History of the Work of Redemption

The title is a work by Jonathan Edwards, a collection of 30 sermons, that trace God's redemptive plan throughout the course of the Bible and throughout the history of time. When describing the hermeneutical assumptions that Edwards based his work on, Dr. John Hannah states:

"A significant assumption for Edwards in the work is the providence of God is historiography. History, sacred and secular, is a stage upon which a divine redemptive discourse is played. According to Edwards, the generations of mankind on earth did not begin until the Fall and they will continue to the end of the world; the procession of mankind is thus bound by a beginning in the Fall and by an end in the Day of Judgment. Between these two events God is outworking a redemptive drama on the stage of creation. History cannot be understood, according to Edwards, in terms of individuals alone; there is something larger to contend with (nations, societies, churches). History cannot be the story of individuals because that would involve repetition, not progress. Progress is central, but its significance is not progress-for-progress sake (a materialist view); it is a divine act of self-glorification."

I mention this because of an earlier posting on this blog entitled "An End to the Means." In that post I mentioned how progress is not just for progress' sake. We don't advance our technology, our economy, our society simply to be more advanced. But rather, progress, in any area of history, is ultimately working toward a decided end goal: the return of Christ in glory.

I just thought this served as a good reminder of that fact, coming from much smarter men than me.