THE DESTINY OF MAN IN JOHN WESLEY'S ESCHATOLOGY

JERRY L. MERCER, M. Th.
(Assistant Professor of Religion, Azusa Pacific College)

I. Introduction

Wesley's personal interest in "vital Piety" and "social holiness" is well known. Wesley was, in a real sense, a man of this world. For Wesley, Christian commitment naturally includes an active concern for one's society; that is, an intense interest in its betterment and an energetic pursuit of those means that will make it more nearly akin to the kingdom of God. Thus, it is no surprise to see Wesley involved in matters pertaining to education, prison reform, politics, and health improvement.

However, it is of particular interest to this study to note that Wesley's concern for the living of this life is heavily colored by his view of man's ultimate existence. In his sermon, "Satan's Devices," he warns his listeners to keep clear their understanding of the relation between this world and the next.

Our eye may be insensibly turned aside from that crown which the righteous Judge hath promised to give at that day 'to all them that love His appearing'; and we may be drawn away from the view of that incorruptible inheritance which is reserved in heaven for us. But this also would be a loss to our souls, and an obstruction to our holiness. For to walk in the continual sight of our goal, is a needful help in our running the race that is set before us. (1)

For Wesley a proper concept of life after death serves not only as a continual corrective to present Christian commitment, but also as an inducement for the sinner to turn to Christ and experience justification.

John Wesley does not have an eschatology, when one considers such a subject in the light of the results of systematic theology. Actually, the word "eschatology" is of nineteenth century origin. However, Wesley does emphasize those subjects usually connected with a serious consideration of eschatology, i.e. death, the intermediate state of the soul, the resurrection, the second coming of Christ, the judgment, the end of the world, heaven, and hell. For our purpose the term "eschatology" will be utilized in this study, although the reader must understand that its usage is in the broadest sense.

It will be the aim of this paper concerning Wesley's general eschatology to understand his interest in the subject and the relation between his views and the thought of the larger Church of his day, and to note the ultimate destiny of the soul of man in the general eschatological process. The scope of the aim automatically indicates that this paper is exploratory, not exhaustive.

II Wesley's Concern for Eschatology

There are two problems that automatically arise concerning an interpretation of Wesley's eschatology. First, the fact that he fails to develop a full scheme of eschatology has led some to doubt whether the subject is of any value to Wesley at all. (2) It is Lawson's observation that "Wesley was not one of those to whom a vivid sense that the 'end of the world' is at hand was an important part of religion." (3)

This does not mean, as it may appear to some, that Wesley is uninterested or unconcerned about eschatological or "end-time" events. It must be remembered that Wesley, like eighteenth century Anglicanism, is more concerned with a practical application of Biblical teaching than with its systematic formulation. it is true that Wesley does not develop a unique approach to eschatology, but rather draws the particulars of the genera eschatological process from the concepts of eighteenth and pre-eighteenth century orthodoxy. (4) For example, Wesley follows the Lutheran Pietist, Bengel, in his interpretation of the Book of Revelation and accepts entirely his dating scheme. Wesley also accepts the Puritan and Pietistic emphases on the judgment and the history of salvation. It is also correct to state that Wesley does not use the negative aspects of eschatology (the judgment of sinners and the manifestation of hell) to unduly threaten his congregations; (5) as was done often among Puritan preachers, although he agrees with their literalism in interpretation. Rather, Wesley is highly positive in his presentation of eschatological events. As McEldowney observes:

A spirit of optimism swept over Wesley as he contemplated the future. He admitted that there was much sin in the world in which he lived, but he saw the hand of God working for the ultimate salvation of vast numbers of people. He believed that God was at work in his own day bringing about a new concern for the kingdom of God. (6)

It seems evident that Wesley's interest in eschatology is in the realm of practical concern rather than theology as such. It is important, at this point, to note the theological context within which Wesley develops his practical approach to eschatology. This context is his elaborate concept of history, a concept which he understands primarily in theological terms. The history of redemption, or the salvation-process, cannot be divorced from historical acts in Wesleyan thought. Wesley's view of history would be considered today as "supra-history;" that is, it is the mysterious purpose of God which, originating from beyond history, invades it and controls its course." (7) For Wesley eschatology is one part-and an important part-of that total salvation-process that was set in motion before "time" and that will last "unto all eternity."

The element of movement, teleologically considered, characterizes Wesley's view of salvation-history. Man's history is not accidental, but purposeful. The overarching providence of God guides history, including man, to its completion in Himself. Wesley seems to consider only two major aspects in the total salvation-process as exempt from the idea of movement, i.e. the sovereignty of God and the moral law. Those elements that are definitely related to movement, change, and advancement in degree are: (1) the relation of time to eternity; (2) the process of salvation; (3) the work of Christ; (4) the development of the Church; (5) the kingdom of God; and (6) the mystery of iniquity.

The second problem regarding the proper interpretation of Wesley's eschatology revolves around the question as to whether or not he expresses a type of "realized eschatology." Bomer suggests that Wesley's theology of the Lord's Supper stresses the basic idea of realized eschatology. Since Wesley considers the sacramental meal as a "pledge of heaven," Bomer sees in his Eucharistic hymns a foretaste of this eschatological emphasis usually identified with the writings of C. H. Dodd. (8)

By faith and hope already there
Ev'n now the marriage feast we share,
Ev'n now we by the Lamb are fed,
Our Lord's celestial joy we prove. . . . (9)

Williams also finds in Wesley a type of realized eschatology, particularly in his concept of the kingdom of God and the doctrine of sanctification. (10) Williams, following Henry Carter, sees Wesley's emphasis on realized eschatology in his view of sanctification under three primary headings: (1) the new way of life-inward holiness reaching out to produce social holiness; (2) inward religion as an eschatological foretaste of perfection; and (3) social religion-the present realization in part of the ultimate kingdom of God. (11)

It is obvious from a study of Wesley's writings that he does realize that there is, in some sense, a present experience of the eschatological hope. However, he does not by any means so emphasize the present aspect of experience that he has no real expectation of future eschatological events, as Bomer seems to suggest. Williams' view is more akin to Wesley at this point. Concerning the kingdom, Williams writes: "the life of the kingdom that is ours now is an eschatological gift which is but a foretaste of the final kingdom." (12) Wesley is balanced in his understanding of this idea since he emphasizes the believer's present experience of grace as a "fore-taste" of final glory; he considers eschatological events as future and does not confuse them with the believer's present experience.

III. Wesley's View of the Eschatological Process

As has been mentioned above, Wesley's concept of eschatology is, generally speaking, the product of many separate influences within Protestant thought. (13) In studying Wesley's view of the destiny of man in the eschatological context, it becomes necessary to recognize the contributions made to his thinking by these various traditions.

As previously noted, Wesley's apparent unconcern for the details of the eschatological process is in keeping with his Anglican background, and the manner in which it treats theology in general. Seventeenth century Anglican theology, the immediate backdrop for Wesley's thinking, was satisfied to concern itself with the larger aspects of eschatological thought. These larger phases, i.e. the immortality of the soul, the blessedness of believers in heaven, the torture of the damned, etc., tended, in turn, to follow the general views of the Church Fathers. In keeping with his tradition, Wesley left the minute details of the eschatological process to individual inquisitiveness.

Like orthodoxy, Wesley was interested in the matter of death. His journals contain numerous references to deaths, particularly those of a triumphant nature. The state of death is a natural prelude to the final judgment. Wesley considers the place where righteous souls are detained between death and the resurrection as the "antechamber of heaven." (14) This is a place where one will experience the conscious enjoyment of the presence of God. (15) It is here-in "paradise" (16)-that the Church will rest from its labors. On the other hand, for the unrighteous dead, the intermediate state is a foretaste of hell. (17) In keeping with Protestantism, Wesley flatly rejects the Roman Catholic concept of purgatory. For Wesley, death seals one's relation to God, whatever it be, and the general judgment will justify and ratify the eternal state of the soul.

The Church in the world, however, does not look for death, but for the coming of Christ. It is important for Wesley's eschatology that the millennium precedes the second coming of Christ. A theology of the millennium was generally lacking during Wesley's period, and he himself was unsure regarding its specific nature. Here Bengel comes to Wesley's aid and supplies him with a neat, although unusual, scheme of the millennium, a scheme which Wesley accepts in its entirety. (18)

Utilizing Bengel, Wesley sees two separate 1,000 year periods in Revelation 20 (Rev. 20:4). The first will be characterized by a general spread of the gospel, i.e. a period in which the Church grows with little or no restraint. During this period Satan is "bound," and, with this "grand enemy" removed, the kingdom of God (embodied in the Church) "holds on its uninterrupted course among the nations" (Rev. 20:3). At the end of this first period, Satan will be loosed for a season. Concomitant with this is the beginning of the first resurrection. The second millennium sees the saints reigning with Christ in heaven while those on earth are deceived by Satan, with the exception of the "Gentile Church" which dwells around Jerusalem. After this second period is completed (a time known only to God since these periods begin and end in the spiritual world, Rev. 20:5), Christ will return and the general resurrection will occur. (19)

It can hardly be doubted that Wesley's adopted view is what would today be termed "postmillennial." (20) While this is in opposition to the general teaching of the Church Fathers, especially in the third and fourth centuries, it is likely that Wesley regarded their view as unsatisfactory. Although man cannot ascertain the time of the end, since this is known only to God, Wesley believed that certain signs will be manifested during the end of the millennium prior to the actual appearance of Christ. The idea of "signs" being manifested before the coming of Christ was also part of Reformation theology (Lutheran and Reformed, or Calvinist), although any notion of a millennium was disclaimed.

In keeping with Protestant orthodoxy, Wesley emphasizes the "general" judgment. Thus, he radically departed from the Roman Catholic theory of a "particular," as well as a "general," judgment. "The imagination therefore," Wesley says, "of one judgment at death, and another at the end of the world, can have no place with those who make the written Word of God the whole and sole standard of their faith." (21)

Wesley's view of the general judgment is highly individualistic and deals more with the redeemed than with the damned. The judgment tends to become, in Wesley's thought, a time of great restoration and the final justification of the believer. The reason for this positive thrust lies in his concept of two justifications, present and final. Wesley understands present justification as including reconciliation and forgiveness. Actual judgment is reserved for the general judgment and deals with the works of the believer (Matt. 12 :37). The works themselves are not meritorious, since final as well as present salvation rests entirely on the concept of saving faith. It is easy to see that in a scheme like this final justification becomes the goal of the salvation-process.

At the general judgment, Christ Himself will separate humanity to the right (favor) and to the left (disfavor). In order to show the objectivity of God, and His wonderous grace to fallen man, even the forgiven sins of the righteous will be displayed before the gathered company. (22) Wesley suggests that the saints, so exposed, will feel no shame, but will rather rejoice with 'joy unspeakable." (23)

The general judgment has a primary place in Wesley's eschatology. He uses it as a sanction for ethics and as a basis for repentance. Here Wesley stands almost midway between Protestant orthodoxy and Pietism. Bengel furnishes Wesley with a scheme of salvation-history which tends to bring together the main ideas of orthodoxy and Pietism, i.e. orthodoxy's emphasis on the judgment as a sanction for ethics and Pietism's interest in the "eventfulness" of the judgment and reality of the millennium. In this same connection, Wesley may be attempting to bring together two conflicting views derived from Puritanism and Pietism; namely, Puritanism's hyper-individualism and Pietism's scheme of salvation-history in and through the Church; for both appear at the judgment for Wesley, notwithstanding the fact that the role of the individual is primary. In all of these traditions, as well as for Wesley, the final consummation of all things, excepting the damned, will be found in God's presence in the New Jerusalem.

The transitional events conclude with the end of the world. For Wesley, the general judgment will include-as a last act-the renovation of the earth by fire. This event is related to the end God has in view for His Church. (24) By destroying the earth, God is preparing for a universal restoration that will involve the saints and the created world (Heb. 12:26-29). The saints are probably with God, and the wicked in hell, when this purification takes place. Individual existence has, by this time, been settled and will manifest itself in one of two eternal atmospheres, heaven (the kingdom of glory) or hell.

There are three important features of the kingdom of glory: (1) it represents the fulfillment of the destiny of the Church; (2) it is the beginning of heaven, or eternal glory, for the believer; and (3) it is the time of deliverance for the created world. Concerning the aspect of heaven in particular, Wesley understands that the general concept of heaven was revealed to the Old Testament patriarchs (Heb. 11:16, 26), although they did not receive it (Heb. 11:39, 40). Now, believers in Christ have a foretaste of heaven in their hearts (Jude 21). By virtue of their faith, believers are heirs to heaven. (25) Their names are inscribed in the "book of life" (Phil. 4:3) and their present life is, in a sense, already in heaven (Phil. 3: 20). Thus, heaven is a real place (John 14:2), the essence of which is love (I Cor. 13:8, 13). Just as there were degrees of glory in the resurrection, there will be degrees of blessedness in heaven (I Cor. 3:14; I Pet. 1:4). Heaven is the final, eternal abode of the redeemed (Heb. 4:3) and the goal of the Church.

More important for this report is Wesley's view of hell. The basis for such a doctrine in Wesley's thought is threefold: (1) man's sin, if persisted in, necessitates some punishment; (2) the wrath of God against sin argues in favor of the reality of hell; and (3) divine revelation of the truth of the subject in Holy Scripture, actually the only way such a concept could be known. Although Wesley's Works contain but one sermon on hell, the notion of its reality is an important feature of his total eschatology.

Wesley is convinced that not all men will be finally saved. While it is possible, and desirable, that all reach final salvation, such salvation is always conditioned upon vital faith. (26) When Wesley broke with the Moravians, one of the issues at stake was the Moravian view of unconditional universal salvation, a view which Wesley would not accept. (27) In maintaining this position, Wesley was in line with the general view of pre-eighteenth century Anglican thought. (28)

The terrors of hell in Wesley's understanding are threefold: first, Wesley believes that all restraint will be removed from sinners in hell and they will increase in wickedness throughout eternity. (29) This is the counterpart to his concept of growth in holiness for the redeemed in heaven.

The second torment of hell consists in the punishment inflicted on those that go there. Unlike Origen, Wesley believes the torments of hell are punitive in nature. Hell will be a place of laments over neglected opportunities on earth (Mark 9:44; cf. Acts 14:25). The "worm that dieth not" stands for the "pride, self-will, desire, malice, envy, shame, sorrow, despair" that will hound every soul for eternity. Thus, this undying worm of self-pity and shame merely carries into eternity what the sinner has already experienced on earth. (30) The sentence of punishment, then, is but the extension of God's judgment of sin on earth. (31)

Wesley believes that the inhabitants of hell will be "salted with fire" (Mark 9:49). The torments of hell will be physical (the fire) as well as spiritual (the worm). Wesley argues in behalf of the materiality of the fire in hell, (32) not because he delights in that type of punishment, but rather on the ground that material fire is a part of God's revelation of the nature of the place. Thus, life in hell offers no rest or change, only pain. Wesley insists that the inhabitants of hell will be,

Tremblingly alive all o'er,
And smart and agonize at every pore. (33)

The third terror of hell is that the torments that must be endured are eternal in nature. (34) Arguing from the Scripture use of the word "eternal," Wesley writes: "either . . . the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not; the same expression being applied to the former as to the latter." (35) The eternal nature of punishment will coincide with the eternal nature of sin (I Thess. 1:9). Wesley once stated that the wicked would not be permitted to look into the regions of the blessed, but that the righteous would look at the torments suffered by the damned (Matt. 25:46). That idea, however, was not developed by Wesley in his treatment of the story of the rich man and Lazarus, which he accepted as historical (Lk. 16:19-31), in the account of the new heavens and new earth (Rev. 21,22), or in the sermons pertaining to either heaven or hell. It is likewise difficult to reconcile the problem posed by the redeemed viewing the torments of the damned when God Himself has "forgotten" them, (36) not to mention the questionable benefits derived from such an opportunity. At this stage, the time of salvation and restoration is long past and the future promises nothing better than the present.

IV. Conclusion

In conclusion we note that Wesley's approach to the subject of eschatology is more practical than theological, more individualistic than corporate, more futuristic than present. Also, his general understanding of biblical eschatology is highly literalistic, which is typical of the eschatology of his day. His view is likewise "apocalyptic," but without forfeiting the social emphasis. Wesley's contribution to the eschatology of his time is his strong amalgamation of eschatological events with a concept of salvation-history beginning here and now, of the unity of time and eternity. (37)

Wesley's view of the ultimate destiny of man is generally optimistic. Yet, he does not shy away from subjects that tend to be unpopular (the concept of hell, for example), believing it to be his duty to declare the full counsel of God. Finally, Wesley's view of eschatology, in its practical application, is aimed at two groups of people. First, the Christian will give serious attention to the ethical demands of the gospel because he understands himself to be living within the very shadow of eternity. Such obedience flows from love to God and not from the fear of His presence. Second, the non-Christian must come to grips with the biblical declaration that he is already living as one under condemnation, and, therefore, must repent if he is to have within him the hope of eternal life. It is at this point of the realism of faith, the fearless declaration of faith, and the confrontation of faith that Wesley's eschatology may stand as a corrective to much preaching in the modern pulpit.

Documentations

1. Edward H. Sugden (ed.), Wesley's Standard Sermons (London: The Epworth Press, fifth annotated edition, 1961), II, 198.

2. Arthur Wilford Nagler, Pietism and Methodism (Nashville: Publishing House of the M. E. Church, South, 1918), p. 84.

3..John Lawson, Notes on Wesley's Forty-Four Sermons (London: The Epworth Press, 1955), p. 26.

4. W. L. Doughty, John Wesley: Preacher (London: The Epworth Press, 1955), p. 106.

5. Lawson, op. cit., p. 20.

6. James Edward McEldowney, "John Wesley's Theology in its Historical Setting" (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Chicago, Chicago, 1943), p. 170.

7. W. Schweitzer (comp.), Eschatology and Ethics (Geneva: the Study Department of the World Council ot Churches, 1951), pp. 10-11.

8..John C. Bomer, The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper in Early Methodism (Westminster: Dacre Press, 1951), p. 184.

9. Ibid., p. 185.

10. Colin Williams, John Wesley's Theology Today (New York: Abingdon Press, 1960), p. 194.

11. Ibid., pp. 194-98.

12. Ibid., p. 196.

13. The Roman Catholic view of eschatology front 1517-1720 was very similar to Protestant thought, in the larger, more general concepts (Christ's return, the end of the world, eternal existence, etc.). Cf. K. R. Hagenbach, A History of Christian Doctrine (Edinburg: T. & T. Clark, 1885), III, 226.

14. John Wesley, The Works of John Wesley (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1872 edition reproduced), VI, 476 (Hereafter called Works).

15. Nehemiah Curhock, The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley, A.M. (New York: Eaton & Mains, n.d.), II, 392-93.

16. Luke 16:19f.; Col. 1:20. Note: All Scripture references in this paper are from Wes!ey's comments on the verses in his Explanatory Notes Upon The New Testament.

17. Works, VI, 497.

18. Bengel prepared two commentaries on the Book of Revelation, a larger work in German and a smaller work in Latin. John Albert Bengel, Gnomon on the new Testament (Edinburg: T. & T. Clark, 1858), V, 172. Wesley used the German commentary more than the Latin work in the Notes.

19. Wesley does not attempt to explain what difference exists between the first and the general resurrection.

20. Cf. H. Orton Wiley, Christian Theology (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1958), III, 277-78; Harris F. Rail, Modern Premillennialism and the Christian Hope (New York: The Abingdon Press, 1920), pp. 245, 250.

21. Sugden, op. cit., II, 474.

22. Ibid., p. 410.

23. Ibid.

24. Works, VI, 289.

25. Works, VIII, 10; Only believers are admitted in heaven (Eph. 1:5; Rev. 21:27). All others will not enjoy this blessedness because of their unrelatedness to Christ (Rom. 9:6; 8:19), although the "heathen" will be judged on a different standard than either Jews or apostate believers (Rom. 2:12-14). Cf. William R. Cannon, The Theology of John Wesley (New York: Abingdon Press, 1956), 181-82.

26. Cannon, op. cit., p. 40.

27. Works, I, 333-34.

28. Cf. Harry Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1957), p. 81; W.H. Griffith Thomas, The Principles of Theology (London: Church Book Room Press Ltd., 1956), p. xliii f.

29. Works, op cit., VI, 388.

30. Sugden, op. cit., II, 236, 412. 31. Ibid., I, 157.

32. Works, VI, 386f.

33. Ibid., p. 389.

34. Ibid.

35. Notes, 122, on Matt. 25:46; of. II Pet. 3:7.

36. Works, VI, 388.

37. McEldowney, op. cit., 167; cf Works, VII, 4, 18; VIII, 69.