Vos on the New Creation
Posted by BryanMar 8
The following quote is from the introduction of Geerhardus Vos’ “The Eschatology of the Old Testament
“The biblical redemption aims at a new creation and nothing less than that. Therefore, all the threads of purposeful finality are made to run together in the redemptive revelation of grace; all the rays of original eschatological light and splendor are refocused in it. The dignity of God as Redeemer postulates it and the truly pious soul will not, cannot, conceive of it otherwise. The promise reminds God of and, as it were, confronts him with the fact that he cannot abandon the works of his hands, that he must perfect what he has begun. This is but another way of saying that eschatology is the crown of redemption both from God’s and man’s side.”
Λέγει ὁ μαρτυρῶν ταῦτα· ναί, ἔρχομαι ταχύ. Ἀμήν, ἔρχου κύριε Ἰησοῦ.
The one who testifies to these things says, “Yes! I am coming quickly!” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
2 comments
Comment by Nik on March 8, 2009 at 5:11 pm
“eschatology is the crown of redemption”? The crown I’m thinking of is thorny.
One verse that comes to mind is “Behold, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind.”(Isaiah 65:17)
A really big thing is happening in that verse, and the more I think about it, the more question marks pop up.
Comment by Bryan on March 8, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Nik,
That’s the point. The death of Christ as a sacrifice points to just more than personal redemption. Certainly, the thrust of it is personal redemption, but there is also a whole other backdrop of cosmic redemption, which personal redemption is part of. The last part of the “Christ-hymn” of Col 1:15-20 speaks to this:
“and through [Christ] to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
The way all things will be reconciled to God is through the “blood of the cross,” or to put it in more common language, through the sacrificial death of Jesus. Paul also talks about the renewal of all creation in Romans 8:20ff
“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that sthe whole creation thas been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”
There, Paul links the yearning for redemption of creation with the yearning of redemption for our bodies. In fact, the verse you quoted finds its fulfillment in this very act. Revelation 21.1-4:
“Then I saw ya new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
The reason Vos says what he did is because of the thorny crown. The new heavens and new earth are the crown of redemption, because it is what the entire sweep of redemptive history is moving towards- it is the goal of God saving his people. To put it another way, it is God’s people living in community with God himself, in a perfect creation, in perfect unstained worship, forever. Eschatology is the crown, personal redemption is one of the jewels.