Abstract

This paper argues that the biblical conditions associated with the return of Christ can be understood through a triadic ontology of the human person—Somatic (S), Intellectual (I), and Volitional (V). The New Testament presents eschatology not primarily as chronological prediction but as the restoration of the human architecture necessary to recognize and receive the Kingdom of God. Christ’s declaration that “the kingdom of heaven is at hand” presupposes a volitional ontology in which spiritual reality becomes present wherever human will aligns with the Good. By recovering the volitional axis—lost under centuries of philosophical dyadism—triadic ontology offers a coherent explanation of why Scripture associates Christ’s return with restored knowledge, moral clarity, authentic agency, and the exposure of the human heart. This paper demonstrates that the re-emergence of volitional anthropology is not sensational speculation, but the systematic recovery of the metaphysical categories underlying the New Testament’s eschatological vision.

1. Introduction: A Misunderstood Eschatology

Modern interpretations of eschatology fall into two extremes:

1. Chronological futurism—attempts to map prophetic symbols onto contemporary events.
2. Symbolic reductionism—treating eschatology as metaphor or mythic literature.

Both approaches overlook the structural anthropology embedded in Scripture.
The New Testament repeatedly ties the return of Christ to:

• the revelation of the human will,
• the restoration of righteousness,
• the universal proclamation of the kingdom,
• and the exposure of spiritual alignment.

These themes presuppose a triadic model of human nature:

• S — Somatic (embodied, social, material)
• I — Intellectual (cognitive, interpretive, narrative)
• V — Volitional (the seat of alignment, obedience, and moral agency)

The failure of classical philosophy and modern psychology to identify V as an ontological dimension explains why eschatology appears opaque to modern readers.
With V restored, the coherence of biblical eschatology becomes unmistakable.

2. Christ’s Eschatological Teaching Is Volitional, Not Chronological

Jesus does not begin His ministry with a calendar but with an ontology:

“The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Mark 1:15)

This is not a time-stamp.
It is a statement of metaphysical availability:

• Wherever V aligns with the Good,
• the kingdom becomes present.

Christ’s eschatology is not primarily predictive.
It is volitional.

Key passages confirm this:

• “The kingdom of God is within you.” (Luke 17:21)
• “If any man wills to do His will…” (John 7:17)
• “Many will say… but I will declare, ‘I never knew you,’”
  indicating volitional misalignment rather than intellectual misunderstanding.
• “Not everyone who says ‘Lord, Lord’… but he who does the will of My Father.” (Matt 7:21)

In each case, eschatological readiness is defined not by knowledge (I) or ritual obedience (S) but by volitional orientation (V).

Thus, Christ’s return is the consummation of a volitional restoration.

**3. Apostolic Eschatology:

The Exposure and Judgment of Volition**

Paul, Peter, John, and the author of Hebrews all describe the final judgment as:

the revealing of the heart—meaning the will.

Paul

• “God will judge the secrets of men.” (Rom 2:16)
• “Each man’s work will be revealed by fire.” (1 Cor 3:13)
• “In the last days… men will be lovers of self…” (2 Tim 3:2–5)

Paul consistently treats V as the locus of righteousness or rebellion.

Hebrews

• “The word of God… discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12)
  The “heart” in biblical anthropology is the volitional center.

Peter

• The “day of visitation” exposes whether souls have “obeyed the truth.”
  Again, volition, not cognition.

John (Revelation)

• Christ returns “in righteousness to judge.”
• Judgment is not about information but allegiance.

Eschatology is the global disclosure of volitional alignment.

4. Why Volition Must Be Restored Before Christ Returns

Scripture ties the end of the age to restored knowledge of the kingdom:

“This gospel of the kingdom will be preached… and then the end will come.” (Matt 24:14)

But the “gospel of the kingdom” is not merely a message of salvation.
It is the announcement that:

the kingdom is present wherever V aligns with God.

For the world to be judged in righteousness:

1. Human volition must be recognizable again.
   Modern culture denies it through biological determinism and psychological reductionism.

2. People must understand what the kingdom is.
   Without a volitional ontology, the kingdom appears mystical, distant, or metaphorical.

3. Moral agency must be restored.
   A world that believes “free will is an illusion” cannot meaningfully respond to Christ.

4. Truth must become intelligible as a volitional reality.
   Not mere information, but alignment with the Good.

Thus, the triadic restoration is not esoteric—it is the prerequisite for eschatological clarity.

5. Why the Modern World Cannot Understand Eschatology Without the Triadic Model

Western philosophy collapsed human nature into dyads:

• Plato: intellect + appetite (no independent will)
• Aristotle: reason + habit
• Aquinas: will as rational appetite
• Enlightenment: mind + matter
• Modernity: psychology + biology
• Atheism: brain + environment

The volitional axis (V) disappeared.

Once V was erased, Scripture’s eschatology became:

• unintelligible,
• moralistic,
• or mythologized.

Restoring V restores the architecture necessary to interpret:

• judgment,
• righteousness,
• faith,
• obedience,
• sonship,
• kingdom,
• sanctification,
• and ultimately Christ’s return.

6. The Return of Christ as the Consummation of Volitional Restoration

6.1 Christ is the perfect embodiment of V aligned with the Good

His statement:

“Not My will, but Thine.”

is the center of Christian ontology.
His return is the universal revelation of this alignment.

6.2 Judgment is the revelation of human V

All eschatological imagery resolves into:

• unveiling,
• separating,
• testing,
• refining,
• disclosing.

These are operations on the will.

6.3 The new creation is volition made perfect

In the new humanity:

• S is redeemed,
• I is illuminated,
• V is fully aligned with God.

Revelation ends not with spectacle but with ordered volition:

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”

A free, volitional invitation.

7. Triadic Ontology as Eschatological Illumination

Triadic ontology:

• returns agency to human beings,
• returns moral coherence to Scripture,
• returns spiritual reality to philosophy,
• returns the kingdom to present experience,
• returns righteousness to judgment,
• returns volition to the center of anthropology.

Thus it provides:

the conceptual framework through which the return of Christ becomes intelligible again.

Not predicted.
Not forced.
Not mechanized.

Recognized.

Christ returns when:

• the world understands the nature of the kingdom,
• the will is restored to its proper dignity,
• truth becomes a volitional reality,
• righteousness is the measure of judgment,
• and humanity again perceives the architecture of its own being.

Triadic ontology does not trigger the eschaton.
It removes the intellectual blindness that made eschatology incomprehensible.

8. Conclusion

The return of Christ, understood biblically, is not primarily about catastrophic chronology but about:

• the restoration of human volitional clarity,
• the universal recognition of the kingdom’s structure,
• and the revelation of the Good as the telos of human will.

A world that rediscovers volition rediscovers the kingdom.
A world that rediscovers the kingdom becomes capable of recognizing the King.

Triadic ontology does not replace revelation.
It illuminates the metaphysical framework revelation has always presupposed.

In this sense, the recovery of volitional anthropology is not a predictive sign of the end, but:

the restoration of the human architecture required
to receive the One who brings the end to its fulfillment.