My second article, written for the New Christendom Journal.

Alexander the Great died in the year 323 BC, Cleopatra in 30 BC. — both were struck by the same hand. But that is not what we are usually taught. The textbook view of history is very different.

Whether the subject is history, math, or science, teachers present truth as an “objective” statement of fact. As one writer puts it, “History is an account of things that actually happened.”

We are taught that in order to learn history we must commit names, places, dates, and events to memory. If we have the time and the inclination, we should perhaps dig a bit deeper: analyze the cultural, linguistic, economic, philosophical, and emotional backgrounds of major historical characters in order to understand the motives behind the actions that have molded history as we know it. We can trace the rise and fall of dynasties and kingdoms, the currents of politics and philosophy, the effects of economics, trade, and even weather upon various cultures. If we somehow manage to digest all that, we think we have grasped the objective facts and are now equipped to explain history.

Textbooks give the impression that there is a separate plane of reality where facts exist in themselves, self-sufficient truths, innumerable points floating in a vacuum waiting to be memorized and connected by objective logical reasoning. Christian textbooks are not immune to this tendency.

When a person has covered the points deemed necessary by the board of education, he is considered an “educated” man. He has learned the alphabet, 2 + 2 = 4, the multiplication tables, the periodic table, the dates of world history, and maybe (if he were taught with a Christian curriculum) the books of the Bible, the Ten Commandments (abridged version, of course), even some creeds and catechisms.

This is simply the wrong approach. Facts do not exist in an impersonal, objective, odourless, colourless, emotionless vacuum. They cannot, because all so-called facts, whether mathematic, scientific, or historic, have existed from eternity past in the mind of God, predestined by the Tri-Personal One. As such, objective facts do not exist in themselves on a pure, pulseless plane. They can only “be” in relation to the One who planned them. Pure objectivity exists only in the mind of God.

When viewed from God’s perspective, history is not an endless litany of names and numbers but the unfolding of a plan in which each person holds an eternal significance and purpose. History is a story of love: the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for each other and the love of God for man.

Instead of teaching students bare facts, divorced from the Tri-Personal One who conceived them before the beginning of time, we must teach them how to think from a Trinitarian perspective. However, we cannot enter the mind of God or see things precisely from His perspective. Our feeble, finite minds cannot fathom the mind of our infinite God. But as creatures created in His image, we can understand Him to a certain degree and we can see the Trinitarian flow of history He has revealed in His Word. It is our duty to “think His thoughts after Him” and teach our children to think three dimensionally about our diverse universe.

Not only should we ask, “What happened?” and “How did it happen?”, we must also ask, “What did God do?” and “Why did He do it?”

Regardless of eschatological position, Christians believe the Bible tells of the beginning and end of time. History fills in the blanks as it unrolls. Contrary to the non-Christian view that history is grounded in the past, Christians must see history as flowing from the future, through the present, to the past. Therefore, all things must be understood in terms of the end. We only understand the beginning of a story when we reach the end.

Never does yesterday turn back in its flight and become to-day, or to-day become to-morrow. Never does the past pass into the present, or the present into the future. No. It is the other way. To-morrow becomes to-day. To-day becomes yesterday. The future becomes the present. The present becomes the past. The present is the narrow strait, is the living instant, it is the flashing reality, through which the vast oncoming future flows into the endless receding past….

The Future is logically first, but not chronologically….

(Rousas J. Rushdoony, The One and the Many, p. 145, quoting from Nathan R. Wood, The Secret of the Universe, pp. 43-45)

So what about Alexander and Cleopatra?

We could say that Alexander the Great conquered more than anyone else before him because he was a military genius, or because he had an inferiority complex and wanted to outdo his father, or maybe both. We could say that he died from overdrinking, or if you prefer the other version, that he was poisoned. But that’s not enough. In the “real” picture, the Invisible Hand can be clearly seen: God used Alexander the Great to spread the Greek language so that the missionaries of the New Testament would be able to spread the Gospel more easily. He struck Alexander down when his purpose in history was fulfilled, as Daniel prophesied in the third year of Belshazzar (Daniel 8), over two hundred years before the event.

We could say that Cleopatra lost the Battle of Actium because Octavian’s general, Agrippa, was better than her general, Mark Antony. But I have yet to see any historian suggest that God destroyed Cleopatra because she wanted to establish a hybrid Greco-Egyptian religion with herself as god. She did not tolerate other religions. In her consuming passion to rebuild the Ptolemaic empire, she wanted to reacquire the land of Israel. It is said she even wanted to annihilate the Jews. So God struck her down, just three decades before the birth of Christ, using Octavian to pave the way for the Pax Romana, which enabled the rapid spread of the Gospel.

There are so many blanks to fill it seems an overwhelmingly daunting task at times, especially as we must rethink our approach to history. Viewing history as unfolding according to a perfect plan, we come to a better understanding of that plan, and the blanks become easier to fill.

But knowing history is not merely filling in blanks. Those who understand history work for the future.

God created the heavens and formed the earth to manifest His glory. As His people, it is our duty to glorify Him, to make history happen as He planned it. He knows every hair on every head. He has known every name, every place, and every event from eternity past. Some are more important than others, but each has its own place and purpose in His plan. God is the author of history and reveals Himself through it. When we seek Him, we ought to look at history as what He has brought to pass.

Christ, the King of Kings, reigns from on high at the right hand of the Father. The Holy Spirit dwells in us and guides us. The LORD has sworn to us that one day, every knee will bow before Him. With that in mind, we can fulfill our own roles in history with joy and confidence.