Eschatology

How one imagines the future affects how one engages the present. The crux of the issue is not the timing of the eschaton—that is, the when—but what one imagines will happen when Christ returns. A universally destructive eschatology presents a stumbling block to serious cultural and social engagement. This presentation examines the theological and scriptural assumptions that support this view, arguing that while clear support can be found for the judgment against and destruction of evil in its particularity, support for a universally catastrophic eschatology—the annihilation of all things before being entirely recreated—rests on tenuous grounds and is in tension with other key Christian theological affirmations—namely the goodness of the created order, the incarnation, and work of the Spirit. This presentation examines biblical passages to argue that the imagery and symbolism of fire used in apocalyptic literature connotes purification through a limited destruction of evil, rather than the universal obliteration of all things. This presentation argues that preserving a sense of ontological continuity between this world and the one to come is scripturally faithful, theologically consistent, and provides better motivation for consistent and constructive cultural involvement.

The epistle of Jude is shrouded with rich theological significance, in spite of its shortness. Theological themes like the order of salvation, faith, mission, worship, judgment, the great controversy, the second coming, the end of the world, and others are interwoven in the fabric of Jude. The book starts with protology and ends with climactic and cosmic victorious eschatology. This presentation explores Michael’s role in the great controversy according to Jude. References to Michael in the Bible are all in the context of intense violence, war, death, and resurrection. Indeed the highlight of Jude’s eschatology is Michael, the heavenly warrior who victoriously defends His people and will end the great controversy.

By ,

The belief of the tevel blo dai mahn (“spirit of the dead person”) is the dominant theme in Melanesian societies. The Melanesians understand their immediate or distant future in the context of their dead relatives’ return in the tevel (“spirit”) form. The tevel that comes in a ghostly form is the divine part that seems to know all the answers the living need about life and its meaning. That divine part can bring wealth and happiness. However, the challenge is that the Melanesian doctrine of tevel blo dai mahn contradicts Scripture’s teaching of the resurrection of the dead in bodily form, and especially the resurrection that is imaged by dry bones in Ezekiel 37:1–14.

Throughout Christian history eschatology has been pivotal in the task of missions. From the apostles—who had an unshakeable conviction that Christ’s coming would be within their lifetime because they were convinced they lived in the last days—to the pioneers of the Adventist Church, who through their study of the prophecies were confident they knew the precise date of Christ’s second coming. The impetus for missionary zeal has generally been fueled by the belief that the end of the world is imminent. Conversely, whenever Christians lost sight of the Parousia a corresponding decline in mission emphasis often followed. The great controversy theme is perhaps the greatest contribution of Adventism to the Christian faith, and it provides valuable missiological and didactic tools for witnessing in animistic societies. Therefore, this presentation explores how the great controversy doctrine can be employed to bring worldview conversion to people with animistic beliefs struggling with issues such as fear, existentialism, pragmatism, and spiritism. It also examines how this doctrine may provide a new motivation for conducting missions in animistic and secular societies experiencing similar challenges around the world.

Scripture reveals promises that shape biblical eschatology, the advent hope. However, is eschatology being presented in a way relevant to audiences of the twenty-first century? The Hebrew generations who coexisted during the early Persian period can illuminate current challenges on the proclamation of the Advent Hope. An overview of the Hope messages to the audiences of Haggai, Malachi, and Hadassah provides principles that are relevant today. These audiences have many elements in common with modernists, postmoderns, and metamoderns who coexist in current communities. Insights from these biblical texts and their archaeological context illuminate ways that could be used to present Adventist eschatology to contemporary generations.

Eschatology, “the teaching of the last things” (from the Greek eschaton, ‘’last” or “final”), is usually thought to focus on the last things. However, eschatology is not only the end of everything; it has a starting point. Old Testament eschatology is a story of restitution; hence it may be said to begin with the fall of Adam and Eve, where God is in full presence with Adam and Eve and announces the seed for eschatology. After the fall, humanity fell out of relationship with God. The remainder of Scripture tells the story of God’s plan to restore holiness among a holy people. This presentation seeks to situate the linear understanding of Old Testament eschatology.

In the history of Adventist interpretation of Revelation 14:6–11 the focus has been predominantly on historical application rather than on careful exegesis of the text. As we will face in the not-too-distant future the bicentennial anniversary of the Great Expectation of 1844, and as we recognize that these end-time messages have a long history, we need to look at the text afresh to find an understanding more consistent with the mega narrative of the book. This presentation proposes that proper exegesis of the three angels’ messages can be established only by careful analysis of Revelation 12 and 13 as the backdrop for the messages. There are two sets of competing messages: the messages of the dragon and the two beasts, and the countering messages of the three angels. And the inhabitants of the world were threatened by the angels just as the saints were threatened by the coercion of the false trinity.

In Revelation 7:2–5, 8 and Revelation 9:4 the divine sealing of humans is mentioned. The first passage belongs to the section on the seven seals; the second belongs to the trumpets. Are these two passages talking about the same event or do they refer to different processes of sealing? This questi...

The Seventh-day Adventist Church was influenced in its belief of conditional immortality by some in the Millerite movement, particularly George Storrs, one of its most influential leaders in the late summer and early fall of 1844. It was around 1840 that Storrs, still a Methodist preacher, beca...

Gluder Quispe, The Apocalypse in Seventh-Day Adventist Interpretation, Lima: Universidad Peruana Unión, 2013. xii + 354 pp. US$20.00. Summary This is the published version of the Ph.D. dissertation of Gluder Quispe, professor of Adventist Studies and New Testament Interpretation at the Peruvian U...