6. The end of the World.
(De consummatione mundi)
That heaven and earth, that is, the world created by God "in the beginning" (Gen. 1), will pass away or perish, the Scripture explicitly says. Luke 21:33: "Heaven and earth will pass away", ο ουρανός και η γη παρελεύσονται. Heb. 1:10-12 is quoted Ps. 102:26-28: "You, Lord, from the beginning founded the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands. These will pass away (άπολοϋνται); … they shall all pass away as a garment; and as a garment thou shalt change them, and they shall be changed" (άλλαγήσονται, they shall be changed). And indeed, heaven and earth will pass away and be transformed in distinction from God who remains (συ δε διαμένεις, v. 11), and in distinction from Christ's words which do not pass away (ol δε λόγοι μου ου μη παρελεύσονται) Luke 21:33). Whether this passing away is to be described more closely as a total annihilation (interitus mundi secundum substantiam, κατ' ουσίαν) or only as a transformation or transfiguration (interitus mundi secundum accidentia, κατά ποιότητα), even the old Lutheran theologians do not agree. Luther, Brenz, Althammer, Phil. Nicolai and others teach a transformation, mainly on the basis of Rom. 8:21.1840) Most of the old Lutheran theologians hold
1839) St. L. VII, 1974. 1975.
1840) Και αυτή ή κτίοις έλενϑερωϑήοεται από τής δονλείας φϑοράς εις την ελευϑερίαν τής δόξης των τέκνων τον ϑεοΰ. Luther (St. L. XII, 729 f.;
610 > The Last Things. [English ed. ~ 542-543.]
with Gerhard, Quenstedt and Calov, an end of the world quoad substantiam. Gerhard treats the question in great detail.1841) He lets both sides have their say with their arguments and counter-arguments and then gives the reasons why he considers an end of the world as corresponding to the scriptural words.1842) Nevertheless Gerhard says:1843) " We do not defend the opinion of
Erl.2 9, 117. 108 f.): "It is very comfortingly spoken that Paul draws in the whole creature, as into one person, who with us have a desire to come out of this life into another. That we know for certain that we do not yet live as we ought, but wait for another life, which shall be our right life; as the sun waits for another adornment, which it shall have, together with the earth and all other creatures, that it may be cleansed from all the abuses of the devil and of the world. But this, he says, will happen when the children of God are revealed. Now on earth they are already God's children, but they are not yet in their glory, just as the sun is not yet in its true glory, because it is subject to vanity; but it wants to wait for the end, which is presented to it, when its service is to end; From this she waits, together with the whole creature and all the saints, with vain groaning, and remains subject to vanity, that is, to the devil and the evil world, for God's sake alone, who has subjected her, but in the hope that it will not last forever." — Brenz (Homil. 53. in Lucam): Num coelum et terra ita transibunt, ut nihil eorum omnino maneat? Minime omnium. Non transibunt omnino, sed mutabuntur. Abiicient vestimentum corruptionis et induent novam vestem incorruptionis, futura quidem coeli ac terrae mutatio, non autem in totum abolitio. [Google] Other quotations in Gerhard, L. de consummatione seculi, § 38. To the words of Luther cited above, however, passages such as St. L. VIII, 1187 ff.
1841) L. de consummatione seculi, § 37-63.
1842) The main mistake of those who want to prove from Rom. 8 a mere transfiguration of the creature, Gerhard sees in the fact that they do not pay proper attention to the word "service" (δονλεία) in the statement that "also the creature will become free from the service of the perishable being to the glorious freedom of the children of God". They interpreted it as if the apostle were saying that the creature should be set free from the corruptible being (corruptio), whereas the apostle's statement only refers to a deliverance from the service (servitus) of the corruptible being. Addimus, says Gerhard, apostolum nequaquam dicere, quod liberanda sit creatura a corruptione, quae phrasis substantiali interitui opposita videri poterat, sed a servitute corruptionis, quae eidem minime adversatur. [Google] What the personified creature longs to be freed from is the service of the perishable being. This liberation from service, however, could not only happen through the transfiguration (renovatio), but also through the fact that the creature ceases to exist. For example, Gerhard recalls Seneca's words to Marcia that through death man is granted freedom from all evils, although Seneca maintains his opinion that man ceases to exist with death. Similarly, Calov argues on this passage.
1843) l. c., § 38.
611 > The Last Things. [English ed. ~ 543-544]
the end of the world in essence as an article of faith, but we say that this opinion corresponds more to the emphatic scriptural statements which deal with the end of the world. It also follows that we do not hastily accuse those who are of the opposite opinion and describe the end of the world as a transformation of heresy. For this reason many would rather take a hand to their mouths (έπέχειν) on this question, and leave this matter to future experience, than fix anything certain." 1844) All who suppose a transformation of creatures must teach such a transformation, whereby the world in all its present manifestation1845) will really pass away or have an end (τέλος) at the Last Day. So also Luther: "Summa, everything shall cease, which is of this temporal goods essence, so belongs to the perishable life and works."1846)