This is a substantially rewritten version of the author’s 2005 PhD dissertation from the University of Queensland. The central thesis of the book is that ‘eschatology is the best hermeneutical key to interpret Paul’s pattern of exhortation in First Thessalonians’ (p. 2). Eschatology, argues Luckensmeyer, gives Paul the ability to ‘explain why the Thessalonians are experiencing conflict and encourage them to a constructive new community identity’ (p. 4). So, for example, in 1:8–10 we have both a ‘rupture between the Thessalonians’ previous idol-worship and subsequent turning to serve the living and true God (v. 9)’ and the ‘essential elements of integration’ whereby community members wait for God’s son to come and deliver them from wrath (v. 10; p. 4). Further, Luckensmeyer argues that eschatology is the only category ‘in which all the systematic concerns of the letter may be incorporated’ and is ‘the key concept’ of the letter (p. 18).

In treating the eschatology of the letter, the volume fills an important lacuna in studies of 1 Thessalonians. However, it does more than that because, as Luckensmeyer argues, since eschatology is the hermeneutical key to the entire letter, a work on this topic will provide a significant contribution to our understanding of the letter as a whole.

In the introduction, Luckensmeyer provides a review of secondary literature through the lens of other important topics for the letter (e.g., ‘expectation of salvation and resurrection;’ ‘word of the Lord;’ ‘conflict’). These are briefly examined to determine ‘how well [the particular] topic is able to explain the systematic concerns’ of the letter (p. 18).

In chapter 2, Luckensmeyer gives an epistolary analysis of the letter. Here he seeks to combine epistolary and rhetorical analyses and thus move towards a consensus on the structure of the letter as well as to explore ‘the relationship between form and function’ (p. 47). Luckensmeyer argues that the customary label ‘letter-body’ should be eliminated and the term ‘main part’ employed which can be analysed in a way appropriate for each individual letter (p. 72). Luckensmeyer analyses the ‘main part’ of 1 Thessalonians as follows: letter-thanksgiving (1:2–10), disclosure of past-present relationship (2:1–16), apostolic parousia (2:17–3:13), and letter-paraenesis (4:1–5:22). Luckensmeyer argues that the structure he offers ‘reveals the rhetorical significance of eschatological motifs in virtually every epistolary section of First Thessalonians’ and so ‘offers tangible evidence’ that his thesis is correct (p. 48).

In chapters 3–6, Luckensmeyer provides detailed exegesis of four texts (1:9–10; 2:13–16; 4:13–18; and 5:1–11) that stand as ‘fundamental representatives of the eschatological discourse in the letter’ (p. 5). Although he deals with other texts in passing, Luckensmeyer concentrates on these texts because of their distinct content, their position and structure, and their debated interpretations throughout history (p. 5). A number of these passages contain contentious issues, and Luckensmeyer often provides very extensive summaries of the different positions. So on 4:13–18, he provides an excursus in tabular form laying out the different proposals (from Peterson in 1930 to Ascough in 2004) concerning the Thessalonians’ problem(s); Paul’s answer(s); the referent of λόγος κυρίου in 4:15; and the question of Jewish and/or Hellenistic influence in the passage (pp. 192–211).

In the conclusion to the book (ch. 7), Luckensmeyer again contends that Paul’s eschatological emphasis underpins his pattern of exhortation, which explains the community’s disintegration and encourages their new communal identity (pp. 325–26). He ends with a call to apply his conclusions to discussions of Paul’s eschatology in other letters and, more broadly, to the earliest Christian kērygmata.

The general thesis of the book is convincing. Luckensmeyer shows the centrality and pervasiveness of eschatology as well as the way that Paul employs it to explain the Thessalonians’ predicament and to encourage their identity. Eschatology is not merely an important topic but woven into the fabric of the letter at the deepest level. Perhaps, however, the greatest strength of the book is the thoroughness with which Luckensmeyer deals with the passages he examines. Though one may not agree with all his exegetical conclusions, the meticulous treatment of both the text and the secondary literature is exceptional.

However, there is one serious problem with the book. While Luckensmeyer stops short of suggesting that Paul simply constructs the eschatology that he employs (p. 45), at the same time he rejects the ‘erroneous conclusion’ that the eschatological occurrences Paul depicts (e.g., the apocalyptic end of the world, the resurrection of the just and the unjust, etc.) are ‘literally expected’ (p. 315). He suggests that ‘Paul uses eschatological motifs to develop a contemporary and powerful rhetorical message for his recipients’ so that, for example, the parousia of the Lord should be understood as a ‘metaphorical expression of eschatological expectation’ (p. 315). While this truncated understanding of the relationship between Paul’s rhetoric and extra-textual reality may not actually hinder Luckensmeyer’s analysis of the text, it prevents the work from exposing the full theological depth and power of Paul’s letter.

Though the volume is expensive, it is a helpful resource and is recommended for those working on 1 Thessalonians—especially the texts in question. This book will stand as a significant point of departure for Thessalonian studies for a number of years to come.

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