PROCESSIVE ESCHATOLOGY: A WESLEYAN ALTERNATIVE
by
Clarence L. Bence
In recent years, eschatology has again become a dominant theme in theological discussion. From Germany and the Third World come theologies of hope and liberation, calling for a uniting of political and theological aspirations into a program to transform society.1 From a more philosophical perspective, process theologians endeavor to explore the creative possibilities of human existence and even God Himself.2 And at the popular level, Hal Lindsey and a host of minor prophets continue to offer up-dated analysis of the apocalyptic calendar and current events.3
In general, theologians of the holiness movement have been observers, rather than contributors in these eschatological discussions. Our evangelical commitments make us look with caution, if not discomfort, at some of the Biblical and theological presuppositions underlying the contemporary eschatologies of Moltmann, Miguez-Bonino and Cobb. But there is an equally significant uneasiness among Wesleyan evangelicals with the current apocalypticism, despite its claims to Biblical authority and theological conservativism. This discomfort with Lindseyan interpretation extends beyond his penchant for prediction and overstatement to the underlying soteriological understanding that does not coincide with Wesley’s understanding of God's work in the world.
Why not a Wesleyan eschatology? Our scholars have developed carefully defined statements of Wesleyan doctrines of sin, conversion, sanctification and Christian life. But our statements on eschatology appear to be exercised in evasive theology, devoid of any clear commitment to a Wesleyan perspective of salvation history. Is this indicative of our tolerance of divergent views, or ignorance of our own theological heritage?
It is one thing to advocate a Wesleyan eschatology; it is quite another to propose any definitive statement on the end times which would satisfy more than a handful of Wesley scholars. Wesley himself contributes considerable ambiguity to the subject. It is not as simple as quoting a few selected passages from Wesley's works, for many of Wesley's apocalyptic interpretations reflect the prevailing views of his own century and thus are anachronistic to present day understanding. Wesley accepted a view which Ernest Sandeen calls "historical pre-millennialism"4 a view interpreting the Book of Revelation as largely a description of past events in the history of the Church. The apostle John looked into the future and described what he saw in the apocalyptic language of woes, pestilences, calamities and destruction. According to Wesley and his contemporaries, these prophecies had already been fulfilled with amazing accuracy in the conquests of Rome, the Germanic invasions and the spread of Islam.6 The severe persecutions of Christians before and after the Reformation certainly qualified as the great woes described by John in chapters 9-17. For Wesley, the Anti-Christ had already appeared in the later middle ages in the form of the Roman papacy. Only the closing events of history, described in the final chapters of the Apocalypse remained to be fulfilled. Wesley and many of his contemporaries expected the Beast and False Prophet to appear in Rome at any moment, and certainly before the end of the eighteenth century.7 From his Notes on the book of Revelation, it appears that Wesley concurred with the calculations of the German writer, Johann Bengel, who predicted that on or about 1836 the conflict with evil would reach its climax in the destruction of the Beast and False Prophet, and the binding of Satan for one thousand years.8
None of these great eschatological events took place before Wesley's death in 1791. And despite considerable millenarian excitement in the 1830s and 40s, nothing of great significance occurred as Wesley had forecast. The older position of historical pre-millennialism was largely replaced by post-millennialism; and by the end of the nineteenth century, yet another premillennial interpretation espoused by the dispensationalists Darby and Scofield vied for the allegiance of evangelical Christians.9 In a number of interesting articles and pamphlets, both pre- and post-
millennialists of the Wesleyan tradition claimed the founder as a member of their ranks and offered dubious proof-texts from the writings of Wesley to substantiate their claims.10 (Both were partially correct; Wesley accepted Bengel's rather bizarre belief in two millennia-a thousand years during which Satan is bound and the church prospers on earth, followed by another thousand year reign of Christ and his saints.)1l Unfortunately, both pre- and post-millennialists failed to grasp the historical and theological distance between Wesley's understanding and their own. And we too would be illserved if we simply resorted to Wesley's Notes on the New Testament to formulate a Wesleyan alternative to modern day eschatologies.
In fact, the question might properly be raised whether apocalyptic speculation has any place in Wesleyan eschatology. Given the large body of material that Wesley either wrote himself or edited, very little of it deals specifically with the events or personalities associated with the end times. One must turn to sermons on the great judgment, eternity or hell's to glean details on Wesley's view. It is only in the Notes on the New Testament that one finds specific interpretations of dates, places and names. And here Wesley readily acknowledges his own ignorance concerning such matters and his almost total reliance on the work of others. In the introduction to his notes on Revelation, Wesley confesses:
It is scarce possible for any that either love or fear God, not to feel their hearts extremely affected, in seriously reading either the beginning or the latter part of the Revelation. These, it is evident we cannot consider too much: but the intermediate parts I did not study at all for many years: as utterly despairing of understanding them . . . and perhaps I should have lived and died in this sentiment, had I not seen the works of the great Bengelius. The following notes are mostly those of that excellent man.... Yet by no means do I pretend to understand or explain all that is contained in this mysterious book.13
Wesley's Journal entry for December of 1762 confirms the existence of many unresolved questions.
Monday the sixth and the following day, I corrected the Notes upon Revelation. Oh, how little do we know of this deep book. At least, how little do I know. I can barely conjecture, not affirm, any one point concerning the part of it which is yet unfulfilled.14
And while Wesley quoted Bengel as if he was in total agreement with his views, he later seemed to draw back from some of this writer's interpretations. After being accused of setting a date for the end of the world in one of his sermons, Wesley wrote the following open letter:
My dear brother, I said nothing-less or more-in Bradford Church concerning the end of the world, neither concerning my own opinion. What I said was that Bengal had given it as his opinion, not that the world would end, but that the millennial reign of Christ would begin in the year 1836.I have no opinion at all upon that topic. I can determine nothing about it. These calculations are far above, out of my sight. I have only one thing to do, to save my own soul and those that hear me.15
Wesley not only demonstrated caution in his own apocalyptic speculation, but also criticized those who were "immoderately fond of knowing future things."16 In his Poetic Words, he castigates the "prophets false . . .pointing out the hour unknown, hid from all but God alone."17
One of these false prophets was George Bell, a convert of Wesley's own ministry. Shortly after his conversion to Methodism, Bell announced that the end of the world would come on February 23,1763. Wesley publicly repudiated Bell and his prediction, declaring that such a prophecy "must be false if the Bible be true."18 Bell was finally arrested as a public nuisance and spent the fateful day in jail. With a touch of irony, Wesley made the following Journal entry (February 28):
Preaching in the evening at Spitalfields on "Prepare to meet thy God," I largely showed the utter absurdity of the proposition that the world was to end that night. But, notwithstanding all I could say, many were afraid to go to bed and some wandered about in the fields, being persuaded that, if the world did not end, at least London would be swallowed up by an earth-quake. I went to bed at my usual time, and was fast asleep about ten o'clock.19
Wesley refused to indulge in eschatological enthusiasm. John Fletcher, himself given to strange speculations on the end times,20 urged Wesley to discern the times more diligently and not to judge harshly those who sought to unlock the secrets of Scripture.21. But Wesley was content to remain "willingly ignorant" of those things which were not clearly revealed in the Scriptures. His confidence in the glorious appearing of Christ was unshakable;22 yet he found more urgent issues for both work and preaching than calculating the timetable of the end of the age.
Thus far, our attempt to construct a Wesleyan eschatology has resulted in only negative conclusions. We have established that Wesley's explicit statements about the end of history are dated and thus, to a large degree, inadequate for our purposes. We have determined, furthermore, that preoccupation with apocalyptic details is inimical to Wesley's approach. The key to a Wesleyan eschatology must be found elsewhere. I am convinced that a clue to the proper starting point is contained in Wesley's letter quoted above-"I have only one thing to do, to save my own soul and those that hear me."23 For Wesley, theology is soteriology. According to Colin Williams, "The central focus of Wesley's theology is the saving work of Christ and the human appropriation of that work."24 For Wesley, the saving work of Christ touches every aspect of the life of the individual and society, and every doctrinal formulation must flow out of this hermeneutical center.
Wesleyan eschatology must be developed out of thc Wesleyan understanding of salvation, both in its individual and its broader socio-historical orientation. Wesley's eschatological goal for the individual is very clearly stated in his writings: "I want to know one thing-the way to heaven: how to land safe on that happy shore."25 It is relatively easy to trace out this path to the kingdom for the individual. Justification, sanctification, perfection all lead in a sequenced order toward the eschatological realities of death, glorification, paradise and eternal glory. It is more difficult to discern Wesley's view of history and its eschatological goal in the kingdom of glory. However, we must insist that whatever particular interpretation one holds regarding the conclusion of salvation history, it must coincide with the Wesleyan doctrine of personal salvation. The reason for this goes beyond simply maintaining doctrinal consistency to Wesley's constant refusal to isolate the individual from his or her relationships to humankind. Wesley does not share our modern day inclination to make distinctions between the person and society. Love of God entails love of neighbor; personal holiness demands a social holiness. Should not then the salvation of the individual directly involve and reflect God's larger plan of redemption for the created order and its historical process? What are some of the basic elements of Wesleyan soteriology and how would they shape an eschatology from the holiness perspective?
1. Full salvation: The message of salvation through Christ is shared by almost all Christians, no matter what their creed. The unique significance of Wesley's soteriology is his optimism regarding the power and extent of the work of Christ. His is a call to full salvation.26 In relation to the negative effects of the Fall, Wesleyan salvation goes beyond declaring freedom from the guilt and punishment of sin to promise freedom from the "power and root of sin"27 itself. While sharing the Reformed emphasis upon the pervasiveness of sin in the fallen order, Wesley refuses to concur in their implicit assumption that being human entails being sinful. Although sin is an ever-present reality to both the unbeliever and the believer, it is not an intrinsic quality of humanity; rather, it is a disease28 that may be cured through the cleansing blood of Christ. The effects of that disease may persist in the individual, but sin itself need no longer be inherent in the person.
Reformed theology rejects the possibility of such a freedom from sin. Full salvation such as Wesley describes is reserved for the glorified body of the life to come. Implicit in such a view is the close identification of the sinful nature with human nature, and thus a limiting of the power of the cross to free one's humanity from the power of sin.29 For Wesley, the devastating clutches of sin must give way to the redemptive power of the cross. Salvation must be the "restoration" of that which was lost in the Fall.30 "The great end of religion is to renew our hearts in the image of God, to repair that total loss of righteousness and true holiness which we sustained in our first parents.''3l Here Wesley's creational theology comes into focus. The world that God created is very good. To be fully human does not necessitate sin. And what is lost spiritually in the Fall must be recoverable in the cross, or else the disease is greater than the cure and God's redemption is weak. Full salvation is for Wesley a return to "participation in the divine nature, having the mind of Christ,"32 who combined in His one person the fullness of divinity and the fullness of a sinless humanity.
John Fletcher once compared the Calvinistic theology of Lady Huntington with that of Wesley. Regarding their respective views of salvation, he observed.
All the difference between them seems to me to consist in this: my lady is more for looking to the misery and depth of the fall; Mr. Wesley more for considering the power and effects of the recovery. My lady speaks glorious things of free grace; and Mr. Wesley inculcates the glorious use we ought to make of it. Both appear to me to maintain one and the same truth....33
But the difference is more significant than Fletcher realized, both in terms of personal salvation and the broader perspective of the goal of history. The Reformed emphasis upon the inherent character of sin extends beyond the individual to the created order of society as well. Reinhold Niebuhr and Hal Lindsey-radically different in their understanding of the gospel-both view certain historical and social institutions as intrinsically corrupt and hence limited in their redemptive potential.34 Much of the present day eschatology being preached from evangelical pulpits contains a tacit assumption that there are incalcitrant pockets of evil, seen as "signs of the time” rather than areas of redemptive concern.
A Wesleyan eschatology can, indeed ought, to realistically appraise the reality of sin in our world. Furthermore, it must share the Reformation truth that there is no saving ability in human endeavor alone. But we must re discover and affirm what Gordon Rupp has so incitefully termed Wesley's "pessimism of nature, and optimism of grace."36 There is no dimension of God's created order that is beyond the reach of the cross; full salvation cannot limit the power of God's redemptive work.
2. Salvation in History: In his sermon, "On Perfection," Wesley asks the question:
Why should any man of reason and religion be afraid of, or averse to, salvation from all sin? Is not sin the greatest evil on this side of hell? And if so, does it not naturally follow that an entire deliverance from it is one of the greatest blessings on this side of heaven?36 (Italics mine.)
The corollary to Wesley's doctrine of full salvation is the affirmation that the experience is attainable in this life, i.e. within the personal history of the believer. Others would agree with Wesley that freedom from sin is the goal, but they would see it only as an eschatological reality to be accomplished after death in the glorified state.37 Wesley, himself, is fully aware of the crucial issue behind his doctrine of Derfection.
I have frequently observed, and not without surprise, that the opposers of perfection are more vehemently against it when it is placed in this view, than in any other whatsoever; they will allow all you say of the love of God and man, of the mind which was in Christ; of the fruit of the Spirit; of the image of God; of universal holiness; of entire self-dedication; of sanctification in the spirit, soul and body; yea, and of the offering up of all our thoughts, words and actions, as a sacrifice to God-all this they will allow, so we will allow sin, a little sin, to remain in us till death.38
But for Wesley that full salvation promised to us through Christ must be attainable in this life; we must "expect it now!"39 The Christian need not be caught in a dialectical "holding pattern" of sin and grace, but through grace the believer can experience the present reality of salvation from sin. Salvation is more than a judicial act of God to be claimed by faith in hope of a future actualization. It is the redemptive work of God experienced in the "here and now" of the Christian.
And first let us inquire "What is salvation?" The salvation which is here spoken of is not what is frequently understood by that word, the going to heaven, eternal happiness. It is not the soul's going to paradise, termed by our Lord, "Abraham's bosom." It is not a blessing which lies on the other side of death, or as we usually speak in the other world.... Whatsoever else it may imply, it is a present salvation. It is something attainable, yea actually attained on earth, by those who are partakers of this faith. For thus, saith the Apostle to the believers in Ephesus, and in them to the believers of all ages, not "Ye shall be, " (though that also is true) but "Ye are saved through faith.”40
Here is the heart of Wesleyan soteriology-salvation both in this life and in the life to come. Victory over sin both now and in the future. To be sure Wesley is realistic in his claims regarding Christian perfection: never definitely claiming it for himself,41 acknowledging that many of his converts never went on to this experience and many who had attained full salvation had subsequently lost the experience.42 But he refuses to restrict the redemptive work of God to some future time; it is attainable now.
If salvation for Wesley is both in and beyond one's personal history should not the same confidence be expressed in God's salvation history for the world? Does not God work out His redemptive plan both in and beyond human history? Wesley's personal involvement in the social issues of his day demonstrates his commitment to a present transformation of society through the power of the gospel. Here is no token protest against a world destined for divine wrath; but rather a passion for a total evangelism of love, which in the words of Wesley "we believe to be the medicine of life, the never-failing remedy for all the evils of a disordered world, for all the miseries and vices of men. This religion we long to see established in the world.”43
More than once Wesley dares to dream of a time "when Christianity will prevail over all and cover the earth."44 That dream applies to both sides of the end of the world-to this present age and the age to come. Wesley is not naive in his optimism, however. After depicting the glories of a Christian world to his colleagues at Oxford, he admits that there is no such Christian world, no such Christian England, not even a Christian Oxford University. But the responsibility for such a failure is not to be laid on God's lack of power, or on an inherent corruption in the institutions of society. The blame is upon human beings who are not faithful to God's call to redemption.45
Wesley addresses the same issue in his sermon, "Causes for the Inefficacy of Christianity," written at the close of his life.
Why then is [the world] not restored? You say, Because of the deep and universal corruption of human nature. Most true; but here is the very difficulty. Was [Christianity] not intended, by our all-wise and almighty Creator, to be a remedy for that corruption? A universal remedy for a universal evil? But it has not answered this intention, it never did, it does not answer it at this day. The disease still remains in its full strength; wickedness of every kind; vice, inward and outward, in all its forms still overspreads the face of the earth.46
But then Wesley proceeds to answer the question, "Why does this evil persist?" It is first a lack of knowledge of the gospel, and secondly, it is a lack of discipline among those who have responded to the message of Christ.47 The possibility of a Christian world remains, despite its present lack of attainment. A redeemed society is a live option from the Wesleyan perspective-not by a "great society" of human endeavor, but by the transformation of the gospel. And as a possibility, a redeemed society must be the goal toward which the Methodists strive.
A strong tendency prevails in popular eschatology to deny the redemptive power of God apart from an apocalyptic interruption of the process of history For Lindsey, Kirban and other "neo-dispensationalists," a redeemed social order is largely restricted to the coming age. In keeping with past dispensations, this Church Age must degenerate into increasing chaos in order to set the stage for the redemption that is to come from beyond history 48 And implicit fatalism pervades many of these writings. World hunger, racism, political corruption are "signs of the times"-theooglcal auguries-rather than areas of mission and redemption. Wesleyan eschatology must not succumb to this pessimism, looking for a redemption only beyond history. We must pray, "Thy Kingdom come . . . on earth as it in heaven," and see this petition in all its present and future possibilities.
3. Salvation as Eschatology: To this point, we have largely referred to eschatology in the sense of future reality-the divine inbreaking at the end of the age when redemption is completed in Jesus Christ. As such, eschatology is closely associated with apocalypticism. But for Wesley, eschatology is a much broader concept extending to all of God's redemptive activity from the resurrection to the consummation of all things.49 Therefore any manifestation of God's saving work is a partial attainment of the ultimate goal of human existence. Heaven is not only a future hope, but also a present reality in the believer's life;50 through Christ one can "live all the life of heaven on earth."51
This eternal life, then commences when it pleases the Father to reveal the Son in our heart; . . . when we can first testify, our conscience bearing witness in the Holy Ghost, "The life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." And then it is that happiness begins; happiness real, solid, substantial. Then it is that heaven is opened in the soul that the proper heavenly state commences.52
Wesley uses several eschatological phrases to describe the present salvation of the Christian: The beginning of heaven,53 a foretaste of eternal glory,54 “walking in eternity,"55 and especially, "tasting of the powers of the world to come.''56 Full salvation is the earnest of our final salvation, not merely a promise of what is to come, but rather the down payment-an actual "part of our purchased inheritance. It is God manifest in our flesh bringing with Him eternal life."57
Several scholars have pointed out the "realized eschatology" in Wesley's thought.58 His heavy use of Johannine theology and imagery would support such a claim. However, as Cyril Downes observes, a better term for Wesley's view might be "anticipated eschatology," for salvation is not some fully attained subjective state, it is the actual impartation of the glory that is to be ours in Christ.59 With that imparted righteousness comes participation in the kingdom of God.
It is termed "the kingdom of God," because it is the immediate fruit of God's reigning in the soul. So as soon as ever He takes unto Himself His mighty power and sets up this throne in our hearts, they are instantly filled with His "righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." It is called the "kingdom of heaven," because it is (in a degree) heaven opened in the soul. For whosoever they are that experience this, they can aver before angels and men,
Everlasting life is won,
Glory is on earth begun.60
But this kingdom of God is not just an individual experience; Wesley extends its meaning to the broader scope of the Christian Church,61 and ultimately to the entire arena of God's redemptive work. "Wheresoever, therefore, the gospel of Christ is preached, this his Kingdom is nigh at hand."62 Wesley understands the resurrection of Christ to be the crucial moment in salvation history; it was then that the kingdom of God began. According to Wesley, "The time of the Gospel dispensation, commencing at the time of our Lord's death is peculiarly styled the last days.”63 Christianity is the final dispensation of God's grace and it will endure "till the consummation of all things."64
Wesley is confident that God's kingdom will ultimately triumph, not by human endeavors, but through the power of sovereign grace. But since grace is both a present and a future reality, the kingdom is likewise both now and yet to come. Wesley encourages his followers:
It is the Father's good pleasure to renew the face of the earth. Surely all these evil things shall come to an end, and the inhabitants of the earth shall learn righteousness, . . . and all the kingdoms of the earth shall become the kingdoms of our God. . . . Be thou a part of the first-fruits, if the harvest is not yet. Do thou love thy neighbor as thyself.65
Since love, for Wesley, is the "essence of heaven"66 where love of God and neighbor is truly manifest, the kingdom of heaven is begun here on earth.
The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are but two phrases for the same thing. They mean, not barely a future state in heaven, but a state to be enjoyed on earth; the proper disposition for the glory of heaven rather than the possession of it. It properly signifies here the gospel dispensation, in which subjects are to be gathered to God by the Son, and a society formed, which was to subsist first on earth, and afterwards with God in glory. In some places of Scripture, this phrase more particularly denotes the state of it on earth; in others it signifies only the state of it in glory; but it generally includes both.67
For Wesley the eschatological reign of Christ has already begun in the reign of grace, the present dispensation. This kingdom is locked in a struggle with the forces of misery and sin, infirmity and death.68 But it is not discontinuous with the future kingdom of glory; there is an optimism in Wesley regarding the power of the gospel over the kingdoms of earth.
And it is meet for all those who love His appearing to pray that He would hasten the time that His kingdom, the kingdom of grace may come quickly, and swallow up all the kingdoms of earth; that all mankind, receiving Him for their King, truly believing in His name, may be filled with righteousness, and peace, and joy, with holiness and happiness-till they are removed hence into His heavenly kingdom, there to reign with Him forever and ever.... We pray for the coming of His everlasting kingdom, this kingdom of glory which is the continuation and perfection of the kingdom of grace on earth.69
In no place does Wesley introduce a millennial concept into his discussion of the coming kingdom. The issue is not whether pre- or post millennialism is the proper Christian position. The focus is rather upon the foretaste of glory, the eschatological reality that is available to the believer, the Church, and to some degree, the Christian society prior to the end of the age. This shift away from an apocalyptic dualism,70 a sharp division between a decadent present existence and a utopian future state is consistent with the Wesleyan soteriology. It offers an incentive for evangelism and social action as instruments of God's redeeming work in the world and history.
4. Processive Salvation: Wesley's understanding of the gospel is clearly processive in nature. The phrase "going on" might best describe the Wesleyan hermeneutic. The Christian life is a process toward an eschatological goal attainable in its fullness in the world to come, but attainable in part within time and history. For years the Methodists have asked their preachers, "Are you going on to perfection? Do you expect to be perfected in love in this life? Are you earnestly striving after it?''7l The Wesleyan order of salvation is a carefully outlined way to the kingdom, in which every spiritual experience, whether gradual or instantaneous in character, is both an invitation and a command to proceed to a higher level of spiritual reality. In "The Circumcision of the Heart," one of Wesley's earliest sermons, there is already this processive structure; each of the four virtues of humility, faith, hope and love is a successive stage in a process of salvation.72 In a similar fashion, Wesley understands the Beatitudes to be "gradations" which lead the individual from poverty of spirit to purity of heart.73 The Christian is one who is "going on in the might of the Lord, his God, from faith to faith, from grace to grace, until, at length, he comes unto a 'perfect man, unto the measure of the fullness of Christ.'"74 Wesley tolerates no complacency, no resignation to the status quo. The believer who does not aggressively progress must necessarily fall back in Christian experience.75 The goal for Wesley is Christian perfection, "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ."76 But even full salvation is not a static experience:
So that how much soever any man has attained, or how high a degree sover he is perfect, he has still need to grow in grace and daily advance in the knowledge and love of God his Savior.77
Perfect love has no limits, and the call is always to "go on to still highest degrees of love."78 Wesley is even bold enough to claim that this process continues throughout eternity. "Can those who are perfect grow in grace? he asks. "Undoubtedly they can, and that not only while they are in the body, but to all eternity."79 Albert Outler concludes that for Wesley. "perfection meant perfecting (teleosis) with further horizons of love and participation in God always opening up beyond any level of spiritual progress.''80
There is the temptation, however, to present Wesleyan perfection as a Quixotic "impossible dream"-a glorious attempt to "reach the unreachable star" or "beat the unbeatable foe." But to do so is to return to the flaw in Reformed theology, which denies the power of God to give actual victory over sin in history. There is in Wesley's theology a constant interchange between the attainment of a clearly defined objective and the expectation of some further goal on toward which the believer strives Justification, assurance, entire sanctification, all can be reached; but Wesley's exhortation is "whereunto we have already attained, we hold fast. while we press on to what is yet before, to the highest blessings in Christ Jesus."81
Here is the essence of Wesleyan eschatology, whether personal or comic in nature: a recognition that God is at work in time and in history to bring about His redemption for humankind; the confidence that through grace, victory over sin, both in its personal and social expression, is a possibility; and an eager anticipation of the kingdom of glory with all its continuing potential for growth in the presence of God. Here is no place for pessimism or passivism. Wesley informs us.
... it is time to rise, to arm, to walk, to work.... Final salvation, glory, is nearer to us now than when we first believed. It is continually advancing, flying forward upon the swiftest wings of time. And that which remains between the present hour and eternity, is comparatively but a moment.82
This eschatology of the now and the future is an alternative to the contemporary options. To those on the Continent who would limit the work of God to a supramundane realm of Heilsgeschichte, Wesley affirms the reality of salvation in time and history. Liberation theology shares with us the optimistic dream of a transformed society, God's kingdom here on earth. But we would be ever cautious to emphasize a kingdom of grace, rooted in the saving work of Christ-not merely a kingdom of justice, based upon human rights and political activism. Wesleyan scholars have already pointed out the affinities of Wesley's dynamism with process theology.83 Certainly there is a creative openness to Wesley's concept of eternal perfecting. Yet one must balance this with Wesley's equally strong emphasis upon salvation as a return to the original created order established by the eternal, unchanging God. Wesley does not propose an indeterminant universe groping for a final destiny; rather he sees all reality moving toward a clearly defined telos, namely the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
Even the popular apocalypticism of today is not without its benefits. We need to hear its constant reminder that salvation is ultimately God's work and that final redemption will only come with the "glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ." However, we cannot share the underlying pessimism of many of these writers, who adopted the "lifeboat theology" of Dwight Moody, seeking only to snatch souls from the sea of life while consigning the social and political structures to destruction. Martin Marty describes adherents to this understanding of salvation as the
"rescuers” and contrasts them with the "transformers" who seek to produce the kingdom of God within the established institutions of our culture. Each has adopted an eschatological and millennial position consistent with his understanding of God's saving work.84
I suggest that Wesley's avoidance of apocalyptic categories offers us a pattern to emulate. By understanding eschatology in its broadest meaning, we have the option of claiming the truth contained in the aspirations of both the "rescuers" and "transformers." Our commitment to personal evangelism should be closely tied to our involvement in social reformation, as we seek to share in God's redeeming activity in this present fallen creation, while looking to His ultimate triumph in the age to come.
The British theologian, Gordon Rupp, has observed:
In the sixteenth century Luther set men looking eagerly toward the horizons with an eschatology of faith, and in the eighteenth century, Wesley gave them an eschatology of love and called men to be always seeking eagerly and expectantly, new horizons of Christian experience, those spiritual gifts which the bountiful Giver is always more ready to bestow than His children ask. Here then is a confident reliance on the will and power of God to work signs and wonders of redeeming grace in this present evil age.85
Within the context of this "optimism of grace" we can and should develop a processive eschatology, which stresses the work of God here and now as the down payment of that greater work which is yet to come. As followers of Wesley we must live in the creative tension between the reality of present salvation and the hope of future triumph. The exciting possibilities of this eschatology are clearly described in a hymn of Charles Wesley-a hymn, not on the second coming-but the present experience of salvation in Christ.
Come, almighty to deliver,
Let us all thy life receive.
Suddenly return and never
Nevermore thy temples ieave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above;
Pray, and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.
Finish then Thy new creation,
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation,
Perfectly restored in Thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love and praise.86
Notes
1Jurgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope (New York: Harper and Row, 1976), and Gospel of Liberation (Dallas: Word Books, 1973\. Jose Miguez Bonino, Out of the Hurt and Hope)New York: Friend Publishers, 1970).
2John Cobb and David Griffin, Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1976).
3Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1970) offers the standard expression of the neo-dispensational view.
4Ernest Sandeen, The Roots of Fundamentalism: British and American Millenarianism, 1800-1930 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1970), p 63.
5Wesley assumed the apostolic authorship of this book. John Wesley. Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (rpt., Salem, Ohio: Schmul Publishers, 1976), p. 650.
6Ibid., pp. 673, 679, 683.
7Ibid, p. 715
8For a detailed chronology, see Ibid, p. 732.
9Sydney Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (New York: Doubleday, 1975), pp. 277-282, offers a brief survey of this position. For a more detailed discussion, see Sandeen, op. cit.
10For the post-millennial appeal to Wesley, see Haris Rall, Was Wesley a Pre-millennialist? (New York: Methodist Book House, 1921). The pre-millennial position can be found in Nathaniel West, John Wesley and Pre-millennialism (Cincinnati: God's Revivalist Office, 1894).
11Notes, pp. 723f. (In this passage, Wesley indicates that the millennial reign will transpire in heaven, not on earth.)
12John Wesley, The Works of the Rev. .John Wesley, A. M., Thomas Jackson, ed., 14 vols. (London: Wesleyan Conference OfSce, 1872), includes the following sermons relating to eschatological themes: "The Way to the Kingdom" (VII), "The Great Assize" (XV), "On Eternity" (LIV), "Of Good Angels" (LXXI), "Of Evil Angels" (LXXII), "On Hell" (LXXIII), "The Reward of the Righteous" (XCIX), and "On the Wedding Garment" (CXX).
13Notes, p. 660.
14Works, 3:123.
15Ibid, 12:298.
16Notes, p. 534.
17John Wesley, Poetical Works of John and Charles Wesley, G. Osborn, ed. (London: Epworth Press, 1868), 11:276.
18Works, 3:129.
19Ibid, 3:130.
20Fletcher himself predicted the second coming to occur between 1750 and 1770 and expected a millennial reign of 360,000 years (following the day-year method of interpretation). John Fletcher, "Letter to Wesley," Arminian Magazine, XVI (1793), pp. 370-376, 409-416.
21Ibid, p. 415.
22See for instance Wesley's "Letter to a Roman Catholic," Works 10:82.
23Supra, n. 15.
24Colin Williams, John Wesley's Theology Today (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1960), p. 41.
25Works, 5:3.
26John Wesley, The Letters of John Wesley, John Telford, ed. (London: Epworth Press, 1951), 6:42.
27J A. Wood, Christian Perfection as Taught by John Wesley (rpt.; Salem, Ohio: Schmul Publishers, n.d.), p. 54.
28Harald Lindstrom, Wesley and Sanctification (London; Epworth Press, 1946), p. 41 contrasts the objective judicial (guilt) aspect of sin with the subjective-medical aspect. He notes that Wesley's emphasis upon sanctification led him to stress the latter without denying the reality of the former, particularly as it relates to the doctrine of justification.
29Leo COx, John Wesley's Concept of Perfection (Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1964), pp. 54-58.
30Works, 6:64f., 71.
31Ibid, 11:64.
32Ibid, 1:225.
33Luke Tyerman, Wesley's Designated Sucessor (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1882), p. 182.
34Reinhold Niebuhr, The Nature and Destiny of Man (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1941), p. 253f. Lindsey, op. cit. devotes a final chapter to describing the coming decay of religious and social institutions without offering any positive program of redemption apart from sharing the gospel and looking for the Lord's return.
35Gordon Rupp Principalities and Powers (London: Epworth Press, 1952), pp. 77ff.
36Works, 6:423.
37George Whitefield once wrote to Wesley, "I am persuaded you err greatly. You have set a mark you will never arrive at, till you come to glory." George Whitefield, Works (London: Charles Dilley, 1771), 1:219.
38Works, 6:423.
39Letters, 6:42.
40Works, 6:44; 5:10.
41Lindstrom, op. cit., p. 135n.
42Wood, op. cit., p. 116, where Wesley acknowledges that "hardly one in thirty" retain the experience for more than a year.
43Works, 8:3.
44Ibid, 5:45.
45Ibid, 5:47ff.
46Ibid, 7:282.
47Ibid
48The roots of this historical understanding can be found in the earlier dispensational theology, popularized by C. I. Scofield's study Bible and the prophetic charts of Clarence Larkin. See his Dispensational Truth (Philadelphia: Clarence Larkin, 1918), pp. 44ff.
49Notes, p. 199.
50Ibid,p. 374.
51Works, 12:388.
52Ibid, 6:430.
53Notes, p. 374.
54Ibid, p. 384.
55Letters, 3:41.
56Works, 5:159.
57Ibid, 5:442.
58Williams, op. cit. p. 194. See also Franz Hildebrandt, From Luther to Wesley (London: Lutterworth Press, 1951), p. 53.
59Cyril Downes, "The Eschatological Doctrines of John and Charles Wesley" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Edinburgh, 1974).
60Works, 5:81.
61Notes, p. 18.
62Works, 5:81.
63Notes, p. 553.
64Works, 5:314; Wesley goes on to state that "all pretenses to another ore perfect dispensation fall to the ground, of course. " On the basis of this statement, one would question whether Wesley looked for a millennial age follow the present dispensation.
65Ibid., 5:277.
66Notes, p. 221.
67Ibid, p. 14.
68Works, 5:336.
69Ibid
70Walter Schmitals, The Apocalyptic Monument: Introduction and interpretation (Nashville: Abingdom Press, 1975), points out the contrast between apocalyptic thought, with its sharp division between present history and the future age, and the more continuous understanding of history among the Rabbinic Jews.
71Wesley's text: "Are you groaning after it?" Works, 8:309f.
72"Yet lackest thou one thing, whosoever thou art, that to a deep in humility, and a steadfast faith, hast joined a lively hope, and thereby in a good measure cleansed thy heart from its inbred pollution. If thou wilt be perfect, add to all these, charity; add love, and thou hast the circumcision of the heart." Works, 5:207.
73Ibid, 5:32.
74Ibid, 5:12.
75Ibid, 3:204
76Ibid, 6:509.
77Ibid, 6:5f.
78Notes, p. 611
79Ibid; Worhs, 11:426.
80Albert Outler, Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit (Nashville: Tidings, 5), p. 73.
81Works, 5:252.
82Notes, 399.
83Rob Staples, "The Present Frontiers of Wesleyan Theology," Wesleyan Theological Journal, XII (Spring 1977), p. 9.
84Martin Marty, Righteous Empire (New York: Harper, 1977) p. 265.
85Rupp, Op. cit., p. 24.
86Hymns of Faith and Life (Marion, Indiana: Wesley Press,1976), hymn
Edited by Brian Seidel
