The life and eschatology of Tertullian

How close is the end of the world and the Kingdom of God that Jesus foretold? Is our generation the last generation? Does the Bible give signs of the end of the world? What awaits people at and after the coming end? These are questions that people have tried to answer in the past as well as today. These and similar questions have haunted the minds of the early church fathers since the crucifixion of Jesus, and some of them believed that the end would come in their own time. One of the most important church fathers who held this belief was Tertullian, who was one of the first representatives of the theological character of the North African Church, as well as a proponent of the views of the Montanist movement. This study deals with the doctrine of the last things even after Tertullian's lifetime. Since Tertullian is a church father who stands out with his theological views in early Christianity, the factors that influenced his theology are examined in the section on his life. Then his eschatology, which is one of the important topics of his theology, is analyzed. Unlike other church fathers, Tertullian was much more interested in eschatological issues and his eschatology was enriched by the influence of Montamism due to the religious and political situation of the environment in which he lived and the influence of the Montanist movement he had joined since his middle age. As a result, he gained a unique place in Christianity with his theology and eschatology.