Christian eschatology

Lore & Background

Christian eschatology within early Christianity originated with the public life and preaching of Jesus, who is sometimes interpreted as referring to his Second Coming in several Gospel passages. The doctrine of the Second Coming was discussed by Paul the Apostle in his epistles, and other eschatological doctrines appear in the Epistle of James, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First Epistle of John. The First Epistle of Clement, written around 95, criticizes those who had doubts because the Second Coming had not yet occurred. Christian eschatology was also discussed by Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Origen.

Reader's Guide

Christian eschatology is an ancient branch of study that has shaped Christian thought on death, the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the resurrection, the rapture, the tribulation, millennialism, the Last Judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth. The growing modern interest in eschatology is tied to developments in Anglophone Christianity, with Puritans in the 18th and 19th centuries particularly interested in postmillennial hope, contrasted with the growing interest in premillennialism advocated by dispensational figures such as J. N. Darby. In the 20th century, German scholars such as Jürgen Moltmann and Wolfhart Pannenberg contributed to eschatological study. Various interpretive approaches—Preterism, Historicism, Futurism, and Idealism—have emerged from the study of the Book of Revelation, each offering different frameworks for understanding biblical prophecy. The Seventh-day Adventist church was founded based on eschatological interpretations by Ellen G. White, William Miller, and Joseph Bates.

Did You Know?

• The First Epistle of Clement, written around 95, criticizes those who doubted the faith because the Second Coming had not yet occurred.
• In the 1800s, Ellen G. White, William Miller, and Joseph Bates studied eschatological implications in Daniel and Revelation, leading to the founding of the Seventh-day Adventist church.