Origen (ca. 185 - ca. 254)

by Larry V. Crutchfield

    Alexandrian theologian Origen (ca. 185-ca. 254) was the first church leader of stature to challenge the premillennial orthodoxy of the early church. Completely dedicated to the allegorical method of interpretation like his mentor, Clement of Alexandria, Origen spiritualized virtually every Christian doctrine. Under Origen's influence, the blessed hope of the Christian apologists-belief in Christ's imminent return to establish His kingdom began to yield to the spiritual hermeneutics of Alexandria.

   Origen maintained a theoretical three level understanding of the meaning of Scripture: the literal, typological, and spiritual that supposedly corresponded to the threefold human nature-body, soul, and spirit. In practice, however, he most frequently made a distinction between the literal and the spiritual method of interpretation of Scripture (e.g., De prine. 1.3.3). The literal method, which Origen considered crude and unreliable, was allowed to the weak of intellect, the mass of Christians in general. The spiritual method, extolled by Origen, was reserved for a few like himself "on whom the grace of the Holy Spirit is bestowed in the word of wisdom and knowledge" (De prine:. Preface, para. 8).

   Origen's method of exegesis was so subjective that it allowed for an almost infinite number of symbolic meanings and interpretations of the biblical text, most of which bore little resemblance to the plain meaning of the words. Mystical theological speculation was typical of Origen's eschatology. For example, according to his doctrine of the apokatastasis (restoration of everything in the universe to its original, spiritual, primeval state), there will be no hell or eternal punishment. Rather, the Logos will purify every living being, presumably even demons and Satan himself. Then Christ can return and raise all people, but in spiritual bodies only (De prine. 1.6.1¬3; 3.4-6).

   As for the meaning of the Second Coming, Origen explained away the gospel references to a literal, visible return of Christ and substituted a completely spiritualized interpretation (De prine. 2.11.2). In essence, Origen taught that Christ's return signifies His disclosure of Himself and His deity to all humanity in such a way that all might partake of His glory to the degree that each individual's actions warrant (Comm. On Matt. 12.30). In effect, Origen took the catalytic event of the prophetic calendar and reduced it to a kind of general, mystical encounter with Christ.