ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου : interpreting the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:10a) in the light of Ewe-Ghanaian eschatological vision

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Authors

Van Eck, Ernest
Sakitey, Daniel

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AOSIS Open Journals

Abstract

This article examines the phrase ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου in Matthew and Luke’s versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the light of Ewe-Ghanaian eschatological vision. Theoretically, it uses a combination of the historical–critical and indigenous Mother Tongue Biblical Hermeneutical approaches to explore the implication of βασιλεία for the Ewe-Ghanaian Christian. The article discusses the diversity in the interpretations of the text from the early church to the modern and postmodern periods in Christian history and argues that this diversity has occurred as a result of the fluidity of the eschatological visions in the Judeo-Christian Scriptures and that the linear eschatological vision described by the church is inconsistent with the cyclical vision in Ewe cosmology. This dual eschatological vision creates a dilemma in the Ewe-Ghanaian Christian’s understanding of the eternal states. Finally, it is argued that to resolve this eschatological dilemma is to clearly define the place of Ewe eschatological vision in Christian eschatology and interpreting the former as replica of the latter.

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Keywords

Libation prayer, Christian eschatology, Ewe eschatology, Ewe cosmology, Lord’s prayer, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of heaven

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Citation

Van Eck, E. & Sakitey, D., 2019, ‘ἐλθέτω ἡ βασιλεία σου: Interpreting the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:10a) in the light of Ewe-Ghanaian eschatologicalvision’, HTS Teologiese Studies/ Theological Studies 75(3), a5207. https://DOI.org/10.4102/hts.v75i3.5207.