Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament · 2. Reihe Herausgeber / Editor Jörg Frey (Zürich) Mitherausgeber / Associate Editors Friedrich Avemarie (Marburg) Markus Bockmuehl (Oxford) James A. Kelhoffer (Uppsala) Hans-Josef Klauck (Chicago, IL) 315 Eschatology of the New Testament and Some Related Documents Edited by Jan G. van der Watt Mohr Siebeck Jan G. van der Watt, born 1952; Professor of New Testament Studies, Radboud Univer- sity Nijmegen, Netherlands and extraordinary professor at the North-West University, South Africa. e-ISBN PDF 978-3-16-151814-0 ISBN 978-3-16-150973-5 ISSN 0340-9570 (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament, 2. Reihe) Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbiblio- graphie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de. © 2011 by Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, Germany. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form (beyond that permitted by copyright law) without the publisher’s written permission. This applies particularly to reproductions, translations, microfilms and storage and processing in electronic systems. The book was printed by Laupp & Göbel in Nehren on non-aging paper and bound by Buchbinderei Nädele in Nehren. Printed in Germany. Preface In theological circles the meaning of the term ‘eschatology’ (first used in the seventeenth century) seems clear – coined on the Greek word , it refers to a set of doctrinal teachings concerning the ‘last’ or ‘final’ things that will occur ‘at the end’. At a conference on the eschatol- ogy of the New Testament and some related documents, held at the Uni- versity of Pretoria in 2007, it became evident that this is more or less where the consensus ends. Simply agreeing on what should be included or excluded when dealing with the concept of eschatology of the New Testa- ment has proven to be a challenge, leading to intense debates. Efforts in formulating an overarching definition that would include the variety and richness of what eschatology is about, has resulted in a deadlock. That is why the authors of this volume were asked to state their views on escha- tology in their respective articles – by reviewing the diverse set of articles in this volume the multiple dimensions, variety, depth, mystery as well as problematic nature of analyzing New Testament eschatology will become evident. As such this volume offers a bird’s eye view of the intricacies, variety, similarities and possibilities that arise when one addresses the is- sue of eschatology. In the introductory chapter Jörg Frey gives some indication of the mul- tiple hurdles that have to be faced: there are the historical questions of the origin and history of religions framework of New Testament eschatology, the tension between the different eschatologies of the New Testament, their coherence and distinctive character, and the hermeneutical issues of the interpretation and application of the eschatologically related ideas of the New Testament. Especially pertinent is the question of the relationship between the eschatological images of the New Testament and those of the present day, since, in essence, eschatology deals with the relationship be- tween the past, present and future – it is a matter of the present experience of people being interconnected with an expectation about the (eternal) fu- ture in the light of experiences and prophecies from the past. How literally or figuratively should these eschatological images that express such related elements be understood? Each of these areas offer challenges of their own which are addressed in different ways in the articles, although not every article deals with every problematic aspect. It must be noted that the aim and focus of this volume is not to describe the characteristics and nature of the eschatological material of the New Testament systematically, neither to VI Preface treat the question of the application of the resulting material in current day situations, although the necessity of doing that also is acknowledged.1 Eschatology focuses on specific events related to and expected at the ‘end of times’. These are not just ordinary everyday events but presuppose a period(s) or situation(s) in history in which things were(are) not ideal and are experienced as an (existential) crisis. Hope is created (through, for in- stance, prophecy or prediction) that this crisis or even the dispensation (situation) within which the crisis is prevalent, will pass and be replaced (in future) by a new changed period in history that will be ideal. The changed situation will bring a final and lasting end to the crisis and inau- gurate a new situation in which ideal circumstances result which will pre- vail. Different aspects are therefore relevant for this process, namely: time (i.e. periods, the question of when, etc.); action (i.e. judgment, regenera- tion, restoration, the question of how, etc.); and space (i.e. situation, status, place, the question of where, etc.). Central to the eschatology of the New Testament is the coming, pres- ence and future expectations of Jesus Christ. As Messiah, and Son of God, he addressed the crisis of evil and brought the rule and kingdom of God near. He opened up new possibilities of becoming part of this kingdom which inaugurates a new era. Wolter underlines that proclamation and faith are only eschatological events because they proclaim Jesus Christ and be- lief in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the one who acted decisively in history and is expected to return to earth soon. This return will herald the final eschato- logical consummation, starting with the raising of the dead and their trans- formation as well as the final judgment, leading to destruction of every- thing that opposes God. This final future consummation is only part of what could be called eschatology – many eschatological expectations that originated in the First Testament were already fulfilled in the past with the coming of the Messiah, inaugurating the era of the coming of the kingdom. For present day readers many of these eschatological events are past al- ready, although they still determine the present day eschatological situa- tion. One should therefore distinguish between past, present and future eschatological events. Apart from this, different categories of eschatologi- cal events may be distinguished, for instance, universal (cosmic), individ- 1 Although current day issues are undeniably part and parcel of eschatological discus- sions, dealing with the hermeneutical presuppositions for applying the material of ancient documents to situations today, as well as analyzing the different views currently being held would have overburdened this volume. The same applies to the vast amount of mate- rial about eschatology that forms part of the Wirkungsgeschichte of this concept through the ages. Our surveys are limited to the analysis of the texts of the New Testament and some related material, which forms and formed the basis and point of departure for con- sidering eschatology. Preface VII ual, or social eschatological events, involving different aspects of the es- chatological process. From this it is evident that a complicating factor in considering New Testament eschatology is the relationship between expectations (proph- ecy), fulfilment during the New Testament period, prophecies still to be fulfilled (like an idyllic new Jerusalem), as well as new prophecies deliv- ered during that period (such as the return of the Messiah). What took place during and after the New Testament times was not a complete con- summation of what was expected, although the presence of the eschato- logical times was experienced in different ways – some eschatological events were still (and still are) awaiting fulfilment: it is indeed a matter of already-not yet. When considering issues related to eschatology, the focus cannot be restricted to events that lie in the future only (from the position of the current reader), rather situations in the present as well as in the past should be considered as part of the process. Identifying, categorizing, and relating these different eschatological events become important tasks in formulating one’s eschatological perspectives. The order of the articles in this volume follows the canonical sequence. Other ways of ordering were possible (i.e. Johannine, Lukan, Pauline ma- terial could have been ordered together), but by following the canonical order we hope to give the necessary emphasis to the individual documents as unique writings. For this reason we also asked different authors to deal with, for instance, the Johannine, Pauline or Lukan material. Following the Pauline articles, Wolter gives an overview of the Pauline discussions, since the multiple Pauline letters do offer some cohesion. Some articles on mate- rial related to the eschatology of the New Testament are also added. We were interested in how the eschatological ideas of the New Testament were received in documents immediately following them (like Gnostic docu- ments or the writings of the Church Fathers) or documents that overlapped in time (like the Didache). Obviously not all the relevant documents could be treated and a selection had to be made. Since the relevant documents are so numerous overview articles on the eschatology of the Church Fathers and Gnostics have to suffice, with the exception of 2 Clement. This gives some impression of the earlier reception of the eschatological ideas of the New Testament. I would like to thank Petrus Maritz for his editorial