Texts in Conversation
Jeremiah condemns prophets who reassure the people that nothing is wrong when judgment is coming. 1 Thessalonians echoes this rebuke, warning that those who claim safety will face sudden destruction at the day of the Lord.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Jeremiah 6:14
Hebrew Bible
13 “That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit. 14 They offer only superficial help for the harm my people have suffered. They say, ‘Everything will be all right!’But everything is not all right! 15 Are they ashamed because they have done such shameful things? No, they are not at all ashamed. They do not even know how to blush! So they will die, just like others have died. They will be brought to ruin when I punish them,”says the Lord.
1 Thessalonians 5:3
New Testament
2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.
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Notes and References
"... For example, when Paul describes the situation of the world preceding the Parousia in terms of people saying ‘peace and security’ (1 Thessalonians 5:3), the Hebrew scriptures provide a plausible background against which such words could be understood. Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel describe people who will soon experience God’s judgment as saying ‘Peace, Peace’ (Jeremiah 6:14; Ezekiel 13:10). With these words, the people describe their own current reality that will soon end because of God’s impending judgment. But ‘peace and security’ also clearly evoke language commonly found in Roman inscriptions and on Roman coinage (pax et securitas), language that communicated a Roman imperial promise to those living within the empire. This language would be well known to Paul’s Thessalonian audience ..."
Winn, Adam
"The Good News of Isaiah and Rome in Mark 1:1" in Evans, Craig A.; Oropeza, B. J.; Sloan, Paul T. (ed.) New Studies in Textual Interplay
(p. 104) T&T Clark, 2021
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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