(5) Final destinies. — Here again, no detailed scheme of doctrine is yet put forward. Broadly, it is implied that supreme joy will be the reward of the ' believers,' and that a dreadful fate awaits unbelievers (Ac 3^*). The phrase 'restoration of all things' (Ac 3^') might be taken to imply a ' universalistic ' view of future destinies, or even some idea of 'world-cycles' by which the eras that are past are brought back in course of time ; but a similar phrase is found in Mai 4^ (LXX), and may be no more than a general term for the perfection of the Messianic Kingdom.
5. The extent and importance of the apocalyptic element in the earliest Christian eschatology. — Until recent years, the apocalyptic element in the NT received but scant notice ; but of late a new theory as to the teaching and ' tone' of apostolic Christianity has been put forward (see e.g. Lake, The Earlier Epistles of St. Paul, or Schweitzer, Paul and his Interp^'eters). It is contended that the 'gospel' of primitive Christianity was ex- clusively an eschatological message, foretelling, in terms of current Jewish apocalyptic, the ap- proaching end of this world-era and the beginning of the next. If the interpretation given above be correct, there is a measure of truth in this ' Con- sistent Eschatological ' view of apostolic eschato- logy ; for the new faith did not at once sweep away the old methods of thought, and we should miss the force and full significance of NT eschatology unless we interpreted it in the light of Jewish apocalyptic.
On the other hand, the 'Consistent Eschato- logists' do not appear to give sufficient place to other factors: e.g. (1) tlie 'political' type of Jewish thought, in which the Mjessiah is conceived of as an earthly Monarch, and the Kingdom of God as an extensive Jewish Empire. Some such political ideas were clearly in the minds of tlie apostles at the first (Ac 1*), and they may well have existed in the primitive Church side by side with the purely
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apocalyptic eschatology. And (2) the ' Consistent Escbatologists ' under-rate the importance of the new and distinctively Christian element in the apostolic eschatology. Also (3) a study of the NT shows that, from the very first, moral teaching held a place second to none in the apostolic preach- ing. In view of these facts, it would appear to be an exaggeration to speak of the primitive apostolic 'gospel' as though it were exclusively, or even predominantly, an eschatological message.
6. The relation of the primitive apostolic eschatology to the teaching of our Lord. — It was from the teaching and work of our Lord that the apostolic preaching derived its primary inspiration, and hence it is evident that the apostolic doctrine of the Last Things was intended to be founded upon His. And since recent study of the NT seems to have shown that eschatology held an important place in our Lord's teaching, we may not regard the eschatological ' tone ' of tlie primi- tive apostolic message as an element foreign to the mind of Christ, or one invented by the apostles merely to satisfy their own predilections. It does not follow, however, that the apostolic teaching coincided precisely with that of our Lord. It was only natural that the apostles should tend to emphasize those aspects of His teaching which were most full of meaning to themselves, and to lay but little stress upon whatever appeared to them unfamiliar or incomprehensible. And so the pro- portions of the message undergo some modification : for instance, in the apostolic preaching, the ex- pectation of the Second Coming is set forth more definitely than in the words of the Master Himself.
But in one point the community of spirit between the eschatology of Christ and His followers is most noteworthy : the close link between the eschatology and practical morality. From the first, the call to repentance always accompanies the eschatological message (Ac 2^^, etc. ) ; and the ' repentance ' of the primitive Christians involved a very real change of life. Herein, from the very first, lay a ditl'erence between Jewish and Christian eschatology : the former was often only a comfortable theory, to give encouragement in times of trouble ; the latter was always an inspiring call to a new life of faith and love. This was an essential element of the apos- tolic eschatology, destined to survive when the forms and phrases of Jewish apocalyptic gave way under the trials of the long delay in the Master's Return.
7. The decline of the earliest type of Christian eschatology. — The form of the earliest Christian doctrine of the Last Things, as we have estimated it above, was congenial only to Jewish surround- ings, and it soon began to undergo some modifica- tion. Some of these lines of development may he traced to the influence of Gentile thought, as reflected, e.g., in St. Paul's Epistles ; to the deepen- ing of the spiritual ideas underlying the dramatic eschatology, as we see in the Johannine writings ; and to the rise of the Christian apocalyptic litera- ture, with its close resemblance to Jewish apocalyp- tic. For the present, our consideration of these may best be deferred. But in certain quarters the primitive Judseo-Christian eschatology appears to have been but little modified by external in- fluences ; only it shows a steady decline and a gradual loss of its original vitality and power. The beginnings of this decline may be seen even in the NT writings which we have already been considering, viz. Acts, James, Hebrews, 1 Peter ; its later stages are reflected chiefly in Jude, 2 Peter, the Didache (if the early date be accepted), and some of the Apostolic Fathers. The Johannine and Pauline writings also indirectly throw light upon this subject.