Category: Recommended

yep, I recommend this link, article or whatever it is

Graeme Goldsworthy on the Old Testament’s Own Typology

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been reading the latest book from Graeme Goldsworthy, Christ-Centered Biblical Theology: Hermeneutical Foundations and Principles (IVP, 2012). In the book, Goldsworthy details the foundations of his hermeneutical method and the big influence that Donald Robinson, his former professor at Moore Theological College (Sydney), has had on him. One of the fascinating points he brings up about typology is that Robinson had pointed out that the Old Testament itself is rife with typology. Let me offer here an excerpt which highlights this fact and provides ample food for thought.

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The following quotation shows with absolute clarity the importance Robinson places on the notion of the recapitulation of Israel’s earlier history… in the prophetic eschatology. This is seen as the basis for the New Testament proclamation of fulfilment in Christ:

The blessings of God’s End-time are described in the Old Testament for the most part in terms drawn from Israel’s past history. The day of the Lord would be Israel’s history all over again, but new with the newness of God. There would be a new Exodus, a new redemption from slavery and a new entry into the land of promise (Jer. 16:14, 15); a new covenant and a new law (Jer. 31:31-34). No foe would invade the promised inheritance, “but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid” (Micah 4:4). There would be a new Jerusalem (Isa. 26:1, Ez. 40) and a new David to be God’s shepherd over Israel (Jer. 23:5, Ez. 34:23,24) and a new Temple where perfect worship would be offered and from which a perfect law would go forth (Isa. 2:2-4, Ez. 40-46). It would not be too much to say that Israel’s history, imperfectly experienced in the past, would find its perfect fulfilment “in that day.” [quoted from Donald W. B. Robinson, The Hope of Christ’s Coming (Beecroft, New South Wales: Evangelical Tracts and Publications, 1958), pg. 13]

Robinson’s typology is wider than the repetition of Israel’s history in that it sees the End as transcending and fulfilling the whole history of creation. “Indeed, nothing less than a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth, could contain all that God has in store for the End (Isa. 65:17).” There is, of course, nothing particularly original in this understanding of the Old Testament prophetic eschatology. The important thing for this discussion is the way these perspectives inform Robinson’s understanding of the New Testament.

[excerpt is from pages 173-174 of Christ-Centered Biblical Theology (IVP, 2012)]

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I think this is an important point. The NT isn’t doing something totally new with seeing OT events as typological – with the fulfillment in Christ. The NT stands in a tradition of typological interpretation of OT history, and is merely identifying in a new way what or who the true antitype is.

How Important is the Old Earth vs. New Earth Debate?

~ Bob Hayton ~ 21 Comments

Justin Taylor recently posted a video clip from the 2012 Ligonier Conference. The clip was a portion of a panel discussion on how Christians should understand the age of the earth.

The full discussion on this question, available on video here, starts at 42:09 on the video and lasts through 75:40 (the end). It is mostly R.C. Sproul Sr., Stephen Meyer (a Christian scientist and author who subscribes to Intelligent Design), and Del Tackett (known for Focus on the Family’s The Truth Project), although Michael Horton and R.C. Sproul Jr. also make some brief comments.

I appreciated both R.C. Sproul Sr. and Stephen Meyer’s emphasis that this debate should be intramural and congenial. Good people can disagree on this issue and still mutually affirm the inerrancy of Scripture and stand against the materialistic drive of this age.

Taylor went on to quote from and point us to a report from the 2000 PCA report on the question of differing interpretations of the days of Creation. That report carefully defines terms, explains most of the various positions which aim to remain true to the text, and evaluates each view helpfully. A historical review of the position of the Church on the days of creation is also provided. The PCA concludes that this issue shouldn’t divide their church and aims to show that people holding to the various views can have unity in standing for Biblical supernaturalism when it comes to creation, and against a naturalistic worldview. I recommend you check out that paper.

In recent years, this debate has become more and more caustic. And some of the participants have moved farther and farther afield from the Bible’s account of creation. Peter Enns has gone so far as to deny the existence of Adam, and the historicity of the Exodus and much, much more! That being said, although a slippery slope does exist, the Church has always had varying positions on this issue. Holding to supernatural creation is more important than holding to a young earth or literal 24 hour days. There are many exegetical reasons offered against the young earth view, and some of them, in my mind, are convincing. But as Stephen Meyer points out in the panel’s discussion, the Church has to be careful not to get sidetracked into an intramural debate over the days of Creation instead of confronting head-on the new atheists denials of the existence of God and the Bible’s supernatural claims.

I expect my readers hold a variety of positions on this issue as well, so drop a comment and we can discuss this further. Just how important is the age of the earth when it comes to defending the Bible’s claims that God created the world?

Book Briefs: “A Commentary on the Psalms (vol. 1)” by Allen P. Ross

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Very few commentaries can function as a single comprehensive resource for the Biblical passage at hand. The wise expositor makes use of theological introductions, critical comments on the Greek or Hebrew, a good exegetical commentary and then a few devotional commentaries – of course he also makes his own personal study of the passage.

What Allen P. Ross does for us in his new book A Commentary on the Psalms: volume 1 (Kregel, 2012), is distill the insights of decades of research and study on the book of Psalms into a single tool that can truly be a one-stop-shop for the busy pastor.

Ross provides 180 pages of introduction to the book of Psalms, focusing on structure and theology. He then gives us more than 700 pages of commentary on just the first 41 psalms. Each psalm is covered separately, the text is provided with an eye for meaningful textual variants (which are discussed at some length). The psalm’s composition and context is then briefly sketched and an exegetical analysis is provided. Then comes a detailed commentary focusing on exposition, and all this is wrapped up with a brief recounting of the message and application of the psalm.

Ross aims to help modern preachers and teachers to truly exposit all of the psalms in their entirety (not just a line here and there). He blends contemporary insights with gems of yesterday as he analyzes the Psalms and provides a very useful tool for the modern preacher. Ross with help from the team at Kregel, has crafted his tool to be most user-friendly. The font is large, there are helpful charts and diagrams, and clear section headings which break up the massive book. He uses footnotes throughout for more technical discussions, but chooses not to provide Hebrew transliterations as a rule, preferring just English translations and the Hebrew words themselves.

When we have his entire three volume commentary (at least from reading the introductory material it appears this will be three volumes), we will truly have a single and comprehensive resource for what may be the most important book in all of Scripture. His approach is to stick to the text but not to shy away from reading the text in light of the context of the NT revelation as well (at a later stage in the interpretation). Even if in some respects one differs with Ross, he will still find Ross’s book immensely helpful.

Ross shows how vital the Psalms were both for Hebrew worship and that of the early church. Even in the Reformer’s era, intimate knowledge of the psalter was a prerequisite for anyone aiming to take up a pastorate. How far we have fallen from an age where psalms made up the bulk of corporate worship. May Ross’s work help revive a study and interest in the Psalms today.

Pick up a copy of this book: ChristianBook.com, Amazon.com, or direct from the publisher.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Kregel Publications. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

About Book Briefs: Book Briefs are book notes, or short-form book reviews. They are my informed evaluation of a book, but stop short of being a full-length book review.

Giving in to “Weaker Brothers”

~ Bob Hayton ~ 8 Comments

I came across an interesting post that raises a good question. Is it really okay to modify your actions based on the weaker consciences of some?

Here’s the post:

In 1857 a few white members of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa asked permission to celebrate the Lord’s Supper separately from their black brothers and sisters. The General Assembly believed their request was wrong, but it acquiesced “due to the weakness of some.” This concession soon became the norm, as white Christians increasingly chose to observe the Lord’s Supper without their black siblings. Their racism prompted the unwanted black Christians to leave and start their own churches. And so the South African church, divided by race, eventually became a vocal supporter of apartheid. In 1924 the DRC argued that the races must remain separate, for “competition between black and white on economic levels…leads to poverty, friction, misunderstanding, suspicion, and bitterness.”

How might the history of South Africa be different if the church had not conceded to the sinful request of a few “weaker brothers”? We are thankful for leaders such as Nelson Mandela who gave their lives to end apartheid. But it’s a shame on the church that their sacrifice was even needed.

Peter gave in to the “weaker brothers” in Antioch. He knew they were wrong to insist that Gentiles live like Jews, but afraid of what they might say, he refused to eat with Gentiles when these Judaizers came to town. Paul recognized this was a big deal, for the reason these Jews split from the Gentiles put the gospel at risk. How would the history of Christianity be different if Paul had not stood up to Peter’s shameful concession?

It’s never right to do wrong because others think it’s right. We must not violate our conscience on the flimsy ground that “They wouldn’t understand,” “It’s what they expect,” or “Just this once, what will it hurt?” It may seem easier to give in, but our concession will make life harder down the road.

–Read the original post from Mike Wittmer

I think you can definitely get in trouble if you’re always giving in to “weaker brothers”. It’s one thing to aim not to offend, it’s quite another to live your life with the weaker brother always potentially popping up at every turn.

What do you think? Is Mike Witmer way off base here? Am I?

“40 Questions about the End Times” by Eckhard Schnabel

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Book Details:
  • Author: Eckhard Schnabel
  • Category: Theology
  • Publisher: Kregel Publications (2012)
  • Format: softcover
  • Page Count: 352
  • ISBN#: 0825438969
  • List Price: $17.99
  • Rating: Highly Recommended
  • Rating: Highly Recommended

Review:
Few subjects spark such controversy among Christians as end times theology. For some, the only controversy lies in the inexplicable reluctance of some to fully embrace the truth. Why can’t everyone be so moved and excited by the very evident relevance of Biblical prophecy? Can’t they see just by picking up a newspaper how we are living in the last days? Others make it their mission to pop the bubble of the many believers who practice such a newspaper-theology. Whether they advocate preterism, pre-wrath, post-millennialism or some other minority position, they turn every conversation into a discussion of their favored end times view. Still others have been burned by churches for abandoning the official eschatological position. And many would rather avoid this subject than see another passionate argument arise.

Given the many opportunities to engender strife on such a volatile subject, we must assume that Eckhard Schnabel was perhaps a bit hesitant to put forth yet another book that aims to navigate the mine-field of eschatology. Whatever the case, Schnabel’s new book 40 Questions about the End Times (Kregel, 2012) will certainly prove to be an important and helpful contribution. I hope it receives wide attention as it offers a helpful corrective to careless end-times speculation and steers clear of divisiveness.

40 Questions is informative and expansive without being exhaustive. The format of attacking the subject by means of 40 separate questions allows the book to aim for a systematic treatment of the topic in small segmented bites. This approach means that it can’t cover every relevant passage and answer every conceivable question, but it has its merits too. The book can serve as a manual to be referenced when one is looking for information specific to one question (the millennium, the rapture, Hell and judgement, etc.). And the approach keeps the book moving and on track.

Schnabel masterfully employs charts and comparisons between parallel passages and betrays a true mastery of the literature. Yet he doesn’t write for scholars. He stays both practical and accessible, even as his footnotes point the way for further study. He tries his best to avoid discussing eschatological positions directly, preferring to cover the relevant Biblical texts exegetically. It is apparent that he is premillennial but not dispensational. He would be post-tribulational in a sense as well, but is more historic premil. And for the most part, he is right in the mainstream of evangelical scholarship: he defends eternal conscious punishment, but holds to a strange view of the millennium that sees the Gog and Magog rebellion at the end of the thousand years as a release of the unrepentant followers of Satan who are deceived and judged again. (This may just be strange to me, as I have not come across this view before. Yet, I can’t help but suspecting this is a minority view at best in scholarship today.)

Throughout the book, Schnabel obliquely references “end times specialists” who presume that certain prophecies can only be fulfilled given modern technological advances. Such views are anachronistic, and worse: they represent “new prophecies”, since they give a prophetic significance to history. He puts the claims that Babylon will be rebuilt and that a third temple will be built into this category. I have to agree with him that the false predictions and constantly modified interpretive declarations about end times theology (such as the identification of the European Union with the 10-kings who support the Beast) present a problem for the church. Schnabel elaborates:

If the prophecy writer tries again and adjusts his prophecy, and the new prediction does not come to pass, the end-time “specialist” is clearly neither a specialist nor a prophet. Prophecy writers who get it wrong must apologize and they should stop writing, speaking, blogging, and tweeting about matters related to prophecy. (pg. 311)

This book, however, is more than a mere eschatological handbook or polemic against modern-day false prophets. It is a call for the Church to live in light of the big central truths of prophecy. Christ is returning at any moment, and He will judge the dead and reward the faithful. His kingdom will never end and everything wrong will be made right.

Even if one disagrees with some of Schnabel’s particular interpretations, his discussion of the relevant arguments on each question will be both helpful and enlightening. But the book will especially be a help to those who remain “willing to consider the truth of other interpretations of biblical passages,” and when warranted, “willing to concede that [they] may have to adjust [their] understanding” (pg. 315). Ultimately, what Schnabel says of Revelation applies to this book: it is written “not to satisfy our curiosity about God’s timetable for the end times but in order to encourage believers who are suffering and to exhort believers who are in danger of compromising their faith” (pg. 316).

This book will both educate and encourage the believer. I highly recommend it.

Author Info:
Eckhard J. Schnabel (PhD, University of Aberdeen), is professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. His publications include Early Christian Mission and a commentary on 1 Corinthians.

Where to Buy:
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon
  • Kregel

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Kregel Publications for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.