Creation, Providence, and Eschatology

By Rev. R.J. Rushdoony bio

Category: Articles
Topic: Theology
David, faced with enemies, an uncertain future, and costly moral choices, prayed earnestly:
1. Unto thee, O LORD, do I lift up my soul.
2. O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
3. Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without
cause.
4. Shew me thy ways, O LORD: teach me thy paths.
5. Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all
the day. (Ps. 25:1-5)
Man, having been created not only by God but in the image of God, lives in terms of an inescapable
purpose which is basic to his being. Man was created to serve and glorify God and to become a working
citizen of the Kingdom of God.
Man thus has a given nature by virtue of his creation. This nature the fall cannot alter. The fall is a moral, not a
metaphysical, fact. Fallen man cannot evade the nature of his being. He is Gods creature, created in Gods
image. His moral rebellion against God does not alter mans being; it simply perverts the goals thereof.
Thus, to state the matter theologically, fallen man substitutes for Gods eschatology his own man-centered one.
Eschatology is defined by the dictionary as the branch of theology which treats of death, resurrection,
immortality, the end of the world, final judgment, and the future state. The root of the word is eschatos, last.
This definition is accurate yet limited. Eschatology is much more than a concern about the end, or the last times.
Eschatology sets forth the goal of man and history and is thus inseparable from purpose.
Eschatology is thus a very intensely practical concern. Questions such as, Why am I here?; What is the meaning
and purpose of life?; What should we do, and why?; and, How will it all end?; all have to do with eschatology.
The eschatology of fallen man is humanistic, man-created and man-centered. It seeks to give meaning to
an otherwise meaningless world, to establish a thin edge of meaning against chaos and the void. Not
surprisingly, humanistic eschatologies end in despair. Having no doctrine of theistic creation, man for them
begins and ends in the void. Again, having no doctrine of providence, their brightest eschatological hopes
operate against the frustration of brute and meaningless factuality. Often, on borrowed, Biblical premises,
humanistic eschatologies will flourish briefly. Thus, the belief in progress was a secularized version of the
doctrine of providence, and it flourished for a time on that borrowed capital. In time, of course, it was apparent
that any belief in progress, without the presupposition of the God of Scripture, is rootless and futile, and the faith
has waned accordingly.
Humanistic eschatologies regularly appear as the great hope of fallen man, but, in due time, they give
way to defeat and despair. Socialism, the state, statist education, sociology, psychotherapy, and much more
have been eschatological instruments, designed by fallen man to usher in the humanistic millennium. These are
neither the first nor the last of such instruments. Certainly, the sexual revolution and existentialism have been
eschatological and their promises extravagant at times.
Man requires a valid goal: the image of God within man mandates his being and requires man to move in
terms of Gods ordained purposes. Augustine, out of his own experience, saw this, as he made clear in
hisConfessions: Our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee. Francis Thompson, in The Hound of Heaven,
made the same point, which, of course, was first set forth by David in Psalm 139.
Creation has a purpose, and that purpose is God-ordained and is written into the being of all creation, so that all
of creation, organic and inorganic, moves in terms of that purpose. Paul, in Romans 8:19-23, makes this clear.

Any deflection from that eschatological goal, from that purpose, is death. Sin, as the deflection of man from
Gods eschatology to a man-made one, is thus clearly death. Creation is thus inseparable from eschatology.
The same is true of providence. All of Gods providence moves in terms of His glorious and eternal purpose.
Thus, the declarations of eschatology cannot be separated from the affirmations of providential care which
Scripture sets forth. For example, in Psalm 34:7, we read, The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them
that fear him, and delivereth them, and in Psalm 91 we have a moving account of Gods providential care of His
Son, Jesus Christ, and of us in Him: for he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways
(Ps. 91:11). The Lords care of His covenant people is not for their sakes, but for His covenants sake, and
for His eternal purposes. It is eschatological. There is no other cause in the universe which is ultimate and
determinative than the triune God and His eternal decree. The goals of providence are not man-centered. Rather,
it is man himself, willingly or otherwise, who is God-centered. Mans being is thus governed by Gods
eschatology.
David, in order to better understand Gods purposes and his own place therein, prayed: LORD, make me to
know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am (Ps. 39:4). David prayed
that he might be ever mindful of himself as a frail creature. Frail, chadel, means frail, rejected. David sees his
own being as fallen; at best, it is still frail, and no purpose of mans can supplant Gods purpose. Therefore,
Davids prayer is not governed by any neoplatonic withdrawal but by a desire to serve God in terms of Gods
purpose. Not mans eschatology but the Lords must govern us. Hence, David says:
6. Surely every man walketh in a vain shew: surely they are disquieted in vain: he heapeth up
riches, and knoweth not who shall gather them.
7. And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee. (Ps. 39:6-7)
The eschatologies of men are a vain shew. All their accomplishments and wealth are nullified by death,
and another man gathers of their labors. Davids hope, however, is in the Lord, whose purposes alone
prevail.
The goal of history, the meaning of eschatology, cannot be sought within history but only in God. Neither the Jew
nor the church, nor the millennium, are the goals of Gods working, but only Himself, and His eternal Kingdom.
Gods purpose in history far exceeds the salvation of man, or of the Jews. He is emphatic: I am the LORD: that
is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images (Isa. 42:8).
If our doctrine of creation is weakened, then our doctrines of providence and eschatology are weakened.
The word of God is a seamless garment; rending any part thereof is damaging to all of it.
Taken from Systematic Theology in Two Volumes, p. 164f
Rev. R.J. Rushdoony (1916-2001) was the founder of Chalcedon and a leading theologian,
church/state expert, and author of numerous works on the application of Biblical Law to society.