SOUTHWESTERN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD UNIVERSITY

Apocalyptic Literature
BIB 4513 - 200

Dr. Terance Espinoza

Apocalyptic Texts in the New Testament

STUDENT DATA:

Name: Bethany Burkard

Lionmail: bethanymburkard@lionmail.sagu.edu

Phone: 513-328-4652

Semester: Spring 2023

Date: April 11th 2023

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Introduction

This paper will be discussing the following apocalyptic texts contained in the New

Testament: Mark 13, Matthew 24-25, and Luke 21 from the Synoptic Gospels, 1st Corinthians 15

and 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10, 1 Thessalonians 4 and 2 Thessalonians 1-2, and the Book of

Revelation. I will first examine what these passages mean within their own context and then

discuss how they may relate or interact with each other. Next, I will discuss what the passages

mean for contemporary practice in the church. Finally, I will summarize each topic.

Synoptic Gospels: Mark 13; Matthew 24-25; Luke 21

In the Synoptic Gospels, the passages are each different accounts of Jesus’ Olivet

discourse where he foretells the destruction of the temple and his eventual second coming. In

each gospel the discourse takes place after Jesus’s final visit to Jerusalem and shortly before the

Passover where he is betrayed. In all of them, Jesus's predictions of the end of the temple and the

end of the world are together, implying they are theologically, if not chronologically, related. 1

However, each passage has its own unique additions (or subtractions) that give it a different

emphasis.

In Mark, the intention seems to be to stir up eschatological alertness.2 Both Mark and

Matthew contain the Parable of the Doorkeeper, in which a houseowner charges his doorkeeper

to stay awake while he is away, but while Matthew extends the parable to a teaching on

judgment, Mark cuts the parable short to emphasize the command to stay awake. Mark also
1
R. T. France, Matthew : An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press,
2008), 337.
2
Joel Marcus, Mark 8-16 : A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, AYBC, ed. John J.
Collins (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009), 876.

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contains more explicit statements crediting God as the active agent behind the world’s events.

For example, while Matthew states that there will be a tribulation such as has never been since

the beginning of the world, Mark says, “from the beginning of the creation that God created.”3

While Matthew states that the days of the tribulation will be cut short—a passive construction—

Mark directly states that the Lord is cutting them short.4 Both Matthew and Mark refer to the

elect, but Mark qualifies them as the elect “whom he (God) chose.”5 This gives assurance to

Mark’s readers that these fearful events to come are well within God’s control.6

In Matthew, the purpose of this discourse seems aimed at emphasizing the judgment that

will occur when Jesus returns. Matthew’s gospel contains two parables on judgment and a scene

of final judgment shared with neither Luke nor Mark in this section,7 and he alone soberly warns

that believers will fall away before the end.8

In Luke, there is a stronger distinction made between the fall of the temple and the signs

of the end of the age.9 Only Luke refers to Jerusalem being surrounded by armies,10 an addition

to the discourse which helps separate it from Jesus’s teaching on his return. Jesus prophesies that

3
Mark 13:19 ESV. All Scripture quotations will be from the ESV.
4
Mark 13:20
5
Mark 13:20
6
Marcus, Mark, AYBC, 867.
7
France, Matthew, TNTC, 336. The parable on judgment is Matt. 25: 1-13 and the scene of final judgment
is Matt. 25: 31-46.
8
Matthew 24:10-12
9
Leon L. Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC, ed. Leon L. Morris (Downers Grove:
InterVarsity Press, 1988), 315.
10
Luke 21:20

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Jerusalem will be “trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are

fulfilled,”11 and then transitions into speaking about the coming of the Son of Man and the signs

that will accompany it. These additional details in Luke make a time gap between the two events

more implicit. Luke is also the only gospel that contains an exhortation to pray for the strength to

withstand tribulations that are to come.12

To the Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 15; 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

In 1 Corinthians, Paul is trying to correct the Corinthian church’s faulty theology

regarding the resurrection of the dead. The Corinthians were likely influenced by Gnosticism, a

system of thought which taught that the body and all matter was evil, and only what was spiritual

was good.13 This made it difficult for the Corinthian church to believe in a physical resurrection.

Paul corrects this by first by citing witnesses to prove that Christ was raised bodily,14 and then by

asserting a direct relation between the fate of Christ and the fate of believers who are ‘in

Christ.’15 He argues that if they don’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, they must not

believe Christ was raised,16 and if Christ wasn’t raised, their faith is worthless.17 Paul uses this

argument to prove that resurrection is coming, and also goes into detail regarding the resurrected

11
Luke 21:24c
12
Luke 21:36
13
Thomas R. Schreiner, 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary, TNTC, ed. Eckhard J. Schnabel
and Nicholas Perrin (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2018), 300-301.
14
Schreiner, Corinthians, TNTC, 307.
15
Schreiner, Corinthians, TNTC, 308. He makes this connection in 1 Corinthians 15:12, 13, 15, and 16.
16
1 Corinthians 15:13
17
1 Corinthians 15:14, 17

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body, the details of which are continued in 2 Corinthians. In that letter, Paul speaks of the

resurrected body not to correct theology so much as to offer encouragement to a congregation

discouraged by their weak, earthly bodies.18 Paul mentions here that believers who have passed

on before the Lord returns may for a temporary time be without a body, but they will certainly be

with the Lord.19 Additionally, Paul reveals that actions done in the body have eternal

consequences, as we will all give an account for them “before the judgment seat of Christ.” 20

To the Thessalonians: 1 Thessalonians 4; 2 Thessalonians 1-2

In 1 Thessalonians, Paul’s aim is to encourage the Thessalonians who are grieving the

deaths of fellow believers. Specifically, they are worrying what will become of them since they

have died before Jesus’s return.21 Using a similar argument as with the Corinthian church, Paul

shows that Jesus’ death and rising proves that dead (“asleep”) Christians are brought to God.22

He also alleviates their fear of death by assuring them it will never separate them from the

Lord.23 In 2 Thessalonians, Paul’s introduction reveals that the Thessalonians are enduring

persecutions and suffering.24 It is probably for this reason that Paul goes into an extended

discussion of judgment and eschatology to encourage and remind them of God’s justice. Rather

18
2 Corinthians 5:8
19
2 Corinthians 5:8
20
2 Corinthians 5:10
21
Eugene M. Boring, I and II Thessalonians: A Commentary, The New Testament Library, (Louisville:
Westminster John Knox Press, 2015), 154.
22
1 Thessalonians 4:14
23
1 Thessalonians 4:17
24
2 Thessalonians 1:4

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than a discussion of the resurrection body, Paul speaks of Jesus returning in “flaming fire,

inflicting vengeance.”25 He continues to discuss an unidentified “man of lawlessness,” whom he

assures the Thessalonians “Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth.”26 Ascribing this lawless

one to the power of Satan, Paul encourages the Thessalonians to continue enduring to “obtain the

glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”27

Book of Revelation

Revelation is a letter from the apostle John, written while he was in exile on the island of

Patmos. It is addressed to seven different churches. Johnson writes, “Revelation differs in kind

from most other NT writings. The difference is not in doctrine but in literary genre and subject

matter. It is a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7, 18-19) that involves both warning and consolation—

announcements of future judgment and blessing.”28 The first section of Revelation contains

visions given to John, messages from Jesus for the seven churches the letter is addressed to. In

chapter 4, the book pivots into more apocalyptic visions that are no longer addressed individually

to the churches, but recount highly symbolic visions of the future. Revelation ends with the

encouraging assurance that time is surely headed toward the day when Jesus will return with

judgment, resurrecting the saints, and “making all things new.”29

Interaction Between the Passages – False Prophets

25
2 Thessalonians 1:8
26
2 Thessalonians 2:3, 8
27
2 Thessalonians 2:14-15
28
Alan F. Johnson, Hebrews - Revelation, EBC, ed. Tremper Longman III and David E. Garland (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2006), 573.
29
Revelation 21:5

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In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus warns about the appearance of false prophets who will

claim to be him and lead people astray.30 Both 2 Thessalonians and the book of Revelation give

additional details about these false prophets. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12, Paul speaks of ‘the

lawless one’, whose coming is “by the activity of Satan,” who works false signs and wonders and

deceives those who are perishing. This description is very similar to the second beast of

Revelation, who deceives people through signs and wonders.31 Through the performance of these

demonic miracles, the beast entices people into following the first beast, who had apparently

recovered from a mortal wound, a clear demonic counterpart to Christ which Jesus warned

about.32

Interaction Between the Passages – The Tribulation

Jesus also warns in the Olivet Discourse that the end of the age will be accompanied by

disasters such as earthquakes, famines, unusual signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and

persecutions.33 These appear to be directly foretold in Revelation, such as in Revelation 6:12-

13a: “When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the

sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to

the earth…”34 In the same chapter, persecutions are foretold in verses 9 and 11: “When he

opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of

30
Mark 13:6; Matthew 24:5; Luke 21:8
31
Marcus, Mark, AYBC, 901. Revelation 13:13-14; 19:20
32
Johnson, Revelation, EBC, 712.
33
Luke 21:11-12, 25; Matthew 24:7, 9, 29; Mark 13:8-9, 24-25
34
These signs are also present in Revelation 6:8; 8:5; 11:13; 18:8. Marcus, Mark, AYBC, 877.

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God and for the witness they had borne…they were each given a white robe and told to rest a

little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who

were to be killed as they themselves had been.” The breaking of the fourth seal unleashes famine

and pestilence on the earth,35 and the third seal brings massive inflation which reflects the

conditions of famine.36

Interaction Between the Passages – Jesus’ Second Coming

Jesus’s second coming is characterized as an event that will be impossible to miss. While

false antichrists may pop up in the meantime and cause confusion, there will be no doubt when

Jesus truly does return.37 In the Synoptic Gospels, it is shown to be accompanied by unusual

heavenly signs.38 This is associated with Jesus’ return in several places in Revelation, such as in

8:12 at the blowing of the fourth trumpet, where a third of the sun, moon, and stars lose their

light, in addition to the passage in Revelation discussed in the previous section. In 1

Thessalonians 4 it is stated that Jesus will come “with the voice of an archangel,” but he will also

be surrounded by angels who will be gathering his elect.39 In Revelation, the signs of Jesus’s

return are in part induced by the sounding of several trumpets, and Jesus’s return is said to be

heralded with a trumpet in Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and 1 Thessalonians.40

Interaction Between the Passages – The Resurrection of Believers

35
Revelation 6:7-8
36
Johnson, Revelation, EBC, 654. Revelation 6:5-6
37
Matthew 24:27-28
38
Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:24-26; Luke 21:25-27
39
Andy Johnson, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, THNTC, ed. Joel B. Green and Max Turner (Grand Rapids:
William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016), 99. 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:7; Matthew 24:31

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In his letters to the Thessalonians and the Corinthians, Paul discusses the future physical

resurrection body of believers. In 2 Thessalonians 1:10, Paul says that when Jesus comes he will

be “glorified in his saints,” which is probably a reference to 1 Corinthians 15:40 where Paul

speaks of our glorious resurrection bodies.41 The resurrection of believers will also involve a

rapture of believers who are living, as they will meet the Lord in the clouds as he arrives,42 in

which, according to 1 Corinthians 15:52, living believers will also experience a transformation to

their bodies.43 In Revelation 11:11-12, the two witnesses are summoned by God and ‘go up to

heaven in a cloud,’ perhaps reminiscent of the rapture described in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.44

This passage in 1 Thessalonians where believers meet the Lord in the air may be a description of

what Jesus means in the Synoptics when he says that his angels will “gather the elect” from all

over the earth.45

Implications for Individual and Corporate Contemporary Practice

A recurring theme in several of these passages is the need for discernment (“staying

alert”) to guard oneself against false prophets. In 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, Paul warns about

these prophets and their deluding influence on unbelievers, but in Mark and Matthew, this

40
Revelation 8:6-9:21; Matthew 24:31; 1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16. Johnson, Revelation,
EBC, 670-671.
41
George H. Guthrie, 2 Corinthians, BECNT, ed. Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand
Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015), 272.
42
Boring, Thessalonians, The New Testament Library, 172.
43
Schreiner, Corinthians, TNTC, 324.
44
Johnson, Revelation, EBC, 688.
45
Marcus, Mark, AYBC, 906.

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warning is extended even to the elect.46 Believers today should remember this warning and

continue to test all spirits, holding fast only to what is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21). Jesus’

warning in the gospels and Revelation that he will come like a thief should also motivate and

encourage believers to be faithful, knowing that at any point the Lord may return and assess their

service.47

Moreover, these passages contain great encouragement for believers today who are

struggling with the death of their saved loved-ones, just as the 1st-century Thessalonians did.

Paul’s assurance to the Thessalonians— that those who have gone before us will not be left out

during Jesus’s coming— is still an encouragement today.48 Additionally, our coming resurrection

can feel less difficult to conceptualize when we remember that, like Jesus, we will experience a

physical resurrection,49 something that is assured to us if we are indeed ‘in Christ.’50 Schreiner

states, “Actually, the term used for death is fallen asleep, which is only used of believers… the

death of believers is only a temporary setback, for they will rise to life again.” 51 Death should not

scare us, because we are promised its hold on us will be destroyed.52

Conclusion

46
Marcus, Mark, AYBC, 902. Mark 13:22; Matthew 24:24
47
Johnson, Revelation, EBC, 734.
48
Boring, Thessalonians, The New Testament Library, 158.
49
Schreiner, Corinthians, TNTC, 300-301.
50
Schreiner, Corinthians, TNTC, 310-311.
51
Schreiner, Corinthians, TNTC, 311-312.
52
1 Corinthians 15:26

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The apocalyptic texts of the New Testament have overlapping elements that contribute to

our understanding of biblical eschatology. Together, they give us an informed view of Jesus’s

second coming, the resurrection of the body, the appearance of false prophets, and the coming

tribulation. Our knowledge of these apocalyptic texts should encourage the church today to stay

alert, waiting for the Lord’s return; and to live in hope knowing that death will not separate us

from the Lord, nor keep us forever, even if we leave this world before Jesus returns.

Bibliography

Boring, M. Eugene. I and II Thessalonians: A Commentary. The New Testament Library.

Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2015.

France, R. T. Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. TNTC. Downers Grove: InterVarsity

Press, 2008.

Guthrie, George H. 2 Corinthians. BECNT. Edited by Robert W. Yarbrough and Robert H.

Stein. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2015.

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Johnson, Andy. 1 & 2 Thessalonians. THNTC. Edited by Joel B. Green and Max Turner. Grand

Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016.

Johnson, Alan F. Hebrews – Revelation. EBC. Edited by Tremper Longman III and David E.

Garland. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Academic, 2006.

Marcus, Joel. Mark 8-16: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. AYBC. Edited

by John J. Collins. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009.

Morris, Leon L. Luke: An Introduction and Commentary. TNTC. Edited by Leon Morris.

Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1988.

Schreiner, Thomas R. 1 Corinthians: An Introduction and Commentary. TNTC. Edited by

Eckhard J. Schnabel and Nicholas Perrin. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2018.

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