Abstract
M.Litt. et Phil.
The focus on this script is based on the comparison between the Johannine and Pauline
eschatology. Eschatology is the field of interest of many scholars and theologians. Both
the Old and the New Testament, examine eschatology as the hope of the Messiah's coming
and the end of the Age.
Eschatology is the teaching or doctrine of the last things, the Second coining of Our Lord
Jesus Christ. John and Paul use different words, with the same meaning, to describe the
Second coming of the Messiah. They approach the subject matter under the following
headings: Parousia, resurrection, judgment and eternal life. In order to define John and
Paul's meaning of eschatology, the following passages are important: John 5:19-29; I and
II Thessalonians and I Corinthians 15.
When we read the entire fourth gospel, the strong emphasis is upon the presence of
salvation in the believers life. Paul, for instance, speaks of salvation as both a present
experience and future hope. This is clearest in Paul's declaration in Romans 8:24 "for in
hope we are saved". The central message in both Johannine and Pauline gospels is Jesus
Himself is life, He offers life to men in the present.
The aim of this script, is to bring this important aspect of the eschatology of John and
Paul to the fore. This script also highlights the importance of eschatology as the
foundation of the Christian faith (Creed). Jesus Christ will come again to judge the living
and the dead. Christians look forward with hope to the resurrection of the dead and the
life in the world to come.
We shall realise in this script that salvation, eternal life, resurrection and judgment are a
realized or present reality. The reason why this study has been undertaken is to look at
the presentation of eschatology as present and future, in John and Paul letters.