Isaac of Nineveh’s Eschatology

This chapter shows that the primary source for Isaac’s eschatology is John the Solitary’s depiction of the life of the future world. According to John, transformation in the future world represents the fulfillment of God’s promise of future glory and forms the basis of the hope that should define the life of the monk. Isaac’s selection and use of the same Pauline biblical phrases used by John, such as “hope to come,” “way of the new life,” and “inner man,” together with John’s non-biblical serpent analogy reveals Isaac’s dependence on John’s eschatological formulations. The main difference between John and Isaac is that while John encouraged monks to obtain knowledge of the future world in order to provide them with hope amidst their current struggles, Isaac explicitly states that perfect Christians can experience the transformation of the future world while still in this world.