Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last (ἔσχατος, last) and study (λογία, lit. discourse), is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world. Broadly speaking, Christian eschatology is the study of the destiny of humankind as it is revealed by the Bible, which is the primary source for all Christian eschatology studies.
The major issues and events in Christian eschatology are death and the afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the Second Coming of Jesus, the Resurrection of the Dead, the Rapture, the Tribulation, Millennialism, the end of the world, the Last Judgment, and the New Heaven and New Earth of the World to Come. Eschatological passages are found in many places in the Bible, both in the Old and the New Testaments. There are also many extrabiblical examples of eschatological prophecy, as well as church traditions.
Read more about Christian Eschatology: History, Approaches To Prophetic Interpretation, Rapture, The Millennium, Major Theological Positions, Interpretive and Hermeneutical Overviews of The Bible, Preterism V. Historicism, Historicism V. Futurism
Famous quotes containing the word christian:
“What is clear is that Christianity directed increased attention to childhood. For the first time in history it seemed important to decide what the moral status of children was. In the midst of this sometimes excessive concern, a new sympathy for children was promoted. Sometimes this meant criticizing adults. . . . So far as parents were put on the defensive in this way, the beginning of the Christian era marks a revolution in the child’s status.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)