This Pastor’s Notes entry was written by Ronald Kunselman, who is serving as a pastoral intern at EBC through this summer.
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The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed.” I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. (Daniel 12:7-9)
The old prophet now breathed a sigh of relief. Daniel and his friends were no strangers to hazardous situations: besiegement, deportation, political power plays, a fiery furnace, and a den of lions; these guys thought that they had seen it all. But the truth of the matter is that all this was nothing compared to the vision which Daniel would behold. In chapters 9 through 12 of Daniel, an angel revealed a foretaste of the future that overwhelmed even one of Old Testament’s most indomitable seers. Empires would rise and fall, covenants would be made and broken, wars, death, abomination, and rebellion would become the norm. The very presence of the heavenly messenger and the account of these events were enough to leave Daniel breathless, wordless, and trembling.
And after all of this, what does the messenger tell Daniel? “But go your way till the end.” What? “Go your way,” we read with surprise. Certainly Daniel would have been relived. He would end his days in peace and safety in Babylon. But nonetheless, he could never be the same again. The vision of the future that Daniel beheld would permanently change his thinking. With every passing day, with every political event, with every birth and death, Daniel would be processing these facts in light of the events to come. The judgment of God was pending and Daniel knew that every minute passed brought the world closer and closer to that great and dreadful day.
Just as Daniel, we have many tensions in life: career tension, marriage tension, financial tension, political tension, but allow me to add one more – eschatological tension. Like Daniel we “go on our way” and live our lives consumed by family, friends, work, and church. And just like Daniel, this is commanded and commended by God. We live in the present and ought to do it diligently. However, with all of that, there is the background music of prophecy. Daniel wrote down his vision, and regardless of how much of that particular prophecy you think needs fulfilling, no Christian denies that there is more yet to come.
God’s plan continues to roll forward and He has told us, in advance, and with considerable detail, what that plan consists of. I suppose that Daniel seized the day and lived in the light of the moment. But he never forgot the prophecy. He always realized that God had a future plan and that future plan had significance for how he lived in the present.
Theologians frequently talk about a concept called the “Already and Not Yet Principle.” Quite simply, this means that our faith is steeped in the past, present, and future. These two aspects bring about a certain tension, but also, when correctly addressed, a certain harmony. The Kingdom of God has arrived, yet the Kingdom of God has not yet arrived. New Testament believers are fully justified to scrawl on the front of their sandwich board, “THE END HAS COME!”, but to be correct; they had better make the other side say, “THE END HAS NOT YET COME!”
Generally when talking about the Already and Not Yet Principle, it is in the context of end-times speculation. However, the principle can be applied in fruitful ways that reach into many aspects of the Christian’s life. The Already and Not Yet Principle is a broad brush that can help us understand much of Scripture. It would be trying to say much about it in a single blog entry, but one example is appropriate.
Ephesians 2:4-7: But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Paul tells us that we have been raised up and we are seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Through all the predicaments we face in this life it certainly does not seem that we are in heaven, seated with our savior. And, if we review other passages in the Bible, we can say positively that we are not in heaven. Paradise to come is a future blessing we are to partake of, not our current home. So what is the apostle trying to say here? Hasn’t he got his facts straight?
Allow me to suggest two things; One in the Not Yet and the other in the Already. First Paul wants to assure the Christian that his home in heaven is an indisputable fact. Because of God’s great love and His rich mercy we can be certain that we will be made alive with Christ. So unassailable is this promise that Paul can speak of future realities with past tense certainty. We will be shown the immeasurable riches of his grace and that is a promise so sure that you can count it as already signed, sealed, and delivered.
Secondly, there is an Already aspect to this, a spiritual aspect. The truth, that we will live with Christ physically in heaven, has a bearing upon our current reality. And that reality is that the visible word, which we can behold with our eyes, taste with our tongue, and measure in our beakers, is not the only existing world. Angels dwell in heaven, but Elisha’s servant found out otherwise (II Kings 6:17). These are great mysteries but they are also certain actualities. Our mystical union with Christ, in the Holy Spirit, is such that where He is I am also, and where I am He is. One should always consider whose presence he is in before he speaks. He should mind whose house he dwells in and act accordingly.
The Christian is saved and will be saved, we are dead to sin and we will die to sin, we have overcome and we will overcome. Keep this perspective in mind when you analyze yourself in light of Scripture; remember the Already and Not Yet aspect of your religion. The Bible is a plain and simple book; nevertheless there are aspects of it that are not always obvious. Keeping in mind the fact that much of Christian doctrine has a current and a future aspect will help. Not only will it help in your understanding of Scriptures, but it will also unlock aspects of your faith and life you have already considered but not yet understood.
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