Genesis, the Threefold End of Human Beings, and Biblical Eschatology

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay offers a constructive critique of J. Richard Middleton’s recent contribution to biblical eschatology, A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology. Middleton’s work provides a good account of one key aspect of biblical eschatology, the notion of reigning with Christ, but it neglects other important dimensions of the human vocation as set forth in Genesis. Specifically, Middleton ignores the importance of rest as the climax of the first creation account and downplays the significance of the cultic motifs found in both creation accounts of Genesis, as well as the prominence of these motifs in the Book of Revelation. If one wants to understand the purpose of human existence both in the here and now and in the eschaton, it is necessary to offer a more robust account of the reasons for which God created human beings. Kingship, rest, and worship all feature prominently in Gen 1–3, and all three reappear in important contexts throughout Scripture, including a variety of eschatological texts in the NT. Only by attending to all three of these themes will one arrive at a well-rounded biblical eschatology faithful to the whole of Scripture.