I thought Jesus didn't predict his return. This scholar proved me wrong.

Comments · 250

• CJ

  @cjcornthwaite · 7 months ago · pinned

  What do you think? Let me know!! 👇👇👇

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• MN

  @mnorma12 · 7 months ago

  I always have to chuckle when people say “we’re so lucky to have Pauls writing from only 20 years after Jesus’ death” disregarding the fact that Paul never met Jesus and 2 decades is a long time. I can barely remember the hallucinations I had 20 minutes ago let alone 20 years.

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• NE

  @neclark08 · 7 months ago

  WHOA !  That's a 'Coffee Table'-sized tome..!

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• CA

  @CasperLeChat · 5 months ago (edited)

  Tucker is very clear and direct in his explanations, especially about the history of the scholarship.   He’s a great communicator for us non-scholars.

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• DA

  @dallasgraham2813 · 4 months ago

  This is a wonderful interview!

• MI

  @MisterPapageorgio · 7 months ago

  CJ. Great interview.

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• JO

  @johnmcgimpsey1825 · 7 months ago (edited)

  Outstanding interview, as has now become (gold) standard!<br><br>For me the weakest link in Ferda’s thesis is the extrapolation from Paul’s assumption of parousia to the conclusion that Jesus himself must have taught it. By the time of 1 Thessalonians we are already about twenty years post-crucifixion. That seems more than enough time for a resurrection conviction, scriptural rereading (Daniel 7; Psalm 110), and the continued absence of the Kingdom’s consummation to coalesce into a coherent theology of ascension and return.<br><br>If bodily resurrection belief (material or spiritual) was sincere, the continued absence of Jesus would require theological explanation, and ascension and future return are predictable resolutions. Rapid eschatological development in apocalyptic movements is not unusual, and the non-arrival of the Kingdom in its expected fullness would have created significant pressure to articulate a revised eschatology. The existence of an early and widespread parousia expectation could simply reflect how quickly a motivated movement can systematize and stabilize new interpretations.<br><br>To be clear, I don&apos;t think my critique is anything like a refutation. I may have to pick up Ferda’s book and dig into the argument more closely.

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• GA

  @GaiusSonofGermanicus · 7 months ago (edited)

  Interesting discussion. &nbsp;I read 1 Thessalonians as if Paul is working at a call centre dealing with a customer complaint. - &quot;This Jesus you sold me, he didn&apos;t come back!&quot; &nbsp;One of the things I&apos;d like to know with more clarity was what the earliest christians understood about the imminence of the return of Jesus. &nbsp;It certainly seems to still have been an unresolved issue as the time the gospels were being assembled.

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• KA

  @KatieLegNoLegLegLewis · 7 months ago

  Listening to this, I am starting to see parallels to things like the Ghost Dance or the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom - that is, religious movements involving oppressed people who expect that if they do their part, a miracle will occur. In that light, the idea that a Messianic could involve the leader dying and being resurrected makes sense

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• WR

  @wryannevanornum · 7 months ago

  This is so refreshing! I would love for you to have a discussion with Matthew Theissen, and I think he&apos;d be more interesting in terms of how the Gospel potrays ritual purity and impurity!

• MA

  @MatthewHartke · 6 months ago

  Great interview! I remain unconvinced by Dr Ferda’s central thesis, but this was one of the most enjoyable biblical studies books I’ve read in the past several years. Looking forward to his study of Matthew’s eschatology!

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• TH

  @TheTruthIsEasier · 7 months ago

  Great interview Ferda boys! (I had to)

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