Eschatology

This chapter traces the key themes in Barth’s eschatological discourse through an exploration of his later dogmatic writings. It begins with the recognition that reading Barth’s eschatology faces a number of difficulties, and moves on to articulate his work on the doctrine by way of four themes: Jesus Christ as our hope; Jesus Christ as the gift of divine presence and human fulfilment; the shape and nature of the time between Easter and the consummation; and the eschatological ethics of the doctrine of reconciliation. It is maintained that eschatological assertions function in three main ways in Barth’s dogmatics. First, they depict the consummating telos of God’s work in Christ, anticipating God’s being all in all; second, they offer a hermeneutic lens that sheds light on other dogmatic claims; and third, they ground the crucial business that hope engages in as corresponding work.