Anti-Imperial Subtexts in Paul 333 the impressive parallels that exist between 2 Thess 2,3-4 and various Danielic motifs. * ** In this article, I have tried to show that the proponents of an “anti- imperial Paul” have not convincingly established the existence of subversive subtexts in his letters. Specifically, they have not been able to show that Paul’s Christology was consciously formulated with the intent of subverting Rome’s authority and power. Nevertheless, the subversive quality of Paul’s Gospel can hardly be denied, and I have endeavored to prove that this is rooted in his Jewish-apocalyptic, more specifically Danielic, conception of history. Daniel was well-known and broadly accepted by Jews in the Second Temple period, not least among them Paul, who demonstrates familiarity with this narrative and implicitly affirms it at several points. This is one clear area of continuity between first-century Judaism and the Apostle or, to put it another way, between the pre-Damascus Saul and the post-Damascus Paul. While the standard Jewish apocalyptic framework was thoroughly modified by the Apostle to account for the central place he came to assign Christ in God’s plan of salvation, its basic structure remained essentially the same. Specifically, Paul shared the view of his Jewish contemporaries that the entire world order of that day, which was dominated by Rome in nearly all facets of life, represented the penultimate stage of Heilsgeschichte. Rome was Daniel’s fourth kingdom, and at the impending Parousia of the Messiah Jesus the Roman world order would be destroyed (1 Cor 2,6). It was, in fact, already in the process of disappearing from the stage (1 Cor 7,31). The final act of Heilsgeschichte, a decidedly non-Roman one, was already breaking upon the scene. Freie Theologische Hochschule Giessen Joel WHITE Rathenaustrasse 5-7 D-35394 Giessen, Germany SUMMARY This article argues that, though it cannot be doubted that there is a subversive quality to Paul’s letters, attempts to identify subversive subtexts have failed due to their preoccupation with what is deemed inherently subversive vocabulary. A better approach to grounding Paul’s anti-imperial theology is to recognize that he affirmed the subversive late Second temple Jewish-apocalyptic, and particularly Danielic, narrative that viewed Rome as final earthly kingdom that will be destroyed by the coming of God’s kingdom.