The Eschatological Judgment Of Christ

Hans Urs von Balthasar hopes that all might be saved. Critics say that makes Balthasar a universalist, and his universalism has become a hindrance for the evangelical mission of the church. Why would anyone evangelize and seek to convert others to the Christian faith if it is assured that everyone will be saved? Balthasar, throughout his writings, denied he was a universalist. He said that there is no way to know if all will be saved or not. Since God desires all will be saved, we can hope all will be, but until everyone has been judged, there will be no way to know if God's desire will be accomplished. Why? Because God does not force salvation on anyone. God gave humanity freedom, and he will not remove it from anyone, even if it means he risks losing some to perdition. Balthasar's critics believe his denial was merely a pretense, so that his speculations would not be condemned. They do not take his denials seriously. But should they? Does he really believe it is possible some might be damned? If so, how? By what means would anyone be damned?

Hans Urs von Balthasar hopes that all might be saved. Critics say that makes Balthasar a universalist, and his universalism has become a hindrance for the evangelical mission of the church. Why would anyone evangelize and seek to convert others to the Christian faith if it is assured that everyone will be saved? Balthasar, throughout his writings, denied he was a universalist. He said that there is no way to know if all will be saved or not. Since God desires all will be saved, we can hope all will be, but until everyone has been judged, there will be no way to know if God's desire will be accomplished. Why? Because God does not force salvation on anyone. God gave humanity freedom, and he will not remove it from anyone, even if it means he risks losing some to perdition. Balthasar's critics believe his denial was merely a pretense, so that his speculations would not be condemned. They do not take his denials seriously. But should they? Does he really believe it is possible some might be damned? If so, how? By what means would anyone be damned?

New Testament scholar Marius Reiser demonstrates that the theme of judgment lies close to the heart of Jesus' teachings. Reiser shows that the certainty of the coming of judgment is the presupposition of the ultimate coming of the reign of God.

In The Last Things Donald G. Bloesch takes up difficult and sometimes controversial themes such as the coming of the kingdom of God, the return of Jesus Christ, the life hereafter, the millennial hope, the final judgment, hell, heaven, purgatory and paradise. Wrestling with biblical texts that often take metaphorical form, Bloesch avoids rationalistic reductionism as well as timid agnosticism. While he acknowledges mystery and even paradox, Bloesch finds biblical revelation much more than sufficient to illuminate the central truths of a Christian hope articulated throughout the history of the church. The Last Things is not just a review of past Christian eschatology but a fresh articulation of the grace and glory of God yet to be consummated. The triumph of the grace of Jesus Christ and the dawning of hope beckon us to reach out in the power of the Spirit to receive that blessed future and the promise to renew the life of the church universal today.

Hans Urs von Balthasar hopes that all might be saved. Critics say that makes Balthasar a universalist, and his universalism has become a hindrance for the evangelical mission of the church. Why would anyone evangelize and seek to convert others to the Christian faith if it is assured that everyone will be saved? Balthasar, throughout his writings, denied he was a universalist. He said that there is no way to know if all will be saved or not. Since God desires all will be saved, we can hope all will be, but until everyone has been judged, there will be no way to know if God's desire will be accomplished. Why? Because God does not force salvation on anyone. God gave humanity freedom, and he will not remove it from anyone, even if it means he risks losing some to perdition. Balthasar's critics believe his denial was merely a pretense, so that his speculations would not be condemned. They do not take his denials seriously. But should they? Does he really believe it is possible some might be damned? If so, how? By what means would anyone be damned?

This book seeks to explore the concept of divine judgment in Christian eschatology. It contends that this judgment is salvific rather than destructive. This notion can be described aphoristically as iudicandus est salvandus ("to be judged is to be saved"). The provocation to Christian eschatology is that human beings are not saved from judgment, but are saved within it. The exploration begins defining the context and moves into a review of the symbols and problems of judgment through a reappraisal of De novissimis ("concerning the last things"), the last section found in traditional works of Christian dogmatics. This is followed by a critical engagement with the soteriological optimism posited by four twentieth- and twenty-first century theologians: Sergei Bulgakov, Hans Urs von Balthasar, J. A. T. Robinson, and Marilyn McCord Adams. The event of the judgment is then defined as the event of absolute recognition: that it is within the eschatic recognition of God, the self, and the other that transformation and glorification of human persons occur in a way that avoids a dual outcome of salvation and damnation. The book concludes by proposing that we may approach divine judgment with faith, hope, and love--not only for ourselves, but for the human race as a whole.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.