Studentenalmanak 1960 - pagina 219
the kingdom of God, though a future reality, has already come
(cf. e.g. Mt. 12: 28; Col. 1: 13; Rev. 1: 6, 9). The resurrection of
Christ already affords believers participation in its life and power
(Eph. 2: 5, 6). The one who is in Christ has become a new creation
(II Cor. 5: 17). The ends of the ages have come upon us (I Cor.
10: 11) and through the cross Christ has delivered us from the
present evü age (Gal. 1: 4).
Considered in such terms as these, eschatology is aU-embracive of
the history of redemption. It serves, therefore, not only to sum
up the Christian's future hope but also the present realities brought
into being by the Spirit of God under the new covenant. The
eschatological understanding of the gospel accordingly provides
significant perspectives for a comprehensive Christian phUosophy
of history.
Finally, one may observe some of the implications and consequences
of the above approach for our understanding of the Christian
message. Although one may not be content with an evaluation
of history from only one point of view or on the basis of a meager
selection of Biblical data, I may point out a number of ways in
which the eschatological perspective may serve to place some
truths in sharper focus and perhaps enrich our thinking with regard
to others.
First of all, when eschatology is taken in its specific Biblical meaning,
it points up the indispensability to toe Christian faith of the doctrines
of creation and providence. The very idea of a consummation of the
ages is meaningless unless the world is acknowledged as having
come into being by divine action, governed by divine power and
existing for the divine glory. Unless God is the Creator and Lord
He cannot be the Consummator. For in its very essence eschatology
has to do with the effectual and final realization of the purpose of
God with regard to the word — His world — which has rebelled
against Him. The eschatological outlook is not a merely pious
wish; it is a confident hope and assurance. And it is so only because
of God's absolute supremacy and rule over the world, and its
corollary that the world and history are completely dependent
upon Him. Deistic views of God as well as those which view
God as an aspect, however significant, of the world process are
totally irreconcilable with the Biblical eschatology, and thus one
may frequently observe that inadequate modern views concerning
eschatology are bound up with a failure to think of creation and
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Studentenalmanak | 350 Pagina's