The Danielic Eschatological Hour in the Johannine Literature

Stefanos Mihalios examines the uses of the ‘hour’ in the writings of John and demonstrates the contribution of Danielic eschatology to John’s understanding of this concept.

Mihalios begins by tracing the notion of an eschatological time in the Old Testament within expressions such as ‘in that time’ and ‘time of distress,’ which also appear in the book of Daniel and relate to the eschatological hour found in Daniel.

Mihalios finds that even within the Jewish tradition there exists an anticipation of the fulfillment of the Danielic eschatological time, since the eschatological hour appears in the Jewish literature within contexts that allude to the Danielic end-time events. Mihalios moves on to examines the Johannine eschatological expressions and themes that have their source in Daniel, finding evidence of clear allusions whenever the word ‘hour’ arises.

Through this examination, he concludes that for the Johannine Jesus use of the term ‘hour’ indicates that the final hour of tribulation and resurrection, as it is depicted in Daniel, has arrived.