Former RTS Orlando student, former employee at my current favorite bookstore, and current adjunct professor of theology at the New York City campus of Nyack College, Joseph Torres, discusses what he calls a wider vision of eschatology in his most recent post. In evangelical circles, it is common to link the discussion of eschatology with what events will transpire at the end of history—the rapture, the tribulation, the thousand-year reign, and so on. But, Joseph suggests broadening our discussion:

Protology is the study of “first things,” and explores what I call seedbed for a multiplicity of themes are developed and expanded throughout the rest of the story told in the Bible. Just a few of these would include the seed of the woman, the people of God, human dominion over the earth, sin, judgment, and the Word of God, to name a few. Eschatology, in the expanded definition, is the study of where these developing themes “end up.” What’s the final goal of these themes? That’s what eschatology studies. It’s more than merely about the debates over the timing of the return of Christ (though, of course, it’s not less than these debates).

A helpful corrective, I think. Broadening our perspective in this way, Joseph argues, helps to cultivate a biblically-informed philosophy of history and plays a significant role in shaping our worldview.

What do you think? How will our perspective change if we consider where history is going as opposed to what happens when history ends?

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If we understand the Sabbath to be a creation ordinance (Gen. 2:2-3) rather than a Mosaic ordinance (Ex. 20:8-11), and also understand it to be the destiny of man (that is, our eschatological rest, as per Heb. 3:7-4:13), then the implications of what it means to observe that day should be relatively clear.

I emphasize should. I am still confused. More to follow. I know I said I'd leave the issue to rest, but I can't.

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Perhaps I give this far too much thought. But, I really dislike winter.

I maintain, along with C.S. Lewis, that winter---that is, winter within small parts of Group C and all of Group D and E of the Köppen climate classification---is a result of the Fall. Lewis' Narnia, of course, during the rule of the White Witch and prior to Aslan's sacrificial act, serves as an example of a world in the grips of the distortions of sin. Only through the salvation he brings is the creation returned to its original state. Lewis' connection of winter with evil is not only his perspective; such a view is also maintained in Norse mythology in the period of Fimbulwinter.

When Christ returns to renew the creation (Rom. 8:20-22), winter will cease to exist. For, a world free of death, pain, and suffering (Rev. 21:4) cannot include a season that causes such things. The Genesis record does not mention the original climate in creation, but the natural state of Adam and Eve (Gen. 2:25) in the garden indicates that winter would have caused them suffering, thus negating the paradisaical nature of the original creation. As the Garden of Eden prefigures the new earth, we can expect that new earth to be characterized by a perfect level of physical comfort when Christ establishes his Kingdom for eternity at his second coming.

Nevertheless, God reveals his goodness amidst the ugliness of this sin-distorted world, even in the harshness of winter. When a fresh blanket of soft white snow covers the ground, before the pollutants in the air and the salt and grime of the roads defile it, we are reminded of our redemption through the atoning work of Christ that washes away our sin (Ps. 51:7). Also, it reminds us of the good nature of our God, as the symbolical nature of his appearance is described in Scripture (cf. Matt. 28:3, and Rev. 1:14).

Of course, all the unnatural climates of the world can be attributed to the grip of sin on creation. However, if Dante's metaphorical circles of hell, arranged concentrically with a gradual increase in wickedness, are any indication, then the culmination of wickedness found in the ninth circle demonstrate that the greatest degree of sin is found in the frigid and frozen character of winter.

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Interesting discussion today in class on the fourth commandment of the Decalogue. We began by talking about the nature of the Sabbath. D.A. Carson argues that the Sabbath was abrogated with Christ’s fulfillment of the law, and we now have the Lord’s Day, which he distinguishes as different. He is contrasted by the former Princeton theologian Charles Hodge, who maintained that while the day is different, the Sabbath remains. Carson says that as we are on the other side of the crux of redemptive history (Christ’s death and resurrection), we must now view it in a different light.

This is where it gets interesting. Some say that as we live in the already/not yet mentality---that is, in this stage of the coming of the Kingdom where it has been established by Christ, but not yet consummated by his second coming---we need to view the Lord’s Day in this manner as well. The rest that we observe on the Lord’s Day is a foretaste of the eternal rest that we will have when the Kingdom comes in fullness. As such, we should not require unbelievers to observe the Sabbath. Thus, if they want to have their stores and restaurants open on Sunday, if they want to work on Sunday, let them do so.

That is a peculiar line of thought to me, and one that I have not come into contact with up until now. As I've understood it (according to Calvin's threefold division of the law), all people are bound to the moral law, due to the fact that we are in covenant with God. The Sabbath, though a creation ordinance like marriage and work, is distinguished by the fact that it is eschatological in nature. So it is reserved for believers only.

I'll have one more post on this for sure, maybe more. But for now, any thoughts on this? Is this a new understanding for you?

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