Christian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a minor branch of study within Christian theology which deals with the doctrine of the "last things", especially the Second Coming of Christ, or Parousia. Eschatology – the word derives from two Greek roots meaning "last" (ἔσχατος) and "study" (-λογία) – involves the study of "end things", whether of the end of an individual life, of the end of the age, of the end of the world, or of the nature of the Kingdom of God. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology focuses on the ultimate destiny of individual souls and of the entire created order, based primarily upon biblical texts within the Old and New Testaments.
Christian eschatology looks to study and discuss matters such as death and the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the Second Coming of Jesus, the resurrection of the dead, the rapture, the tribulation, millennialism, the end of the world, the Last Judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth in the world to come.
Eschatological passages appear in many places in the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments. Many extra-biblical examples of eschatological prophecies also exist, as well as extra-biblical ecclesiastical traditions relating to the subject.
History[edit]
Eschatology within early Christianity originated with the public life and preaching of Jesus.[1] Jesus is sometimes interpreted as referring to his Second Coming in Matthew 24:27; Matthew 24:37–39; Matthew 26:64; Mark 14:62. Christian eschatology is an ancient branch of study in Christian theology, informed by Biblical texts such as the Olivet discourse (recorded in Matthew 24–25, Mark 13, and Luke 21), The Sheep and the Goats, and other discourses of end times by Jesus, with the doctrine of the Second Coming discussed by Paul the Apostle[2] in his epistles, both the authentic and the disputed ones. Other eschatological doctrines can be found in the Epistle of James,[3] the First Epistle of Peter,[4] and the First Epistle of John.[5] According to some scholars, the Second Epistle of Peter explains that God is patient and has not yet brought about the Second Coming of Christ, in order that more people will have the chance to reject evil and find salvation (3:3–9); therefore, it calls on Christians to wait patiently for the Parousia and to study scripture. Other scholars, however, believe that the New Testament epistles are an exhortation to the early church believers to patiently expect the imminent return of Christ, predicted by Himself on several occasions in the gospels. The First Epistle of Clement, written by Pope Clement I in ca. 95, criticizes those who had doubts about the faith because the Second Coming had, in his view, not yet occurred.[6]
Christian eschatology is also discussed by Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35–107 AD) in his epistles,[7] then given more consideration by the Christian apologist, Justin Martyr (c. 100–165).[8] Treatment of eschatology continued in the West in the teachings of Tertullian (c. 160–225), and was given fuller reflection and speculation soon after by Origen (c. 185–254).[9] The word was used first by the Lutheran theologian Abraham Calovius (1612–1686) but only came into general usage in the 19th century.[10]
The growing modern interest in eschatology is tied to developments in Anglophone Christianity. Puritans in the 18th and 19th centuries were particularly interested in a postmillennial hope which surrounded Christian conversion.[11] This would be contrasted with the growing interest in premillennialism, advocated by dispensational figures such as J. N. Darby.[12] Both of these strands would have significant influences on the growing interests in eschatology in Christian missions and in Christianity in West Africa and Asia.[13][14] However, in the 20th century, there would be a growing number of German scholars such as Jürgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg who would likewise be interested in eschatology.[15]
In the 1800s, a group of Christian theologians inclusive of Ellen G. White, William Miller and Joseph Bates began to study eschatological implications revealed in the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. Their interpretation of Christian eschatology resulted in the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist church.
The End of the World and the Last Judgment[edit]
Satan released[edit]
According to the Bible, the Millennial age of peace all but closes the history of planet Earth. However, the story is not yet finished: "When the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea." [Rev 20:7–8]
There is continuing discussion over the identity of Gog and Magog. In the context of the passage, they seem to equate to something like "east and west". There is a passage in Ezekiel, however, where God says to the prophet, "Set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him." [Ezek 38:2] Gog, in this instance, is the name of a person of the land of Magog, who is ruler ("prince") over the regions of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. Ezekiel says of him: "You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you..." [Ezek 38:2]
Despite this huge show of force, the battle will be short-lived, for Ezekiel, Daniel, and Revelation all say that this last desperate attempt to destroy the people and the city of God will end in disaster: "I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed. I will rain down on him and on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him: flooding rain, great hailstones, fire and brimstone." [Ezek 38:22] Revelation concurs: "Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them." [Rev 20:9] It may be that the images of fire raining down are an ancient vision of modern weapons, others would say a supernatural intervention by God, yet others that they refer to events in history, and some would say they are symbolic of larger ideas and should not be interpreted literally.