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Paul's Message of Hope for the Thessalonians--A Gospel Grounded in Eschatology, Election, and Redemptive History

Hope for the Future

For Paul, hope is directly related to the eschatological expectation associated with the person and work of Jesus Christ. We have hope for the future because of Christ’s resurrection and in light of his promise of his return following his ascension (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14). Paul is not speaking of a passive resignation to accept those trials and troubles which God may allow to come into our lives (as in certain forms of ancient stoicism which can function as a sort of practical atheism).[1] Rather, the hope of which Paul speaks is that all those things which God has promised to his people in Jesus Christ will, at some point, become a wonderful reality. As Gene Green points out,

The Christians’ hope was bound up with the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, an event that is mentioned frequently in these letters (1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 1:7–10; 2:1; and cf. 1 Thess. 5:8). The hope they held was not some vague expectation about a better future but rather solid confidence rooted in the expectation of Christ’s coming. This was the strong foundation that gave the Thessalonians the power to endure and persevere in the face of the tremendous hostility leveled against them.[2]

Such hope enables Christians to endure and remain steadfast knowing that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). The life of Jesus in which the agony of Calvary leads to the glory of Easter is also exemplary for Christians as well. Suffering precedes glory. We know that we are not left on our own to suffer from the ambiguities of life as would a pagan or an atheist, who have no such hope and whose gods (if there are any) are weak, capricious, and arbitrary. As Christians, we may not know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. Christ’s work of redemption is the basis of our hope for the future regardless of our present circumstances. Although new Christians, Paul gives thanks to God that the Thessalonians embraced this hope as fruit of their faith in Jesus. As is clear from the beginning of the letter, Paul is an eschatological thinker and has taught the Thessalonians that our Lord’s return is the “blessed hope” (cf. Titus 2:13).

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Pauline StudiesKim RiddlebargerJuly 30, 2025Hope, Eschatology, ElectionComment

The Book of Revelation – A Surprisingly Practical Book

The Book of Revelation is the last book in the Bible and completes the New Testament canon. This easily overlooked fact directs us to view the Book of Revelation as one of the most practical and important of all the New Testament epistles. John’s apocalyptic vision is Jesus Christ’s final word to his church until he returns.

Likely written near the end of the first century, Revelation comes in the form of a circular letter addressed to seven churches in Asia Minor (chapter 2-3). The order of Jesus’s prophetic word of encouragement and rebuke to each of these seven churches mentioned follows the postal route from Ephesus to Laodicea reminding us of the both the letter’s purpose and its original audience.

The Christians in these churches lived in an empire that was openly hostile to all who proclaimed that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. This guaranteed a wary eye from Roman officials who often, but mistakenly, saw Christians as insurrectionists. These Christians lived in the midst of a pagan culture which worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator. It was an age of bizarre rituals, magic, and sacrifices. Christians also faced the ire of those Jews living in the area who saw Christians as threat because so many of their fellow Jews had become followers of Jesus. This book is written to them, surely, but also to the people of God across the ages. There is no book quite like it in all the Bible.

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Amillennialism, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerMarch 1, 2021Eschatology, Book of Revelation