Re: [asa] A theology question (imminent return of Christ)

Fiats are not particularly well-made unlike Hondas. I am afraid I have a
Toyota
----- Original Message -----
From: "David Campbell" <pleuronaia@gmail.com>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2008 6:27 PM
Subject: Re: [asa] A theology question (imminent return of Christ)

> Although parts of II Peter and Jude are so similar that either one
> quotes the other or both quote a common source, there are differences.
> In II Peter, the scoffers are seen as future. In Jude they are
> already present (though this does not prove that it has to be the end
> in Jude's view-cf. I John on the antichrist coming in the future but
> plenty of prototypes are already present).
>
> "Adam was not made by evolution, and was made by fiat."
>
> Perhaps he was made by Fiat, but he was driven out in a Fury (cf.
> carpooling in the NT-"The apostles were all in one Accord.")
>
> "the Bible clearly teaches the imminent return of Christ in the
> lifetime of the disciples"
>
> As the relevant passages are some of the most disputed in
> interpretation throughout church history, it seems highly dubious that
> "clearly" is the right word. That's not to say that you can't argue
> that it is the right interpretation, but I'm highly skeptical of any
> claim to have figured out eschatology. More fundamentally, the points
> of Biblical eschatology are "Be prepared-don't slack off" and "God
> will set things right and vindicate His people", not "Here's how to
> calculate what will happen."
>
> (Incidentally, the churches I've been in have all been fairly quietly
> amillenial-no directional change over time-though individual members
> or studies used are not necessarily amillenial.)
>
> The Tyndale NT commentary series from IVP tends to take the two-part
> interpretation of the apocalyptic passages in the Synoptics (i.e.,
> Jesus distinguishes between two events-the imminent destruction of
> Jerusalem, and a final judgement.) and could be consulted for more
> details on that approach.
>
> Although the idea that some sort of cosmic upheaval is envisioned as a
> part of the end times in the NT is quite plausible, it's important to
> realize that such imagery is a stock part of apocalyptic writing and
> not necessarily to be taken literally in detail in its original
> intent. For instance, Jeremiah described the Bablylonian destruction
> of Jerusalem as a return to primordial chaos (formless and void), an
> obvious bit of hyperbole. Similarly, a couple of passages in
> Revelation explicitly identify "stars" as angels, raising cautions
> about interpreting other references to stars. Thus, a precise
> interpretation of what will happen to the earth is problematic.
> Apocalyptic imagery often uses statements that are mutally
> contradictory if taken as precise prophecy of future historic events,
> but are coherent if merely taken as providing imagery evocative of
> security, peace, well-being, defeat of the wicked, etc. This has been
> described as making pictures with words.
>
> --
> Dr. David Campbell
> 425 Scientific Collections
> University of Alabama
> "I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
>
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Received on Thu Oct 23 13:41:25 2008