Hebrews 1.1-2 teaches us that the time of the prophets has
ended with the advent of the Last Days – this provisional epoch which is
related to the Coming of Christ. The Last Days are identified by The Prophet –
Christ Himself.
The Old Testament often conflates what the New Testament
chronologically identifies as the First and Second Comings into one event, a
phenomenon referred to as prophetic perspective. In this sense we can say the
Coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord are in one sense, the same event. And
yet obviously in terms of our experience in time, in terms of history and
chronology – it's not that simple.
Malachi 4.5 provides a classic example referring to Elijah
the prophet being sent before the Day of the Lord and in the New Testament
Christ reveals that prophecy was fulfilled by John the Baptist in reference to
what we usually refer to as the First Coming. Despite the misunderstandings of
some, there is no basis to believe that Elijah or John the Baptist will appear
again. The prophecy has been fulfilled and indeed the Second Coming is compared
to a thief coming in the night – in other words with no herald or warning. And
yet who would say that the Day of the Lord was fulfilled in the First Coming?
Apart from a small group of hyper-Preterist heretics (who perhaps also existed
in New Testament times) no one believes that.
One is also reminded of the transition at the end of Daniel.
One moment Daniel is talking about the wars of the Diadochi and the lead-up to
the appearance of Christ – and then suddenly the narrative jumps to the
Judgment. The last 'time of trouble' seems to indicate the period of trial for
the Jews under the late Seleucids and ultimately the Romans, but on the other
hand it almost seems to refer (in a rather sweeping manner) to the whole period
we call the Church Age – ending with general resurrection and judgment. The
First and Second Comings as it were are conflated and presented as essentially
one Day of the Lord event. And thus the Church Age (as we call it) is also an
in-time manifestation of the Day of the Lord event.
How do we understand this? I'm not sure we entirely can but
we can consider various aspects of this recurring revelation.
It would seem that the events are actually one event in terms
of eternity but in terms of time there is a delay rooted in the longsuffering
of the Lord – a time in which the elect are gathered, in which mercy is shown
to the Gentiles. The Enthroned Christ delays or tarries (so to speak) – not
because there is something that 'needs' to be done but rather out of longsuffering
mercy and perhaps for the accumulation of transgressions as was seen with the
lead up to both the Flood and the Conquest of Canaan, both typological events
pointing to the Coming of Christ and the Day of the Lord.
This period we live in is called the Last Days in the New
Testament and yet the Old Testament also refers to the Last Days as being
synonymous with terms the New Testament reveals to be Heaven itself.
Swords into plowshares, the universal realm-of-peace language
associated with Heaven in Isaiah 65 and 2 Peter is tied to the Last Days in
Isaiah 2 and Micah 4. These events are all equated with the eternal order, even
the Eternal Day of the New Heavens and Earth referred to by John in Revelation
21.
On the one hand we are clearly not in Heaven and yet in
another sense through the Spirit and by means of our Union with Christ, we are
living in the Day of the Lord so to speak – the Day placed in suspension. Joel
likewise seems to blend the concepts of the Last Days (afterward) and the Day
of the Lord in his famous chapter 2 prophecy quoted by Peter in his Acts 2
Pentecost sermon. To put it differently, the events of the Day of the Lord are
tied to the period we call the New Testament or Church Age. The Last Days
(plural) are therefore not easily separated from the concept of the Last Day or
Day of the Lord. It's a somewhat mind bending but rather thrilling case of
thematic and symbolic overlap and interplay – it defies any rigid attempt at
systematisation.
These Last Days are literally the Last Day – the last moments
(could we say the beginning of the end?) before this order is finished and
replaced – indeed the new order (the Kingdom of Heaven) is already present in the Spirit-indwelt Body of Christ but not yet in terms of space-time as we
might refer to it.
Additionally a case can be made for the Lord's Day in
Revelation 1 being a reference to the Day of the Lord – in the sense that John's
experience was not just something that took place on the first day of the week
but rather was connected to his visions of the Apocalypse of Christ, His
coming, the span of time between the First and Second Comings, the Last Days
and the Judgment-Council visions – all associated with the Day of the Lord. In
that sense it can also refer to the first day or Lord's Day – for the Church's
meeting is also participant to and present in the Council, the holy assembly,
what we might also call the eschatological assembly.*
The highly provisional nature of this order helps to explain
why New Testament ecclesiology is so basic and why in one regard we shouldn't
have any rites at all – as we have the substance. It's understandable that some
might ask what further need is there for sacraments or typological ceremonies?**
On the hand it could be explained that the very basic polity
is in keeping with the temporary nature of this epoch. We, those in Union with
Christ are but passing pilgrims and exiles awaiting the consummation which is
coming soon – as indeed in God's terms all times are soon, all times are now. And
so, in order for us to function during this time we are granted two basic rites
or ordinances – Baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Are they symbols of the salvation to come and the Heaven that
awaits? In one sense it could be said they are akin to types pointing to
eternal realities but of course we could also make the case that in these Last
Days they are also the anti-type expressions of the reality itself, a reality we
have access to through the Spirit. They are therefore Christocentric
fulfillments of the Old Testament ordinances. They are space-time signs and
seals and yet given the nature of this semi-eschatological age they are far
more substantive in their meaning than even the typological ordinances of the
Old Covenant. Both Baptism and the Supper carry the imagery and even the threat
of death – but also of eternal life. They are like types pointing to eternity
but in another sense they are rites directly tied to the eternal order – that
we possess now. The myriad rites of the Old Testament are encapsulated in them and
yet being the anti-types (in Christ) they are filled with even more meaning.
Through them and through the Spirit operating through these Word-signs – we participate
in the eschaton.
This age and the age to come are overlapping concepts. We as
Christians participate in both realms at the same time. In union with Christ we
are already seated in the heavenlies even while we still dwell on a groaning
earth that is passing away (Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 5). The holy rites of
Baptism and the Lord's Supper also seem to embrace this framework – eternal
realties and glories functioning in terms of history by means of impermanent
perishable and corruptible elements. It is the Divine presence that sanctifies
both the ecclesia –the body of Christ and these elements of water, bread and
wine.
The Already-Not Yet framework is important as the New
Covenant rites are anti-types but in the fulfilled-not yet fulfilled sense so that
we can understand them as eternal realities functioning in time. In Christ we
possess the fullness of the blessings of the New Covenant but because we are
also tied to the not-yet aspects of This Age – we require (it would seem) these
tangible tokens of blessing. There are not a few theological factions that
struggle with this concept. Baptists for instance tend to fall into an
over-realised eschatology on this point which interestingly (but not
surprisingly) renders the rites as mere symbols – not able to possess any
potency or means of being effective as we
already possess all – the fullness of the age to come. Indeed their whole
ecclesiology is constructed in these terms which actualise the Not Yet – and
yet this to the detriment of the full orb of New Testament teaching. The
anti-typical aspects to the rite-ordinances stands and yet all 'fullness' and
'consummate' language in the New Testament is cast in the already-not yet
framework. We can't realise the fullness quite yet. This age hasn't fully
ended. We don't have our resurrected bodies quite yet.
This dynamic includes soteriology which I might add vexes
many and calls into question the way in which certain Reformation and
Confessional traditions frame these issues. It's not so much that they were
wrong but deficient and truncated in their formulations and as such they fail
to accurately represent the full expression of New Testament teaching – which often
casts salvation in terms of something yet to be acquired, something
provisional, something that we possess in already and not yet terms. And as
centuries have passed their heirs in building atop this somewhat malformed
theological and epistemological foundation have further erred and strayed into
realms of thought which are at times completely foreign to the New Testament.
These realities point to the fact that the Last Days, the
Church Age is a case of Eschaton-existence at work in or overlapping with time.
Grasping this helps us to see how provisional this order is and indeed how it
is not meant to last. In spiritual or eternal terms it is but a moment – even
though on Earth it has been nigh on two millennia. Kingdoms may rise and fall,
and indeed a whole civilisation has developed but this order has no enduring
character. In another sense which indicates how provisional and temporary the
present order is, it is described as time, times and half a time, the 3 ½ days,
years or half week of Daniel's 70th week. We're in the 70th
week – the Last Days final order and end of the age and yet that week is split
in two signifying Christ's earthly ministry and the ministry of the Church. It
is but for a moment.
There is no new epoch. The Kingdom epoch has already been
announced and it is literally here – all around us in the work of the Spirit
through the Church – condemning the fallen nature of the present order and
pronouncing its doom. When we celebrate the Lord's Supper we are proclaiming
the communion of the saints and proclaiming to the world that Christ is coming
(1 Cor 11.26). When we gather to worship we gather in the presence of the Holy
Host in the very Council-Throne Room of God. The Church is the pillar of that
Temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit – the place of the Divine
Presence, the Shekinah dwelling on Earth for those with eyes to see. It is a
warning against the Earth, an indictment of the world and even now Satan (who
has been cast out/is being cast out) wages war – as he knows the time is short.***
Continue reading Part 2
Continue reading Part 2
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*It is well known that there are grammatical differences
between the dative cased 'Lord's Day' as opposed to the genitive 'Day of the
Lord' – and yet there's nothing outlandish in suggesting that more than one grammatical
structure can be used to refer to a thing or event. The concepts are still
related. If the Revelation 1 day is a reference to Sunday worship – the nomenclature
is instructive and may indeed contain more of a theological element than is
normally supposed. While I do not subscribe to the Sabbath day switch
hypothesis (Saturday to Sunday/ Seventh Day to First Day) which is rooted in a
misunderstanding regarding the nature of the Decalogue, the Sabbath as a sign
of heaven (a point elaborated in Hebrews 3-4) is pertinent to the discussion –
not to Sunday worship per se but to the larger conception of the Lord's Day and
what the Church is doing when it meets.
**And indeed there have been some groups in history that have
picked up on this or a variant of it and have argued that sacraments and rites
are passé or in other cases superfluous. Others have come to this position out
of pragmatic concern – viewing the sacraments to be divisive and superfluous
and as such they simply dispense with them.
Likewise this reality that the Last Days represent a sort of in-time manifestation of the Day of the Lord
could lead to some arguing for Hymenaean Preterism – that Christ has returned
and there is no future expectation of His coming. As with many errors there is
a hint of truth to this – in that we are in the Day of the Lord (in a sense)
and yet it's not completed. It is the last hour before the dawn of that day.
It's basically here but not in its fullness. Christ must still physically
return. Over-realised eschatology is a recurring problem in many theological
structures.
*** The implications of the Cosmic Battle in Revelation 12
continue to fascinate and generate what can only be described as awe. On the
one hand it could be argued the battle took place (or perhaps began) in the
early days of Genesis, in the pre-lapsarian period or perhaps even in an ante-Edenic
setting. Or it could be argued that while the angels fell, Satan and his hosts
were not formally removed from the Council (or still had access to it as seen
in Job) or even the upper spheres or heavens until the Coming of Christ. With
His Earthly ministry and resurrection the ruler entities, elohim or gods are
cast down (Psalm 82) and yet in terms of New Testament theology – not fully
cast out or removed as yet. The battle is (it would seem) the Battle of the
Ages, the Cosmic War which on one level has been raging since time began and
yet on the other hand took on a different character with the Advent of Christ –
and yet may be said to still be an ongoing struggle. His resurrection marked
the end of the powers as is made so clear in passages like Colossians 2 and yet
other passages such as Ephesians 6, Ephesians 2.2 and Galatians 1.4, indicate
this world is still very much in the grip of Satan – even post resurrection.
Cast to the Earth and apparently denied access to the heavenly realms (Rev
12.12, 1 Peter 5.8) he still exercises power – even while in some sense bound
(Matthew 12.28-29, Luke 10.18-20, Revelation 20.2, 9.1).
Time and eternity interact here in a way that defies easy
explanation or even apprehension. This too points to the hard to understand
reality of the Already and Not Yet, of the This Age – Age to Come dynamic and
the fact that these are the Last Days.
Continue reading Part 2