That some men are destined to destruction is seen in 1QH
II, 23-24 where the Psalmist expressly declares that the judgment of the wicked
is an occasion for glory to God. In even stronger terms XV, 17 reminds us that
God "didst create the wicked into [the periods of] Thy wra[th] and from
the womb Thou didst set them apart for the day of slaughter .... " But the
next line, to which we shall have later occasion to return, hastens to point
out that the reason for this is that the wicked have not walked in a way
pleasing to God. Ringgren feels that this idea is inconsistent with the Qumran
teaching as a whole, though we feel it
can be and is reconciled within the sectarian theology in general. (Eugene H.
Merrill, Qumran and Predestination: A Theological Study of the Thanksgiving Hymns
[Leiden: Brill, 1975], 42)
Salvation, like creation, was Divinely initiated and was
strictly on the basis of God's gracious act of predestination. This did not
obviate the need for repentance, atonement, and forgiveness, however, for all
men were evil from the womb and have a certain responsibility to achieve a
right posture before God. In other words, there is room for free will within
the predestinarian framework. This is the real dilemma in Qumranian thought:
how could God foreknow and foreordain the destinies of all men and yet allow
then the privilege and responsibility of deciding for or against Him?
There are two aspects from which this question and its
solution may be viewed. First, God had raised up the Teacher to continue His
covenant relationship with His Chosen People, but now, in apocalyptic times,
the chosen were not all of Israel. Only the Elect, the "remnant,"
were able to come to terms with God. Secondly, they came as they recognized the
authority of the Teacher who imparted to them revelation concerning God's
redemptive plan. When given an understanding of such knowledge men would
voluntarily come to the Community of faith and covenant themselves to God's
Kingdom. But that some men should be given such knowledge while others had it
withheld from them was mystery locked up in the inscrutable plan of God.
After entering the Covenant family, the sectarian must
maintain a life of constant fidelity to covenant principles. He must revere the
Teacher, resist the evil spirit, and love and serve God. All of the ability to
do this was a gift given him by a gracious Lord. If faithful, he had the
prospect of an entrance into the world of eternal spirits where he would enjoy
everlasting felicity. If he died before the New Age commenced he nevertheless
would be resurrected to partake in it with all the other Elect of the ages. The
wicked, though perhaps enjoying this present life to some degree, would
ultimately be annihilated and would never again appear. (Ibid., 57-58)
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