Eschatological reference of the cardinal concepts of St. Paul's theology

Abstract

The basic premise upon which the theology of the New Testament is built is the faith that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah sent from God in whom the promised eschaton was definitively inaugurated in history and who was yet to return to bring the eschaton to completion in the kingdom that lies beyond history. The religious thought of the apostle Paul is dominated by this conviction. Thus eschatology is not sirnply one among the several of his key theological positions, but it is a fundamental conception that exercises a formative influence upon his whole view of God, of man, and of the universe. The purpose of this thesis is to make a study of the Pauline epistles to determine afresh the essential nature of the apostle's conception of 'last things' and to view his cardinal theological concepts in relation to his e3chatological teaching.