The delay of the parousia in modern interpretation
Keywords:
Parousia, delay, imminence, Jesus, Apostles, New Testament, Theology.Abstract
The concept of a “delay” of the Parousia has become a common idea in the theological circles that deals with New Testament‘s eschatology. It is usually accepted that Jesus and the Early Church expected an imminent coming of God’s kingdom, and its implementation in the midst of humanity in their days. The passing of time, however, brought only disillusion and confusion to the NT believers who tried to cope with such a crisis through the belief in a “delay” of the Parousia. This concept, however, raises in itself a series of complex questions in relation to Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian faith. It is the purpose of this study to approach this issue from the perspective of a “holistic” view of the question, investigating it both from the divine and human perspectives that are presented in the biblical text. This kind of “holistic” approach has being generally forfeited by the theologians that deals with the questionDownloads
References
AUNE, D. E. (1992). "Eschatology (Early Christian)." In: FREEDMAN, D. N. et al. (Eds.). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday. v. 2, p. 594-609.
BAUCKHAM, R. J. (1980). "The Delay of the Parousia." Tyndale Bulletin, v. 31, p. 3-36
BARTH, K. (1933). The Epistle to the Romans. Oxford: University Press; London: Humphrey Milford.
BRANSON, R. (1986). "Responding to the Delay." In: BRANSON, R. (Ed.). Pilgrimage of Hope. Takoma Park: Association of Adven¬tist Forums. p. 8-17.
BRUCE, F. F. (1982). 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Waco/TX: Word Books. (Word Biblical Commentary, v. 45).
BULTMANN, R. (1957). History and Eschatology. Edinburgh: University Press.
________ (1958). Jesus Christ and Mythology. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
CULLMANN, O. (1964). Christ and Time: the Primitive Christian Conceptions of Time and History. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
________ (1969). Des sources de l'Evangile à la formation de la théologie chrétienne. Paris/Neuchatel: Delachaux et Niestlé. (Bibliothèque Théologique).
DODD, C. H. (1957). The Parables of the Kingdom. London: Nisbet & Co.
DOUGLAS, H. E. (1979). The End: The Unique Voice of Adventists About the Return of Jesus. Mountain View/CA: Pacific Press.
ELLIS, E. E. (1972). Eschatology in Luke. Philadelphia: Fortress
GALLAGHER, J. (1982). Believing Christ's Return: An Interpretative Analysis of the Dynamics of Christian Hope. Ph. D. dissertation, University of St. Andrews.
GAVENTA, B. R. (1982). "The Eschatol¬ogy of Luke-Acts Revisited." Enconter, v. 43, p. 27-42.
GLASSON, T. F. (1963). The Second Advent. The Origin of the New Testament Doctrine. London: Epworth Press.
GUY, F. (1986). "Dynamics of the Advent Hope." In: BRANSON, R. (Ed.). Pilgrimage of Hope. Takoma Park: Association of Adventist Forums. p.118.
HAGNER, D. A. (1995). Matthew 14-28. Dallas/TX: Word Books. (Word Biblical Commentary, v. 33b. CD-ROM edition).
HOEKEMA, A. A. (1979). The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids/MI: W. B. Eerdmans.
HOLMAN, C. L. (1982). Eschatological Delay in Jewish and Early Christian Apocalyptic Literature. Ph.D. disserta¬tion, University of Nottingham.
KÄSEMANN, E. (1964). Essays on the New Testament Themes. London: S.C.M.
________ (1969). New Testament Questions of Today. London: S.C.M.
KÜMMEL, W. G. (1957). Promise and Fulfillment. The Eschatological Message of Jesus. Naperville: Alec R. Allenson. (Studies in Biblical Theology, no. 23).
LADD, G. E. (1982). "Eschatology." In: BROMILEY, G. W. et al. (Eds.). The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Grand Rapids/MI: W. B. Eerdmans. v. 2, p. 130-143.
LaRONDELLE, H. K. (1983). The Israel of God in Prophecy. Principles of Prophetic Interpretation. Berrien Springs/MI: Andrews University Press.
MORRIS, L. (1973). "Luke and Early Catholicism." The Westminster Theological Journal, v. 35, n. 2, p. 121-136.
NEALL, R. E. (1988). How Long, O Lord ? Washington: Review & Herald.
NOLLAND, J. (1993). Luke 9:21-18:34. Dallas/TX: Word Books. (Word Biblical Commentary, v. 35b. CD-ROM edition).
PANNENBERG, W. (1968). Jesus - God and Man. Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
McARTHUR, H. K. (1962). "Parousia." In: BUTTRICK, G. A. et al. (Eds.). The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible. Nashville/New York: Abingdon Press. v. 3, p. 658-661.
ROWLAND, C. (1992). "Parousia." In: FREEDMAN, D. N. et al. (Eds.). The Anchor Bible Dictionary. New York: Doubleday. v. 5, p. 166-170.
SCHWEITZER, A. (1950a). The Mystery of the Kingdom of God. New York: Macmillan.
________ (1950b). The Quest of the Historical Jesus. New York: Macmillan.
________ (1968). The Kingdom of God and Primitive Christianity. London: Adam & Charles Black.
SINCLAIR, L. A. (1975). "Sayings on the Delay of the End." Papers of the Chicago Society of Biblical Research, v. 20, p. 19-35.
SMALLEY, S. S. (1964). Delay of the Parousia. Journal of Biblical Literature, v. 83, p. 41-54.
TAYLOR, N. H. (1999). Early Christian Expectations Concerning the Return of Jesus: From Imminent Parousia to Millenium. Journal of
Theology for Southern Africa, v. 104, p. 32-43.
VENDEN, M. L. (1987). Here I Come, Ready or Not. Boise: Pacific Press.
WALVOORD, J. F. (1975). The Return of the Lord. Grand Rapids/MI: Zondervan.
WERNER, M. (1957). The Formation of Christian Dogma. New York: Harper & Brothers.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright Statement
In summary, authors who publish in Kerygma must agree that:
-
Once accepted for publication, the copyright of the articles is transferred to Kerygma.
-
All third-party materials used in the text must be properly referenced.
-
Authors must hold the rights or permissions for the use of images, tables, and other graphic materials.
-
Authors guarantee that the submitted manuscript is original, of their own authorship, and has not been submitted or published elsewhere.
-
The opinions and ideas expressed in the texts are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the journal.
-
The editors reserve the right to make textual revisions and adjustments in accordance with the journal’s editorial standards.
-
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with the work licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
-
Authors authorize the reproduction and adaptation of the material by Kerygma, with the authors’ participation or express authorization when required.
-
The journal may distribute, store, archive, and make the articles available through any physical or digital means, whether free of charge or paid.
-
Authors may enter into separate agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the published version of the work, provided that the original publication in Kerygma is acknowledged.
-
Full or partial reproduction of the texts in other publications requires prior written authorization from the editor.
-
Authors are permitted and encouraged to publish and distribute their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or personal webpages) before or during the editorial process, as this may increase the visibility and citation impact of the published work.




