Pauline Studies has benefitted from the numerous attempts to examine His epistles within a conceptual framework. Given the depth of Paul’s thought, and the theological tensions that have broken out into interpretive camps since Schewitzer’s 1930 publication of The Mysticism of the Apostle Paul, it seems incumbent upon evangelicalism to interact critically with these interpretations. As evangelicals, we are committed to what J.I. Packer calls “elucidating the contents and plumbing the depths of the revelation, which God once for all delivered to the saints and deposited in the scriptures.” Furthermore, we have an inter-textual commitment to receive the message of the gospel with earnestness and “examine the scriptures” as the Bereans in Acts 17.
It would seem that among these traditions, the most recent and fruitful for exposition among evangelicals would be the so-called apocalyptic reading. Not only has it interacted with figures at its edges including N.T. Wright, Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Douglas Campbell, and Susan Grove Eastman, but it has led to a reinvigoration of interest in Paul concerning his use of metaphor, understandings of cosmology and eschatology, and understanding of the Christ event. The question remains: how are we to think of the apocalyptic Paul as a lens for New Testament theology?: Should evangelicals consider this interpretation and its implications?
The paper will contend that unlike past interpretations such as the ‘new perspective,’ mystical, and ‘within judaism’ understandings, that the Apocalyptic Paul presents the most exciting and prescient development in Pauline studies for evangelicals. Drawing upon Beverly Gaventa’s Romans commentary, Douglas Campbell’s Beyond Justification, and the legacy of Ernst Käsemann, the paper hopes to show that apocalyptic can help us bridge divides between reformed and arminian believers, conjoin Jesus’ talk of the Kingdom with Paul’s language of participation, and establish a basis for eschatalogical ethics.