See the excellent article by Marko Marina, Ph.D. posted to BartEhrman.com on August 19th, 2024.
In this article, we’ll delve into the rich and varied landscape of Christian eschatology, examining its origins, development, and the conflicting interpretations that have emerged over centuries.
Eschatology, pronounced “es-kuh-TOL-uh-jee,” is a term that stems from the Greek word eschatos, meaning “last” or “end”, combined with logia, meaning “study of” or “doctrine.”
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Eschatology Views Comparison Chart – Extracted from Marina’s article.
| Eschatological View | Description | Key Beliefs |
|---|---|---|
| Premillennial Eschatology | Belief in a literal thousand-year reign of Jesus on earth, following his second coming. | Christ returns before the millennium. The millennium is a future, physical reign of Jesus on earth, involving a period of peace and righteousness. |
| Amillennial Eschatology | Interprets the millennium mentioned in Revelation 20 symbolically rather than literally. | The millennium is understood as the current church age, with Jesus reigning spiritually. There is no future literal thousand-year reign. |
| Biblical Eschatology | A term often used to describe eschatology that adheres closely to a literal interpretation of biblical prophecy. | Emphasizes a literal reading of Scripture, expecting the fulfillment of prophetic events exactly as described in the Bible. |
| Reformed Eschatology | Eschatology is rooted in Reformed theology and is often associated with amillennialism. | Focuses on God’s sovereignty and the fulfillment of his divine plan, often interpreting eschatological events symbolically. |
| Covenant Theology Eschatology | This eschatology arises from the framework of covenant theology, which views all of history as governed by divine covenants. | Typically aligns with amillennialism. It views eschatological events as the culmination of God’s covenantal promises to his people. |
| Inaugurated Eschatology See paragraphs below by Hugo Mendez. | This view holds that the “last days” began with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Through these events, God’s kingdom was also inaugurated, but the full realization will be completed with Jesus’ second coming. | The kingdom of God is already present (“now”) but not yet fully realized. Eschatological events are understood as part of a larger narrative in which God is renewing creation and bringing about his ultimate purpose. |
| Dispensational Eschatology | A view that divides history into distinct periods or “dispensations,” with the end times marking the final dispensation. | Emphasizes a future rapture of the church, a literal seven-year tribulation, and a future millennial reign of Jesus on earth. |
Realized Eschatology
From Hugo Mendez’s New Testament course at BSA:
John has virtually none of that. And even the stuff he has, I’ve argued in print—even kind of my most recent article—is kind of open to interpretation. What John has is what CH Dodd called a realized eschatology. That’s the idea that there isn’t a future judgment day. The judgment day is happening now. Jesus in chapter 12 literally says, now is the judgment.
John 12:27- 31 “Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.
That’s a statement you do not find in the synoptics. So that’s what scholars understand that John seems to have started to reinterpret the end of the world as no longer a thing that’s quite future, or at least not as clearly as much future as something that’s already being realized now that when you decide to believe or not, you are already receiving eternal life, or you’re already receiving eternal judgment. You don’t wait for a future day; it’s happening now.
