History of Salvation
Time-Line
 
 
Salvation History What is Salvation History? Is it just a recording of events that have occurred in the past of Christianity? Is it just a sequence of events that have been recounted to us through Scripture? While the dates and events recounted to us are crucial to it, Salvation History transcends them. Better put, Salvation History is the story of how we have been brought into God’s covenant family. God’s plan to save us has be in action for all eternity, and Salvation History is how that plan has unfolded throughout time. Salvation History is different from world history. While world history is a chronological ordering of important events throughout the world, it is limited to the past, and is invariably biased… not out of desire, but due to the limited perspective of those who write it. Salvation History, on the other hand tells of the development of our relationship with God – an event that transcends time, existing in the past, present and future. Further, this history is objective, for its author is God, who in His omniscience is not limited by perspective, but knows all that happens perfectly. We can look at Salvation History as a series of covenants between God and His people, each one deepening and broadening the relationship. At this point, it is important to make a distinction between a covenant and a contract. A contract can be understood as an agreement for a temporary relationship, established out of convenience, usually for business, for all parties involved. A covenant is different: is an agreement between God and mankind made through individual persons, establishing a sacred kinship that cannot and will not end. While we will see soon that the covenant is frequently violated, much the same as with contracts, the violation only occurs on the side of humanity. God never fails to live up to His promises. In each of the covenants, we can better understand them if we consider three elements to each of them, the ‘role’, the ‘form’, and the ‘sign’. The ‘covenant role’ is the role given to the individual by God to be lived out in keeping up man’s side of the bargain. The covenant form is that by which the role is made manifest. Lastly, the sign is that by which humanity is made to remember the covenant. Covenant with Adam Salvation history begins with Adam, in the Garden of Eden. It is impossible to date this event in time with precision, due to the fact that early Hebrew writers were concerned with religious history (why things happened), rather than history as we commonly understand it today (when and where things happened). Though we can’t date it precisely, it can generally be understood to have taken place over 10,000 years before Christ (B.C.). It is also important to note that while we understand Genesis to be a different form of literature than modern history, we still know certain truths from it, such as that we came from two ‘first parents’ who were created in the image and likeness of God, and who committed Original Sin. We can also know that, prior to Original Sin, God made a covenant with them. In the words “And 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 air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth,” God has given the role of husband to Adam, under the form of marriage, for God has created man, “male and female.” Jesus reaffirms this when in Matthew 19, He speaks of marriage as being ‘from the beginning.’ The sign of this covenant is the Sabbath, for as God rested on the seventh day, to say ‘I swear a covenant’ in Hebrew is literally translated, ‘I seven myself.’ Unfortunately, Adam and Eve eventually violate the covenant. As part of the covenant agreement, God commanded Adam to guard the Garden, and to not eat of the tree of knowledge. However, they failed in this as they succumbed to the temptations of the serpent (the Devil) and ate of the tree. This did not end the covenant, but it did bring about punishment for its violation. Adam and Eve, among other punishments, were cast out of the Garden of Eden, but not without compassion, as God gave them assistance in their fallen state. This is important to note, as we will frequently see in Salvation History that God is just, but He is also merciful, and in both He loves us perfectly. The next covenant is with Noah, but there are several important events that take place in Salvation History. After they are cast out of Eden, Adam and Eve give birth to two sons, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel out of jealousy regarding a matter of favor from God, after which we see the development of an evil and self-serving lineage stemming from Cain. Adam and Eve eventually give birth to another son, Seth, who’s lineage is good at the beginning, but eventually gives into the temptations provided by the descendents of Cain, the Cainites. We also see in the Cainites a man named Lemech, who is the first to break the marriage covenant directly, through polygamy: the marriage of more than one wife. Time and again, we will see that those who marry more than one wife, even those favored by God, suffer as a result. Covenant with Noah In spite of the wickedness of the descendents of Cain and Seth, there eventually lived a man named Noah, who, with his household (wife, children and their families), we see the only humans who were righteous in worshiping the true God. Because of the wickedness of those other than Noah’s household, God destroyed the world via a flood, but not without sparing Noah’s household in the Ark. Eventually, the flooding died down and life was allowed to grow again. At the end of the flood, God formed another covenant, this time with Noah as the Father (the role) of his Household (the form), under the sign of a Rainbow. On His part, God promised to never again destroy the world via flood, though through this action, we can see a type, a foreshadowing, of baptism, which we will see ‘type’ified throughout Salvation History. After the flood, however, the debauchery picks back up, with Noah’s son, Ham (who was to become the ancestor of the Canaanites) is cursed for disrespecting his father, while his other son, Shem, is blessed for covering his father’s nakedness. We see this curse and blessing reflected in the behaviors and attitudes of their descendents, particularly in the descendents of Ham (the Hamites) attempting to build the Tower of Babel, a tower to God, which results in God confusing their language so they are unable to complete the project. Man cannot attain beatitude with God on his own, as the Hamites were trying to do. Covenant with Abraham The next significant figure in Salvation History, is Abraham, who is estimated to have lived between 2200 and 1950 B.C. Originally named Abram, he is a nomad from Ur who, along with his wife Sarai, have no children. God coaxes Abram from his home country to begin the process of gathering together scattered humanity, promising to make of him a great nation, kingship, and His blessing. As a sign of this covenant, God commanded Abram and all of his decedents to be circumcised. Also, Abram’s name is changed to Abraham, and Sarai’s name is changed to Sarah. In this covenant, we can see Abraham as the Chief of a tribe, with the form being the tribe. Again, the scope of God’s covenants broadens, first with Adam in marriage, then with Noah in his household, and now Abraham with a tribe. Abraham and Sarah by this point have given birth to a child, Isaac, whom out of an act of loyalty, God asks Abraham to sacrifice. Abraham complies, only to have his hand stopped by an angel at the last moment – a show of loyalty for which God rewards him and fulfills all of His promises. Isaac, after his near scrape with death, goes on to marry a woman named Rebekah (c. 1950 B.C.), by whom he has two sons, Jacob and Esau. While Esau is the favored child of Isaac, Jacob is the favorite of Rebekah, who contrives a plot to fool her husband into giving Jacob his blessing instead of Esau. Rebekah and Jacob are successful, though their deceit will come back to haunt them as Jacob himself is tricked by his uncle Laban as he tries to marry the woman of his dreams, Laban’s daughter Rachel. Instead, Laban slips his older daughter, Leah, into Jacob’s tent, resulting in more years of servitude, first to marry Rachel as well (again, we see polygamy, which will only result in strife for Jacob), and eventually to escape Laban’s rule. Jacob goes on to have 12 children by a number of women. The 11th child, the first by Rachel, is Joseph, who is Jacob’s favorite and despised by his older siblings. Out of envy, his older siblings sell Joseph into slavery in Egypt, where he eventually gains favor with the pharaoh by interpreting dreams and foreseeing years of surplus, followed by years of famine. Eventually, Joseph invites his family and the Israelites into Egypt. Eventually, after the death of Joseph and the pharaohs who knew him, the Egyptians come to see how successful the Israelites have become, and out of fear of being overrun, turn them into slaves. Covenant with Moses In about the year 1280 B.C., God, in His own time, enacts a plan to extricate the Israelites from Egypt through a prophet named Moses. Moses is an Israelite himself, but out of fear of having him put to death during Egyptian persecution, his mother cleverly had him placed in the custody of pharaoh’s daughter. Because of this, Moses was raised in a privileged court life. Eventually, however, after he had reached adulthood, he came to witness an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave. In anger, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body. However, he came to realize that he would be found out, and so he fled Egypt. Eventually, through a burning bush, God spoke to Moses commanding him to return to Egypt to free God’s people. Through ten plagues, God punished the Egyptians and enabled the Israelites to depart. However, even after the plagues convinced pharaoh to let them go, he had a change of mind and pursued them. Moses, by the power of God, parted the Red Sea, so that the Israelites could cross in safety. Eventually, the Egyptians tried to follow by the same route, but God had Moses close the path, causing the entire Egyptian army to drown. A new covenant has been forged, this time with Moses in the role of Judge over the nation (the form) of Israel. The sign of this covenant was Passover, which was what God asked of the Israelites so that they might avoid the tenth plague: the killing of all first-born men by the angel of death. After their escape from Egypt, the Israelites received the ten commandments from God, through Moses, at Mt. Sinai. However, as a result of their idol worship, rather than being led straight to the promised land, they were forced to wander the desert for 40 years. Eventually, however, after the generation who had fallen into false worship had passed away, they crossed the river Jordan into Canaan. They were not without opposition, however, and Joshua had to lead the Israelites in battle after battle, each of which they won as they carried the Ark of the Covenant, containing the tablets upon which the Ten Commandments were written. Eventually, Joshua died, as well as the twelve tribal chiefs of Israel who had sworn a covenant with him, at which point the twelve tribes of Israel split and lapsed into sin. In response to this, God sends judges to bring back the people, each with varying success, but always to see the tribes inevitably relapse. In response to the cycle, the Israelites eventually ask Samuel, a judge, for a king. Though he first resists, he eventually appoints one: Saul. Saul has his flaws as king, and eventually, at about 1000 B.C., a boy named David becomes King. Covenant with David It is with David that God forms his fifth covenant. In it, God promises six things: the foundation of a dynasty, that David will be the ruler of a kingdom, that his son will build a temple, that David and the Israelites will enter into a Divine sonship with God, that David’s line will never be disowned by God, and that the dynasty formed will never end. In this covenant, David is in the role of King, and the form is that of his kingdom, while the sign is his throne. David goes on to have much success in uniting Israel, in conquering the surrounding area, and building Israel up to be a world power. Even this is surpassed by his son, Solomon, who expands the kingdom’s capital, Jerusalem. He also vastly increases the riches and worldly influence of the kingdom, and finally builds the Temple. Solomon ruled from 970-930 B.C. However, in 922 B.C., shortly after Solomon’s death, the kingdom becomes divided. Prophets are sent, such as Jonah, Elija, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc., but eventually the ten Hebrew tribes that make up Isreal become extinct in 722 B.C. due to Assyrian conquest and resettlement, and eventually the two remaining tribes that make up Judah are conquered and deported to Babylon in 587 B.C. Eventually, though, due to a change in leadership in Babylon, they are allowed to return in 538 B.C. Through various struggles, they eventually reestablish themselves, but not to their former glory. This was not to last, as they came under Hellenistic rule, as leadership was sold off to the highest bidder by Antiochus, the high priest at the time. This led to trouble for the Jews, and eventually the Maccabean revolt in 167 B.C. Covenant through Jesus Salvation History now reaches its climax, with the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, at about 6 B.C. While it is not in the scope of this document to go into full detail all elements of the new covenant forged through Jesus, there are a few important things to note. In this covenant, the role, filled by Christ, is that of the Royal High Priest. He holds this role in the form of the covenant, the Church He founded, the Catholic Church. Lastly, the sign he gave us by saying ‘do this in memory of Me’ is the Eucharist. Jesus also fulfills old covenants. He restores the relationship with God that was broken by Adam in Original Sin. Water is no longer destructive, but seen as redeeming in baptism. As descendents of Abraham, all people are blessed. Jesus fulfills the Law given to us through Moses. And lastly, Jesus, who is in the line of David, is the Lord of all nations. Salvation History is not over with the coming of Christ, however, for next we see the spread of Christianity, as recounted first in the Acts of the Apostles through the journeys of Peter, Paul and the Apostles. The Church, following the command of Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to all nations, continues to spread throughout the globe even to today. Lastly, though we know not when it will come, Christ will come a second time for the final judgment. Much is said of this in John’s book, Revelation. In the end, as is said in scripture, heaven and earth will be destroyed, and a New Jerusalem will exist. Sources: • Scott Hahn, Understanding the Scriptures: a complete course on Bible study (Woodridge, IL: Midwest Theological Forum, 2005). • Jeff Cavins, "The Great Adventure Bible Timeline Chart" (Necedah, WI: Ascension Press, 2006).