Comparative Eschatology of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Traditions: A Structured Textual Study of End-Times Signs and Figures

Authors

  • Nofedin Waruwu ✉ country Indonesia Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Bethel The Way, Jakarta Author
  • Marlina Nasrani Juliana country Indonesia Sekolah Tinggi Teologi Erikson Tritt, Manokwari Author
  • Gerbin Tamba country Indonesia Universitas Advent Surya Nusantara, Pematang Siantar Author
  • Stefanus Meo Nekin country Malaysia Bethel Church Malaysia, Kuching Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62282/pj.v4i1.1-23

Keywords:

Abrahamic religions, apocalyptic literature, comparative eschatology, eschatological figures, signs of the end times

Abstract

Eschatological traditions in Islam, Christianity, and Judaism share recurring motifs of cosmic disruption, an adversary figure, an agent of final justice, resurrection, and divine judgment, yet these parallels are often asserted rather than tested against specified sources. This study compares how the signs and figures of the end times are presented in selected textual strands of the three traditions. It uses a comparative textual design informed by a structured literature search. Seventeen primary text units, including the Book of Daniel, the Book of Revelation, the Qur’an, and three Sunni hadith collections, were coded with a codebook into three analytical phases (preliminary signs; eschatological figures and battles; and resurrection, judgment, and afterlife) and eight motif categories. Corpus analysis finds parallels in all three phases, but their distribution is uneven. A deceiver figure is explicit in the Christian and Islamic units, whereas the Jewish adversaries are hostile rulers, and Armilus appears only in a seventh-century apocalypse. Sunni and Twelver Shiʿi sources also present the Mahdi differently. A case study of Gog and Magog shows documented reworking from Ezekiel to Revelation and a plausible Late Antique background to Qur’an 18, although direct textual dependence cannot be demonstrated for most other motif pairs. The study contributes a transparent, source-level comparison that distinguishes textual parallels from claims of historical transmission. Practically, it offers educators and interfaith practitioners a verifiable reference for discussing shared and distinctive end-times beliefs without collapsing the internal diversity of each tradition.

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Published

2026-12-15

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Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): December (Article in Progress)

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