A multifarious understanding of eschatology in Ephesians: A possible solution to a vexing issue

Abstract

Although an almost forgotten debate, the issue of eschatology in Ephesians remains unresolved and possibly insoluble. However, presuppositions inevitably determine the final outcome of investigations. This latter datum is characterized, indicating the outcome of the investigations of both those who would endorse and those who would deny the premises of the Early Catholicism Hypothesis. By postulating that differences from so-called authentic Pauline letters in Ephesians are merely as a result of addressing a different contingent situation, as well as by accepting that the composite eschatological profile in Ephesians is merely an adaptation of Pauline eschatology to that specific contingent situation, it is argued that it is possible to retain futuristic eschatological dimensions in Ephesians.