A Superficial Case Many dispensationalists cite Romans 9:4 as proof that the covenants are only given to Israel, with the Church having no part in them. The verse reads: who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises… I think there is a superficial case for using this verse to fend off those, like the present writer, who believe that the Church is party to the New covenant. Reading …
Category: Biblical Studies
PART FOUR In starting this installment let me be clear about the purpose of this series. It is not to deny that the NT writers cite the OT, or that they augment OT revelation. The issue here is about whether NT writers interpret OT passages as types and shadows of Jesus and the Church. It’s about whether they believed most of the OT covenants and prophecies were fulfilled at the first coming in some spiritualized way, and if so, where …
PART THREE Those who tell us that we must interpret the OT by the NT point us to NT texts which they insist prove their position. I want to take a look at these texts and ask whether they are being interpreted accurately. Because if they are not being interpreted correctly the whole procedure will start to appear like a question-begging exercise for the purpose of protecting a preferred view of the Bible’s teaching. Romans 15:4: For whatever things were …
“Only Our Interpretations of the NT are Permitted” Among those who like to criticize Dispensational Premillennialism one encounters a popular mantra: It is that the OT needs to be interpreted by the NT. The logic appears straightforward enough. Since the NT introduces Jesus Christ, and the Apostolic writings unpack the doctrine of Christ, one must go back to the OT with the NT teaching in hand so as to unlock God’s meaning. This reasoning seems so self-eveident to its promoters …
In Daniel 9:24, Gabriel’s words are absolutely essential for a correct interpretation of the Seventy Weeks’ prophecy; the location of the last week especially. Gabriel says the entire period involves Daniel’s people and Jerusalem, and these referents are not to be swapped out with ecclesial ones[1] There are then six particular things to be accomplished which are enumerated in the verse, things which are determined to occur.[2] These are arranged with three negatives followed by three positives: To finish the …
He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. – 1 Peter 1:20 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. – Revelation 13:8 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. …
The forward leaning aspect of biblical theology is most apparent when the covenants are in view. But the eschatology and teleology began before anything was made. This goes back to the preparation of the Messiah. The Creation Project actually precedes the creation itself, as passages such as 1 Peter 1:20 inform us that Christ’s office of Savior was “pre-temporal.[1]” This forward movement in scriptural narrative is twinned with an inherent purpose or teleology. Neither the eschatology nor the teleology in …
I am not much for extracting motifs from Scripture. At the moment the motif de jour is jointly the Cosmic Temple motif, and the Second Exodus motif. Give it a few years and someone will discover a new motif in the Bible and academe will all hurry on over to it, and the up-to-date books will treat it like it’s an essential teaching without which the Bible cannot be fully understood. However, there is one clear motif (if I should …
My attention has been drawn to a comment made about my interpretation of “the circumcision made without hands” of Philippians 3:3. Here is the verse with verse 2 giving context: Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation! For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh… – Philippians 3:2-3. The following is a comment from a listener of Dr Peter Goeman’s excellent Bible …
This is a small excerpt from the upcoming book (DV), The Oaths of God: An Introduction to Biblical Covenantalism. The last section is taken from The Words of the Covenant, Vol. 1. God expects men to perform their oaths (Num. 30:2). But He also advises refraining from them (Jam. 5:12). Since men cannot know what the future holds, he ought not to swear oaths (cf. Judg. 11:30-31; Eccles. 5:5). Jesus wants His followers not to swear oaths but to simply …