The Beauty of the Already-Not-Yet

            Inaugurated eschatology is the beauty of the already-not-yet reality; the things that we as Christians experience in part now and will experience fully in the new creation.  Inaugurated means to begin or start something. Eschatology is the study of end things. In short, inaugurated eschatology is the belief that the new creation began at the first coming of Jesus, is now here, and will be consummated (or completed) at the return of Christ.* The richness of inaugurated eschatology is powerful and worth understanding because it brings hope to the present reality of the church.

            Inaugurated eschatology is grounded in the idea of typology. Typology is when something represents, foreshadows, or demonstrates a specific role in God’s redemptive story. There are many examples of typologies of Christ in the Old and New Testament. Christ is described as the better Adam in Romans 5. Jesus is also how God established the throne of David forever, and thus is the perfect David (2 Samuel 7:12-16). He is compared to and described as the better Moses (Hebrews 3:3, Acts 13:38-39), of the priesthood of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7), and greater than Jonah (Matthew 12:41). When Jesus came, He perfectly completed their roles of representing humanity as prophet, priest, and king. After Christ came, He showed the church how to live in order to represent Him faithfully. Common examples of people who are a witness to the roles of Christ are pastors (Acts 20:28, 1 Peter 5:2-4) and married couples (Ephesians 5:22-32). All Christians are called to represent Christ to the world as His body (Ephesians 1:22-23, 1 Corinthians 12:27), ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:17-21), and witnesses (John 15:26-27, Matthew 5:16).

     Typology has significance because it shows what role Jesus fills. Adam was our representative for humanity, but he failed the task and humanity fell into sin (Genesis 3). David was a good king to Israel in that he encouraged them to worship God and he fought bravely, but still failed in many ways (most notably with Bathsheba; see 2 Samuel 11). Moses was a good prophet who communicated how to follow God to the Israelites, but became angry unrighteously (Exodus 32:15-20). Melchizedek was a priest in the OT who was likely Jesus, and therefore perfect, but did not yet sacrifice Himself, or human and therefore sinful.** Either way he could not represent humans as perfect before a just God. Aaron was a priest, and although a priest’s job was to represent people before God, he nor any priest after him could be a perfect representation because they still sinned. Jesus is the only one who can complete the prophet, priest, and king role perfectly because He is the only One who has ever been perfect. How the Old Testament connects to Jesus is called biblical theology and is not inaugurated eschatology, but these typologies are still relevant because they were inaugurated roles until they were fulfilled in Christ.*** By understanding the roles required to follow God and that no one else can fulfill them, our appreciation for Christ can grow all the more.

     The Old Testament points to Christ in several ways. The rituals in the Mosaic covenant point forward to the perfect sacrifice found in Christ (Matthew 5:17). The prophet, priest, and king examples in the Old Testament (shown above) point forward to when they were made perfect in Christ. Israelites have been a symbol of what the people of God should be (Deuteronomy 7:6), which Jesus lived out perfectly to make a way to salvation for imperfect people (Isaiah 53). God bringing His people back and forgiving them over and over pointed to the perfect redemption that would take place with Jesus.

Likewise, the New Testament and the church today points back to Christ. Rituals of baptism and the Lord’s Supper are to be symbols of what Christ did for us (Romans 6:3-4, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26). The church is called to share the gospel which points to Christ, the church is supposed to point each other to Christ, and marriage is a symbol of Christ and the church. The people of God growing in sanctification to be an ambassador and a witness for Christ shows how the new creation is breaking through. Each person has a redemptive storyline pointing back to what Christ did and pointing forward to when his church will be fully made new as the bride of Christ from every nation pointing to Him in worship forever.

     Typology does not only refer to persons, but also to storylines. For example, creation is not only in Genesis 1, but also in a Christian’s sanctification (them being a new creation, see 2 Corinthians 5:16-17) and in the physical new creation (heaven, see Isaiah 65:17-25). Another example of a “type” of storyline is in the storyline of God’s people falling short of perfection and being redeemed. This is often portrayed in Israel and is portrayed in every Christian’s life. The significance of seeing the storyline across history enriches understanding of how Christ was the pinnacle of those creation and redemption arches. He was the perfect sacrifice to allow for the forgiveness of sins, leading to  people being made new and redeemed.

     The word “firstfruits” is another important word in this topic. Firstfruits refers to the beginnings of a broader harvest. When talking about eschatology, firstfruits is the initial fruit of the new creation found in the “already” reality of what Jesus has done. Jesus was the first of many to be resurrected into a new physical body (1 Corinthians 15:20) and the first human to have a perfect relationship with God since He is perfect and everyone else has sin separating them from God (Mark 10:17-22, Romans 3:21-26). In His life, He shows us what to expect from becoming a made new and born again Christian now, and is a picture of the “not yet” reality he is already experiencing with a resurrected body. Inaugurated eschatology is the study of things that have started to take place, but have not yet reached their end fulfillment.

     The reason thinking inaugurated eschatology is helpful is because it shows us that the purpose for everything is to point to Christ for the glory of God (Philippians 2:9-11, Romans 11:33-36). All of the pieces that are made to show and remind Christians and non-Christians what Jesus did should draw our hearts to praise Him in all thanksgiving. That being said, while Christians agree that we are a new creation and that there is a new creation coming, not everyone believes inaugurated eschatology is the theme of the world from beginning to end.

     The most popular opposing view is called dispensationalism, which sees the Gentile church and national Israel as two different peoples (though both under the umbrella “people of God”) with Isrealites having additional distinct promises from God. While there is no time for a full debate here, these fellow Christians believe that God will keep His promises of land and salvation to literal, national Israel. While this is a possible truth, the reality of Israel being an example for what the church would be as the people of God is still relevant. The truth that Jesus perfectly completed the Old Testament law with His perfect life and sacrifice is still relevant. God’s faithfulness is shown in all the ways He keeps His promises, and those promises to the church and to Israel are fulfilled in Christ and in the coming kingdom.

     This truth that God created His timeline in order to fulfill His promises, from Genesis to Christ, and to make His promises known from the church age to the coming age, is wonderful. Because the new creation already began through His church, His beloved can embrace the piece we have now and watch God bring it closer to us as we grow in sanctification and as the time comes for the fullness of the new creation. The people of Christ can become more eager for the coming age as the taste becomes clearer with more people coming to know Him. Inaugurated eschatology shows His waiting people that the good works we do brings the coming new creation closer, makes Christ’s reign on earth more clear as more people worship Him, and grows the redemptive story that signifies the coming redemption of the new heaven and earth.

*Letham, Robert. “10 Things You Should Know about Inaugurated Eschatology.” Crossway. https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-inaugurated-eschatology/

** “Who was Melchizedeck?” Got Questions. https://www.gotquestions.org/Melchizedek.html 

***Bruno, Chris. “10 Things You Should Know about Biblical Theology.” Crossway. https://www.crossway.org/articles/10-things-you-should-know-about-biblical-theology/