Paula Fredriksen, “‘Circumcision is Nothing’: A Non-Reformation Reading of the Letters of Paul,” in Protestant Bible Scholarship: Antisemitism, Philosemitism and Anti-Judaism, edited by Arjen F. Bakker, René Bloch, Yael Fisch, Paula Fredriksen, and Hindy Najman (Leiden: Brill, 2022), 100.
Paul’s urgent eschatology can be muted, even avoided, by those motivated to do so. Paul claimed merely that Jesus was coming back – indeed, that Christ may return at any time – but he did not actually say when. The claim that Jesus may return “at any time” is indeed logically distinct from the claim that Jesus will return “soon.” And that logical distinction has the virtue of leaving history with a lot more time on its hands, conforming, happily, to the way that things did indeed work out.
But this is not what Paul says. He uses the past perfect tense when he speaks of the ends of the ages. He says “we” and “us,” “we the living,” when he speaks of those who will witness Christ’s martial adventus. The Thessalonians got their impression that no member of their assembly would die before the Parousia from someone, and that someone was Paul. He did not correct or qualify that impression so much as reassure them that things were, after all, on track. Paul measured time between “now” and “soon.”
The Amateur Exegete 
Clearly this is one of the “most regrettable” quotes from the NT. Both Jesus AND Paul make clear, specific, references to the Parousia happening within their lifetimes. This didn’t come to pass, ergo, Jesus & Paul are both flawed, and failed prophets. Apologists have to go with the ever-popular “Oh, yes, that’s what they said, but’s that’s not what they meant!” line of BS in order to perpetuate their phony-baloney mythology. Obviously this doesn’t hold water unless you are specifically trying to prop up a proposition that doesn’t stand on its own.
Jesus thought he was the Messiah, no question, however he was wrong and knew it the moment he was arrested in Gethsemane.
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