An Open and Relational Eschatology

By Lon Marshall

An amipotent new creation is one of peace and love.

I grew up in the last half century. You might call me Mr. Mid-Century-Modern. You think end times theology is crazy now? I lived through books like Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth, and B movies like, A Thief in the Night, A Distant Thunder, and Image of the Beast. I worried that world leaders were not reading these books and seeing these movies, and our world was therefore on a runaway train.

These movies were being shown at my church on Sunday nights and left me terrified, traumatized. I had nightmares. Many times I had the experience that I couldn’t find my family in the house fearing that the rapture had happened, and I had been left behind.

This end time theology can be traced back to a movement that began in the 1830’s under a man named John Nelson Darby. The idea of omnipotence is central to his belief; there must be an all-powerful God who carefully controls every aspect of the unfolding events. A God who unilaterally, snatches some humans away in an escapist fashion to another spiritual realm to avoid the coming tribulation on earth, leaving others to perish. There is a lot of violence and judgment that must take place in this view. This omnipotent God will decide the fate of every human in history on the basis of retributive justice. The narrative includes the genocide of every nation and peoples standing in the way of Jew’s living solely in the original promised land of the Old Testament, and the literal restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem.

I want to propose a more compelling narrative, however, a more palatable version which is not seen through an omnipotent lens based on punishment, and fear. This fresh narrative is developed through the work of Thomas Jay Oord who redefines God’s power and judgment through the lens of love. Ultimately the Christian narrative then becomes one of restorative justice.

When I think of open and relational theology, the focus shifts from the ideas of ‘‘last things’’ to fresh ideas of ‘new creations’ and ‘new beginnings’ as spoken about by Jurgen Moltmann when he declares ‘‘It starts in the morning.’ In the gospel of John we read a wonderful story of Mary Magdalene seeing a gardener in the tomb garden, and we learn that this gardener is Jesus. It’s morning and we see Jesus in his resurrected, physical body. As a gardener he literally has dirt under his fingernails, symbolizing his deep connection with creation and humanity. The full, loving representation of God in Jesus has cooperated with creation to breathe life into and transform every atom of his first incarnated body establishing him to become the first fruits of the New Creation. Mary didn’t recognize Jesus at first, but when he called her by name, the depth of their relationship was acutely felt.

This New Creation will be like the first, in that it is physical. It happens here on Earth, not in a distant spiritual reality. Scripture tells us all things are inherently good and destined for reconciliation. Heaven and earth will be joined. In fact, this transformation has already begun. Christ’s resurrected, new body was physical and was the beginning of the New Creation. John’s depiction of a new body walking in a garden is a message to us all; the new creation is here!. So let’s take action!!

In The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence Oord coins the term amipotence to describe the nature of God, meaning that God’s nature is essentially loving and therefore not coercive or controlling. God cannot do anything single handedly. God needs our help to make the creation new. Divine collaboration. This is why it is so imperative that we love our neighbors and our enemies, that we work to save our planet. We are co-creators with God. NT Wright, in his book, Surprised by Hope uses the metaphor of a Cathedral. All of the workers are brought in to do their part. Carpenters, brick layers, interior designers. Only after it is complete can we see the whole picture. The Bible tells us that in this collective effort nothing we do is in vain. God is using it all for good.

An open and relational eschatology is a story about transformation instead of punishment. Omnipotence breeds a fear of punishment but amipotence offers a more hopeful narrative. Everything is reconciled. All is made new. Evil melts away and the gold remains, the good. This is restorative justice. It serves as a loving alternative to retributive justice. Retributive justice concentrates on punitive measures for broken laws. Restorative justice seeks to heal the victim, the perpetrator and the community around them. The key distinction here is compassion.

How does open and relational theology explain the emergence of a new way of being? If we stay true to open and relational principles this transformation will be a collaborative effort initiated and inspired by humanity and all of creation. It will build upon existing resources as it seeks to embody the essence of the new order; the kin-dom and the beloved community. Scripture tells us that creation is already groaning and yearning for this change.

Is Christ coming back? Absolutely! But not as an omnipotent, controlling, wrathful, punishing, magician. He is returning when the time is right for the transformation, and emergence of the new world. Our job is to follow his teachings of love, to prime every atom in our being and those throughout creation, preparing ourselves to take that leap with him when the time is right.

As I was growing up, there was a strong interest in biblical stories which focused on the end times. Studies in the book of Revelation and stories concerning the rapture were of great interest by parishioners in my childhood church. And I’ve lived through many predictions of Christ’s second coming, sometimes with fear and trepidation. However I now realize that scripture interpretation and the field of hermeneutics is important when we are looking at a credible eschatology.

Reading scripture through the lens of an omnipotent God, where scripture is virtually dictated and recorded word for word, leads to a simplistic understanding of the biblical narrative. We must remember that we are interpreting 2,000-year-old poetical allegories in a language that is no longer spoken. If we interpret the text through a lens of redemptive violence, portraying Christ as a strong warrior rather than a slain lamb, are we not in danger of betraying the true nature of the Prince of Peace?

An alternative is an hermeneutics of amipotence, which is open and relational and does not control the authors of the biblical library. It assumes these writers have views of God which may not be accurate: that they have unique language, culture, and history which will affect their writing, and that there are inconsistencies throughout the 66 books of this library. An hermeneutic of amipotence can trace the thread of God’s love and mercy for all of creation, connecting the metanarrative from beginning to end. All this is accomplished without control, but with persuasion, cooperation and a genuine concern for the well-being of all.

It is important to highlight that biblical perspectives rooted in ideas of omnipotence, dispensationalism, and rapture see the world as getting progressively worse; morality is deteriorating, evil is increasing, the planet itself is not important. Everything will be burned up when God destroys material things and only the true believers will go to a spiritual heaven. In contrast, an amipotent, restorative vision holds that a new heaven and a new earth will be formed of the existing physical materials of the original creation. Indeed this view holds that it has already started, and we are being called to join in the creative project. Things are getting better. Peace is increasing, kindness is more prevalent. This latter view upholds compassion for all.

The last of the last things is an ongoing thing. Since amipotence is essentially about love, and all of creation engages willingly, those who can choose love will always have that option. There is no omnipotent exclusion or inclusion. Anyone with a will can choose freely to be with love in the new created for eternity.

In summary, an open and relational eschatology envisions a new creation that will restore everything using the physical materials that already exist. Not an atom will be wasted. This will happen with the cooperation of humans and all of God’s creation. It will be non-violent and restorative in nature. It may take time for this transformation to happen. In the meantime, we can be living into the new order as if it has come, because it has begun in Christ’s resurrection. Things are already getting better. God’s power is amipotent, meaning that it is essentially loving rather than coercive or controlling. Amipotence encourages us to thoughtfully engage with scripture, embracing the non-violent and cooperative principles of an open and relational theology, whilst remaining attentive to the continual thread of love and mercy woven throughout the scriptures. And in the end, all will be able to choose love, anytime.

Bio: Lon Marshall is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist. He is the architect and founder of Cornerstone Brief Therapy in Coralville Iowa. His caring methods have been recognized for their ability to bring about positive change for nearly 30 years. He has a Masters in Counseling Psychology from the University of Missouri at Kansas City. He also is a peacemaker with his Mennonite Church USA conference Conflict Transformation team.

OORD’S DRABBLE* RESPONSE

Lon Marshall explores eschatology, focusing not on punishment but on new beginnings and creation. He emphasizes transformation over retribution, highlighting our partnership with God in bringing restoration. This vision invites us to join the God who comes to us moment by moment. Understanding divine action this way reshapes how we view the end. A theology grounded in amipotence offers hope rooted in love’s gentle power. As creation cooperates with God’s ongoing work, restoration becomes central. The ultimate hope is that, through the persuasive power of amipotence, all will freely choose love, and healing will replace harm in the final fulfillment.

For more on Oord’s view of creation care, see this article.

* A drabble is an essay exactly 100 words in length.