| The world that is passing
away
New Testament testimony does not give conflicting versions of eschatology but instead, works through different aspects of one eschatological reality—the hour has come … our salvation is near (Romans) and the present form of this world is passing away (I Corinthians). This is always imminent and also awaited; both vigilant waiting and patient responsibility are invoked. The world as we perceive it is not as permanent as we might assume but is always on the edge of crisis. Crisis brings swift realisation that any form of the world we cling to and by which we seek to live, is always passing away. Our presumed established world is thrown into question. Death is the end of a person’s “world,” regardless of when the world might end. Every social regime is passing away, however confidently the advocates of any regime seek to build a certain future. Pride eventually undercuts itself and topples. Seemingly unassailable ascendance by power is already undone. Paul refers to this reality concerning Pharaoh, whose end is inscribed in his arrogance. Numerous examples of compromise, prevarication, deception and accidents crisscross human life; we know that the present form of this world is passing away. Eschatology reminds us that we cannot cling to a world that is passing away. God is our only future possibility. This is demonstrated in Christ, essentially by the resurrection as life and the end possibility for humanity already begun in the midst of time, within which, our world is passing away. v The “millennium” (Revelation) receives inordinate focus in some versions of Christian eschatology. Yet what does it represent within New Testament testimony to the world that is passing away? The millennium is a vision of peace on earth as Christ reigns for a thousand years. Interpretations differ as to when Christ will return. Will this occur before the millennium, with the reign of Christ commencing on earth or will this reign occur through the church as the vice-regent of Christ for a thousand years, before Christ returns? Both have significant theological implications for present perspectives on humanity, the church and salvation. If humanity is enmeshed in complex expressions of compromise and self-destructive machinations from one generation to another—whatever seeming progress is made by science, technology and political restructuring of society for its improvement—it will not be capable of initiating a reign of peace, even if the church gains significant leverage within society. The redemptive necessity of Christ returning, before a millennium of peace is possible, does not anticipate human improvement, however much the church is involved with society. Moral imperatives are here often given because Christ may return at any time. If humanity is gradually improving, incrementally discarding various forms of evil and embracing new levels of responsible social behavior, the church facilitates the possibility of Christ returning to reign in human life by its influence within society. A millennium of such peace on earth is a precursor to Christ returning. Moral imperatives are here often given so that Christ will return. Selected texts can be found to support one view of the millennium reign to exclude the other. A pre-millennial perspective takes seriously the subtle reality of human sin and the necessity of redemption, while a post-millennial option gives focus to human possibility and the church’s positive relationship with society. Yet both positions, in their exclusive focus on a millennium, omit other possibilities. What the millennium suggests for Christian testimony can only be ascertained within New Testament eschatology. Christ reigns within a new time inducted in the midst of creation. This is a reign of life in grace. The reality of God announced by good news makes a difference within human life, bringing dignity amid human wretchedness and hope amid the ebb and flow of human chaos. Within human freedom, evil has its seasons, as every season of peace is ruptured by new intensities of evil. Christian reality is not pessimistic, anticipating a world only of pervasive evil that must be escaped, as in Gnostic dualism. Yet Christian reality is not an optimism of inevitable progress either. Creation is received as a gift for our enjoyment, yet any real gain in human life, as a step forward in one place, is invariably compromised, by a step backward elsewhere. The millennium symbolises the reign of Christ in grace; it also articulates new levels of evil unleashed at any time of seeming to reach a goal of peace. While judgment is already occurring by response to the gospel, the millennium marks a final judgment awaiting all human history, by which righteousness will ultimately be established, despite the apparent triumph of evil at so many points within history. The righteous end of all things is guaranteed by the word of God. Evil will have its season as long as humans have real freedom to choose good or evil. Yet reality is ultimately righteous. Without definitive judgment, this would not be confirmed. Instead, a relativity of values in which good and evil continually change according to time or place would prevail. This is no righteousness at all. Judgment affirms that reality is righteous in the righteousness of God who is creative in renewal of all things—the final vision of Revelation. The possibility of evil is conceded within the reprieve and reign of grace in human history, yet the millennium reminds us that the present form of our world will pass away. v Like the new Sabbath rest (Hebrews), a millennium of peace in Christ stands in contrast to sustained dissonance between the world and the reality of God. Conflict occurs between people because dissonance exists within people. Such dissonance reflects a larger scene of antipathy between the world and God. To be aligned with the world is to be aligned against God. Yet the spirit within us yearns for God (James). Therefore, conflict occurs in human life. In order to quell a perennial and inner conflict, it is necessary to be aligned with the reality of God and not with the world. Yet this alignment with the true intent of our spirit will always come into conflict with what others assume the world has to offer. God gives grace to those who recognize their spirit is made for God in the face of the world’s impetus, which is always powerful and compelling. God resists the proud ire of the world in its mockery of those who resist it. Resisted, the world’s seductions come to nothing. We are inclined to pontificate in determining what we want righteousness to be for everyone, inspiring evil intentions by doing so. We become judges of righteousness and judge anyone who does not comply with our “righteous” version of reality. Yet to apply ourselves to tangible expressions of God’s reality in the world, will quickly show our deficit in genuine righteousness. Being exposed as transgressors, we know we are not in a position to judge. We are not as significant as we assume. We cannot know or determine tomorrow with certainty. We do not have a definitive purview of life. To assume otherwise is arrogance; boasting in such arrogance is nothing short of evil. James too, shows us that our presumed world is passing away. Eschatology, whether in Paul, Revelation, Hebrews or James reminds us that the present world is passing away, while our time under the reign of Christ is orientated toward a horizon of grace. |
