Eschatology

The second coming of Jesus Christ is usually described with cosmic language: cosmic signs in the heavens or earth-shattering events on this planet. This apocalyptic dimension seems to have a counter argument in 2 Peter 3:12—the believer is to look for and hasten the coming of the day of the Lord. On the basis of the translation of the participle speudontas some have taken this passage to mean that human beings can influence the timing of the second coming, while others have opposed this view—arguing instead that the participle should be translated as “eagerly awaiting” instead of “hasten.” Additionally, scholars have had different opinions about who and how people can influence the Parousia. Additional questions have been raised: Is this passage referring to the believer as an individual or the church as a body of believers? And is orthopraxy or social concern the criteria for the “hastening”? This presentation briefly examines various models of explanation for 2 Peter 3:12 and then resolves the passage by examining it in its larger context.

This presentation examines the six instances of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” that appear in the Gospel of Matthew, with the purpose of understanding its literary and theological meaning. These six phrases are read as symbolic descriptions, functioning as eschatological metaphoric images of exclusion and condemnation. Each phrase is investigated in its own literary context, establishing thematic connections between these pericopes and the Gospel of Matthew as a whole.

This presentation explores the intersection of Adventist eschatology and its practice of ecclesiology in the current and future climate-disrupted world. First, it examines the biblical narrative of the relationship between eschatology, ecclesiology, evangelism, and church economics, and how these interact within Adventism. Second, it considers climate disruption and its impacts on Adventist eschatology, ecclesiology, evangelism, and economics, and on its institutions and membership. Finally, it reviews Seventh-day Adventist Church statements on environment, climate change, and global poverty as a means to increase mission effectiveness, and proposes values to assist in responding to climate disruption, including the concept of being a “catalytic remnant.”

Biblical depictions of eschatological events presuppose a manner of divine intervention potentially in conflict with the principles of uniformitarianism adopted in the practice of science. 2 Peter 3 contrasts a uniformitarianist argument with an interventionist view of God’s action in history, referring to three specific events: the creation, the flood, and the day of judgment. This view of history affirms God’s commitment to love and rescue His creation, while at the same time attesting the superiority of the Creator over His creation. Eschatology does not need to represent a threat to science, provided that our understanding of the relation of the present to the past and future acknowledges: 1) the reality of God the Creator as preexisting and distinct from His creation; 2) there have been divinely caused processes in the past, when God intervened in nature; and 3) these past divine interventions warrant the possibility of a future one.

This article provides a general overview of end-time biblical eschatology as described by Ellen White. After highlighting (1) some major end-time philosophical and religious challenges, the discussion deals specifically with White’s views of (2) the great cosmic controversy between good and evil; (3) the cataclysmic “signs” of Christ’s Second Coming; (4) the conditional imminence of His appearing; (5) the end-time scenario that culminates with that glorious event; and (6) God’s absolute and final victory over sin and all impenitent sinners, eradicating them completely and forever from the universe. A clear understanding of White’s eschatological expositions can help us to better appreciated God’s triumphant leading of human affairs and loving care for each one of us.

Introduction In some quarters of contemporary culture, evolution has been taken as fact , and this has the effect of making the interdisciplinary conversation between Christian theology and science an increasingly important theological topic. It may come as a surprise that this resurgence is hap...

From its first verse to its very last, Revelation is replete with the language of imminence. Its temporal emphasis poses a problem in light of the almost two millennia-long wait for the soon coming of Christ. This presentation identifies and analyses seven expressions of imminence in Revelation and makes an attempt to interpret the book’s temporal perspective, paying attention to the matter of genre and the salvation-historical thought framework of the biblical author, particularly to the Christ-event as the center of human history.

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The term “love” in its substantive form occurs only once in the book of Matthew (24:12). Traditionally, love in this text has been interpreted as “Christian agape,” the law of Christ—as opposed to the Mosaic law and persecuting hatred against Christians. However, the verbal form also occurs in Matthew and is directly connected to the Old Testament, suggesting that the understanding of Matthew 24:12 relies upon the comprehension of the use of the term “love” in Hebrew scripture. Finally, the eschatological meaning of this text is evaluated in the context of the definition of the remnant and of his work in verses 13 and 14.

The Seventh-day Adventist understanding of end-time events involves the reality that the earth will burn at the end of time. Unfortunately, assumptions that God will renew the earth anyway often translates into neglecting the environment. This inaccurate understanding overlooks the clear descriptions of God’s care for the earth and human ecological responsibility in the original creation, the new earth, and all laws for the present. Eschatological passages include a picture of earth restored and rejuvenated, rather than annihilated and recreated from nothing. Even the images of fire burning at the end of time do not imply that the earth will be totally consumed. Eschatology presupposes and necessitates ecological care in the present, rather than opposing it.

This presentation identifies the law of God, the Ten Commandments, in 1 Corinthians 15:56 and its implications on the eschatological church. The term “law” appears in isolation in the resurrection text, causing some to consider it an interpolation; however, its presence here not only heightens the continuity of God’s law in the eschatological church, but also its significance in the work of redemption and ultimate victory over sin and death, a development that will usher in eschatological rest in God’s entire universe.