Abstract

Abstract:

The doctrine of eschatology or the "last things" (De novissimis) deals with death, the end of the world and its history, the final judgment, and the hope for eternal life and the new world. In Lutheran Orthodoxy, Johann Gerhard refers to the medieval doctrine of the four last things (quattuor novissima): death, judgment, hell, and eternal life. He also added the resurrection of the dead as a prerequisite of the final judgment, as well as the topic of the annihilation of the world (consummatio mundi) as the cosmic counterpart to the individual death of each person. While traditionally the focus of eschatology was on the eschata (the last things), twentiethcentury theology shifted the focus to the eschaton, making it a singular object of inquiry, probably because in the wake of post-Enlightenment rationalism there was skepticism as to whether topics belonging to the supra-mundane sphere could be anything other than matters of speculation. However, there has never been agreement as to what the eschaton includes and therefore what should be included in the locus on eschatology. But there is broad agreement that if it is to faithful to the scriptures, it should include individual eschatology as well as corporate and cosmic eschatology. At the end of the day, there may be many last things but there is only one "last" person, who can only be the last person because he is also the "first." The important thing is not so much what is coming but who is coming. This Christocentric emphasis in eschatology is vital, especially for a Lutheran approach to the last things, as it reminds us that the last things are to be considered in the light of the Last One (Rev. 1:8; 22:13).

pdf

Share