Suddenness and Signs: The Eschatologies of 1 and 2 Thessalonians

The relationship of 1 and 2 Thessalonians is a perennial puzzle in Pauline scholarship, with considerable questions raised about their supposed theological incompatibility. In this work, Sydney Tooth examines the text of 1 and 2 Thessalonians without presuppositions about authorship in order to give full attention to the shape of each letter's eschatological teaching. In doing so, the author is able to provide the first extensive and detailed comparison of their eschatologies and to determine to what extent they are compatible with each other. She also traces the tradition history of the eschatological material in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, exploring shared imagery, themes, and language between the Thessalonian correspondence and the Synoptic Gospels. This all contributes to a full reassessment of the historical setting and literary and theological relationship of these two letters.