"The classical, Orthodox understanding of the last things is not linear in character. It does not refer to those things which necessarily happen at the end of all the other things. Rather, Christ Himself is the eschaton (Rev. 1:17). He who is the end of all things is also the One who was before the beginning, and also the One who lived among us, was crucified in time, and is risen from the dead. Wherever He is--the End has come. Within the teaching of the Fathers of the Church, this eschatology had a very specific application and structure. Both St. Ambrose in the West and St. Maximus the Confessor in the East stated that truth is to be found in the Eschaton (the End--Christ Himself), while the New Testament is image or icon, while the Old Testament is shadow. This is a complete reversal of the linear, historical view of the modern secular world and the modern Christianity that has come to mirror it." - Fr. Stephen Freeman (Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe)
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 05:27:18 +0000
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