The content Paul relates
about the coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead needs to be considered
in more detail. Despite the fact that recipients of this letter were mostly if
not exclusively gentile, it is evident that the description in 4:13-18
presupposes and recycles Jewish eschatological tradition. It may be that παρουσια in 4:15 adopts typical language in the
Greco-Roman world for a leader or dignitary’s approach to a city (though this
has been disputed). But the bulk of the imagery stems from Jewish eschatological
thought. Paul writes that Christ will descend from heaven “at the cry of
command [εκ κελευσματι], at the archangel’s call [εν φωνη αρχαγγελου], and at the trumpet of God
[εν σαλπιγγι θεου]” (v. 16). The militaristic imagery of “the
cry of command” and “the archangel’s call” both assumes a company of angels;
the angels themselves are not mentioned explicitly in vv. 13-18, but they are
earlier in the epistle (3:13): Paul prays that God might “strengthen your heart
to be blameless in holiness . . . at the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ with
all his holy ones” (3:13). The parallel here to Zachariah’s description of the
advent of God on the day of the Lord is patent:
|
Zech 14:5: |
ηξει κυριος ο θεος μου και |
παντες οι αγιοι μετ’ αυτου |
|
|
the Lord my God will
come and |
all the holy ones
with him |
|
1 Thess 3:13: |
εν τη παρουσια του κυριου ημων ‘Ιησου |
μετα παντων των αγιων αυτου |
|
|
at the appearance
of our Lord Jesus |
with all his holy
ones |
Zechariah’s language itself was inspired by the description of the Sinai
theophany, where according to Deut 33:1-2, God “came from Sinai . . . with myriads
of holy ones; at his right, a host of his own” (LXX: ηκει . . . εκ δεξιων αυτου αγγελοι μετ’ αυτου). The angelic imagery inspired a number of other
texts in their descriptions of the last days (cf. 1 En. 1.4-9; Ascen. Isa.
4.14; Apoc. El. 3.4), and appears again in the opening of 2 Thess 1:7-8: “when
the Lord Jesus is revealed [εν
τη αποκαλυψει]
from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire [μετ’ αγγελων
δυναμεως αυτου εν πυρι φλογος],
inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey
the gospel.” The appearance of “the trumpet of God” in 4:16 is an
eschatological trope, emerging also in the final chapters of Zechariah (9:14).
Blowing trumpets can be found in other Jewish end-time speculation (cf., e.g.,
1QM II.16-III. 12; Gen. Rab. 56.9), not least in the New Testament itself (Matt
24:31; 1 Cor 15:52; Rev 10:7; 11:15).
It is clear, then, that Paul’s description of the parousia of Christ in
1 Thessalonians is informed by Jewish tradition about “the day of the Lord” as
anticipated in Israel’s Scripture. The association is even made explicit in the
verses that follow 4:13-18, as Paul addresses questions about “the times and
the seasons [περι . .
. των χρονων και των καιρων]
[5:1])” by saying “you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord [η ημερα κυριου] will come like a thief in the night (5:2). The
common view that the day of the Lord would bring about both salvation and
judgment makes sense of other details in 1 Thessalonians, such as the cryptic
claim in 1:10 that the returning Jesus “rescues us from the wrath that is
coming” (απο της αργης της ερχομενης)
(and again in 5:9): “God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining
salvation”), as well as warnings and admonitions throughout (3:13; 5:23). (Tucker
S. Ferda, Jesus and His Promised Second Coming: Jewish Eschatology and
Christian Origins [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2024], 138-40)
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