Just came across this in my reading last evening:
As the resurrection of Jesus anticipates and secures the general resurrection, so the death of Christ, usually represented by Paul as an atonement, occasionally appears as securing and embodying in advance the judgment and destruction of the spiritual powers opposed to God, thus bringing the other great eschatological transaction within the scope of the present activity of Christ and the present experience of believers, Rom. viii. 3; I Cor. ii. 6 (where notice the present participle …: “who are already coming to nought “).
From the article “The Eschatological Aspect of the Pauline Conception of the Spirit”, by Geerhardus Vos, found in Biblical and Theological Studies, collected essays from the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary. (Available for free on Google Books!)
I’m familiar with the idea that the resurrection of Christ is the first fruits of our own resurrection, and that there is a kind of organic solidarity between the Head (Christ) and His body (the Church) – that, to quote Scripture, “because He lives, we also shall live.” But I had never thought about how the judgement of the Cross (which He took on Himself in our stead, Isa. 53 [show]
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
[2]For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
[3]He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
[4]Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
[5]But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
[6]All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned--every one--to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
[7]He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
[8]By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
[9]And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
[10]Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
[11]Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
[12]Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
) is also a ‘down payment’ or first fruits of the cosmic judgment that awaits the rest of the old creation – unbelievers included. As surely as he was raised, so shall we be raised. As surely as he was judged (in our place), so shall the enemies of God be judged. Just as our resurrection has already begun, so also has their judgement.
That’s a scary thought, if one isn’t in Christ. God’s wrath is still pending – and dare I say – growing full, looming ominously, intensifying fiercely – until that day of full consummation which he has appointed. Let us check ourselves. See whether we are in the faith. For there is therefore now no condemnation for all those who are in Christ – but for those who aren’t? The day of their ferocious (though just) judgement, has already begun. The clouds, dark and heavy with justice, have already started to gather…
gmail.com
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power” ~ Rev. 20 [show] Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. [2]And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, [3]and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.
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[4]Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. [5]The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. [6]Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
[7]And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison [8]and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. [9]And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, [10]and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
[11]Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. [12]And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. [13]And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, 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 if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” ~ Rev. 20:14-15 [show] [14]Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. [15]And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (ESV)
I have read and understand that the biblical concept of “eternal destruction” is not a form of nonexistence (sorry
for the double negative). Rather, this experience has an element of conscious awareness which continues for eternity.
On occasion, a non-believer will ask “What is this salvation, what am I to be saved from?” With this portion of John’s writing in mind, the idea of “being saved” takes on a very clear meaning.
In our day of the seeker sensitive Gospel, this aspect of the scripture is consistently overlooked.
-doug
@doug: I agree, Doug. The correct answer to that question is that we are saved from God (as well as from sin and the devil). Thankfully, we are also saved by God, through God (in Christ), to God, and for God!