Adam, the first human being, received a “call”—in fact it was this call that brought him into existence as other than the rest of creation97—to lead not only humanity but the whole of creation to a “blessed end,” which would include the abolition of evil, corruption, and death, to a state of participation in the bliss and the glory of God himself—to theosis. This was put before Adam as a future, an eschatological destination which would have to pass through time and history, that is, through the exercise of human freedom. The human being was created as a forward-looking creature; eschatology
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