Further Thoughts on the Nations and Eschatology tagged: , , , ,

Further Thoughts on the Nations and Eschatology

Posted by in Bible & Theology

Back on October 1, I posted an article here on SBC Impact entitled The New Testament Role of Nation-States, in which I confessed I do not yet have a good grasp on what the Bible teaches on various questions related to that general topic. I appreciate the comments I received on that post, which have helped me as I continue to mull over these questions.

In the meantime, I have been doing a good bit of reading for my upcoming Ph.D. Missions seminars at Southeastern Seminary, and have been pleasantly surprised to see the number of authors who, in one way or another, deal with the same issues, ask some of the same questions, and provide some additional food for thought. One idea that has surfaced in several different books is a justification of the so-called “cultural mandate” of the church, based upon the words of Revelation 21:22-27:

I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Anthony A. Hoekema, in Created in God’s Image, comments, for example:

Revelation 21:24-26 tells us that “the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it (the holy city that will be found on the new earth),” and that “the glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.” These fascinating words suggest that the best contributions of each nation will enrich life on the new earth, and that whatever potentialities and gifts have been of value in this present life will somehow, in some way, be retained and enriched in the life to come. This implies that there will be continuity as well as discontinuity between the present life and the life to come, and that therefore our cultural, scientific, educational, and political endeavors today help us to prepare for a fuller and richer life on the new earth. (pp. 94-95)

These intriguing words suggest that the unique contributions of every nation to the life of the present earth will in some way enrich life on the new earth. (p. 202)

He also quotes Richard Mouw on p. 202:

The Holy City [i.e., the new Jerusalem of Revelation 21] is not wholly discontinuous with present conditions. The biblical glimpses of this City give us reason to think that its contents will not be completely unfamiliar to people like us. In fact, the contents of the City will be more akin to our present cultural patterns than is usually acknowledged in discussions of the afterlife.

When the Kings Come Marching In (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983), pp. 6-7.

And then, to this, Hoekema adds:

On the basis of this continuity between the present earth and the Holy City of the new earth, Mouw urges his readers to keep active in their cultural, scientific, educational, and political pursuits, knowing that in this way they will be preparing for a fuller and richer life on the new earth that awaits him. (p. 202)

Having not yet read Mouw’s work in its totality (so far, I have only been able to read through the first 22 pages available on the Google Book Preview), I must reserve comment on his ultimate conclusions. Evidently, much of his understanding of Revelation 21 hinges on his understanding of Isaiah 60.

In any case, here is my point: I think that, while Isaiah 60 was almost certainly in the mind of the Apostle John when he wrote (under divine inspiration) Rev. 21:22-27, this passage must also be read in the context of Rev. 19:11-18; 20:1-3, and 7-8:

I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and mighty men, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, small and great.”

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.

As I understand it, on the basis of Rev. 19:11-18, there will be a significant discontinuity between the present world political system and that described in Rev. 21:22-27. It is hard for me to imagine, based on the overall context of the final chapters of Revelation, that the nations which walk by the light of the Lamb of God, and the kings of the earth who bring their splendor into the holy city, in Rev. 21, are the very same ones who are “struck down,” and whom the birds of the air are invited to devour, in Rev. 19.

Evidently, there is a lot about the end of time that we do not yet understand, and which God has not seen fit to reveal to us in His Word. Due to this, I am, in many respects, a self-confessed “pan-millenialist” (e.g. I believe it is all going to “pan out” one way or another in the end).

I am not opposed to the idea that the mandate God gave to humanity at large, in Gen. 1:28, to “fill the earth and subdue it” remains in force. And, I certainly believe that, as Christ’s followers to whom He said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you,” we should minister the love and freedom of God, in all of its facets—spiritual, physical, emotional, social, and economical—to all of humanity, making good use of all of the resources we have at our disposal.

However, I don’t think we, as Christians, should hang much hope at all on the political structures of this earth—capitalist, communist, democratic, totalitarian, or otherwise—to bring about the will of God for humanity. I think the supposed “christianization” of the Roman Empire, under Constantine and Theodosius, was one of the devil’s most successful ploys ever to get God’s children off-track from the commission Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20. And I don’t think a “Christian America” is necessarily any more immune to Satan’s diversionary tactics than anyone else.

I think we are to be more about calling out God’s faithful remnant from among every “nation, tribe, people and language” than trying to convert and transform the political structures that presently rule over them. If we can, in the meantime, work through those structures in order to save unborn lives, show mercy to the needy, and work for justice on the present-day earth, then great! I’m all for that. But we should not hang our hopes there. As I read it, all of those structures, not just those of the “bad guy” nations, will one day be “struck down” by the “sharp sword” coming out of the mouth of the Lamb of God. But, by the same token, there will be a representation, albeit a despised and persecuted minority, from among every nation (panta ta ethné) gathered, in grateful worship, around the throne of that very same Lamb of God.

From among those, there may well be new nations and new kings whom the Lamb Himself appoints as His co-regents in the millenial kingdom. But, then again, I’m not really sure how all that is going to work out. Of this much I am confident, though: It will all “pan out” one way or another. Christ will reign forever. And, those of us who submit to Him as Lord here and now in this present age will be very glad we did, whenever that day may come.