ABSTRACT: Despite our ignorance about exact details concerning life beyond the grave, Paul assures his readers, as he assures himself, that our being with Christ now in faith will be fundamentally continued and intensified after death.

TO DIE OR NOT TO DIE"—that is the question in the Pauline drama. In the opening chapter of his epistle to the Philippians, the apostle muses aloud "whether ‘tis nobler" to remain in this present life for the sake of those to whom he preaches or to pass on to that life beyond this earthly existence for which he longs. Acting as the dramatis persona of his own life story, Paul thereby introduces us to his novel eschatological thought.

In the theater of life, Paul’s existential soliloquy takes on concrete form for those who dare to wonder about life after death. The apostle’s questioning, consistent with the novel religious insight of the New Testament, devolves from the belief that the world-order was fast approaching its end:

"I tell you, brothers, the appointed time has grown very short ..., for the world in its present form is passing away" (I Cor. 7:29, 31). As such, life in the church of Paul’s time hinged on the vital anticipation of the return of Christ in glory, "for salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed" (Rom. 13:11). Consequently, Paul’s awareness of this belief and its implications resounds in his present letter to the Philippians ("the Lord is at hand" - 4:5) and, in fact, issues forth as "one of the most central and powerful motifs of (his) preaching."’¹

In our present age, besieged as we are by the increased possibility of a nuclear holocaust, the originally religious motif of "the end" is sounded anew, though without being relegated to the sphere of pure religious speculation or even millennial fanatacism. Even in our secular world we find ourselves face-to-face with the very real possibility of an imminent and immediate end to human existence as we know it. Because of this, the question of life after death once again assumes cosmic proportions. Our future earthly existence, relatively guaranteed in the past by the processes of nature, now must be continually created through the "strategic" human decision for world peace.

Yet without denying the positive value of this collective responsibility for the peaceful survival of the world, we must admit that the fundamental issue which constrains the mind of anyone willing to consider it revolves around the perennial questions of one’s own, personal future: What is death? What awaits us after death? What meaning, if any, does our mortal fate bear upon life in the present?

Notwithstanding divergent socio-political circumstances, Paul likewise considered these same personalistic questions, and the perplexities of his theological reflections he has incorporated in his epistle to the Philippians. There he openly states the apparently contrasting desires which cause his eschatological dilemma: to live or to die, "what I shall choose I cannot tell" (1:22). Because each of these very real possibilities has a value of its own, it seems that Paul faces the existential predicament of having to yield to a pastoral necessity or to pursue a personal desire (1:23-24). In the end, however, Paul expresses a firm conviction in resolution of this dilemma: He and the Philippians will remain together in the fight for the faith (1:30).

How does Paul come to this resolution? Does his personal conviction give any direction for our own hope? In this brief essay we attempt to deal with these questions, for we contend that by a more accurate reading of the relation between life and death as it is presented here, we can interpret the Pauline text from an eschatological point of view which remains valid for our own time.

In its literary context, the Pauline question pertains to the narrative introduction (narratio) common in letters of his time. Here he explains to his readers the affairs at hand, the events that have happened or are happening which have propelled him to put his thoughts in writing. What has happened, most notably, is his having been confined to prison. As he writes, he is bound in chains (1:13); yet even this personally dire situation does not impede Paul from exhorting his readers to maintain their Christian bearing (1:27).

Above all, his constant preoccupation is that the gospel be proclaimed. Even if some preachers act from suspect motivation (1:15-17), nevertheless what matters is not the messengers but the message—that Christ be known to all—and in this lies the source of his own joy (1:18). Thus, what is central for Paul in his personal condition, and for the Christian community to whom he writes, is their ongoing partnership in the promotion of the evangelical message.²

While the objective fact of this evangelizing is the proximate cause of Paul’s present rejoicing, this catechetical concern also establishes the horizon in which Paul will speak about his future (1:18-26). As such, his Christocentric preoccupation becomes the hermeneutical key for understanding his speech about life and death.

Paul "knows" that all that has happened to him "will result in salvation" (1:19a). As in his other references to salvation in this epistle (1:28; 2:12), Paul here intends a salvific future in an ultimate and final sense.³ He sees his present sufferings as a providential preparation for this future, and it is only within such an ultimate perspective that his subsequent eschatological reflections in the following verses could be engendered.

His conviction concerning salvation arises from the "provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ" active in history through the "supplication" of his readers.⁴ The power of the Spirit invoked through their prayers thus grounds the anticipation of Paul’s eschatological "hope," and this hope will be given concrete christological form inasmuch as the gospel continues to be proclaimed openly and frankly.⁵ In fact, Paul’s situation as a prisoner attests to the boldness of his preaching; not having been convicted of any crime, he is imprisoned solely on account of his open and frank profession of the Christian faith, and this very situation contributes publicly to the ongoing proclamation of the gospel. Thus, Paul’s entire existence ("whether by my life or by my death" - 1:20) constitutes the domain within which Christ is to be glorified.⁶

This hope-filled conviction is the immediate context within which Paul introduces his eschatological dilemma. Yet before analyzing the content of this dilemma, we must first evaluate the literary import of these verses. Is what Paul writes here simply a personal opinion, newly formulated as expressive of the inner turmoil experienced by this imprisoned apostle? Or does the passage witness to a consciously developed theological position still valid for, and able to be appropriated by, all who read this epistle?

In the first place, the text seems to suggest a personal digression, for it begins with the emphatic "to me."⁷ Moreover, the prison backdrop of this epistle and the possible martyrdom to which this may lead induce some scholars to maintain that here Paul reveals only his personal opinion.⁸ In their view, what awaits Paul after such a death is a "special kind of resurrection," a "being rapt away to Christ in an immediate resurrection. ⁹ Such a viewpoint would not be a theological shift from his earlier teaching of awaiting the final parousia but only a reflection of Paul’s personal conviction of a glorious fate not in store for those Christians who undergo a "natural" death.

However, the suggestion that the personal turmoil and emotion which fill these verses point only to a self-maintained opinion does not coincide with the Pauline epistolary method. Certainly his reflection arises from a personal, individual experience, but this reflection becomes teaching when he publicly manifests its content to the entire community by means of the particular character of an epistle. B. Rigaux neatly summarizes this concept: "It is thanks to their character, both occasional and universal, that the Pauline letters are at the same time facets of life and treatises; that they are historical documents and the sources of faith; that they have molded the past and still place before the person today a choice and a decisive commitment." ¹⁰ Thus, Paul’s teaching is not merely biographical narrative. It is a theological viewpoint of Christian comportment which he exhorts the readers of this epistle to imitate and share (cf. 3:15, 20).

As a result of their being situated within the context of proclaiming the gospel, these verses do not report merely personal circumstances. Rather, the text calls for an interpretation which appreciates Paul’s personal opinion on the meaning of the gospel as a testimony to his faith and love for Christ, a teaching to be shared by all who rejoice in the same belief. Only this interpretation will reflect the development inherent in Paul’s theological thought with regard to the meaning of death and life after death, namely, a transposition which sees "the last things" not from a "historical" viewpoint but in a properly "eschatological" perspective.

Returning now to the text itself (1:19-26), we see clearly that the structure of these verses highlights the alternation of life and death which Paul has in view. Immediately Paul states the essential elements of the dilemma: "living is Christ and death is gain" (v. 21). Progressively he delineates his understanding of these elements, thereby giving greater substance to the debate raging within his consciousness: "living in the flesh means fruitful work" (v. 23a); "death means to be with Christ" (v. 23b); "remaining in the flesh is for the sake of others" (v. 24). Finally, in the midst of this progressive alternation, Paul expresses the fact of his dilemma: "what I shall choose I cannot tell" (v. 22b). The dilemma thus perceived and stated as a religious imperative of salvation,¹¹ we must now examine each of the elements in its textual and theological details.

Without further explication, Paul speaks of "living" as the subject of his existential affirmation in relation to Christ. With this verbal substantive, as distinguished from the abstract concept which a noun would suggest, Paul indicates the all-encompassing and ongoing Christocentrism of his own life. Usually Paul expresses the mystical, eschatological, and existential implications of this Christocentrism in his typical and preferential concept of life "in Christ."’¹² Here, however, Paul goes beyond considering the new source or ultimate vivifying principle of Christian existence within the context of the history of salvation. Instead, he summarily claims "Christ" as the unique, global qualification of his entire life, such that only Christ is capable of inspiring and directing Paul’s earthly existence.

Given this principle, Paul then proceeds to depict his own life in terms of his great pastoral activity. His life, transformed by and consumed with Christ, is directed to the proclamation of the gospel, a missionary task which in its past achievements and future prospectives is worthwhile and fruitful work. The apostolic zeal with which Paul wishes to announce Christ characterizes his entire life, and one sees clearly that it is this phenomenon of pastoral love which constrains him to posit the choice of life as one preferential option in his eschatological dilemma.

The other option is that of "death." Again without elaboration Paul simply states that this act is "a gain."’¹³ As he progresses, though, we see that the advantageous difference which his "departure" from this life offers is that of "being with Christ." Yet if this life-after-death relationship is the substance of the gain of which Paul speaks, the question arises as to the mode in which this "being with Christ" occurs and the type of gain it is that merits for death the claim of being "very much better."

For some authors, the "being with Christ" after death is nothing less than a simultaneous attainment of the final resurrection of the dead. Such a conclusion derives from the assumption of a Hellenistic influence on Paul’s thought and expression.¹⁴ The Greek notion of a relationship "with the gods" included a divine patronage during this life and possibly a postmortem fellowship. Employing this notion as an interpretive key to the Pauline expression, these authors contend that here Paul abandons his thought on the general resurrection at the parousia and instead imagines a multiplicity of singular resurrections which take place at the moment of death. ¹⁵ These individual resurrections at death would then make any future resurrection of the dead superfluous.

Such an interpretation, however, does not remain faithful to the text of the epistle. In characterizing death as a departure from life, Paul does in fact employ a Hellenistic euphemism. But if his departure were to the immediate experience of the final resurrection, it would invalidate the "remaining on in the body" as a viable alternative in the dilemma. Moreover, such an "immediate" interpretation does not agree with Paul’s expectation of the transforming value of the final parousia, which he concurrently expresses in this same epistle (cf. 3:20—2 1). Thus death is a gain, but it is not the achievement of the final resurrection.¹⁶

Instead, one can understand the Pauline formula of being "with Christ" against the background of Jewish theology. Already in the Hebrew Scriptures, being "with Yahweh" signifies a vital relationship which exists and develops "in the presence of" God (cf. Deut. 5:31; 1 Sam. 2:21, 26). In light of the Christ event, Paul then transposes this formula and applies it to the life of Christian fellowship with the Son of God. In this sense, "to be with Christ" after death must involve an intermediate stage in the Christian eschatological existence, though Paul offers no explanations regarding the quality of life in this interim consciousness. ¹⁷ It suffices to conclude, with Lincoln, that through this "being with Christ" after death, "the final age to come can be depicted as being proleptically enjoyed in heaven in the intermediate state."’ ¹⁸

As to why this state would be "very much better," some authors again suppose a decisive influence of Hellenistic thought on Paul’s theology. Based on this intellectual background, death becomes a "gain" when the burdensome travails of this earthly life are left behind and one partakes of that companionship with Christ in glory which constitutes eternal life. ¹⁹ In this light, death is "very much better" because immediately after it Paul will enjoy the benefits of eternal life.

Yet this understanding does not take into account the originality of Paul’s theology. His "departure" from life does not automatically imply the Greek philosophical sense of a flight from the insupportable sufferings of an alienated natural existence, which this euphemism, in its technical use, connotes. Rather, consolidated as it is with this "being with Christ," ²⁰ the Pauline thought on life after death is an original concept, fundamentally Christocentric in its concern. Whether the expression "to be with Christ" conveys the specific idea of "incorporation" or "association" or "companionship," it nonetheless refers to a particular relationship of communion with God, begun already in this life ("for me living is Christ"), and continuing after the end of this earthly existence. Thus, instead of a deliverance from a disoriented earthly life, death becomes "gain" in that by it Paul will "accede to a state superior to all that his religious experience in this world assures him." ²¹

Consequently, with his proposition of "being with Christ" in a superior state after death, Paul completes the picture of his dilemma. At the same time, however, he offers a theologically original view of eschatology which could be considered the longitudinal flip side of his Christology. In contrast with the tradition of the Old Testament, death for Paul is no longer a negative and unavoidable end to a this-worldly existence; his future "being with Christ" is of such positive value that he ardently desires it. Yet this desire for the life with Christ beyond death also surpasses the pessimism of Greek philosophy, whereby death is a necessary liberation of the soul from the constraints of bodily existence or the flight from this world toward the pleroma; instead, Paul’s hope for death proceeds from the precise motivation of embracing in a fuller measure his relationship with God. Hence, the properly Christocentric consciousness central to the life and afterlife of which Paul speaks gives an original stamp to his teaching and sets his theology apart from both the Judaic tradition and the Hellenistic influences.²² It is this eschatological communion with Christ, both in life and death, which enables Paul to resolve his dilemma.

That life and death are equally considered as possible alternatives in the dilemma is again clarified by the structure of the text. Paul knows not which he will choose because he is "pressed" alike by two "desires": to depart and be with Christ or to remain for the sake of the Philippians (vs. 23—24). Caught in the grip of this existential vise, it seems that Paul faces the unwelcome task of choosing one or the other: to depart or to remain, to die or not to die.

Yet just as the opposites of life and death were mentioned earlier (1:20), not as alternatives, but only as the extremes of the totality of existence,²³ so here the alternation of death and life, of departing and remaining, does not posit a contrast necessitating a partial choice.²⁴ Rather, in the exposition of Paul’s eschatology, death and life stand in a unilateral, Christocentric perspective. Death is not to be contrasted with life in a linear, historical outlook which differentiates what is now from what will later be. Instead, death is seen within the horizon of life;²⁵ no longer a contrasting alternative, death is now envisaged as the authentication and confirmation of life. Thus, in the realm of eschatological salvation, the existential distinction between life and death is overcome in and with Christ, for as Paul himself states elsewhere: "Both in life and death we are the Lord’s" (Rom. 14:8).

Paul thus transposes the eschatological question and sees death not from the point of view of the individual but from that of Christ. As the salvific intervention of God in person, Christ has inaugurated the final age in which we now live. Already the dominion of Christ has taken hold through his resurrection from the dead (Rom. 14:9); but not yet has this dominion assumed its cosmic distribution (I Cor. 15:28), for the fullness of our resurrection awaits the end of this world. Consequently, the Kingdom of Heaven is present but as yet unfulfilled. Life now, in between the ascension and the parousia, remains an anticipation of that future fulfillment of our participation in the Reign of God with and in Christ.

Hence, for Paul, the apparent dilemma provoked by this historical consternation regarding what is and what will be vanishes with the eschatological perspective of his Christology. Both the living and the dead are now together in the time and space of Christ’s Reign. There the certainty of present hope and final victory issues from our communion with the life, death, and glory of Christ himself (Col. 3:3).

This eschatological communion is centered, above all, on the mysterious effects of the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ in the life of believers. Hereby furthering the originality of his thought,²⁶ Paul maintains that through the baptismal assimilation of the dynamic virtuality of the cross (Rom. 6:3-1l), the believer likewise participates in the vitality of the resurrection through the power of the Spirit (Rom. 8:11). The eschatological "time" of Christian life, then, is situated between the resurrection of Christ (as the terminus a quo) and the resurrection of our mortal bodies (as the terminus ad quem) and is regulated by the Spirit of the resurrection now present in us through faith (Gal. 5:6).

This is why even in our earthly existence "living is Christ." The final, apocalyptic victory has been won (cf. Col. 2:14; Eph. 1:22). The futuristic redemption expected in Jewish thought and the supernatural perfection longed for in Greek philosophy have in fact become a present reality in the salvific event of Jesus Christ. While the eternal fulfillment of this victory awaits the final parousia, and whereas the heightened experience of a more perfect communion with Christ will be gained with death, yet even now that future redemption is anticipated as present through faith. In this understanding, "what had been for Paul previously the resurrection hope was now, so far as Jesus was concerned, more than a hope; it was a fail accompli." ²⁷

Convinced of the effects of this already accomplished redemption, Paul prefers neither what is personally desirable nor what is pastorally necessary. He chooses neither death nor life. Rather, he "knows" that what God chooses for him is that he remain with his readers, and this to the end that his presence among them may promote the advancement of their "joy in the faith."²⁸

This joy, which characterizes the entire epistle as a leitmotif, ²⁹ is a personal exclamation resulting from Paul’s interior experience of eschatological faith. Yet even more so, it is an imperative preached to this early Christian community (Phil. 3:1), for like him they, too, share in the eschatological presence of the Lord here and now in their midst (Phil. 4:4-5). With Paul their relation to Christ is one of salvific dependence brought about by the grace of Christ’s redemptive death and resurrection, which they experience through baptism. By this joy their "boast in Christ Jesus will know no bounds" (Phil. 1:26), because in being with him now, their eschatological fulfillment has already begun.

Thus has Paul resolved the apparent dilemma of having to choose life or death. From his profound understanding of the death of Christ and its joyful effects in the lives of believers he no longer envisions life and death as elements to be set in an "either/or" contrast. Instead, the "being with Christ" after death which is "very much better" is but an intensification, in a new mode of consciousness prior to the final resurrection, of the Christocentrism which already qualifies his fully pastoral life.

With this Christocentric resolution of his dilemma, Paul likewise completes the exposition of his eschatological teaching. Here the development of his thought proceeds not simply in a shift from realized to futuristic eschatology³⁰ nor in the movement from an implicit to an explicit treatment of the transformation of the dead.³¹ Rather, the novel point of arrival in the epistle to the Philippians concerns the transposition from a historical to an eschatological perspective of life. Here both life and death are confidently considered in light of the now present Reign of God in Christ (Phil. 3:2 1) and our participation in this Reign through our faith and the power of the Spirit.

In this tensive situation, where "inaugurated eschatology and future eschatology … lie close together in the believer’s consciousness,"³² life need not be anxiously guarded in fear of its end. Instead, it can and should be joyously celebrated as a living "liturgy" in praise of him through whom our final redemption is already a present reality. This is the conviction Paul holds. It is his reason for "remaining on in the body," for by the sacrality of his continuing service to the church at Philippi, his living is and will be Christ.

This is also the reason for the rejoicing of his readers and for our own hope. Despite the mysterious unknown of the exact mode of being in the afterlife, Paul assures his readers, as he did himself, that one’s "being with Christ" now in faith will be fundamentally continued and intensified after death. This assurance enables us to face up to the existential constraint of death, for by our faith we, too, can share this same Christocentric hope.

"To die or not to die"—that may be the question. Yet following Paul’s example and his teaching in Philippians 1:19-26, the most noble answer is found in the eschatological perspective of a liturgy of life, for "living is Christ."

1. H. N. Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology (Grand Rapids: Win. B. Eerdmans, 1975), p. 487.

2. R. C. Swift proposes that this partnership is the central theme developed in an organic way throughout the entire epistle, "The Theme and Structure of Philippians," BSac 141 (1984), 237.

3. Of itself, soteria encompasses several meanings, among which are: salvation, health and well-being, vindication, etc. C. F. Hawthorne suggests that in the instance referred to here it intends Paul’s release from prison, Philippians, Word Biblical Commentary 43 (Waco: Word Books, 1983), 40. However, the predominant use of this term is for salvation found in connection with Jesus Christ as Savior, and this is the common use in the Pauline literature (cf. Rom. 10:10; 13:11; II Cor. 7:10).

4. Because the words "provision" and "supplication" are joined but share only one article, Paul does not intend here two distinct sources of his hope. That which is the primary subject of his conviction is not so much the prayers by themselves but the power of the Spirit invoked through prayer.

5. Hawthorne limits Paul’s "hope" (elpida) to the secular sphere and considers it the ‘simple human expectation" of Paul’s impending release from prison, Philippians, pp. 41-43. Generally elpis can denote such expectation, but Paul uses this term much more frequently of Christian hope centered on God (cf. I Thess. 4:13; 5:18; Rom. 5:2,4; 12:12; 15:13; I Cor. 13:13).

6. Here one understands the extremes of "life or death" not as possible alternatives but as a literary "merism" suggesting the totality or entirety of Paul’s existence.

7. From this emphatic position of emoi, Hawthorne concludes that the circumstances of Paul’s entire life "have forced him to think in a new way about the meaning of life and death, about their relative importance to him, and about which of the two he would prefer for himself’ (Philippians, p. 44).

8. "He is only giving expression to an individual hope, which he cherished on the ground of his own self-consciousness. And his thoughts are turned to it in view of a particular death, which he may be destined in undergo. For he has to reckon with the possibility that his imprisonment may end with a martyr’s death," Albert Schweitzer, The Mysticism of Paul the Apostle, tr. William Montgomery (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1931). p. 136.

9. Schweitzer, The Mysticism of Paul, p. 136.

10. Beda Rigaux, Saint Paul et ses lettres (Paris: Desclee de Brouwer, 1962), p. 169. In the particular case of the epistle to the Philippians, J. Heriban notes: "the personal communications of the apostle are not of a purely private character; they serve to put into full light his preoccupations for the advance of the gospel, which constitutes the principal center of interest for Paul, even in prison, "Per me il vivere e Cristo (Fil 1, 21)," ParSpV 5 (1982), 212.

11. The verb gnorizein is used only here in the New Testament with the sense of "to perceive"; it thus highlights the reality of Paul’s dilemma. That this verb is more commonly used in the sense of "to reveal, make known" also points to the interpretation of this dilemma as more than a simply personal preference.

12. Phil. 3:14; cf. Rom. 6:11; Gal. 2:20. For a summary discussion of the various interpretations of this Pauline formula, see M. Brisebois, Saint Paul: Introduction to St. Paul and His Letters (Slough, England: St. Paul Publications, 1986), pp. 118—21.

13. The difference between "death" (to apothanein) as a simply posited, punctual, and realized act and "living" (to zen) as a continuous action appears in the Greek distinction between an aorist and a present infinitive.

14. Jacques DuPont, ‘Syn Christoi’: L’union avec le Christ suivant saint Paul (Bruges: Desclee de Brouwer, 1952), pp. 173—8 1.

15. D. W. Palmer, "To Die Is Gain (Philippians 1:2 1)," NT 17 (1975), 204.

16. The Greek text supports this interpretation, for the absence of the article before "gain" (to apothanein kerdos) draws attention to its general quality, as opposed to a definite or concrete determination.

17. For a discussion of various opinions regarding the mode of existence in this intermediate state, see C. J. DeVogel, "Reflexions on Philipp. I 23—24," NT 19 (1977), 262—74.

18. A. T. Lincoln, Paradise Now and Not Yet: Studies in the Role of the Heavenly Dimension us Paul’s Thought with Special Reference to His Eschatology, SNTSMS 43 (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1981), 105.

19. Cf. DuPont, ‘Syn Christoi,’ p. 173, and Palmer, "To Die Is Gain," p. 218.

20. The coordinating conjunction (kai) here serves to connect "being with Christ" and "leaving this life"; in this way Paul substantiates his desire to die in a manner beyond that of the Greek hope for a liberating departure of the soul.

21. S. Legasse, "L’Epitre aux Philippiens," CahEv 33 (1980), 18.

22. For a more thorough treatment of the Pauline teaching on death, see U. Vanni, "Dalla morte ‘nemico’ alla morte ‘guadagno’: lo sviluppo della concezione della morte in Paolo," StMiss 31(1982), 37—60.

23. See note6.

24. "The interpretations which reduce ‘living’ solely to the earthly life (‘mystical’ interpretations) or solely to the life in heaven (‘being with Christ’) are partial, not sufficiently accounting for the context and structure of the text," Heriban, "Per me il vivere Cristo," p. 223, n. 7.

25. In v. 21, "and" (kai) is properly understood as copulative, not adversative; as such, the act of death (aorist infinitive) becomes placed within the horizon of a process of living (present infinitive), the former as a consequence of the latter.

26. As E. P. Sanders rightly claims: "the language of participation is fundamentally different from the language of acts of atonement, repentance, and forgiveness and points to a different kind of religion," "Patterns of Religion in Paul and Rabbinic Judaism: A Holistic Method of Comparison," HTR 66 (1973), 469-70.

27. F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Free Spirit (Exeter: Paternoster Press, 1977), ~· 301. Similarly, R. Penna: "for (the Apostle), in fact the actual life in Christ and in the Church is already an eschaton in rapport with the history of Israel,’ "Nodi della teologia di Paolo," Problemi e Prospettive di Scienze Bibliche, ed. R. Fabris (Brescia: Queriniana, 1981).

28. Phil. 1:25-26. Here, too, "progress" and "joy" form a hendiadys, accentuating the joy of those to whom Paul writes; and this joy is concretely determined by faith, the same faith with which Paul has resolved his dilemma.

29. Heriban, ‘Per me il vivere e Cristo," p. 20.

30. C. L. Means suggests this as the fundamental change in the four levels of Paul’s eschatological teaching, "Early Eschatological Development in Paul: The Evidence of I and II Thessalonians," NTS 27 (1980-1981), 137-57.

31. Cf. Gerd Ludemann, "The Hope of the Early Paul: From the Foundation-preaching at Thessalonika to 1 Cor. 15:51-57," Perspectives in Religious Studies 7 (1980), 195-201, and J. Gillman, "Signals of Transformation in I Thessalonians 4:13-18," CBQ 47 (1985), 263-81.

32. A. A. Hoekema explains the mutuality of inaugurated and future eschatology by pointing out that "the first not only guarantees the second, but because the first has already come, the second is always near in the believer’s expectation," The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids: Win. B. Eerdmans, 1979), pp. 126-27.

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