Eschatology in Galatians : Rethinking Paul's Response to the Crisis in Galatia

After surveying diverse scholarly approaches to Paul's eschatology in Galatians, Yon-Gyong Kwon concludes that a satisfactorily coherent reading of Paul's argument has not been established yet. Focusing on Paul's own statements about the Galatian crisis, the author also demonstrates that the letter is Paul's pastoral engagement with the backsliding Galatians rather than his theological altercation with his opponents. Paul perceives this crisis in a conspicuously future-oriented perspective. Accordingly, Paul's theological argument reveals the same, futuristic perspective. The main focus of Yon-Gyong Kwon's study lies on this perspective: justification as an eschatological hope (ch. 3); sonship as a median motif (ch. 4); promise and inheritance as a hope yet to be fulfilled (chs. 5 and 6). Paul's christological argument does not show any discernible realized eschatological point of view. Instead, the apostle's emphasis falls on the incompatibility of Christ and the law on the one hand, and the crucial importance of the role of the Spirit on the other (ch. 7). In the final chapter the author demonstrates how the future-oriented perspective of Paul can explain the way Paul deals with the crisis, avoiding the tensions or contradictions that weaken the case for the traditional readings.