|
by
Doug Ward |
MARCH 2009-In his first epistle to early Christian congregations in
Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul answered a question that had arisen among the
Thessalonians about the future of believers who had already died:
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about
those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We
believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring
with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own
word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of
the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord
himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the
archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise
first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be
with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words" (I
Thes 4:13-18, NIV).
The
main event described in these verses, the meeting of both resurrected and
still-living saints with Jesus in the air, is commonly known as the Rapture,
after the Latin word for the verb translated "caught up" in verse 17.
There are differing opinions with regard to the timing of the Rapture:
· The
traditional view, still held by a majority of Christians, is that the Rapture
will occur at the Second Coming of Jesus. In this view Jesus will proceed to
the earth, together with the saints, right after meeting them in the air.
· A
second view that has gained popularity over the past 150 years places the
Rapture a few years before the Second Coming. According to this scenario Jesus
and the raptured Christians will go to heaven after meeting in the air, where
those Christians then will be protected from a time of tribulation on earth
leading up to the Second Coming.
One way to begin evaluating these competing models is to study them in light of
other biblical passages about the Second Coming. Personally, I have always
believed that a comparison of I Thes 4 with Matt 24:30-31, I Cor 15:51-52, and
Rev 11 provides strong evidence in favor of the traditional view.1
Not everyone agrees with me, however. Proponents of "left behind"
scenarios take these same verses, along with others, into account and reach
different conclusions.
Happily,
there is a current trend in biblical studies that sheds light on the Rapture
controversy. That trend is a growing awareness, promoted by the work of N.T.
Wright and others, of the powerful political ramifications of the New Testament
message. In the Dayton, Ohio, area, one New Testament scholar who is interested
in the political undertones of Paul's epistles is David Wheeler-Reed, an
adjunct professor of religion at Wright State University. Wheeler-Reed, who is
in the process of completing a PhD in New Testament at the University of
Toronto, gave a lecture entitled "Parousia and Empire" at the Church
of the Messiah on March 6, 2009. In his lecture, he showed that an awareness of
the political context of I Thessalonians can enhance our understanding of that
epistle, including the Rapture passage.
|
Christ
vs. Caesar |
Paul mentions that the recipients of his letter had "turned to
God from idols to serve the living and true God" (I Thes 1:9).
Wheeler-Reed explained that the worship of the Roman Emperor was a major
component of the idolatry that the Thessalonian Christians had abandoned.
Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, had been called Lord and Savior of the
world. His arrival as a Savior was hailed as good news, literally a kind of
gospel. Upon his death in AD 14, he was declared to be a god. This set a
pattern for future Roman emperors. Thereafter when an emperor died, he was
hailed as a god, making his successor a "son of god."
By
the time Paul wrote his letter in around AD 50, worship of the emperor was
pervasive in the territory controlled by Rome. There were temples devoted to
the emperor cult in all the major cities, and coins proclaimed the emperor's
divine status. One side of a coin would carry a picture of the emperor, the
other side an associated god or goddess.
This
background information helps us grasp sone of the challenges faced by early
Christians. Christians had to avoid worship of the emperor, which made them
seem unpatriotic and led to persecution from their neighbors. Paul mentions in
his letter that the Thessalonians endured "severe suffering" (1:6)
and were persecuted by their countrymen (2:14).
The
details of Roman emperor worship also reveal the subversive nature of Paul's
message. When Paul refers to Jesus as Lord and Savior in his letters, he is
using the same words that were applied to the emperor, thus implying that it is
Christ, not Caesar, who is the legitimate ruler of the world.
Wheeler-Reed
pointed out additional loaded language in I Thessalonians. In chapter 5, Paul
urges the Thessalonians to be prepared for the imminent return of Jesus:
"Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to
write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night. While people are saying, `Peace and safety,' destruction
will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will
not escape" (5:1-3).
One
source of a message of "peace and safety" in those days was the Roman
emperor Claudius. Rome offered peace and safety to those who would submit to
its rule. Pax and Securitas, the Latin words for peace and safety, actually
were personified as goddesses on coins. So in I Thes. 5:1-3, Paul is saying
that the Roman government's promises were hollow, and that Jesus was the only
one who could guarantee genuine pax et securitas.
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Rapture
Politics |
It turns out that I Thes 4:13-18, the passage quoted at the
beginning of this article, itself has important political implications. A key
word in this passage is parousia, the Greek word used for the
"coming" of the Lord in I Thes 4:15.
Wheeler-Reed
explained that when the Roman emperor paid an official visit to some city in
the empire, that visit was called a parousia. In honor of such a visit,
special coins bearing the emperor's picture (called "adventus coins")
were minted. It was believed that the parousia of the emperor brought a
new age of peace and well-being to the city. As the emperor approached the city,
he would be met by a throng of the city's inhabitants, who would then escort
the emperor through the city gates, beginning a special celebration.
In
light of this background, Paul's description of the parousia of Jesus in
I Thes 4:13-18 takes on heightened meaning. Paul is saying that the Roman
emperor is a pale imitation of the true King. Like the Roman emperor, Jesus
would be met by a welcoming crowd as he approached the earth. But Jesus would
be much greater than the human emperor. As the emperor reached the city gates,
he would pass by the city cemetery and nothing would happen. In contrast,
graves would open and the dead would be resurrected at the coming of Jesus. The
emperor could make empty promises about pax et securitas, but Jesus
would bring true justice and shalom.
This
understanding of I Thes. 4:13-18 fits well with the traditional Christian
interpretation of the Rapture but has little connection with the popular
"left behind" scenarios of the dispensationalists. Paul was not
talking about Jesus coming secretly to whisk away his followers before a time
of trouble. Instead, he was picturing Christ's triumphant return to set the
world right.
|
A
Challenge to American Christians |
In his lecture at the Church of the Messiah, Wheeler-Reed elucidated
the true nature of the Rapture of I Thes 4, but he ultimately had bigger
questions in mind. In particular, he wanted his audience to consider the
possible modern-day implications of Paul's subversive first-century message.
Looking
back at the Roman Empire of Paul's day, it is clear that its emperors were
guilty of hubris, making false claims about divine status and an ability to
bring lasting peace and security. The first Christians had to resist the
worship of the emperor and instead follow Jesus. Wheeler-Reed suggested that it
might be easy for today's American Christians to fall into a sort of
twenty-first century analogue of emperor worship. Are we looking for security
in a Pax Americana or for a government that will solve all of our problems? Or
are we placing our trust in the true King?
Wheeler-Reed
concluded the lecture by reviewing the Christ hymn of Phil 2:6-11, which
proclaims that every knee will bow at the name of Jesus. He suggested that the
best prayer we can make for today's political leaders is that those leaders not
be guilty of hubris, but instead submit to Christ.
1See,
for example, the article "The Rapture of
the Saints" in Issue 1 of Grace & Knowledge.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 08 Mar 2009, 21:37.
