Eschatology of the New Testament

NT eschatology is shaped by the conviction that the end-time events have already begun in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ — a schema sometimes called "inaugurated eschatology" or the "already/not yet" tension. Jesus announces that the kingdom of God has arrived (Mark 1:15; Luke 11:20), performs exorcisms as signs of Satan's defeat (Matt. 12:29), and declares that eternal life is already possessed by those who believe in him (John 5:24; 3:36). Yet the full consummation remains future: Christ will return visibly and gloriously (Matt. 24:30; Acts 1:11), the dead will be raised (1 Cor. 15:52; John 5:28–29), and the final judgment will occur (Matt. 25:31–46; Rev. 20:11–15). Paul's eschatology in 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 and 1 Corinthians 15 addresses questions about those who die before Christ's return, presenting resurrection as bodily transformation from perishable to imperishable. The Book of Revelation, employing apocalyptic imagery, depicts the tribulation, the binding and loosing of Satan, the millennium, and the new Jerusalem as the consummation of God's plan. The precise sequence of these events is debated among premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial interpreters.