Eschatology

Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics #XIII

by John R. Stephenson

This dogmatic resource is based upon the outline and thought pattern of the Lutheran Confessions. The series is strictly and consciously confessional in its presentation of doctrine and its assessment and analysis of modern theological trends throughout the Christian church.

CONTENTS

General Introduction

Preface

Abbreviations

Part One: Introduction

1. General Apostasy: The Sign of Our Time
2. What Is Eschatology?
3. Realized and Inaugurated Eschatology in Holy Scripture

Part Two: The End of Man the Microcosm

4. Temporal Death
5. The Immortality of the Soul
6. The Intermediate State of Souls

Part Three: The End of the World (Macrocosmic Eschatology)

7. The Signs of Our Lord’s Coming
8. The Parousia and Its Concomitants
9. The Consummation of the Law in the Finally Impenitent: Hell and Eternal Damnation
10. The Consummation of the Gospel in the Heavenly Life of the Blessed

Bibliography

Indexes

From the book

“The signs of the end times listed by our Lord in the ‘little apocalypses’ of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 24, mark 13, Luke 21) have known some measure of fulfillment in every age of Christendom, so that the fathers from the New Testament onwards have confidently looked for the imminent consummation of all things at Christ’s return in glory. While emphasizing the ‘generic’ quality of the pointers to the end, a recent writer in this field observes a marked ‘intensification’ of the signs in our own day. This phenomenon can be discerned most readily in the swelling apostasy within Christendom itself from ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3). We live in the throes of a tragic intra-ecclesial defection from Christ which currently poses a massive threat to the integrity of His church as she subsists in a multiplicity of confessions and denominations.” (p. 3)

“The signs of the end times listed by our Lord in the ‘little apocalypses’ of the synoptic gospels (Matthew 24, mark 13, Luke 21) have known some measure of fulfillment in every age of Christendom, so that the fathers from the New Testament onwards have confidently looked for the imminent consummation of all things at Christ’s return in glory. While emphasizing the ‘generic’ quality of the pointers to the end, a recent writer in this field observes a marked ‘intensification’ of the signs in our own day. This phenomenon can be discerned most readily in the swelling apostasy within Christendom itself from ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3). We live in the throes of a tragic intra-ecclesial defection from Christ which currently poses a massive threat to the integrity of His church as she subsists in a multiplicity of confessions and denominations.” (p. 3)

“Dogmatic discussion of eschatology fitly ends by encouraging and praising the labors of the pastors of the church who are called to refresh the often weary pilgrim people of God . . . The testimony of St. Augustine fifteen and one-half centuries ago comes from the pen of a theologian who was never for a moment disengaged from the rigorous demands of pastoral life. The four activities of the unnumbered company of the saved highlighted in the celebrated closing words of The City of God recapitulate themes central to Biblical eschatology. ‘Stillness’ describes the perfect repose in God of those who in earthly time were justified by grace, for Christ’s sake, through faith. ‘Vision’ denotes the fulfillment of human intellect in its beholding the Truth which is God Himself. ‘Love’ as it wells up from God to saturate His people and flow back to Him satisfies the heart and will of men and women made for personal communion with their Maker and with each other. ‘Praise’ is both the creaturely response to the divine mercy which gladly gives God His due and also the voice of Christ in calling out to the Father. Held before the struggling church of Christ on earth is the sure hope of the endless end of enjoying Almighty God forever. The ancient witness of the fifth-century bishop of Hippo remains unwrinkled to this day, since the mystery of God in Christ is and will remain an ever-fresh fountain of life:

There we shall be still and see; we shall see and we shall love; we shall love and

we shall praise. Behold what will be in the end, without end! For what is our end

but to reach that kingdom which has no end? [City of God, 22.30] (p. 133).

Genres: Theology

176 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

Reviews

[Josef Muench · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephenson is always a delight to read. I just told a friend that whenever someone insults me, I hope they do it in Stephenson’s majestic, poetic style. This is a helpful volume, but it’s too short. A sustained reading of a few key texts would’ve strengthened it a great deal. Stephenson provides such a reading of Romans 11:26, but not much else. There’s a gaping hole in discussion of the “little apocalypses” and their relation to AD 70. Stephenson just says Matthew and Mark don’t make much distinction between AD 70 and the parousia while Luke makes a clear distinction, and leaves it at that. But what if AD 70 IS the parousia? Or what if it’s the cross itself? Would a detailed reading of Matthew 24 & Mark 13 perhaps be helpful? Granted, interest & publications on such questions have grown since the time of this book’s publication, so the author can be forgiven a lack of engagement. But for this reader, such holes make what could’ve been a great book into a good one. This is a helpful starting point, but it’s far from the last word.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stephenson's staunch Lutheranism is a delight, but it's a shame to see such a good theologian descend to foaming at the mouth about Marx in the middle of a theological monograph. He ought to know better; alas that the fanaticism of America penetrates so deeply.