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Eschatology in Colossians: How Realized is It?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2004

TODD D. STILL
Affiliation:
Truett Seminary, Baylor University, PO Box 97126, Waco, Texas 76798, USA

Abstract

The majority of Pauline scholars depict the eschatological orientation of Colossians as ‘realized’. Furthermore, a number of interpreters juxtapose the eschatological ‘already’ which arguably earmarks the epistle with the eschatological ‘not yet’ which ostensibly permeates Paul. This article questions the common contention that Colossians, in contradistinction to Paul, is virtually void of futurist eschatology. It is argued herein that even though the ‘already’ may feature in the letter, the ‘not yet’ is more pervasive than is frequently supposed. Correlatively, this study suggests that there is less variance between the eschatological perspectives of Colossians and Paul than is typically recognized.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

This piece was prepared for and presented to the Paul Seminar of the British New Testament Conference 2002 in Cambridge, England. I am grateful to Dr R. B. Matlock of Sheffield University for the invitation to participate in the Seminar and to the members of the Seminar for their interaction with this essay.