Final Thoughts

 Each of these theories seem right in some ways and wrong in others. Just like trying to flatten a geography of a glob onto a flat map, our attempts to explain the atonement are bound to introduce distortions. Reality is always more complex than our models can capture. Changing the medium always distorts the message. The best strategy is the same one the early church took with the Gospels. Don't put one over the other. Reflect on each of them if you want to give due respect to the reality that inspired each of them.

I've been having my own thoughts about the atonement. I'm beginning to see the crucifixion of Jesus as something more than God intervening at a certain point in history. I'm beginning to see it as the expression of an eternal truth. God's timeless willingness to forgive humanity. 

Revelation 13:8 refers to Christ as "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." When Jesus died on the cross, it wasn't a stand alone event.  It was the visible expression of the very first sin committed by Adam and every sin afterward. 

This means that reconciliation with God was always possible, even before Jesus walked the earth. Take Abraham, for example. He was justified through faith in God's promises, which ultimately pointed to Christ, even if he didn't know Him by name. Jesus said in John 8:56, "Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad." This implies that the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation wasn't limited to a specific time or people but has always been available to those who turn toward God.

I believe that repentance is the narrow gate Jesus talked about—a conscious decision to turn back to God. In Matthew 7:13–14, He says, "Enter through the narrow gate... small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." This narrow gate isn't about adhering to strict doctrines or rituals; it's about the humility to recognize our need for God and to seek His forgiveness. The broad road leading to destruction represents unrepentance—a stubborn refusal to acknowledge our shortcomings and our need for divine grace.

When Jesus declares, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6), I don't see this as excluding those who lived before Him or who haven't heard His name. Instead, I understand it as affirming that He is the universal mediator between God and humanity. His work on the cross transcends time and space, reaching all who respond to God's grace, even if they don't fully grasp the Gospel in explicit terms.

I like to think of Israel as the womb from which, in the fullness of time, the Messiah was born into the world. Galatians 4:4 tells us, "But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman." God's plan was nurtured through the history of Israel until humanity was ready to receive it. The "fullness of time" wasn't just a date marked on a calendar but the moment when we were spiritually prepared to understand and embrace His offer of reconciliation.

In the end, our theories and models are like maps—they help us navigate and make sense of the terrain, but they aren't the terrain itself. As Alfred Korzybski said, "The map is not the territory." The atonement is a divine mystery rooted in God's eternal love and His desire to reconcile with His creation. While our attempts to explain it can provide valuable insights, they will always fall short of capturing its full depth and breadth.

Ultimately, it's not our maps or theories that save us; it's the actual saving work of Jesus—the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. It's an offer that's always been on the table, awaiting our response.