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'''Eschatology''' ([[Greek]] '''εσχατος''' or ''eschatos'' the last and '''λογος''' or ''logos'' a word) is the study of the last things that the [[Bible]] or other religious texts predict will happen to the world and mankind.
Eschatology is the study of the last things: death, judgment, the afterlife, and the end of the world. Through centuries of Christian thought--from the early Church fathers through the Middle Ages and the Reformation--these issues were central importance to theologians. After the [[Enlightenment]] of the 18th century, however, many religious thinkers began to downplay the importance of eschatology which, in light of rationalism, came to be seen as something of an embarrassment. The twentieth century, however, saw the rise of [[Fundamentalism]] that placed eschatology back at the forefront of religious thought. Furthermore there has been a proliferation of apocalyptic new religious movements.
[[File:End-time.jpg|thumb|400px|Dispensationalist interpretation]]
see [[End Times]]
== Christian Eschatology ==
== Christian Eschatology ==
==== The Economy of the God-and-man Relationship ====
==== The Economy of the God-and-man Relationship ====
The [[Bible]] describes multiple [[covenant]]s that God has held with mankind in the thousands of years since [[creation]]. In this regard, two competing theories are current.
The [[Bible]] describes multiple [[covenant]]s that God has held with mankind since creation. In this regard, two competing theories are current.
# [[Covenant theology]] holds that God has had only ''one'' covenant with mankind, despite the plethora of apparent covenantal decrees throughout the [[Old Testament]]. Before the coming of [[Jesus]], God's covenant was with national [[Israel]], this theory states; now that Jesus has come and gone and will come again, the blessings initially provided to Israel now apply strictly to the [[church]]--defined in this context as the body of believers in Jesus as the looked-for Christ (literally, "Annointed One," transliterated ''Messiah'' from [[Hebrew]]). Detractors of this school of thought often call it "replacement theology," the notion being that the Christian church somehow "replaces" the [[Judaism|Jews]] in God's favor.
# [[Covenant theology]] holds that God has had only ''one'' covenant with mankind, despite the plethora of apparent covenantal decrees throughout the [[Old Testament]]. Before the coming of Jesus, God's covenant was with national [[Israel]], this theory states; now that Jesus has come and gone and will come again, the blessings initially provided to Israel now apply strictly to the church--defined in this context as the body of believers in Jesus as the looked-for Christ (literally, "Annointed One," transliterated ''Messiah'' from [[Hebrew]]). Detractors of this school of thought often call it "replacement theology," the notion being that the Christian church somehow "replaces" the [[Judaism|Jews]] in God's favor.
# [[Dispensational theology]], however, holds that God's relationship with mankind has undergone a number of changes from one ''dispensation'' to the next. Most dispensational theorists identify seven of these dispensations, of which mankind is now in the sixth--and the seventh remains for mankind to experience. No replacement of the Jews is expressed or implied--because God will physically [[Rapture (Christian)|remove]] the present membership of the church and concentrate all His Attention on the Jews.
# [[Dispensationalism]], however, holds that God's relationship with mankind has undergone a number of changes from one ''dispensation'' to the next. Most dispensational theorists identify seven of these dispensations, of which mankind is now in the sixth--and the seventh remains for mankind to experience. No replacement of the Jews is expressed or implied--because God will physically [[Rapture (Christian)|remove]] the present membership of the church and concentrate all His Attention on the Jews.
==== A Thousand Years of Peace ====
==== A Thousand Years of Peace ====
The Book of [[Revelation]] makes prominent reference to an era lasting for a thousand years, during which God will physically confine [[Satan]], and after which Satan will be released for one last period.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=20|verses=1-3|version=KJV}}</ref> But [[Jesus]] says, in the [[New Testament]], that He will return to earth again after ascending into [[heaven]]. The obvious question arises: when will Jesus return, in relationship to this thousand-year period of peace?
The Book of [[Revelation]] makes prominent reference to an era lasting for a thousand years--a "millennium"--during which God will physically confine [[Satan]], and after which Satan will be released for one last period.<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=20|verses=1-3|version=KJV}}</ref> But Jesus says, in the New Testament, that He will return to earth again after ascending into heaven The obvious question arises: when will Jesus return, in relationship to this thousand-year period of peace?
# [[Premillennialism]] holds that Christ will return to earth ''before'' the thousand years begin, and that during that thousand years He will rule the world and mankind directly from the city of [[Jerusalem]], which He will use as His capital city.
# [[Premillennialism]] holds that Christ will return to earth ''before'' the thousand years begin, and that during that thousand years He will rule the world and mankind directly from the city of [[Jerusalem]], which He will use as His capital city.
Certain prophecies that the author of [[Revelation]] and other prophets (including [[Daniel]], [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]], [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]], and [[Malachi (prophet)|Malachi]]) wrote down, did not come to pass within the time frame of the Bible. Some say that they ''still'' have not come to pass, and herein lies perhaps the most bitter of the disputes among prophecy students:
Certain prophecies that the author of [[Revelation]] and other prophets (including [[Daniel]], [[Isaiah (prophet)|Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah (prophet)|Jeremiah]], [[Zechariah (prophet)|Zechariah]], and [[Malachi (prophet)|Malachi]]) wrote down, did not come to pass within the time frame of the Bible. Some say that they ''still'' have not come to pass, and herein lies perhaps the most bitter of the disputes among prophecy students:
# [[Futurism]] holds that these prophecies have not yet come to pass, and still remain to come to pass. Futurists closely follow current events for signs that these prophecies are about to come to pass in the present day. A key concern of futurists is the baleful prophecy that in the last seven years before Jesus' return to earth, a totalitarian dictatorship will arise that will exceed by several orders of magnitude the power, the scope, and the atrocity of [[Nazi]] [[Germany]] during the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13|verses=1-18|version=KJV}}</ref> This concern has led many of them to express great fear that the [[United Nations]], or alternatively a possible reinvention of the [[Baghdad Caliphate]], will be that dictatorship, or its progenitor.
# [[Futurism]] holds that these prophecies have not yet come to pass, and still remain to come to pass. Futurists closely follow current events for signs that these prophecies are about to come to pass in the present day. A key concern of futurists is the baleful prophecy that in the last seven years before Jesus' return to earth, a totalitarian dictatorship will arise that will exceed by several orders of magnitude the power, the scope, and the atrocity of [[Nazi]] Germany during [[World War II]].<ref>{{Bible ref|book=Revelation|chap=13|verses=1-18|version=KJV}}</ref> This concern has led many of them to express great fear that the [[United Nations]], or alternatively a possible reinvention of the [[Baghdad Caliphate]], will be that dictatorship, or its progenitor.
# [[Historicism]] holds that the specific prophecies mentioned in Revelation chapters 6 through 16 actually reflect world history as it has unfolded since the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD.<ref>[http://www.historicism.com/ Historicism.com]</ref> Historicists fear no future dictatorship because any such dictatorship has already risen and fallen.
# [[Historicism]] holds that the specific prophecies mentioned in Revelation chapters 6 through 16 actually reflect world history as it has unfolded since the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] in 70 AD.<ref>[http://www.historicism.com/ Historicism.com]</ref> Historicists fear no future dictatorship because any such dictatorship has already risen and fallen.
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=== Mutual criticism ===
=== Mutual criticism ===
Debate between and among holders of different eschatological doctrines is often highly contentious. Non-futurists often accuse their futuristic co-religionists of "[[newspaper]] [[exegesis]]," or what they see as a wrongful attempt to interpret the [[Bible]] from the pages of a daily newspaper or similar current-events organ. Futurists, for their part, often accuse preterists of "triumphalism," or inferring that frail human beings will actually accomplish victory in a war that, they say, [[Jesus]] alone can and will fight and win.
Debate between and among holders of different eschatological doctrines is often highly contentious. Non-futurists often accuse their futuristic co-religionists of "newspaper exegesis," or what they see as a wrongful attempt to interpret the Bible from the pages of a daily newspaper or similar current-events organ. Futurists, for their part, often accuse preterists of "triumphalism," or inferring that frail human beings will actually accomplish victory in a war that, they say, Jesus alone can and will fight and win.
=== Eschatology in Bible History ===
==Further reading==
* Sandeen, ''The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism, 1800-1930'' (1970), the standard scholarly history
* Walls, Jerry, ed. ''The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology'' (2007), 744pp; [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195170490 excerpt and text search], comprehensive scholarly guide