Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew

• Part I. Apocalyptic Eschatology and Apocalypticism: 1. The major characteristics of apocalyptic eschatology; 2. The social setting of apocalypticism and the function of apocalyptic eschatology; Summary of Part I; Part II. Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew: 3. Dualism and determinism in Matthew; 4. Eschatological woes and the coming of the Son of Man; 5. The judgement in Matthew; 6. The fate of the wicked and the fate of the righteous in Matthew; 7. The imminence of the end in Matthew; Summary of Part II; Part III. The Social Setting of the Matthean Community and the Function of Apocalyptic Eschatology in the Gospel of Matthew: 8. The social setting of the Matthean community; 9. The function of apocalyptic eschatology in the gospel of Matthew; Summary of Part III; Conclusions.

"To demostrate that MAtthew thoroughly shares the worldview of apocalyptic eschatology (although his work is not an apocalypse), S. usefully identifies eight characteristics common to apocalyptic eschatology in Jewish and Christian texts: dualism, determinism, eschatological woes, the appearance of a savior figure, judgement, fate of the wicked, fate of the righteous, and expectation of the imminent end. The first two help form the conceptual framework of apocalyptic eschatology, and the other six are widely occuring eschatological themes. S. helpfully identifies the repeated occurence of these characteristics in Matthew, drawing many comparisons with other apocalyptic eschatological literature, notably Revelation, teh Qumran literature, and the Enochic literature." Kathleen Weber, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly