By Michael L. Barré

Paul and Apocalypticism

His Holiness Benedict XVI's proclamation of 2008 as ''The Year of Paul'' (June 2008-June 2009) not only invites us to celebrate the great contribution St. Paul made to early Christianity but to deepen our own understanding of his life and message. (In what follows, for homiletic purposes I will not distinguish between the letters written by Paul and those attributed to him by later tradition.)

Many of us would agree that the writings of Paul do not always have the clarity or appeal we find in the Gospels. His writings contain terms and concepts that the reader finds puzzling. But sometimes the problem is not the vocabulary or syntax. Sometimes it is the larger background of his thought that causes problems for the reader.

Greco-Roman World Product

Paul was born as a Jew into a Greco-Roman world in the first century A.D. Both the Jewish and the Greco-Roman cultures had a profound influence on his thought and writings. Therefore in order to understand Paul to the best of our ability, it would be helpful for us who live in modern times to know something about the modes of thought and expression that were influential at the time when he lived.

For example, Paul was a product of the Greco-Roman world. One of the subjects that educated people of that time studied was rhetoric. In many of his letters Paul uses rhetorical devices popular at that time to persuade his audience. A basic knowledge of Greco-Roman rhetoric can be helpful in understanding Paul.

But Paul was also born into a Jewish world. That world was very different from the Jewish world that we encounter in most of the Old Testament. In the period between the last books of the canonical Old Testament and the New Testament a new type of worldview arose that is first found in the Book of Daniel. Known as apocalyptic, from the Greek word for ''revelation,'' this worldview is probably the confluence of two streams of late Jewish thought: prophecy and wisdom.

Apocalyptic Worldview

Apocalyptic is very much concerned with revelations about the future (the realm of prophecy), especially about the final age of this world and beyond. It also emphasizes that this revealed ''knowledge'' about the future (the realm of wisdom) is given only to a chosen few. During the period between the Old and New Testaments, and somewhat beyond, many such books were written, some of which have been preserved to this day.

The purpose of these writings was to instill faith and hope in persecuted communities -- faith that God was still in control of history and hope that in the end good would prevail over evil. The teaching and actions of Jesus himself in the Gospels clearly reflect this background, as do the writings of Paul and other New Testament authors.

It is easier to describe apocalyptic than to define it. Perhaps its chief characteristic is an ''either-or'' view of reality. Everything is seen in clear, black-and-white terms -- there is no gray. There is ''this world (or 'age')'' and ''the world to come,'' the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan, the powers of good and the powers of evil.

The apocalyptic view believes that God has revealed to His elect certain ''mysteries'' about the divine plan and a timetable indicating how things will play out when the world-to-come or kingdom of God appears at last. The writers of most apocalyptic writings believed that history was divided into distinct periods and that they were living in the final period, ''the last times.''

The end of this period will be preceded by a great ''tribulation'' for the elect, but God will ultimately triumph over Satan and the powers of evil. Then comes the end of this world, the last judgment and the final resurrection.

Pauline Worldview

All of the aspects of this worldview can be found in the Pauline literature. For example, Paul divides world history into three periods (Rom 5:14): from Adam to Moses, from Moses to Christ, and from Christ to the end of time. This division of time gives a sense that God is in control of history. It also implies that there will be no further eras in salvation history after the last period. Contemporary Christians share with Paul the belief that we are living in ''the last times,'' anticipating the final coming of the Lord.

There was some controversy in Jewish thought around Paul's time as to the fate of the gentiles at the end of time. Some believed they would experience God's wrath, but others held that God's plan might have a place for them. Paul is in the latter camp, describing the unexpected incorporation of gentiles into God's saving plan in apocalyptic terminology. He calls this incorporation a ''mystery,'' part of God's plan formerly unknown but now revealed to His elect in the last days (Eph 1:9,26; 3:3,9; Col 2:2).

The same understanding of ''mystery'' also appears in Daniel 2 and, with some frequency, in the Dead Sea Scrolls. But there was also a negative side to mystery. In 2 Thes 2:7 Paul speaks of ''the mystery of iniquity.'' Just as God has a mystery or secret plan at work in the world, which leads to the triumph of His kingdom, Satan also has his plan, which he hopes will result in the triumph of his kingdom.

Satan's Work

Paul was convinced that Satan was at work in the world, extending his kingdom and trying to subvert the incoming kingdom of God. He mentions the activity of Satan in several letters (1 Cor 7:5; 2 Cor 2:11; 1 Thes 2:18; 2 Thes 2:9). In one famous passage (2 Cor 11:14) he says that, to prevent him from becoming proud, he was given ''an angel/messenger of Satan'' to harass him in his apostolic work.

Although this is commonly thought to be some physical or psychological disability, it more likely refers to an individual in one of Paul's communities who was a particularly difficult cross for him, probably someone who was undoing his work.

Since Paul was convinced that he had been sent by the risen Christ (this is what he means when he calls himself an ''apostle''), his mission was from God, and whoever opposed it was doing the work of Satan.

Satan's kingdom held sway over people mainly through sin, demonic possession and sickness. Since death was ''the wages of sin'' (Rom 6:23), it was also a sign of his power in the world.

Paul calls death ''the last enemy'' (1 Cor 15:26). In his letters Paul also makes reference to certain malevolent cosmic powers at work in the world (usually translated ''principalities,'' ''powers,'' ''thrones,'' ''domi(nat)- ions,'' etc.). Their power has been virtually broken by Christ's resurrection and ascension to God's right hand (Eph 1:20-22; Col 2:15).

Most Pauline scholars today agree that Paul -- and many of his Christian contemporaries -- probably believed that the second coming would take place very soon, even in their lifetime (1 Thes 3:15).

For this reason Paul understood the various sufferings he endured in the course of his preaching as part of the ''tribulation'' that would take place before the end of this world. He applies this apocalyptic term to his own experiences in a number of passages (Rom 8:35; 12:12; 2 Cor 7:4; 1 Thes 3:4).

Some apocalyptic belief held that the ''tribulation'' would not end and that the final age could not be ushered in until a certain amount of suffering on the part of the elect had taken place. The sufferings of Christ are part of this (Col 1:24). But in Paul's view the sufferings he underwent in his missionary work also contributed to this quota of sufferings. He boasts about his trials because they are the clearest mark of a true apostle.

Although the apocalyptic viewpoint no longer dominates our faith perspective, it is nevertheless important. As Christians we still believe that we are living in the final epoch of this world, the period between Christ's resurrection and his second coming. We are a people whose existence is characterized by waiting -- waiting for this final event in history.

A Place of Sojourning

This posture of waiting has certain implications for how we live. Though we live ''in the world'' we are not ''of the world'' (Jn 8:23). However comfortable we may become in this earthly dwelling place, our true home is not here (Phil 3:20). It is interesting to note that this sense of where our true home lies is implied in the ordinary word ''parish.''

This comes from a Greek word (paroikia) that means ''a place of sojourning,'' a place where foreigners live together while waiting and hoping to return to their homeland. A parish, then, is an environment in which people keep alive the focus on their true homeland, where they work and pray together for the final coming of the kingdom of God. It is a place where all of us together await -- in the apocalyptic phrase that ends the Nicene Creed we recite every Sunday -- ''the life of the world to come.'' TP

FATHER BARRÉ, S.S., is Professor of Sacred Scripture at St. Mary's Seminary and University in Baltimore and a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association.