Inaugurated eschatology is the belief in Christian theology that the

end times Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or of the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic and non-Abrahamic), which teach that nega ...

were inaugurated in the

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

and

resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

, and thus there are both "already" and "not yet" aspects to the Kingdom of God.

George Eldon Ladd George Eldon Ladd (July 31, 1911 – October 5, 1982) was a Baptist minister and professor of New Testament exegesis and theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California, known in Christian eschatology for his promotion of inaugura ...

suggests that the Kingdom of God is "not only an eschatological gift belonging to the

Age to Come The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or par ...

; it is also a gift to be received in the old aeon."

, ''A Theology of the New Testament'' (1993)
page 70
This approach was first developed by Geerhardus Vos, especially in his 1930 work, ''The Pauline Eschatology''. Later,

Oscar Cullmann Oscar Cullmann (25 February 1902, Strasbourg – 16 January 1999, Chamonix) was a French Lutheran theologian. He is best known for his work in the ecumenical movement and was partly responsible for the establishment of dialogue between the Luther ...

sought to combine the "thorough-going eschatology" of

Albert Schweitzer Ludwig Philipp Albert Schweitzer (; 14 January 1875 – 4 September 1965) was an Alsatian-German/French polymath. He was a theologian, organist, musicologist, writer, humanitarian, philosopher, and physician. A Lutheran minister, Schweit ...

with the "

realized eschatology Realized eschatology is a Christian eschatological theory popularized by J.A.T. Robinson, Joachim Jeremias, Ethelbert Stauffer (1902- 1979), and C. H. Dodd (1884–1973) that holds that the eschatological passages in the New Testament do not refe ...

" of

C. H. Dodd Charles Harold Dodd (1884–1973) was a Welsh New Testament scholar and influential Protestant theologian. He is known for promoting "realized eschatology", the belief that Jesus' references to the kingdom of God meant a present reality rathe ...

. Cullmann suggested the analogy of

D Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

and V Day to illustrate the relationship between Jesus' death and resurrection on the one hand, and his

Second Coming The Second Coming (sometimes called the Second Advent or the Parousia) is a Christian (as well as Islamic and Baha'i) belief that Jesus will return again after his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The idea is based on messian ...

on the other. Inaugurated eschatology was popularized by

, especially among American evangelicals. Stephen Um notes that as evangelicals "began to explore the meaning of inaugurated eschatology for evangelical theology, they were almost always either explicitly or implicitly in conversation with Ladd's work." D. A. Carson sees

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

5:24 ("whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life",

NIV Niv may refer to: * Niv, a personal name; for people with the name, see * Niv Art Movies, a film production company of India * Niv Art Centre, in New Delhi, India NIV may refer to: * The New International Version, a translation of the Bible into ...

) as giving the "strongest affirmation of inaugurated eschatology in the

Fourth Gospel The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...

": it is not necessary for the believer to "wait until the last day to experience something of resurrection life." D. A. Carson, ''The Gospel According to John'' (Apollos, 1991), p. 256. Some view Inaugurated Eschatology as a Kingdom theology that goes against a literal reading of Kingdom passages in the New Testament. They point to passages such as Acts 1:6 where the Apostles are seen awaiting the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel immediately prior to the ascension of Jesus as demonstrating that the Kingdom has not been established in any way.

George N. H. Peters George N. H. Peters (November 30, 1825 – October 7, 1909) was an American Lutheran minister and author of ''The Theocratic Kingdom''. His premillennial views were in conflict with the majority of Lutherans who held amillennial beliefs. ...

writes extensively on the future-Kingdom approach in his three-volume classic, "The Theocratic Kingdom." Alternatively, this could be interpreted as the Apostles awaiting for the earthly establishment of Jesus's kingdom in its full glory.

References

{{reflist

External links

Is the Kingdom Present or Future?
by John Piper Christian terminology Christian eschatology

See also

References

External links