Eschatology (ነገረ ዳግም ምጽአት/ የዓለም ፍጻሜ): Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Perspective – Part I Introduction

Eschatology, the study of the end times, holds a central place in the faith and doctrine of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC). It is not merely a distant or abstract concept; rather, it is seamlessly linked to the daily Christian life, shaping how believers understand their purpose, actions, and relationship with God. The study of eschatology offers a vision of hope, providing comfort and strength to those who await the return of Christ and the final establishment of God’s eternal kingdom.

This essay explores the first part of eschatology from the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church perspective, focusing on the key themes and beliefs that shape the faithful’s understanding of the end times.

Eschatology plays a vital role in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Through its teachings, believers gain a deeper understanding of God’s ultimate plan for humanity—His creation, redemption (ቤዛነት), and the renewal of all things. The hope of the Second Coming (ዳግም ምጽአት), the resurrection (ትንሳኤ) of the dead, and the final judgment (የመጨረሻ ፍርድ) are not merely theological ideas but powerful truths that guide the lives of the faithful. Rooted in Scripture, enriched by the insights of early Church Fathers, and expressed through liturgical practices and prayers, these teachings provide direction for both the present life and the future hope of believers.

The belief in the end times is not unique to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; it is a fundamental aspect of Christianity as a whole. Since the early days of the Church, believers have held steadfastly to God’s promises concerning the fulfillment of the end times. Eschatology is not confined to the final chapters of Revelation (የዮሐንስ ራእይ) but is a recurring theme throughout the Bible—from Genesis to the Gospels and the Apostolic letters. This enduring theme highlights God's plan for the world and offers a vision of hope, urging believers to remain steadfast in their faith.

One of the most profound eschatological teachings is the promise of Christ’s Second Coming. Jesus speaks clearly about His return, when He will judge the living and the dead. In Matthew 24:36-44, He states: “ስለዚያች ቀንና ስለዚያች ሰዓት ግን ከአባት ብቻ በቀር የሰማይ መላእክትም ቢሆኑ ልጅም ቢሆን የሚያውቅ የለም።” (Matthew 24:36). This verse emphasizes the unpredictability of Christ’s return, urging Christians to stay vigilant and ready, as His arrival will be sudden and unexpected, like a thief in the night.

The study of eschatology calls believers to a life of watchfulness and preparedness. Knowing that Christ’s return will mark the fulfillment of all God's promises, the faithful are called to live with constant expectation, shaping their actions, relationships, and priorities in light of this ultimate event.

In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, eschatology is not just a theological concept but an integral part of the Church’s liturgy (ቅዳሴ), spirituality, and daily life. The liturgical calendar is filled with prayers and hymns that reflect the Church’s anticipation of the Second Coming and the resurrection of the dead. These teachings, drawn from the Scriptures and the writings of the early Church Fathers, further elaborate on these crucial truths.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, like the early Church, believes that the end times will be marked by a final judgment. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes the separation of the righteous from the wicked: “የሰው ልጅ በክብሩ በሚመጣበት ጊዜ ከእርሱም ጋር ቅዱሳን መላእክቱ ሁሉ፥ በዚያን ጊዜ በክብሩ ዙፋን ይቀመጣል፤አሕዛብም ሁሉ በፊቱ ይሰበሰባሉ፤ እረኛም በጎቹን ከፍየሎች እንደሚለይ እርስ በርሳቸው ይለያቸዋል፥በጎቶችን በቀኙ ፍየሎችንም በግራው ያቆማቸዋል…” (Matthew 25:31-46).This passage highlights the seriousness of the final judgment, where every individual will stand before Christ to answer for their actions and deeds.

The resurrection of the dead is another fundamental aspect of eschatological hope in the EOTC. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, assures Christians that the dead in Christ will rise first when He returns: “ጌታ ራሱ በትእዛዝ በመላእክትም አለቃ ድምፅ በእግዚአብሔርም መለከት ከሰማይ ይወርዳልና፥ በክርስቶስም የሞቱ አስቀድመው ይነሣሉ።” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). This promise is not a distant fantasy but a present hope that motivates believers to live faithfully, knowing that their ultimate reward is yet to come.

The EOTC also emphasizes the promise of a new heaven and a new earth following the final judgment. Revelation 21:1-4 brightly describes this transformation:

አዲስ ሰማይንና አዲስ ምድርንም አየሁ፥ ፊተኛው ሰማይና ፊተኛይቱ ምድር አልፈዋልና፥ ባሕርም ወደ ፊት የለም። ቅድስቲቱም ከተማ አዲሲቱ ኢየሩሳሌም፥ ለባልዋ እንደ ተሸለመች ሙሽራ ተዘጋጅታ፥ ከሰማይ ከእግዚአብሔር ዘንድ ስትወርድ አየሁ። ታላቅም ድምፅ ከሰማይ፦ እነሆ፥ የእግዚአብሔር ድንኳን በሰዎች መካከል ነው ከእነርሱም ጋር ያድራል፥ እነርሱም ሕዝቡ ይሆናሉ እግዚአብሔርም እርሱ ራሱ ከእነርሱ ጋር ሆኖ አምላካቸው ይሆናል፤ እንባዎችንም ሁሉ ከዓይኖቻቸው ያብሳል፥ ሞትም ከእንግዲህ ወዲህ አይሆንም፥ ኀዘንም ቢሆን ወይም ጩኸት ወይም ሥቃይ ከእንግዲህ ወዲህ አይሆንም፥ የቀደመው ሥርዓት አልፎአልና ብሎ ሲናገር ሰማሁ:: (Revelation 21:1-4).

This passage illustrates the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan, where suffering, sin, and death will cease to exist, and God Himself will dwell among His people, granting them eternal peace.

The theme of the new heaven and new earth is further explored in 2 Peter 3:10-13, emphasizing the transformative power of God’s judgment, which will lead to the renewal of all creation.

የጌታው ቀን ግን እንደ ሌባ ሆኖ ይመጣል፤ በዚያም ቀን ሰማያት በታላቅ ድምፅ ያልፋሉ፥ የሰማይም ፍጥረት በትልቅ ትኵሳት ይቀልጣል፥ ምድርም በእርስዋም ላይ የተደረገው ሁሉ ይቃጠላል። ይህ ሁሉ እንዲህ የሚቀልጥ ከሆነ፥ የእግዚአብሔርን ቀን መምጣት እየጠበቃችሁና እያስቸኰላችሁ፥ በቅዱስ ኑሮ እግዚአብሔርንም በመምሰል እንደ ምን ልትሆኑ ይገባችኋል? ስለዚያ ቀን ሰማያት ተቃጥለው ይቀልጣሉ የሰማይም ፍጥረት በትልቅ ትኵሳት ይፈታል፤ ነገር ግን ጽድቅ የሚኖርባትን አዲስ ሰማይና አዲስ ምድር እንደ ተስፋ ቃሉ እንጠብቃለን። (2 Peter 3:10-13).

This promise brings immense hope to believers, assuring them that all suffering and evil will ultimately be overcome.

The resurrection of the dead and the final judgment are themes echoed throughout Scripture. Daniel 12:2 speaks of the resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked: “በምድርም ትቢያ ውስጥ ካንቀላፉቱ ብዙዎች ይነቃሉ፤ እኵሌቶቹ ወደ ዘላለም ሕይወት፥ እኵሌቶቹም ወደ እፍረትና ወደ ዘላለም ጕስቍልና።” (Daniel 12:2).

Ultimately, the promise of Christ’s return is the foundation of Christian hope. Acts 1:11 powerfully affirms this truth: “ደግሞም፦ የገሊላ ሰዎች ሆይ፥ ወደ ሰማይ እየተመለከታችሁ ስለ ምን ቆማችሁ? ይህ ከእናንተ ወደ ሰማይ የወጣው ኢየሱስ ወደ ሰማይ ሲሄድ እንዳያችሁት፥ እንዲሁ ይመጣል አሉአቸው።” This is not just a historical event—it is a divine promise that Jesus Christ will return in glory, just as He ascended.

Furthermore, Christ Himself reassures His followers in John 14:1-3, saying: “ልባችሁ አይታወክ፤ በእግዚአብሔር እመኑ፥ በእኔም ደግሞ እመኑ። በአባቴ ቤት ብዙ መኖሪያ አለ፤ እንዲህስ ባይሆን ባልኋችሁ ነበር፤ ስፍራ አዘጋጅላችሁ ዘንድ እሄዳለሁና፤ ሄጄም ስፍራ ባዘጋጅላችሁ፥ እኔ ባለሁበት እናንተ ደግሞ እንድትሆኑ ሁለተኛ እመጣለሁ ወደ እኔም እወስዳችኋለሁ።” (John 14:1-3). These words are not just a promise, they are a personal invitation. Christ is preparing an eternal home for His followers, a place of everlasting peace and joy in the Kingdom of God.

In conclusion, eschatology in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is not merely an abstract theological concept but a guiding force that shapes the faith, conduct, and hope of believers. Rooted in Scripture, illuminated by the wisdom of the early Church Fathers, and lived through the Church’s liturgical traditions, the teachings on the Second Coming, resurrection, and final judgment serve as a call to spiritual vigilance and righteousness. The promise of Christ’s return is not one of fear but of great anticipation, urging the faithful to remain steadfast in their devotion, knowing that God’s ultimate plan will be fulfilled.

The ultimate promise of a new heaven and a new earth offers a vision of eternal communion with God, where sorrow, suffering, and death will be no more. For Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, this hope is not passive but calls them to live in constant readiness, striving for holiness and love in anticipation of Christ’s glorious return.