The delay of the parousia in modern interpretation

Resumo

The concept of a “delay” of the Parousia has become a common idea in the theological circles that deals with New Testament‘s eschatology. It is usually accepted that Jesus and the Early Church expected an imminent coming of God’s kingdom, and its implementation in the midst of humanity in their days. The passing of time, however, brought only disillusion and confusion to the NT believers who tried to cope with such a crisis through the belief in a “delay” of the Parousia. This concept, however, raises in itself a series of complex questions in relation to Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian faith. It is the purpose of this study to approach this issue from the perspective of a “holistic” view of the question, investigating it both from the divine and human perspectives that are presented in the biblical text. This kind of “holistic” approach has being generally forfeited by the theologians that deals with the question.