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In this book, Con Campbell conducts a detailed study of the relevant elements of Paul's eschatological language, metaphors, and images. He examines each passage in context, aiming to build inductively an overall sense of Paul's thinking, and demonstrates the integration of Paul's eschatological thought into his overall theological framework.
About the author
Constantine R. Campbell (PhD, Macquarie University) is a New Testament scholar, author, musician, and documentary host, and lives in Canberra, Australia. He was formerly professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and is the author of several books, including Paul and Union with Christ, Advances in the Study of Greek, Basics of Verbal Aspect in Biblical Greek, Keep Your Greek, Outreach and the Artist, and 1, 2 & 3 John in The Story of God Bible Commentary series.
Summary
A Unique Study of Pauline Eschatology that Is Both Exegetical and Theological
One of the trajectories coming out of Constantine Campbell's award-winning book Paul and Union with Christ is the significance of eschatology for the apostle. Along with union with Christ, eschatology is a feature of Paul’s thinking that affects virtually everything else.
While union with Christ is the "webbing" that joins Paul's thought together, eschatology provides the "shape" of his thought, and thus gives shape to his teaching about justification, resurrection, the cross, ethics, and so forth. There is considerable debate, however, about Paul's eschatology, asking whether he is a "covenant" or an "apocalyptic" theologian.
In Paul and the Hope of Glory Campbell conducts a thorough exegetical study of the relevant elements of Paul's eschatological language, metaphors, and images including "parousia," "the last day," "inheritance," "hope," and others. He examines each passage in context, aiming to build inductively an overall sense of Paul's thinking. The results of this exegetical study then feed into a theological study that demonstrates the integration of Paul's eschatological thought into his overall theological framework.
The study is comprised of three parts:
- The first part introduces the key issues--both exegetical and theological--and sets the parameters and methodology of the book. It also offers an historical survey of the scholarly work produced on Paul's eschatology through the twentieth century to the present day.
- The second part contains the detailed exegetical analysis, with chapters on each important Pauline phrase, metaphor, and image related to eschatology.
- The third part turns its attention to theological synthesis. It recapitulates relevant conclusions from the evidence adduced in part two and launches into theological discussion engaging current issues and debates.
This volume combines high-level scholarship and a concern for practical application of a topic currently debated in the academy and the church. More than a monograph, this book is a helpful reference tool for students, scholars, and pastors to consult its treatment of any particular instance of any phrase or metaphor that relates to eschatology in Paul's thinking.
Additional text
'Con Campbell here proves himself to be the Melanchthon to Vos's Luther, systematically (and exegetically) examining all the relevant texts that touch on what the apostle Paul has to say about the Christian hope of glory. Following Vos, Campbell makes a compelling case that the Pauline eschatology sees all of reality as participating in two realms and two ages, existing side by side and vying for the hearts and minds of every human being, with Jesus Christ himself being the invasion of the new in the midst of the old. In bringing into focus the hope of glory, Campbell has produced the perfect tonic for world-weary pessimists who think that history is a series of one drab thing after another.'
