Systematic Theology – Eschatology

Eschatology and Typology

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Genre: Speech

Lesson: 29 of 32

Track: #29

Year:

Dictation Name: 29 Eschatology and Typology

[Rushdoony] Let us begin with prayer.

Oh Lord our God we come to Thee in these troubled times rejoicing in the confidence that is ours in Jesus Christ, in the blessed assurance that in and through Him we are more than conquerors. Grant oh Lord that we fight valiantly against the powers of darkness, overthrow the forces of Humanistic Statism, and bring all things into captivity to Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless us to this purpose we beseech Thee, in Jesus name amen.

Our scripture is from Revelation 1 verse 1-6, and our subject Eschatology and Typology. Eschatology and Typology Revelation 1:1-6.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our own sins in his own blood,

6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

There is an essential relationship between typology and eschatology. Typology is the study of those things which have a common meaning and an integral relationship in scripture. Let me illustrate the meaning by a very simple story. About ten years ago our daughter Sharon went to Kingsford, she took the bus there, got off, and with her suitcase had about a mile to walk to her grandmother’s home. As she was walking someone she had never met stopped by and offered her a ride. It was the son of my father’s cousin, and when Sharon refused he laughed and he said “I know who you are, you are a Rushdoony.” And Sharon took another look at him and realized that they were related. Albert is dark of complexion and hair, and Sharon is blonde and blue-eyed, but they recognized a relationship. They saw a common factor, something that made them recognize who they were.

Now, this has a resemblance to typology. In typology there is a common factor between things in different place and different times. There are related factors and the reality of typology depends upon the fact that God is the creator. Because God has created all things, all things are interrelated. There’s a common purpose, a common pattern in all of history and all the universe. Now that pattern is at all times a discernible thread. There are strands of meaning which govern every moment of time and every atom. But at certain points strong elements of that pattern surface decisively. Thus to cite a very obvious type, Adam is the first man, the head of the humanity. Jesus Christ is the last Adam, the head of the renewed humanity. This is what typology is about, it sees the relationships, the beginnings and the endings, the pattern.

Now there is no possible typology in the world of Darwin, in the world of evolution, because in such a universe chance prevails. There can only be accidental patterns, no common thread of meaning. As a result the study of history disintegrates under the impact of Darwinian thinking, it does not permit one to see anything but a man created, a man imposed meaning. The only meaning that there can be is a man-determined meaning; and if a particular group of men fail that meaning disappears from history. There can be no common pattern. But it is precisely the typological nature of creation which makes science and history possible. If the unbeliever were logical he could have neither science nor history because he would have to say all things are fortuitous, all things represent total chance, nothing has a meaning, and therefore to posit a relationship between things is an illusion.

Now in the theological sense types bind the Old and the New Testament together, they call attention to things with regard to man’s life and salvation, which God has established so that man can understand God’s purposes for him. A century ago Fairbairn, a great Scottish theologian, said concerning typology, and I quote:

“It is held first that in the character, action, or institution which is denominated the type, there must be a resemblance in form or spirit to what answers to it under the gospel. And secondly that it must not be any character, action, or institution occurring in the Old Testament scripture, but such only as had their ordination of God and were designed by Him to foreshadow and prepare for the better things of the gospel.”

Now a type is not a symbol, a symbol is arbitrary thing. Thus the eagle is the symbol of the United States, the bear of Russia. Now we are accustomed to those symbols so they seem quite sensible and fitting for us. But we must remember that Benjamin Franklin proposed as the symbol for the United States a turkey, [chuckles] if we had adopted such a symbol today we would feel a turkey was the logical symbol for this country, and perhaps right now it’s more fitting than the eagle. [More laughter] But you see the point. A symbol is something that is arbitrarily chosen, it has no essential link to the thing it represents, the connection is man-made.

In typology there is an essential relationship, and it is this essential relationship which gives power. When men recognize the importance of types, when they see its relationship to eschatology, they begin to remake history in terms of God’s pattern.

A very interesting book was published not too long ago, a book which is simply a study of American history, and in particular of the colonial period. It is a book by Lowance entitled The Language of Canaan in which he studies the use of typology in American history and in the course of it he devotes one entire chapter to the subject titled The Shaping of the Future – Eschatological Symbolism in Old and New England During the 17th Century. Now what Lowance recognizes clearly there is that when people understand Biblical typology they see it as something in the past that is predictive of something in the future. Therefore to understand it is to be committed to the development and the realization of it, so that when you see a particular symbol that calls for certain things you are then dedicated to developing those things, to establishing the new creation, the reign of Christ, His kingship, the renewal of all things by His power.

In fact these colonial thinkers, because they studied typology, became very postmillennial, victory oriented. And Lowance says, and I quote: “Like modern charismatic and born again Christian groups Edwards (Jonathon Edwards) and the New Lights regarded man’s life after rebirth to be an instrument of the Spirit. The conviction that their present lives prophesied future fulfillments was the deepest impulse of the New Light movement. New Lights’ read there Bibles to understand what future blessings God had revealed in the words and lives of His chosen people.” In other words because they gave themselves to the study of typology these puritan thinkers, the Edwardians, began to see a mandate to go out and develop what the type implicated.

Now let’s look at one facet of typology in order to see what it requires of us. We’ll develop the more specifically in terms of its mandate for us personally next week and in other subsequent studies. There is a link typologically and eschatologically between priesthood and kingship. First of all there is an identification of the two in Melchizedek of which scripture makes a great deal. In Psalm 110, in Hebrews 7:1-28, and in many other passages we are told that in Christ priesthood and kingship are united in an unusual way. It is a royal office and a priestly office that is without father, mother, or without human decent. In other words it comes directly from God. We are told in the New Testament this priesthood and kingship of Christ belongs to all of us in Him so that we are called to be priests, prophets, and kings in Christ.

Isaiah 53:10-13 second says that the priest and king are one and also the suffering servant, Christ, who makes atonement for our sins. Third we are told that the line of King David brings forth the priestly ruler. Jeremiah 30 verse 21. Then fourth Zachariah says the priest king shall reign. And fifth in Isaiah 66:21 out of this priest-king, Christ, an international priesthood of the faithful, of believers out of all nations will be established. And then we come to our text which speaks of this very openly concerning the church. Revelation 1:6. We are told that Christ hath Loved us and washed us from our sins and his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.

It is hard for us today to feel the revolutionary impact of those words. One of our problems is that words are cheap today. Words have been separated from so much of their content and their implication. At one time the seriousness of words and of everything was fully recognized. Let me illustrate, on this subject of kings, hath made us kings. Do you know that in a good deal of history it was forbidden for anyone who was not a king to wear a certain colors? One of them was purple, that belonged to royalty, you could not where such a color. If you called yourself a king you could get your head loped off. Language was recognized as important, it was not used cheaply.

Now here in this situation, as though the Christians did not have enough problems, God through John sets forth this statement, that we have been made kings and priests unto God and His Father. Revelation was written to a suffering church, a martyr church, and the cry of those Christians was echoed in Revelation “how long oh Lord, how long?” How long this suffering, this persecution. John at that time was a prisoner at Patmos, in the mines, and what does he say as if he didn’t have enough troubles, and Christians didn’t have enough troubles, “we have been made kings and priests unto God and His Father.”

Now do you realize why Rome persecuted the early church? They recognized the implications. Here were people who were called and believed they were called and ordained to rule the world, to govern it in terms of the word of God. Now this is typology and eschatology; the type Melchizedek, priest and king; Christ the fulfillment of it. The believer in Christ sent out as a priest-king to bring all things into captivity to Christ. Typology means an integral relationship to eschatology and a necessity to act. If we are kings and priests we have an obligation to bring everything into captivity to Christ, to bring everything under His law-word. We are told that Christ is the greater Moses. In the Sermon on the Mount Christ speaks as the fulfillment of that which Moses was, confirming what Moses said and declaring He had come not to set aside the law, but to fulfill it, to put it into force and replacing “thus saith the Lord” with “I say unto you”. And therefore as we apply His word we become priestly kings.

During the course of the meetings Friday when the subject of taxation came up Howard Phillips with the conservative caucus said we will get to the only workable and sound taxation system when we go back to what the Bible requires, one tax of equal amount for all men, the head or pole tax of scripture; and of course he’s right. Then we will be kings and priests who are faithful, who are applying the word of God in every area of life. We have an interesting episode that throws light on this. We have in John 4 an episode in which Jesus is in Samaria and is chatting with the women at the well, and the discussion goes quickly to a religious one and the woman said in answer to something our Lord said “I know that Messiah cometh.” “Except, being a Samaritan” she said “I know the tahib {?} cometh.” Now as Birch pointed out a generation ago tahib, which is the name for the Samaritan anointed one, is a bringer in of the law. That is also the basil {?} idea in the Hebrew conception of a Messiah, both connote another Moses. We have found that the “amen” name is born by Him who surpasses Moses, and who brings in the new law. Jesus explained to the women “I that speak unto Thee and He” the bringer in of the law.

The law was given by God through Moses. Christ came keeping the law perfectly to create a law keeping people. Calvin said of magistrates that the law is a silent magistrate and the magistrate a speaking law. And we must say that the covenant man, every covenant man, must be a speaking law as well as a living witness of grace, mercy, peace, and justice. It is God’s creation of all things which links all things to His purpose and makes eschatology and typology interrelated. In the life of man there must be a moral link. The willingness to say in Christ and with Christ “lo I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me to do Thy will oh God.” To be in Christ means to be in His typological purpose, to go forth and to bring everything under His dominion, and to establish the rule of His law over ourselves and all men and nations. Let us pray.

Glory be to Thee oh God who has made us priestly kings and given us the mandate to bring all things into captivity to Thy kingdom and to Thy rule. We thank Thee oh Lord that we have not been summoned to a hopeless task, but to an assured victory. Grant oh Lord that we go forth in confidence of doing all things. Exercising dominion in Thy name and by Thy law word, to the end that justice may prevail and the glorious liberty of the sons of God may govern this earth. Grant us this we beseech Thee in Jesus name, amen.

Are there any questions now about our lesson?

Yes?

[Audience member] I still don’t understand what is meant by eschatology, {?}

[Rushdoony] Why it is related to eschatology?

[Audience member] Well just what that is.

[Rushdoony] Oh, eschatology is the doctrine of the last things, or of the development of things. Now to put it on a very simple level, what is the eschatology of a child? It is to develop into an adult under God; so eschatology is the development, the growth of something to its logical end. Our personal eschatology is to serve God and to glorify Him, to be obedient to His law-word. The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever, that’s our eschatology. So we have each of us our individual eschatologies, as families, as institutions, schools, political action groups, businesses, we have an eschatology. And as a people under God we have a worldwide eschatology the purpose of which is to fulfill God’s purpose in every area.

Now what we shall be dealing with next week and in other subsequent studies is the specifics of the areas of our eschatology, how we develop and apply them. So eschatology to often is reserved by some people to the second coming. Now we have been dealing with that on previous weeks. But it goes far beyond just what happens with the second coming, but it includes everything that we do here and now, and will do in the world to come.

Any other questions or comments?

Well if not let us bow our heads in prayer.

Our Lord and our God it has been good for us to be here. Thy word is truth and Thy word is a joy to our hearts and a light upon our way. Prosper us ever in Thy service, make strong Thy witness oh Lord in high places and low, to the end that we may again be a Godly people, that we may again stand for justice, for truth, and for freedom. Grant us this we beseech Thee, in Jesus name amen.