The Doctrine of the Last Things

By W.O.E. Oesterley

[1908]

This is an analysis of Judeo-Christian eschatology (doctrine about the end of the world), by a distinguished 19th century Biblical scholar. Rev. Oesterley delves into the Jewish roots of the Christian concept of the end of the world. He begins in the Jewish writings of antiquity, particularly the Tanach and the non-deuterocanonical apocrypha such as The Book of Enoch and The Book of Jubilees. These invaluable apocryphal sources were lost until manscripts turned up in (e.g.) Ethiopia in the 19th century. Oesterley traces the development from a 'Particularist' apocalypse in the Jewish Bible and Apocrypha (limited to Jewish people), to a 'Universalist' apocalypse in Christian belief, in which everyone is judged equally.

Oesterley takes us on a walk through this specialized subject with obvious enthusiasm and a scientific attitude. In spite of the grim and often ponderous subject matter, Oesterley is explicitly writing for a non-academic audience. His lively style actually makes this treatise fairly interesting reading.