The Oxford Handbook of Eschatology

This comprehensive volume examines eschatology across multiple religious traditions and philosophical frameworks, offering a systematic exploration of beliefs about death, judgment, and ultimate destiny. Jerry L. Walls assembles leading scholars to address eschatological themes from historical, theological, philosophical, and comparative perspectives, creating a resource that illuminates how conceptions of final things shape religious worldviews and practices.

The handbook's structure reflects the complexity of eschatological thought. Opening sections trace the development of afterlife beliefs from ancient Near Eastern contexts through biblical literature, examining how Jewish and Christian eschatologies emerged and evolved. Contributors analyze key concepts including resurrection, immortality, heaven, hell, purgatory, and the kingdom of God, demonstrating how these ideas function within broader theological systems. The volume gives substantial attention to debates about universal salvation, annihilationism, and traditional views of eternal punishment, presenting competing interpretations with scholarly rigor.

Philosophical contributions examine the coherence of afterlife beliefs, addressing questions about personal identity through death, the relationship between time and eternity, and the moral implications of various eschatological scenarios. These chapters engage contemporary analytic philosophy while remaining accessible to theological audiences. The handbook also includes comparative perspectives, exploring Islamic, Buddhist, and Hindu eschatologies, though Christian traditions receive the most extensive treatment.

The work's significance for discussions about God emerges through its analysis of how eschatological beliefs reflect and shape conceptions of divine justice, mercy, and purpose. Contributors examine how different views of final judgment and ultimate destiny reveal underlying assumptions about God's character and intentions for creation. The tension between divine love and justice receives particular attention, especially in chapters addressing the problem of hell and the scope of salvation.

Walls and his contributors maintain a generally descriptive approach while acknowledging the existential and practical import of eschatological beliefs. The volume demonstrates how expectations about ultimate reality influence present moral reasoning, religious practice, and attitudes toward death and suffering. By presenting diverse perspectives within a scholarly framework, the handbook serves as an essential reference for understanding how religious traditions conceptualize humanity's final destiny and God's ultimate purposes, making it valuable for scholars across theology, philosophy of religion, and religious studies.