Eschatology
Eschatology is theological reflection on the ultimate destiny of humanity and the cosmos, divine judgment, and the fulfillment or end of history.
Death: The irreversible cessation of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Eschatology asks what death means for human destiny and what, if anything, follows it.
Amillennialism: A Christian interpretation that treats the millennium of Revelation as a present or symbolic reality rather than a future earthly era. It contrasts with readings that expect a distinct future thousand-year reign before the final judgment.
Christian eschatology: Christian teaching and interpretation concerning Christ’s return, resurrection, judgment, and the consummation of creation. It develops eschatological themes around the return of Christ and the renewal of creation.
Book of Daniel: A biblical book containing court tales and visions of persecution, divine sovereignty, and the end of an age. Its visions helped establish imagery of resurrection and divine rule over oppressive kingdoms.
Millenarianism: Belief in an imminent, transformative age of collective salvation, often associated with a thousand-year reign. Expectations of a coming age have repeatedly inspired communities to prepare for radical change.
Resurrection: The return of the dead to life through divine action in religious traditions. Many eschatologies place resurrection at the center of hope beyond death.
Premillennialism: A Christian view that Christ returns before a future millennial reign on earth. Its sequence of return, reign, and judgment offers one specific chronology of the end.
Jewish eschatology: Jewish beliefs and debates about future redemption, resurrection, divine judgment, and the world to come. It shows how hopes for redemption and the world to come developed within Jewish traditions.
Book of Revelation: The New Testament’s final book, presenting visions of conflict, judgment, and a new heaven and earth. It became a major source for Christian images of final conflict and cosmic renewal.
Apocalypticism: A worldview that interprets history as a struggle approaching a decisive divine or cosmic transformation. It turns present crises into signs of an approaching end or renewal.