Interesting insights from Beale on 1 Thess. 4:13-18 — thoughts?

[clawrence9008]

Hey all, I have been preparing for a study in 1 and 2 Thessalonians I have been leading with one of my college buddies this semester, and we will be studying 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11 today. I have been using G.K. Beale’s awesome commentary on these epistles primarily and have been greatly helped by it. He had an interesting interpretation of what Christ’s second coming and us being gathered together to Him (cf. 2 Thess. 2:1) would be like, and I wanted to get some thoughts on it because I’ve never heard anything like it before.

“There is some question about whether Jesus will literally come down from heaven (4:16). The description of a descent from heaven here has been referred to in 4:15 as the coming of the Lord. The word for coming is parousia, which ordinarily means either ‘presence’ or ‘coming.’ The former appears best in this context. Comparing other descriptions of Christ’s coming, it is apparent that motion from heaven down to earth may not be the precise way in which Christ manifests his end-time presence. Revelation 6:14 refers to the end of the present cosmos in terms of ‘a scroll that has been split and each of the two halves then rolled up’ (Beale 1999a:396). … In short, the present physical reality will in some way disappear and the formerly hidden heavenly dimension, where Christ and God dwell will be revealed….

Paul is using the same imagery in 4:15-17. What has been traditionally understood as the second coming of Christ is best conceived as a revelation of his formerly hidden, heavenly presence. The old-world reality will be ripped away, and the dimension of the new, eternal reality will appear along with Christ’s ‘presence.’ … When Christ appears, he will not descend from the sky over Boston or London or New York City or Hong Kong or any other localized area. When he appears, the present dimension will be ripped away, and Christ will be manifest to all eyes on the earth (see Mt. 24:27). …

Likewise, the resurrection of the dead (1 Thess. 4:16) should not be conceived as a physical rising upward from the grave but a transformational of an old-world body into a new creational body that can inhabit the dimension of the new world in Christ and God’s presence” (G.K. Beale, IVP Commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians, p. 137-138).

This seems like a novel interpretation to me — not implying that it’s wrong, but it is certainly new to my ears. It certainly fits with other NT eschatological texts like 1 Cor. 15:35ff, 2 Pet. 3:10-13, Rev. 1:7, etc., but at the same time, it also differs with the interpretations of many commentators, as Beale does mention in a footnote. Many commentators seem to be in keeping with the idea of Acts 1:11, that Christ will descend from heaven down to earth, and that believers in their glorified bodies will physically meet the Lord in the air to descend with Him as His “escorts” of sorts. Any thoughts on Beale’s interpretation?

 

[Contra_Mundum]

Beale's comments/observations/suggestions reflect the way different times and situations of the interpreter affect the whole range of possibilities in which a correct interpretation may be understood and expressed. The "old way" has not been falsified, if it so happens that the "new way" suggested by Beale aids a modern man's comprehension. A modern man might wonder how Jesus would be seen "over" every population center on the globe--a thought that might not have occurred or seemed insurmountable to someone in the ancient world, who never saw a globe or any sort of world map.

Paul's language sets up a mental picture for his original audience; Beale doesn't want to change that language or deny what it was intended by the author to convey. However, Beale wants to forestall a modern objection or question raised by the modern appreciation of the true shape and size of the world, and where its inhabitants dwell. He points to the plausibility of interpreting the term "parousia" in a way that does full justice to the inbreaking of the risen Lord into our familiar world in all its current dimensions. These were never going to be sufficient for the world to come.

Come to realize: it was not absolutely necessary to imagine the inhabited world (curved or not) would have to be limited to a line-of-sight arrival of Jesus on the Mt. of Olives; or that Jesus would specially manifest in countless places at once (serially, or simultaneously by video-link). The limits of this world must dissolve, so that "every eye will see him," and space will be opened up for the new heavens and earth. We can appreciate this insight, while also acknowledging that as the Lord arrives, his saints will be clothed in their own resurrection-life bodies and will surge to greet him in order to escort him to the "place" that has replaced the familiar world, where the judgment seat has appeared. We are not locked-in to geography as it was or now is.

That geography will change, radically. This has already happened on a typological scale, when the flood wiped away the world that once was in the days of Noah. The world we know is radically reshaped from whatever it was before, 2Pet.3:6. Survivors of the flood renamed rivers they met with in the new world "Tigris" and "Euphrates" (there is no need to presume those two rivers in the Middle East help us "locate" where Eden once was). The first creation was scrubbed out in the flood; and the next time the renovation will be by an element-dissolving fire even more thoroughly done.

By pointing us to the Mt. of Olives as the geography of Jesus' landing, the Bible's authors (and Author) are not re-sacralizing a certain GPS point on the surface of the earth; but are pointing out to us, from the departure event in real time and space, a return on a bigger scale in real time and space; only the present world like old wineskins is not wholly sufficient for that moment. Christians have always in principle granted that the Lord's return must exceed whatever expectations the language with which Scripture tries to prepare us. So, let's exult in having our minds expanded a little by Beale's insights.

 

[Jerusalem Blade]

Hello Connor,

I think pastor Bruce's take is sound – as is Beale's. We see in Rev 6:16 KJV that the Lord is seated on His throne when He wages war on the wicked persecutors of His bride, though in Rev 19:19 KJV (and previous verses) it appears we see Him closer as He executes vengeance upon them before the final judgment at the great white throne.