Term
| 1. Be able to explain how the themes of creation, the nature of evil, and the plan of redemption provide the foundation for eschatology (N.T. Wright). |
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Definition
They show us that the story of the world is just that – a story. God’s plan for the world is a complete story-arch and the end is not unconnected from the beginning. Creation and the origin of evil which lead into God’s plan of redemption are the beginning of the story that God is writing for the earth. Therefore, the end will follow from the beginning. They are the foundation for eschatology.
Already, not yet. The recreation that will be fuller than it is now. How does creation relate to eschatology?
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth good. There was telling of the fall in |
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Term
| 2. Use Ephesians 5:22-33 as a way of explaining the connections between creation, sanctification, and eschatology. |
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Definition
Sanctification is growing up into the image of Christ, into His Bride, “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” Sanctification is a growing up – a moving towards something that isn’t yet. It is future. It is eschatological. In a husband and a wife at the beginning, we get a picture of God’s purpose for all of creation. God is writing a story in creation and the beginning is never separate from the end. In Creation, we get a picture of the trajectory of the history of the whole world.
Christ coming in the middle of history – He reclaimed His bride.
Sanctification – Christ is growing us up. He is over us this whole time to be redeeming us for the marriage. The Spirit of God. He is redeeming us as we go.
Bridal theology. |
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Term
| I Cor. 15 Seedtime & Harvest |
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Definition
Firstfruits: tithing; Israel would be tempted to forget that the Land is the Lord’s and was given to them. Feast of First-fruits = Pentecost. Christ is the first-fruits of the resurrection (Eph. 1:11-14) Christ first, then those who are His at His coming. Re-birth in Christ is cataclysmic – we don’t just cruise into the eschaton. It will be as cataclysmic as Christ’s own resurrection was.
The offering of the firstfruits signify – Jesus is the firstfruits. Everything will be brought back from the dead. |
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Term
| Eph. 1:13-14 The Victorious Battle |
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Definition
There are many enemies that are progressively defeated and the last one shall be death. Separation shall be undone. Christ’s resurrection means that ll of His enemies will be put under His feet. And then Death will be destroyed. He’s defeated them all, decisively, in His death and resurrection.
Kingship – Christ is a King like Solomon, He is a King of Peace. Royal Adamic theology – that Adam was created to rule over creation with strength in peace. The Bible doesn’t say that Jesus sort of wins. We are confident, not because we are such wonderful people, but because Christ rose from the dead. Christ is coming not just to save men’s souls, but to rule over this creation as Adam was meant to. God will be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28) Future orientation. The Gospel doesn’t have an eschatology appended to it; it is an eschatological Gospel.
Subduing all enemies; Christ is a conquering King and all things will be put under His feet. (Death, be not proud! All enemies subdued.) |
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Term
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Definition
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Term
| Phil. 3:20-12 Citizens of Heaven Colonizing the Earth |
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Definition
| Phil. 3:17-21 We are outposts of heaven. It’s not as if we are citizens of a heaven OUT THERE and we are pilgrims in a foreign land. We are bringing heaven TO earth, colonizing the earth. Ephesians 1:15-23 (esp. vs. 18). It needs to get in our bones – this is about us, now. This is what it means to be a Christian – this is the kind of power that is working in us. This is our hope, this is the inheritance that is ours. When this gets a hold of us, everything we do is transformed, it is set within the narrative of this power. The battle is here in what we do and the testimony that we’re showing to the world. Embassy-style evangelism. You must embody the country you are representing. When you walk into a Christian home, it should feel like you’re walking into a place ruled by a different king. The Gospel is a claim about reality. It’s about upending your old life. We should have a confidence in the power of the message we are presenting. It’s not about us. Become His vessel. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Greatness of the Power |
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Term
| The New Birth – Rom. 8:18-25 |
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Definition
Continuity & discontinuity – new and yet familiar.
The Marriage of Heaven and Earth – Rev. 21 The Bride comes down to fulfill Genesis 1. We don’t all go up; heaven comes down to earth. Heaven and earth were made for each other like male and female. |
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Term
| Premillennial (post-trib/pre-trib) |
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Definition
| Futurism; The eschatalogical view that the prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. Christ will come at the end of history and then He will reign. |
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Term
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Definition
| The eschatalogicall view that the millennium is symbolic, not a literal 1000 years. Christ’s reign is a spiritual reign and the church on earth reigns with Christ in heaven. Things get worse and worse until the 2nd coming when He comes back and sets things right. Spiritual reign. |
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Term
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Definition
| The eschatalogical view that Christ's reign begins at His ascension; 2nd coming after the fulfilled millennium. The Gospel has real impact on the world. |
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Definition
| When the prophecies were written, they were future to their audience. These prophecies do not refer to the end of the world but rather to the end of that age (the reign of the principalities and powers- Nebuchadnezzar’s dream 4 kingdoms/huge statue taken down by the rock that is Christ. The rock then grows to a mountain that fills the earth and is a kingdom that will never end.). |
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Term
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Definition
| All the prophecies have already been fulfilled. We now live in the new heavens and earth. Therefore, eat, drink, and be merry; everything is perfectly fine. We disagree with the creeds and are heretics. |
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Term
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Definition
| All the prophecies have yet to be fulfilled. We believe in the Rapture and tend to believe that the world will go up in a mushroom cloud of smoke and flames |
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Term
| Why is the covenant essential to understanding the promise of judgment in prophecy? |
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Definition
a. 1 Sam. 2:12-17 – Eli’s sons are sinning as they receive the offerings – I think they’re taking the fat “which belongs to the Lord”.
b. 1 Sam. 4:22 – The ark has been taken, Hophni and Phineas are dead. Phineas’ wife dies in childbirth. She names the child Ichabod, because the glory has departed from Israel. The priests are all dead and the ark has been taken by the Philistines.
c. Deut. 28:58-68 - Context: Moses is saying all the curses and the things that will happen if the Israelites don’t hear/obey God’s command. Cannibalism (oh, Michael), husband against wife, mother against child. Verses – plague, sickness, enmity. Just as God rejoiced to multiply, unite, require the servitude/wifehood of the Israelites, so He will rejoice to destroy them, scatter them, turn them into a remnant, and make them serve other gods. He will put them back into captivity/bondage/Egypt. They will long for night when it is morning, they will long for morning when it is night. Total and complete unrest. Nobody will even buy them as slaves.
d. Deut. 30:1-14 – “When this happens”, you will remember the God’s goodness and His love (prodigal), and He will come and rescue you from the wilderness. He will restore the land to you and prosper you. He will curse your enemies and prosper you for your fathers’ sakes if you listen to Him. “I will circumcise your hearts.” None of this is hidden from you, Israel; it is being delivered unto you right here and right now.
e. The covenant is at the center of eschatology; the Law has an eschatology built into it. Exile is not the end and it is not the condition that God will allow to stand. He promised to deliver His people and to change them and circumcise their hearts.
f. God will remain faithful and eventually bring His people out of exile. |
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Term
| Why is Israel’s idolatry likened to harlotry? Along this line, why is Daniel 9:24-27 significant? |
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Definition
a. Is. 3:13-26 – God will strip away all the ornaments, bangles, and perfumes that hide the rotting stench of Israel’s sin, leaving it uncovered and exposed. Israel will lament and mourn at the gate.
b. Is. 57:1-8 – Israel is committing adultery under every tree and on every hilltop and God is angry.
c. Jer. 2:20-22 – No matter how hard she tries, Israel cannot cleanse herself.
d. Jer. 29-3:5 -
e. Ezek. 23 – Parable of Two Sisters – (G version) (Aholah and Aholibah) Samaria (Aholah) was a harlot in the extreme and Aholibah (Jerusalem) followed after her ways and expanded on them. Even when she had (been) completely destroyed (herself), she was still painting herself up. God promises that she (Israel) will bear the sins of her idols.
f. Hosea 2:1-13. – Now that she is completely desolate/destroyed, plead with her that she would return to her husband. And she’ll follow her lovers, but they will not pay her any heed. Then she will remember her husband (Prodigal Son, anyone?) and will return to Me. After God has completely destroyed her for her adulteries, He will take her in lovingkindness and restore her to Him.
g. God has bound Israel to Himself in covenant. The severity of Israel’s idolatry is best described in terms of an adulterous wife and the lovingkindness of God is best described in terms of an extremely jealous husband.
The Messiah will come and build a New Jerusalem. At the same time, the covenant with Israel will be broken off because her abominations are so severe… God is divorcing Israel. |
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Term
| Explain how the parables of Jesus connect him to the ministry of the prophets (Matt. 13:10ff; Is. 6:9-13). |
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Definition
a. Matt. 13:10 -Christ is the perfect prophet; He spoke in parables that He might fulfill Isaiah and He will speak in parables which some will not understand. Is. 6:9-13)
b. He condemns the Jews for killing the ones they pretend to commemorate. Later on they assert this very thing—“His blood be on us and our children.” They are blind and “walk” right into it. |
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Term
| The Parable of the Two Sons: |
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Definition
i. The Jews = Son who promised obedience but who was disobedient.
ii. The Gentiles = Son who said he would not obey, but later repented and obeyed.
Matt. 21:28 |
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Term
| The Parable of the Faithful Servant, |
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Definition
i. Be prepared
ii. Serve the Lord faithfully, because we do not know the time of His return.
Matt. 24:45 |
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Term
| The Parable of the Vineyard |
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Definition
i. Just as the coloni in the story killed the lord’s messengers and finally the lord’s son, so have the Jews killed the prophets sent from the Father and likewise they kill the very Son of the Father.
21:33 |
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Term
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Definition
| i. False Orthodoxy. Just as the rich man has been given much and misunderstands, so the Jews have been given much (God’s revelation of Himself through the Scriptures and the prophets as well as God’s presence in their midst) and have misunderstood. d. Lk. 12:13 |
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Term
| The Parable of the Fig Tree |
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Definition
The lord comes to the servant and says, "Cut down this tree!" The man disagrees and asks that the lord wait a year to see if the tree had born fruit yet.
This parable is talking about how God patiently waits for Israel until the year.
Luke 13:6 |
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Term
| The Parable of the Prodigal Son. |
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Definition
i. The Prodigal Son (dead spontaneity) represents the Gentile nations who recognize the squalor of their sins and will return to the Father; The “Obedient” Son (dead orthodoxy) represents the Jews who pridefully presume that, by the righteousness of their own bootstraps, they deserve their inheritance.
ii. The Jews misunderstand grace. They believe it is earned and that God is just a tool they can use for their own ends.
Lk. 15:11 |
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Term
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Definition
| All of these refer to the 70 ad destruction of Jerusalem, the ending of the Old Covenant, and the Temple's destruction. |
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Term
| How are these Parable connected to Matt. 23 and 24? |
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Definition
a. Matt. 23 – The woes to the Pharisees. Jesus is doing the cleansing.
b. Matt 24 – THIS generation. Future to its audience.
c. These parables go back to the fulfillment of Isaiah where "they shall hear, but not understand." The Pharisees are shown the truth; truth stands before them, but they do not understand. They are hypocrites and do not understand, they do not perceive that Christ, the Son of God is standing before them.
d. Celestial destruction language always refers to the destruction of an age and empires/rulers being overthrown. This is symbolic language like in Ezekiel 32 (House for My Name, anybody?). |
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Term
| Explain how each of these passages are connected: |
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Definition
a. [Matt. 23:29-36 and Matt. 27:25]: Condemns the Pharisees for being like the ancestors of those who murdered the prophets. Then they bring it upon themselves in Matt. 27:25. (His blood be on us and our children!)
b. [Matt. 24:1-3, 15-16 and Matt. 23:38]: The Old Covenant’s destruction, Jerusalem Ending. Destruction of Jerusalem. Representitive of the OC being destroyed.
c. [Matt. 24:29-31 and Is. 13:10, 34:3-5, Ez. 32:7-8]: Rulers (principalities and powers) are being overthrown by Christ. All authority is being given to Christ. Stars falling…
d. [Matt. 24:34-35 and Lk. 21:32]: Generational time limit 40 years of the Destruction.
e. [Mat. 24:40-42 and Lk. 17:34-37]: Referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, one person will be taken another left behind. This is going to come over you.
f. All of these refer to the immediacy of the prophecies/judgments, i.e. that it's all coming fruition in 70 AD when the Romans (Eagles) descend on Jerusalem to destroy and desecrate the Temple. |
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Term
| And Mat. 17:10-13 and Mal. 4. |
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Definition
a. Matt – “Elijah (John the Baptist) has already come.” Mal.—“A day is coming when the proud will be burned up like stubble. Unto ye that fear the Lord, the Sun of righteousness will come with healing in His wings. You will tread down the wicked. Remember the law of Moses. After awhile, I will send Elijah before the great day of the Lord (destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70). And Elijah will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and vice versa lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” Silence until Matthew…
b. These two passages show that John the Baptist was the promised "new Elijah." Redemption won't occur until Elijah has come, but he already has come again as “the voice crying out in the desert to prepare the way”. He has come but the Jews rejected them. |
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Term
| 14. Explain the nature of the Christ’s kingdom by connecting I Cor. 15:20-28 with Mark 13:31-33 and Luke 17:20-21. |
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Definition
a. I Cor. 15:20-28 – God will be all in all
b. Mark 13:31-33 – unexpected; everyone taken by surprise.
c. Luke 17:20-21 – The Kingdom will won’t be visibly seen; the kingdom of God will be within is.
Christ's kingdom has already had its foundations laid down in His blood. The kingdom is growing on the earth, "already, not yet." God will eventually be all in all and all of Christ's enemies shall be placed under His feet. |
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Term
| Explain the Sign of the coming of the kingdom: |
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Definition
a. Matt. 24:30 – Son of Man coming on the clouds of glory.
b. Daniel 7:13-14 – the Ancient of days; never-ending Kingdom given to Christ.
c. How does I Cor. 15:20-28 fit into this?
Christ will subjugate all His enemies under His feet and stand before the ancient of days. The world shall be in dominion and the first fruits shall be raised up from the garden kingdom. The firstfruits are a sign that the rest of the harvest is coming. Enemies will be destroyed and this is the sign of His coming. (Already, not yet.)
Corinthians: He must reign until all things are put under His feet. When the last enemy is destroyed (death) Christ will give all authority back to the Father, that God may be in all. This ties into the end of all things, when the new heavens and the new earth will be made one and we enter into the Supper of the Lamb. |
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Term
| How do these verses relate? |
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Definition
a. 1 Cor. 2:6-7 – This is wisdom not of this world.
b. 1 Cor. 3:21-23 – The servant of the Lord is the Lord’s freeman. Grace sets us free.
c. Eph. 1:15-23 (cf. 1:3) – All authority has been given to Christ. Since we are His body and bride, we are made to reign with Him.
d. Mark 3:20-27 – No one can enter the house of the strong man to steal the spoils without first having bound the strong man.
e. John 12:31-32 – This is the judgment of the world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Me.
f. John 16:7-11 – I need to leave so that I can send the Comforter to you.
g. Rev. 1:4-6 – He has made us kings and priests to God because He has washed us with His own blood.
h. Col. 2:15-23 – Our hearts have been circumcised. The Old Covenant was a shadow of things to come. They have all been fulfilled, so there is no need to keep them any longer. Christ has spoiled the principalities and powers; He is the one reigning, not them. We are no longer to serve/worship the angels. (OT – We bowed and were not bade to arise. NT – we attempt to bow, and the angels tell us not to).
i. Heb. 2:5-9 – Christ was made “a little lower than the angels in His human form”. Now we are above the angels in Christ.
j. Heb. 2:14 – That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil.
k. Rev. 11:15 – The Kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our LORD. And of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.
l. The principalities and powers have all been overthrown and now Christ has all authority and dominion over them. |
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Term
| 17. Explain the theology of Ephesians 2&3. How does Paul explain the “mystery of the Gentiles”? Why is this important? |
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Definition
a. The Gentiles being grafted into the faith. The Jews rejected Christ, so He
b. The Gentiles should be fellow heirs. The mystery is that they are fellow heirs; they are of the same body. God planned this from the beginning.
The mystery is that the Gentiles have been grafted into the faith. That, though, they had neither the Scriptures nor the Prophets they came to be heirs of the kingdom. The birth of the New Israel. The Jewish people rejected Christ so He moved beyond them. We are the Gentiles; we have been grafted into faith. When the gospels speak of the gentiles it speaks of us. |
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Term
| 18. Be able to explain Mat. 23-24. What problems do these passages pose for Futurists? |
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Definition
| If there is nothing fulfilled then why does the Scripture discuss that these things shall happen in this generation. Zachariah |
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Term
| 19. Explain how eschatology is an extension of the theology of creation and redemption. |
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Definition
| Dominion. Garden. Bread, wine. Constantine to all the nations. The world is good and it is getting better. God made man in the garden to be perfected; he would continue to grow, and eschatology is the story of our growing into faith. We not only restore the garden, but make it better. |
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Term
| 20. Explain how dualism is central to Christianity (the kind Leithart is against). |
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Definition
| Dualism taints our view of creation. Christians today have become so suspicious of creation that they believe God will destroy it all someday. Also, focus has shifted from community to individual. It is the heart that matters, not the exteriors. Along with this comes a separation between sacred and secular that should not be their. Every facet of our life is to given to God, not parseled off. |
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Term
| 21. Be able to explain Israel’s plight and the Gospel’s solution. |
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Definition
| Israel is thrown into exile because of her unfaithfulness. But, the gospel promises restoration. She is not only restored through the outpouring of the blood, but also by the spread of the word. The sea will be made into land because the world will be disciples, the great comission. Take her into the wilderness and show her her need for God. Leithart – culmation of all things. invitation to the feast and the marriage. This is the finish of time. |
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Term
| 22. How do these passages set our expectations about the nature of Israel’s restoration?: |
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Definition
a. Is. 2:1-4, 9:6-7, 11-9-12, 66:18-23;
b. Ezek. 47:1-12 (see also Rev. 22:1-5);
c. Dan. 2:31-35, 44; 7:13-14, 26-27, Hosea 2:14-23;
d. Joel 2:18-29 (see Acts 2:17-21);
e. Micah 4:1-8 (See Matt. 21:12-16);
f. Amos 9:11-15; Zech. 9:9-10.
g. What themes do these passages have in common?
Overall these passages discuss the coming kingdom of God that shall be perfect and full of peace. Water shall pour from the city and trees of life shall spring up; the nations shall be healed; they shall be brought from exile and united to their husband. It shall restore the desert; there won’t be any more exile. There will be no place for desert. All the nations shall be blessed through God. And we shall all be heirs of God's kingdom, disciples of all nations and God will subjugate all enemies under His feet. |
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Term
| 23. Define the central similarities and differences of Modernity and Postmodernity |
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Definition
a. Modernity
i. Language – Language can be mapped with scientific precision. Rational thought? Language
ii. Knowledge – scientific v. inarticuable. Knowledge, not how, but that. How do you know something? The legacy of the Enlightenment is THAT you know something.
iii. Self – a thing that thinks. The stability of the mind, self, soul – an essence. The self isn’t a machine because it’s mental substance. Material reality is nothing but extension and motion. The self is a thinking substance… The most real thing about the self is through the mind. This is exactly the same thing that Descartes and modernity assumed. We are all the same nature. Everyone has the same mental apparatus. We all share the thinking self.
iv. Power –the nation state of king. The state of man enlarged. The state is actually man built on large scale. Utopia – If we can get everything arranged right…
b. Postmodernism
i. Language – deconstructionism – the idea to prescribe how music ought to be performed is wrong. The readings built up over time. Language is messy. Dumbledore is not gay. Revision is a cheap way of
1. It may be true that authors intended something, but often they fail. Coming through on intentions. You have a whole set of assumptions that you bring to any movie that you watch.
2. It means two different things to two different people. The work of literature doesn’t project meaning to you always, you project your beliefs.
3. Same work, different readers.
4. Work has integrity of its own. May or may not be intended.
5. Hermeneutics is done every day.
ii. Knowledge - Man’s knowledge is always contingent, not always …Man can never take off the rose-colored glasses. Our knowledge isn’t a godlike, omniscient floatiness.
iii. Self – the historically-conditioned self. Particulars. Cogito – Different than Descartes ego. Historically-conditioned person.
iv. Power – metanarratives. Universal …. Violence. Communism. All is subject to the One. Knowledge is power and = violence. People are gonna get killed in modernity. Communist Russia = utopia… |
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Term
| The Christian response to modernity and post modernity: |
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Definition
i. One of the great shortcomings – lionize one side or demonize the other.
1. Fight that comes when you put man at the center of everything. The foundational principal of this fight denies the existence of God. Like exchanging the blonde hooker for the brunette hooker… the problem is hookers!
2. Solomon’s wisdom is a resounding answer to both sides.
3. T
ii. The human self is the problem and is not the answer. Pride is never the place to begin philosophizing. Humility
1. Humility and the not yet. Biblical dominion is rooted in humility. All that we have is given to us. There is no utopia possible. Humility is essential. Your finitude isn’t a terrifying thing because the secret things belong to Him. The one who knows all things will heal you. Be humble and submissive to the Lord
2. Hope and the already . All interpretations will be subject to final revision. Wrongs will be righted. Solomon – I know that there is nothing better for them to do than rejoice… it is the gift of God. |
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Term
| At the center of the Christian life: |
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Definition
Recognizing the goodness of God. Not disbelief in the goodness of God. Acknowledging that God is good. All the things in your life-sin, brokenness; all of these things are part of His plan for you. This brokenness, as well as this wholeness, is also a gift from His hand. Jesus is in the process of remaking you and that truth is always found in submission to Him. We can be confidant knowing that we don’t have everything all figured out. Humility about our own abilities. The power of sacrifice. True knowledge doesn’t puff up. True knowledge is love that edifies. Knowledge of the world results not in domination, but dominion.
Love God and do as you please. |
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