4 alypse. Possibly it was origina11y used to teach Gentile converts

ab h . l . 'f h P . 5 out t e un~versa lmpact 0 t e arOUSla. The combination of the

~o passages from different Hebrew prophets provides an abbreviated i'

~l refe'rence ta Jewish àpocalyptic imag~ of the Day of YHHH and

that of the appearance of the Son of Hàn.

John's use of this tradition is not ~eant ta be an introduction ,

ta, or a corrective of, the Church's teaching on the Dal'of YHHH~( It

i5 used in the bles5ing which opens the Apocalypse. He probab1y did.

not have anybody in mind who believed tbat "not every eye \.,i11 see Him."

3Vos, pp.60-70, argues that John has altered Zechariah 12:10 under the influence of the universal characteristics already present in the tradition ,.,hen be inherited it from his source. The wording of Rev.l:7 as it stands is, however, John's. He has changed Zech.12:l0, "when they look on him whom they have pier.ced" to "every eye will see him, every one who pierced him." Hhat was familiar to John was the combination of Dan.7:13 and Zech.12:l0, and not sinply the tradition as found in l'lat thew.

According to Vos, p.5lff., ~ohn uses older traditions profusely; he probably quo tes from memory since for example he never quo tes the Old Testament directly. He amplifies his variol}s points ~.,ith slight alterations in his traditions which may or may not be intentional.

4 See Vos, p.60ff.; H.B. Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, 3rd

ed. (London: HacITlillan and Co., 1909), p.9; R.H. Charles, A Critieal 'and Exegetical Cornrnentary on the Revelation of "St. John, 2 vols., The

International Critieal Commentary, ed. by S.R. Driver et. al. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920), vol. 1, p.17.

S See p.14 above.

r

109

. .

The verse continues the thought started in the, pr~vious v(:se: Rev.

- 1:6 glorifies C2:ris,t who has freed us from our sins; Rev.l:7 continues

glorifying Christ who will come with, universal recognition. Bath

verses represent what by John' s time are fami1iar aspects of the

Ch-" f' 6 rlstlan con eSSlon.

-- Revelation 14:13 includes a phrase which echoes Paul's use of the ri

"dead in Christ" in l Thess.4:16: "Blessed are the dead who slie in

the Lord. The pp,rase is used here ta console those who face'

martyrdDm rather t;han those who have been shaken by the death of'"'

friends before the Parousia.8

Paul's teaching"in l Thess.4:16 about the Parousia {s eorrob-

orated by Rev.l9:1lff. Though more elaborate than the cu'rsory ref-

erence in l Thessalonians, the Apocalypse includes aIl three features

mentioned ~Y Paul. Among other tnings, Christ is portrayed as coming

in eonunand of holy legions. (19 :11-16). ~~gel crÏ;es out with '''a

loud volee" proclaiming tli.e defeat of evil ~19:17-21), and there is 1

also a Yisionof the resul;rec;tion of the de ad (20:4-5, 1l~l4). John,

,however, describes the Parousia in order t'Cl proclaim God' s vietory ,

over evi19 and not, as did Paul, to provide his readers with information

6 Charles, Revelation vol. 1, pp.lS-17.

<1

7 c- ,c • 1)' • _ '1 ,

"OC VE.KfOI O( [.V KUflY ët:rro~yq(JJ{ovl.!..s " ~n Rev.14:13 and" OC V~I(-poi :.." Xf'O"T.cJ" ~n l ~hess.4: 16.

8 q

Swete, p.IS7; Cf. Charles, Revelation, vol. 1 p.370.

9See Swete, pp.250-259j N. Kiddle and M.K. -Ross, The Revelation of St. John, The Hoffatt New Testament Conunentqry, ed. by J.- Hoffatt (London: Hodder & S tough ton, 1940). pp.383-386; G.R. Beasley-Murrary, The Book of Revelation, New Century Bible" ed. by M. Black, (London: Oliphants, 1974), pp.277-287.

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which the y lacked concerning status of "the dead in Christ"- at the

end of the age.

It is clear that John shows familiarity with apocalyptic motifs ~

stemming from early in the life of the Church. He has adapted sorne •

of these trad~tions for his own use. 'He prefaces the revelation

with a doxology constructed out of traditional confessional and littlr-

gital statements (1:7). He consoles those who face martyrdom with a

saying ·concerning the future blessing awaiting those who die "in the

Lord" (14:13), and he exhorts the whole Church with a vision of the

Par6usia,so as to build up its faith at a time when the delay was

. d b 10 caus.ln~ ou t.

The Apocalypse reflec ts a time ",hen the Chur ch had in sorne places,

notably in Laodicea, achieved a certain measure of financial security

(R,ev.3: 17). John' s atti tude towards wealth, hm'lever, recalls a time

whert worldly riche,? vere considered incompatible wi th the Kingdom of

God. While Laodicea,is condemned, Smyrna, a poou Church (Rev.2:9),

is applauded. Though other factors contributed ta John's evaluàtidn

of the state of these Churches, wealth is generally cQndemned in the

Apocalypse.

There is a consensus which holds that Revelation 18, fIat 'least

on one level, depicts the destruction of the city of Rome and the

10 See Sec. (C) below.

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breakdown of the world arder associat'ed with it. ,,11 Though there 1s

sorne debate whe~her Rev.18 is a lament/over the fall of Rome or a 1

song expressing joy over the ~riump'h of God'~ cause12 it is clear

that John regards wealth as one of the reasons for Rome's predicted

downfall. 13 Since the book was initially~ent ta Christian Churches ,

in Asia Minor ~ and not ta Rome, i t can be 1?afely assum:ed that the

passage was not meant ta warn Rome 0\ impending doom. The passage is

pot meant rnerely to express joy at the prospect of its downf~ll, but

~ ta warn John' s readers not to put their trus t in the' things of this

lIA.y. Collins, ,iRevelation 18': Taunt-song or Dirge?", L'Apoc­alypse Johannique et l'Apocalyptique dans le Nouveau Testament, ed. by J. Lambrecht', Bibliothe'ca Ephemeridurn Theologicarurn Lovaniensium 53 (Leuven: University Press, 1980) p.18S; Cf. Swete, pp.226-241; Charles~ Revelation vol.2, pp.87-88,9S-1l3; Kiddle and Ross, pp.358-374; R.H. Preston~and A.T. Hanson, The Revelation of St. John the Divine, (London: SCH Press, 1949), pp.llS-118; G.B. Caird, A Commentary on the R~velation of St. John the Divine, Harper's Nmv Testament Commen­'taries, ed. by H. ,Chad\vick, (Ne\v York: Harper & Row, 1966), pp. 221-232; Beasley-Nurray, Revelation, ?p.2G2-270; J.P.H. Sweet, Revelation~ Westminster Pelican Commentaries, ed. by D.E. Nineharn (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979), pp.264-276.

l2See Collins, Revelation 18, pp .185-204 '. It mus t be noted that reactions like that of H. Lilje, The Last Book of the Bible tr. by O. Wyon, (Philadelphia: Nuhlenbrg Press, 1957) p.235, that the "lon~ list of lux ury articles (18:9-19) sounds like hitter mockery" may not be required if one takes in ta account John's purpose in.writing the book. Wealth and. pmvcr which insure securi ty in this world, represented by Rome~ will hé 9f n~ importance when the day of judgment da~ns. ' John's "taunt song," Kiddle and Ross, g.3S9, warns his readers in Asia r-linor not ta put their trust in \vorldly things.

l3Collin8, Revelation 18, p.230; Caird, p.227, followed by Sweet, p.264, believês that John doesn't condemn wealth as such but Rome's use of it; it was used by the ''barlot ta seduce men into materialism."

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world; worldly security will not help Rome on the day of its judg­

ment, and neither will it help the community of believers.14

John may have beeu someope who remembers the time ~.".hen the primi­

" tive community rejected worldly attachments.. He may possibly also be

an early Christian prophet who wants to côntinue th!s tradition he

inherited framhîs elders. Eith~rwaY7'John's attitude towards .riches o )

o

as reflected in ~he Apoc91ypse represents a reaction towqrds a Church

which 'has become complacent abou~ the temptations ~hich present

themselves when one has dealings with this ~orld. ' John's attitude

does represent an 'important ~~~opment over that associated with the __ ~el

primitive commUl;l'ity. "8y associating wealth" or onulence, with Rome

(Babylon) 'the harlot, John has explicitly associated wealth with the .--presence of the eschat?logical adversary; it is nat only a syrnbol of

la':

\vorld.lY a t tachrnen t •

(B) The Apocalypse and the Issue of the General Resurrection of the

t>ead

Unlike l Carin thians 15, the Apocalypse does not address a~y

problems which rnay bave arisen out of unfamiliarity with the Jewish

1 · h' h ' . 15 apoca yptlC teac lng on t e genera~ resurrectlon. In fact, the

"

l4Cf • Kiddle and Ross, p.363ff.; Sweë~, p.271.

~e material ï't contains about the resurrection of the dead could be used to familia~ize new converts w~th sorne aspects of the' teaching; this was not, however, John's purpose in writing the book.

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~ Apocaly~se presupposes an.acquaintance with t.aditions about the

resurrection body; John's readers are expected to be familiar with ~ ~.

" 'the clothing metaphor' for 'the resurrection body. The metaphor, ,

furthermore, is not used simply to describe the resurrection body as /

o

it i5 used by Paul in II Cer.5:1-5. The metaphor is used by John

to stress the necessity of living a moral life if one expects to

~,

inherit this body at the Parousia.

/

IYet y.ou have a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments; and the y shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. . • '/

. , In this passage John assti'me-s that his readers know what it means to

"keep" one's "garment." .. i

Similarly Rev.16:15 reads:

Lo, l am coming like a thief! Blessed is 'he who is awake, keeping his 'garments that he may ~ot go naked and b~ seen exposed!

Again one mus t know wha;t i t means to "keèp" one "s "garment" or to "be "rI,

.. <IV seen exposed" for this warning to have any effect. John does not ex-

plain his use of the metaphor. ~f! II Cor.5:l-5, Paul uses clothing

metaphor whe~ teaching the Corinthians about the re~urrection ~ody •

• He argues that the believer can look forward to "a he.avenly dwelling"

which is t"o be '.'pu.t on" at the ~arousia. In ~I Cor.5:3-4, the p~rase , f ,

"that wé. might not be found nàked" refers to ~aul's wish that he not

be disembodied through death. Pa,ul is concerned about the possibility o

of his "nakedness" in thE!· in terim' be twe~n death and the general

resur~ection. He hopes he will be "further clothed" through the '\ .. ~,)

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miracu10us transformation of the ea:rthly body into the spiritual at

16 the coming of the Lord.

In the Apoca1~se, John uses the same metaph~r, but for different

purposes. In Rev .16 :15, he does not meaI)3."Blessed are tho5e who re-'

main a1ive until the Parousia," he warns that one can 10se the in-

,. 17 heri tance of the resurrection body if one does not remain "awake."

To be seen "exposed" is to be raised disembodied, a fate reserved for

h . k d . 1 . l' 18 t e w~c e ~n some apoca ypt~c ~terature. ''Wakefu1ness,'' further-

more, in the Apocalypse ~ as a1so for Paul and in the synoptic gospels,

, 19 invo1ves living a moral life. Rev.3:4 warns the be1iever that an

immoral life here and now "soi1s" the resurrection body which he or

she is to inherit at the genera1 resurrection. Since those 'who have

not soiled their garments" are the exception in a Chur ch whose ,wrks

"hàve not been found perfect" (3:2), Rev.3:4 carries the implication

that most of the members of the Church in Sardis have "soiled" their

"garmen ts ." The candi tion of the res'urrection body will indicate the

.<0

kind of life the believer has 1ead in this wor1d. John thus uses a

famd.1ar metaphor or tradition which speaks about the resurrection

body in terms of clothing in arder to exhort his readers ta l~ve

correct1y in this wor1d.

l6See p.77 above. "

17Cf . Charles, Revelation vol.1, p.187ff.

l8See Charles, Revelation vol.2, pp.193-l94; Russell, p.37S.

19see pp.56-59 above; a150 Loyestam, p.lOS.

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.r •

Referénces to the resurrection body, particularly as a way of

speaking about the quality of the 14,":es of believers in this w,?r1d,

are presen t throughout the Apocalypse. The Laodidlans, in 3: l8f., ' . . ,

are toldothey are "naked" and ought to acquire "wlrite robes" from the

Lord through repentance. The Holy Martyrs in 6:11 receive t~eîr~

"whi te robes'" immediately upon ,1

their dea ths, and those who, ''have come

, through the great tribulation Il have "washed their robes and made them

white in the blood of the lamb" (7:14). In Revelation 22:l4~ the Q

readers ,of the Apocalypse are exhorted to ''wash'' their "robes" also.

The clothing metaphor in the -Apocalyps'e reaehe~ its zenith perhaps in

Rêvelation 19:18. The Chureh, the Bride of the Lamb,20 is told that r

her wedding garment, "fine linen, bright and pur~," i9 made up of

nothing less than "righteous deeds of the Saints .1121 John's uSe of

the clothing metapl}or emphasizes that "every aet of the present life

is thus linked up inexorably to th~ future. ,,22

Paul believed that those who die before the Parousia are with

the Lord, "away from the body" (II Cor.5:6-9, Phil.l:23); one ,remains

disembodied and only receives the resurrection body at the Parousia.

John it seems shares this belief,23 but the ApoeallPse nevertheless

20The bride il? to b~ interpreted as the whole Church (Caird, p .234) ~ 1

and not only as a reference ta the eommunity of martyrs (Charles, Revelation vol.2, p .126f ~ .

21 Cf. Eph.5:26-27h

22 Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.188.

23 Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.98; see alsQ vol.2, pp.194-l99.

. ,

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. "', ...

116 .. represents a further development, with respect t,o this teaching as

found in' the Pauline epistles. John i~forms the Church that the

) , \ believer is already in possession of th~ resurrection body in sa far

as he or she"can "wash," "sail," or lose it in this life. Activity

in' thî~ world ~ffects the believer t s inheritance of the resurrection #) .. , ... •

bod~ •• For example, $0 great ~~_ the effect of martyrdom that those

~ho experience it. receive the resurrection body immediately upon . their de~ths (Rev.6:ll) and will reign with Christ in the millenial

, .age (Rev.20:4-6).

The Apocalypse was written for communities which had existed

long, ~nough for their members 'to become weIl acquainted with tpe ' .

Church's apocalyptic heritage. John's readers knew of the general , \ -

resl,lrrect,ian and were familiar with th~ Church' s traditions about the 4

resurrection b.ody. His teaching on the resurrection and its place in Q

rela.tion ta what one accomplishes in this life illustrates the way he Il .... \ t>

. :attempts to apply the Church's apocalyptic traditions in community , , -

,1

~ife. ~e is not teaching the Church about the re'surrec tian body, hut • -,

'9

using her tradi~ions about it in order ~9 emphasize the need for

living a moral llfe.

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(C) The Apocalypse and the Status of the J~ws 'at 'the Parousia

Paul~ a Jew s ag'oni~d over the place of ,the Jews in Gad' s plan

for the end-time in li.ght of their rEiJection of the Messiah and the

G?Spel (Ro.9~ll). The Apocalypse does not reflect this problem, nor

does"it seem to concern its auth~r. Significantly, ~owever, John's

:vision of future redemption, a vision which makes no distinction be-

2-4 ' 4 tween Jews and Gentiles, ls decidedly grounded in the Jewish

1 . d h id" 25 apoca ypt1c an prop et c tra 1t10n.

" The absence of anguish over the fate o~ unbeÜ.eving Jews could

indicate that John was a Gentile; the issue might not therefore con":

cern him in ,the sarne way that it rnight concern a Jewish Christian.

There is, however, a èonsensus among sch'alars 2· based primarily. on

linguistic grounds, that the writer of the Apocalypse was an Aramaic

or Hebrew speaking Jew.26

Furtherrnore, John~s .. use of the term "Jet ... "

in ~ev. 2: 9 and 3: 9, "those who say they are Je\Vs and are not," has

>_positive connotations. John retains' its rneaning as a reference tQ

'dt ' ,

24 . -See Rev.7:9f.; 2l:24f.

& 25See M. Rissi, The Future of the World, Studies in ~iblicai Theology, Second Series 23 (London: SCM Press, 1972) pp.61-73; A. Geyser, "The Twelve Tribes in Revelation - Judean and Judeo Christian Apocalypticism," New Testament Studies 28 (1982), pp. 388-399.

26See notably Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp.xxif., cxii-clix; and more recently the significant contribution of G. Mussies, The MorphologY. of Koine Greek t As Used in the Apocalypse of St. Johp, Supplements to NovumTestamentum 27, ed. by W.C. Van Unnik et. al. -, (Leiclen: E-.J: Brill, 1971). Cf. Preston and Hanson, p.42f.; Caird, p.5f.; Beasley-Murray, Revelation, p.35f.·

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God's people, the eleet. 27 'rhis use of the term reflects John's ,

understanding that the Church is not a replacement of Israel, but >

h . i - f· 28 t e contl..nuat on 0 ~t. {' ,

If John is a Jew, then his atti tude towards the Jews ln Rev.

2: 9 and 3:9 may refleet a period of ten"ion between Jews and ~wish

Christians at the tum of the first century. Jewish persecution ~f

29 the Chureh, together with the tension created when the Council at

Jamnia~ cirea 80-115 A.D., was formulating the ''benediction against

the Heretics," ma~e, it increasingly difficul t for Jewish rristians

èept

27Cf • Rissi, Future, p.16. This use of the term 1.s unpara!leled in perhaps in i ts use in Ra. 2: 29 by Paul.

'-'"

the Ne~ Testament ex-'

28Cf . Preston and Hanson, p.92; Rissi, p.74f.; Sweet, p.195. An l..mportant e~ample of this aspect of Johannine ecclesiology

i5 found in Rev.12. The ''Woman clothed with.the sun'1 is identified by Sweet, 'îfp.19'4-)95, as "the bride of Yahweh," "ZiOn out of whom will come the Hessiah, n "l'lary, but only in 50 far as Nary embodies faithful Israel, and mothers the Ness,iah, " by Swete, p.148, as "the Jerusalem Church, " by Beasley-Hurray, Revelation, p .197f., as "the mother of the people of Gad," and by Collins, The Combat Nyth in the

. Book of- Revelation., Harvard Dissertations in Religion 9, ed. by C. Bynum et. al., (Hissula: Scholars Press, 1976), p.135, as "the-

\

heavenly IS:rael." Swee t, p .195, highlights the importance of identi-fying the Wornan with the Church "only in sa far as the Church is conÙnuous wi th God 's people from the beginning and with Eve, 'the mother of aIl living' (Gen.3:20)." It is significant that the \Joman is the sarne f.:i,gure who gives bir:th to·the Messiah (12:5), that is the Israel symb01ized by Nary and the Jerusa1em Church, and also the one who escapes from the dragon by fligh t on eagle' swings into the &

wi1derness (12: 14). This is possibly a ,reference to the presence of ~

the Church, Israel, kept safe among the Gentiles during thG), persecution and dispersal of Je\v1sh Christians, "the rest of her offspring ..• those who keep the cormnandments of Gad and the tes ti'ffiony of Jesus (12:17)," during th~ Jewish \var. Cf. Sweet. p.203.

29 Sweet, p.28f., 85.

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q' 30 to main tain persona1 links \Ii th the synagogue. This tension, which

. sorne scholars believe plays a ro1e in the, writing of the Fourth Gos-

JL 32 pel,. is possibly aiso reflected here in the Apocalypse.

It is not important for J;hn, however, whether one is a Gentile or

a Jew. He only distinguishes between the redeemed and those who are

not or are yet to be 'redeemed. The .mat ter of importance is that one

~ \ 33 is a fOllo~e) of the Lamb and not a worshiper of the beast.

If t

2. The Place of the Apocâlypse in Relation to Issue:; Which Arose Due

to the Delay of the Parousia o r

The discussion in chapters two and trhree outlined many different

but interrelated issues'which arose because of the de1ay of the Par-

.ousia. Among these were the danger of moral laxity and questions re-

garding the signs and time of the Day of the Lord. These issués are

addressed in'varying degrees by the writer of the Apocalypse. JQ~n

doe's not however address, nor does his book ref1ect, the difficulty .-

30See J.L. Martyn, History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel, revised and enlarged (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1979) pp .37-62.

\ Cf. John 9: 21; 12-: 42. ./

1

31 Ibid .; a1so'Brown, 379-~80; C.K. Barrett, The Gospel Acçprd­ing to St. John, 2nd ed. (London: S.P.C.K., 1978), pp.36l-362.

,,,.r-

32Cf . Collins, Combat' Nyth. p .IS8f.; Geyser, p.39l.

33 ' Collins, Combat Hyth, pp.158-16l. <

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, reflec ted in the gospels regarding tra~itions '7'hich delimi ted the

time of the Parousia to the lifetime of the first generation.

(A) The Apocalypsé and Traditions Delimiting the Parousia to the

Lifetime of the First Generation

The synoptic gospels preserve traditions which delimit the time ~ /

of the Parousia to' the life time of the first gen~ration. The evan-

1

~elists have reinterpreted these traditions such th~t they point to ~

the testimony of the Apos tolic circle regarding the 'reality of the

Pareusia.

. The writer of the Apocalypse places himself in the tradition of

([jJ

those who bear wi tness to the certainty of the Parousia without mak-

ing Apostolic'claims. John, unlike the synoptic evangelists t does

.. not need to reinterprct such sayings in order to assure members of

the Church that the Parousia will occur. Through his vision he him­-.../'

self bears witness to the defeat of evil and the establi,shment of a

new creatioI). As an early Christian prophet or seer he keeps alive

34 the tes tinlOny 0 f # the Glory to come. ,

34Cf . D.E. Aune, "The Social Nat/ix of the Ap'ocalypse of John," Biblical Research 26 (1981) pp.17-22, on Jqhn's self-understanding; also E. S. Fiorenza, "Apokalypsis and P rophe teia. The Book of Revelation in the Context of Early Christian Prophecy," L'Apocalypse johaçmique

·et l'Apocalyptique dans le Nouveau Testament, ed. by J. Lambrecht,' pp.lDS-128; D. Hill, "Prophecy and Prophets in the Revelation of St. John," New Testament Studies 18 Ç1972), pp .401-418.

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(B) A Brief Sketèh of the Early Church' s Response to the Delay of

the P~rousia

This synüpsi~ of the ear1y Church's response to the delay is bas~d

on the issues discussed in the preceding chapters. It provides a frame­,v...e:Jv

work within which the Apocalypse can be p1aced.

The primitive Church took Jewish apocalyptic expectati0!1 of the

Day of YHWH to be references to what the Church expected as the Par-

ousia of the Lord. Jewish apocalyptic be1ief in the existence of a

divine plan, therefore,\provided a framework for the community's ex-

pression of its future hope. The divine plan provided a cont~xt ln

which the Parousia cou1d be expected at a "proper" time.

The earli,est Christians e-xpected the Parousia shon. Its non-

occurrence meant that hopes \vere transferred from one day to the next. ,

At first there \.;ras no reason to develop explanations for why it had

not yet occurred; if it had not com~ today, it might come tomorrow.

Prior ta A.D. 70 Christians expected certain events~ or signs,

to occur before the, Lord 1 s arrivaI. They expected the "messianic

woes." According ta Jewish tradition these woes meant the natural,

social, and poiiticai upheavals which wauld occur before the Day of

YHWH. Part of the tradition included the appearance of an eschatolagi-

cal adversary am6ng these \voes. The primitive community simply taok

over most of these expectations from Je\"ish apocalyptic sources.

As further dela:r. oecame apparent Christians began to expect that

the Gentiles wauld have ta have a chance ta hear the Gospel before the

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Parousia would occur. The primitive community had also associated

~ its prophecies about the pestruction of the Temple withothe Parousia. /'

There is the possibility that sorne teachers pointed to the undese-

crated Temple in order to explain why the Parousia had not yet t occurred .-3~5 During the dramatic events preceding th'e fall of Jerusalem

the Church in Pal~stine p1îobably lived ,'in an atmosphere of heightened

expectation. During the Jewish War "the signs of the times" all

pointed to the nearness of the Lord.

After A.D. 70, a new attitude with regard to the end of the age

can be obst!rved. This is visible for those Churches which produced

gospels. The deaths of man~ first generation Christians made it nec-'.

essary to re-evaluate traditions which had been thought to delimit the

Parousia to the !ifetime of the Apostolic circle. The destruction of

the Temple had also to be accounted for, especially in light of the

fact that its, destruction was nat aeeompanied by the Parousia as'an-

ticipated.

The authors of the synoptic gospels no longer looked for the fu!-

fillrnent of tradidonal apocalyptic signs. The writers of Nark and

• Matthe\v believed that these signs, the "rnessiànic woes, Il were fulfilled

in the fa!l of Jerusalem. These gospels te.ach that after the great

tribul;'y0n of the Jewish \.Jar only the Parousia itself is still to be

expected. It eould arrive at any tim~, but these gospels.do not ex-

clude the possibility of an extended delay. Natthew is mueh more

explicit than Nark in reference to this possibility. The third

35S ee II Thess.2:4-5.

i 1 ~

1 1

1.

evangelist teaches that the Church must; still await the fulfillment

of the "times of the Gen tiles~" only then will the cosmic upheavals

. which herald the end ensue. The author of Luke still awaits the

fulfillment of the "messia.ni-e woes" in so far as they involve co'smic

signs and tribulation.36

'AIl three evangelists taught their respec-

tive readers that there was no 'need for the Cht\rch to know 'the Ume

of the Parousia in order to be prepared or to carry out her function \

in this world.

By the beginning of the second century the teaching that the

Church did not know the time of the Pa:t;ousia seems to have prevailed,

particularly as a re5ponse to false claims and questions about its ,

time. The author of II Peter does not attempt a caiculation of the

end-time when he is faced with "scoffers" who doubt the reali ty of

the Parousia. Rather, he appeals to scripture to show that the time

of th~, end is known only to God. In II Pet.3:8 he quotes from th~

P I 37 h' h' . h . h d Il' h sa ms teac lng lS communlty t at Wl.t regar to ca cu at~ng t e

end-time, his reader's apprehension of days and years May not conform

to COd'S:

But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day i5 as, a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

. The main resul t of the delay wi th respect ta life in Chris tian

communities \vas the 10ss of eschatological motivation p The "delay

~36See Lk.21:24-26.~

37 Psalm 90:4.

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( ethic" which a110wed inter~êtion with the world had the added effect

of allowing people to become Jaught up in worldly affairs. Thus

doubt and moral laxity threatened th'e Chur ch from wiothin. The evan-

gelists responded ta this situation with sayings, stories, parables,

and exhortations inherited from a time wh~n the community rejected

such \vorldly association in view of the "impending crisis." The

evangelists tried ta reintroduce eschatological motivation into the

·life of the Church by using these traditions along with sorne tra-

ditional metaphors to proc1aim the certainty of1 the Parousia. They

used the metaphors of "wakefulness" and "sobriety" in order to em-

phasize the way a 1ife lived in this age de termines the impact of the ,

age to come. Proper preparation for the Parousia becomes ir~portant <;

for the believer regardless of when it actua1ly occurs; the believer' s 1

fO

wuy of !life in this world will de termine ... the circumstances under which

he or she will be received by the Lord. f

~

(C) The delay of the Parousia an~ the Apocalypse of John.

The Apocalypse proclairns to the Church Catholic that the Lord

is near. This proclamation is made in the face of \vhat John believes

is one of the most pressing dangers confronting the Church of his day.

Christlan cornmunities have become lax. They have' begun to live as if

the Lord might not return. The Apocalypse tries to rectify this

weakening of eschatological awareness. l t, theref ore, addresses the '"

10ss of eschatolÇ>gical motivation in the .life of the Church.

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The Letters

The .Book of Revelation is cast in the fonn of a letter ta seven

Churches in Asia Hitl.Or. There is a consensus that these Churches are

I1)eant to symbolize the Church Catholic.38

Each "letter," however,

fI d d ' f l' f' h f h ,,39 re ects sorne un ers tan 1.ng 0 1. e ln eac 0 t e seven c1.t1.es,

and each ShOHS an awareness of particular circumstances within each

of the Churtches.40

. There is, therefore, agreement that the Âpocalypse

, 41 was probably sent ta and ci rculated among the seven named Churches.

42 It was probably read aloud, h d , h' . 43 per aps ur1.ng wors ~p serv~ce. It

is understood' that though ~he Apocalypse was circulated among these

seven Churches, and probably elsewhere, it was composed as a prophetie '"

ward to the ",hole Church.

38 . lv.H. Ramsa.y, The Letters ta the Seven Churches in Asia and

, ".Their P1ace"in the Plan of the Apocalypse, (London: Hodder & Stough­ton, 1904), p.l77; Charles, Revelation vol. l, p.47; ~(iddle and Ross, p.18; Preston and Hansan, p.59; Li1je, p.59; Beasley-Murray, Revela­tion, p.S2; Caird, p.IS; Sweet, p.65; E.S. Fiorenza, "Eschatology and the' Composition of the, Apocalypse ," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly' 30 (1968), p. 562.

39 See most notably Rams~y, pp.210-433.

40Though Kiddle and Ross, p,17f., regard the references to " problems in cacn of the Churches to 'be only incidental ("we must

regard the Churches as 1 colonies of heaven' "), most commentators in­terpret the letters such that the circumstances reflected therein have sorne basis in actual facto E.g. Charles, Revelation vol. l, pp. 47-102; Ca:trd, pp.27-58; Beasley-~lurray, Revelation, pp.70-l08; Sweet, pp.75-ll0.

41This is presupposed by both Ramsay, pp.171-184, and Swete, pp.lv-lix, who believe that the order of the cities cited in Rev. 1:11 reflects the most probable route of a courier. Cf. Caird, p.28; Beasley-Nurray, Revelation, p.53f.; Sweet, p.64f.

42 - 2 Caird, p.13; Beasley-Murray, Revelation, p.S.

43F -lorenza, "Eschatology," p.S37.

( 126

The "sevel} 1etters" addre_ss both tbe positive and negative as-

pects of the s~ven Churches. Since these Churèhes symb01ize th'e

Church Catho1ic, their vlrtues and shortcomings may be assumed to be

44 indicative of most Churches in John's day. The dlfficu1ties which

John brings up in these "letters" thus represent the historical sit-..-.

'uation to which the visions of Rev.4-20 are addressed.

The recurring therne throughout the book is that "the Lord is

coming soon," "the time is near.,,45 This proclamation i~ found in

46 many passages. With t!he exception of 12: 12, aIl these passages

occur in the "ecclesia1 ~ection" of the book, the section addressed

47 .. directly to,the Church (Rev .. ~:1-3:22, 21:1-22:21). The need for

this exhortation reflects that which John understands to be the prob-

lem at hand: the 10ss of an eschatologica1 awareness. Inasrnuch as

John feels called to rernind the Church that the...J.,~d is near, this

) ~ ~ lo!>s is probably due to the delay of the Parousia. The difficulties

which John has observed to be the result of the delay are delineated

48 in his criticism of five of the seven named Churches.

The letters to the Churches in Ephesus, Pergamum, Thyatira,

Sardis, and Laodicea address the two basic arenas of Church activity,

44 J Charles, Revelation vol',l, p.37.

4S S F' ee lorenza, "Escha tology," pp. 554-560.

46 Rev.l:1,3; 2:5,16; 3:11; 12:12; 22:6-~,lO,12,20.

47 Ibid ., pp.562-567.

48 John has on1)' praise for the Churches in Philadelphia and Smy:rn~ •

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the Chur eh 's relationship with the world and activi ty within the

eonununity itself. Thotfgh these two realms of activity are inter-

related, John addresses these issues separately, each in rel'ation to

a Church which he feels is representative of the problem. The dif-

fieulties addressed in the letters to Ephesus, Pergamum, and Thyatira

concern the effect the delay has had on the Church' s relationship

with outsiders. Th~etters to Sardis and 1aodicea, on the other

.hand, concern life with the Church itse1f.

't? The warning in the letters to Ephesus, Pergamum and Thyatira

.concern the Church' s relationship with false teachers, that is those

whom John be:lieves are not part of the followers of Christ ~ though

-they may be among the members of the Church. In= the case of Pergamum

/ an!l Thyat ira John' s opponènts may claim to be Christian but John 1 ,

denies this. The Church in Ephesus holds resolutely to correct doc- ~

trine (2:2-3,6), but it has become intolet>ant and for~otten hO\11 to

49 love (2: 4) • The Church has "tfatiently endured" hardship, possib ly-

per.secution.50

It has rejected faise teachers, and ha!i the fortitude

(

to reject false apostles. The -love John believes the Ephesians have , •

forgotten is, therefore, prooably more than affe,ction among its own

members.51

Perhaps they no longer love their enemies or bless those

49CE • S",ete, p.26; Charles, Revelation voLl, p.50f.; Cai~d, p.3l; Beasley-Nurray,- Revelatio~. p.74f.;JSwee~, pp.79-80.

50 Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.49.

SlKiddle and Ross, p.23, argue "that t~e Ephesians had given up loving Olle another as t,hey did at flrst." LiIje, p.7I. believes the y have forgotten how to love C~rist. ,

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52 who persecute them. The opposite is true of the Churches in Perg-

amum and Thyati ra. In their "accommodation to Pagan society, "?3

these Churches have allowed false teachïng, and those who promote it,

·to persist among them (Rev.2:l4f.,20f.).

In Sardis and Laodicea, the delay has affected life within the

believing community itself. In these Churches thei-r oïvn works are

the problem, and not their relationship with false teachers and ottIer

"outsiders." John reproachell the Churc!l in Sardis quite severely in ~

Rev • 3 : 1b-2 :

l know your works; you have the name of befng a1i ve, and you are dead. Awake,. and strengthen what remains and. is on the point of death ~ for l have not found you'r works perfect in the sight of my God.

The metaphor of wakefulness is used here ,as i t is used by Paul and

the synoptic evangelists. It refer~ to the moral life which is proper

. f h P . 54 preparatlon 0 or t e arouSla. The Sardisians are told to "awaken"

becaus'e their vlOrks are not perfecto In fact~ the Sardisians' moral

G l' fil 'bl h d d d h "d d ,,55 1 e s sa 10rrl e t ey stan con emne ; t ey are ea.

52Cf • Luke 6: 27 and Romans 12:4. Jesus' teaching on love must have been one of' the fi rst things the Apostles taugh t new converts. Laxity in th\'! practice of this hard doctrine may Hell qualify as the "love" and "works" the Ephesians had "at first." Cf. Sweet, p~81.

53 Sweet, p.88; Cf. Ramsay, pp.291-3l5,327-352; Charles, Revela-tion vol.l, p. 70; Caird, pp. 39-40 ,44-45.

54See pp.56-67 above; also Lovestam, Pp.105-l06.

55éf. -Rams~, p.382f.; Swete, ~ Beas1ey-~!urray, Revelation, pp.95-96.

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The absence of eschato1ogical motivation in Church life is '

epi tomized' by John' s portrayal of the Church in Laodicea. ~ev'. 3:15

reads:

l know your works; you are that you were cold or hot ~ warm, and nei ther cold nor my mouth.

neither cold nor hot. Would So, because you are luke­

hot, l will spew you out of

,this Church has counted 'vor1d1y riches as providing real security.

-They have become complacent and satisfied with life in this world.

This attitude ls highlighted in 3:17: "yoli say~ l am rfch, l have

prospered. tt Their "lukewarm" attitude i5 worse than the toleration

of false teachers or over-enthusiastic heresy hunting; they are

threatened with total rejeetion.

John calls on the-se- c'hurches to repend because the Lord is com-

ing soon (Rev.2:5,16,22;· 3:3,19). He alerts these Churehes regatding

the Parousia in an attempt to reintroduce eschatological motivation

in their lives. 'lJ1is is accomplished wi th the proclamation ofu the

nearness of the Parousia ~ together with i ts accompanying j~dgement

or b lessing.

h h l "k h " 1" 56 h" 1 Jo n, mue let e synoptlc evange lSts, emp aSlzes a c ose

interre1ationship between the activity of the Church and the Parousia.

The emphasis i8 not simp1y on the chronological nearness of the Lord.

Regard1ess of when He actually cornes, the Church is f\~a:r_·the Lord to

the degree th.at her actions condition the nature of His advent. The

56 ~ See pp. 65-6 7 ab ove • '

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Parousia has a dual potential, blessing and judgment. The predomi-

nance of one over the, other in the future depends on the activity

of the-Church in the 'pr~sent. Moral responsibility and eschatology ",

are interrelated'. '~. ,

, ~

• The j'udgment'/~les,sing motif is clearly illustrated in several

'~ , 57 pa,ssages among the "seven let ters. " tn Rev. 3 :03 the image of the

1 • .. ~ () 0

"thief in 'th.e Jlight'~ warns' the Church of coming judgment: ,

Remember then what you have received ,and heard; keep that, and repent. If, you will not awake, l will come

""like a thief, , and you wili not know at what hour l " will~ come upon you. "

~ -'--In contradistinction td the,war~ing of 3:3, ~O promises b_lessings

" 58 for those who are found prepared:

• r7 Behd1d, l stand at the.,door and knock; if a~y one. hears

\ my voice9 and. opens the door, ï will come in to him and eat ~ith him, and h~ with me.

~

The' imag.e in 3-:20.is eornposed of elements similar to features in two

synop'tic' para~les: "The Parable of_' the Doorkeeper" (Hk .13: 34-36)

~nd ".,,_par:abl~ o,f the \olaiting Servants", (Lk.12:36-38). 59 The image

. carries the preauppos_i):ioI). that tho'se who "hear'" the Lord' s volee

~

are not ffa~leep;" they are "a,.,ake" and ean open t~e door. 'The im~ges

57This' dual motif pervades the entire book; numerous visions of impending ju"dgment and blessing culminate 'vith the visi·on of the lake of fire and new' Jerusalem. This duaL motif corresponds to the

,fteosmic dualism" observ~d by Collins-, Combat My th , p .15SE. ' d

.58s·ee Bauc\:ham', pp.170-174.

59 ~. 'S~e Vos, pp:97-98; Bauckham,- pp.165-114; also Lovestam, ,p.~l.

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131 , in 3: 3 and 3.: 20 when taken together teach the Church that the way . , the Parousia i5 experienced depends on the preparation of the Church.

If it i5 found "asleep," or "dead" in its works, the Lord will come ,

like. a "thief," unexpectedly wi th j udgement. If the Church 1s found

lI'awake, Il. and can "open the door" when He ca1+~, He wlll-·come with

tlle blessin-gs celebrated in tahle-fellowship ~ The sarne kind of warn-

ing is.·'Present in the leuers to Ephesus and Pergamum~ Rev.2:5 "0 -

reads:

Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works yau did at first. If not~ l will come and re-. move, yaur 1ampstand from its place, un1ess you repent.

, \

Rev.2: 16: ....

Repent then. If not, l will come to you soon and war against them with the sword ol my mouth.

11

Both pas'sages' speak of· an advent whose nature depends on 'the con-

dition of the Churches.

The passages emphasize the certainty of the Parousia. The can-. ditional element in these verses applies ta the state of the Churches

and Dot ta the Parou~ia. The text does not mean "If you repent.- l

won't come," 'but "If you repent, l won't come with condernnation.,,60,

(

60 . - See Vos, pp.8y85; Bauckham, p.172ff. Caird, pp.25,~41,49, along with other scholars (e.g. Swete,

p.27; BeasV~y-Hurray, Revelation, pp.75,87,97; SHeet, p.S2.) believe these passages to be refeTences to a "special visitation" (Charles' phrase) in judgement prior to the Parousia.' Charles, Revelation vo~.l, allows for reference to both a special v~sitation and to the Parousia in 2:5 (p.52), only to a special visitation in 2:16 (p.65), and in 3:3 only to the Parousia (p.SI).

If one does not see a reference to the Parousia in at.'y of these ~assages there i~ little reason to interpret any references to the

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The Parousia itself is certain; the Lord will come regard1ess of the

state of His Churches.

The Apocalypse's use of the thief in the night tradition is com-

" pletely in line with the way it is used by Paul and the synoptic

The met?phor is used to describe the way those who

~ared will 'experience the Parousia. John, like the synoptic

evangelists uses contrasting images in or~er to emphâsize the difference

between'future of the pr~red with those who ar~ note , The Visions

The Apocalypse was not written simply to inform the Church or -;,. . the world of the judgm~nt or salvation t'o come. John' s purpose was

to stress the urgent need for repentahc~. The motivation for this

repentance is to be found in the Chur ch 's' awarèness that she is an . ,

eschatological community; an awareness that has been lost or weakened

by the duration of the delay. John hopes ta provide members of tne

coming of the Lord in Revelation as referring to the Parousia. In-

\

deed this i8 Caird's thesi8; 1n Revelation the advent refers mainly ~ ta Christ's presence in the ChurcL(see pp.25,29lf., 298-301). It __ ~_I~ will be argued below, that the Para'osja, or Day of the-i.ën:d,' in the Apocalypse i8 not a" single event, but a complex of events which be gan wi th the crucifixion. 19hn' 8 eschato logy can rightly be called "constant expectation" (Steç.8

cer\vartung- H. Schurmann cited by

Fiorenza, "Esohatology," p.538 n. 106.). He expects the continuaI com­ing'of the Lord until the complex of events involved finds its con­summation \.;ith the final defeat of evil. The image of the Lord walking among the "lampstands" (Churches) in 2:1 is i11ustrative of this eschato1ogy. The Church is present now in the last days. cf. Fiorenza, "Eschatology," pp.554-560; Sweet, p.82.

'II 61See pp.55-59 above. ,

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Chur ch with the impetus to make the kinds of choices and live the

1ife which will ensure their sa1vation. Th~simp~e fact that John

wrote down his revelation, that he did sa in order to reintroduce

eschatologica1 motivation into the life of the Church, points ta his

hope that no one will have to face the condemnation of God but Satan.

John accomp1ishes his purpose by ~orting to the Church the

numerous visions which make up the main body of the book. The arrange-

ment of these visions provide the context within which to better un-

'" Q ,

derstand the divine plan expressing God's purpose without necessarily

providing the Churchll-lith a "timetable." The arrangement of these

visions is not a1ways chronologica1, but it does denote a progression ,..

or development of eschato1ogica1 events which culminates in the final

defeat 'of eVl'l. 62 A h i f G d' b f h ppre ens on 0 0 s purpose y means 0 t ese

62There l'S sorne debate h th f' . f i i on t e way e con 19uratl0n 0 v sons in Rev.4-20 are ta -be interpreted. Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp. xxiii, believes that by rearranging severa1 passages, that is by correcting the mistakes of a weIl meaning but "very unintel1igent disciple" Cp.xxii), the Apocalypse' can be interpreted "in str:f"ct chrono10gical order;" there is no need for recourse to a recapitu­lation theory like the one first espoused by Victorinus of Pet tau (c. 270 A.D.). Accordi~g ta the recapitulati~n theory, each series of visions repeats, or recapitulates, the same series of events in a different fashion. In recent years modified versions of the "clas­sica1" recapitulation theory are finding acceptance. Collins, Combat My th, pp.2l-32, believes that the book cantains two great visionary cycles corresponding ta the contents of two seraIls (5:1; 10:2,8-11).

: Within each of these cycles are contained numerous sma1ler cycles; sorne of these visions are nurnbëred and sorne unnumbered. The various cycles deve1op, repeat, clarify, and interpret aspects of each other '1 (see pp.32-44). ~~~

J. Lambrecht, liA Structuration of Rev.4:l-22:5," L'Apocalypse johannique et l'Apocalyptique dans le Nouveau Testament, ed. by J. Lambrecht, pp.77-104, }las recently proposed that John cornbined the li;

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visions may enable the' Chure? to better understand her raIe in the

unfolding of esthat010gical events.

John use~ a complex system of "interloeking,,63 and recapitulat-

ing visions to expand the period of apocalyptic importance. The \

Apoca1yptic age is no longer limited to a specifie generation as it ... is in the synoptic gospels. It is extended forward from the time

of the destruction of the Temple to inelude the Church's co~fronta-

tion with Rome. The age of eschatological significance thus encom-

pass_es the Church' s p,erennial st.ruggle yi th evil in this world. For

John the end-time, o{ age of eschatological significance, is ex-

perieneed here and now in this very confrontation even though the

end itself may lie in th~ distant future.

This eschatological awareness~ or John's 'apocalyptic perspective,

i8 perhaps best illustrated by an examination of the way he presents

,and accounts for the delay of th~ Parousia. John has ret"orked sorne

of his traditions concerning the destruction of the Temple and the

end-time in order to do 50. In Revelation 6 he uses traditions, ,,,hich

are found also in the synoptic gospels, in order to explain the rolé

" techniques of recapitulation and progression in the structuring of his visions. "Repetition itself functions as gradation (p.103)." Lambreacht's outline of this structuration does justice to both the fact that there is to soWe extcnt rep~~ition in the viSloni, and that there is also a progression of theological or eschatologi~a1 ideas behind them. Cf. Caird, pp.I04-106; Sweet, p.44.

63See Collins, Combat }Iyth, 'pp .16-19, for examples of this literary device. Cf. Lambrecht, pp.82-99.

135

played by the fall of Jerusalem in the divine plan. 64 , In Revelation

7 the delay of the Parou8ia i8 depicted in terms of its meaning for

the Church.

This visionary cycle begins in Rev.4-5. Here John describes

"-- 65 the heavenly court which guides the history of the world. God 18

the "one who sits upon a throne" (4:2-11), He holds in His hand a

seroll with seven seais (5:1). The scroI1 represents the destiny of J

humankind.66

Only the "Lamb of God," he who "was slain," is worthy , 67

to open the seraIl by breaking the seven seals (5:3ff.). We are

thus toid tha~ the Risen Lord by virtue of His'crucifixion initiates

the unfolding of eschatological events. The description of the Lamb

64Nos t scholars follmv Charles, Revelation vol. 1 , pp .158-160, who sees a definite relationship between Rev.6 and the synoptic eschatological discourse (e.g. Beasley-Murray, Revelation, p.129f.; Collins, The Apocalypse, New Testament Message 22 ed. by H. Harring­ton an,d D. Senior (Wilmington: Hichael Glazier Ine., 1979) p.44). Charles, p.IS8, sees a literary de pende nec on the synoptics. Vos, p.185, believes there is a common tradition underlying bath Rev.6 and the eschatological discourse. Sweet, p.135, allows for bath possibilities.

65See Caird, pp.60-69; Cf. P. Prigent, "L'Apocalypse: Exegese Historique et Analyse Structural," Ne\v Testament S tudies 26 (1980) pp.127-l37, on the relationship between the images of the Apocalypse and historical events (especially p.129f.).

66 ~ Swete, p.75; Charles, Revelation vo1.1, p.138; Kiddle and Ross,

p.95f.; Caird, p.72; Beas1ey-Murray, Revelation, p.120f.; Collins, Combat My th , p~. 24-25; S\veet, p .123.

67It 15 important ta note that in the Apocalypse the terms "Lamb," "b lood of the Lamb," and "slaughtered lamb" (àpv(ov • . • L~f~y~ivov ) have sacrificial connotations; they refer specifically to the crucified Hessiah. Cf. Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp.cxiii­cxiv, 140-141.; A.T. Hanson, The H'rath of the Làmb, (}ondon: S.P.C.K., 1957) p.165f.; Caird, p.74f.; Beasley-Murray, Revelation, 124-126; Sweet, p .1Z~ .

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c (~ " in 5: 6, lI~fV!()V f,f577ko5 (.)$ E,(J"<prJ.YJlE.YoV " (a lamb standing as having

been slaughtered) points ta John's understanding of the resurrection.

Charles observes that the Lamb "is represented ÊCJ<pCl.. y fiivbV ,be­

cause in ve;ry truth He is not dead but alive: cf. 1:18, 2:8.,,68 1

~~G6d's plan is th us being made effectivê through the activity of the

69 R.isen Lord. Furthermore, since the opening of the seals sketches , .

the recent histo~y of the Church,70 this vision informs the Church

that the Risen Lord has been guiding and will continue ta guide her

through the eschatological crisis. 7l

The description of events which result from the opening of the

first through fifth seals is a visionary account of the salne even'ts

. 1 d b hl' . h hl' 1 d'- 72 re ate, y t e evange lStS ln t e esc ata oglca lscourse. The

four horsemen which appear when the first four seals are opened re-

present the apocalyptic signs referred ta in Nark 13: 8 as "the be-

ginning of the birth pangs." The first horseman r~fers to the ap-

pearance of pseudo-messiahs, corresponding to the first of the .. ,1

predictions reeounted in the eschatologieal discourse (~~.13:5-6;

68 Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.14l.

69 Ibid ., p.140; Caird, p.ll; Collins, Combat Hyth, p.25.

70See belO\v; on.lY with the opening of the seventh seal does John begin to cast his gaze tO\vards the future. Cf. Rev.l:19.

71 Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.l40; Sweet, p.124.

72 See Charles, Revelation, vol.l, p.158; Vos, p.l84f.; Beasley-Nurray, Revelation, p.l29; Swee't, p.135.

137

~ 73 Mt.24:4-5. Lk.2l:8). The next three horsemen represent war, famine,

and pestilence or death respectively.74 They thus ~orrespond to the

-e"\;i1s recounted in Mk.13:7-8, Mt.24:6-8, and }k.21:9-11.75

The

opening of the sixth s~al depicts therp;r~eéution of the Saints, a ~\ e

picture evoked \yith the ~ of the--martyrs; it thus correspon-ds to •

73 .... Vos, pp.187-l91. There is much debate and not much consensus regarding the identi­

ty or referent of the first horseman (Rev.6: 2). S\l1ete, p. 86. argues against identifying him with the rider in 19:11ff., and thus interprets 6: 2 as a rrpicture of triumphant mi li tarism," an evil. Charles, Reve­lation vol. l, pp.160-162, believes it is a reference to war, which is repeated with the appearance of the second horseman, "international strife." Kiddle and Ross, pp .109-114, believe that John is referring here to the Lamb as "a divinely empO\vered warrior." S'veet, p .138, following A. Feullet, "Le premier cavaller de l'Apocalypse," Zeitschrift Für Die Neutestamentlich \hssenschaft 57 (19-66), pp. 229-259, argues that the image is of th~ conque ring pmver of the Lamb, either the Gospel or the Lamb' s wi tnesses though i t p,robably is not Christ Him­self. Liije, p.125, Caird, pp.SO-SI, and Beasley-Hurray, Revelation, pp.13l-132, argue against identifying the Eirst horseman·~.;ith the Lamb" Gospel, or Christ; Caird perhaps recognizing the difficulties of precise identlfication simply regards the appearance of the first horseman ta be "au evi1, 11 whi1e Beasley-Murray and Lilje fo1lo\o1, Charles. H. Rissi, "The Rider on the \fuite Horse: A Study of Rev.6:l-8," Interpretation 18 (1964), pp.407-418, sees here a reference to the Auti-Christ, a view not far from pseudo-messiahs. Siuce thère is a consensus regarding the referents of the next four seais (see n. 86 & 89), and since they correspond to the pattern established by Hk.13. Vos argues that Rev.6:2 should be interpreted accordingly. This in­terpretation is most compelling in the face of much disagreement.

74Swete, pp.S7-89; Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp.158-172; Kiddle and Ross~ pp.114-ll7; Caird, p.8!; Beasley-Murray, Revelation. pp.132-134; Sweet, pp. 139-140.

7SCharles, Revelation vol.l, p.158: Vos, p.186f., Beasley-Murray, Revelation, p.130.

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76 77 the synoptic predictions of Mk.13:?-13~ Mt.24:9, ,and Lk.2l:12-19 • . 1

Upon the opening of the sixth seal, John completes the pattern

established by Nark 13 or the tradition behind it.' Mark 13 :24-27 and

parallels recount tradi~ions presicting the cosmic upheavals which ~

will accomp9ny the coming of the Son of Man. Commentators who see a , relationship between Rev.6 and the eschatological discourse believe

78 that Rev.6: 12-17 depicts these same upheavals. 'However, none of

the versions of the eschatological discourse moves straight to a de-o

scription of the Parousia after predicting the persecution of the

Church. Before the Parousia, the discourse relates traditions as­

sociated with the Jewish War and th6 fa11 of Jerusalem. 79 John has

/ combined traditions referring to the Parousia and the fall of Jeru-

salem in his vision of the opene~ sixth seal. This significan~

transformation of the pattern found in the syno ic discourse reveals/

in /. i John's understanding of the role the fall 0 l ,/

Jerusalem p1ayed

divine plan. , /'

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/

76The first evangelist has /placed mueh of the materia1 found in Mark as 13:9-13 in Mt.lO:16-22, where it speaks directly to the ques-tion of discipleship. '

~ 77Swete, p.92; Charles; Revelation vol.l, p.158,17l-179; Vos,

p .184: Beas1ey-MlJrray, Revelation, pp .130 ,136-137; Collins, Combat Hyth,.. p.33.

78 See footnotes 87 and 90.

79 Mk.13:14-23; Mt.24:l5-28; Lk.21:20-24. Cf. pp.96-~OO above.

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/ Revelation 6:12-17 reads: /

139

When he opened the sixth seal, l 100ked, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sack~oth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to earth as a fig tree sheds her winter fruit \vhen shaken by a gale; the sky vanished like a seraIl that is rolled up. and every mountain and island was removed fram its place. Then the kings of the earth and ,the great men and the generals and the rich and the strong, and everyone, slave and free, hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and ·':'':l'."ocks, "Fallon us and hide us from the face of him who is seatéd on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and \-Iho can stand 'before it?"

,

Part of this passage uses traditional motifs referring to the parousia,80.

but John is aiso referring ta the fall dI Jerusalem. Two observations

~ili help establish this interpretation. The first has already been

mentioned. Rev.6 follows the order of events established by the escha-

tolog:i,ca1 discourse; predictions of persecution are fol10\ved by tra-

ditions associated with the Jewish War and fall of the'city. One may

therefore look for a reference ta the fall of Jerusalem after the

vision of persecution presented in the opening of the fifth seal. -In

the second place, Revelation 6:16 reca11s a saying attributed to Jesus ...

in Luke 23:30:

Then t-hey will begin to say to the mountains, "Fallon us;" and t 0 the hi Ils. "Caver us."

This saying, a quotation from Hosea (10:8). i p associated in the

gospe'l tvith the faI1 of Jertt'Salem, or rather the prediction

(

80swete, pp.92-95; Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp.15~;rf9-183; Kiddle and Ross, 122-126; Beasley-Nurrary, ~evelation, p.130-l37-l39; Collins, Combat My th, p.33.

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140

81 thereof. John uses this association, already present in the Church's

., traditions, in cpmbination with Parousia traditions in order to in-

. . 82 terpret the fall of the Clty.

Mark and Hatthew both present the Jewish War and the accomp~nying

destruction of the Temple as the "tribulation" which is to occur be­

fore the end itself. 83 Luke calls the fall of Jerusalem a "great

tribulation" but refers to the fulfillment of "the times of the Gen-

84 tiles" and to cosm'ic tribulations as events which are still ta come.

AlI three evangelists thus portray the fall of Jerusalem as an event

which precedes the cosmic upheavals of the end. John'presents the

fall of Jerusalem as the beginning of these cosmic upheavals.

J?hn's pur pose in combining these traditions is ta malntain the

significance of the fall of Jerusalem as a consummate eschatological

event, ev~n though i~ has probably been many years since this event

took place. It is the fulf lllment of prophecy, and i t is the beginning

of th,e end i tsel f • This vision, hmvever, sl.mply se ts the scene for

what follow~. In Revelation 7, John explains what has been happening

81 Cf. Gaston, p.364; also A.R.C. Leaney, A Càmmentary on the

Gospel of Luke, Harper New Testament Commentaries, ed. by H. Chadwick ~ (New York: Harper & Rmv, 1958), p.283.

820ne result of John's use of the saying found in Luke in this passage is, according ta A.T. Hansan, p.170, that he like the third evangelist sees the fall of Jerusalem to be the '\lOrking out in his­tory of the conse~àences of the rejection and crucifixion of the Hess Lih. " ')

pp .100-102. .

~4see p.l03 above.

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ta the Church sinee the destruction of the Temple. He addresses the

question of why its destruction was not accompanied by the Parousia. cO ,.

This is one of the reasons behind the vision of the seven seals in

genera1, ta exp1ain the present situation of the Church in terms of

her traditions regarding the end-time.

"Revelation 7:1-3 explains why the Parousia did not accompany the

fall of Jerusalem:

After this l saw four angels standing at the four corners bf the earth, holding back the four w'inds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea' or against any tree. Then l saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the livin~ Gad, and he called with a Ioud voice to the four angels ~.,ho had been given power ta harm earth and sea, saying, "Do not harm th~ earth or the sea, till we have sealed the servants of our Gad upon their foreheads."

Gad has held bâck the dissolution of the wor1d which has begun with

the destruction of the Temple. There is ta be a delay before the

opening of the sixth and final seai. This is a picture of the dè1ay

f h Po 85 ote arOUS1a. The. final dissolution of the physica1 world, "the

85Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.192, n.2, points out that Rev.7: 1-3 has severa1 things in common,.. tvith the ~"ay "a pause" is pictured in sorne Jet"ish apocalyptic books'. In l Enoch 66: 1-2, for example, the "angels of punishment," who are about to "let loose aIl the powers .of the ,,,aters • • . in order to br:i.ng judgment and destruction on aIl who dwell on earth," are commanded by "the Lord of Spirits" "to hold the waters in check" and not let loose the de luge until Noah has enough time ta build an Ark. \.Jith regard ta II Baruch 6: 4-5, which may be contemporary }J9Ï-th the Apocalypse Charles states:

,-

Here we have f&Gr angels standing at the four corners of Jerusalem, ready ta destroy it, and a fifth anRel bids them pause and not destroy it until the sa~red vessels of the Temple were secured and hidden at.DY.

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142

earth or the sea," is de1ayed for a specifie reason. The servants

of Go~ 'must first be sea1ed.

l , f d' h ' , 86 d The sea lng 0 Go s servants ensures t elr preservatlon, an

" a1so marks them as God,' s ,\vitnesses. 87 The sea1ed in Revelation are

the followers of the Lamb (14:lf.). The number of the redeemed,

12,000 from each of the !welve Tribes of Israel (7:4-8), interprets

the great multitude invisioned in Rev.7:9-l0:

After this 1 looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from aIl tribes peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and be­fore the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,' and crying out with a loud voiee, "Sal­vation belongs to our God who sits uron the throlile, and to the 'Lamb!" .,

, The numbering 0 f this mul tl tude Is sytnbolic ("which no man can num-

~

ber") • It represents the multitu1e as the reeonstituted Israel; the !.

~ people ef God are gathered together

88 made complete.. Significantly the

0'

from dispe~ion and have been

people of G~ comprised both

.... 86 See Rev.14:4b; Cf. Swete, p.99; Collins, Combat My th, p.34.

87

Â~t, p.147.

88 . -, Swete, p.99; Charles, Revelation vol.l, p.200; Preston and 1

Hanson, p.83; Lilje, p.134; Beasley-Murray, Revelation, pp.143-l44; Sweet, p.149-1Sl.

Caird, pp.94-99, argues tnat the 144,000 represent only the martyrs among Christians, while Kiddle and Ross, pp.13-137, int~rpret the 144,000 as a symbolic representation of the "great mu"ltitude" of 7:9f. which together represent the m~rtyr Chureh. Charles argues that the 144,000 represents the. "spiritual Israel" (Revelation vol.l, pp. 199-200) though this "Israel" only includes the present generation of believers, firs t fs militant on earth, 7: 1-8, and next as triumphant in heaven, 7:9-17 (p.199). A. Feullet, "Les 144,000 Israélités Marqu~s d'un Sceau," Novum Tes t'amen tum 9 (1967) pp. 205-224, argues that the

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of Jews and Gentiles. The two visions of Rev.7 (1-8, 9-17) represent

the Church Catholic as the Israel of God.89

Revelation 7:9-17 is a vision of the redemption awaiting the

people of God; it shows theO

Church that for which she is being pre-

served (sealed). The vision of the multitude standing before God and

the Lamb in white roqes is' a vision of the Parousia and the general

resurrection of the dead.90

Its placement in the text provi~es an

~ . i . f h P . 91 cl h" hi h ant1c pat10n ote arOUS1a, an as Suc 1t 1S not an event w C

92 prece~es the ope~ing of the seventh seai. Chronology is superceded

by eschatology. After explaining the reason for the delay, John

prQvides the Church with a quick glance 'at what she can expect when

the delay is finally over. John's underlying purpose behind writing

~

number r{'!presents' the fai thful remant, Jews who lITill be redeemed at the fin~l consummation tO$ether with the Gentile Christi~n Church represented by the _"great multitude." Definitive interpretation of Rev.7 may rcmain elusive. The po~ition adopted ~~nis study seems warranted in view of the interpretation of Rev .'6~ put forth above. John is addressing the si tt}ation of the whole Church in view of the delay of the Parousia.

89 Swete, p.99; Sweet, pp.147,151. ,

90 Cf. Swete~ p.lOO~ Lilje, pp.136-138.

9lIbid •

92This i8 an example of John' 8 literary technique: interlocking visions and recapitulation. The two visions of Rev.7 provide further links (Coll ins, Combat Hyth, pp .16 f f. exaniincs the use .of the inter­locking device at other points in the book.) between_ the two "greater visionary cycles" (see n. 74). The 144.000 appear again in Rev.14, and 7:9-17 is one of severa1 points in the book where John ant.icipates the final consummation before describing the Parousia proper in Rev. 19:1lff. (e.g. 11:15-19).

i t 1

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" .. .. . 144 .' ~

the Apocalypse~~s highlight~d'by this break in chrOnOlOgy" ~e l d • ~ Apoc~ ypse is not meant to provi e a step by ste,. description of the

end-time. It was wtitten ta bo1ster tlfe faith of Churches in which

eschatological hope tlad been lost • Signiflcantly, the op~ning of . " '.

t-h,e 'seventh se~l, whlch inaugurates the ~ounding of the seven trum-

pets, is coterminous with the de1ay. It is referred to again between

. 93 trump~ts (10:6). The net re-the sounding of the'si~th-and seventh

. " t· "

suIt of ~JOh~ 1 S portràyal of th~~lay of the Parousia is thar it is

f • g~~en an important-raIe jn the unfolding of eschato1ogical events.

"

\ .,. The time elapsed during thë aelay itself beco~es'eschatologically

significant;· it means the re~emption of Cod's peop~e. In~the face

d b d b l h f • h' d '1 94 h h of ou t cause y. the engt 0 tee ay, Jo ~ argues t at the ~ li "

de1ay'is part of Cod's plan for ,the end-time and should, therefore,

not -be a reason for doubt.

'The Apoèa~yps~ fits, therefore, among those traditions in the

" ~ ~

"

.ear}.,y Church which reso1ve the ptob1em of the non-occurrence of the ~"I ,hO ~ ../ ::> ~

\

~""6 -. ,.f l.. Q

o

9{The sO'unding of the first through seventh trumpets constitute the eschatologiea1 crisis for which the Church has been sea1ed (cf. Rev.3:10). This time is the interim between the fall of Jerusalem and the final ecmsummation, revealed wi th the sounding ot' the seventh trumpet. The "seéond great cycle" of visions .(the little scra!'l, Rev •

"10-20; s~e Collins, Combat Hyth, pp. 26-32) interprets' (recapitulates) this periad in terms of the Church's confrontation with the beast (Rome).

- The "intercalation," or John' s though t. They are not c~used by the combination of &.5.:"99,~. IJ

pauses, in the text are integral ta necessarily haphazard interruptions variaus traditions; see Lambrecht, pp.

... 94Cf • "the doubter,s" in II ~3':4, and l Clem.23:3-5 • . "'---

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Parousia by teaching that i t is being delayed by God according to

95 His eternal purposes. Similar to l Enoch 66-67, the delay is the

manner ,;Ln which God provides the' time necessary to secure His people

and. preserve them from destruction. As in II Peter 3:~,. the delay

is seen as, a mark of God' s compassion.

Once the Church was reconciled to the idea that the Paro~sia l may lie far in the future, there was a danger that bel~evers w~uld

lose thei r' awareness of be.ing an eschat ological communi ty, that is

a 'people who have a particular role in God's plan for the consumma-

tion of the age. This in turn could remove or weaken the eschato-

logical motivation for pursuing a life proper to those who would be

" followers of the Lamb.

John provides a vision which allows believers to see the

eschatological significance of the Church's his~orical situation.

An aspect of tt/s apocalyptic perspective iS, the expansion of the

temporal framework within which eschatological events can occur.

This expanded perception of the apocalyptic age, the "last days, Il

;i.s illustrated weIl in the vision of the seven seals. The end-time

begins when the Lamb, who is worthy, takes the scroll from the one

sitting on the throne (Rev.5). His worthiness stems from the fact

that he was slain (5: 9). The end-time, it seems, ha~ begun with

the crucifixion. It subsequently includes the events represent-

ed with the opening of the first six seals; these th~ngs have

already been accom~lished in the yea~s preceding and including

the fall of Jerusalem. The fact that only the seventh seaI remains

95See pp. 46-50 above.

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heightens the sen~e of the nearness of the end. However, the time

required for the manifestation of the events represented by the

seventh seal is indefinite;96 it includes the sounding of the seven

b trumpets. Significant1y, the end-time spans 'a considerable number

of years qnd the reader has been prepared for a further indefinite

period before the Parousia i tse1f •

, ., . Another example of John' s apoca1yptic perspect1ve is found in

his use of traditions regarding the eschatological àdversary. A

brief comparison , ... i th the adversary in II Thess.2 'tl7i11 c1arify John' s •

\

perspective. In II Thess.2 the "Anti-Christ U is portrayed as a

single figure which will be defeated by "the Lor,d Jesus" at His Par-

ousia. It emb odies both the charac teristics of a mythological

97 archetype of evil and of a human figure. Revelation 13 portrays

the .eschatological adversary in t.erms of two beasts. One e!llbodies

the characterist:i.cs of a mythologica1 figure (13: 1-10; ~lso--rT: 7-14), . ,

while the other is expressly identifled with a human figu~e(s) (13:18).

The two beasts taken together account for al~ the characteristics em­

'bodied in the Thessalonian "man of lawlessness. ,,98 The first beast

1) usurps the perogatives of divinity (13:4-6), and

"'2) is empO\o/ered by Satan (13: 2 ,4a).

96The eschatology of the Apocalypse is not a " t i!1leless";(one. There are numerous tempora.l references: Il:2,3; 12:6, 12,14. Sweet, p.l82, argues that these references represent a "divinely limited period of oppression," time given over to Satan's activity (p.204); cf. Swetei p.l34, 'Charles Revelation vol.l, pp.279,32l, Collins, Comba t My th, p. l~--.,/J

97 See pp. 40-41 ab ove.

98See p.41.

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'The second beas t

3) cornes with fa1se signs and wonders (13:13),

4) deceives (13:14),

5) causes those who do not love the truth (or do not have the

sea1 of God) to perish (14:9Lll). 99

100 John has identified the "Anti-Christ" with Rome. The first

beast in Rev.13, which is identical to the beast in Rev.l7, i8 to be

101 identified with the Roman state. The second beast (13:11-18,

14 :9-11) is a human tool of the first beast; it "exercises aIl the

authority of the first beast in its presence" (13:12). The second

beast probab1y refers to anyone \.Tho exercises the power of the Roman

102 state.

John accomplishes two important things by identifying the escha-

tological adversary with Rome: (1) He makes the Church' s confronta-

tion with Rome eschatologically significant;, (2) The role of the

adversary':i.n divine plan now encompasses many figures over a long

period of time. Host commentators interpret the seven heads of the

99 Vos, p.lOS, may be, correct when arguing that the two pre~enta-tions of the eschatological adversary are groûnded in the same oral tradition.

100Swete, p.16lf.; Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp.332-368; Caird, p.161-l77; Beasley-~turray, Revelation, pp.206-22l, S\..reet, pp.206-219; Collins," Combat Hyth, pp.157-l90.

10lSwete, p .161; Charles, Revelation vol. l, pp. 332-357; Caird pp.106-170; Beasley-Nurray, Revelation, pp.206-2lS; Collins, Combat Hyth, pp.161-l65; S\V'eet, pp.206-213.

~02Collins, Apocalypse; cf. Combat Hyth, pp .165-170; Beasley..:. Hurray, Revelation, p.207,2lS-221. Charles, Revelation vol.l, pp. 333, 357f., identifies the second beast with "the imperial cult; ': 50

too Caird, pp.171-1n. ...

( 148

103 first beast as references ta various Roman emperors. Regardless

of the precise identity of each head, the fact that they together

comprise the "Anti-Christ" presents an altogether different picture

than the one presented in II Thessaionians. The readers of II Thes-

sa10nians wouid expect a single figure ta do battie with the "Lord .. \Jesus" on the future Day of the Lord. The readers of the Apocalypse

are toid that the "Anti-Christ" has come, and is manifest in Rome.

The activity of the "Anti-Christ" encompasses an empire, including

its social, religious, and political institutions. It is the defeat 1

of the City of Man that is the subject of the dirge in Rev.18. The

Church does not await Christ' s battle with Satan, but is herself

a1ready engage~ in.it.

John' s description of the raIe of the "Anti-Christ 'l has sorne

simi1ari ties to !:he one in l John 2: l8f. The reade rs are told "rnany <1

Auti-Christs have come." These "Anti-Christs", probably iuclude many ;)

104 of the author's opponents. This same attitude tmvard the opponents

of the'Church cau also be observed in the Pastoral epistles and Jude~I05

103See

' . Swete, pp.220f.; Charles, Revelation vol.2, pp.67-87;

Caird, pp.216-22; Beas~ey-Murray. Revelation pp.256-257; Collins, Combat Hyth, pp. 170-190; S\veet, pp.255-258.

104 .. See Bultmann, J ohannine F: "The Authority ta bccame Children p.215f.

pp.35-36; a1so J. Lieu, Novum Testamentum 23 (1981),

105See l Tim.4:lf.; II Tim.3:lff; Jude 17-19. Cf. F. \\lisse, "The Epistle of Jude in the Hist"'ory of Heresiology," Essays on Nag Harrunadi Texts {n Honour of Alexander Boh1ig. Rd. by M. Krause. Nag Hammadi Studies 3, ed. by H. Krause et. al. (Leiden: E.J. Bril1, 1972) p.142.

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In these writings the presence of false teachers indicate that "it

is the last hour;" the present thus takes on eschatological signifi-

canee ,and believers should act accordingly.

So also, in the Apocalypse the Church's confrontation with Rome

15 presented as part of the cosmic battle between good and evil. The

Parousia will bring final victory to a conflict that is now raging

in this world.106

John' s vision allotvs the Church to understand herself in terms

of God's redemptive plan for the consurnmation of t~e age. The delay

in spite of its duration ls part of God' 8 plan. These "last days"

107 have extended over a period of many years and may take many more.

The 1ength of time should not concern the Church; no matter hm ... long

the struggle takes the t8chatologicai battie against evil is being

fought now. The Church has a specifie role to play in the defeat of

this evi1, the beast. The Church ls presently engaged in the tribu-

lation and conflict of the end-time. She i8 in exile; she sojourps

in the wilderness (Rev.12:6,14i. Pain, disappointment, the deaths

'" of Holy Hartyrs, and the sacrifices of aIl the fol10wers of' the Lamb

are elements of the eschatological battle tvhiJh' has engulfed this

106 ' Cf. Rev.12:9,13f.

10~ . Depending on which Roman emperor i5 represen ted by the first

head of the beast in Rev.17, the Day of the Lord is aheady 20-100 years long. Cf. II Pet.3:8.

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150

âge. John provides a vision of hope and the motivation to grasp at

this hope. John's prophecy promises the reconciliation of God with

His people. He promises a new creation and the descent of the c.ity

of God.

And l saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming clown

out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned

for her husband; and l heard a loud 'voice fr:om the

throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God is wi th

men. He will dwell wi th them- ~ ànd they shall be his

people, and God himself will be with them; he will

wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall

be no more, neither shall there be mourni~g ncr crying ..

nor pain any more, for the former things have passed

away. 111~ , <CC

,

,,\ 108, .

Revelation 21:2-4.

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B IBL IOGRAPHY

Aune, David E. "The Social Matrix of the Apocalypse of John." Bib1ica1 Research 26 (1981): 17-22.'

Bai1ey, J .A. "Who wrote II Thessa1onians?" Ne\1T Testament Studies 25 (1979):131-145.

Barnouin. N. "Les Problems de Traduction Concernant II Thess.2:6-7.' Ne\1T Testament Studies 27 (1977) :482-498.

Barre, Nichae1 L. "To Marry or to Burn:TTûpoûcr$CJ.1 in 1 Cor.7:9." The Cathûlle Bib liea1 Quarter1y 36 (1974): 193-202.

Barrett, C.K. The Second Epist1e ta the Corinthians. Harper's New Tes ment Commentaries. ed. by H. Chadwick. New York: Harper & RO\IT, 1973.

S.P. el Accordin ta St. John. 2nd edition. London: 1978.

Bauckham. Richard. "The Eschato10gica1 Earthquake in the Apocalypse of John." Novum Testamentum 19 (1977): 224-233.

-----• "Synoptic Parousia Parab1es in the Apocalypse." Ne\-.1 Testa-ment Studies 23 (1977): 162-176.

Beas1ey-Murray, G.R. Jesus and the Future. An Exal'lination of the Criticism of ,the Eschato1ogical Discourse, Nark 13, with Special Reference ta the Little Aooca1ypse Theory. London: Macmillan & Co., 1954.

• A Cornmentary on Nark Thirteen. London: Nacmillan & Co., ----1957.

----• The Book of Revelation. The New Century Bible, ed. by M. Black. LOI~don: Oliphants, 1974.

Bell, Albert J. "The Date of John's Apocalypse: The Evidence of Sorne > Roman Historians Reconsidcred." Ne\1T Testament Studies 25

(1979) : 93-102.

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152 / Best, Ernest. A Commentary on the First and Second Epist1e to the

Thessalonians. Black's New Testament Conunentaries, ed. by H. Chadwick. London: Adam & Charles Black, 1972.

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_____ • "The History of Religions Approaeh ta Apocalypticism ,and the 'Angel of the Haters' (Rev.16:4-7)." The Catholic Biblic­al Quarterly 39 (1977):367-381

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_____ .. The Apocalypse. "New Testament Hessage 22, ed. by W. Harring­ton & D. ~Senior. \-lilmington: Hichael Glazier Ine., 1979.

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~ ______ • A Commentary on the First Epistle ta the Corinthians. Tr. by J.H. Leitch; ed. by G. MacRae. Hermeneia - A Critiea1 and Historieal Commentary on the Bible, ed. by H. Koester, E.J. Epp, R.W. Funk, G.H. MacraE', J.M. Robinson. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1975.

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Cranfield; C. LB. The Gospel According ta St. Mark: An Introduction and Commentary. Cambridge: University Press, 1959.

____ • A Crideal and Exegetieal Commentary on .the Epist1e ta the Romans, 2 Vols. The International Critieal Commentary, ed. by J.A. Emerton ~ C.E.B. Cranfield. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1980-81.

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• The ApostoFc Preaehi'ng and Its Developments. London: ----- 9 HÇ>dder & Stoughton, 1936.

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Dunn, J.D.G. Unit y and Diversity in the New Testament. An Inquiry into the Character of Ear1iest Christianity._ Philad.e1phia: Westminster Press, 1977.

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-----• Les 144,000 Israélites Narqués n'Un Sceau." Novum Testa-mentu~ 9 (1967):191-224.

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_Geyser, Albert. "The 'l'\velve Tribes in Revelation. Judean and Judeo Christian Apocalypticism." New Testament Studies 28 (1982): 388-399.

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