"In the midst of our troubled and divisive days, well-informed anticipation of Christ's return and the Christian hope and fidelity that it produces can make a significant impact on our churches and our individual lives."

- Buist Fanning, professor emeritus of New Testament

Dallas Theological Seminary

For many Christians today, the topic of Christ's second coming may seem far removed from matters of faith and practice in the present. Most treatments of eschatology focus on debates over the millennium and the sequence of last-days events rather than what they mean for life today. By contrast, the New Testament--with its thoroughgoing eschatological outlook and repeated calls to watchful waiting for Christ's return--forges a tight bond between the "parousia" and the daily lives and spirituality of believers.

In this volume, leading scholars from the Evangelical Foundation for Biblical Research Symposium seek to recover the New Testament's "eschatological spirituality" from its current obscurity. Attending to a range of New Testament texts, from Matthew's Olivet Discourse to Revelation's vision of the Lamb, the essays explore how these texts inform the shape of life lived in expectation of Christ's return. Though not an exhaustive treatment, the volume bridges a genuine gap between eschatology and spiritual formation, proposing that the hope of Christ's return is meant to shape the church's life in the present, not just its beliefs about the future.

Features:

• Recovers the New Testament's "eschatological spirituality"-the conviction that Christ's return bears directly on daily faith and practice
• Shifts the conversation on Christ's return from millennial chronology to spiritual and pastoral formation
• Brings together essays from an international team of New Testament scholars covering Matthew, Luke, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, 1 Peter, and Revelation
• Helps pastors and teachers address Christ's return in ways that shape faith and hope, not just doctrine

Since its roots in the early 1970s, the Evangelical Foundation for Biblical Research (EFBR) has been creating opportunities for biblical scholars to engage in rigorous research and dialogue to produce high-quality academic resources in formats accessible to the educated layperson on topics of interest to the modern church.