Eschatology and Final Admonitions – Discussion Questions

Questions for Discussion:

1. The hope for the future that Paul expresses in 1 Thessalonians is not simply about the survival of the individual and restoration to life; it is also about the community and its fate. What kind of hope for the future do you have? Is that hope tied to a scripturally based timetable?
2. Paul’s use of imagery in this chapter is striking. Are there ways in which you find the images of light and darkness or of the life of virtue as a military enterprise to be particularly useful for thinking about Christian belief and practice?
3. Paul’s advice about how to behave as a Christian community relies heavily on the language of being “spirit filled.” What exactly is he talking about? Does the language make sense in a contemporary environment?