Eschatologia is the Greek word for eschatology, which by definition is the study of last things, whether it concerns the end of human life in the body or the end of the world itself. Yet it also covers the transition from one phase to another, for "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8), and there will be "a new heaven and a new earth" after the old have passed away (Rev. 21:1). Thus, eschatology is about paradise restored and examines future matters.
However, one could also say that the Christian life is an eschatological life. A Christian who has been purified of their passions through ascetic struggle, prayer and the Mysteries of the Church, has made their body into a temple of the Holy Spirit, and when the Grace of the Holy Spirit illumines us, then "the Kingdom of Heaven is within you" (Lk. 17:21), and "the pure in heart ... shall see God" (Matt. 5:8). What will be in the future can become a present reality when a person lives a faithful ecclesiastical life.
Eschatology therefore is about the all around Christian experience. The Christian faithful become "citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven" in this life in order to enter the future Promised Land "flowing with milk and honey" (Ex. 3:17) in the next. In our days this is often ignored and forgotten. This is because we equate the Christian life with merely making a profession of faith and living good moral lives. Then one day, sometime in the future, after we die, we will experience heavenly realities. Such a belief is contrary to the Gospel of Christ, and constitutes an eschatological and soteriological heresy.
Today the subject of eschatology, because it is misunderstood, is often approached because of fear and distress. We live in fearful and distressing times, and the shock of this leads to confusion, so we flee to our beliefs for consolation and answers, but we approach this in worldly ways. Our hope flees, but it becomes a future hope; we are weak now, but in the future we will be victorious. But the eschaton is outside of time, and is as much a part of the past and present as it is of the future. By living a faithful ecclesiastical life, which is the Christian life, we live an eschatological life, and our future depends on how much we appropriate such a life in the present here and now. This is what eschatology is all about.
This weblog will present various studies and texts that deal with eschatology from this Orthodox Christian perspective, and will clarify many false notions as well. I pray the exploration of these topics will serve towards the benefit of all my readers.
John Sanidopoulos
June 25, 2015
Feast of Saint Febronia
