Eschatology and World Christianity

This essay explores the developments of eschatology in world Christianity to show how Christian thought and practice have interacted with various contexts to produce unique understandings of time and history. While a number of geographical contexts will be discussed, this essay argues that there are shared theological themes which transcend geography due to the important role temporality offers to such discussions, in terms of the future, the present, and the past. Such developments have involved the reinterpretation of preexisting traditional and modern idioms, and the engagement with various contextual factors. Moreover, this shows how eschatology should be understood as having a strong corporate dimension. As such, this essay suggests that eschatology must be understood as a Christian doctrine about the communion of saints, who were, who are, and who are to come.