THE « WRIGHT » ESCHATOLOGY

THEO 201

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30

SAMUEL FARRUGIA

“TRADITIONAL” ESCHATOLOGY

1.PEOPLE DIE.2.PEOPLE FACE GOD’S

JUDGMENT.3.PEOPLE GO TO EITHER

HEAVEN OR HELL.

TRADITIONAL VIEWS OF HEAVEN

• “…{the angel} showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It has the glory of God and a radiance like a very rare jewel, like jasper… 12 It has a great, high wall with twelve gates… 14 And the wall of the city has twelve foundations, and on them are the… names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb… 18 The wall is built of jasper, while the city is pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every jewel… 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls, each of the gates is a single pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, transparent as glass.”

• Revelation 21.10-21

TRADITIONAL VIEWS OF HEAVEN

“RAPTURE THEOLOGY”

TRADITIONAL VIEWS OF HELL

• “11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence… 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened… And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire; 15 and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20.11-15

THE APOSTLE’S CREEDI believe in God,the Father almighty,Creator of heaven and earth,

and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died and was buried;he descended into hell;

on the third day he rose again from the dead; (RESURRECTION OF JESUS)he ascended into heaven,and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty;from there he will come to judge the living and the dead. (RETURN OF JESUS)

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic Church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body, (RESURRECTION OF BELIEVERS)

and life everlasting. Amen. (NEW BODILY LIFE IN “THE AGE TO COME”)

WRIGHT’S « RADICAL » VIEW

WRIGHT’S UNDERSTANDING OF NT ESCHATOLOGY

(CHRISTIAN HOPE ACCORDING TO THE NT)1. BASED ON JESUS’ RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD.

A. INTERPRETED AS (AN INDIVIDUAL AND UNEXPECTED) FULFILLMENT OF JEWISH HOPE FOR A RESURRECTION OF ALL THE RIGHTEOUS.

B. JESUS’ RESURRECTION CAUSED THE FIRST CHRISTIANS TO RESHAPE THE JEWISH HOPE FOR RESURRECTION INTO A 2-STAGE PROCESS: FIRST JESUS, THEN (SOME TIME LATER), ALL CHRISTIANS AT THE TIME OF JESUS’ RETURN.

2. INDIVIDUAL HOPE IS PLACED WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE HOPE FOR A RE-CREATED COSMOS.

3. THE HOPE OF THE INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN IS TO INHABIT A NEW WORLD IN AN IMMORTAL BODY.

4. THOSE WHO “SUFFER FINAL LOSS” WILL CONTINUE TO EXIST AFTER DEATH IN AN “EX-HUMAN STATE”…

WRIGHT’S UNDERSTANDING OF HELL?

SMEAGOL GOLLUM

CREATION & REDEMPTION

Gnosticism

• Creation is an act of rebellion by a lesser god (demiurge) against the Supreme Being. Matter is inherently evil.

• Salvation involves the liberation of the soul from the body at death so that the soul may ascend to the higher realms of pure spirit.

Biblical theology

• Creation is an act of love by the Creator, the One and only true God. God declares his creation to be “good” (Gn. 1.4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31).

• Salvation involves the redemption (restoration; recreation) of the entire created order, including the bodies of believers.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS

2 PHENOMENA THAT REQUIRE AN EXPLANATION

1.The empty tomb.2.The appearances of the resurrected

Jesus to his followers.

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS• The NT language of « resurrection ».

• Refers to a new bodily life, the other side of death (not the resuscitation of a corpse; not a Zombie).

• Early Christianity as a messianic movement.• The crucifixion of a would-be Messiah

spelled the end of his movement (Ac. 5.36-37).

THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS: A NEW GENESIS

“21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being; 22 for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in

Christ… 45 Thus it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a

living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit… 47 The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the

second man is from heaven… 49 Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we will also bear the image of

the man of heaven.”

1 Corinthians 15.20-22; 45-49

RESURRECTION HOPE IN 2ND-TEMPLE JUDAISM

(6TH-C B.C. – 1ST-C A.D.)

RESURRECTION OF THE RIGHTEOUS AT THE DAWN OF “THE AGE TO COME”

“At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations

first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.

2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

Daniel 12.1-2

RESURRECTION HOPE IN EARLY CHRISTIANITY:

2-STAGE RESURRECTION“20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. 21 For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being…23 But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24 Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has destroyed every ruler and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

1 Corinthians 15.20-26

IMAGES OF NEW CREATION1. Seedtime and harvest (1 Corinthians 15).2. The victorious battle (1 Corinthians 15).3. Citizens of Heaven, colonizing the Earth (Philippians 3).4. God will be all in all (1 Corinthians 15).5. New Birth (Romans 8).6. The marriage of Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21).

CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, COLONIZING THE EARTH

“20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. 21 He will

transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also

enables him to make all things subject to himself.”Philippians 3.20-21

CITIZENS OF HEAVEN, COLONIZING THE EARTH

WRIGHT

• Imagery from roman imperial policy• “citizens of heaven” does NOT refer to the  future post-mortem home of Christians, but rather is a badge of identity and of the Christian’s mission on Earth.

• Jesus will come from Heaven to Earth , and transform the bodies of Christians.

MCGRATH, pp. 179, 182-83

• “citizens of heaven”• a major theme of Paul’s theology

• Implies that Christians are presently strangers on the Earth, on their way to their heavenly home.

• For McGrath, to be a “citizen of heaven” not only implies tension with the way the world currently is, but indicates that our ultimate hope lies in a different place altogether.

THE MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“See, the home of God is among mortals… 4 {God} will wipe every tear from their eyes.Death will be no more;mourning and crying and pain will be no more,for the first things have passed away.”

5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.”

Revelation 21.1-5

NEW BIRTH“9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you… 10 But if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from

the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit

that dwells in you.”

Romans 8.9-11

NEW BIRTH“18 I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager

longing for the revealing of the children of God; 20 for the creation was subjected to futility… in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to

decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now;23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,

groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.”

Romans 8.18-23

“HEAVEN” ACCORDING TO WRIGHT

Not the final destination for believers

• “heaven” = “life after death” (Phil. 1.23)

• “resurrection of the body” = “life AFTER life after death”

THE BELIEVER’S “FINAL DESTINATION”

• Following an “intermediate state” of rest and fellowship with Christ (“life after death”), the believer will be raised to a new bodily life to inhabit the new creation (Rm. 8; 1 Cor. 15; Rev. 21-22) = “life AFTER life after death”.

ANTICIPATING NEW CREATION…

“Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord,

because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

1 Corinthians 15.58