World Religions

Introduction to World Religions Study Guide

Original Intended Meaning of the Scripture Protestants often stress the meaning conveyed by the words of Scripture, the historical- grammatical methods. The historical-grammatical method, or grammatical-historical method, is an effort in Biblical hermeneutics to find the original and intentional meaning in the text. One method is the examination of the passage in light of the grammatical and syntactical aspects, the historical background of the literary genre, as well as theological, canonical consideration; this means that the context is taken as a whole, adding a historical perspective to the reading. 7.5 Eschaton Eschaton is often regarded as the “end of things”, which can be the end of one’s life or the end of the word. This is Christian eschatology, the study of the destiny of humans as it is revealed in the Bible. The major issues are the Tribulation, death, afterlife, the rapture, the Second Coming of Jesus, resurrection from the dead, Hell and Heaven, the Last Judgment, the end of the world, the new Heavens, and the new Earth. Christians believe that the Second Coming of Christ will occur after the Great Tribulation. All who have died will be resurrected bodily from the grave for the Last Judgment. Then, Jesus will establish the kingdom of God in fulfillment of the scriptural prophecies. Death and Afterlife Most Christians believe in Divine judgment. Further, they believe they will either be rewarded with eternal life or punished with eternal damnation; this includes the general judgment at the Resurrection of the dead, as well as the belief (Roman Catholics, Orthodox, and most Protestants) in a judgment pertaining to an individual soul upon death. In Roman Catholicism, there is a “purification” process. Those who die in a state of grace without mortal sins separating them from God, yet who are still imperfectly purified from the effects of sins, undergo purification through the intermediate state of purgatory. This cleanses the soul, allowing them to achieve holiness in order to enter Heaven. Those individuals who have met this goal are regarded as saints. Some Christian groups, such as Lutherans, Anglicans, and Seventh-Day Adventists, adhere to mortalism, which is the belief that human souls are not naturally immortal and are unconscious during the intermediate state between bodily death and resurrection. These Christians also hold to annihilationism, the belief that following the Final Judgment, they will cease to exist rather than suffer an everlasting damnation in hell. Jehovah’s Witnesses maintain a similar viewpoint.

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