The Pauline eschatology has elements which are,
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ESCHATOLOGY
ESCHATOLOGY
in some sense, peculiar to itself. Among tliese are the doctrines of the Kapture of the SaLats (1 Th 4") and the Man of Sin (2 Th 2»-'»). Of these the former has a certain affinity with one of the apocalyptic visions (Rev 11"- ^'), as well as with Christ's word regarding the 'gathering of the elect ' (Mt 24*^), and the narratives of the ascension, especially those by Luke (Mk 16'», Lk 24", Ac P'"). The latter takes its form from Daniel's predic- tions (9" 11™- " 12"), and is in affinity with Clirist's eschatological discourse (Mt 24^), and John's de- claration on Antichrist (1 Jn 2'*).
There are also things in the Pauline escha- tology on the interpretation and relations of which opinion has been divided. It is thought by some to depart from the general view of the NT, and to join the Apocalypse (20''"') in teaching the inter- vention of a millf.nnial period between two distinct resurrections. But this idea, which is otherwise alien to St. Paul's writings, turns upon the particular interpretation of a single passage (1 Co 15-^""), in which the immediate question is not one of succes- sion or chronological order, and in which nothing is said of any other resurrection than that of those who are Christ's. The Pauline Epistles have also been supposed to contain a definite doctrine of the intermediate state, with activities of grace in it. The doctrine of a, purgatory, or some provision for the purgation of souls in the other world, has been ascribed to the great paragraph in 1 Co 3'-'", in which, however, the 'day 'in question is that of the judgment, and the action referred to is that of testing, not purifying. The doctrine of a middle state, with a descent of Christ implying the exten- sion of grace and opportunity, is supposed to be contained, in particular, in certain passages of the greater Epistles. One of these is the section in Romans (lO*"'") in which use is made of Ut .W'''. But the main idea there is the aecessibility of the Divine commandment, the nearness and attainn- bility of the righteousness of God, and the words say nothing of a Hades-ministry of Christ, nothing of the world of the dead, beyond the fact that Christ entered it and was raised from it. Another is the paragraph in Ephesians (4'-'") in which the subject of gifts is dealt with, and the 68th Psalm is introduced in that connexion. It speaks of a descent of Christ, by which some understand the descent from heaven in the incarnation, and others the descent from earth to Hades. But even on the latter interpretation the paragraph says no- thing of any worlc of Christ, or any possibilities for the dead in Hades. Of greater interest is the question whether the Pauline eschatology contains the doctrine of a universal restoration. The answer turns mainly on certain passages of large suggestion in the Epistles of the Captivity, together with one or two in the earlier Epistles. The com- parison between Adam and Christ in 1 Co 15'-* is cited in this interest. The universality expressed there, however, does not mean that all shall in the end be made certain of blessedness. The point is either, as some take it, that all who are Christ's shall be raised (the 'all' being limited by the nature of the ca.se) ; or, as others think, that, as in Adam all are made subject to physical death, so in Christ ail shall be raised out of it. The state- ment in the same chapter (1 Co 15""^) on the subduing of all things, and the consummation in wliich God shall be ' all in all,' is also supiioscd to imrily PauTa hope of a final restoration of all. But tlie subjects to be subdued are not sinful men, but 'all rule and all authority and power' — all powers opposed to God ; and the end expressed by the ' all in all ' is a condition of things in which the world in all its parts will answer to God's will, or in which the wall of God will be recognized as the sole authority. The declaration of the uni-
versal adoration that is to be paid to the exalted Christ (Ph 2'"- ") is also cited as a distinct witness to the same ; in which, however, there is probably nothing beyond the broad statement of a homage wide as universal nature, or an acknowledgment of sovereignty made by three great classes of liWno beings. The passages which are most definite and most relevant are the one in Ephesians (!"• '") which speaks of a ' summing up ' of all things in Christ, and the one in Colossians (l-'^) which speaks of a ' reconcUiation ' of all things. In these the terms are large enough to include all created things, and go beyond the case of universal man, or even the whole animate creation. They are passages which express the cosmic effects of Christ's work, and appear best interpreted as declarations of the Divine purpose to bring back all things to their pristine condition of harmony, through Christ as the centre of unity and bond of reconciliation.
The Pauline eschatology has its point of cul- mination in its doctrine of the resurrection. That doctrine is a consistent as well as a lofty one. It does not limit itself to a resurrection of the just, but has its place also for that of the unjust. Neither does it regard the resurrection of the just and that of the unjust as two successive acts, separated by a millennial period, the passage (1 Co 15^0-28) chiefly relied on for that being insufficient to sustain it. Nor does it seem to preilicate the provision of an interim body, as some have argued on the basis of a single paragraph (2 Co 5'"*), for the existence between death and the resurrec- tion. Nor, again, does it entangle itself with curious questions regarding the how of the resurrec- tion, the nature of the risen body, or the conditions of the future life, but contents itself with the simplest analogies dra\vn from nature and from Christ's own case. It consistently affirms for man a real and complete continuance of being, not an incorporeal immortality like that to which Greek thought looked, but a bodily immortality, a per- manence of life in the integrity of man's entire nature. It connects its doctrine of the resurrec- tion with other cardinal Pauline doctrines — the in- dwelling of the Spirit, the inward presence of Christ, the mystical union. It links it further with the doctrine of a renovated earth and a ransomed creation (Ro 8""").