03-INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION The Bible—the Key to World Affairs The Bible is the Book of the history of salvation. It is the most world-embracing of all books, the mightiest historical organism, the book of mankind. In the midst of the general history of mankind God begins a special historical revelation, in which He makes Himself present to the sinner as Redeemer and Lord. “The march of the gospel through the world is the proper theme of world history.” This His plan of salvation God carries out in ages and periods. What was eternally determined in Him before the ages will in the ages be carried through and perfected. Therefore Paul terms the plan of salvation the “purpose of the ages” (Ephesians 3:11), and praises God, the Lord Himself, as the “King of the ages” (1 Timothy 1:17). Of this mighty unfolding Holy Scripture is God’s testimony and record. Only he who reads it in this sense, and so allows it to work upon himself, does justice to its proper nature and chief meaning. But then there will rise before him a wonderful historical prospect. He will learn to regard the development of human history from the standpoint of eternity. _He will perceive in history a uniform, universal plan, guided by God, which, in the course of millenniums, unfolds itself in living variety, regular order, and cosmic universality, moving surely to its goa]. And the Bible, as the record of this totality, will become to him, not only the guide to personal salvation in Christ, but at. the same time the universal call for salvation, the Book for all mankind, the key to world events.
Danger of and Warrant for Charts of the History of Salvation The Chart here offered seeks to set forth this historical unity of the Bible. Its definite presupposition is faith in the Divine character and historical trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures, including the literality of the ancient histories of the Bible, the genuineness of the prophecies of Daniel, and the reliability of the Old and New Testament prophecies of the End times. He who does not share this faith must reject in advance the study of the Bible history of salvation, and by consequence must refuse every attempt to set forth the periods of salvation diagrammatically. The Chart offered is not intended for such a one. But let this only be said, that Christ, the Son of God, Himself has confessed faith in the historicity of the first chapters of the Bible (Matthew 19:8; Matthew 24:37-38), as well as in the book of Daniel (Matthew 26:64 :comp. Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:15), and also in the expectations of the future of Old Testament prophecy (Acts 1:6-7; Matthew 19:28; Matthew 25:31 if.). Therefore they only can deny the historical unity of the Bible who do not acknowledge the absolute authority of the Lord Jesus. But even one with a full faith in Holy Scripture may at first feel a certain reserve in relation to a pictorial setting forth of the historical Biblical revelation. It is not to be denied that every such drawing has in it the danger of rigidity and inflexibility, which can only be overcome if it be intentionally limited to the clearly perceptible, main, basic lines of the whole development of the history of salvation. But above all, how much seemingly learned but really confused and amateurish, not to say Gnostic, trifling has often been connected with such drawings! How much over-refinement and artificial symbolic numbering, how many rigid schemes and often insipid drawings! How many times—especially in connection with setting forth of the End-days —has prophecy been mistaken for mere prediction and has fallen—albeit unintentionally—under the ban of inquisitive striving to satisfy unwarranted curiosity!
Yet with all rejection of such extravagances one should endeavor to be just to the subject itself. If it is certainly true —and this is guaranteed absolutely to faith by the authority of our Lord and His apostles—that the Bible gives us reliable historical information as to the earliest times of the human race, and that its prophecies as to the general main divisions of the End-times are likewise reliable, why should it not be permissible, indeed useful, to set forth in one glance these historical periods of the past and the future, and to make their sequence easily perceptible to the eye through a diagram or a drawing? In the same way every dial of a clock is a diagram setting before the eye the sequence of sections of time. That these latter are so incomparably shorter does not invalidate this argument. For the question here is not the extension of the time but the principle adopted. Such a drawing or diagram makes it very much easier to perceive the simultaneousness or the sequence of certain historical events. In this sense it can be only useful to “read” such a chart of salvation as being like the dial of a prophetic world-clock.
Therefore it is rash and thoughtless to protest on principle against such charts, always supposing that these do really follow only general basic lines and also are set out in a dignified manner. To treat them all in advance ironically, as being “General Staff Ordnance maps” or “apocalyptic time-tables,” is not only unjust but foolish.
Meaning, Purpose and Limitations of Prophetic Charts Consciously restricted to what is clearly revealed in Scripture the Chart can make clear the historical unity of the Bible and the general, great periods of revelation. At the same time, by means of the adjacent different colored lines which run through it, it can show that certain persons, events, and developments were contemporary. Finally, by following these single lines, it should show the chief stages in the individual progress of certain special developments in the course of their own history. For example, the red line shows the history of Israel, the white the history of the idea of a temple, the golden the history of Christ, the green areas the history of the salvation of the nations, the black serpentine line certain developments in the history of demonism. In this sense such a Chart of salvation can render a decided service to the believing Bible reader, and especially make it easier for the beginner and the young to gain comparatively quickly a certain historical survey of the development of Biblical revelation. As an object lesson it may thus offer help for both personal and united Bible study, for individual or common study in Bible weeks, Bible circles or other instruction for the young, as well perhaps for continuation classes for such as in any way work practically in the preaching of the Word in their churches or fellowships. In occasional evangelistic or devotional sections, too, the text of the book makes it appeal also to the reader himself, summoning him either to lay hold of salvation or to give himself wholly to Christ. While setting great value upon learning, it is ever the real and chief end of all true exposition of Scripture that, as Luther said, “God’s word and the heart of man should become one thing.” The text that follows explains the Chart. It therefore constantly refers to it. At the end there is given special guidance as to how one should read the Chart. But it would be good to consider this Appendix before beginning to study the book. The book is constructed on the supposition that the reading of the text will be accompanied by constant reference to the accompanying Chart, which we hope will render it materially easier to be understood and will quickly impart the desired general survey. A detailed setting forth of the history of salvation is not in view in this book. For a closer study of the whole subject reference will be often made to the two larger books of the Author:TheDawnofWorldRedemption which goes through the Old Testament history of salvation, and TheTriumphoftheCrucified which surveys the New Testament history of salvation, but, in spite of numerous correspondences and similarities in its contents, it is in its whole plan and structure otherwise laid out as the Table of Contents will at once show. So now we send forth this simple work. Our prayer is that the Lord will use it to the awakening of true love to Holy Scripture, to advancement and ease in understanding it, to deepening of living insight into the historical unity of the Bible. May it be a contribution to growth in the perception of the ways of God in salvation, in their variety, unity, and consummating purpose:and above all may it serve the end that God’s eternal counsel of love may be more clearly perceived and Scripturally testified, to the glory of the great God Himself, Who has made Himself known to us in Christ.
Erich Sauer