Apostle of the Last Days: The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul by C. Marvin Pate

Apostle of the Last Days: The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul Reviews

• 
  Michael Boling

  The Apostle Paul is one figure in church history for which there have been many books written to include addressing both his life and his theology. Many works on Paul focus on how his epistles speak to matters of everyday life such as the famous love chapter of I Corinthians 13 or how we should fight the battle against the evil one, something Paul describes in Ephesians 6. With that said, not many books focus on the eschatological concepts that reside throughout the Pauline epistles, notably his constant reflection and attention to the resurrection and the coming of Christ. Dr. Marvin Pate in his book Apostle of the Last Days: The Life, Letters, and Theology of Paul, provides an interesting look into this area of Pauline theology.
  
  Pate begins his effort by providing a look into the various schools of thought that have risen over the years, focusing on their respective approaches to Paul’s life, theology, and writings. This proved to be very interesting reading as Pate aptly traces where the various schools of Pauline thought derived from, what these camps believed concerning Paul, critiquing the their respective positions along the way. I was interested to read Pate’s discussion of the thoughts of Oscar Cullmann, in particular his approach to Pauline eschatology, most notably since Cullmann is an author I have recently discovered. Overall, having an understanding of the positions taken by theologians throughout the years on Paul, especially concerning matters of eschatology, provides a valuable foundation for the rest of this book.
  
  I also appreciated Pate’s discussion of the various religious influences that existed in Paul’s day, religions which Paul no doubt was quite familiar with and which his readers would have been influenced by given the religious and cultural milieu in which they lived. Grasping how Greek and Roman mythology perceived eschatology, especially what takes place after death to include what the individual must do while still alive to ensure success in the world to come is essential to this conversation and Pate does an excellent job covering that material. I was familiar with many of the Greek notions of the afterlife to include their perspective of concepts such as the soul, however, Pate brought to bear the reality that a veritable amalgamation of religious perspective had taken hold during Paul’s day, again an issue that should be noted when addressing Pauline eschatology.
  
  Pate avers that Paul’s theology is steeped in eschatology thought. For many, that type of conversation immediately revolves around discussing the Revelation of John and the debate that often centers on trying to determine whether there will be a pre-tribulation rapture or whether the saints will have to endure that great and terrible day. While eschatology certainly involves such issues, what Paul focused on was the fact that Christ will return and that the resurrection from the dead will be a reality. Pate rightly notes Paul spoke often of the fact that entrance into the age to come was through faith in Christ and not in any attempt to follow without fail “works of the law.” While God still expects His people to be an obedient bride, the path to eternal life is found in Christ and His sacrifice, something of which Paul constantly reminds his readers. Terms Paul used such as “Christ”, “Son of God”, “Lord”, “righteous one”, and “Savior” were, according to Pate, representations of Paul’s apocalyptically focused message, one that centered on Christ as the redeemer.
  
  In an effort to further drive home that reality, Pate walks the reader through each of Paul’s epistles, noting along the way the eschatological message found in those letters. Hearkening back to his discussion concerning the influential religious concepts that so often permeated the culture in which the churches to which Paul wrote lived, Pate saliently notes how Paul responded to those influences in his writings. For instance, in his discussion of Romans, Pate notes “The first and second eschatological components of the imperial cult – the primordial age has dawned and, with it, the beginning of cosmic renewal – are alluded to in Paul’s usage of the word “gospel”. The Romans with their pax Romana and perception of Caesar as kyrios (lord) stood in contrast to Paul’s declaration that peace and good news are only found in the gospel of Christ and only Christ is Lord. This important historical information again is vital to grasping what Paul is speaking of and why he spends so much time discussing these terms.
  
  Throughout Paul’s theology, the eschatological focus can be observed. This future hope impacts how the believer lives their daily life and it is this very issue which Pate expertly outlines in this book. Filled with excellent material to include helpful footnotes, charts, and a scholarly yet accessible writing style, Apostle of the Last Days is a truly helpful walk through Paul’s eschatological vision found throughout his epistles, one which many readers have likely either overlooked or not realized is so pervasive in the Pauline letters. If I had one tiny element of criticism, it would be in the form of a suggestion that this book needs an index. Due to the large amount of terms found throughout this book, an index would be another helpful tool for the reader should a specific subject matter come up.
  
  I highly recommend this book for scholars and laymen alike. While it is not light reading by any stretch of the imagination as some terms and ideas may be unfamiliar to some, this book is nevertheless a valuable resource that should find its way on the serious Bible student’s shelf.
  
  I received this book for free from Kregel Academic for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
• 
  Spencer Cummins

  After surveying the various approaches to Pauline theology in the past few centuries, professor and author C. Marvin Pate identifies eschatology as the centerpiece of the Apostle’s thought. Elements of inaugurated, realized, and consistent theology abound in the writings of the apostle, yet a marked inaugurated eschatology is the focal point; by which Jesus the Messiah brought with him the kingdom of God, the new age has dawned due to his life, death, and resurrection, and the sacraments celebrate entrance into the kingdom (26). The real strength of Marvin’s book is the consistency with which he presents an eschatologically driven picture of each of Paul’s writings.
  
  After a section on Paul as an apocalyptic seer, Marvin systematically weaves his way through the Pauline corpus starting with Galatians and ending with the Pastoral Epistles. Of particular value in Pate’s writings here are his emphasis on the disconnection between Paul’s apocalyptic vision and the Roman Imperial Cult’s view of things. Pate writes, “The third eschatological component of the imperial cult evidenced at Thessalonica was the identification of Augustus as the savior of the new age. Two titles of deity for Augustus were “Lord” (kyrios) and “Son of god.” (87) Paul’s multiple references in the 1 Thessalonians ‘would have been an affront to Caesar.’ (87) Peace and concord, goodwill and security were all synonymous with the new order of things in the Roman Empire led by the Emperor himself. Any kind of allegiance to an authority that was supposedly anti-Roman would bring discord and disunity among the people. Pate reminds his readers that the letter to the Thessalonian were replete with religious pluralism ranging from pagan worshippers to Roman allegiances. Therefore, Paul’s strong words would have certainly been taken as a force of opposition to either Hellenistic/Imperial ways (see chart on 92-93).
  
  Interestingly enough, Pate hones in on the thesis statement of the Book of Romans in 1:16-17 but takes a different and nuanced approach to the text. He writes, “Most interpreters of Romans look to Romans 1:16-17 as the theme of the letter. In our view, Paul is drawing therein on the theme of the story of Israel. Simply put, the story of Israel is the Old Testament plot of Israel’s repeated sins against God, and his sending Israel away into exile because of that – to Assyria in 721 BC and then to Babylonia in 587 BC; but there was always the divine promise that Israel will be restored to her land is she repents…Thus, the words “gospel,” “power,” and “salvation” would have immediately called to mind Isaiah 40-66 and the good news of God that he will restore Israel to her land.” (162) Pate does mention that the spiritual conversion of sinners is in view here and not primarily a return to their Jewish homeland, but he is right to put Paul’s letter in historical context for the readers. Israel and the hope of God’s promise is certainly in view in the Book of Romans, throughout the letter and especially in chapters 9-11.
  
  I really enjoyed this volume on Paul and hope to use it in my writing for many years to come. That said, there were a few problems that came up for me. One, in chapter two on Galatians Marvin brings up the issues surrounding the New Perspective on Paul in a graph. We are given a simply definitions from Sanders, Dunn, and Wright about the New Perspective in contrast to the Traditional Perspective. There is simply no engagement with these authors on how they read the Book of Galatians or justification in any real in-depth sense. I’m not asking for a treatise but I think it would be fair in an academic book to engage with them based upon their own writings. Secondly, the whole concept of basing Paul’s theological trajectory upon inaugurated eschatology leaves little room for other concerns in his writings include such big topics as the body of Christ, union with Christ, election, virtue/vice lists, and local church concerns. We get a bit of this through Pate’s working through each book, but some of these major themes need to be highlighted in a stronger fashion.
  
  Thanks to Kregel Academic for the copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
  
• 
  James

  Scholars debate the center of Paul’s theology. Protestant Reformers saw ‘Justification by faith’ as their hermeneutical key. The Tubingen theory (from F.C. Baur et al.) posited a dialectic between Paul’s message of ’justification by faith’ with Peter’s ‘justification by faith plus the works of the Torah.’ A Third hypothesis reads a shift in Paul–from Judaism to Hellenistic religion. A fourth possibility is that Paul’s theology is ‘Jewish eschatology but in a revised form’ (14-16). This is the position that C. Marvin Pate argues for in Apostle of the Last Days: the Life, Letters and Theology of Paul-.
  
  There have been varying eschatological constructs for understanding the New Testament (Jesus and Paul). “Consistent Eschatology” argues for a wholly futurist understanding of ‘last days.’ At the other extreme, a “Realized Eschatology” argues that the Kingdom of God has already come in the person and mission of Jesus Christ. A mediating position, is “Inaugurated Eschatology.” This view acknowledges both that Jesus’ mission and life announced the Kingdom, but it has not come in its fullness. It is now, but not yet. Pate argues that this best describes the Apostle Paul’s apocolypticism (19).
  
  However the genesis of Pate’s approach is his observation of a clash of eschatologies between Paul and his opponents. Apostle of the Last Days examines the Pauline epistles and the issues that Paul addressed, While Paul had an ‘inaugurated eschatology’ with Jesus’ death and resurrection at the center, his opponents clung to diverse, eschatological hopes. The Imperial cult, Hellenistic religion and Jewish Merkabah Mysticism (sometimes in a Christian variety) had different versions of a realized eschatology. Non-Christian, non-merkbah Judaism had a consistent eschatology, which awaited God’s future (political) deliverance. The Christian Judaizers had an inaugurated eschatology, but by giving weight to the Mosaic tradition they downplayed Jesus’ significance.
  
  In part one of this book, Pate walks through each of the epistles and shows how Paul answered each of these opponents and the way he expressed his own eschatological hope. Part two examines Paul’s theology in systematic categories with an eye towards how Paul’s eschatology shapes his thinking about God.
  
  This is a good book. Pate’s eschatological read of Paul (and his opponents) illuminates his epistles. Paul’s Christological hope was grounded in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, and Paul awaited a future reality where Christ returns to put the world to rights. So there is a lot that is fruitful here. Pate walks through the entire Pauline corpus. I found I didn’t always agree with his handling of individual passages and was occasionally bothered by a supercessionist tone which described ‘the Old Testament’ as ‘works righteousness’ and faith and Jesus as the gift of grace. There is a greater continuity between testaments than Pate allows. God’s choice of Israel was not rooted in merit, but in Divine pleasure. Yet I appreciated his analysis.
  
  Eschatology is a word which many of us are wary of. Certainly there has been an unhealthy fascination with what Christ return will look like (and who ‘the beast’ is). Nevertheless I appreciate Pate’s description of Paul’s eschatological hope. This book contributes to a deeper understanding and appreciation of Paul’s gospel. Anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of the Pauline Epistles will benefit from Pate’s walk-through. I give this book four stars.
  
  Thank you to Kregel Academic for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
• 
  Doug Hibbard

  With Winter Storm Cleon beating down outside, a little look at the Last Days seems an appropriate overreaction. So, today let us consider C. Marvin Pate’s Apostle of the Last Days. Contrary to a claim by some of his students at Ouachita, this is not an autobiography.
  
  Instead, Apostle of the Last Days is Pate’s latest contribution to Pauline studies for the Christian New Testament. The purpose is to view Paul’s life, letters, and theology through the lens of his eschatology (understanding of the end-of-time or last things).
  
  Pate’s Apostle of the Last Days is the first work on Paul that I have seen which attempts to place Paul not in either a Jewish or Greco-Roman context, but in both. This includes not only examining the official Roman religions but the “mystery religions” that have risen in fame over the last decade. (That’s not to say no one else has written on this, only that Pate is the first one I’ve seen. Most of them stop with mainstream religions.)
  
  First, a look at what we have. Pate’s Apostle of the Last Days is certainly too short to give attention to every detail of Paul’s life. Instead, Pate gives an overview of the Biblical material regarding Paul’s life. He then moves into discussing Paul’s specific letters and fitting these into a framework that demonstrates his view of Paul and inaugurated eschatology.
  
  Additionally, Pate does not spend time in Apostle of the Last Days addressing authorship concerns with Pauline Letters. He uses the traditional authorship and moves on. Pate then provides working outlines for each of the 13 traditional Pauline epistles, showing how they fit with the inaugurated eschatology idea.
  
  Second, let us look at the bottom of the pages of Apostle of the Last Days. We find…FOOTNOTES!!! Thank you, Kregel Academic, for not relegating the studious to the dreaded other method. Alongside this, I am glad to see the sources for ideas and concepts, even when Pate is referencing competitive works.
  
  Now, on to the actual hypothesis. I once had a pastor who often said that “The Apostle Paul had two days on his calendar: Today, and That Day,” in reference to Paul’s focus on either what he had to do now or the return of Christ. Dr. May’s point was that Paul lived for eternity, not next week.
  
  Pate’s view in Apostle of the Last Days supports that basic idea. Paul lives and writes in the early days of the last days. The end of all has been inaugurated, though not completed. The concept holds up throughout the work, though I would hazard a guess that others will find a different way to interpret Paul’s words.
  
  Personally, I found the chapter on Ephesians, titled “Ephesians: Judaism, the Imperial Cult, Artemis, and the Battle of the Two Ages,” the best of the book. Transcending the old-school examination of “What does the helmet mean?” “What about the feet?” for the Armor of God, Pate demonstrates an understanding of who and where we truly find the enemy. I loved this, and will not see that passage the same again.
  
  Is this a book for everyone? I don’t see why everyone wouldn’t want to read it, but it does require some background information from a good New Testament survey book. I’d highly recommend this for any Bible nerds in your life.
  
  Free book received from Kregel Academic in exchange for the review.
  
• 
  Sarah

  Did I like this book? Yes and no, but inclining more towards the latter. The Apostle of the Last Days is an argument for Paul's life, letters and theology being eschatologically focused/united and that the troubles in the Churches Paul communicated with were because of faulty eschatologies. Pate goes through the letters written by Paul and explains the Roman Eschatology/Roman Imperial Cult, non-Christian Jewish Eschatology and professing Christian faulty eschatology. He then explains Paul's correction of them.
  
  Some of it was quite interesting, especially where he explains Paul's counter to the Jewish view that justification of people before God would not happen until the "age to come". I especially liked his overviews of the epistles, they were interesting summaries. "Justification by Faith - God's end time verdict now" is how he subtitles the chapter on Galatians. His explanation that Christ "inaugurated the kingdom of God at his first coming and will complete that kingdom at his return" is among the topics discussed throughout the book.
  
  But then there are some things are a bit hard to keep straight. Commenting on 1 Corinthians 14:34 Pate says, "These controversial words probably mean no more than that Christian wives, enjoying their freedom in Christ to prophesy and speak tongues, should be careful not to let things get out of control by becoming overly enthusiastic to the point of being boisterous in the worship services. Rather than all speak at once, the ladies should discuss spiritual matters at home with their husbands." So, what about the verse afterwards that says that it is a shame for a woman to speak in the church? So women have the freedom to act shamefully in the church, but wives shouldn't use that freedom? What about 1 Timothy 2:11-15?
  
  And then, although Mr. Pate seems to be pre-millennial, he believes that the true Israel is made up of Christian Jews and Gentiles. Biblically, I don't know why people don't see a continuity between the Israel of God and the remnant of Israel. I don't understand why they think that Gentiles need to be an actual part of Israel rather than partaking with Israel in God's blessings as Gentiles not Israelites. The Bible indicates that God planned to save and bless the Gentiles as Gentiles not as Israelites. Christian Gentiles are a part of the people of God without having to become Jews.
  
  Some other statements were odd too…Pate thought that some things "…suggest that the apostle, like the book of Revelation, feared that the antichrist was about to dawn in the form of the roman emperor." This almost make it sound like the book of Revelation was written by someone simply observing modern trends of events rather than truly receiving a revelation. I'm assuming that Pate didn't mean it that way, but it is still odd..
  
  There were other things both good and bad, but I'll end my review now with a quote that I liked:
  
  "But the eschatological battle that wages within the Christian does not result in a stalemate, because the believer possesses the Holy Spirit, the gift of the end times par excellence, according to Romans 8:1-16. The Spirit enables Christians to obey God and thus live a life of righteousness."
  
  Thanks to Kregel Academic for sending me a free review copy of this book! My review did not have to be favorable.
• 
  Lindsay John Kennedy

  Full review here:
  http://mydigitalseminary.com/apostle-...
  
  Apostle of the Last Days is a valuable contribution to Pauline theology, though a little idiosyncratic at times. This book shines when it displays just how drenched Paul was in eschatological waters; however in doing so I believe Pate goes too far at times. Apostle of the Last Days would be of most assistance as an eschatological guide in preparation for studying or teaching through one of Paul’s letters.
  
  Many thanks to Alban books for providing a review copy. Their generosity did not affect my review.