What is this world coming to?
Ever hear that question? It is mostly asked with the sense of confusion and
frustration as to the reason events happen. Something happens that throws our
sense of direction and morality off, and in confusion or frustration we ask, “What
is this world coming to?” But in reality that is a fair question to ask. The
answer is what can be defined as our philosophy of history and our answer to the
quest for meaning. Every generation faces that question and search, not only as
a society, but as a individual.
What is a philosophy of history? It is a systematic interpretation of
universal history in accordance with a principle by which historical events and
successions are unified and directed toward ultimate meaning.[1]
By this definition, we can see
that the Bible gives a philosophy of history, although it is not a textbook on
the philosophy of history. However it meets the requirements that are necessary
for a philosophy of history.
- It explains the why of historic events in an organized way.
- It covers the whole scope of history from beginning to end.
- It has a unifying principle which ties history together.
- It assigns ultimate meaning to history.
The Bible fulfills these
requirements. Briefly, the Bible shows that history is controlled by God in the
outworking of His purpose. The events of history are really a struggle between
rebellion, redemption, and restoration. It covers the beginning and ending of
history (Genesis to Revelation). The ultimate meaning or goal of history is the
redemption of man for the glory of God.
Dispensationalism has a direct
relationship to the Biblical philosophy of history. Dispensationalism or the study
of dispensations aimed at developing the Bible’s philosophy of history on the
basis of God’s eternal purpose. That eternal purpose is expressed in Ephesians
3:11, “This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” While there is much that could be said about
this verse, the one thing it clearly does is tell us that God has a plan and
purpose. It climaxed (but did not end) with the work of Christ Jesus our Lord
on the cross. Notice the verse does not say that this was God’s plan in its
entirety. But it was in accordance with His purpose. His purpose is still being
worked out. “That in the ages to come He
might show the surpassing riches of His grace…” (Eph. 2:7). What
dispensations do are identify the stages of the outworking of God’s purpose and
plan in history as revealed in the Bible.
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