The New Testament Explains the Old Testament

44 ”The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 ”Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:44-46 NASB) 

The correct way to understand Sacred Scripture is that the Old Testament contains the “old” promises of the Messiah and the fulfillment of His Kingdom while the New Testament is the “new” revelation from Jesus and His Apostles, which reveal to us how the “old” promises are fulfilled in Him. The New Testament explains the Old Testament, not the other way around.

51 ”Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And Jesus said to them, ”Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.” (Matthew 13:51-52 NASB)   Continue at Mike Ratliff

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The Antichrist Is Here, and Not Yet Here

Perhaps most of you are accustomed to saying that the kingdom of God is “not yet” here and is “already” here. Not yet here in its consummation, but already here in significant fulfillments.

In fact, “fulfillment without consummation” was the scandal of Jesus’s ministry. He claimed that the kingdom of God “is in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21), and yet Jesus was not overthrowing the Roman regime. Even John the Baptist was perplexed and asked, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3).

This was the “secret of the kingdom” revealed only to a few. “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables” (Mark 4:11). The secret was that the kingdom was indeed already present (“If it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you,” Luke 11:20), but the kingdom has not yet come completely (“I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom,” Matthew 26:29).

What About the Antichrist?

 

But most of us are not accustomed to speaking of the antichrist as already here but not yet here. But consider the way the apostles John and Paul speak of this figure. Only John uses the term “antichrist.” But Paul refers to the same figure as “the man of lawlessness.”

First listen to Paul. “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day [of Christ’s second coming] will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. . . . And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work” (2 Thessalonians 2:3, 6–7).     Continue at John Piper

What Makes Work “Christian”?

When someone thinks about their work being “Christian,” all kinds of disturbing images come to mind:  

• Opening a beauty salon called “A Cut Above” or a coffee shop called “He Brews.” 
• Working awkward evangelism moments into sales calls.
• Defiantly saying “Merry Christmas” rather than “Happy Holidays” in the checkout line or sneaking a “Have a blessed day” into a salutation.
• Putting up posters about Bible study options at lunch or sending out group emails about sightings of the Virgin Mary in Ecuador.

Perhaps you remember the 2004 incident of an American Airlines pilot who, in his pre-flight announcements, asked all the Christians on board the plane to raise their hands. He then suggested that during the flight the other passengers talk to those people about their faith. He also told passengers he’d also be happy to talk to anyone who had questions. Understandably, it freaked a lot of people out: the pilot of your airplane talking to you about whether or not you’re ready to meet Jesus?[1] While they might admire the guy’s zeal, many Christian businesspeople think, “I just don’t think I could do that and keep my job.”

Many Christians think that you just can’t serve the kingdom of God at work, and that kingdom work happens “after hours”—volunteering at the church nursery, attending small group, going on a mission trip, serving at the soup kitchen. Our work is a necessity that must be endured to put bread on the table. God’s interest in the fruit of our labors is primarily that we tithe off of it.

The Bible offers quite a different perspective. Scripture teaches us how to serve God through our work, not just after work. The Bible speaks clear and radical words to people in the workplace, showing us that even the most menial of jobs has an essential role in the mission of God.

In fact, it is surely not coincidental that most of the parables that Jesus told had a workplace context, and that of the forty miracles recorded in the book of Acts, thirty-nine of them occurred outside of a church setting. The God of the Bible seems as concerned with displaying his power outside the walls of the church as he does within it.   Continue at J. D. Greear

THE ISRAEL OF GOD

Introduction

There is much more to "end-times" or ultimate things (Eschatology) than what we say actually happens in the last days. We say what we do about eschatology because of what we think God is doing in history.

At the center of the debate is the question of "the Israel of God" (Gal 6.16). Of course, this is not a new question. During our Lord's earthly ministry and after his resurrection and before his ascension, the disciples asked him repeatedly, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1.6).

Indeed, there was a widespread rabbinic and popular notion that the Messiah should be a powerful politico-military figure of Davidic strength and skill—"David has slain his tens of thousands" (1 Sam 18.7). John 614-15 records,

After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." 15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

It was not, as some might have it, that the timing was off, but rather that an earthly kingdom was contrary to his every purpose. Again, at the end of his life, during his triumphal entry, he did not come to establish an earthly kingdom, but rather to fulfill prophecy, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt" (John 12:15; Isa 40.9; Zech 9.9).

Jesus had taught the disciples and others that he came not to bring an earthly kingdom as they expected, but rather he came to bring salvation from sin. At the end, when "the men of Israel" could no longer tolerate his refusal to submit to their eschatology, their plan for history, they crucified him. Scripture says,

In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! He's the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him." (Matt 27.41-2)

It is also a sad fact that many Christians have agreed with the chief priests and teachers of the law. Classic Dispensationalism has long held that the Pharisees had the right method of interpreting the Bible, they simply reached the wrong conclusions.   Continue at R. Scott Clark

Columns from Tabletalk Magazine, October 2012

The October edition of Tabletalk is out. This issue features articles examining the relationship between the church and Israel, a relationship commonly misunderstood by the average layperson. This issue explores the various historical positions regarding this matter, and seek to help readers understand the composition and nature of the “called out ones,” from the covenant of works in Adam all the way through the manifestations of the covenant of grace in redemptive history. Further, it pays special attention to how the nation of Israel, instituted at Sinai, factors into God’s dynamic plan of salvation.

 

Contributors include R.C. Sproul along with Cornelis P. Venema, Iain M. Duguid, Ketih A. Mathison, John Starke, Jon Bloom, Barnabas Piper, R.C. Sproul Jr., Russell D. Moore and Andrew Peterson.

We do not post all of the feature articles or the daily devotionals from the issue, so you’ll have to subscribe to get those. But for now, here are links to several free columns and articles from this month:

• Thinking Like Jesus by R.C. Sproul
• The True Israel of God by Burk Parsons
• The Kingdom is Now by R.C. Sproul Jr.
• How to Stay Christian in Seminary by David Mathis
• The Gospel and the Gender Wars by Russell Moore
• A Hopeful Offense by John Starke
• Just How Beautiful Beauty Can Be: An Interview with Andrew Peterson
• Feeding Your Soul by Jon Bloom

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If you have not yet subscribed to Tabletalk, now is the perfect time. For those living in the U.S. and Canada it’s only $23 for a year, and $20 to renew. You save even more if you get a 2- or 3-year subscription (as little as $1.36 per issue). We offer special discounts for churches or businesses who want multiple copies of each issue.

Get your subscription to Tabletalk today by calling one of Ligonier Ministries’ resource consultants at 800-435-4343 or by subscribing online. You can also get free shipping on individual 2012 issues of Tabletalk.

HT: Ligonier 

A Permanent Address

One of the stories my much older brother tells me about the old days recounts the day when the family had just moved to a Los Angeles suburb. I should say, another L.A. suburb, since, all told, we moved about thirty times over the course of my childhood. No, my father was not in the military, nor was he on the lam. He just had wanderlust. The grass was always greener just up over that hill up yonder. So here we were (according to my brother, who is not always a reliable source), driving through the new neighborhood. Passing the elementary school, my dad said, "Look, that's where Mike will be starting kindergarten," to which my brother replied, "No offense, Dad, but who are you kidding? Mike will never see the inside of that place." He was right: I never did set foot on the property before we packed up and moved again. Yet no matter where we moved, the family was a constant. There are plenty of kids who grow up in the same place, but their parents are a million miles away in actual practice. Some, in fact, are so disappointed or even scarred from their childhood that when they leave home, it's for good. 

We call the church a family-the family of God. And like any family, it has its pluses and minuses. We know that there is an ideal church consisting of all the elect-the so-called invisible church-but precisely because it is invisible, affirming its existence does not mean that we can point to it and say, "There it is." The only church we know is the visible church, by whatever form of church government we call it (local, regional, national, international, or all of the above). And we have to admit that if seeing is believing, we might be hard-pressed at times to identify the church we know with the uncompromised church in glory. 

Jesus promised that when he left, he would send the Spirit to testify concerning him, bringing conviction and forgiveness through the gospel proclaimed. In the meantime, our Lord went "to prepare a place" for us to be together forever (John 14:3). It will be a permanent address at last. At its best, the church below is the staging area for the things to come: a kingdom of grace, not yet a kingdom of glory; a church militant, not yet the church triumphant. So the wheat and the weeds grow together until the Son returns to gather and make the final separation (Matt. 13:24-30). Until then, there is no pure church, but only churches more or less pure. For now, it is a "mixed body," with no doubt some sheep outside it and some wolves within.  Continue at Michael Horton

Some Standing Here Will Not Taste Death — The Unfolding of Biblical Eschatology

From the point of Peter’s confession onward, Jesus begins to teach his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer, be killed, and on the third day, be raised (16:21). Peter rebukes Jesus for saying this, but Jesus shows him that this is the only way (vv. 22–23). Jesus tells his disciples that they must take up their cross and follow him because it is foolish to gain the world and lose one’s soul (vv. 24–26). Then Jesus says, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (vv. 27–28).

Like Matthew 10:23, this text has also been the source of much debate. Davies and Allison survey some eight different interpretations that have been proposed. Among the more prominent interpretations is the idea that “coming of the Son of Man” in view here is the transfiguration, which is narrated in the following chapter. Some suggest that Jesus is referring to his resurrection or to Pentecost. Others suggest that Jesus is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Then there are those who believe Jesus is speaking here of his Second Coming and of the end of history. Among those holding this view, there are those who believe Jesus was mistaken because he believed this would occur within the lifetime of his hearers, and there are those who believe that Jesus was correct because the “some standing here” refers to a later generation. Continue at Keith Mathison.

The Lord’s Prayer (Part 2)

What does it mean to “hallow God’s name”? What are we asking when we pray, “Thy kingdom come”? Why does the Lord’s Prayer begin with these theological issues, rather than with our own practical concerns? The hosts address these questions and more as they continue to unpack the implications of the Lord’s Prayer as part of their series through the Sermon on the Mount.



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What Are the Keys of the Kingdom?

Yesterday I promised to offer my interpretation of Jesus' keys of the kindom passages in Matthew 16 and 18. The following excerpt comes from Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus, due out in April from Crossway. For a significantly longer discussion of the keys, see chapter 4 of here.  

Excerpt begin:

One day, Jesus warned the apostles not to trust the teaching of Israel’s leaders (Matt. 16:1-12). Their term of office had expired, and they would be vacating the capitol building shortly, carrying the contents of their desks in boxes. Then he asked them who they thought he was. Peter, probably on behalf of all the apostles, answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus affirmed Peter’s answer, saying that it had come from the “Father in heaven.” Then he continued:

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matt. 16:18-19)

This is the first of two times Jesus uses the word church. Here he is talking about the universal church: the assembly of all Christians from all ages who will gather at the end of history. Jesus will build this end-time assembly.

How will he build it? He will build it “on this rock.” What rock? Theologians have long debated whether the rock is Peter or Peter’s confession. In fact, I think you have to say both. Theologian Edmund Clowney writes, “The confession cannot be separated from Peter, neither can Peter be separated from his confession” (The Church, 40). Jesus will build his church not on words, and not on people, but on people who believe the right gospel words (like the Word himself who became flesh). Jesus will build the church on confessors.   Continue at Jonathan Leeman

Does the Kingdom Grow?

When you look at the Gospels and examine the verbs associated with the kingdom, you discover something surprising. Much of our language about the kingdom is a bit off. We often speak of “building the kingdom,” “ushering in the kingdom,” “establishing the kingdom,” or “helping the kingdom grow.” But is this really the way the New Testament talks about the kingdom? George Eldon Ladd, the man who put kingdom back on the map for evangelicals, didn’t think so.

The Kingdom can draw near to men (Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:15; etc.); it can come (Matt. 6:10; Luke 17:20; etc.), arrive (Matt. 12:28), appear (Luke 19:11), be active (Matt. 11:12). God can give the Kingdom to men (Matt. 21:43; Luke 12:32), but men do not give the Kingdom to one another.

Further, God can take the Kingdom away from men (Matt. 21:43), but men do not take it away from one another, although they can prevent others from entering it. Men can enter the Kingdom (Matt. 5:20; 7:21;Mark 9:47; 10:23; etc.), but they are never said to erect it or to build it. Men can receive the Kingdom (Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17), inherit it (Matt. 25:34), and possess it (Matt. 5:4), but they are never said to establish it. Men can reject the Kingdom, i.e., refuse to receive it (Luke 10:11) or enter it (Matt. 23:13), but they cannot destroy it.

They can look for it (Luke 23:51), pray for its coming (Matt. 6:10), and seek it (Matt. 6:33; Luke 12:31), but they cannot bring it. Men may be in the Kingdom (Matt. 5:19; 8:11; Luke 13:29; etc.), but we are not told that the Kingdom grows. Men can do things for the sake of the Kingdom (Matt. 19:12; Luke 18:29), but they are not said to act upon the Kingdom itself. Men can preach the Kingdom (Matt. 10:7; Luke 10:9), but only God can give it to men (Luke 12:32). (The Presence of the Future, 193) Continue Reading>>>

How Do You Make Christ More Appealing? A Good Word for Preachers

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. (John 10.27)

Have you ever been overcome with frustrated despair as you wonder how to get through to your professing Christian friend?  Have you looked into the eyes of an unbeliever and asked yourself how you might bring them to Christ?  Have you wondered how you might appeal to them and somehow have them follow the Savior?  If you are a pastor, have you sat in your study and wondered how you might help people to get it?

To one degree or another all believers have struggled through such thoughts. 

Often times though  in our noble ambitions we find ourselves retreating to unbiblical means.

We aim to make Christ more appealing to the one who seems to not think that he is so.  This usually means giving Jesus something of an extreme makeover so that the eligible unbeliever might be one over.  We might be tempted to change his message, his tone, his requirements, his work, his kingdom, and his demands.  Suddenly our ostensibly noble goal has placed in our hands the tools of idolatry as we craft a Jesus that looks like the rebel.

But this is not the way it works. Keep Reading>>>

The Glory of Israel Revealed

I am utterly convinced that the glory of Israel can be found in no other place than in Christ. He is the only true and rightful heir of the promise of God made to Abraham for “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.” [Gal 3:16] The promise of God was reserved for Christ alone by God’s own will in the giving of the Law, which was “added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made.” [Gal 3:19]. All this so that the promises of God could only be inherited by those who have faith in His Son. [Gal 3:22] Through many tears the apostle Paul spoke of this truth to the church in Rome, and though he had great affection for his own Jewish people, it was his words penned under the inspiration of the Spirit of God that said “This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.” [Romans 9:8] Read it all HERE

DISPENSATIONALISM AND EPHESIANS

The Two Age Structure and Chiliasm

Word and Spirit: The Kingdom

Missional Misfire (2)

The Kingdom and The Church: Closer Than You Think

It has become commonplace in parts of the missional discussion to make a strong emphasis on the distinction between the kingdom and the church. I agree the two are not identical. Try replacing “kingdom” in the gospels with “church” or “church” with “kingdom” in the epistles and you quickly realize synonyms they are not.

But like the proverbial rear view mirror, might these objects–the kingdom and the church–be closer than they appear? Read the rest HERE

Seek First the Kingdom by Thomas Manton

A Christian Heresy?