"Rapture" and 1 Thessalonians: A musing

So, I got this phone call from a family member last night. She's taking Bible classes online from a fairly conservative university and was asked to write a paper on the "The Rapture," using the familiar text from 1 Thessalonians 4 and comparing it to at text in Revelation.

Admittedly, I haven't thought much about the theology of "The Rapture" in a fairly long time. I do recall seeing a T-shirt I wanted to buy once in a Christian bookstore back in the late 1980s. It showed a skateboarder soaring high into the clouds with the words, "The Rapture: The Ultimate in Grabbing Air."  I took a stab at finding one online tonight; alas, it was to no avail.

After doing some devotions this morning, I thought about that conversation and decided to go a little further into the discussion with her via an e-mail. I'm recounting it here, with some corrections to grammar, spelling, and replacing an omitted word or two. (I was late for work and didn't do much self-editing before sending the e-mail.) I've also omitted her name, because I haven't asked her permission to post this. I mainly wanted to capture it for myself, because I'm thinking about digging a little more deeply into John Nelson Darby, who is largely credited with laying the groundwork for Dispensationalism and the theology of "The Rapture." The sociologist in me wonders about the timing of that discourse as it relates to the approaching 20th century mark and how its popuarlity as we approached the 21st century, a la the "Left Behind" series.

Dear ____,

When I was talking to you last night, I made mention of a scholarly study of Paul's letters, including 1 Thessalonians. Just FYI: Here is a list of those letters that are fairly undisputed as having been penned by Paul compared to the "disputed letters." Don't get me wrong: Just because they were written only in the name of Paul, which was common for followers to do, does not give them any less biblical authority. It does, however, mean that we always judge the disputed by what we see in undisputed writings. Scripture must always be taken as a whole, not as a part.

The Undisputed Letters
1 Thessalonians
Galatians
1-2 Corinthians
Philippians
Romans
Philemon

The Disputed Letters
2 Thessalonians
Colossians
Ephesians
1-2 Timothy
Titus

That list is from "Introduction to the New Testament: Interpreting the Message and Meaning of Jesus Christ," Carl R. Holladay, a text we used in New Testament I and New Testament II in my Course of Study.

Holladay notes, "While the debate about the pseudonymity of 2 Thessalonians is important, it should not obscure how valuable both letters are to the church and contemporary Pauline scholarship."

1 Thessalonians is believed to be the earliest Pauline letter and, in fact, the earliest Christian writing. Holladay notes it is thus the earliest apocalyptic (speaking of when good finally defeats evil at the end of time) text in the New Testament.

Holladay explains that Paul had only been gone from Thessalonica for "a short time" (1 Thess. 2:17) when he penned this letter, so his visit was still fresh in his memory. There are lots of details concerning his visit in the letter. There apparently was great opposition to his preaching during this visit, which may have been three to four months. In the letter, he reminds them:
-- The "apostles of Christ" who started the church, Paul, Timothy and probably Silvanus;
-- Paul's Spirit-empowered preaching and its message of the one God and the Son, who would "as eschatological deliverer";
-- Paul's preaching in the face of "great opposition," the "persecution" and suffering from their own countrymen";
-- Instructions on how "to live and please God";
-- and God the avenger and the certain, yet sudden, Day of the Lord.

There is more to the letter, obviously, but I just wanted to share this with you as a reminder that these letters were not written in a vacuum, but to a particular people, at a particular time, and a particular place. In theology, one of the questions we ask is, "What was God saying to God's people at that time?" We also ask, "What is God saying to God's people today?" As well as, "What is God saying to me, today?"

That having been said, Holladay notes, and I agree, that "First Thessalonians is best read as a paranetic letter [a pastoral letter of exhortation] whose overall goal is to encourage and strengthen its readers." One aspect of this is the text from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, which deals with the question of "What about those who die before Jesus Christ returns," sometimes called the "Parousia," or "Second Coming." And so, pastorally, Paul tells them not to worry: "But we do not want you to be uninformed (Paul's always teaching), brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope." And then he goes on to paint a comforting scenario, using the image and language of the day.

I wish I had more time, but I have to go to work. I would really like to see how Darbey constructed his pretribulation rapture theology as a "comfort" to those who were consumed by apocalyptic writings, obviously asking, "What's going to happen to Christians during this great tribulation and end-times battle? It's going to be horrific!" And during the 19th century, particularly as the turn-of-the-century approached, people had a lot of that on their minds. It's fascinating stuff.

Thanks for giving me something to ponder ...

Love,
Uncle Buzzy