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Eschatology and Hope in Paul

The Pauline doctrine on hope belongs to the wider framework of the apocalyptic expectation of the future, which inspired all apostles in their assigned missions to the Jews and gentiles. Through the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the whole inhabited world, the return of Christ should be prepared, and with this return the establishment of the messianic ‘kingdom of Zion’, which the prophets promised to Israel and Jesus to his disciples before and also after Easter (Lk. 12:32 and Acts 1:6; 3:20). For Paul, the universal assertion of God's creative and salvific righteousness belongs to the yearned-for kingdom of God. The universal assertion materializes in the resurrection and transformation of the dead, the salvation of all Israel through the redeemer coming out of Zion, the annihilation of every power at enmity with God, including death itself, and the liberation of creation from the curse of futility. The hope which Paul described and taught was a firm structural element of the faith in Christ achieved by the Holy Spirit. It was given its definitive basis in Christ Jesus who was sent from God, was 'handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification' (Rom. 4:25). Hope thus points towards the participation of all who believe in the righteousness and glory of the risen Christ (Gal. 5:5; Col. 1 :27). This hope inspires Christians as long as they are not allowed yet to see Christ 'face by face'; it maintains them steadfast in pursuits and will not come to naught, because of its relying on the love of God in Christ, which guarantees salvation for all believers. Early Christians, even into the post-apostolic age, held fast to the hope of the establishment of the eschatological kingdom of God and his messiah, and during their celebration of the eucharist implored the return of Christ. They have thereby pointed out the way how the teachings of Paul about hope can be held fast by Christians even today.