Christian Eschatology

Woman clothed with the Sun or Woman of the Apocalypse - main metaphore in the Book of Revelation - painting by Ferenc Szoldatits.

Woman Of The Apocalypse

Woman Of The Apocalypse The Woman of the Apocalypse (or woman clothed with the sun, γυνὴ περιβεβλημένη τὸν ἥλιον, gynē peribeblēmenē ton hēlion; Mulier amicta sole) is a figure described in Chapter 12 of the Book of Revelation (written c. AD 95). The woman gives birth to a male child who is threatened by a dragon, identified as the Devil and Satan,...

Two Witnesses

Two Witnesses

Two Witnesses In the Book of Revelation, the two witnesses (δύο μαρτύρων, duo martyron) are two prophets who are mentioned in Revelation 11:1-14. Christian eschatology interpret this as two people, two groups of people, or two concepts. The two witnesses are never identified in the Christian Bible. Some believe they are Enoch and Elijah, as in the Gospel of Nicodemus,...

Satan (the dragon; on the left) gives to the beast of the sea (on the right) power represented by a sceptre in a detail of panel III.40 of the medieval French Apocalypse Tapestry, produced between 1377 and 1382.

The Beast

The Beast (Revelation) The Beast (Θηρίον, Thērion) may refer to one of two beasts described in the Book of Revelation. The first beast comes “out of the sea” and is given authority and power by the dragon. This first beast is initially mentioned in Revelation 11:7 as coming out of the abyss. His appearance is...

Seven Trumpets

Seven Trumpets

Seven Trumpets In the Book of Revelation, seven trumpets are sounded, one at a time, to cue apocalyptic events seen by John of Patmos (Revelation 1:9) in his vision (Revelation 1:1). The seven trumpets are sounded by seven angels and the events that follow are described in detail from Revelation Chapters 8 to 11. According to Revelation 8:1–2 the angels sound these...

Jesus' ascension to heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley, 1775

Predictions And Claims For The Second Coming

Predictions And Claims For The Second Coming This article lists the predictions and claims for the Second Coming of Jesus. The Second Coming is a Christian concept regarding the return of Jesus to Earth after his first coming and his ascension to heaven about two thousand years ago. The belief is based on messianic prophecies found in the canonical gospels and is part of most Christian eschatologies. Views about...

The Sermon on the Mount. Carl Bloch, 1890

Unfulfilled Christian Religious Predictions

Unfulfilled Christian Religious Predictions This article lists unfulfilled Christian religious predictions that failed to come about in the specified time frame, listed by religious groups. Adventism and Millerism Adventism has its roots in the teachings of Baptist preacher by the name of William Miller. He first predicted the Second Advent of...

A new heaven and new earth[ Rev 21:1], Mortier's Bible, Phillip Medhurst Collection

Christian Eschatology

Christian Eschatology Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology dealing with the “last things.” Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning “last” (ἔσχατος) and “study” (-λογία), is the study of ‘end things’, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, the end of...

A scene showing Christ Pantocrator from a Roman mosaic in the church of Santa Pudenziana in Rome, c. 410 AD

Christianity In The ante-Nicene Period

Christianity In The ante-Nicene Period Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the time in Christian history up to the First Council of Nicaea. This article covers the period following the Apostolic Age of the first century, c.100 AD, to Nicaea in 325 AD. The second and third centuries saw a sharp divorce of Christianity from its early...

Heaven and Hell, war

Particular Judgment

Particular Judgment Particular judgment, according to Christian eschatology, is the divine judgment that a departed person undergoes immediately after death, in contradistinction to the general judgment (or Last Judgment) of all people at the end of the world. Old Testament, apocrypha, and pseudepigrapha There are few, if any, Old Testament or apocryphal writings that could be construed as implying...

In illustrations of the Book of Genesis, Pomors often[quantify] depicted sirins as birds sitting in paradise trees. 1710

Christian Mythology

Christian Mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and stories, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending to a mountain, the axis mundi, myths of combat, descent into the Underworld,...

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Victor Vasnetsov. The Lamb of God is visible at the top.

Messianic Age

Messianic Age In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the Messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consummate “kingdom of God” or the...

church, sky Christianity

Second Death

What Is Second Death? The second death is an eschatological concept in Judaism and Christianity, related to punishment after the first, natural death. Judaism Main article: Jewish eschatology Although the term is not found in the Hebrew Bible, Sysling, in his study (1996) of Teḥiyyat ha-metim (“resurrection of the dead”) in the Palestinian Targums,...

Lilly

Afterlife In Christianity

Afterlife In Christianity This article covers Afterlife in Christianity. Mainstream Christianity professes belief in the Nicene Creed, and English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use include the phrase: “We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come”. Christian eschatology is concerned...

Resurrection of the dead

World To Come

World To Come The world to come, age to come, and heaven on Earth are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or paradise. The concept is related to but...

War Destruction Despair Fear Helplessness Kummer

Great Tribulation

Great Tribulation In Christian eschatology, the Great Tribulation (θλίψις μεγάλη, thlipsis megalē) is a period mentioned by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse as a sign that would occur in the time of the end. At Revelation 7:14, “the Great Tribulation” (τῆς θλίψεως τῆς μεγάλης, literally, “the tribulation, the great one”) is used to indicate the...

Bridge

Intermediate State

Intermediate State In some forms of Christian eschatology, the intermediate state or interim state is a person’s “intermediate” existence between one’s death and the universal resurrection. In addition, there are beliefs in a particular judgment right after death and a general judgement or last judgment after the resurrection. Christians looked for an imminent end...

Cemetery

Resurrection Of The Dead

Resurrection Of The Dead Resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead (“standing up again of the dead”) is used in the doctrine and theology of various religions to describe an event by which a person, or people are resurrected (brought back to life). Various forms of this concept can...