Smoodock's Blog

We’re considering the eschatological meaning of Paul’s letters to the Thessalonian believers of the first century AD, with a special emphasis on what he tells us in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18. This passage of Scripture is probably the most used by futurist Christians who believe in the Rapture, but it is very important to all futurist doctrines, no matter what they may be. Moreover, while numbers aren’t proof of truth, it is true that most Christian scholars believe that 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 is echoing Daniel 7. Certainly, the themes are the same: coming of the Lord in a cloud, with angels, in judgment of the wicked, rewarding of the saints, persecution present etc. Therefore, it would seem good to consider that theme in this study.

I consider 1Thessalonians 5:2-3 part of the same prophecy in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18. There is no change of thought there, so I made it part of chapter four for the purpose of this comparison. So, Paul’s prophecy exactly parallels Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 7, except for numbers 3, 6 and 8 in the graph, but #8 is clearly stated in Daniel 2:44 and implied in 7:23-27. Moreover, Daniel also mentions the resurrection (#6 in the graph) in Daniel 12:1-2, so only the sound of the trumpet (#3 in the graph) is missing in Daniel. This being so, what does it do to the context and understanding of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians?

Clearly, there is no evidence in Daniel for a rapture, so why would there be in Paul’s epistle? Moreover, there is absolutely no evidence of the destruction of the universe, as some believe would occur at the Second Coming. So, if Daniel and Thessalonians sorta, kinda interpret one another, where’s the evidence of the end of time and the end of human history? After all, if the saints inherit the Kingdom at the coming of the Lord, what kind of blessing or reward would that be, if the whole universe were destroyed, right down to the very elements as interpreted from chapter three of Peter’s second epistle?

Additionally, if as is interpreted by the vast majority of Christians, scholars and laymen alike, the fourth kingdom is the Roman Empire, then the little horn must be Jerusalem. Who else persecuted the saints in human history up to the point of the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth? Didn’t Jesus lay the blame of all of the martyrs at the feet of the Jewish authorities (Matthew 23:31-35; cp. 37-38)? When have the Jews persecuted Christians? If history is accurate in any sense of the word, only in the first century AD did the Jews persecute believers in Christ.

Therefore, if we seriously consider the parallels between 1Thessalonians 4:13 to 5:3 and Daniel 7, and if we actually consider parallels as actual indicators of the same event, then we must put the eschatology of Paul’s epistles to the Thessalonians, including chapter four of what we call his first epistle, in the first century AD. It was during the first century AD that the Roman Empire existed; it doesn’t exist today. It was during the first century that Jews persecuted believers in Christ; they don’t do that today, and finally, it was during the first century that the Jews, as a nation were judged, in that Jerusalem and their Temple were destroyed, thus ending their covenant with the Lord. They have no covenant with him today. The New Covenant, established by the Lord at the ending of the first covenant (cp. Hebrews 8:7-13) is the only covenant through which the Lord deals with mankind.