Jerry L. Walls - The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology

THE OXFORD HANDBOOK OF
ESCHATOLOGY

Edited by

JERRY L. WALLS

Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further
Oxford Universitys objective of excellence
in research, scholarship, and education.

Oxford New York
Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi
Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi
New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto

With offices in
Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece
Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore
South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam

Copyright 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc.

Published by Oxford University Press, Inc.
198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016

www.oup.com

Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior permission of Oxford University Press.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Walls, Jerry L.
The Oxford handbook of eschatology / Jerry L. Walls.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-517049-8
1. Eschatology. I. Title.
BT821.3.W36 2007
236dc22 2006032576

1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper

To My Parents

Leroy Walls
(July 25, 1908March 1, 1995)

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Fathers house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that
where I am, there ye may be also.
John 14: 13, KJV

Ruth A. Walls
(July 4, 1914June 14, 1981)

Beulah Land Im longing for you,
And someday on thee Ill stand.
There my home shall be eternal
Beulah Land sweet Beulah Land.

I wish to thank several people for invaluable assistance in producing this volume, beginning with the long list of outstanding scholars who signed on to write for it and followed through with the excellent essays below. Much of my own work on the volume was done during a sabbatical granted by Asbury Seminary. I am grateful to William Abraham and Craig Hill for sage advice and suggestions at the inception of the project. The editors at Oxford University Press were characteristically supportive and helpful in all phases of its production. Thanks in this regard to Cynthia Read, Daniel Gonzalez, Stacey Hamilton, and especially Theo Calderara. Elizabeth Victoria Glass participated in numerous discussions on eschatological topics over the course of preparing this volume and also read and offered insightful comments on my chapter and introduction. Morgan A. Mercer provided perceptive observations on cover art. Sandy Martens was cheerful and proficient in preparing the manuscript for final submission. And, of course, I must mention my children, Angela Rose and Jonathan Levi, who always have a hand in my books if for no other reason than because they bring joy to my life in a way that portends the eschaton.

Introduction,
Jerry L. Walls

Old Testament Eschatology and the Rise of Apocalypticism,
Bill T. Arnold

Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Ancient World,
John J. Collins

The Eschatology of the New Testament Church,
Christopher Rowland

Eschatology and the Quest for the Historical Jesus,
Benedict T. Viviano

Eschatology in the Early Church Fathers,
Brian Daley

Jewish Eschatology,
David Novak

Muslim Eschatology,
William C. Chittick

Buddhist Eschatology,
Jan Nattier

Hindu Eschatology,
David M. Knipe

The End Is Nigh: Failed Prophecy, Apocalypticism, and the Rationalization of Violence in New Religious Eschatologies,
Christopher Partridge

Roman Catholic Theology,
Peter C. Phan

Eastern Orthodox Eschatology,
Andrew Louth

Protestant Theology,
Gerhard Sauter

Fundamentalist Theology,
Robert G. Clouse

Pentecostal and Charismatic Theology,
Frank D. Macchia

Process Eschatology,
David Ray Griffin

Liberation Theology: A Latitudinal Perspective,
Vtor Westhelle

Eschatology in Christian Feminist Theologies,
Rosemary Radford Ruether

Church, Ecumenism, and Eschatology,
Douglas Farrow

Millennialism,
Timothy P. Weber

Eschatology and Resurrection,
Stephen T. Davis

Heaven,
Jerry L. Walls

Hell,
Jonathan L. Kvanvig

Purgatory,
Paul J. Griffiths

Universalism,
Thomas Talbott

Annihilationism,
Clark H. Pinnock

Death, Final Judgment, and the Meaning of Life,
David Bentley Hart

Modernity, History, and Eschatology,
Wolfhart Pannenberg

Eschatology and Politics,
Stephen H. Webb

Eschatology and Theodicy,
Michael L. Peterson

Human Nature, Personal Identity, and Eschatology,
Charles Taliaferro

Ethics and Eschatology,
Max L. Stackhouse

Cosmology and Eschatology,
Robert Russell

Eschatology and Epistemology,
William J. Abraham

Time, Eternity, and Eschatology,
William Lane Craig

Near-Death Experiences,
Carol Zaleski

Eschatology in Fine Art,
Heidi J. Hornik

Eschatology in Pop Culture,
Robert Jewett and John Shelton Lawrence

Conclusion: Emerging Issues in Eschatology in the Twenty-First Century,
Richard Bauckham

William J. Abraham is the Albert Cook Outler Professor of Wesley Studies and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas.

Bill T. Arnold is vice president of academic affairs and professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Asbury Theological Seminary. Arnold has authored or edited eight books, including most recently Dictionary of the Old Testament: Historical Books (co-edited with H. G. M. Williamson; 2005) and Who Were the Babylonians? (2004). He is also co-editor for the New Cambridge Bible Commentary Series and is at work on the Genesis volume for that series.

Richard Bauckham is professor of New Testament Studies and Bishop Wardlaw Professor in the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His books include The Theology of the Book of Revelation (1993), The Climax of Prophecy: Studies in the Book of Revelation (1993), The Theology of Jrgen Moltmann (1995), and (with Trevor Hart) Hope against Hope: Christian Eschatology at the Turn of the Millennium (1999).

William C. Chittick is professor of religious studies in the Department of Asian and Asian-American Studies at Stony Brook University. He has published twenty-five books on Islamic intellectual history, including