In my last post, I introduced the subject of seeing history through biblical eyes, and gave three explanations of what this means. In today’s post, I will continue (and finish) with points four through seven of what it means to have a biblical view of history.

Point #4: History is the record of reality. It encompasses past, present, and future, and both that which is known empirically and that which is known by revelation. Limiting history to the past alone is insufficient, for what happened in the past created a series of outcomes that resulted in what now is, and again in what will be. The full significance of past events can only be known by showing their relation to the present and the future. Further, this is not just a historian’s subjective interpretation of what happened, but is something that is contained within the events themselves, as it were. It is insufficient to study the present without showing how it is a development from the past, or the (prophetic/predicted) future without showing its development from the present and the past.

Limiting history to that which is known empirically alone is also insufficient, for observations in the visible, physical realm point to the activities of beings in the unseen supernatural realm. The attempt to explain human history in terms of natural cause and effect alone always gives a very implausible and incomplete account of events. To fail to see the activity of God and Satan in the world is to fail to understand history.

The Bible presents the metanarrative of history. There are some who argue that the Bible is more a book of theology than a book of history. If the secular definition of the discipline of history is accepted, this is certainly true. However, if the Bible is allowed to challenge the very possibility of a history that is created on the basis of methodological naturalism, then the secular concept of history falls apart. In addition, this is only a modern definition of history; Christian historians before the twentieth century, and especially before the Enlightenment, did not see any place whatever for a history divorced from theology. And secular history does have theology running through it just the same: the attempt to explain all things without God is a theological endeavor, and incorporates the theological assumptions inherent in a secular worldview.

On the secular worldview, all that can ever be known about history is the available evidence, and thus it may be tempting to define history subjectively as the surviving evidence known to, and interpreted by, the historian. However, on the biblical worldview, all of reality is known by God and there is a full record of all that has happened in books in heaven. Thus, the things that are now hidden will be revealed in a future day (Eccl 12:14; Matt 10:26; Mark 4:22; Luke 8:17; 12:2-3; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:12).

Point #5: The epistemic basis of history is faith in biblical revelation, not empiricism or rationalism. Secular scholarship begins with the presupposition that the Bible cannot be trusted, but scholarly study of extrabiblical archeological data, inscriptions, and literature can be trusted. Thus, critical scholars start with extrabiblical material, interpret it “on its own terms,” and then interpret the Bible in light of it. However, the claim that extrabiblical data can be interpreted on its own, apart from the Bible and theological presuppositions, is false. If the Bible is taken away, it must be replaced with a different presuppositional framework. Almost invariably, this framework is atheism or deism, the view that God does not intervene in the world. This presupposition then determines the conclusion of the research, for all other possibilities are ruled out from the start. The Bible will be viewed as a human product that is largely inaccurate due to its claims of divine activity in the world. But this approach begs numerous questions: how can presupposing the Bible’s untrustworthiness be justified? Why should extrabiblical material be presupposed to be more reliable than the Bible? And why should secular presuppositions be accepted? Christian scholars, especially, ought to have faith that the Bible is the Word of God, and therefore ought to begin their historical analysis with the Bible and interpret the extrabiblical data in light of the Bible.

The Bible does not need to be verified by archeological or astronomical evidence. We know that the Bible is true because it is the Word of God, and as such is self-authenticating. The Bible does not become any more certain when archeological evidence is discovered that fits with what the Bible says.

Point #6: The Bible presents an anthrocentric view of history. According to the Bible, man was created at roughly the same time as the earth and the universe (cf. Mark 13:19), and thus is not possible to speak of a history of the earth or a history of the universe apart from the history of man. Man was created last in the creation week, since everything else in the universe was created for man—the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the animals, the plants, the seas, the dry land, and even the angels (cf. Heb 1:14). Man is both the pinnacle and the focus of creation. Man, in turn, was created for his Creator. The history of the universe is geocentric, and not just geocentric, but anthrocentric–and, in the ultimate sense, theocentric.

Point #7: The Bible elevates the history of Israel and of the Jewish people to a far higher plane of importance than that of any other people or nation in the history of the world. Many political and social events that might seem very significant in some ways, as well as the whole history of many civilizations that did not have direct contact with Israel, are considered relatively insignificant insofar as the overall plan and progress of history is concerned. The history of the Jewish people is the key to the history of the world, at least since the time of Abraham, because God is unfolding His plan of redemption through His covenants with Israel. The various stages through which the history of the Jews has passed are coterminous with the central events in the development of God’s plan of redemption, which are the events of real significance in the history of the entire human race. Redemptive history is the true history of the world, the true framework for understanding world events and the direction of world history. Almost immediately after man was created, he fell into sin; the rest of the Bible tells how and why God is going to come to the rescue of the human race, so that all of history prior to the Incarnation was “the preparation for that great mystery, and all subsequent history the gradual appropriation of its results” (Brooke Foss Westcott, An Introduction to the Study of the Gospels [London: MacMillan, 1881], 47.). It is not true that the histories of all peoples, civilizations, and religions are equally important and ought to be given equal time. The history of God’s people (Israel, and in a different sense all believers) is what is really important for the overall course of world history.

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Those of us who live in Christian circles hear the word “worldview” frequently. Our worldview is the filter we use to interpret the world around us. To put it another way, our worldview is the lens through which we see reality. Having a biblical worldview is especially important when studying history, including not just past events but also current and future events. Seeing history through biblical eyes means seeing the spiritual significance of events around us, and not just the physical. The physical events around us are connected to the spiritual realm, and in fact the spiritual drives the physical. Most people only see the physical and do not see the real issues, which are the spiritual issues. They interpret events in terms of physical cause and effect, and miss the real reason why things are happening, and the direction in which they are going. Most people in the world do not recognize God’s sovereignty in directing history according to His plan, and they do not understand how present events fit into that plan.

What, specifically, does a biblical view of history consist of? First, the Bible presents a teleological (goal-oriented) view of history. There is purpose and direction in history, not just undirected occurrence or a meaningless cycle of events. History began in purpose, and it is heading toward ultimate goals and ends. The Bible teaches that the objective of history is the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth, an event which is initiated by the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. When this final purpose, and all it entails, is entirely fulfilled, history itself will end, so to speak, as an unchanging and eternal state of affairs is established. God created purposefully, unfolds history purposefully, and ends history purposefully. This is a very, very different worldview than all other views of history.

Second, history consists not just of undirected human action, but also supernatural intervention. History does not happen by accident, but according to God’s plan and purpose. Yet within that plan and purpose are men making free choices according to their own plans and purposes and Satan acting in opposition to God according to his own plans and purposes. It is always a challenge for the Christian historian to know how much of history to attribute to divine (or Satanic) action, and how much to attribute to human action. Most events involve a combination of both.

Third, history can only be understood properly when it is cast in terms of the conflict between the serpent and his seed and the woman and her seed as described in Genesis 3:15. Satan acts in history as the enemy of the human race and of its Redeemer, yet his opposition is used by God to bring about his own destruction in accordance with God’s purposes, for the death blow to the serpent is the direct result of his own attack on the woman’s seed. Ultimately, all of history after the fall must be viewed in terms of a spiritual conflict between God, as man’s friend, and Satan, as man’s foe, that is centered on the fate of the human race. Therefore two questions should be asked of every era of history: how is God working, and how is Satan working? Further, Genesis 3:15 can be viewed as the organizing principle of history, for all of the pivotal events in history are also the pivotal events in this conflict—the fall, the incarnation, the cross, the second advent, and the final judgment. To these could be added the call of Abraham and the covenants made with Abraham and the Jewish people. In short, it is impossible to understand history correctly without interpreting it in terms of the conflict described in Genesis 3:15.

To be continued . . .

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