Eschatology
noun /ˌɛskəˈtɒlədʒi/ — The theology of the end — the study of death, judgment, and what comes after.
Definition
The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind; the study of ultimate or final things.
Beyond the definition
Eschatology is one of theology's most honest disciplines — it looks directly at what every human being eventually faces. The questions it asks (what happens after? is there a final justice? does history have an end?) are the ones most people think about privately but rarely name.
Origin & history
From Greek eschatos (last, final) + logos (study). The study of the last things — what comes at the very end of time and of individual existence.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She'd studied eschatology not out of faith but out of fascination with how different cultures imagined the end.
Every political movement has an implicit eschatology — a vision of what the end-state of history looks like.
Personal eschatology: the private reckoning with mortality that most people perform quietly, alone.
How to use it
This entry uses a noun. Follow the examples for articles and singular or plural forms; not every noun takes “a” or “an.”
Choose “Eschatology” when the meaning fits your context: The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind; the study of ultimate or final things.
Synonyms
end-times theology, last things doctrine
Antonyms
protology, creation doctrine
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Old chair returning to earth
An old wooden chair is being reclaimed by the forest floor, with vines and mushrooms growing on it.
The return of a human-made object to the earth represents the end of its cycle. It touches on themes of finality, judgment, and the ultimate destiny of created things.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration
Questions about this word
What does "Eschatology" mean?
Eschatology is noun meaning: The theology of the end — the study of death, judgment, and what comes after.. The part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and humankind; the study of ultimate or final things.
Where does the word "Eschatology" come from?
From Greek eschatos (last, final) + logos (study). The study of the last things — what comes at the very end of time and of individual existence.