Getting Biblical in Daily Life
The Apocalypse
How will the world end? Forget about bangs and whimpers—we need to know who the culprit is. Will it all come to an end through acts of God or acts of man? Should we be watching for Jesus to descend from on high or keeping an extra close watch on those nuclear weapons to make sure we don't do ourselves in?
First and Second Thessalonians fall squarely on the side of a God-sponsored end of life as we know it.
For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
Basically, Christ will descend from the heavens, crush the wicked, and reward the righteous. End of story. Thank you for playing.
For more dirt on what world religions think about the end of the world, check out our discussion of the most famous end-of-world vision: the Book of Revelation.
Pre-Marital Sex
You might think a pure and holy book like the Bible wouldn't have much to say when it comes to the subject of sex. You'd be wrong. The Bible's got a lot of thoughts to share when it comes to what people are doing in between the sheets. Fornicators be warned.
What Does Paul Say?
If you thought that Paul was going to sanction your sexytimes, think again. He calls out anyone who engages in that jazz outside of marriage:
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication; that each one of you know how to control your own body in holiness and honor, not with lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, just as we have already told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God did not call us to impurity but in holiness. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-7)
Looks like you'll need to put a ring on it before you hop into bed. Or at least we think it does…
So What Does That Mean?
This verse is actually one of the toughest in the letter. Paul uses a bunch of Greek words that scholars still aren't sure about. Biblical interpretation is hard work sometimes.
Take the line "control your own body." The King James Version translates this as "possess [your] vessel." Lots of folks think that the word Paul uses for "vessel" actually means "wife." Think about it. Ladies do kind of have a vessel going on between their thighs. (Stay with us here…) And Jewish writers sometimes used the phrase "to make one's vessel" to mean that they were ready to get it on (source, p. 1208). Sure, this reduces a lady into a container for semen (gross), but 1st-century guys weren't really big on women's lib anyway.
So Paul seems to be saying that men need to treat their wives respectably when it comes to sex. In fact, this is one of the things that sets the Thessalonians Christians apart from the Gentiles who treat their wives with "lustful passion." But…this isn't quite true. Greco-Roman wives actually lived pretty respectable lives, ran households, and raised children, so there isn't much evidence that they were out getting freaky with their husbands. In fact, a Greek guy who was too crazy in love with his wife would have been seen as kind of a weirdo (source, p. 1207). So much for lustful passions.
Paul goes on to say that "no one should wrong or exploit a brother or sister in this matter," but what does that mean? Is he saying Christians shouldn't commit adultery with members of the congregation? The words Paul uses for "wrong" or "exploit" mean something like "outdo" or "gain the advantage over." So, maybe Paul is saying that Christians should refrain from bragging about their sex lives (source, p. 1208).
No adultery? No bragging? If that's the whole list, then there's a bunch of sexytimes left to be had. Of course, Paul did let everyone know they should abstain from porneia just a few verses ago. Since that's a term that's used to mean any kind of sexual hanky panky (source, p. 1207), we think Paul's pretty well covered here.
Wait, a Second, You Don't Own Me!
Whatever Paul is saying here, it's clear that he's using "sexual purity" as a standard for Christian living. It's something that sets them apart from others and makes them "holy." And ultimately, this is something that God wants for the church. God is really interested in what people are doing in between the sheets.
Some critics over the years have argued that verses like this are nothing more the elaborate power play on behalf of Christianity. If the church can condemn normal, sexual behavior between consenting adults, then it can exert a huge amount of control over the rest of our lives. It's also worth pointing out that Paul himself was celibate and had issues with sex (and even marriage in some cases), so maybe he wasn't the foremost authority on what people should be allowed to do in bed.