THE CHRISTIAN AFRIKANERS - The Works of F. N. Lee

(Ephesians 6 and Matthew 20); the structure of the covenant, with it covenantal obligations(Genesis 17); the structure of the state with its legislation (Romans 13)."Further, the life of man exhibits an involved intertwinement of structure to which man must giveimplicit obedience." This is the development, you see, of Heyns's "theology of obedience" -- as hecalls it.Then Heyns expresses the following intriguing thoughts about the covenant of works with Adambefore the fall: "Adam was created in the image of God and was called good by God Himself.However, this does not imply that Adam at that time had already received everything which Godintended to give to him and to his descendants. Their task of being fruitful and multiplying and ofexercising culture, by subjugating and controlling nature, had hardly begun. Men themselves werestill capable not only of not sinning, but also capable of sinning and dying."Everlasting life, in its completion, had not yet been given to sinless man. This is something thatman would receive later from God. And he would receive it in a particular way, namely, by way ofobedience. Man himself would then also have acted as a fellow-worker of God -- by way of God'sprovidence. He would have been a fellow-worker, because it was a covenant of works. He wouldhave been a fellow-worker of God, because it was a covenant of works." Lee: Adam's everlastinglife was then losable.Heyns then tells us: "Prophetically, man knew and professed God. As a priest, man could dedicatehimself as a thank-offering to the Lord and to his neighbour. And royally as a king, man couldsubjugate the earth and rule over it and live everlastingly with God."Coming now to Heyns's eschatology of this "theology of obedience" -- he makes a very intriguingdistinction between what he calls futurology and eschatology. "Futurology," says Heyns, "is nevercertain. It is man's planning about what man intends to do. Futurology remains a study inside of thespan of time of the human work-week. Within the perspective of the six days of human labour, manplans to do this and that tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. That's futurology."Eschatology, on the other hand, deals with God's labour at the evening of His great seventh day --when He will bring the results of all human labour, even of man's futurological speculations, andchange them into a thoroughly liveable world of the future which begins in the morning of thefollowing day: the everlasting day of rest for God, and for man, and the world."This book of Heyns appeared this year (1980). In reading it recently, I thought to myself: "That'swhat I said in my own Doctoral Dissertation that I wrote in 1966" Suddenly I remembered thatHeyns had been my co-examiner. So it is possible that he picked this up from me. On the otherhand, it is possible we both picked it up from the Bible. But I think Heyns said it better in 1980than I said it in my 1966 dissertation -- except for the unfallen Adam's everlasting life.Heyns then deals with what he calls "universal eschatology." He says: "Universal eschatologyconcerns the emergence of the new humanity throughout the earth and down through all of theages. A consummation of the ages, indeed, touches the entire cosmic reality." Then he tells us: "Inthat measure in which man directs his eye to the coming future, as man discovers that he alreadyhas something of the future in the present -- to that degree man will begin to see the need of theworld all around him. And man will then, in the Name of Christ, give food to the hungry and waterto the thirsty, clothing to the naked, law and righteousness to the oppressed -- and to all (F.N. Lee)."Just as man looks forward with expectation into the future, so shall man's own present activities be