Chapter 6 . The anticipation of the kingdom

6.1 The history and development of the idea of anticipation. a. Introduction This chapter will trace the history and development of the idea of ‘anticipation’. It will commence with Johannes Weiss, for his theology brought about a profound change in the understanding of Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God as emphatically eschatological. Next, a step back will be made to see how the idea of “prolepsis” and “anticipation” developed over the centuries. The reintroduction of the concept of “prolepsis” became a catalyst for the development of the idea of “anticipation”. This necessitates going backwards and forwards a little in history, rather than following a strictly chronological order. After the use of the idea of “anticipation” in history and antiquity it will be shown how Pannenberg and Van Ruler used this idea in their theology. The comparison with Pannenberg is made chiefly because of his extensive working out of the concept of anticipation. The chapter will also include a discussion of the concept of the future, in particular its presence already here and now. However, we begin with the last decade of the 19 th century.