eschaton [és-kuh-ton]:
the consummation of history at Christ’s Second Coming
when the Kingdom of God will be fully realized
in the reconciliation of all humanity with God
and the creation of a new heaven and earth
The Hebrew Scriptures teach that the Spirit of God hovered over the chaos at the beginning, enabling the very good creation. It was the Spirit who spoke through the Prophets of Israel, as God intervened in history to draw humankind towards an ultimate reconciliation with and in God after the Original Sin.
The power of the Spirit incarnates the Son in the womb of the Virgin Mary, empowering the Messianic ministry for the inauguration of the Kingdom of God with his death and resurrection. The Spirit is sent to accompany the first fruits of redeemed humanity, the Church, on its pilgrimage toward the full realization of the Kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus.
This eschatological accompaniment of the Spirit is characterized by operations of:- witness to God's transforming work in Christ, already in every age and fully at the End
- protection of the Truth and the Truth-Sayers on the journey toward the Ultimate Reconciliation
- assurance of Apostolic leadership for the accomplishment of the mission until Christ's return
- empowerment for love in individual believers and in the Church as a whole to bring the Kingdom to fullness
- transfiguration of all created things toward a new heaven and a new earth at the Parousia.
The Spirit hovers! comes! breathes! overflows! anoints! prophesies! Christifies! vivifies! prays! speaks! glorifies! recreates! births! tries! reminds! aids! promises! guards! overshadows! sends! adopts! animates! transforms! reveals! sanctifies! heals! testifies! infuses! consecrates! enables! ignites! blesses! exorcises! graces! purifies! fructifies! counsels! teaches! renews! saves! comforts! sanctifies! unifies! enlightens! gladdens! -- the Spirit at work as Bringer of the Blessed Eschaton!
Blessed be the Kingdom of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, now and forever!
(Opening of the Byzantine Liturgy)
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