Universal Eschatology in Paul's Epistles

Eschatology is a branch of theology that studies the Last Things of human’s future destiny, both individually and universally. In the individual level, eschatology discusses the life after death, heaven and hell. In the universal level, it focuses on God’s Kingdom to come and the total change and improvement of present historical circumstances. Thus, Christian eschatology is concerned with the goal of creation, that is to say, fulfillment and salvation in the individual and collective levels. The eschatology based on the New Testament is largely a futuristic eschatology. Some of the methods of studying eschatology in the New Testament are as follows: Jesus’s eschatology, John’s eschatology, Paul’s eschatology. The main part of Paul’s eschatology can be considered as the explanation of the Messiahship of Jesus. It is believed that Jesus Christ’s life and priesthood have been during his first coming, and God’s Kingdom will be realized during his second coming. In Paul’s universal eschatology, the second coming of Christ is the starting-point of some deep and astonishing developments in both the human and natural worlds. The author in this paper is going to investigate the components of Paul’s universal eschatology; so, having divided Paul’s epistles into four groups, it examines them in detail.