How the Future Invades the Present

In this article, I want to talk about one of the most important concepts in Christian theology that most people have never heard of: inaugurated eschatology. If that phrase seems intimidating, don’t worry. It is not nearly as complicated as it sounds.

“Eschatology” comes from the Greek word eschatos, which means “last”. The “-ology” ending means it is “the study of” the last things. And in Christian theology, that means it is the study of things like heaven, hell, the end times, and the second coming. It is the area of theology that explores our final end and the consummation of salvation history. When we put the word “inaugurated” in front of it, it means something remarkable.

Most people think that the consummation of salvation history, the restoration of the entire created world, is a long way off, so right now we’re still living in what we might call “normal” time. But according to the Christian faith, that is not quite true. Rather, for Christians, this consummation has already begun. With the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the end time has “invaded” our normal time, so even though it will be completed when Jesus comes again, it has already been inaugurated here and now.

Jesus’ Resurrection

If you have never come across this idea before, it might sound strange, so let’s look at a concrete example of how it actually works in practice: Jesus’ Resurrection. A lot of us today view this as just an isolated event, an anomaly even, but that is not how Scripture understands it. Instead, take a look at how St. Paul describes this central moment in salvation history:

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the Resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23)

In ancient Judaism, the Resurrection was supposed to happen at the end of human history, when all of creation was renewed, and we Christians still believe that today. However, there is one big difference between us and the Jews: we believe that the Resurrection has already begun

Sure, the Resurrection of believers will happen at the end of history when Jesus comes again, but as St. Paul tells us, it actually began 2,000 years ago when Jesus rose from the dead as the “first fruits.” In Him, the Resurrection that is supposed to happen in the future has been inaugurated, and it is going to be completed when He comes again.

Our Resurrection

That is a pretty wild idea, but it is just the beginning. Jesus’ Resurrection isn’t an isolated instance of inaugurated eschatology. If we look at some other key passages in St. Paul’s letters, we will find that the future Resurrection has invaded the present in a few other ways as well. For starters, take a look at this text:

But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:4-7)

Even though we obviously haven’t been raised from the dead yet (we haven’t even died!), that does not mean that the future Resurrection has left us “untouched”, so to speak. Far from it. In this passage, Paul tells us that we already experience its power in the present. We already experience a spiritual foretaste of it even though we are still waiting for the fullness of our salvation in the future. Again, the Resurrection has been inaugurated, but it will not be completed until Jesus comes again.

The Guarantee of the Spirit

Likewise, we also see an example of inaugurated eschatology in the primary way St. Paul describes the Holy Spirit:

But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has commissioned us; he has put his seal upon us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. (1 Corinthians 1:21-22)

For while we are still in this tent, we sigh with anxiety; not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. (1 Corinthians 5:4-5)

In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

In all three of these passages, St. Paul describes the Holy Spirit as a “guarantee”, and that raises a question for us: what exactly is the Spirit a guarantee of?

In the first text, it is not immediately obvious, but the other two are crystal clear. In the second one, Paul uses the metaphor of being “clothed” to refer to death and the Resurrection. Being “unclothed” means dying and losing our bodies, and being “further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life” refers to the Resurrection, when we will receive glorious bodies that can never die again.

Consequently, the Spirit, as our guarantee that we will be “further clothed”. is actually a guarantee that God will raise us from the dead when Jesus comes again. Similarly, the third text describes the Holy Spirit as the guarantee of our “inheritance”, a term Paul uses later in that same letter to refer to salvation (Ephesians 1:18, 5:5), so it is clear that the Spirit is God’s guarantee that He will in fact save us just like He promised.

Our Down Payment

Now, that answers one question, but like any good mystery, another question immediately pops up to take its place: what exactly does it mean for the Holy Spirit to be a “guarantee” of our future Resurrection and salvation?

At first, the answer may seem pretty simple. God gives us the Spirit to show us that He will in fact make good on His promise to save us. In other words, since He has given us the Spirit, we can trust that He is going to give us salvation as well. However, if we dig deeper into the Greek word translated in these passages as “guarantee”, there is actually more to it than that.

The Holy Spirit isn’t just some random gift that God decided to use as a guarantee of our future salvation. No, the Greek word for “guarantee” is arrabon, and it actually refers to a down payment. It is a guarantee because it is literally the beginning of what is promised. For example, if I hire you to build a house for me, and I give you a down payment, that means I am already starting to pay you for your work. I am already starting to give you the money I promised, and you’ll get the rest later, when the house is done.

It is the same with the Holy Spirit. He is the one who will save us and raise us from the dead when Jesus comes again (Romans 8:11), so if we receive Him in the present, it means that we are already experiencing His salvation here and now. Sure, it is just a foretaste, but that doesn’t make it any less real. By giving us the Holy Spirit, God has guaranteed our salvation by getting the process started. He has inaugurated our salvation, and He will complete it when Jesus comes again.

The Two Ages

That is pretty convincing proof of inaugurated eschatology, but we’re not done yet. If there is even an inkling of doubt left, it should be completely eradicated by the next three short passages I want to look at:

Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. (Galatians 1:3-4)

For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come. (Hebrews 6:4-5)

Ancient Jews in the time of Jesus and Paul often spoke about two ages: the present age (sometimes called the present evil age) and the age to come. The present age is the world we live in now, what we would call “normal” history, and the age to come is the new creation, the time when God will raise the dead and restore the world to what He always intended it to be. And when we read these three texts with that background in mind, they come alive with meaning.

Tasting the Age to Come

The first passage tells us not to conform ourselves to “this age,” so we’re clearly not in the age to come yet. As we can tell just by looking around us, “this age” is very much alive and well! However, that is only half the story. The other two texts say that Jesus has delivered us from “the present evil age,” so we can now taste “the goodness of…the powers of the age to come.”

This means that as Christians, we straddle two worlds. It is like we have one foot in this age and one foot in the age to come. In other words, we still live in the present age, but we’ve also been rescued from it and empowered to experience the age to come.

So once again, the teaching of the New Testament is crystal clear. The new creation, the consummation of God’s plan of salvation, has been inaugurated. Our salvation and our deliverance from the present evil age have begun, but they will not be complete until Jesus comes again.