Tag: Genesis

Exercising Dominion

EXERCISING DOMINION
According to Isaiah 45:18 (cf. v.12), which is presumably an inference drawn from Genesis 1, the earth was created to be inhabited. Thus from the start man’s primary vocation as one who is made in the image of God is to exercise dominion over the creation he inhabits (1:26-28). Since man is uniquely both earth-derived flesh and spirit, the assumption must be that insofar as he is spirit he is intended to rule both the earth and his own flesh, as a rider is his horse (Jas. 3:2f., cf. Isa 31:3). According to the Psalmist (8:5-8), implicit in his call are not only the promise of present blessing but also that of final glory and honour.
However, Adam, who was representative man according to the flesh (cf. 1 Cor. 15:45-49), after an apparently propitious start (Gen. 2:19f.) failed to fully abide by his vocation to till the garden in which he was placed. He and Eve deceived by the devil disobeyed the rule God had imposed primarily on Adam. And having come under the dominion of sin (and hence of death, Rom. 5:14,21) they were cast out. The inevitable result of this was that the land he was supposed to superintend became a desolation (cf. e.g. Isa. 6:11; 27:10). The implication of the curse placed on Adam was that the ever-increasing difficulty of his dominion exercised in his expanding world would become apparent (Gen. 3:17-19) especially in his progeny (cf. Gen. 4:12; 5:29; Ex. 23:28f.). (Bearing in mind that Adam was at once both individual and community, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Garden of Eden is to be understood as the womb of mankind where initial nurture corresponded with gestation. Note how Adam as the son of God, Luke 3:38, though portrayed physically as an adult and spiritually as an infant, cf. Dt. 1:39; Isa. 7:15f., etc., was first created by God then placed in the Garden to till it, Gen. 2:8,15. In Psalm 139:15 David presents himself as first woven in the depths of the earth like Adam, and in verse 13 knitted together in his mother’s womb. Needless to say, the first Adam invites comparison with the second Adam who was also “created” or generated by his Father, to gestate in the Virgin’s womb, cf. Job 31:15; Heb. 10:5. The essential difference between the two as ‘seed’ was that the first stemmed from the earth, the second from heaven, 1 Cor. 15:45-49. It is worth adding that man is by nature subject to development, and the idea that he was originally created as an adult in a single 24-hour day is a contradiction in terms and must be rejected out of hand.)
The Flood
Since the earth, like its product the flesh (John 6:63; Rom. 7:18), proved unprofitable in that it failed to produce its intended fruit of obedient men and women (Gen. 6:11-13, cf. Heb. 6:7f.), God threatened its destruction by means of the flood. Thus, man, in fact all flesh (Gen. 6:17) and their habitat (6:13) faced universal obliteration. However, God in his grace and pursuit of his plan of salvation saw fit to rescue Noah and his immediate family. In contrast with his arrangement with Adam, God established a transgenerational covenant with Noah. This time, the command to be fruitful (Gen. 9:1,7, cf. 1:28) was undergirded by a guarantee of success despite sin so long as the earth remained (Gen. 8:21f.). Though sinful mankind might well find his conditions on a naturally corruptible and recalcitrant earth difficult (Gen. 3:19), he could nonetheless exercise his dominion with purpose and meaning. (It might be added that even the sinless Jesus found earthly conditions outside the womb hard. He too had to endure hard work, experience fatigue, sweating, etc.)
Sodom and Gomorrah
Though prior to his reception of the law, apart from which he could do neither good nor evil,  Adam was clearly as innocent as a baby (cf. Dt. 1:39, etc.). The traditional Augustinian notion is that he was righteous and holy as created, that is, even before he embarked on the path to perfection. And it was from this “high estate” that he “fell” and brought a curse on the entire cosmos. This notion, which is called in question by Genesis 13:10 (cf. Ex. 16:3; Num 16:13; Isa. 36:17), is repudiated by Paul’s insistence in 1 Timothy 4:3f. (cf. Gen. 8:22; 1 Cor. 10:26,30f.) that the earth is still good, that is, useful but like the law incapable of giving life (Gal. 3:21). However, events at Sodom and Gomorrah where ungodly people and their habitat were destroyed remind us again that the earth which is fruitless and, like the flesh that derives from it, unprofitable (John 6:63, cf. Gal. 6:8) is ripe for destruction (Lu. 17:29f.; Heb. 6:7f., cf. Luke 13:6ff.). In other words, if man fails adequately to exercise his rule over the earth in such a way as to produce its intended harvest of godly souls it will be dispensed with (cf. the ruin of Egypt, Ex. 8:24; 10:7). Thus the eschatological picture is one where both the ungodly and their habitat are destroyed as at Sodom (2 Pet. 3:7,10-12; Rev. 14:17-20, etc.) and believers rescued or saved (Mark 13:27; Rev. 14:14-16).
The Canaanites
Leviticus 18:24ff. and 20:22ff. in particular describe the uncleanness of the Canaanites. However, they were nature worshippers and apparently took their dominion over the land seriously, so seriously that they bequeathed a good land, like Egypt (Num. 16:13), flowing with milk and honey (Dt. 6:10f.; Neh. 9:25) to the incoming Israelites who had been rescued from Egyptian bondage. On this occasion, the Canaanites themselves who had polluted the land by their idolatry were, like Adam before them, vomited out and forced to give way to or be enslaved by the new arrivals. The latter in their turn were to ensure that the land was properly maintained and not become desolate (cf. Dt. 7:12-15; 28:1-14). (This surely undermines the view that the earth is under a permanent curse stemming from Adam. See further my essay Cosmic Curse?)
Dominion under David
It soon became apparent that rest in the Promised Land was less than idyllic. Even when David became king and his son Solomon reaped the blessings that issued from his reign, all was not well for sin and rebellion remained permanent problems (cf. Dt. 9:7,24; 1 Sam. 8:8; Neh. 9:35). But this was no more than Moses in particular had predicted when he underlined the punishment that would be imposed on the people of God’s own possession if they proved unfaithful (Dt. 4:26; 8:20; 30:18). For all that, God in his grace promised to do his people good in the end (Dt. 8:16, cf. Jer. 29:11, etc.). Dominion was certainly extended under David as 1 Kings 4:20f. (cf. Jos. 21:43-45; 23:14) makes clear. Despite this, the promise of a future king or Messiah was necessitated by constant failure. Only the sure blessings of David  (Isa. 55:3) which pointed to eternity (Acts 13:34, cf. Luke 1:32f.) would prove adequate to meet the people’s need, as later events made clear.
The Exile
But the Israelites themselves did not heed the warning of Deuteronomy 6:12-15. There came a time when they also went their own ungodly way and were sent into exile. During this time the land, lacking inhabitants, languished. Happily, repentance paved the way for a restoration of the fortunes of God’s people, and their return brought renewed though by no means total blessing as it did on the occasion of a much later return in Christian times. However, the rest originally promised to Joshua was by no means final; rather it looked forward to a more complete one at the end of time (Heb. 3 & 4). The pilgrimage of the people of God was not to terminate in an earthly city or land but in the heavenly one to which Abraham aspired (Heb. 11:10,16; 13:14). The conclusion from this must be that man’s dominion, like his law keeping, must be maintained to the end of earthly reality (Mt. 5:18).
The Dominion of Jesus
As James points out, man has enormous ability to exercise his dominion over the earth (3:1ff.). What he lacks, like Adam, the Canaanites and even Paul (Rom. 7), is the ability to rule his own flesh (cf. James 3:2). This of course was precisely as the Creator intended. He always purposed to be the Saviour of his people himself (Isa. 11:12; 43:5f.; 45:22) and ensure that no flesh should boast before him (Rom. 3:19f.; 11:32; 1 Cor. 1:29). His salvation, however, would only be in accordance with his original promise to man exercising dominion in accordance with his will.  As we have seen the first Adam failed. He sinned and his rule over the earth came short of the standard God required. As a consequence he was exiled from Eden, which was apparently obliterated through lack of human habitation, and at death he returned to the ground from which he had come in the first place. He had failed to achieve the glory (Gen. 1:26-28) and eternal life he had been implicitly promised (Gen. 2:17).  The same story was re-enacted in all his posterity who likewise came short of the divine glory (Rom. 3:23; 5:12, pace Art. 9 of the C. of E.). Thus, of necessity, it was in the words of Newman that “A second Adam to the fight And to the rescue came”.
The NT leaves us in no doubt that Jesus conquered the world, the flesh and the devil; he put all within his sphere of operation, that is, his total environment, beneath his feet (cf. John 16:33; 17:4f.). Since he was an individual human being, his subjection of creation was of course representative. And what he achieved as the second Adam avails for all who put their trust in him (Heb. 2:9; Rom. 8:35ff.). In light of this, justification (righteousness by keeping the law), which throughout Scripture is the indispensable prerequisite of (eternal) life (Gen. 2:17; Mt. 19:17; Gal. 3:11, etc.), is to be gained by his faulty followers only by faith. But if, as the author of Hebrews observes, Christ’s human achievement on earth was necessarily spatially limited (2:8), he applies it from his heavenly throne at God’s right hand until it is finally completed (1 Cor. 15:24-28; Col. 1:20, etc.).
The Subjection of Creation
In view of traditional, especially Augustinian, theology, Jesus’ victory raises important questions. I have already intimated that the idea of a cosmic curse consequent on the sin of Adam is false to Scripture, but the result of its general acceptance in the West is that our Saviour redeemed not only sinful men and women but the material creation as well. This idea would appear to be completely fallacious. In Romans 8:18-25 (cf. John 3:1-13) Paul does not even mention sin, and virtually all commentators known to me go beyond exegesis when they quite unwarrantably drag it in. What Paul is apparently saying, as Genesis 1:1 implies, is that the physical creation being a product of time is by nature transient and in direct contrast with its eternal Creator (cf. Mt. 24:35). In other words, it is a tool which, so long as it serves its purpose of producing its harvest of redeemed people, will remain ‘good’ (1 Tim. 4:3f.). It was only ever intended to last for a (comparative) little while (Gen. 8:22) like the fleshly body of the incarnate Jesus (Heb. 2:9) who was creation in miniature (cf. Eph. 1:10). To put it plainly, creation is naturally corruptible as Hebrews 1:10-12, for example, also implies. In light of this, it is hardly surprising that in subjecting the world to himself, Jesus did not overcome the God-ordained corruption of creation or alter its constitution. In fact, as one who was truly flesh, he embodied it. Like the earth from which he was taken through his mother, he grew older (Luke 2: 40ff.; John 8:57, cf. Heb. 1:11) and accordingly would have succumbed to final corruption if he had remained flesh on the earth (Heb. 8:13; 2 Cor. 4:16). However, since he kept the commandment(s) and gained eternal life (Gen. 2:17; Mt. 19:17; 3:13-17), he first overcame the death he died on behalf of his fellows. Then, after his resurrection, as one who was never to die again (Rom. 6:9), his ascension, which involved the transformation (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50ff.) and replacement of his fleshly body with a body of glory, became an unavoidable necessity (John 20:17, cf. 1 Tim. 3:16). How otherwise could he inherit the sure blessings of David alluded to above? Since he had conquered, he was glorified at God’s right hand (Rev. 3:21, etc.). He had clearly achieved the immortal life and incorruptible glory (cf. 2 Tim. 1:10) that had been promised to the first Adam and his fleshly posterity but had been forfeited through failure (cf. Heb. 2:9f.). (It perhaps needs to be made clear here that by creation man is in contrast with God both mortal and corruptible. On the one hand, he is promised life if he is obedient but death if he is disobedient; on the other hand, he is promised glory and honour if he exercises proper dominion, Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:5f.; Heb. 2:9, but dishonour if he does not, Phil. 3:19, cf. Gal. 6:7f.; 2 Pet. 2:19; Jude 10-13. In light of this, death and corruption for man in contrast with the animals become penal, Rom. 5:12; 6:23. However, both are overcome through faith in Christ who uniquely brought life and incorruption to light in a world subjected by God himself to death and corruption, but in hope, Rom. 18:18-25; 2 Tim. 1:10.)
Since Jesus is Lord we honour him as both God and man. As man he regained the glory he shared with the Father before the world began (John 17:5,24) and thus paved the way for the glorification of all who believe in him (Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus recovered the generic nature of God temporarily relinquished during his incarnation (Phil. 2:5-11) and paved the way for those who were also corruptible flesh to become the spiritual children of God (Rom. 8:23). So while the lowly body fitted for life on the temporal earth is permanently shed, the body of glory like that of Jesus is an eternal possession (Phil. 3:21) suited to life in the very presence of God (Rom. 5:2, cf. Rev. 21 & 22).
Present Dominion
This world in which we live in the twenty-first century gives every indication that man continues of necessity to exercise his intended dominion. The stupendous achievements of modern science and technology testify indisputably to this. Since he is made in the divine image, man continues to think God’s thoughts after him. But in the final analysis this dominion is both limited and flawed as both Genesis and James (see ch. 3) in particular imply. Sin, death and corruption still reign and have to be reckoned with. And no matter how wonderful man’s accomplishments may appear to be, it remains perennially true that it is appointed to man once to die and after death the judgement (Heb. 9:27). Material riches, which are the glory of man on earth, cannot ransom him (Ps. 49).
In light of this the only hope of mortal man is Christ. He alone as a true son of Adam met the conditions the Creator imposed on mankind from the start and blazed the trail to eternal glory (Heb. 2:5-10; Col. 1:27). May the name of the Lamb and of him who sits on the throne forever be praised (Rev. 5:12f.).

According to Isaiah 45:18 (cf. v.12), which is presumably an inference drawn from Genesis 1, the earth was created to be inhabited. Thus from the start man’s primary vocation as one who is made in the image of God is to exercise dominion over the creation he inhabits (1:26-28). Since man is uniquely both earth-derived flesh and spirit, the assumption must be that insofar as he is spirit he is intended to rule both the earth and his own flesh, as a rider is his horse (Jas. 3:2f., cf. Isa 31:3). According to the Psalmist (8:5-8), implicit in his call are not only the promise of present blessing but also that of final glory and honour.

However, Adam, who was representative man according to the flesh (cf. 1 Cor. 15:45-49), after an apparently propitious start (Gen. 2:19f.) failed to fully abide by his vocation to till the garden in which he was placed. He and Eve deceived by the devil disobeyed the rule God had imposed primarily on Adam. And having come under the dominion of sin (and hence of death, Rom. 5:14,21) they were cast out. The inevitable result of this was that the land he was supposed to superintend became a desolation (cf. e.g. Isa. 6:11; 27:10). The implication of the curse placed on Adam was that the ever-increasing difficulty of his dominion exercised in his expanding world would become apparent (Gen. 3:17-19) especially in his progeny (cf. Gen. 4:12; 5:29; Ex. 23:28f.). (Bearing in mind that Adam was at once both individual and community, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Garden of Eden is to be understood as the womb of mankind where initial nurture corresponded with gestation. Note how Adam as the son of God, Luke 3:38, though portrayed physically as an adult and spiritually as an infant, cf. Dt. 1:39; Isa. 7:15f., etc., was first created by God then placed in the Garden to till it, Gen. 2:8,15. In Psalm 139:15 David presents himself as first woven in the depths of the earth like Adam, and in verse 13 knitted together in his mother’s womb. Needless to say, the first Adam invites comparison with the second Adam who was also “created” or generated by his Father, to gestate in the Virgin’s womb, cf. Job 31:15; Heb. 10:5. The essential difference between the two as ‘seed’ was that the first stemmed from the earth, the second from heaven, 1 Cor. 15:45-49. It is worth adding that man is by nature subject to development, and the idea that he was originally created as an adult in a single 24-hour day is a contradiction in terms and must be rejected out of hand.)

The Flood

Since the earth, like its product the flesh (John 6:63; Rom. 7:18), proved unprofitable in that it failed to produce its intended fruit of obedient men and women (Gen. 6:11-13, cf. Heb. 6:7f.), God threatened its destruction by means of the flood. Thus, man, in fact all flesh (Gen. 6:17) and their habitat (6:13) faced universal obliteration. However, God in his grace and pursuit of his plan of salvation saw fit to rescue Noah and his immediate family. In contrast with his arrangement with Adam, God established a transgenerational covenant with Noah. This time, the command to be fruitful (Gen. 9:1,7, cf. 1:28) was undergirded by a guarantee of success despite sin so long as the earth remained (Gen. 8:21f.). Though sinful mankind might well find his conditions on a naturally corruptible and recalcitrant earth difficult (Gen. 3:19), he could nonetheless exercise his dominion with purpose and meaning. (It might be added that even the sinless Jesus found earthly conditions outside the womb hard. He too had to endure hard work, experience fatigue, sweating, etc.)

Sodom and Gomorrah

Though prior to his reception of the law, apart from which he could do neither good nor evil,  Adam was clearly as innocent as a baby (cf. Dt. 1:39, etc.). The traditional Augustinian notion is that he was righteous and holy as created, that is, even before he embarked on the path to perfection. And it was from this “high estate” that he “fell” and brought a curse on the entire cosmos. This notion, which is called in question by Genesis 13:10 (cf. Ex. 16:3; Num 16:13; Isa. 36:17), is repudiated by Paul’s insistence in 1 Timothy 4:3f. (cf. Gen. 8:22; 1 Cor. 10:26,30f.) that the earth is still good, that is, useful but like the law incapable of giving life (Gal. 3:21). However, events at Sodom and Gomorrah where ungodly people and their habitat were destroyed remind us again that the earth which is fruitless and, like the flesh that derives from it, unprofitable (John 6:63, cf. Gal. 6:8) is ripe for destruction (Lu. 17:29f.; Heb. 6:7f., cf. Luke 13:6ff.). In other words, if man fails adequately to exercise his rule over the earth in such a way as to produce its intended harvest of godly souls it will be dispensed with (cf. the ruin of Egypt, Ex. 8:24; 10:7). Thus the eschatological picture is one where both the ungodly and their habitat are destroyed as at Sodom (2 Pet. 3:7,10-12; Rev. 14:17-20, etc.) and believers rescued or saved (Mark 13:27; Rev. 14:14-16).

The Canaanites

Leviticus 18:24ff. and 20:22ff. in particular describe the uncleanness of the Canaanites. However, they were nature worshippers and apparently took their dominion over the land seriously, so seriously that they bequeathed a good land, like Egypt (Num. 16:13), flowing with milk and honey (Dt. 6:10f.; Neh. 9:25) to the incoming Israelites who had been rescued from Egyptian bondage. On this occasion, the Canaanites themselves who had polluted the land by their idolatry were, like Adam before them, vomited out and forced to give way to or be enslaved by the new arrivals. The latter in their turn were to ensure that the land was properly maintained and not become desolate (cf. Dt. 7:12-15; 28:1-14). (This surely undermines the view that the earth is under a permanent curse stemming from Adam. See further my essay Cosmic Curse?)

Dominion under David

It soon became apparent that rest in the Promised Land was less than idyllic. Even when David became king and his son Solomon reaped the blessings that issued from his reign, all was not well for sin and rebellion remained permanent problems (cf. Dt. 9:7,24; 1 Sam. 8:8; Neh. 9:35). But this was no more than Moses in particular had predicted when he underlined the punishment that would be imposed on the people of God’s own possession if they proved unfaithful (Dt. 4:26; 8:20; 30:18). For all that, God in his grace promised to do his people good in the end (Dt. 8:16, cf. Jer. 29:11, etc.). Dominion was certainly extended under David as 1 Kings 4:20f. (cf. Jos. 21:43-45; 23:14) makes clear. Despite this, the promise of a future king or Messiah was necessitated by constant failure. Only the sure blessings of David  (Isa. 55:3) which pointed to eternity (Acts 13:34, cf. Luke 1:32f.) would prove adequate to meet the people’s need, as later events made clear.

The Exile

But the Israelites themselves did not heed the warning of Deuteronomy 6:12-15. There came a time when they also went their own ungodly way and were sent into exile. During this time the land, lacking inhabitants, languished. Happily, repentance paved the way for a restoration of the fortunes of God’s people, and their return brought renewed though by no means total blessing as it did on the occasion of a much later return in Christian times. However, the rest originally promised to Joshua was by no means final; rather it looked forward to a more complete one at the end of time (Heb. 3 & 4). The pilgrimage of the people of God was not to terminate in an earthly city or land but in the heavenly one to which Abraham aspired (Heb. 11:10,16; 13:14). The conclusion from this must be that man’s dominion, like his law keeping, must be maintained to the end of earthly reality (Mt. 5:18).

The Dominion of Jesus

As James points out, man has enormous ability to exercise his dominion over the earth (3:1ff.). What he lacks, like Adam, the Canaanites and even Paul (Rom. 7), is the ability to rule his own flesh (cf. James 3:2). This of course was precisely as the Creator intended. He always purposed to be the Saviour of his people himself (Isa. 11:12; 43:5f.; 45:22) and ensure that no flesh should boast before him (Rom. 3:19f.; 11:32; 1 Cor. 1:29). His salvation, however, would only be in accordance with his original promise to man exercising dominion in accordance with his will.  As we have seen the first Adam failed. He sinned and his rule over the earth came short of the standard God required. As a consequence he was exiled from Eden, which was apparently obliterated through lack of human habitation, and at death he returned to the ground from which he had come in the first place. He had failed to achieve the glory (Gen. 1:26-28) and eternal life he had been implicitly promised (Gen. 2:17).  The same story was re-enacted in all his posterity who likewise came short of the divine glory (Rom. 3:23; 5:12, pace Art. 9 of the C. of E.). Thus, of necessity, it was in the words of Newman that “A second Adam to the fight And to the rescue came”.

The NT leaves us in no doubt that Jesus conquered the world, the flesh and the devil; he put all within his sphere of operation, that is, his total environment, beneath his feet (cf. John 16:33; 17:4f.). Since he was an individual human being, his subjection of creation was of course representative. And what he achieved as the second Adam avails for all who put their trust in him (Heb. 2:9; Rom. 8:35ff.). In light of this, justification (righteousness by keeping the law), which throughout Scripture is the indispensable prerequisite of (eternal) life (Gen. 2:17; Mt. 19:17; Gal. 3:11, etc.), is to be gained by his faulty followers only by faith. But if, as the author of Hebrews observes, Christ’s human achievement on earth was necessarily spatially limited (2:8), he applies it from his heavenly throne at God’s right hand until it is finally completed (1 Cor. 15:24-28; Col. 1:20, etc.).

The Subjection of Creation

In view of traditional, especially Augustinian, theology, Jesus’ victory raises important questions. I have already intimated that the idea of a cosmic curse consequent on the sin of Adam is false to Scripture, but the result of its general acceptance in the West is that our Saviour redeemed not only sinful men and women but the material creation as well. This idea would appear to be completely fallacious. In Romans 8:18-25 (cf. John 3:1-13) Paul does not even mention sin, and virtually all commentators known to me go beyond exegesis when they quite unwarrantably drag it in. What Paul is apparently saying, as Genesis 1:1 implies, is that the physical creation being a product of time is by nature transient and in direct contrast with its eternal Creator (cf. Mt. 24:35). In other words, it is a tool which, so long as it serves its purpose of producing its harvest of redeemed people, will remain ‘good’ (1 Tim. 4:3f.). It was only ever intended to last for a (comparative) little while (Gen. 8:22) like the fleshly body of the incarnate Jesus (Heb. 2:9) who was creation in miniature (cf. Eph. 1:10). To put it plainly, creation is naturally corruptible as Hebrews 1:10-12, for example, also implies. In light of this, it is hardly surprising that in subjecting the world to himself, Jesus did not overcome the God-ordained corruption of creation or alter its constitution. In fact, as one who was truly flesh, he embodied it. Like the earth from which he was taken through his mother, he grew older (Luke 2: 40ff.; John 8:57, cf. Heb. 1:11) and accordingly would have succumbed to final corruption if he had remained flesh on the earth (Heb. 8:13; 2 Cor. 4:16). However, since he kept the commandment(s) and gained eternal life (Gen. 2:17; Mt. 19:17; 3:13-17), he first overcame the death he died on behalf of his fellows. Then, after his resurrection, as one who was never to die again (Rom. 6:9), his ascension, which involved the transformation (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50ff.) and replacement of his fleshly body with a body of glory, became an unavoidable necessity (John 20:17, cf. 1 Tim. 3:16). How otherwise could he inherit the sure blessings of David alluded to above? Since he had conquered, he was glorified at God’s right hand (Rev. 3:21, etc.). He had clearly achieved the immortal life and incorruptible glory (cf. 2 Tim. 1:10) that had been promised to the first Adam and his fleshly posterity but had been forfeited through failure (cf. Heb. 2:9f.). (It perhaps needs to be made clear here that by creation man is in contrast with God both mortal and corruptible. On the one hand, he is promised life if he is obedient but death if he is disobedient; on the other hand, he is promised glory and honour if he exercises proper dominion, Gen. 1:26-28; Ps. 8:5f.; Heb. 2:9, but dishonour if he does not, Phil. 3:19, cf. Gal. 6:7f.; 2 Pet. 2:19; Jude 10-13. In light of this, death and corruption for man in contrast with the animals become penal, Rom. 5:12; 6:23. However, both are overcome through faith in Christ who uniquely brought life and incorruption to light in a world subjected by God himself to death and corruption, but in hope, Rom. 18:18-25; 2 Tim. 1:10.)

Since Jesus is Lord we honour him as both God and man. As man he regained the glory he shared with the Father before the world began (John 17:5,24) and thus paved the way for the glorification of all who believe in him (Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus recovered the generic nature of God temporarily relinquished during his incarnation (Phil. 2:5-11) and paved the way for those who were also corruptible flesh to become the spiritual children of God (Rom. 8:23). So while the lowly body fitted for life on the temporal earth is permanently shed, the body of glory like that of Jesus is an eternal possession (Phil. 3:21) suited to life in the very presence of God (Rom. 5:2, cf. Rev. 21 & 22).

Present Dominion

This world in which we live in the twenty-first century gives every indication that man continues of necessity to exercise his intended dominion. The stupendous achievements of modern science and technology testify indisputably to this. Since he is made in the divine image, man continues to think God’s thoughts after him. But in the final analysis this dominion is both limited and flawed as both Genesis and James (see ch. 3) in particular imply. Sin, death and corruption still reign and have to be reckoned with. And no matter how wonderful man’s accomplishments may appear to be, it remains perennially true that it is appointed to man once to die and after death the judgement (Heb. 9:27). Material riches, which are the glory of man on earth, cannot ransom him (Ps. 49).

In light of this the only hope of mortal man is Christ. He alone as a true son of Adam met the conditions the Creator imposed on mankind from the start and blazed the trail to eternal glory (Heb. 2:5-10; Col. 1:27). May the name of the Lamb and of him who sits on the throne forever be praised (Rev. 5:12f.).

Interpreting Romans 7

It would appear to be universally agreed that Romans 7, like Romans 11, is difficult to interpret, and there is still at the time of revising this article (2010) disagreement as to its meaning. I want to suggest that the main difficulty with the chapter arises from false presuppositions which derive from an erroneous Augustinian conceptual framework or worldview. My own conviction is that the real context is provided by covenant theology as reflected in the individual who recapitulates and epitomizes the race as depicted in chapters 1-3 (on which further below and note 10). My contention is that if exegetes seek to expound the chapter on the basis of Augustinian assumptions like original sin, which it is falsely claimed is taught in Romans 5:12-21, there is little wonder that this chapter poses potentially insoluble problems. (1* See my Thoughts on Romans 5:12-14, Thoughts on Sin in Romans, Some Arguments Against Original Sin, J.I.Packer on Original Sin, Does Romans Teach Original Sin?, Imitation, etc) Without denying the impact of Adam’s sin which he clearly teaches in Romans 5 (pace Pelagius), Paul nonetheless clearly implies its imitation or repetition in Romans 7:7-12. If this is so, to assume the imputation of Adam’s sin as opposed to its imitation is in effect to charge the apostle with self-contradiction. For it is here in Romans 7 that the re-iterated warnings of the biblical writers not to imitate the sins of the fathers reflect their permanent relevance (Ps. 78:8; 2 Chr. 30:7; Ezek. 20:18, cf. 2:3; Zech. 1:4; Acts 7:51-53).

It seems to be more widely agreed nowadays than it used to be that the law is central to this controversial passage. While it is generally agreed that one of the most pervasive contrasts in the entire Bible is that between flesh and spirit (Spirit), here in Romans 7 the contrast, even antipathy, that exists between flesh and law is the focus of attention. Why should this be so?

A clue to the answer might be that in 7:14 (cf. v.12) the law is said to be spiritual. But that does not take us far since, judging by what is said in chapter 8, there is a basic contrast between law and Spirit. However, recognition that Paul is deliberately pointing up two different categories, implying two different covenant dispensations in which the basic functions of the law and of the Spirit in relation to the flesh are different, is important. For though the law being spiritual (7:14) is inimical to the evil works of the flesh (cf. Rom. 8:7; Heb. 9:10), it lacks power (cf. Gen. 3:6; Num. 15:39). In contrast, the opposition of the Spirit to the flesh (cf. Gal. 5:17) comes with power (cf. Luke 24:49; Acts 1:8; Rom. 8:2,13). Thus, while under the old covenant the clash between the flesh and the law results in inevitable defeat and death (Gal. 3:10-12; 5:19-21, cf. Rom. 6:23a), under the new covenant the mutual opposition between flesh and Spirit/spirit (Gal. 5:17) leads to victory and life (Gal. 5:16,18,22-24 ESV; Rom. 6:23b). Simply expressed, while the law exercises a ministry of death in those who are held captive by it (Rom. 7:6a, 23-25, cf. 2 Cor. 3:6b,7,14f.; Gal. 3:23), the Spirit exercises a ministry of life in those who have faith in Christ (Rom. 7:6b, 25a, cf. 8:4,10f.,13f.; 2 Cor. 3:6c,17f.). Or again we might say even more concisely that while mind over matter spells failure (Rom. 7:24), Spirit over matter spells success (Rom. 7:6,25a, cf. 2 Cor. 3:6; John 6:63). The difference is that between two covenants.

Sin Defined as Transgression of the Law

Already in 2:12 and 3:19f. Paul has virtually defined sin as transgression of the law (cf. James 2:9-11; 1 John 3:4; 5:17). In 4:15 he has made a categorical statement that where there is no law there is no sin. In 5:13 he repeats this assertion but with a slightly different nuance. In chapter 7, however, he first (v.1, cf. v.7) points out that the law operates only during a person’s (conscious) lifetime (cf. Mt. 5:18), then proceeds to illustrate this in a manner the point of which commentators in general seem to miss. In referring to the wife whose husband dies, Paul is saying yet again that where there is no law there is no sin (cf. v.6). So long as the husband is alive, the law is in force. But once the husband dies, it dies too (v.8), and, since it no longer applies, the wife is free to remarry without being stigmatized as an adulteress. (2* Cf. Fee who maintains that Paul’s point is that by identification with Christ in his death, believers, as the wife whose husband has died, are no longer bound by the law, p.503 n.84.) In verse 4 Paul draws the logical conclusion from this: since believers (the wife) are now married to a different husband, that is, Christ (and hence to the Spirit as opposed to the law/mind), they are enabled to bear fruit for God. (To paint the picture more graphically, we might say that when we are married to and fertilized by the law we bring forth sin and death, 7:5; when we are married to and fertilized by the Spirit we produce obedience, 8:4, which leads to life, 8:6.)

In verse 5, Paul implicitly maintains his assertion that there is no sin apart from (the) law which constitutes certain passions sinful (cf. Gen. 3:6). While we are in the flesh (Rom. 7:5), that is, unregenerate, we are all Jew and Gentile alike under (the) law which inexorably renders all our otherwise morally neutral passions (3* Cranfield, p.337, Fung, p.274) which involve its transgression, sinful (Rom. 3:9,19f.). (4* The idea that the law ‘arouses’, RSV, NRSV, NIV, ESV, our sinful passions not only adds to Scripture since it is not in the Greek, but also completely misses Paul’s point and does violence to his thought. Even Calvin disallowed this Augustinian idea in comment on 5:21, p. 214. How could Paul possibly make such a suggestion when he depicts so graphically, first, the unrestrained passions of the heathen who were without the Mosaic law in 1:18ff., and, second, the goodness of the law, Rom. 7:12? The passions are only sinful when they transgress law as the Genesis account of Adam and Eve makes clear, 3:6. When they received the commandment our first parents were still free to indulge their passions and eat freely of all the other trees in the garden, 2:17, cf. 3:2, cf. Dt. 30:15,19,20. So it must be firmly asserted yet again that where there is no law there is no transgression, cf. Gal. 5:23.) The truth is, as Paul says later in verse 23a, the flesh is a law to itself, that is, it follows its own inclinations, impulses or ‘motions’ (KJV) regardless of the law like fleshly animals which are ruled by the flesh but, not knowing the law, are amoral. So, bearing in mind verses 1-3 we may conclude that while there was no law against Abigail, whose husband was dead, giving way to her passion for David (cf. Gal. 5:23), there certainly was one against Bathsheba whose husband was alive (cf. 1 Cor. 15:56). In other words, when the flesh and its passions clash with law, which is incapable of acting as an adequate restraint (cf. Calvin, p.248), the inevitable result is sin (cf. 7:14, 23b) and death (7:24f.). Under the law, man as flesh and unregenerate, that is, without the Spirit, faces inevitable defeat as God always intended (Rom. 3:19f.; 11:32; 1 Cor. 1:29; 2 Cor. 3; Gal. 2:16; 3:11,22, etc.). (At this point the reader might contemplate the difference between the preceptive and decretive will of God.)

All this is supported by verse 6 where Paul again implies that where there is no law, sin does not exist. Consequently, since we believers in Christ have died to the law and are no longer in bondage to the old written code (2 Cor. 3:6), we are free to serve in the new life of the Spirit.

Is the Law Sinful?

In verse 7 Paul anticipates that some of his readers, if not all, will have drawn the conclusion from what he has said that the fly in the ointment is the law. (I have heard it seriously argued in the political field that it is possible to abolish crime by abolishing the law! Whoever made such a claim had obviously never read the book of Judges.) Paul rejects this idea out of hand insisting that when the good law (v.12) dawns on our consciousness, we then become aware of the existence of sin, of covetousness in particular. Apart from Adam and Eve (cf. Gen. 3:6), he doubtless has in mind the state of the heathen, which he had portrayed earlier (Rom. 1:18ff.). So he goes on in verse 8 to indicate that sin, which does not exist where there is no law (commandment), seizes the opportunity that its proclamation and recognition affords (Rom. 7:7) and strikes its victim like a snake with a venomous and fatal bite (cf. Gen. 4:7).

Apart from Law Sin is Dead

So yet again Paul makes his point crystal clear by emphasizing that where there is no law sin lies dead (cf. the dead husband of verses 1-3). Now if this is true, we are forced to infer ineluctably that babies, like the rest of animate creation which lacks both law and the understanding (mind) by which the law is apprehended (Rom. 3:19f.; Ps. 32:9 and note Job 35:11; Ps. 94:12; Luke 12:24), cannot be sinful, since sinfulness is determined by (mental recognition of) law (cf. 2:12; 3:19f.; 7:7,22). Then, as if to put his point beyond doubt, the apostle indicates that there was once a time when he himself, like Adam and Eve before him prior to Genesis 2:17, was not under law (commandment) and hence not sinful but in fact ‘alive’ (7:9, cf. Dt. 1:39; Rom. 9:11). And it was only when the (parental) commandment (cf. Prov. 1:8; 4:1-9; 6:20) made its impact on his developing young mind that sin, seizing its chance, came to life, and Paul, like all his predecessors (cf. Rom. 3:23; 5:12) bar One, earned its wages in death. (5* The “Christian” or rather Augustinian idea that babies are sinful is totally alien to the Bible where it is plainly taught that we sin from our youth, Gen. 8:21; Jer. 3:24f., not from infancy, Dt. 1:39; Rom. 9:11, etc. See again my articles on original sin including D.M.Lloyd-Jones and J. Murray on the Imputation of Adam’s Sin, Imputation, Straightforward Arguments Against the Imputation of Adam’s Sin to his Posterity at www.kenstothard.com /.) He adds for good measure that it was the commandment which promised life (cf. Gen. 2:17; Lev. 18:5, etc.) that had the opposite effect of dealing out death. In verse 11, in words reminiscent of Genesis 3:13 (cf. 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14) when Eve was duped into eating the forbidden fruit, he underlines the nature of his death by deception which stemmed from his childlike transgression of the commandment. So he concludes that despite the indispensable role of law in his death (cf. 1 Cor. 15:56), the law/commandment as such is nonetheless holy, righteous and good (v.12).

In verse 13 Paul apparently feels compelled to raise again the question he raised in verse 7 regarding the goodness of the law. Was it tainted after all? He rejects the suggestion out of hand: it was sin, not the good and holy law that worked death in him. Why was this?
The reason was so that sin might be shown to be what it is and displayed in its true character by means of the commandment, that is, as transgression of known law. Since Paul here relates the commandment to an increase in the seriousness of sin (cf. 5:20), we must assume that there was a transition in his mind leading him from Eve’s sin, which involved an element of ignorance and deception (cf. the heathen in Rom. 1:18ff.; Eph. 4:22), to that of Adam whose sin was open-eyed and explicit (1 Tim. 2:14) like that of the Jews who had the law of Moses (cf. Gal. 3:19).

The War Between the Law and the Flesh

In verse 14 Paul brings before us the radical antipathy that exists between the spiritual law and physical flesh referred to above. The result of their collision is inevitable: the flesh or natural man being weak and susceptible to temptation like Eve and/or even rebellious like Adam is unable to keep the law (cf. Rom. 3:20; Gal. 2:16), and once he has transgressed it, he is constituted a sinner (cf. 1 Tim. 2:14; Rom. 7:5). The apostle thus discovers his lack of self-understanding for he does the very thing he hates. So even he, the sinner, who acts in a manner contrary to his best intentions, acknowledges that the law in which he delights is good (cf. v.22). To say that, however, suggests that there is a sense in which he himself is not to blame for his law-breaking behaviour but that indwelling sin is the problem (v.17, cf. Jer. 13:23; John 8:34; Rom. 6:16, etc.). Yet, on the other hand, he realizes that there is nothing good in his natural fleshly self (cf. John 6:63) since, though he can will what is right, he cannot do it (v.18). (It might usefully be noted here that prior to his reception of the Spirit at his baptism even Jesus did no positive good. What he did do in contrast with the rest of us was keep the written law and thereby win his Father’s approval at his baptism, Mt. 3:13-17, in accordance with the original promise made to Adam, Gen. 2:17; Lev. 18:5, etc.)

In verse 19 Paul is forced to recognize the fact that while he cannot do the good he would like to, he falls prey to the evil he would prefer to avoid. So again, in verse 20 he sees that since he does what he does not want, it must be sin that has got a hold over him. This is precisely what Jesus had intimated in his teaching (John 8:34, cf. Jer. 13:23). Verse 21 is virtually a repetition of verse 17. In verse 22 Paul says what the Psalmist had said before him (119:14,16, etc.), that is, that he delights in God’s good law on the intellectual level, but that there is another law in his fleshly members (cf. 6:13,19; 7:5) at war with the law of his mind (vv.23,25) bringing him into bondage to sin. (At this point the reader might well reflect on the difference between deliberate and unintentional sin alluded to in both Testaments.)

The Natural Passions of the Flesh

The truth is that the natural appetites and passions of our fleshly bodies (e.g. hunger, thirst, sex, sweating, defecation, urination, etc., some of which on occasion we refer to euphemistically as calls of nature) operate spontaneously and autonomously and are not prompted by our minds (6* I have good personal reason for believing in the autonomy of the flesh. On 3 November 2004 in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide I donated one of my kidneys to my brother. Though removed entirely out of any control my mind might conceivably have exercised over it, it functioned with immediate beneficial effects in the body of its new host and continues to do so at the time of writing (2010) years later. Of course, the problem with Augustinians who believe in original sin is that they cannot conceive of the unregenerate mind delighting in the law of God despite the fact that the Psalmist (e.g. 119) lived under the old covenant, and that until Christ came to fulfil the law in the flesh, Rom. 8:3, regeneration, which was conditioned on keeping the commandment/law, Gen.2:17; Lev. 18:5, etc., could not and did not exist except as a promise, Dt. 30:6; Jer. 31:33, etc. Jesus himself must, like the Psalmist, have delighted in God’s law (cf. John 4:34; 6:38) before he received the Spirit at his baptism or he would not have kept it. In light of this, it must be remembered that though they were justified by faith, not one of the heroes of Hebrews 11 was born again since all were sinners. Pace those who argue that faith is the fruit of regeneration! See further my articles on The Order of Salvation, Cart-Before-The-Horse Theology) But since the law regulates some of its operations (sex, for example, cf. vv.1-3), we, in contrast with animals, are called on to control them (cf. Gal. 5:16). In this situation Paul has to admit he is a wretched failure (cf. v.7). As a consequence, his body of flesh which is a body of sin (Rom. 6:6) is doomed to death (Gen. 2:17, cf. 8:10,13; Gal. 6:8), and he urgently needs someone to deliver him. That someone is Jesus Christ who uniquely conquered in the flesh (Rom. 8:3). Paul ends chapter 7 by repeating what he has already said earlier: even though he acknowledges the goodness of God’s law, he nonetheless realizes that he continues in sin and can do no other. Thank God, however, that the defeat of chapter 7 is followed by the expression of gratitude in verse 7:25a and the triumph of chapter 8 (cf. 7:6).

So our conclusion must be that if what has been presented above is anything like correct, Paul is deftly describing not only his own but the natural or pre-regenerate life under the law of mankind in general, for the law belongs, as the flesh or body of sin and death belongs, to this age and to this world (Mt. 5:18; Luke 20:34-36; Rom. 7:1,7; 2 Cor. 3; Heb. 8:13, etc.). The next world or age to come whose goodness and powers Christians have tasted (Heb. 6:5) is the spiritual world of the pre-incarnate Christ to which he has returned in glory (John 14:2f.; 17:5,24).

Yet more can be said. All this can be further highlighted by the “stark contrasts” (Fee, p. 505) of fruit borne for God in ‘marriage’ to Christ (7:4, cf. Gal. 5:22f.) and fruit for death produced by the passions of the flesh which are constituted sinful under the law (7:5, cf. Gal. 5:19-21). Since sin does not exist apart from law, once we as Christians are freed by ‘death’ in Christ (cf. 6:3f.,14,18; 8:2) from its jurisdiction, we are then at liberty to serve under a new master (or husband), that is, Christ who leads us by the Spirit. On the assumption that verses 7-25 are basically an elaboration of verses 1-6, the same conclusions apply in both cases.

It should be noted that Paul talks almost exclusively about law and flesh in Romans 7. His only reference to the Spirit, the hallmark of regeneration, is in verse 6. This serves to sharpen the contrast between chapters 7 and 8, for in the latter there are twenty-one such references (Cranfield, p.371). The conclusion must therefore be drawn that the Augustinian interpretation of Romans 7, which maintains that Paul has the Christian in view in verses 14-24, must be ruled out of court (pace Packer, p.81). So we must ask why in fact it has not been so ruled.

Original Sin

The reason is of course that it has been almost universally held since the time of Augustine that Romans 5:12-21 teaches original sin (cf. Art. 9 of the C of E). However, as I have argued extensively elsewhere this nefarious Augustinian dogma is impossible to justify on both exegetical and theological grounds. (7* See especially my articles J.I.Packer on Original Sin, Imitation, etc.) If I am wrong, then Paul is clearly contradicting himself as 7:9-10 makes crystal clear. In any case, all the reader needs to do at this point is to recognize that Romans 4:15 alone, not to mention 7:8, renders original sin untenable since babies do not know the law. So far as the specific notion of the imputation of Adam’s sin is concerned, Romans 4:1-8 make it plain that wages, and hence death, 5:12; 6:23, which are due only to work actually done, are excluded. See again my articles on imputation referred to above. So once imputation is rejected, we have no alternative but to recognize that the language of Romans 5:12 is not only compatible with the Pelagian interpretation which indicates actual sin, cf. Murray, p.182, it makes it indisputable. Babies are necessarily exonerated because they can neither work nor believe. If they die, something else is afoot. What that is Paul makes plain in Romans 8:18-25, on which see my Romans 8:18-25)

(NOTE on the flesh under the Spirit: It must always be remembered of course that even the Christian is constantly warned in the NT not to indulge his flesh, e.g. Rom. 13:14; Gal. 5:16; 1 Pet. 2:11, etc. Even Jesus was tempted after his baptism by the Spirit, Mt. 4:1-11. This points unerringly to the fact that so long as we are flesh, we are unavoidably subject to fleshly temptation as James 1:14f. indicates. Under (the) law, we experience regular defeat as the entire OT makes clear. There, while justification by faith is prominent, Heb. 11:1-38, eternal life and its ultimate perfection which characterizes the NT, cf. John 3:16, is conspicuously absent, Heb. 11:39-40. However, as Christians led by the Spirit we can enjoy a measure of, Gal. 5:22-24, if not total, 1 John 1:8, success. Sinless perfection is a chimera.)

Other Effects of Augustinianism

It must be stressed that the adoption of Augustinian presuppositions vitiates our understanding of Romans 7 in other ways. First, original sin deflects commentators from an adequate appreciation of verse 11, which is reminiscent of Eve both in thought and language. Despite their recognition of this, Bruce (p.142) and Moo (p.230), for example, set it aside because their minds are dominated by the erroneous assumption that we fell “in Adam” – a clear case of adding to Scripture if ever there was one. Second, Augustinianism prevents recognition of the fact that all human beings (with one exception) imitate (or better repeat or recapitulate) many of the actions and experiences of their forebears (8* The biblical evidence for the imitation/repetition of sin is massive and pervasive, e.g. 2 Kings 17:2,8,11,14-23,33f.,40f., Ps. 106:6; Dan. 9:11; Rom. 3:9,12,23. etc. See further my Imitation.) against explicit Scriptural command (e.g. Ps. 78:8; Zech. 1:4; Mal. 3:7, cf. Acts 7:51-53, etc.). In fact, Romans 7 provides an excellent illustration of the principle of recapitulation in general. Furthermore, Paul’s stress on the role of law completely undercuts the notion that we fall “in Adam”, unless this is taken to mean “in the flesh” (cf. 1 Cor. 15:22). Imitation is of course anathema to Augustinians who suffer from pathological anti-Pelagianism (9* See Art. 1X of the C of E, Murray, CW 2, p.50, etc.), but one does not have to become a Pelagian or to deny the grace of God to adopt recapitulation. Third, Augustinian presuppositions forestall recognition of the fact that Romans 7:7-8:17, like 1:18-3:31, is covenantal in structure and is hence comparable with Galatians 3:1-4:7. Paul is in fact saying that he himself, like all men apart from Jesus, was (a) once a deceived child of nature like Eve (Rom. 7:7-11; Eph. 2:3; Tit. 3:3, cf. Rom. 1:18ff.), then (b) a sinner under the law like Adam (7:13ff.) and finally (c) a Spirit-led believer in Christ (7:25a; 8:1ff.) on his way to the perfection (Phil. 3:12-14) which was impossible under the law (Heb. 7:11,19). So he was successively a (heathen) slave, a (Jewish) servant and a (Christian) son like Jesus himself (Mt. 2:15; Gal. 4:4f.). In saying this I am by no means implying that Jesus was the subject of adoption. While he was truly the virgin-born Son of God, his ‘natural’ sonship nonetheless required its confirmation by his law-keeping and consequent acknowledgement by God (Mt. 3:13-17). Expressed more theologically, Jesus underlined his ontology by his actions and proved his pedigree unmistakably (cf. Acts 10:38). The covenantal markers in his life were, however, clearly etched (cf. Gal. 4:1-7). (10* See further my articles on Covenant Theology, Covenant Theology in Brief, Did God Make a Covenant with Creation?)

Conclusion

I conclude then that having described the covenant life of the race, first, under Noah (Gentile) and, second, under Moses (Jew) in chapters 1:18-3:20, Paul’s concern in Romans 7 is to describe covenant life as it is recapitulated by the individual, first as a Gentile (Eve) and then as a Jew (Adam) under the law (vv.1,7) prior to regeneration (second Adam). To do this he uses himself as the model or paradigm who epitomized or recapitulated the history of the race (Rom. 1:18-3:20) like Jesus (Gal. 4:1-7). (11* In other words, the Bible like science plainly implies that ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. If it does not, Jesus could not have been the second Adam and the atonement would have been impossible, cf. 1 John 2:2. See further my I Believe in Recapitulation, Recapitulation in Outline) This inference receives yet further support from passages like Galatians 5:16-24 where natural “life” (Rom. 7:1) under the law involves sinful works of the flesh that lead to inevitable death (7:5; Gal. 5:19-21), while regenerate life under the Spirit bears fruit against which there is no law (7:4; Gal. 5:16,18,22-24).

Finally, it remains to add that since recapitulation implies the denial of original sin, it is one of the great ironies of the history of biblical interpretation that its false assumption has perverted our understanding not only of Romans 7 but also of much else in the NT. Or, to put the issue more positively and concisely, my contention is that Romans 7 correctly understood underlines the truth of recapitulation on the one hand and gives the lie to belief in original sin on the other.

Additional Note on The Flesh

What has been argued above raises the question of the meaning of the word ‘flesh’. Because of its Augustinian bias, the NIV is notorious for translating the word ‘sarx’ as ‘sinful nature’ and relegating ‘flesh’ to the margin. This I believe is a profound mistake reflecting manifest misunderstanding of Paul’s argument. Basically the flesh is our natural or physical nature that stems from the ground (Gen. 2:7) over which man as made in the image of God in contrast with the animals is meant to exercise dominion in preparation for glory (Gen. 1:26,28; Ps. 8; 21:5; John 3:1-8; Rom. 2:7,10; Heb. 2:9f. Pace those who believe in the original glory, perfection and righteousness of Adam!). The war between flesh and Spirit arises primarily not from sin but from nature as Genesis 1 ought to make clear. When the weakness of our created nature is confronted by inflexible moral law it inevitably capitulates (cf. Rom.7:18; 8:8). Since the flesh is a law to itself (Rom. 7:23,25, cf. Gal. 5:16f.), which when unrestrained (cf. Gal. 5:17) like uninhabited land that is desolate (e.g. Isa. 6:11, etc.) acts in accordance with that law (cf. animals), it is meant to be subject to the control (under the dominion, Gen. 1:26,28) of the spirit (Spirit) as a horse (flesh) is to its rider (Jas. 3:2ff.). So even Jesus, in contrast with his Father (James 1:13) had to resist fleshly temptation (Mt. 4:1-11; Heb. 4:15, etc.) and avoid pleasing himself (John 6:38; Rom. 15:3, etc.). (12* See again my J.I.Packer on Original Sin) Admittedly, once, like Adam and Eve, we cave in to sin, we are permanently tarnished by a sinful nature (Eph. 2:1-3; Col. 3:7), and this becomes an exacerbating factor in our own war as Jesus pointed out (John 8:34, cf. Jer. 13:23; Hos. 5:4). For all that, we are more than conquerors through Christ who loved us (Rom. 8:37).

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References

F.F.Bruce, Romans rev. ed., Leicester, 1985.

J.Calvin, Romans, Grand Rapids, 1947.

C.E.B.Cranfield, ICC Romans, Edinburgh, 1975.

G.D.Fee, God’s Empowering Presence, Peabody, 1994.

D.J.Moo, Romans, Grand Rapids, 2000.

J.Murray, Collected Writings 2, Edinburgh, 1977.

J.Murray, The Epistle to the Romans, London, 1967.

J.I.Packer, The “Wretched Man” Revisited in Romans and the People of God, ed. Soderlund and Wright. Grand Rapids, 1999.

Preunderstandings of the Millennium?

In “Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond” edited by Darrell L.Bock, Grand Rapids, 1999, it seems to be generally agreed that the reason why writers who claim to accept in common the authority of Scripture arrive at different conclusions regarding the millennium is that they have different presuppositions or preunderstandings (pp.214,264,267,285ff., etc.). There is little doubt in my mind that this is true. So, in rejecting outright a literal millennium, it is necessary for me to make my own preunderstandings clear.
Interpretation
First, I believe that the teaching of Christ and the apostles in the earlier part of the NT forms the foundation of our faith (Eph. 2:20, cf. 1 Cor. 3:11) and that the book of Revelation repeats it in symbolic and apocalyptic form. Therefore, it seems to me, despite the fact that a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:2-7 is exegetically possible, that (a) the burden of proof lies heavily on those who claim that new truth about a literal thousand-year millennium is being taught, and that (b) on its assumption a general consensus about what it involves must, in principle, be attainable. To my knowledge both proof and consensus have hitherto eluded us. Consequently, I am convinced that any attempt to read the book of Revelation literally without the confirmation of the rest of the NT is not only fraught with danger but also incapable of substantiation. Other considerations apart, the notion of a literal millennium must ever remain deeply suspect.
The Finished Work of Christ
Next, I believe that the notion of a literal millennium undermines the finished work of Christ. According to the book of Genesis, in order to achieve glory and honour man’s vocation was to exercise dominion over the temporal earth (1:26,28; Ps. 8:5f.), to keep the commandment (2:16f.) and to resist the devil (3:1-6). He failed. By contrast, the second Adam, as Hebrews 2:9, Matthew 3:17 and John 14:30f., for example, demonstrate, accomplished all three. Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, exaltation and heavenly session (Acts 2:24,33-36) put this beyond reasonable doubt. But more to the point, as Hebrews 2:9f. in particular indicate, Jesus’ victory was representative His achievement embraced all those who believed in him (cf. John 12:26;17:24; 2 Cor. 4:14) on whose behalf he came in the first place (Mark 10:45, etc.). According to the author of Hebrews he is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, and according to Paul we are already more than conquerors in him (Rom. 8:31ff.).
If this is true, then a return to earth on the part of Christ and his fellow believers is redundant. (See further my A Summary of Reasons Against the Return of Christ to Earth, Is Jesus Coming Back to earth? at www.kenstothard.com /)  Since he has already overcome the world (John 16:33; 17:4f.; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5,12f.), it is totally unnecessary. To posit its repetition is like going back to Egypt in denial of the exodus (Dt. 17:16; Acts 7:39). It detracts from his finished work and brings into question the entire plan of salvation. Any hint of repetition suggests imperfection, as the author of Hebrews is at pains to indicate (Heb. 7:27; 9:25-28, etc.). I therefore conclude that a literal millennium is an addition to and hence in effect a subtraction from the gospel that was originally received (Gal. 1:9). It is in its logical outworking another gospel (Gal. 1:7) and hence to be rigorously rejected. It is propagated only on pain of anathema (Gal. 1:9, cf. Rev. 22:18).
The Work of the Holy Spirit
On the face of it, it would seem that a literal millennium also undermines the effectiveness of the work of the Holy Spirit. As I understand it, Christ sent his Spirit into the world to apply his finished work or accomplished redemption to all subsequent believers “till the work on earth is done” (1* This is part of the refrain of the gospel song “There is a Redeemer” by Melody Green.) and the number of the elect is complete (Rev. 6:11, cf. Rom. 11:25f.). As Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 (cf. Eph. 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 3:22) our Saviour rules from his heavenly throne putting everything in subjection beneath his feet (cf. Mt. 28:18). There is no suggestion that the work of the Spirit requires supplementation by means of a literal millennium. Again I conclude that addition means inevitable subtraction.
Transformation
Fourth, the NT makes it clear that the incarnation involved the transformation of the Word of God from previous glory (John 1:1f.,14; Phil. 2:6; 1 Tim. 3:16). In order to achieve as man for man the purpose of God, Jesus, the second Adam, had to be born of woman, that is, made flesh (Mt. 1; Luke 2; Gal. 4:4) as a true son of the first Adam (Luke 3:38), but only for a little while (Heb. 2:7,9). In the words of Paul, he had to empty and humble himself in order to take on the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7f.). But once he had accomplished his mission and proved victorious in the flesh (cf. Rom. 8:3, etc.), it was necessary for him as flesh to undergo transformation once more (cf. John 20:17; 1 Cor. 15:51ff.) – back to the divine glory and perfection he had enjoyed before (John 17:5,24). For flesh and blood can no more inherit the kingdom of God than the impermanent (corruptible) can inherit the permanent (incorruptible, 1 Cor. 15:50). Thus, at his ascension, he was transformed and passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14) permanently separate(d) from sinners (Heb. 7:26) and made perfect forever (7:28; Eph. 4:10). Like his heavenly Father, on whose throne he sat (Heb. 1:3; Rev. 3:21), he ruled in the world to come (Eph. 1:20-22; Heb. 1:6; 2:5). It is at this point that Jesus’ full humanity and divinity coincided (cf. John 10:30); the divine had permanently assumed the human. In heaven the throne is that of the God and the Lamb (Rev. 5:13; 6:16; 7:10,17).
Retransformation Excluded
From this we are forced to draw certain conclusions. First, Jesus will never be flesh again. To be so he would have to enter his mother’s womb again (Luke 1:35, cf. John 3:4). But this, even if it were necessary or possible, would mean that his mother who, like David, experienced corruption (Acts 2:29) would also have to re-enter the womb of her mother who has also been subject to corruption. Thus we are involved in a process of regression which cannot logically terminate till the earth itself has been re-created. But where does a literal millennium fit into this scenario? The question hardly requires an answer.
Second, if Jesus has now regained the glory of God he shared before the foundation of the world, he cannot dwell on the earth (1 K. 8:27; Acts 7:49f.). In view of this it is not at all strange that Paul denies his return to earthly corruption in any form (Acts 13:34). (2* See further my No Return to Corruption, No Going Back. This belies Ladd’s assertion, p.236, that the consummation means nothing less than the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem to earth, a contradiction in terms if ever there was one. He refers to Revelation 21:2 which fails to mention earth at all – not surprisingly, since it has already passed away as 20:11 and 21:1 indicate. Ladd then informs us that God will finally visit men to transform a fallen order and dwell among men on a redeemed earth. This is a clear indication that his thinking is governed by the worldview of Augustine, on which see my The Biblical Worldview, Worldview. He seems to have forgotten that God visited the earth briefly, Heb. 2:7,9, in Christ not to redeem it but men from it, cf. my Escape! Earth by its very nature is visible, temporary and corruptible. It is therefore paramount for us to be rescued from it as the Israelites were from Egypt.)  When he returns (3* I become increasingly convinced that the term ‘return of Christ’ is overworked and misleading. While acknowledging that Jesus himself says he will come again (palin erchomai, John 14:3, cf. Acts 1:11; Tit.2:13, etc.), the word parousia strictly means presence and, according to Dunn, is never used in the NT in the sense of return, p.296 n.11. In light of the fact that Jesus tells his disciples that he will be with them to the end of the age, Mt. 28:20, the other two words used in this connection with the second advent, epiphaneia or appearing and apocalypsis or revealing, suggest that his present invisibility will give way to visibility, cf. Michaels in comment on 1:7 in WBC 1 Peter, 1988, p.32, at which time creation will flee away, Rev. 20:11; 21:1, cf. 6:14; 16:20. Clearly, more needs to be said in this connection.) it will be in the glory of the Father (Mt. 16:27; 25:31; 26:64; Luke 9:26) not to deal with sin again (repetition) but to rescue his people (Mt. 13:27; Heb. 9:28; 1 Cor. 15:51f.). He will thus bring them transformed in his moral and generic likeness (1 Pet. 4:6; 2 Pet. 1:4) into the heavenly presence of God as his children (2 Cor. 4:14; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:18).
Third, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that so far as man is concerned there is a progressive movement from flesh to spirit (1 Cor. 15:46) or from ground to glory. This movement is epitomized in Jesus’ earthly career which ended with his ascension to heaven. Thus, the idea that this process should be reversed when Jesus returns to this earth in the flesh is contrary to the gospel, as Paul makes clear in Galatians 3:3, for example. In any case, Paul banishes the notion in Acts 13:34 where he tells us that Christ’s resurrection (4* I take it that Paul is using the word resurrection in this passage to include ascension, exaltation and heavenly session, as the second part of the verse implies.) precludes any possibility of a return to earthly corruption.
Our Heavenly Call
The initial call of mortal man in Genesis 2:16f. (cf. 3:1-6), which is also implied in Genesis 1:26-28 (cf. Ps. 8:5f.; Rom. 2:7,10; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 1:7), is to gain eternal life and incorruption. This call is strongly underscored in the NT by references such as John 3:16,36, 20:21, 1 John 2:25 and 5:11-13.  Paul (Phil. 3:14; 1 Thes. 2:12), Peter (1 Pet. 5:10) and the author of Hebrews (3:1) also stress that our call is a heavenly call to glory. It is almost superfluous to add in the light of this evidence that Christ is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) which we shall share with God (Rom. 5:2; 2 Cor. 4:17). And just in case we have any illusions that this hope is earthly both Paul (Col. 1:5, cf. Rom. 8:20,24f.) and Peter insist that it is heavenly (1 Pet. 1:3f.). We are thus forced to conclude that an earthly millennium is not on the horizon, and, not surprisingly, believers who have trimmed their lamps go directly to the marriage feast (Mt. 25:10, cf. Luke 20:34-36). (It might profitably be added here that once we are married to Christ, there will be no divorce!)
Sin the Only Problem?
The hidden assumption of premillenialism, like so much of Western theology, is that all our problems stem from sin. Thus, it is almost universally held that the sin of Adam brought death not merely to himself but to the entire universe! The sin-obsessed Augustine, whose erroneous thinking still governs us even in the 21st century, failed to recognize that, as Genesis 1:1 implies, a temporal creation is necessarily subject to corruption (cf. Ps. 89:47). God made it that way in hope (cf. Rom. 8:18-25). The truth of this is underlined by the paradox of Jesus himself who on the one hand as a man of dust, a true son of Adam (Luke 3:38), had a beginning, grew older (Luke 2:41ff.; John 8:57) and hence was ready to vanish away (2 Cor. 4:16; Heb. 8:13), but on the other hand possessed indestructible life (Heb. 7:3,16). In other words, as flesh, a product of the corruptible earth, he was necessarily mortal even apart from sin; it was only as spirit that he was immortal and incorruptible. So while he died in the flesh, he continued to live in the spirit (1 Pet. 3:18) which he committed to his Father even as he died on the cross (Luke 23:46). To object here that Jesus did not see corruption after his death but rose again in the flesh is beside the point. In dying for others he was not earning wages on his own account. His resurrection, which demonstrated the efficacy and validity of his death on our behalf (Rom. 4:25) and clearly underscored the return of his spirit to his lifeless body (cf. Luke 8:55; James 2:26), did not obviate the necessity of his ascension, transformation and glorification (John 20:17). For how else could he inherit the eternal blessings promised to David (Acts 13:34, cf. Luke 1:32f.).
The premillennial assumption seems to be that Christ must return to earth to demonstrate man’s dominion subverted by Adam’s (imputed) sin and a universal curse on the earth. But as has already been made clear, the victory of Jesus as the second Adam over a sinful world and a recalcitrant creation was representative and does not require repetition. A literal millennium achieves nothing that has not already been achieved. Christ’s work was both a finished and victorious work (John 16:33; 17:4f.; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5,12f.).
The Kingdom of God
Fifth, Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). In light of this he did not pose a political threat to the rule of Rome. Pilate seemed to be convinced by this, though many of Jesus’ followers were not (cf. John 6:15; Acts 1:6). In any case, the kingdom of God to which Jesus frequently refers is in Matthew’s gospel usually designated the kingdom of heaven wherein righteousness dwells (Mt. 5:6,20; 6:10,33, cf. Rom. 14:17; 2 Pet. 3:13).
When reflecting on the kingdom, it is vital for us not to forget that Jesus was a Son of David who was promised eternal rule (2 Sam. 7; Ps. 89). Luke tells us that the Lord God will give  Jesus the throne of his ancestor David and that his kingdom will be endless (1:32f.). Apart from other teaching along the same lines (e.g. Acts 2:34-36; 13:34; 15:16f.), it is hard indeed to see how Jesus can (cf. Acts 7:49f.) and why he should return to reign on a temporal earth.
The author of Hebrews also lays stress on Jesus’ heavenly rule (1:6; 2:5) and priesthood (5:6; 7:17). In both cases their everlasting or eternal nature is underscored, as it had been long before in 2 Samuel 7:13 and Psalm 89:27-29,36f. (cf. Luke 1:32f., etc.). Since this is so, a temporal earthly rule of a mere thousand years is not on the horizon.
This Age or the Age to Come
This raises the question of the age to which the millennium belongs. As we have just seen, it cannot occur in the eternal age to come. And since dormant sin re-appears at the end of the thousand years when the devil is released, it must belong to the present age. This of course should be evident from the fact that the saints are in the flesh which derives from a temporal earth. Again, however, we are confronted with a re-incarnated Jesus. Just how he can be flesh again after ascending transformed to his Father in heaven without, as suggested above, re-entering his mother’s womb is more than a little difficult to explain. (It might be remembered at this point that some premillennialists argue that 1 Corinthians 15:50 refers only to sinful flesh. Behind such thinking seems to lie the Augustinian idea of an originally perfect and hence immortal Adam!)
But this by no means brings our difficulties to an end. For if Jesus and the saints who like David have already seen corruption are going to return to earth in the flesh, then they are also going to be subject to aging and corruption once again. One premillennialist writer whose book is on my shelves avers without batting an eyelid (on video) that Jesus is going to return in the flesh just as he was when he ascended, and still 33 years old! While he apparently recognizes that in heaven Jesus’ aging process was suspended despite his still being in corruptible flesh (!), he fails to realize that once he comes back to earth his biological clock will begin to tick again. Since this is so, at the end of the millennium Jesus will be 1033 years old, putting Methuselah, who was only 969, in the shade. Even if, however, we reject the notion that individuals such as Adam, who is clearly both individual and community, achieved such stupendous ages, there will inevitably be marriage and birth during the millennium (contrast Luke 20:34 and cf. Heb. 7:23). I humbly suggest this is a highly unlikely scenario. As I shall insist further below, apart from the fact that an intermediate earthly kingdom is unknown to Scripture, the very idea is based on a fundamental misconception. But in any case, we are yet again faced with the problem of repetition. If the literal millennium is all it is said to be, then Jesus’ victory in the flesh (John 16:33; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:9, etc.) prior to his death and resurrection is an illusion. On this assumption, Paul should never have written Romans 8:31ff. (cf. Rev. 3:21, etc.).
Perfection
As intimated above, it is Augustinian theology that forms the background of premillennial thinking. Augustine fostered the notion that God originally created the world and its inhabitants Adam and Eve perfect and as a result had to posit a calamitous fall and a consequent cosmic curse. But the idea that creation was originally perfect is belied by the very first verse of the Bible. Only God is perfect and he has neither beginning nor end (Isa. 57:15, cf. Heb. 7:3). While heaven is his throne, earth is his footstool (Isa. 66:1; Mt. 5:34f.). In light of this it comes as no surprise that the Creator and his creation are distinguished throughout Scripture (Ps. 90:2; 102:25-27; 103: 15-17; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:6,8; Heb. 1:10-12, etc.). The one is to be worshipped but the other not (Dt. 4:19; Rom. 1:25, etc.). Perfection (maturity, completion, Jas. 1:4) is the goal of man made in the image of God (Lev. 11:44f.; Mt. 5:48); he alone of all flesh has both the vocation and the concomitant capacity to attain to the divine likeness and be perfected as Jesus himself was (Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 7:28). The material creation, like the flesh, is a law to itself and achieves its own fleeting perfection before its ultimate demise.
The Perfection of the Creature
So far as man’s flesh is concerned, it achieves perfection (maturity, completeness) in this world. As the lamb becomes a sheep, so a baby becomes a man or woman. Then in accordance with the law of its creation (Rom. 8:20) it declines in subjection to its natural  corruptibility and entropy (2 Cor. 4:16, cf. Mt. 6:19f., etc.). On the other hand, what is spiritually perfected (Heb. 2:10; 5:9) remains perfect forever (Heb. 7:28), while the imperfect passes away (cf. 1 Cor. 13:10). Acts 13:34 apart, I conclude that Jesus’ return to a corruptible earth is out of the question. Perfection once achieved does not return to imperfection. Retrogression in Scripture is a sin (Dt. 24:16; Jer. 7:24, etc.), while progression to spiritual maturity seen in terms of both destiny and destination is of the essence of the gospel (Eph. 4:8-16; Col. 1:28; 4:12; Jas. 1:4). As intimated above, Paul makes this especially clear in Galatians. While in 1 Corinthians 15:46 the apostle indicates that man moves from flesh to spirit (and from law to Spirit, Rom. 7-8), in Galatians 3:3 he remonstrates with those who seem intent on reversing the process. After being born again by the Spirit, ending in the flesh is inherently contradictory. Again in 4:9 and in Colossians 2:20 he is implicitly saying the same thing. Going back results inevitably in curse and death as it did in the wilderness (Jer. 7:24; 1 Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:17, etc.); going forward leads to blessing and life (Jer. 32:39-41; 1 Pet. 2:11f., etc.). Spiritual and corporeal (somatic) perfection are attained in heaven not on earth.
Augustinian Theology
It is one of the ironies of history that premillennialists who are so hotly critical of Augustine’s opposition to chiliasm are nonetheless so profoundly governed by his worldview. (See further my Worldview, The Biblical Worldview.) They readily accept the traditional but radically unscriptural dogmas of original perfection, Fall, original sin and a universal curse on creation, yet it is precisely these that give rise to what they see as the need for a millennium. Once these are excised, as they should be, from our thinking, no amount of exegetical ingenuity and hermeneutical expertise will elicit a literal thousand-year millennium on this earth. The entire Bible is opposed to it. Or is it?
Covenant Theology
This brings us to covenant theology. As I have described elsewhere, many years ago I ran into trouble trying to understand traditional covenant theologies and eventually concluded that both the Reformed and the Dispensational varieties were flawed. It is impossible to go into detail here, but one of my main conclusions was that while old and new covenants are to some degree ethically continuous, they are nonetheless essentially different or discontinuous (cf. my Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity).  The old covenant is oriented to this material world and not unnaturally emphasizes the rule of law which, being transient and provisional (2 Cor. 3:11, etc.), operates only so long as the world exists (Mt. 5:18, cf. Rom. 7:1). The new covenant relates essentially to heaven (cf. Mt. 6:10) or the world to come and remains forever (Mt. 24:35). It existed here on earth only as a promise (Jer. 31:31-34) until it was inaugurated, like the kingdom of God, by Jesus (cf. 2 Tim. 1:10). It is essentially spiritual and is dictated by the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 3).
If this is so, it is almost inevitable that premillennialists, especially those of the dispensational variety, who are governed by a literal interpretation of the OT entertain the largely materialistic hopes of the OT. Even a scholar of the calibre of G.E.Ladd, a classical premillennialist who rejected dispensationalism, was earth-centred in his eschatology. Like so many others, he was conditioned by the Augustinian worldview. He failed to recognize that this material world, of which man in the flesh is a part, was created temporal (Gen. 1:1) and naturally corruptible but in (invisible) hope (Rom. 8:18-25). Thus the plan of salvation involves our escape from it (Gen. 2:17, cf. Rom. 8:20,23). This present (temporal) age must give way to the (eternal) age to come. And since we, the children of dusty Adam (Ps. 103:14, etc.), are incapable of meeting the condition of our escape, that is, a sinless life in the flesh (Gen. 2:17; Lev. 18:5; Dt. 32:46f. Ezek. 33:15, etc.), it has been achieved for us by Christ (Rom. 8:3). Our own undeniable sins (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; 6:23) have been covered by his death and we are saved by his life (Rom. 5:10).
The plain truth is that the old covenant is spiritualized in the new covenant. An obvious example of this is the non-literal inheritance of Abraham in Hebrews 11. (Strictly speaking, it is literal as opposed to allegorical, spiritual as opposed to material. Like the temple, it is real or true as opposed to shadowy.) The city or land he looked for was invisible and therefore  heavenly (Heb. 11:8-16; 12:22; 13:14, cf. Phil. 3:20). Like Jesus’ kingship (John 18:36), it was not of this creation (Heb. 9:11). The tragedy of premillennialism is that it attempts to pour new wine into old wineskins with the result that the significance of the true gospel is largely lost (Mark 2:21f.).
Biblical covenant theology points to another matter of basic importance. I have argued at some length in my Covenant Theology, Covenant Theology in Brief (cf. Did God Make a Covenant With Creation? Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity, that proper study of the Bible evinces three dispensational covenants affecting the race – one each respectively with Noah, Moses and Christ (cf. Rom. 1-3). While the first two continue to operate in this world, they are inherently provisional pending the end of history and of the material creation (cf. Mt. 5:18; Rom. 7:1). Only the Christian covenant is permanent (Mt. 24:35, cf. the promissory Abrahamic and Davidic covenants). But it needs to be recognized that since the individual recapitulates the history of the race, these covenants are miniaturized and epitomized in the individual, not least in the second Adam who is thereby fitted to become universally representative (cf. 1 John 2:2). This is made especially plain in Galatians 4:1-7 where Jesus is shown to be first a child or slave of nature (Gentile), second, a son of the commandment (Jew), and, third, the beloved Son of his heavenly Father and archetypal Christian (Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). (So far as Paul himself was concerned, see Romans 7-8.) If this is true, on premillennial presuppositions we ought to expect a mini-millennium in the life of Jesus himself. But we do not. What we do see is increasing opposition and hostility culminating in his death. And we see precisely the same in the eschatological experience of his people as a whole, as non-millenarians (amillennialists) have frequently testified. All of us go through (the) tribulation in one form or another (Acts 14:22, cf. Gal. 5:16f.; 1 Pet. 2:11). But those who are alive at the end of the present dispensation can expect not a golden age but persecution of a particularly vicious kind when evil achieves its own maturity or perfection (Gen. 15:16; 1 Thes. 2:16; Rev. 13). And with the rejection of the gospel in the West and intense opposition to it elsewhere, one cannot help but wonder if that end is drawing close (Rom. 13:11—14). One thing is clear: nature itself is beginning to manifest more obvious birthpangs than usual (Mt. 24:8). (Not to mention recent earthquakes and tsunamis, I write this on a day when Victoria in Australia in the grip of drought is ablaze.)
Conclusion
On the basis of my preunderstandings of the Bible, a literal thousand-year millennium under the rule of Christ in the flesh and on the earth is out of the question. It reflects a basically unbiblical worldview and anthropology. Furthermore, it is an addition to Scripture which Scripture itself severely condemns (Rev. 22:18). It should be rejected out of hand and its devotees called on to repent on pain of divine judgement (cf. Gal. 1:6-9).
ADDITIONAL NOTE on Historic Premillennialism
Since writing the above I have read with immense interest and profit A Case for Historic Premillennialism, ed. Blomberg and Chung. Short of writing an extended separate critique along the lines of the above, I here append some comments on Gnostic dualism.
On page 129 Donald Fairbairn in a fine essay on Contemporary Millennial/Tribulational Debates tells us that at the heart of Gnosticism lies a profound dualism which he apparently regards as false, though see my Biblical Dualism.  He maintains that it surfaces in four crucial areas.
First, he says it leads to the idea that the material world is evil and unredeemable. This however, from a biblical point of view is false logic, since from Genesis 1:1 the Bible depicts the material creation not as evil but as intrinsically temporal and corruptible (Ps. 102:25-27; Isa. 51:6; Mt. 6:19f.). Furthermore, to infer from this that salvation applies only to the soul and not to the body is again to err. Scripture clearly teaches the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:45-49) but certainly not of the flesh which derives from the naturally corruptible (Rom. 8:18-25), visible and temporary (2 Cor. 4:18) material creation which is destined for destruction (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50; Heb. 12:27, etc.).
Second, Fairbairn says that Gnosticism denigrates history. Perhaps it does, but to draw the conclusion from the destruction of the material creation which is clearly taught in the Bible that the panorama of history played out in the physical world is of little consequence is quite misguided. After all we are judged by the deeds we do in the body! The world is the testing ground in which we as those who are created in the image of God are called to exercise dominion (Gen. 1:26-28, etc.) with a view to our ultimately becoming children of the resurrection. Jesus as the second Adam achieved his victory on earth and in so doing ensured our own triumph (Heb. 2:6-13).
Third, Fairbairn contends that Gnosticism leads to a distinction between two competing gods – the lesser, material god of the OT and the higher, spiritual God of the NT. In the Bible, however, God is the God of both testaments. For all that, there is no denying that the old covenant in contrast with the new relates primarily to this material earth and to the flesh (Mt. 5:18; Heb. 7:16; 9:8-10 contrast Mt. 24:35, etc.). As scholars regularly point out the OT people were more earthly than heavenly oriented (e.g. Bruce, pp.298f.,339; Ladd,). Both Paul and the author of Hebrews insist on the limitations and defective nature of the law which, like the creation itself, is temporary and provisional (see e.g. 2 Cor. 3:11; Heb. 7:18f.).
Fourth, while it may be true that Gnosticism implicitly harbours a docetic view of Christ, this is not true of the Bible which clearly emphasizes the reality of the incarnation. If Jesus did not conquer in the flesh as the second Adam (Rom. 8:3), then he did not conquer at all (Heb. 2, etc.). But it must be promptly added that his victory in the flesh led not merely to his physical resurrection from the dead but to his transformation ascension and return to former glory (John 17:5,24). As Irenaeus, despite his premillennialism, once said, he became what we are so that we might become what he is, and that is certainly not corruptible flesh, which would make nonsense of  Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58.
As intimated above, the problem with premillennialism of whatever hue is, first, its Augustinian worldview and, second, its lack of an adequate covenant theology.
(See further my essays on the redemption of creation and original sin including A Brief Critique of ‘Surprised by Hope by Tom Wright, A Brief Review of ‘The Mission of God’ by  C.J.H. Wright. Note also Romans 8, Covenant Theology, Manufactured or Not So, The Corruptibility of Creation, Spiritualization, The Biblical Worldview, Worldview, Did Jesus Rise Physically from the Grave?, Thoughts on the Redemption of Creation, etc.  at www.kenstothard.com / )
Note:
Christians are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9) who rule on the earth (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). They also rule in heaven with Jesus (Rev. 3:21; 20:4,6, cf. 1 Cor. 6:2f.). The thousand years of Revelation 20 is clearly the Christian dispensation and there is no evidence whatsoever of an intermediate kingdom which in any case serves no discernible purpose. Christ has already conquered (John 16:33; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5, etc.). Already in the process of putting his enemies under his feet, he is heading for the grand finale or consummation.
REFERENCES
Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung, eds., A Case for Historic Premillennialism, Grand Rapids, 2009.
F.F.Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Grand Rapids/London, 1964.
J.D.G.Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, London/New York, 2003 ed.
G.E.Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, 1974.
J.R.Michaels, WBC 1 Peter, 1988.

In “Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond” edited by Darrell L.Bock, Grand Rapids, 1999, it seems to be generally agreed that the reason why writers who claim to accept in common the authority of Scripture arrive at different conclusions regarding the millennium is that they have different presuppositions or preunderstandings (pp.214,264,267,285ff., etc.). There is little doubt in my mind that this is true. So, in rejecting outright a literal millennium, it is necessary for me to make my own preunderstandings clear.


Interpretation

First, I believe that the teaching of Christ and the apostles in the earlier part of the NT forms the foundation of our faith (Eph. 2:20, cf. 1 Cor. 3:11) and that the book of Revelation repeats it in symbolic and apocalyptic form. Therefore, it seems to me, despite the fact that a literal interpretation of Revelation 20:2-7 is exegetically possible, that

(a) the burden of proof lies heavily on those who claim that new truth about a literal thousand-year millennium is being taught, and that

(b) on its assumption a general consensus about what it involves must, in principle, be attainable. To my knowledge both proof and consensus have hitherto eluded us. Consequently, I am convinced that any attempt to read the book of Revelation literally without the confirmation of the rest of the NT is not only fraught with danger but also incapable of substantiation. Other considerations apart, the notion of a literal millennium must ever remain deeply suspect.


The Finished Work of Christ

Next, I believe that the notion of a literal millennium undermines the finished work of Christ. According to the book of Genesis, in order to achieve glory and honour man’s vocation was to exercise dominion over the temporal earth (1:26,28; Ps. 8:5f.), to keep the commandment (2:16f.) and to resist the devil (3:1-6). He failed. By contrast, the second Adam, as Hebrews 2:9, Matthew 3:17 and John 14:30f., for example, demonstrate, accomplished all three. Jesus’ resurrection, ascension, exaltation and heavenly session (Acts 2:24,33-36) put this beyond reasonable doubt. But more to the point, as Hebrews 2:9f. in particular indicate, Jesus’ victory was representative His achievement embraced all those who believed in him (cf. John 12:26;17:24; 2 Cor. 4:14) on whose behalf he came in the first place (Mark 10:45, etc.). According to the author of Hebrews he is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, and according to Paul we are already more than conquerors in him (Rom. 8:31ff.).

If this is true, then a return to earth on the part of Christ and his fellow believers is redundant. (See further my A Summary of Reasons Against the Return of Christ to Earth, Is Jesus Coming Back to earth? at www.kenstothard.com /)  Since he has already overcome the world (John 16:33; 17:4f.; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5,12f.), it is totally unnecessary. To posit its repetition is like going back to Egypt in denial of the exodus (Dt. 17:16; Acts 7:39). It detracts from his finished work and brings into question the entire plan of salvation. Any hint of repetition suggests imperfection, as the author of Hebrews is at pains to indicate (Heb. 7:27; 9:25-28, etc.). I therefore conclude that a literal millennium is an addition to and hence in effect a subtraction from the gospel that was originally received (Gal. 1:9). It is in its logical outworking another gospel (Gal. 1:7) and hence to be rigorously rejected. It is propagated only on pain of anathema (Gal. 1:9, cf. Rev. 22:18).


The Work of the Holy Spirit

On the face of it, it would seem that a literal millennium also undermines the effectiveness of the work of the Holy Spirit. As I understand it, Christ sent his Spirit into the world to apply his finished work or accomplished redemption to all subsequent believers “till the work on earth is done” (1* This is part of the refrain of the gospel song “There is a Redeemer” by Melody Green.) and the number of the elect is complete (Rev. 6:11, cf. Rom. 11:25f.). As Paul asserts in 1 Corinthians 15:24-28 (cf. Eph. 1:20-22; 1 Pet. 3:22) our Saviour rules from his heavenly throne putting everything in subjection beneath his feet (cf. Mt. 28:18). There is no suggestion that the work of the Spirit requires supplementation by means of a literal millennium. Again I conclude that addition means inevitable subtraction.


Transformation

Fourth, the NT makes it clear that the incarnation involved the transformation of the Word of God from previous glory (John 1:1f.,14; Phil. 2:6; 1 Tim. 3:16). In order to achieve as man for man the purpose of God, Jesus, the second Adam, had to be born of woman, that is, made flesh (Mt. 1; Luke 2; Gal. 4:4) as a true son of the first Adam (Luke 3:38), but only for a little while (Heb. 2:7,9). In the words of Paul, he had to empty and humble himself in order to take on the likeness of men (Phil. 2:7f.). But once he had accomplished his mission and proved victorious in the flesh (cf. Rom. 8:3, etc.), it was necessary for him as flesh to undergo transformation once more (cf. John 20:17; 1 Cor. 15:51ff.) – back to the divine glory and perfection he had enjoyed before (John 17:5,24). For flesh and blood can no more inherit the kingdom of God than the impermanent (corruptible) can inherit the permanent (incorruptible, 1 Cor. 15:50). Thus, at his ascension, he was transformed and passed through the heavens (Heb. 4:14) permanently separate(d) from sinners (Heb. 7:26) and made perfect forever (7:28; Eph. 4:10). Like his heavenly Father, on whose throne he sat (Heb. 1:3; Rev. 3:21), he ruled in the world to come (Eph. 1:20-22; Heb. 1:6; 2:5). It is at this point that Jesus’ full humanity and divinity coincided (cf. John 10:30); the divine had permanently assumed the human. In heaven the throne is that of the God and the Lamb (Rev. 5:13; 6:16; 7:10,17).


Retransformation Excluded

From this we are forced to draw certain conclusions. First, Jesus will never be flesh again. To be so he would have to enter his mother’s womb again (Luke 1:35, cf. John 3:4). But this, even if it were necessary or possible, would mean that his mother who, like David, experienced corruption (Acts 2:29) would also have to re-enter the womb of her mother who has also been subject to corruption. Thus we are involved in a process of regression which cannot logically terminate till the earth itself has been re-created. But where does a literal millennium fit into this scenario? The question hardly requires an answer.

Second, if Jesus has now regained the glory of God he shared before the foundation of the world, he cannot dwell on the earth (1 K. 8:27; Acts 7:49f.). In view of this it is not at all strange that Paul denies his return to earthly corruption in any form (Acts 13:34). (2* See further my No Return To Corruption, No Going Back. This belies Ladd’s assertion, p.236, that the consummation means nothing less than the descent of the heavenly Jerusalem to earth, a contradiction in terms if ever there was one. He refers to Revelation 21:2 which fails to mention earth at all – not surprisingly, since it has already passed away as 20:11 and 21:1 indicate. Ladd then informs us that God will finally visit men to transform a fallen order and dwell among men on a redeemed earth. This is a clear indication that his thinking is governed by the worldview of Augustine, on which see my The Biblical Worldview, Worldview. He seems to have forgotten that God visited the earth briefly, Heb. 2:7,9, in Christ not to redeem it but men from it, cf. my Escape! Earth by its very nature is visible, temporary and corruptible. It is therefore paramount for us to be rescued from it as the Israelites were from Egypt.)  When he returns (3* I become increasingly convinced that the term ‘return of Christ’ is overworked and misleading. While acknowledging that Jesus himself says he will come again (palin erchomai, John 14:3, cf. Acts 1:11; Tit.2:13, etc.), the word parousia strictly means presence and, according to Dunn, is never used in the NT in the sense of return, p.296 n.11. In light of the fact that Jesus tells his disciples that he will be with them to the end of the age, Mt. 28:20, the other two words used in this connection with the second advent, epiphaneia or appearing and apocalypsis or revealing, suggest that his present invisibility will give way to visibility, cf. Michaels in comment on 1:7 in WBC 1 Peter, 1988, p.32, at which time creation will flee away, Rev. 20:11; 21:1, cf. 6:14; 16:20. Clearly, more needs to be said in this connection.) it will be in the glory of the Father (Mt. 16:27; 25:31; 26:64; Luke 9:26) not to deal with sin again (repetition) but to rescue his people (Mt. 13:27; Heb. 9:28; 1 Cor. 15:51f.). He will thus bring them transformed in his moral and generic likeness (1 Pet. 4:6; 2 Pet. 1:4) into the heavenly presence of God as his children (2 Cor. 4:14; Heb. 2:10; 1 Pet. 3:18).

Third, Scripture makes it abundantly clear that so far as man is concerned there is a progressive movement from flesh to spirit (1 Cor. 15:46) or from ground to glory. This movement is epitomized in Jesus’ earthly career which ended with his ascension to heaven. Thus, the idea that this process should be reversed when Jesus returns to this earth in the flesh is contrary to the gospel, as Paul makes clear in Galatians 3:3, for example. In any case, Paul banishes the notion in Acts 13:34 where he tells us that Christ’s resurrection (4* I take it that Paul is using the word resurrection in this passage to include ascension, exaltation and heavenly session, as the second part of the verse implies.) precludes any possibility of a return to earthly corruption.


Our Heavenly Call

The initial call of mortal man in Genesis 2:16f. (cf. 3:1-6), which is also implied in Genesis 1:26-28 (cf. Ps. 8:5f.; Rom. 2:7,10; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 1:7), is to gain eternal life and incorruption. This call is strongly underscored in the NT by references such as John 3:16,36, 20:21, 1 John 2:25 and 5:11-13.  Paul (Phil. 3:14; 1 Thes. 2:12), Peter (1 Pet. 5:10) and the author of Hebrews (3:1) also stress that our call is a heavenly call to glory. It is almost superfluous to add in the light of this evidence that Christ is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27) which we shall share with God (Rom. 5:2; 2 Cor. 4:17). And just in case we have any illusions that this hope is earthly both Paul (Col. 1:5, cf. Rom. 8:20,24f.) and Peter insist that it is heavenly (1 Pet. 1:3f.). We are thus forced to conclude that an earthly millennium is not on the horizon, and, not surprisingly, believers who have trimmed their lamps go directly to the marriage feast (Mt. 25:10, cf. Luke 20:34-36). (It might profitably be added here that once we are married to Christ, there will be no divorce!)


Sin the Only Problem?

The hidden assumption of premillenialism, like so much of Western theology, is that all our problems stem from sin. Thus, it is almost universally held that the sin of Adam brought death not merely to himself but to the entire universe! The sin-obsessed Augustine, whose erroneous thinking still governs us even in the 21st century, failed to recognize that, as Genesis 1:1 implies, a temporal creation is necessarily subject to corruption (cf. Ps. 89:47). God made it that way in hope (cf. Rom. 8:18-25). The truth of this is underlined by the paradox of Jesus himself who on the one hand as a man of dust, a true son of Adam (Luke 3:38), had a beginning, grew older (Luke 2:41ff.; John 8:57) and hence was ready to vanish away (2 Cor. 4:16; Heb. 8:13), but on the other hand possessed indestructible life (Heb. 7:3,16). In other words, as flesh, a product of the corruptible earth, he was necessarily mortal even apart from sin; it was only as spirit that he was immortal and incorruptible. So while he died in the flesh, he continued to live in the spirit (1 Pet. 3:18) which he committed to his Father even as he died on the cross (Luke 23:46). To object here that Jesus did not see corruption after his death but rose again in the flesh is beside the point. In dying for others he was not earning wages on his own account. His resurrection, which demonstrated the efficacy and validity of his death on our behalf (Rom. 4:25) and clearly underscored the return of his spirit to his lifeless body (cf. Luke 8:55; James 2:26), did not obviate the necessity of his ascension, transformation and glorification (John 20:17). For how else could he inherit the eternal blessings promised to David (Acts 13:34, cf. Luke 1:32f.).

The premillennial assumption seems to be that Christ must return to earth to demonstrate man’s dominion subverted by Adam’s (imputed) sin and a universal curse on the earth. But as has already been made clear, the victory of Jesus as the second Adam over a sinful world and a recalcitrant creation was representative and does not require repetition. A literal millennium achieves nothing that has not already been achieved. Christ’s work was both a finished and victorious work (John 16:33; 17:4f.; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5,12f.).


The Kingdom of God

Fifth, Jesus told Pilate that his kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36). In light of this he did not pose a political threat to the rule of Rome. Pilate seemed to be convinced by this, though many of Jesus’ followers were not (cf. John 6:15; Acts 1:6). In any case, the kingdom of God to which Jesus frequently refers is in Matthew’s gospel usually designated the kingdom of heaven wherein righteousness dwells (Mt. 5:6,20; 6:10,33, cf. Rom. 14:17; 2 Pet. 3:13).

When reflecting on the kingdom, it is vital for us not to forget that Jesus was a Son of David who was promised eternal rule (2 Sam. 7; Ps. 89). Luke tells us that the Lord God will give  Jesus the throne of his ancestor David and that his kingdom will be endless (1:32f.). Apart from other teaching along the same lines (e.g. Acts 2:34-36; 13:34; 15:16f.), it is hard indeed to see how Jesus can (cf. Acts 7:49f.) and why he should return to reign on a temporal earth.

The author of Hebrews also lays stress on Jesus’ heavenly rule (1:6; 2:5) and priesthood (5:6; 7:17). In both cases their everlasting or eternal nature is underscored, as it had been long before in 2 Samuel 7:13 and Psalm 89:27-29,36f. (cf. Luke 1:32f., etc.). Since this is so, a temporal earthly rule of a mere thousand years is not on the horizon.


This Age or the Age to Come

This raises the question of the age to which the millennium belongs. As we have just seen, it cannot occur in the eternal age to come. And since dormant sin re-appears at the end of the thousand years when the devil is released, it must belong to the present age. This of course should be evident from the fact that the saints are in the flesh which derives from a temporal earth. Again, however, we are confronted with a re-incarnated Jesus. Just how he can be flesh again after ascending transformed to his Father in heaven without, as suggested above, re-entering his mother’s womb is more than a little difficult to explain. (It might be remembered at this point that some premillennialists argue that 1 Corinthians 15:50 refers only to sinful flesh. Behind such thinking seems to lie the Augustinian idea of an originally perfect and hence immortal Adam!)

But this by no means brings our difficulties to an end. For if Jesus and the saints who like David have already seen corruption are going to return to earth in the flesh, then they are also going to be subject to aging and corruption once again. One premillennialist writer whose book is on my shelves avers without batting an eyelid (on video) that Jesus is going to return in the flesh just as he was when he ascended, and still 33 years old! While he apparently recognizes that in heaven Jesus’ aging process was suspended despite his still being in corruptible flesh (!), he fails to realize that once he comes back to earth his biological clock will begin to tick again. Since this is so, at the end of the millennium Jesus will be 1033 years old, putting Methuselah, who was only 969, in the shade. Even if, however, we reject the notion that individuals such as Adam, who is clearly both individual and community, achieved such stupendous ages, there will inevitably be marriage and birth during the millennium (contrast Luke 20:34 and cf. Heb. 7:23). I humbly suggest this is a highly unlikely scenario. As I shall insist further below, apart from the fact that an intermediate earthly kingdom is unknown to Scripture, the very idea is based on a fundamental misconception. But in any case, we are yet again faced with the problem of repetition. If the literal millennium is all it is said to be, then Jesus’ victory in the flesh (John 16:33; Rom. 8:3; Heb. 2:9, etc.) prior to his death and resurrection is an illusion. On this assumption, Paul should never have written Romans 8:31ff. (cf. Rev. 3:21, etc.).


Perfection

As intimated above, it is Augustinian theology that forms the background of premillennial thinking. Augustine fostered the notion that God originally created the world and its inhabitants Adam and Eve perfect and as a result had to posit a calamitous fall and a consequent cosmic curse. But the idea that creation was originally perfect is belied by the very first verse of the Bible. Only God is perfect and he has neither beginning nor end (Isa. 57:15, cf. Heb. 7:3). While heaven is his throne, earth is his footstool (Isa. 66:1; Mt. 5:34f.). In light of this it comes as no surprise that the Creator and his creation are distinguished throughout Scripture (Ps. 90:2; 102:25-27; 103: 15-17; Isa. 40:6-8; 51:6,8; Heb. 1:10-12, etc.). The one is to be worshipped but the other not (Dt. 4:19; Rom. 1:25, etc.). Perfection (maturity, completion, Jas. 1:4) is the goal of man made in the image of God (Lev. 11:44f.; Mt. 5:48); he alone of all flesh has both the vocation and the concomitant capacity to attain to the divine likeness and be perfected as Jesus himself was (Heb. 2:10; 5:9; 7:28). The material creation, like the flesh, is a law to itself and achieves its own fleeting perfection before its ultimate demise.


The Perfection of the Creature

So far as man’s flesh is concerned, it achieves perfection (maturity, completeness) in this world. As the lamb becomes a sheep, so a baby becomes a man or woman. Then in accordance with the law of its creation (Rom. 8:20) it declines in subjection to its natural  corruptibility and entropy (2 Cor. 4:16, cf. Mt. 6:19f., etc.). On the other hand, what is spiritually perfected (Heb. 2:10; 5:9) remains perfect forever (Heb. 7:28), while the imperfect passes away (cf. 1 Cor. 13:10). Acts 13:34 apart, I conclude that Jesus’ return to a corruptible earth is out of the question. Perfection once achieved does not return to imperfection. Retrogression in Scripture is a sin (Dt. 24:16; Jer. 7:24, etc.), while progression to spiritual maturity seen in terms of both destiny and destination is of the essence of the gospel (Eph. 4:8-16; Col. 1:28; 4:12; Jas. 1:4). As intimated above, Paul makes this especially clear in Galatians. While in 1 Corinthians 15:46 the apostle indicates that man moves from flesh to spirit (and from law to Spirit, Rom. 7-8), in Galatians 3:3 he remonstrates with those who seem intent on reversing the process. After being born again by the Spirit, ending in the flesh is inherently contradictory. Again in 4:9 and in Colossians 2:20 he is implicitly saying the same thing. Going back results inevitably in curse and death as it did in the wilderness (Jer. 7:24; 1 Cor. 10:5; Heb. 3:17, etc.); going forward leads to blessing and life (Jer. 32:39-41; 1 Pet. 2:11f., etc.). Spiritual and corporeal (somatic) perfection are attained in heaven not on earth.


Augustinian Theology

It is one of the ironies of history that premillennialists who are so hotly critical of Augustine’s opposition to chiliasm are nonetheless so profoundly governed by his worldview. (See further my Worldview, The Biblical Worldview.) They readily accept the traditional but radically unscriptural dogmas of original perfection, Fall, original sin and a universal curse on creation, yet it is precisely these that give rise to what they see as the need for a millennium. Once these are excised, as they should be, from our thinking, no amount of exegetical ingenuity and hermeneutical expertise will elicit a literal thousand-year millennium on this earth. The entire Bible is opposed to it. Or is it?


Covenant Theology

This brings us to covenant theology. As I have described elsewhere, many years ago I ran into trouble trying to understand traditional covenant theologies and eventually concluded that both the Reformed and the Dispensational varieties were flawed. It is impossible to go into detail here, but one of my main conclusions was that while old and new covenants are to some degree ethically continuous, they are nonetheless essentially different or discontinuous (cf. my Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity).  The old covenant is oriented to this material world and not unnaturally emphasizes the rule of law which, being transient and provisional (2 Cor. 3:11, etc.), operates only so long as the world exists (Mt. 5:18, cf. Rom. 7:1). The new covenant relates essentially to heaven (cf. Mt. 6:10) or the world to come and remains forever (Mt. 24:35). It existed here on earth only as a promise (Jer. 31:31-34) until it was inaugurated, like the kingdom of God, by Jesus (cf. 2 Tim. 1:10). It is essentially spiritual and is dictated by the Spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 3).

If this is so, it is almost inevitable that premillennialists, especially those of the dispensational variety, who are governed by a literal interpretation of the OT entertain the largely materialistic hopes of the OT. Even a scholar of the calibre of G.E.Ladd, a classical premillennialist who rejected dispensationalism, was earth-centred in his eschatology. Like so many others, he was conditioned by the Augustinian worldview. He failed to recognize that this material world, of which man in the flesh is a part, was created temporal (Gen. 1:1) and naturally corruptible but in (invisible) hope (Rom. 8:18-25). Thus the plan of salvation involves our escape from it (Gen. 2:17, cf. Rom. 8:20,23). This present (temporal) age must give way to the (eternal) age to come. And since we, the children of dusty Adam (Ps. 103:14, etc.), are incapable of meeting the condition of our escape, that is, a sinless life in the flesh (Gen. 2:17; Lev. 18:5; Dt. 32:46f. Ezek. 33:15, etc.), it has been achieved for us by Christ (Rom. 8:3). Our own undeniable sins (Rom. 3:23; 5:12; 6:23) have been covered by his death and we are saved by his life (Rom. 5:10).

The plain truth is that the old covenant is spiritualized in the new covenant. An obvious example of this is the non-literal inheritance of Abraham in Hebrews 11. (Strictly speaking, it is literal as opposed to allegorical, spiritual as opposed to material. Like the temple, it is real or true as opposed to shadowy.) The city or land he looked for was invisible and therefore  heavenly (Heb. 11:8-16; 12:22; 13:14, cf. Phil. 3:20). Like Jesus’ kingship (John 18:36), it was not of this creation (Heb. 9:11). The tragedy of premillennialism is that it attempts to pour new wine into old wineskins with the result that the significance of the true gospel is largely lost (Mark 2:21f.).

Biblical covenant theology points to another matter of basic importance. I have argued at some length in my Covenant Theology, Covenant Theology in Brief (cf. Did God Make a Covenant with Creation? Covenant Continuity and Discontinuity, that proper study of the Bible evinces three dispensational covenants affecting the race – one each respectively with Noah, Moses and Christ (cf. Rom. 1-3). While the first two continue to operate in this world, they are inherently provisional pending the end of history and of the material creation (cf. Mt. 5:18; Rom. 7:1). Only the Christian covenant is permanent (Mt. 24:35, cf. the promissory Abrahamic and Davidic covenants). But it needs to be recognized that since the individual recapitulates the history of the race, these covenants are miniaturized and epitomized in the individual, not least in the second Adam who is thereby fitted to become universally representative (cf. 1 John 2:2). This is made especially plain in Galatians 4:1-7 where Jesus is shown to be first a child or slave of nature (Gentile), second, a son of the commandment (Jew), and, third, the beloved Son of his heavenly Father and archetypal Christian (Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). (So far as Paul himself was concerned, see Romans 7-8.) If this is true, on premillennial presuppositions we ought to expect a mini-millennium in the life of Jesus himself. But we do not. What we do see is increasing opposition and hostility culminating in his death. And we see precisely the same in the eschatological experience of his people as a whole, as non-millenarians (amillennialists) have frequently testified. All of us go through (the) tribulation in one form or another (Acts 14:22, cf. Gal. 5:16f.; 1 Pet. 2:11). But those who are alive at the end of the present dispensation can expect not a golden age but persecution of a particularly vicious kind when evil achieves its own maturity or perfection (Gen. 15:16; 1 Thes. 2:16; Rev. 13). And with the rejection of the gospel in the West and intense opposition to it elsewhere, one cannot help but wonder if that end is drawing close (Rom. 13:11—14). One thing is clear: nature itself is beginning to manifest more obvious birthpangs than usual (Mt. 24:8). (Not to mention recent earthquakes and tsunamis, I write this on a day when Victoria in Australia in the grip of drought is ablaze.)


Conclusion

On the basis of my preunderstandings of the Bible, a literal thousand-year millennium under the rule of Christ in the flesh and on the earth is out of the question. It reflects a basically unbiblical worldview and anthropology. Furthermore, it is an addition to Scripture which Scripture itself severely condemns (Rev. 22:18). It should be rejected out of hand and its devotees called on to repent on pain of divine judgement (cf. Gal. 1:6-9).

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ADDITIONAL NOTE on Historic Premillennialism

Since writing the above I have read with immense interest and profit A Case for Historic Premillennialism, ed. Blomberg and Chung. Short of writing an extended separate critique along the lines of the above, I here append some comments on Gnostic dualism.

On page 129 Donald Fairbairn in a fine essay on Contemporary Millennial/Tribulational Debates tells us that at the heart of Gnosticism lies a profound dualism which he apparently regards as false, though see my Biblical Dualism.  He maintains that it surfaces in four crucial areas.

First, he says it leads to the idea that the material world is evil and unredeemable. This however, from a biblical point of view is false logic, since from Genesis 1:1 the Bible depicts the material creation not as evil but as intrinsically temporal and corruptible (Ps. 102:25-27; Isa. 51:6; Mt. 6:19f.). Furthermore, to infer from this that salvation applies only to the soul and not to the body is again to err. Scripture clearly teaches the redemption of the body (Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 15:45-49) but certainly not of the flesh which derives from the naturally corruptible (Rom. 8:18-25), visible and temporary (2 Cor. 4:18) material creation which is destined for destruction (cf. 1 Cor. 15:50; Heb. 12:27, etc.).

Second, Fairbairn says that Gnosticism denigrates history. Perhaps it does, but to draw the conclusion from the destruction of the material creation which is clearly taught in the Bible that the panorama of history played out in the physical world is of little consequence is quite misguided. After all we are judged by the deeds we do in the body! The world is the testing ground in which we as those who are created in the image of God are called to exercise dominion (Gen. 1:26-28, etc.) with a view to our ultimately becoming children of the resurrection. Jesus as the second Adam achieved his victory on earth and in so doing ensured our own triumph (Heb. 2:6-13).

Third, Fairbairn contends that Gnosticism leads to a distinction between two competing gods – the lesser, material god of the OT and the higher, spiritual God of the NT. In the Bible, however, God is the God of both testaments. For all that, there is no denying that the old covenant in contrast with the new relates primarily to this material earth and to the flesh (Mt. 5:18; Heb. 7:16; 9:8-10 contrast Mt. 24:35, etc.). As scholars regularly point out the OT people were more earthly than heavenly oriented (e.g. Bruce, pp.298f.,339; Ladd,). Both Paul and the author of Hebrews insist on the limitations and defective nature of the law which, like the creation itself, is temporary and provisional (see e.g. 2 Cor. 3:11; Heb. 7:18f.).

Fourth, while it may be true that Gnosticism implicitly harbours a docetic view of Christ, this is not true of the Bible which clearly emphasizes the reality of the incarnation. If Jesus did not conquer in the flesh as the second Adam (Rom. 8:3), then he did not conquer at all (Heb. 2, etc.). But it must be promptly added that his victory in the flesh led not merely to his physical resurrection from the dead but to his transformation ascension and return to former glory (John 17:5,24). As Irenaeus, despite his premillennialism, once said, he became what we are so that we might become what he is, and that is certainly not corruptible flesh, which would make nonsense of  Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58.

As intimated above, the problem with premillennialism of whatever hue is, first, its Augustinian worldview and, second, its lack of an adequate covenant theology.

(See further my essays on the redemption of creation and original sin including A Brief Critique of ‘Surprised by Hope’ by Tom Wright, A Brief Review of ‘The Mission of God’ by C.J.H.Wright. Note also Romans 8:18-25, Covenant Theology, Manufactured Or Not So, The Corruptibility Of Creation, Spiritualisation, The Biblical Worldview, Worldview, Did Jesus Rise Physically From The Grave?, Thoughts on the Redemption of Creation, etc. )


Note:

Christians are a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Pet. 2:9) who rule on the earth (Rev. 1:6; 5:10). They also rule in heaven with Jesus (Rev. 3:21; 20:4,6, cf. 1 Cor. 6:2f.). The thousand years of Revelation 20 is clearly the Christian dispensation and there is no evidence whatsoever of an intermediate kingdom which in any case serves no discernible purpose. Christ has already conquered (John 16:33; Heb. 2:9; Rev. 5:5, etc.). Already in the process of putting his enemies under his feet, he is heading for the grand finale or consummation.

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References:

Craig L. Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung, eds., A Case for Historic Premillennialism, Grand Rapids, 2009.

F.F.Bruce, The Epistle to the Hebrews, Grand Rapids/London, 1964.

J.D.G.Dunn, The Theology of Paul the Apostle, London/New York, 2003 ed.

G.E.Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, Grand Rapids, 1974.

J.R.Michaels, WBC 1 Peter, 1988.