Evolution or Eschatology
by Thurlow J. Switzer
Luke 17:20-21 – “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God will come, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you." NKJV
John 18:36 – “Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."” NKJV
How are we to understand our times? Of course we know that we are members of the Kingdom of God if we have been born again. By the new birth we enter into the eschatological future of God. In this article I want to use two big words: eschatology and evolution. Eschatology has to do with future hope. Evolution has become the big word that refers to humanistic philosophy and cultural change. What is the difference between a naturalistic evolutionary view of history and the biblical eschatological view of history? I speak only with broad brush-strokes.
Naturalistic Evolution and Supernatural Eschatology are opposite world views. Evolution says we are merely drifting into an uncertain future with many factors pointing to the survival of the fittest and the progress of scientific discovery. Eschatology is the study of God’s sovereignty, direction, and involvement in the world, past, present and future. It refers to the effect Godly believers can have in taking dominion in life and history in the Name of Jesus.
Dan 11:32, “The people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits”NKJV.
Compare this with Dan 12:3, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (NKJV).
Society, impacted by a secular swing toward evolution symbolic of its world view, unknowingly entered into chaos. Evolutionary thought embraced a “hands-off” drift from purpose to aimlessness. God ceased to be the subject acting; natural unknown factors became the subject acting. In English grammar sentence structure, the subject identifies the actor or agent acting (which is the verb). In Christian theology, God is the actor. When God is removed from an ideology, only humans are left to be the subject. Consequently not only is universal justice by divine standards vanishing, but also vanishing is a practical sense of justice and righteousness important to daily life and societal order.
Ascending today is a strong resurgence of Marxist socialistic thinking in society, accompanied by a corresponding rejection of a Christian spiritual orientation centered in the symbol and reality of the Kingdom of God. Historic Marxism was a modern discovery of the world as the plane of history, that humans are part of a historical right to be subjects of their own history. Marxists thought was that the average person should rise up and seize the power of the ruling class; although history has revealed that when this happens, they become the new ruling class with the tendency to repress all who do not agree with them. The result is a swing of political power and the influence of a different set of values, hence cultural change with the power of enforcement.
In its commitment to other-worldly orientation, Christianity over time has seemed to lose its relevance for real life. Today Christianity needs to rediscover its relevance to the horizontal aspects of history. Christianity needs a restoration of understanding of what moved and motivated Jesus to declare, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Unfortunately, currently and politically, the argument has been cast as right wing or left wing politics, but the deeper issue is the distinction between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. Man’s human kingdoms centralize power in their own hands, whereas God’s divine kingdom distributes power to the individual who is yielded to God’s Lordship and a power that flows through the human instrumentality by the reality of obedience to God.
From a practical and historical view, there are two great areas of human concern, plus a third ultimate concern: (1) the negative problem of suffering (issues of injustice, crime, etc); (2) the positive need for sufficiency (issues of supply, finances, etc), both of which tend to snuff out a larger issue, (3) the ultimate problem of spirituality and one’s relationship to God (issues of salvation, well being, etc).
There is however, a current awakening in the Christian community of the importance of historical thinking, as least in my heart and as I see it. Are we as Christians influencing and shaping history? Are we players on the world scene; or are we merely waiting to escape and go to heaven?
Even as Marxism developed a philosophy of history, simultaneously rejecting Christianity, so now a fresh concern arises in Christian leaders. The need is to understand that conservative Christianity may have focused only in an “upward” reference with attention to life after death that only dealt superficially with the real life problems. This belief system leaves issues of suffering and sufficiency to the politicians who try to solve problems without a biblical belief system. We need to return to a better understanding of Hebrew roots and Jewish theology which had a vision of God active in history. The early church understood this sense of eschatology, and so must we--that God was and is actively involved through His people in the forward march of history to a final point in which God rules all and all.
1 Cor 15:22-25, 28 – “22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.… 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” NKJV
The New Testament Church understood that in Christ Jesus history has been impacted; life on the historical plane is forever changed. In fact, the early believers understood history as the powerful reality of the Kingdom of God now. They understood that progressively all things come under the Lordship of Christ, leading to the eventual consummation--“all things under Him” finally subject to God that “God may be all in all.”
Therefore, we the Church and God’s people must enter into these grand issues--the negative problem of suffering and injustice, and the ever-present need for sufficiency and supply for the peoples of the world, around us and abroad. Christians embrace these issues even as we maintain a steadfast focus on the need of people to come to salvation and experience authentic spirituality.
How does this relate to individuals in the local church? Even as we seek to introduce people to God as Heavenly Father and to personal salvation, we must not lose awareness that people around us are going through great suffering and often experiencing critical lack of supply.
Matt 25:31-40 – “31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. … 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'” NKJV
Even as we embrace the upward view of the Kingdom of God with His rule and reign among humankind, so also we embrace the apostolic (outward view)--advancing the Kingdom of God on earth as ambassadors of Christ and as instruments of His love and compassion to others.
John 18:36 – “Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here."” NKJV
How are we to understand our times? Of course we know that we are members of the Kingdom of God if we have been born again. By the new birth we enter into the eschatological future of God. In this article I want to use two big words: eschatology and evolution. Eschatology has to do with future hope. Evolution has become the big word that refers to humanistic philosophy and cultural change. What is the difference between a naturalistic evolutionary view of history and the biblical eschatological view of history? I speak only with broad brush-strokes.
Naturalistic Evolution and Supernatural Eschatology are opposite world views. Evolution says we are merely drifting into an uncertain future with many factors pointing to the survival of the fittest and the progress of scientific discovery. Eschatology is the study of God’s sovereignty, direction, and involvement in the world, past, present and future. It refers to the effect Godly believers can have in taking dominion in life and history in the Name of Jesus.
Dan 11:32, “The people who know their God shall be strong and carry out great exploits”NKJV.
Compare this with Dan 12:3, “Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever” (NKJV).
Society, impacted by a secular swing toward evolution symbolic of its world view, unknowingly entered into chaos. Evolutionary thought embraced a “hands-off” drift from purpose to aimlessness. God ceased to be the subject acting; natural unknown factors became the subject acting. In English grammar sentence structure, the subject identifies the actor or agent acting (which is the verb). In Christian theology, God is the actor. When God is removed from an ideology, only humans are left to be the subject. Consequently not only is universal justice by divine standards vanishing, but also vanishing is a practical sense of justice and righteousness important to daily life and societal order.
Ascending today is a strong resurgence of Marxist socialistic thinking in society, accompanied by a corresponding rejection of a Christian spiritual orientation centered in the symbol and reality of the Kingdom of God. Historic Marxism was a modern discovery of the world as the plane of history, that humans are part of a historical right to be subjects of their own history. Marxists thought was that the average person should rise up and seize the power of the ruling class; although history has revealed that when this happens, they become the new ruling class with the tendency to repress all who do not agree with them. The result is a swing of political power and the influence of a different set of values, hence cultural change with the power of enforcement.
In its commitment to other-worldly orientation, Christianity over time has seemed to lose its relevance for real life. Today Christianity needs to rediscover its relevance to the horizontal aspects of history. Christianity needs a restoration of understanding of what moved and motivated Jesus to declare, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is at hand.” Unfortunately, currently and politically, the argument has been cast as right wing or left wing politics, but the deeper issue is the distinction between the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. Man’s human kingdoms centralize power in their own hands, whereas God’s divine kingdom distributes power to the individual who is yielded to God’s Lordship and a power that flows through the human instrumentality by the reality of obedience to God.
From a practical and historical view, there are two great areas of human concern, plus a third ultimate concern: (1) the negative problem of suffering (issues of injustice, crime, etc); (2) the positive need for sufficiency (issues of supply, finances, etc), both of which tend to snuff out a larger issue, (3) the ultimate problem of spirituality and one’s relationship to God (issues of salvation, well being, etc).
There is however, a current awakening in the Christian community of the importance of historical thinking, as least in my heart and as I see it. Are we as Christians influencing and shaping history? Are we players on the world scene; or are we merely waiting to escape and go to heaven?
Even as Marxism developed a philosophy of history, simultaneously rejecting Christianity, so now a fresh concern arises in Christian leaders. The need is to understand that conservative Christianity may have focused only in an “upward” reference with attention to life after death that only dealt superficially with the real life problems. This belief system leaves issues of suffering and sufficiency to the politicians who try to solve problems without a biblical belief system. We need to return to a better understanding of Hebrew roots and Jewish theology which had a vision of God active in history. The early church understood this sense of eschatology, and so must we--that God was and is actively involved through His people in the forward march of history to a final point in which God rules all and all.
1 Cor 15:22-25, 28 – “22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming. 24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet.… 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all.” NKJV
The New Testament Church understood that in Christ Jesus history has been impacted; life on the historical plane is forever changed. In fact, the early believers understood history as the powerful reality of the Kingdom of God now. They understood that progressively all things come under the Lordship of Christ, leading to the eventual consummation--“all things under Him” finally subject to God that “God may be all in all.”
Therefore, we the Church and God’s people must enter into these grand issues--the negative problem of suffering and injustice, and the ever-present need for sufficiency and supply for the peoples of the world, around us and abroad. Christians embrace these issues even as we maintain a steadfast focus on the need of people to come to salvation and experience authentic spirituality.
How does this relate to individuals in the local church? Even as we seek to introduce people to God as Heavenly Father and to personal salvation, we must not lose awareness that people around us are going through great suffering and often experiencing critical lack of supply.
Matt 25:31-40 – “31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. … 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'” NKJV
Even as we embrace the upward view of the Kingdom of God with His rule and reign among humankind, so also we embrace the apostolic (outward view)--advancing the Kingdom of God on earth as ambassadors of Christ and as instruments of His love and compassion to others.