Renewed Eschatology - The Purpose of Creation
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“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1) Then in six days He brought light from darkness, order from chaos, and life from lifelessness. When He was all done, He saw that it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31). But, why? Why did God create? What is creation’s purpose? Was earth created as a temporary training grounds for humans on our way to heaven, or was it created for more? Was earth created only to eventually be destroyed, or was it created for a greater and lasting purpose?
Hypothetically Speaking
Before jumping into the Scriptures, let’s begin with a hypothetical question. I’m not really a fan of bringing hypotheticals into Bible study, but, on occasion, they can be a helpful exercise in thinking logically and critically.
Maybe you’ve pondered this question before: What would creation be like if Adam and Eve had never eaten the forbidden fruit? If all of their descendants had followed in their footsteps, always choosing to obey God, what would be the state of creation today? Though the Scriptures don’t answer that question, we can make some reasonable assumptions. If Adam, Eve, and all their descendants had never disobeyed, we can only assume there would be no sin, corruption, or death, and humanity would still be in perfect fellowship with God on a curse-free earth.
If such were the case, one would imagine there would be no future destruction of the earth. Earth’s destruction and the doctrine of hell primarily concern the judgment of the ungodly. If there were no ungodly to judge, there would be no reason for a Judgment Day. There would be no wrath of God being poured out upon the earth because there would be no wrath of God. There would have been no world-wide destruction by water (Gen. 6-8), nor would there ever be a world-wide destruction by fire (2 Peter 3). Humanity would live in perfect harmony with one another and perfect fellowship with God on the earth forever.
I don’t expect to win anyone over to renewed eschatology based upon a hypothetical question, but I do hope it causes you to pause, if even for a moment, and think about what God’s original intentions were for creation. Do the collective Scriptures really paint the picture of a God who wants to annihilate His good creation? Or do they paint the picture of a God who created the earth, the plants, and the animals for humanity? Do they show a God who redeems that which is cursed, broken, and lost?
Scripturally Speaking
Thankfully, we don’t have to rely on hypothetical argumentation to know that God’s desire and intention is to have perfect fellowship with His people on a curse-free earth. To begin seeing that, we need to ask one more question; one in which the Scriptures answer plainly: Why did God create humanity? What is humanity’s purpose?
Genesis 1:26 (LSB)
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness, so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
When God made humanity, He made us according to His “image”. The Hebrew word for “Image” refers to a statue, idol, or replica of something. In Greek, the word is transliterated eikōn (where we get the English word “icon” = a representation of something sacred). When God made humanity, He made statues, idols, or replicas of Himself. He made humanity to represent Him. We are His representatives. He made us for the purpose of bearing His image on earth and represent Him the way He would have us to.
Humanity was also made according to His “likeness”. We were made to be like God. We were modeled after Him. We were made to resemble Him.
Practically speaking, what does it mean for us to bear God’s image on the earth and be like Him? What is our purpose on a practical level? The text tells us, “so that they will have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” (Gen. 1:26) Being made in the image and likeness of God means having dominion (or ruling) over the earth according to His will. Humanity’s original purpose was to rule over creation. Verse 28 goes more into what that was to look like:
Genesis 1:28 (LSB)
28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that creeps on the earth.”
First, God wanted humanity to reproduce and fill the earth. Second, He wanted humanity to “subdue” (subjugate, force into bondage) the earth and have dominion (rulership, authority) over the animals. The idea is that God intended for His image bearers to rule over creation to the extent that they use the earth’s resources in ways that are beneficial to humanity and creation as a whole. Just as God created all things good, humanity was to bear His image and use creation to do further good.
The Perfect Image Bearer
Humanity failed in our purpose of bearing God’s image and representing Him by ruling over His creation according to His will. But hope isn’t lost. God had a plan before creation began to bring the perfect image-bearer into the world (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). He will be “the exact representation of [God’s] nature” (Heb. 1:3).
The first Adam brought sin, death, and the curse into creation. This second Adam rejected the ways of the first Adam. In His sinless life, sacrificial death, glorious resurrection, and ascension to the throne of Heaven, Jesus defeated sin, death, and the curse. Now all those who die to the ways of old humanity and are reborn to the ways of new humanity are “conformed to the image” of Jesus (Rom. 6, 8:29; Eph. 4:20-24), who is the image of God (2 Cor. 4:4; Col. 1:15). When we bear the image and likeness of Jesus, we bear the image and likeness of God. In Jesus, humanity’s original purpose is being restored.
Before quoting Psalm 8, where David speaks about God giving humanity rulership over creation, the author of Hebrews says, “For it was not to angels that God subjected the world (literally ‘the inhabited earth’) to come, of which we are speaking.” (Hebrews 2:5) The author of Hebrews says there is a “world to come” (an inhabited earth that is coming in the future). And the rulers of this future world will not be angels, but humanity.
“But”, as the Hebrews author points out, “now we do not yet see all things subjected to [humanity].” (Heb. 2:8) Ever since the fall, humanity has failed at properly bearing God’s image, and the cursed creation has rebelled against our rule. Even though we don’t “yet” see creation subjected to humanity, “we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels—Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:9). Jesus was “crowned with glory and honor” and is now ruling over the present world. And upon His return, He will restore a resurrected and perfected humanity to our original, God-given purpose: to rule over the world.
maybe mention Hebrews 1:11-12 as what the author was referring to when he says, “concerning which we are speaking”.