New Testament eschatology

The original Korean text: https://blog.naver.com/stevision/50025358086

 

Writers of the New Testament interpreted the Old Testament, which was written in the political context of the Old Testament era in the past, in relation to Jesus. Likewise, the New Testament itself also was recorded in the political, social, and philosophical contexts of the time. Therefore, as the New Testament did to the Old Testament, so we must interpret the New Testament in the context of religion and faith that is meaningful to us today. Only then will we obtain truths from the New Testament that can be applied to us today. The core of the New Testament eschatology is the second coming of Jesus, the final judgment, and the creation of new heaven and earth, which are an eschaton (the end) that is meaningful to us as an unfulfilled end.

 

* Jesus' eschatology

The time of the end (the eschaton) that Jesus mentioned was after the fall of Jerusalem (70 A.D.) and when the gospel had been preached to the ends of the world. But he said that no one but the Father knew the exact time of his second coming. The fall of Jerusalem took place. After that Israel was completely destroyed, and Jews were scattered all over the world. Only after World War II could they return to Palestine and become an independent nation. However, it could be said from the verse of the Scripture, Mk 13:30, that the second coming of Jesus would be right after the fall of Jerusalem. That's why some say that the heaven was already established on earth in AD 70, so there will be no second coming of Jesus. But this is an extremely narrow argument. In the book of Revelation, there are verses that say of the last judgment, the vanishment of this world, and the new heaven and earth coming upon the believers. These predictions have not yet been fulfilled. Therefore Christian theology believes that the heaven began with the first coming of Jesus indeed, but is yet to be completed. The completion is accomplished with the second coming of Jesus, the last judgment, and the coming of the new heaven and earth. There are still many New Testament prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Therefore Jesus' saying, "This generation will not pass away before all these things (including the second coming) take place (Mk 13:30)," should be reinterpreted as follows, "These all will take place by the time of the last generation."

One thing worth noting is that Jesus said he (Son of man) would come again after the fall of Jerusalem. At that time, people believed that the Son of man would come and politically liberate Israel and restore their nation. Jesus completely rejected the political messianism Israelites had, when he said the Son of man would come when the temple of God had been destructed. Of course, we interpret that the Son of man Jesus spoke of is Jesus himself. On the other hand, if we consider that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to believers after the Ascension, we can say that his saying that he would come again after the fall of Jerusalem has already been spiritually fulfilled; because he has come again to the saints through the Holy Spirit. Hereby a spiritual Israel has been born (restored) in the church. But the actual Second Coming for the Last Judgment has not yet been accomplished.

 

* Paul's eschatology

Believers began to be skeptical about the second coming of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead when the promised second coming after the Ascension was delayed and believers passed away one after another. So Paul told of Jesus' second coming and Believers' resurrection. Paul's eschatology compares the day of Jesus' second coming to that of a breaking in of a thief, by which he warns the saints to stay awake and emphasizes the physical resurrection after death.

 

* The eschatology of the book of 2 Peter

The eschaton and the second coming in the 3rd chapter of 2 Peter focuses on the judgment of the world. As the sinners were punished by water during the Noah's flood in the past, so Jesus' second coming will happen right after the elements (such as earth, water, air, fire, that is, the components of the universe in the past philosophy) are dissolved with fire. This means that the sinful world will be destroyed by fire. By the way, this eschatology appears to have accepted the eternal world cycle of 'fire -> world -> fire -> ...' of Stoic philosophy in Christian way. Contrary to Stoic philosophy, according to 2 Peter, the world does not spontaneously reappear from what is after the world has been melted by fire, but, as the world melts due to God's judgment, the second coming of Jesus begins.

 

* The eschatology of the Revelation

The book introduces Jesus as Son of man that appears in the apocalyptic writings. Jesus, the Lamb that suffered, gradually destroys the kingdom of Satan on earth completely. After Jesus has finally judged all humans, the world existing now will suddenly disappear and the new heaven and earth will come upon the saints, and the saints who are saved by the blood of the Lamb will live happily with God there forever.

 

Like this, the New Testament has some kinds of eschatology in political, religious, philosophical, and apocalyptic contexts. These can hardly be put together into a unified eschatology, because, from the beginning, various interests of the various writers entered the New Testament eschatology. However, we must interpret these writings of new Testament eschatology in a way that is beneficial to our faith and meaningful to the present age, by making use of their original meanings and the purposes of the introduction. 'Beneficial' refers to a direction that promotes the benefit of the church and the cultivation of believers' religious character.