A biblical framework is essential to a Christian education. We will enter this conversation with consideration of the Biblical eras of human history. In this post, I will identify four distinctive and sometimes overlapping eras that we can identify through scripture – each marked by a specific action or event – and each with a unique expression or reality for all humanity. These eras may be labeled differently elsewhere, but for the sake of discussion, we will identify them as: Creation, The Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. (Please note that I am not a theologian and the following description is neither infallible nor fully complete – it is just a layman scholar’s interpretation of Biblical history.)
The Creation Era was a most glorious time, in the beginning, when God spoke and everything was formed, and He saw that it was good (see Genesis 1:1-25). Mankind was the pinnacle of all He created – made in the image and likeness of God to have fellowship and partnership in the glory of all creation (Genesis 1:26-31). Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day and lived in peaceful harmony in the Garden of Eden. The idyllic perfection of the Creation era lasted only two-chapters in Genesis, and in chapter three we experienced the Fall. (Genesis 1:1-31; Psalm 33:6; Psalm 139:13-14; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16; Hebrews 11:3)
The Fall Era was launched when the serpent beguiled the couple who partook of the forbidden fruit. Separation and broken fellowship – feeling naked and ashamed – were the immediate consequences of sin. Paradise was lost and sickness, struggle, sorrow, pain, and death marred every facet of creation. The lingering effects of the fall are still being felt today. Original sin affects every person. Redemption became the overarching mission of the Godhead – and the pattern He demonstrated through the rest of the Old Testament scripture. (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 5:12-21; Romans 8:18-25; I Corinthians 15:21-22)
The Redemption Era began with the promise in Genesis 3:15 that the seed of the woman would ultimately crush the head of the serpent. In His first act of redemption, God clothed Adam and Eve, covering their shame, even before driving them from the Garden. The bulk of the Old Testament is a story of redemption – of God’s merciful goodness at work for His people – seeking restored fellowship and communion once more. This is a perilous story that culminated in the fullness of time when Love moved Heaven to send Jesus to die to pay the penalty for sin for all people and all time. His sinless sacrifice – the cross, the grave, and the empty tomb – changed the course of human history forever. He offered a way to overcome the fall and to renew perfect fellowship with the Father, ushering in the Restoration Era. (Genesis 3:14-24; Psalm 111:1-10; Psalm 130:1-8; John 3:16-17; Hebrews 9:11-28; I Peter 1:18-20)
The Restoration Era is both presently possible and yet only to be fully realized in a future time when the Kingdom is fully restored with a new Heaven and new earth and glorified bodies gathered around the Throne. There is much that could be said about this era – both present and future – but suffice it to say that redemption through the Son is the only way to experience this Glory. (Romans 3:19-21; I Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 2:1-10; Revelation 7:9-10; Revelation 21:1-5)
The reality today is that we are created beings, made in His image, living in a world both marred by the fall and graced by the cross. The tension of these realities sets the stage for a Biblical understanding of life in our modern world, and is the catalyst for a philosophy of Christian education.
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