Classroom Snippets: Thessalonians/Corinthians

As final exams approach, I wrote out for a class something like what I would have written for the short answer questions on a previous exam. Here they are:

Summarize the content of 1 Corinthians 15.
The chapter basically divides up into three parts. In the first part, Paul presents the earliest tradition about the appearances of Jesus after the resurrection, starting with Peter and ending with him. In the second part, Paul defends the idea that there will be a resurrection. His basic argument is a contrary to fact—if there is no resurrection, Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins, people who are baptized for the dead would be stupid, etc. In the third part, Paul addresses those who would object to the resurrection over what kind of a body it would entail. He argues that it is not a body made of flesh and blood like we currently have but a spiritual body, a heavenly one.

Summarize the eschatology of 1 Thessalonians 4-5.
In these chapters Paul addresses uncertainty on the Thessalonian’s part concerning what will happen to believers who have died. Paul indicates that they will in fact be the first to go out to meet Christ as he returns to earth. Then we who are alive at the time will also be snatched up to meet them in the air. These events should not surprise those of us who are awake because we are ready.

How would you interpret the following terms from 2 Thessalonians 2: the rebellion/apostasy, the man of lawlessness, what/who is holding him back, sets himself up in the temple?

Very difficult to know. In terms of what was likely to be going on in Paul’s mind, the temple to which he would likely have referred was the Jerusalem temple that was destroyed in AD70 (although he does tell the Corinthians that they are the temple of the Lord). Caligula had already tried to set up an image of himself there around AD40. But of course there is no literal temple today, so if this is meant to be fulfilled literally, one will have to be rebuilt.

Paul says that a “man of lawlessness” will set himself up in the temple as God. Surely any of Paul’s listeners hearing such a thing would have thought of the Caligula incident. Paul says nothing here about such an individual claiming to be the Christ, and the emperors were worshipped as gods. It is thus quite possible that Paul would have pictured a Roman emperor as he wrote this. Of course we’re fresh out of Roman emperors, so if it is to be fulfilled literally today, some similar figure will have to rise.

The rebellion perhaps relates to opposition against the true God and in favor of the “lie” in this passage, which seems to be that this lawless one is a god. The “Left Behind” scenario of Christians who believe an Antichrist to be God would work if we are headed for a literal fulfillment.

What is holding him back is even more difficult. Was it Paul himself—while he is still alive this won’t happen? Is it the Holy Spirit, which is a neuter word but also a “He”? Hard to know. Paul frustratingly told the Thessalonians, "you know what is holding him back." Unfortunately, though, none of us where there to know!