The Fate of the Dead and the Living at the Lord¿s Parousia: Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10; 4:13-18; 5:1-11

This book traces the roots of the Christian belief in resurrection and the afterlife as presented by Paul in First Thessalonians. The Ghanaian author adopted mainly the approach of History of Religion ( Religionsgeschichte ) to his study of the Pauline exhortations on the fate of the dead and the living at the Lord's parousia in First Thessalonians. He is of the view that neither the African Traditional Religion nor ancient Greek philosophy and mythology can give the background information on the Pauline exhortations in question but Paul's origin as a Jewish Pharisee who believed in the resurrection of the dead and valued this belief he inherited from Judaism. The publication can help believers in Christ see death as an event which paves the way for them to begin a new life with God, their creator. Cover Series Information Copyright Information Dedication APPRECIATION TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface GENERAL INTRODUCTION A. Statement of the Problem B. The Thesis C. Methodology D. The Scheme of Work E. Paul’s Missionary Activity in Thessalonica F (i). Foundation of Thessalonica and its Political Development F (ii). Socio- Economic Situation in Thessalonica F (iii). Religious Condition in Thessalonica G. Date, Purpose and Occasion of Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians H. The Structure of First Thessalonians. CHAPTER ONE Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 Introduction A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 1:9-10 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 1:9-10 1.1. (i). 1 Thess 1:9a: “For they themselves report concerning us” (αὐτοὶ γὰρ περὶ ἡμῶν ἀπαγγέλλουσιν). 1.1. (ii). 1 Thess 1:9c: “And how you turned to (i.e. towards) God from the idols” (καὶ πῶς ἐπεστρέψατε πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀπὸ τῶν εἰδώλων). 1.1. (iii). 1 Thess 1:9d: “to serve the living and true God” (δουλεύειν θεῷ ζῶντι καὶ ἀληθινῷ). 1.1. (iv). 1 Thess 1:10a: “And to wait for his son from heaven” (καὶ ἀναμένειν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν). 1.1. (v). 1 Thess 1:10b: “Whom he raised from the dead” (ὃν ἤγειρεν ἐκ [τῶν] νεκρῶν). 1.1. (vi). 1 Thess 1:10c: “Jesus who delivers us from the coming wrath” (Ἰησοῦν τὸν ῥυόμενον ἡμᾶς ἐκ τῆς ὀργῆς τῆς ἐρχομένης). CHAPTER TWO Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Introduction 2.1. (i). 1 Thess 4:13 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 4:13 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 4:13 2.1. (ii). 1 Thess 4:14 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 4:14 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 4:14 2.1. (iii). 1 Thess 4:15 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 4:15 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 4:15 2.1. (iv) 1 Thess 4:16 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 4:16 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 4:16 2.1. (v). 1 Thess 4:17 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 4:17 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 4:17 2.1. (vi). 1 Thess 4:18 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 4:18 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 4:18 CHAPTER THREE Exegesis of 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Introduction 3.1. (i). 1 Thess 5:1-3 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:1-3 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:1-3 3.1. (ii). 1 Thess 5:4-5 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:4-5 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:4-5 3.1. (iii). 1 Thess 5:6-7 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:6-7 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:6-7 3.1. (iv). 1 Thess 5:8 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:8 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:8 3.1. (v). 1 Thess 5:9 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:9 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:9 3.1. (vi). 1 Thess 5:10 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:10 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:10 3.1. (vii). 1 Thess 5:11 A. Organisation and Translation of the Text 1 Thess 5:11 (with Notes) B. Exegesis of 1 Thess 5:11 GENERAL CONCLUSION LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1. Sources 1 (i) Bible 1 (ii) Judaism 1 (iii) Selected Hellenistic Greek and Roman Literature 2. Dictionaries, Grammars, Concordances and Lexicons 3. Commentaries on First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians 4. Other Books and Articles BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Sources 1 (i) Bible 1 (ii) Judaism 1 (iii) Selected Hellenistic Greek and Roman Literature 2. Dictionaries, Grammars, Concordances and Lexicons 3. Commentaries on First and Second Letters to the Thessalonians 4. Other Books and Articles INDICES A. INDEX OF BIBLICAL AND OTHER ANCIENT REFERENCES B. INDEX OF MODERN AUTHORS, COMMENTATORS, EDITORS AND TRANSLATORS Series Index 1 Thess 1:9-10; 4:13-18; 5:1-11 (also 1 Cor 15) present Paul's extensive exhortations on the afterlife based on Christ's death and resurrection. Paul employs principally apocalyptic and eschatological motifs in these teachings. Christ's second coming or parousia is the decisive moment of the determination of the fate of the dead and the living. Christ's death and resurrection: the basis of Christian hope and belief in the resurrection of the dead - Christ's second coming or parousia as the appointed time for the complete fulfillment of the believer's hope of salvation - Salvation as the ultimate union with Jesus Christ in the kingdom of God