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ESCHATOLOGY

Eschatology (from Gk. éschatos, “last”) concerns expectations of an end time, whether the close of history, the world itself, or the present age. Eschatological language becomes prominent in the OT prophets and later Jewish apocalyptic texts (both canonical and extracanonical) and is a pervasive feature in early Christian literature. A rich variety of images appear in these writings: the “day of the Lord” (or “that day”), often characterized as a day of judgment (e.g., Ezek. 30:1-4; Joel 2:1-2; Amos 5:18-20; Zeph. 1:7-18; 4 Ezra 7:33-44; 1 En. 3, 45, 62-63, 100; Matt. 11:22; 25:31-46; Rom. 2:1-16; 1 Cor. 3:10-15), and preceded by a period of testing and social and political disintegration (Dan. 12:1-4; 4 Ezra 5:1-13; 2 Bar. 25, 70; ; T. Levi 16-18; T. Zeb. 9:5-9; T. Naph. 4:2-5; Sib. Or. 3:635-56); a decisive war in which Israel’s enemies (or the forces of evil) are finally defeated and Israel (or God’s people) restored (Ezek. 37–39; Joel 3[MT 4]; Zech. 12, 14; 1 En. 56; 1QM; Rev. 19:11-21; 20:7-10); restoration of the holy city and of the land (Isa. 35, 40–55; Tob. 14:5; Jub. 1:15-18); an eschatological temple (Ezek. 40–48; 11QT); the conversion or streaming of the nations to Jerusalem (Isa. 60; ; cf. 11:10; Zech. 8:20-23; 14:16-21; Tob. 14:6-7; cf. Rev. 21:24); a harvest in which the faithful are gathered and the wicked removed (4 Ezra 4:26-32, 39; 2 Bar. 70:2; Matt. 3:12; 13:36-43; Rev. 14:14-20); a festive eschatological banquet for God’s people (Isa. 25:6; Luke 13:29; 14:15-24); resurrection (to life or judgment; Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2; 1 En. 51; 4 Ezra 7:32; Sib. Or. 4:179-92; John 5:25-29; 1 Cor. 15); a joyous wedding or wedding banquet (Matt. 22:1-14; Rev. 19); and simply “being with” the Lord (2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23). Characteristically, such images express the hope that deliverance or vindication for God’s faithful people is imminent, and with it the final elimination of the oppressive forces of evil. Many texts, however, also reckon with a delay in eschatological fulfillment (e.g., Habakkuk; 4 Ezra 4–6; 2 Bar. 21:19-25; Matt. 25:1-13). In fact, reaffirmation of hope in the face of partial or delayed fulfillment of eschatological expectations is a regular feature of early Jewish and Christian eschatology.

Eschatological language naturally has an informational aspect, as it discloses the outcome of the historical era or specific conflict in view. Nevertheless, it is primarily expressive language; its images of judgment and vindication, of disaster and protection, of doom and rescue are designed to engage hearers’ emotions and move them to a particular way of life — fidelity and persevering commitment to God even in the context of adversity. The “rhetoric of eschatology” therefore deploys its images and metaphors to sustain hope despite the ambiguities of historical existence but also, through warnings of the impending destruction of evil, to reinforce moral appeals. Extrapolating from past experience of God’s goodness (whether in exodus, restoration from exile, or Jesus’ death and resurrection) and from present experience of the world (banquets, harvests, courts, and battles), faith pictures the future completion: it will be like that! God is doing a new thing (Isa. 43:19), but its contours can be seen already in patterns of life and history evident to faith. Biblical eschatology is thus inescapably metaphorical in character; it does not give precise information (e.g., when the end will occur or who will participate), but enables a community to live in faith and obedience — a life that both draws its strength from and bears witness to the faithfulness of a sovereign God whose purposes for creation will yet “be done on earth as in heaven.”

OT Prophets

The preexilic prophets characteristically warn the nation of approaching doom, understood as divine judgment upon a disobedient people. Amos pictures the “day of Yahweh” as a time of disaster, not deliverance, for Israel (Amos 5:18-20). For Isaiah, too, the future holds fearful retribution for the nation’s injustice and infidelity (Isa. 1–5). Images of eschatological judgment receive even sharper expression in the oracles of Jeremiah, who announced the temple’s demise (Jer. 7:1-15; cf. Ezek. 10:1-22). At the same time, the prophets imagined a future when God would redeem and restore the nation (Isa. 2:1-4; 4:2-6; 9:1-7[8:23–9:6]; 11:1-9; 14:1-2; Jer. 16:14-15; Hos. 14:4-7), returning justice and wisdom to the throne. Once disaster had befallen the nation, prophets of the exilic and postexilic eras awaited God’s action to restore Israel’s fortunes (Isa. 35, 40–55, 60; Joel 3[4]; Obad. 15-17; Zech. 10:6-12; 12–14; Ezek. 11:14-21; 20:33-44; 37:1-28; 39:21-29), yet also questioned its delayed arrival (Habakkuk). Eschatological hope of necessity wrestled with the problem of unfulfilled expectations.

Jewish Apocalyptic Literature

History brought precious little relief, however, and the dissonance between divine promise and Israel’s continuing experience of weakness and subjugation (no doubt aided by ideas current in Persian and Greek cultures) became the catalyst for the emergence of apocalyptic eschatology. What if suffering and even death visited the people not because of their infidelity and disobedience but precisely because of their observance of Torah? Driven by such disturbing questions, Israel’s visionaries came to view divine vindication in increasingly suprahistorical terms; faith’s vision appealed to transcendent powers and outcomes not visible within history itself. God would intervene on behalf of the righteous, overturning oppressive evil and defending and restoring the nation, though that deliverance would assume many different forms (Ezek. 38–39; Zech. 12–14; Dan. 10–12; Jub. 1:15-18; T. Levi 16–18; 1 En. 38–39, 48–58, 61–63; Sib. Or. 3:657-808; 4:40-48; 1QM).

Jesus and the Gospels

Despite recurring attempts to deflect eschatological views away from Jesus to the early Church, Jesus likely expected the imminent arrival of God’s mighty rule; in fact, he discerned the dawn of God’s reign in his own activity (e.g., meal fellowship, the declaration of forgiveness, and exorcisms). Jesus therefore shared the intense eschatological expectancy of John the Baptizer (cf. Matt. 3:7-12), but modified it — pointing to present signs of the kingdom and also shifting the accent from impending doom to hope. In both Matthew and Mark Jesus’ ministry begins (Matt. 4:17; Mark 1:15) and ends (Matt. 24–25; Mark 13) with eschatological claims. While Luke has Jesus inaugurate his ministry under the banner of fulfillment (Luke 4:16-21), this Gospel, too, gives prominence to eschatological images (12:35-48; 17:20–18:8; 21:5-36).

Yet each of the Synoptics develops this theme in its own way. Mark sharply accents the perils of faithful discipleship; Jesus, whose own way is the way of the cross, promises his followers a future marked by crisis and adversity (Mark 13:5-23). Yet they are to summon courage for their mission to the world (Mark 13:10), confident that despite the severity of their hardships, God will soon rescue the faithful (vv. 26-30), if they will remain vigilant. Pictures of eschatological deliverance, centering in the triumphant return of the Son of Humanity, reassure the community of Mark and support them in a costly mission “for the sake of the gospel.” Matthew, by contrast, highlights the motif of end-time judgment, using eschatological images to underscore an appeal for a life defined by righteousness (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43, 47-50; 25:31-46). While a wide, easy road leads many to doom, Matthew challenges readers to follow the narrow, arduous path to life (Matt. 7:13-14). Even though the “close of the age” will be deferred, thrusting the community into an era of intense conflict (Matt. 24:4-14), they must remain alert and vigorous in their service of God (24:45-51; 25:1-30). Eschatology in this Gospel serves above all to motivate a life defined by radical obedience to God and compassionate mercy toward others. Mark and to a greater degree Matthew reckon with some delay in the completion of the end-time scenario (Mark 13:5-8, 10; Matt. 24:6-8, 48; 25:1-13), yet without relinquishing expectation of the Parousia in the near future.

This pattern is even more typical of Luke, who adjusts the timetable to make room for delay (Luke 12:42-48; 17:25; 18:1-8; 19:11-27; 21:7-12; cf. Acts 1:6-8) but at the same time reaffirms hope of the Lord’s imminent return (Luke 12:39-40; 17:22-37; 21:28-36). The mark of the community must therefore be persevering faith (Luke 18:1-8) and faithfulness (12:35-48; 21:12-19) in the time that remains before end-time vindication for God’s people. While the narrative invests heavily in this picture of a delayed but still viable eschatological expectancy, Luke also underscores present fulfillment of hopes during the life of Jesus. The age of the Spirit (signaling the “last days,” Acts 2:17-21) begins already with Jesus (Luke 4:16-21), who discerns in his own acts of healing and forgiveness the sovereign rule of God reordering human life in the present (11:20; 17:20-21). So the long deferred hopes of Israel rush to fulfillment with the advent of John and Jesus (Luke 1–2). Where Jesus works, salvation becomes reality in Israel (Luke 7:48-50; 8:43-48; 17:11-19; 19:9-10; 23:39-43; cf. 2:11, 30-32). Nevertheless, Israel’s history retains its fundamental ambiguity, and even the Savior must be rejected and his kingdom thwarted for the time being (Luke 19:11-27). His community must therefore wait — and vigorously work — for the completion of the salvation inaugurated by him.

This pattern, whereby eschatological hopes find decisive, if not complete, fulfillment in the present with the person and work of Jesus, comes to its boldest expression in the Gospel of John. Jesus is the eschaton. Hopes ordinarily tied to the future (resurrection, eternal life, final judgment) all come to be anchored in the present, the prerogative of Jesus himself (John 3:16-21; 5:19-30; 11:23-26). Judgment for those who reject God’s revealer (Jesus) is sealed even now. Eternal life for those who believe also happens now. The parousia of Jesus seems to be recast as the presence of the Spirit (the Paraclete) in the community (John 16:7-15; cf. 14:15-26). For all this accent on present realization of eschatological hopes, John does preserve eschatological elements (e.g., resurrection “on the last day,” John 6:39-40, 44; cf. 5:28-29; and a personal experience of the parousia, 14:2-3). The key to this tension between present fulfillment (Jesus as eschaton) and future hope lies in the Johannine claim that the life of the disciple is utterly dependent on connection to Jesus, the source of life (John 15:1-11). True discipleship can only be validated over a lifetime of faithful witness to the Truth. Entry into life, already realized in faith now, must therefore be confirmed at the end. Eschatology undergoes radical reinterpretation in John, yet the future is not entirely absorbed into the present experience of the Johannine community. The balance swings back toward future-oriented eschatology in the letter later addressed to the same community (1 John 2:18, 28; 3:2; 4:17), without effacing, however, the conviction that eternal life is a present reality for those of faith (5:5, 11).

Paul

Paul’s letters express a vibrant eschatological faith from first to last. 1 Thessalonians voices the conviction that the parousia of Jesus would occur in the near future, certainly within Paul’s lifetime (1 Thess. 4:15-18). Paul deploys eschatological images (parousia, “thief in the night”) to console readers distressed by the deaths of some community members before “the day” and to reinforce his appeals for moral seriousness (1 Thess. 5:1-11). While Paul’s assumption that he will live to see the Parousia does give way in later letters (2 Cor. 5:1-10; Phil. 1:19-26), he reaffirms his eschatological convictions to the end (1 Cor. 7:25-31; Rom. 13:11-12; Phil. 4:5). Yet for Paul too the future is not the sole interest. His intense expectancy of imminent eschatological closure stems from his perception of the meaning of what has already occurred in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The cross is the world-shattering event that redefined the character of life in the world (1 Cor. 1:18–2:5; Gal. 6:14-15), and the resurrection of Jesus is the clear signal that history’s closure events are close at hand. God’s raising of Jesus is the “first fruits” that assures the full harvest is soon to follow (Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:20, 23). The presence of God’s Spirit in the community is therefore a “pledge” guaranteeing full “payment” of salvation in the near future (2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; cf. Rom. 8:11; Eph. 1:14). Paul also uses the imagery of eschatological judgment to support his moral appeals (Rom. 2:1-16; 1 Cor. 3:10-17; 2 Cor. 5:10). In Colossians and Ephesians there is a shift from temporal to spatial categories: the believer has already been raised from the dead and has taken up residence in heaven (Eph. 2:6; cf. Col. 2:12; 3:1-3). Yet the revelation of Christ in glory is still to come (Col. 3:4; cf. “day of redemption,” Eph. 4:30).

General Epistles and Revelation

Eschatology remains an important feature throughout the General Epistles. 1 Peter summons the community of readers to a moral seriousness that reckons with the imminence of end-time judgment (1 Pet. 4:1-11) and reassures them that their present suffering will soon give way to eschatological salvation (1:5) and glory (v. 7). 2 Peter addresses skepticism fueled by delay in the realization of eschatological hopes: “Where is the promise of his coming?” (2 Pet. 3:4). The author attributes this delay to God’s patient mercy and issues a sharp warning against surrender of eschatological faith. With the images of an imminent parousia and the eschatological judge standing at the door (Jas. 5:8, 9), James lends urgency to the appeal for congruence between faith and just, compassionate living. Hebrews, written in “these last days” (Heb. 1:2), likewise warns of the rapid approach of the day of final judgment (10:23-31).

In the book of Revelation apocalyptic visions enable readers to discern the true meaning and course of history: not Satan but God, not Rome but Christ rules the world. Of course, at present only eyes of faith can see this. Yet the forces of evil have launched a final, fierce assault upon the faithful precisely because they have suffered decisive defeat (Rev. 12:7-17), and their time has nearly run its course (v. 12). Christ the Lamb has won the victory, paradoxically through his witness unto death (Rev. 5:9-12; 12:10-11). Once again, future deliverance is assured because of what God has already accomplished. Yet readers facing the prospect of intense persecution (something John expects to occur) need encouragement, and affirmation of Jesus’ speedy return becomes a prominent motif in John’s Apocalypse (Rev. 1:3; 3:11; 16:15; 22:12, 20). The return of Christ, his millennial reign with martyrs, the final defeat of evil (including the “death” of death itself), and the appearance of a renewed, glorious and holy Jerusalem all loom on the horizon. Such potent images reinforce hope in a beleaguered community but also warn readers to choose their loyalties wisely. A share in “life” awaits those who persevere in their fidelity to God even at great cost.

Bibliography. D. C. Allison, Jr., The End of the Ages Has Come: An Early Interpretation of the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus (Philadelphia, 1985); J. J. Collins, The Apocalyptic Imagination, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, 1998); D. Gowan, Eschatology of the Old Testament (Philadelphia, 1986); A. A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future (Grand Rapids, 1979); C. Holman, Till Jesus Comes (Peabody, 1996); J. Plevnik, Paul and the Parousia (Peabody, 1997).

John T. Carroll

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

ESCHATOLOGY

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)