UNION BIBLICAL SEMINARY, PUNE

Subject: Theology and Pauline Writings

Course Facilitator: Dr. George Philip
Topic: Pauline Eschatology

Presenter: Rathvu Thexiri Respondent: Anugrah Benjamin

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………….………2

1. Definition of Eschatology……………………………………………………….………2

2. Eschatology in the Old Testament …………………………………………….………..3

3. A Brief Eschatology in the Gospels………………………………………….………….4

4. Major Pauline Eschatological Events………………………………………..………….5

4.1. Resurrection …………………………………………………………..……………5

4.2. The Day of the Lord………………………………………………….……………..6

4.3. The Return of Christ…………………………………………………….…………..7

4.4. Judgment ……………………………………………………………….………..….8

5. Implication of Pauline Eschatology in Today’s Context……………………….………..9

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….….10

Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………....11-12

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Introduction

Eschatology is a pivotal issue in Pauline writings. This paper highlights how central

eschatology is to Pauline studies. The purpose of this paper is an attempt to trace Pauline

eschatology to its background and definition. It also elucidates some major Pauline

eschatological events like resurrection, judgment and return of Christ. I think it will help the

reader to understand its relevance for building believers in the present context.

6. Definition of Eschatology

Eschatology has traditionally been understood as that branch of theology which is

concerned with “final or last things.”1 Eschatology is the teaching concerning last things such as

the resurrection of the dead, the last Judgment, and return of Christ. 2 The term eschatology, first

used in the nineteenth century – is the label for the aspect of systematic theology that deals

broadly with the destiny of the individual (death, immortality, the intermediate state,

resurrection, judgment, eternal life, heaven and hell); the destiny of the nation of Israel (the Day

of the Lord, the coming of the Messiah, the Messianic kingdom) and the destiny of history at

large (the end of the world, final Judgment, the restoration of the universe). 3 Paul’s presentation

of this doctrine with all the dynamics of its development in his letters as we have them today.

This Pauline perspective on has shaped the perspective of today’s Christian Church albeit in

different ways but chiefly concerning itself with all the events aforementioned in a manner

consummated in the hope of the Parousia or second coming of Christ.4

1
L. J. Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” Pages 204-215 in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of
Contemporary Biblical Scholarship (ed. Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin and Daniel G. Reid; Downers
Grove: IVP, 1993), 204.
2
Michael D. Coogan and Bruce M. Metzger, The Oxford Companion To The Bible (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1994), 192.
3
David Aune, “Understanding Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic,” World & World 25.3 (Summer 2005):
233-245.
4
Aune, “Understanding Jewish and Christian ,” 237.

2
7. Eschatology in the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, Jewish has two Hope: the prophetic and the eschatological. 5 The former

centered on a kingdom to come in which a Davidic king would lead the nation to absolute

victory over his enemies – a kingdom that never came to pass literally. The eschatological

dimension, however, centered on a transcendent kingdom beyond history which will interrupt the

present time as it is known, bringing it to an end under the leadership of a heavenly messianic

figure.6 This writer views these two dimensions as a continuum such that the God who will

reveal Himself by a grandiose theophany in the eschatological consummation has already

manifested Himself and does not cease manifesting Himself in the course of history as Edmond

Jacob rightly argued.7 The expression of this OT Hope however differs among the different

Jewish traditions (including primarily the Pharisees, Saducees, and Essenes) with their plurality

of ambiguous and obscure eschatological beliefs.8 Paul, being a Pharisee, has an eschatological

background that is deeply rooted in the Pharisaic understanding of the issues with which

eschatology is concerned. For the fate of individuals, the picture painted in the Old Testament is

that of the dead descending to Sheol for an experience of its ‘shadowy life’– the abode of

righteous and evil men alike (1 Samuel 28:I9; Job 3:I7); a place of darkness (Job 10:22), where

the dead according to their tribes as in life (Ezekiel 32:17-32) receive the dying (Isaiah 14:9).

This ‘state of the dead’ expresses the conviction that human existence does not end with death. 9

5
Rudolf Bultmann, “History and Eschatology in the NT,” NTS 1 (1954-55): 5-16.
6
Geoffrey William Bromiley at el., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1995), 132.
7
Edmond Jacob, Theology of the Old Testament (trans. Arthur W. Heathcote and Philip J. Allcock; New
York, Harper & Brothers, 1958), 318.
8
S. Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology: Paul’s View on the Parousia and Bodily Resurrection
(Delhi: ISPCK, 2007), 132.
9
Jacob, Theology of the Old Testament, 304.

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The OT anticipates bodily resurrection (Isaiah 25:8; 26:19) and final participation of God’s

people in His kingdom (Daniel 12:2). As such, the major themes of Pauline Eschatology: life

after death (or life after life after death) and bodily resurrection are not Pauline creation, rather

they are rooted in his Jewish (Pharisaic) background.10

8. A Brief Eschatology in the Gospels

The New Testament further develops the OT eschatological hope in its redemptive

message with phrases that highlight an even sharper contrast: ‘this (present) age’ and ‘the

coming age’ (or ‘age to come’) – a contrast arguably first made by Jesus. 11 The Synoptic Gospels

usher in this development by focusing on the themes of God’s Kingdom and Jesus’ messianic

mission in a manner that brings the fulfillment of the OT promises in the arrival of Jesus with a

consummation post-dated to an age to come. In other words, the OT Hope has found partial

realization in Jesus and an ultimate realization at the consummation of history. 12 Hence, the

Synoptic Gospels speak of ‘entering the kingdom in the present’ (Matthew 21:31; 23:15; Mark

12:34). The writer of the fourth Gospel, while engaging in the tension between futuristic and

realized eschatology found in the Synoptic Gospels seemed to focus more on the realized

eschatological perspective having little to say about the Parousia while substituting the Olivet

Discourse with the Upper Room Discourse (John 13-16). 13

9. Major Pauline Eschatological Events

10
N. T. Wright, George Van Kooten and Oda Wischmeyer, “How Greek was Paul’s Eschatology, New
Testatment Studies 61.2 (April 2015): 239-253.
11
Bromiley at el., The International Standard Bible, 134.
12
Bromiley at el., The International Standard Bible, 134.
13
George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom Popular Expositions on the Kingdom of God (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), 334-335.

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 Understanding Pauline eschatology is central to understanding Pauline theology as a

whole. As Gordon D. Fee states that Paul’s perspective about end times absolutely determines

his theological outlook—how he thinks and talks about Christ, salvation, the church, ethics, the

present, future — everything.14

9.1. Resurrection

Paul discussed future resurrection in more detail in response to rumors that some

Corinthians question the notion of bodily resurrection. The Corinthian converts, or at least some

of them, denied the future resurrection (1 Cor 15:13f.). So Paul emphasized that “the Lord

himself” will descend from heaven and resurrect all believers who had slept (1 Thess 4:16).

These believers, he calls the “dead in Christ” who, according to Paul, will be resurrected and rise

to meet Christ “in the clouds” and will “be with the Lord forever” (1 Thess 4:16-17). 15 As in 1

Thessalonians, he equated the future state of the living with that of the dead in Christ: they will

all be transformed (1 Cor 15:51-52). The change would make them like the risen Lord. ‘Just as

we have borne the image of the man of dust “Adam”, we shall also bear the image of the man of

heaven “Christ”’ (1 Cor 15:49).16 There would be a real transformation. ‘Flesh and blood cannot

inherit the kingdom of heaven’ (1 Cor 15:10). The chief characteristic of flesh and blood bodies

is that they are perishable, and the perishable cannot inherit what is imperishable (1 Cor 15:42,

50).17 Thinking of those who would still be alive when the Lord returned, he wrote that the

‘perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on

immortality.’18 In Paul’s discussion of eschatology, the Christ event is the first in the series of
14
Gordon D Fee, Paul, the Spirit and the People of God, (Peabody: Hendrickson, 2001), 51.
15
Jouette Bassler, Navigating Paul: An Introduction to Key Theological Concepts (Louisville: Westminster
John Knox, 2007), 88.
16
Gordon D Fee, Paul, the Spirit, 149.
17
Ernest P. Sanders, Paul: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 1991), 41.
18
Ernest P. Sanders, Paul: A Very Short, 40-41.

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events (1 Cor 15:20-26). Then there is a chronological sequence in the eschatological process:

Christ was raised first who is first one to be raised from the dead: the first fruit (aparche Vv.20,

23), then those who belong to Christ, i.e., both the living and the dead will be raised in a new

body, then comes the consummation of the Kingdom, when Christ becomes the Lord of all

(15:24). The last act in the eschatological process is the total vanquishing of death (15.26). Thus

in Pauline eschatology, ‘the already’ (Christ-event) and ‘the not-yet’ (consummation) is

significant to comfort the worry believers.19

9.2. The Day of the Lord

The Day of the Lord (yôm YHWH) is a standard feature in OT prophetic literature, one

which Paul takes over and expands within his letters. 20 However, he creatively integrates this OT

hope with his own developing Christology (study of Christ), effectively transforming the “Day of

the Lord (Yahweh)” into the “Day of the Lord Jesus Christ.” The simple phrase “Day of the

Lord” (1 Thess 5:2); the phrase “Day of the Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 5:5); “Day of Christ

Jesus” (Phil 1:6); “the Day” (1 Thess 5:4); and “that Day” (2 Tim 1:12). 21 This creativity stands

as one of the most important contributions within Pauline eschatology. This is a specific instance

where Paul appropriates language that belonged solely to Yahweh and applies it to the risen

Lord’s anticipated eschatological return, Jesus Christ. This language transfer is the result of

Christ’s having “the name” bestowed on him, so that the Day of Yahweh is now the day of the

return of the Lord, Jesus Christ, frequently expressed in terms of his appearing or coming

again.22 Therefore, the parousia of the Lord would be the chief event in the new understanding of
19
B. Varghese, Pauline Thought: An Introduction (Adoor: El-Shalom Publishers, 2008), 103-104.
20
L. J. Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” 208.
21
L. J. Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” 208.

22
Gordon D. Fee, Jesus the Lord according to Paul the Apostle (Michigan: Baker Academic, 2018), 174-
175.

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the day of the Lord, and as in the Old Testament, this parousia would be an event of both

salvation and judgment.23

9.3. The Return of Christ

In Thessalonica, the church is having a major problem that some of their members who

have died before Christ’s return will miss out on the glorious parousia event. The word

“parousia” means coming, arrival, and presence. In Hellenism, it frequently serves to denote the

visit of dignitaries, kings, generals, etc., as well as the coming, the appearance of gods.24 The

term “parousia” has this technical meaning in Paul, the coming (parousia) of Christ (1 Cor

15:23), or of our Lord Jesus (1 Thess 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess 2:1, 8). Paul responds to

their concern. He begins by acknowledging “those who have died” (1 Thess 4:13). 25 The ground

for confidence was that ‘Jesus died and rose again,’ and thus those who belonged to him, even if

they died, would be given life with him (1 Thess 4:14). 26 In the early Christian community, the

exaltation of the risen Christ carried with it an earnest expectation of his return of Christ in glory.

Moreover, One of the most interesting is the Greek transliteration of the Aramaic phrase

Maranatha found (1 Cor 16:22). Some dispute remains about how Maranatha should be divided

and separated and whether it should be understood as an invocation for the Lord to come

(marana tha, “Come, our Lord!”) or as a straightforward declaration that he has already come

(maran atha, “The Lord has come!”). In short, the ejaculation Maranatha is a prayer, uttered

within a liturgical context, that may call for the future parousia of the Lord.27 The early church

23
H. Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline of His Theology (trans. J.R. De Wittt (London: SPCK, 1982), 650.
24
D. E. H. Whiteley, The Theology of St. Paul (Oxford: Blackwell, 1964), 233.
25
L. J. Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” 206.
26
Ernest P. Sanders, Paul: A Very Short, 39.
27
L. J. Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” 209.

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expects that Christ the Lord, who had ascended and thus had assumed the ultimate place of

authority at God’s “right hand,” will return in power and glory.28

9.4. Judgment

Paul develops the doctrine of Judgment clearly in Rom.2, where God will judge all

humans according to their works. To the righteous, he will give eternal life and wicked wrath and

fury (vv.6-10). Since God has performed his redeeming work through Christ, the basis of

judgment will be the gospel (Rom 2:16; 2 Thess 1:18). 29 Paul distinguishes between constantly

the plural, ‘works,’ and ‘work’ in Paul. By ‘works,’ he designates humans’ autonomous action,

by which humans can gain no standing before God (Rom 13:12) and the singular, which

describes the action of the Christian. Therefore Paul exhorts the Philippians that he who has

given a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6). 30 There is

within Paul’s letters a close association between the parousia of the Lord Jesus Christ and the

execution of final judgment. A classic example of this is found in 1 Thessalonians 3:13, where

declaration of the parousia is placed within a judgment context “before God.” In 1 Corinthians

3:12-15, Paul offers an extended passage about the final judgment, using an image of building

materials being tested by the purifying fires of “the Day” (1 Cor 3:13). In Romans 2:16, God is

said to judge the secrets of humankind by Christ Jesus. 31 Paul contrasts between the judgment of

unbelievers and that of believers. Unbelievers will be judged on account of their unbelief and

constant rejection of the gospel and the outcome is eternal doom and punishment, i.e., the

everlasting separation from God. Believers’ judgment is on account of the good works they

28
H Ridderbos, Paul: An Outline, 649-650.
29
S. H. Travis, Christ and the Judgment of God (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987), 120.
30
B. Varghese, Pauline Thought, 105.
31
L. J. Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” 209.

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performed during their lifetime, and the result is the issue of rewards according to the quantity of

their works (1Cor 3:12-15). The claim that we will all “appear before the judgment seat of God

or Christ” (Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10) borrows the image of the public place (bēma) where officials

evaluated cases and made judgments. Christ’s ruling is the judgment of God.32 He prays that the

Philippians may be ‘pure and blameless’ on Christ’s day (Phil 1:10). Paul has already exercised

discipline on one member of the Corinthian community, hoping that he will be saved on the day

of the Lord (1 Cor. 5:1-5).33 By extension, the right of judgment is extended to the Christian

church acting as Christ’s agents. Thus Paul himself feels able to pass judgment on unethical

behavior (1 Cor 5:3-5) and exhorts the church to do the same (1 Cor 5:11-13). He even hints that

the saints will execute eschatological judgment over the world and the angels (1 Cor 6:2-3).34

10. Implication of Pauline Eschatology in Today’s Context

Apostle Paul used eschatological language aimed at edifying the congregations. When the

question of the status of the believers who died at the parousia caused worry among the

Thessalonians because the feared that these people who have died prematurely have somehow

lost the hope of sharing the benefits promised to those who are living, Paul, in his response,

directs their attention to the ministry of “consolation.” 35

Furthermore, he proceeds with a

reminder of the unpredictability and suddenness of the day of the Lord which will come “like a

thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:1-2); he warns them to keep living such lives as is becoming of

“children of light” (1 Thess 5:3-9), and reaffirmation that believers in Christ – alive or asleep

during the Parousia – will not miss the event and they will live together with Christ forevermore

32
Michael J. Gorman, Reading Paul (Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008), 116.
33
Morna D. Hooker, Paul: A Short Introduction (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003), 160-161.
34
Kreitzer, “Eschatology,” 210.
35
S. Sobanaraj, Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology, 369.

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(1 Thess 5:10). So Paul urges believers to “encourage one another” and “build up each other” (1

Thess 4:18; 5:11). Paul also frequently uses eschatological language to sanction certain types of

behavior and this end-time language also helped him promote higher ethical values. The

eschatological language enabled Paul to standardize the conduct of the believers who were prone

to moral lack of discipline. In Galatians 5:21, after a list of vices, he claims that those who do

such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Besides, Paul believed that there would be a

Parousia and judgment of the world (I Thess 1:10; Rom 2:8). The believers, unlike the non-

believers will be saved on that day (Rom 5:10), but for those who have lapsed in their faith there

will be death and judgment (Rom 8:13). So according to Paul, we must be appeared blameless on

the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (Phil 1:10) and “to walk worthy of God who has called you in

his kingdom and to his glory” (I Thess 2:12). Paul finally, emphasizes that the Lord is with us

now. We no longer belong to ourselves (I Cor 6: 19) but our bodies and souls are belong to

Christ (I Cor 3:23). This demonstrates that we are required self-discipline and preservation.

Conclusion

Throughout this paper, it is clear that Paul’s thought is thoroughly conditioned by an

eschatological perspective in which Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection are seen in some way to

inaugurate the long-awaited age to come. We also understand that Paul’s final revelation of the

eschatological age still lies in the future. The final redemption of the believer, the giving way of

the resurrection body, return of Christ and the final judgment are all events that are yet to be

awaited. The present is conditioned by both the past “death and resurrection of Jesus Christ” and

the future “the awaited parousia at the end of time.”

Bibliography

10
Aune, David. “Understanding Jewish and Christian Apocalyptic.” World & World 25.3
(Summer 2005): 233-245.

Bassler, Jouette. Navigating Paul: An Introduction to Key Theological Concepts. Louisville:

Westminster John Knox, 2007.

Bromiley, Geoffrey William, Everett Falconer Harrison, Roland Kenneth Harrison, William

Sanford La Sor, Edgar Wadsworth Smith, Lawrence T. Geraty. The International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.

Bultmann, Rudolf. “History and Eschatology in the NT.” NTS 1 (1954-55): 5-16.

Coogan, Michael D. and Bruce M. Metzger. The Oxford Companion To The Bible. New York:
Oxford University Press, 1994.

Fee, Gordon D. Jesus the Lord according to Paul the Apostle. Michigan: Baker Academic, 2018.

Fee, Gordon D. Paul, the Spirit and the People of God. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2001.

Gorman, Michael J. Reading Paul. Eugene: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.

Hooker, Morna D. Paul: A Short Introduction. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2003.

Jacob, Edmond. Theology of the Old Testament. Translated by Arthur W. Heathcote and Philip J.
Allcock. New York, Harper & Brothers, 1958.

Kreitzer, L. J. “Eschatology.” Pages 204-215 in Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A

Compendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship. Edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne,
Ralph P. Martin and Daniel G. Reid. Downers Grove: IVP, 1993.

11
Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom Popular Expositions on the Kingdom of God.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Ridderbos, H. Paul: An Outline of His Theology. Translated by J.R. De Wittt. London: SPCK,
1982.

Sanders, Ernest P. Paul: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Sobanaraj, S. Diversity in Paul’s Eschatology: Paul’s View on the Parousia and Bodily
Resurrection. Delhi: ISPCK, 2007.

Travis, S. H. Christ and the Judgment of God. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Varghese, B. Pauline Thought: An Introduction. Adoor: El-Shalom Publishers, 2008.

Whiteley, D. E. H. The Theology of St. Paul. Oxford: Blackwell, 1964.

Wright, N. T., George Van Kooten and Oda Wischmeyer, “How Greek was Paul’s Eschatology,
New Testatment Studies 61.2 (April 2015): 239-253.

12