ABSTRACT
So far we have discussed the biblical texts without paying much attention to what is perhaps their most vital ingredient: their eschatological dimension. Paul, together with the evangelists who produced the Gospels, and including the Montanist movement that prompted the early martyrologies and texts such as the Acts of Thecla, all shared a common conviction that they were participants in the final chapter of God's created world order. This final chapter to the history of the world had already been described by Israel's prophetic tradition, and, for some interpreters, was even anticipated in the Bible's first chapter: the creation story.
