Beatific vision in the Reformed Tradition

What is it about?

The beatific vision is a subject of considerable importance both in the Christian Scriptures and in the history of Christian dogmatics. In it, humans experience and see the perfect immaterial God, which represents the final end for the saints. However, this doctrine has received less attention in the contemporary theological literature, arguably, due in part to the growing trend toward materialism and the sole emphasis on bodily resurrection in Reformed eschatology. As a piece of retrieval by drawing from the Scriptures, Medieval Christianity, and Reformed Christianity, we motivate a case for the Reformed emphasis on the immaterial and intellectual aspects of human personal eschatology and offer some constructive thoughts on how to link it to the contemporary emphasis of the body. We draw a link between the soul and the body in the vision with the help of Christology as reflected in the theology of John Calvin, and, to a greater extent, the theology of both John Owen and Jonathan Edwards.

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Why is it important?

In the present article, the authors are touching on an undeveloped and often unpopular doctrine in the contemporary setting. However, as part of the background motivation, the authors believe the beatific vision to be an important doctrine that touches on the nature of salvation and sanctification. As such, the present project is an attempt at revitalizing the doctrine by drawing from several important Reformed theological sources. Additionally, it contributes to the broader discussion on materialism and substance dualism. The authors are convinced that the present dialectic in favor of materialism has and continues to have negative effect on contemporary theology.

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