DESCRIPTION
A complete introduction to the Christian view of the future.
What does the Bible say about the future, about death, about human destiny and heaven and hell? This volume presents a clear and comprehensive introduction to the Christian hope for the future that is particularly relevant to today's world.
Hans Schwarz guides readers through the range of opinions on this fascinating subject, showing how our understanding of eschatology has developed and laying out the factors that must be considered when speaking meaningfully about the Christian hope here in the twenty-first century. He surveys the teachings about the future in both the Old and New Testaments, discusses the views of Christian and secular thinkers throughout history--including the challenges posed by science, philosophy, and New Age beliefs--and explores the major themes of eschatology, including death, immortality, and resurrection.
REVIEWS
Richard Bauckham
"With the decline of the idea of progress and with growing threats to the survival of human civilization and all life on earth, Christians urgently need to retrieve the eschatological hope of the new creation. Hans Schwarz here shows how hope can adequately be grounded only in the Creator and Redeemer of all things and how ultimate hope inspires us to live hopefully now, succumbing neither to resigned pessimism nor to dangerously unrealistic utopianism. Schwarz's dialogue with scientific and secular views of the future is an especially valuable aspect of his comprehensive treatment of eschatology."
Ted Peters
"In this bread-and-butter survey of the entire field of eschatology, Hans Schwarz makes a solid case for 'proleptic anticipation' as the most convincing perspective. He constructs his case on a foundation of Scripture and the history of thought, and he argues his case before advocates of contending views. Everywhere illuminating!"
Kurt Anders Richardson
"Hans Schwarz is one of the finest evangelical theological educators in Germany today, as this outstanding volume on eschatology aptly demonstrates. The book's comprehensiveness, readability, and intelligently shaped conviction are very impressive. Dealing with a wide range of 'eschatological' perspectives in both Christian and secular thought, Schwarz eminently expounds the Christian doctrine of the last things."
Religious Studies Review
"Schwarz's survey of the entire field of eschatology is a valuable resource that will no doubt become a standard work on the topic in seminaries."
The Expository Times
"Comprehensive and accessible."
Currents in Theology & Mission
"This insightful volume joins Hans Schwarz's many other surveys of classical theological loci. Here Schwarz offers a study of eschatology that is thorough and rich, knowledgeable of the contemporary scene without capitulating to it, and sensitive to the subtleties of every issue he presents. . . .This book is a welcome addition as a text for seminary students, graduate students, and parish pastors."