What is realized eschatology?

Answer

Realized eschatology is a theory that posits the prophetic passages in the New Testament do not pertain to the future; instead, they relate to the ministry of Jesus and His enduring “legacy” in the church. As per realized eschatology, all the prophecies concerning the kingdom in the Bible were fulfilled during Jesus’ lifetime. When Jesus proclaimed, “The time has come. . . . The kingdom of God has come near” «and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. », (Mark 1:15), He intended for us to perceive the kingdom as a current, experiential reality rather than a distant, forthcoming event. Realized eschatology was first articulated by liberal theologian C. H. Dodd in his 1935 publication, The Parables of the Kingdom, and gained popularity through his subsequent works.

Realized eschatology asserts that the prophesied “future” events in the Bible are no longer in the future; they were all realized by Jesus or are currently unfolding within the church. The Bible foretold the arrival of the Messiah—and it happened when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The Bible predicted that God would judge the sins of the world—and He did so when Jesus was crucified. The Bible prophesied the resurrection of the dead—and it occurred when Jesus raised Lazarus and others from the grave. What about the Bible’s prophecies regarding the second coming, reign, and glorification of Jesus? Realized eschatology encompasses all of these as well—all were fulfilled in Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. The eschatological events have been realized.

According to realized eschatology, the exploration of eschatology does not revolve around the end of the world but rather the world’s “renewal” as Jesus established the standard and His disciples continue to embody His timeless teachings. Advocates of realized eschatology do not anticipate a rapture, a second coming, or a global judgment.

Instead of focusing on what they think will happen in the future, realized eschatology emphasizes what Jesus said and did; everything else is considered irrelevant.

Realized eschatology is somewhat connected to full preterism, the belief that all end-times prophecies in the Bible have been fulfilled, and to “Kingdom Now” theology, which asserts that we are presently living in God’s kingdom and can access its promises whenever we choose.

The origin of realized eschatology from a liberal theologian—and its continued popularity in liberal circles—should make us cautious. However, more crucial is comparing this doctrine to the teachings of the Bible and what we understand about world events. While certain aspects of eschatology have been fulfilled, not everything has. Jesus Himself mentioned “this age, and . . . the age to come” «who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting. », (Luke 18:30), offering His disciples hope for a future age distinct from the current one. After Jesus ascended into heaven, the angels informed the disciples, “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven” «which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. », (Acts 1:11). The angels’ message clearly indicates a future event in eschatology, giving the disciples something to anticipate as stated in Titus 2:13.

When Jesus declared, “The kingdom of God has come near” «and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. », (Mark 1:15), When Jesus spoke those words, He was not claiming to fulfill all the prophecies at that moment. Instead, He was demonstrating the evidence that He was the Messiah. Every time Jesus performed a miracle or delivered someone from evil, it was a glimpse of the kingdom of God manifesting on earth. Jesus was offering a preview of the blessings to come in God’s kingdom. Immanuel had truly arrived to redeem captive Israel.

Certain promises linked to Jesus’ arrival were not realized during His first coming. This fact is acknowledged by the Lord Himself in Luke 4. While reading from Isaiah in the Nazareth synagogue, Jesus declares His fulfillment of various messianic prophecies: bringing good news to the poor, freedom for the captives, sight to the blind, liberation for the oppressed, and announcing the Lord’s favor (Luke 4:18-19;cf: Isaiah 61:1-2). However, Jesus stops reading before completing the passage and states, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” «And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. », (Luke 4:21). Jesus intentionally omitted the part about “the day of vengeance of our God” from Isaiah’s prophecy «to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; », (Isaiah 61:2). This indicated that there were still unfulfilled aspects of Isaiah’s end-time prophecy that would be completed in the future. In essence, Jesus taught about an “unrealized” eschatology.

Numerous events foretold in the Bible are yet to come to pass. We anticipate their occurrence.

Fulfillment lies in the secure hope that God is faithful and cannot lie. Attempting to interpret biblical prophecy as non-literal, as realized eschatology must do, contradicts the principles of sound biblical interpretation.