Liberating Planet Earth

The lrzevitabili@ of Liberation 145
We must abandon antinomianism and pessimistic eschatologies
that are inherently antinomian. We must call men back to
faith in the God of the whole Bible. We must affirm that in the
plan of God there will come a day of increased self-awareness,
when men will call churls churlish and liberal men gracious (Isaiah
32). This will be a day of great external blessings — the greatest
in history. Long ages of such self-awareness unfold before us.
And at the end of time comes a generation of rebels who know
churls from liberals, and who then wage war against the godly
(Revelation 20:7-8). They will lose this final campaign of evil
(Revelation 20:9).’
Why should Christians remain pessimistic about their earthly
future? Will God destroy His prelinzina~ dbwn payment (preliminary
manifestation) of the New Heavens and the New Earth (Isaiah
65:17-20)? Will God erase the sign that His Word has been
obeyed in history, that the dominion covenant has been nearly fidfilled
by regenerate people? Will Satan, that great destroyer, have
the joy of seeing God’s Word thwarted, His church’s handiwork
torn down by Satan’s very hordes? The pessimist answers yes.
The dominion optimist must deny it with all his strength.
There is continuity in life, despite discontinuities. The wealth
of the sinner is laid up for the just. Satan would like to burn God’s
field, but he cannot. The tares and wheat grow to maturity, and
then the reapers go out to harvest the wheat, cutting away the
chail and tossing it into the fire (Matthew 13:24-43).
Satan would like to turn back the final judgment of God on
sin, return to ground zero, return to the garden of Eden, when the
dominion covenant was first given. He cannot do this. History
moves forward toward the fulfillment of the dominion covenantas
much a fulfillment as pre-final-judgment mankind can achieve.
At that point, Satan will use the last of his time and the last of his
power to strike out against God’s people. When he uses his gifts to
become finally, totally destructive, he is cut down from above.
8. Gary North, Dominion and Common &w-: The Bi’blical Basis of Progress (Tyler,
Texas: Institute for Christian Economics, 1987).