Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, The Resurrection, And The Mission Of The Church

Eschatology is the branch of theology that deals with “the last things,” often understood as including death, judgment, the afterlife, or the end of the world. Wright stakes a claim that the early Christians’ beliefs about eschatology referred to a “dramatic change within the present world order” rather than “the end of the world” (122), as it typically means to theologians today. Thus, Wright attempts to shift the emphasis in eschatology toward the present manifestations of God’s kingdom, consistent with his emphasis throughout the book.

Gnosticism is a blanket term for various mystically oriented philosophies that influenced early Christianity but were eventually declared heretical. Gnostic thinkers developed Plato’s dualistic idea of spirit and matter and his idea of philosophers as an elite group possessed of superior knowledge. Wright argues that Platonic ideas entered Christianity through Gnostic channels starting in the second century and that they remain as a “residue” or subconscious influence on the way many Christians think about their faith.

Parousia is a Greek word meaning “presence” and is traditionally understood to refer in the New Testament to Jesus’ second coming. Wright argues that the term, which originally described a royal visit in Greco-Roman culture, referred to Jesus’ presence in spirit among his followers in this life while emphasizing his authority over the earth and the fact that he would eventually come again to rule in bodily form.