Session 2: Introduction to Biblical Theology

PROJECT
DATE LOCATION
30TH SEP, 2013 SBTC
INTRODUCTION TO BIBLICAL THEOLOGY
SESSION TWO: MONOTHEISM, COVENANT AND ESCHATOLOGY
TUTOR
JON SWALES
Saturday, 28 September 13

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY: EXPLORATIONS AND STRUCTURE

Genesis 12:1–3 (ESV)
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2
And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make
your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those
who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you
all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

KEY TEXT

KEY TEXT
KEY WORDS

KEY TEXT
KEY WORDS
MONOTHEISM, ELECTION, ESCHATOLOGY

KEY TEXT
THE CREATOR GOD CALLED ISRAEL TO BE A BLESSING TO THE WORLD
KEY WORDS

KEY TEXT
THE CREATOR GOD CALLED ISRAEL TO BE A BLESSING TO THE WORLD
KEY WORDS
KEY SENTENCE

Monotheism

Monotheism
Deuteronomy 4:35 (ESV), see also 4:49; 32:29
35 To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God (hb: elohim gk:
theos); there is no other besides him.

Monotheism
Exodus 15:11
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious
deeds, doing wonders?
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 10:17
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who
is not partial and takes no bribe.
Psalm 29:1
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Psalm 82:1
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

Monotheism
PROBLEM!? MORE THAN
ONE ELOHIM IN THE OT
Exodus 15:11
“Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious
deeds, doing wonders?
Exodus 20:3
“You shall have no other gods before me.
Deuteronomy 10:17
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who
is not partial and takes no bribe.
Psalm 29:1
Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
Psalm 82:1
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

ELOHIM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

•Heavenly Council: loyal and disloyal (Psa 82,89, Deut 32:8-9)

•Gods of foreign nations (1 Kings 11:33)

•Demons Deut 32:17

•Disembodied Human Dead (1 Sam 28:13)

•Angels (Gen 35:7)

•Kings (Psalm 45:8?)

Hurtado “[Monotheism is] the belief that
one Deity is universally supreme and
categorically unique from all other
'heavenly or 'divine' beings, and that
worship is properly to be given solely to
this one Deity, with worship of any other
being regarded as idolatry”

YHWH IS AN ELOHIM, BUT NO OTHER ELOHIMS = YHWH

SOLUTION: NOT ONTOLOGICAL/GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
YHWH IS AN ELOHIM, BUT NO OTHER ELOHIMS = YHWH

MonotheismCreational

yhwh (‫)יהוה‬

Tetragrammaton

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
Replaced by adonay (my Lord), elohim

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
10th Century Masoretic Text (vowels)

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
Y A H O W A H

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
Y A H O W A H
NT: 741X 14X NT USES OT KURIOS/YHWH TEXTS

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
Y A H O W A H
LXX: KURIOS NT: 741X 14X NT USES OT KURIOS/YHWH TEXTS

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
Y A H O W A H
LXX: KURIOS
IN REF TO GOD: Rom. 4.7-8; 9.27-29; 11.34; 15.9-11; 1 Cor. 3.20; 2 Cor. 6.18.

Tetragrammaton
6000x in OT
Y A H O W A H
LXX: KURIOS
IN REF TO GOD: Rom. 4.7-8; 9.27-29; 11.34; 15.9-11; 1 Cor. 3.20; 2 Cor. 6.18.
IN REF TO JESUS Rom. 10.13; 14.11; 1 Cor. 1.31; 1 Cor. 2.16; 10.26; 2 Cor.
10.17; 2 Tim. 2.19

Exodus 3:12–15 (ESV)
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I
have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall
serve God on this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the
people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to
you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. ehyeh ʾašer ʾehyeh” And he said, “Say this to
the people of Israel, ‘I am ( haya) sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to
Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord (YHWH), the God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be
remembered throughout all generations.

I AM WHO I AM, I AM WHAT I AM, OR I WILL
BE WHAT I WILL BE
12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I
have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall
serve God on this mountain.” 13 Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the
people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to
you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” 14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. ehyeh ʾašer ʾehyeh” And he said, “Say this to
the people of Israel, ‘I am ( haya) sent me to you.’ ” 15 God also said to
Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord (YHWH), the God of
your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be
remembered throughout all generations.

6 The Lord (YHWH) passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord (YHWH),
the Lord (YHWH), a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and
abounding in steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast
love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.....’
Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:18, Neh 9:17, Psalm 86:15, 103:8; 145:8; Joel
2:13; Jonah 4:2, Neh 1:3

1.Return from Exile
2.Renewed and Abundant
Prosperity
3.Messianic Figure
4.Renewed Covenant and
Outpouring of Spirit
5.Building a New Temple
6.Return of YHWH to ZIon
7.Future of Nations
8.Climatic Period of
Tribulation/Suﬀering
9.Defeat of Satan
10.Final Judgement
OLAM HA-BAOLAM HA-ZEH

Eschatology ‘Hope of Israel’
Choose two groups of texts from the ‘Hope of
Israel’ primary source document. Read these
biblical and second temple texts slowly and
carefully.
What do these texts tell us about Jewish hope?
Does Jesus fulﬁll this hope?

Inaugurated Kingdom

1 CORINTHIANS 10:11 (ESV)
11 NOW THESE THINGS HAPPENED TO THEM AS AN
EXAMPLE, BUT THEY WERE WRITTEN DOWN FOR OUR
INSTRUCTION, ON WHOM THE END OF THE AGES HAS
COME.
Inaugurated Kingdom

Mark 13:24–27 (ESV)
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not
give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will
be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and
glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from
the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.
Matthew 13:47–50
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish
of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into
containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will
come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In
that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 19:28–30
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on
his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or
mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit
eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Futurist (Not Yet)Kingdom

Realised Eschatology?

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)
(Mark 1:15 par.; Matt 3:2; 10:7;
Luke 10:9, 11),
14 Now after John was arrested,
Jesus came into Galilee,
proclaiming the gospel of God, 15
and saying, “The time is fulﬁlled,
and the kingdom of God is
engizō; repent and believe in the
gospel.”

Mark 1:14–15 (ESV)
(Mark 1:15 par.; Matt 3:2; 10:7;
Luke 10:9, 11),
14 Now after John was arrested,
Jesus came into Galilee,
proclaiming the gospel of God, 15
and saying, “The time is fulﬁlled,
and the kingdom of God is
engizō; repent and believe in the
gospel.”
has come near/is at hand
usage elsewhere, also Matt
21:34 ‘when the season for
fruits engizō ‘drew near.’
LXX Isaiah 50:8, 51:5, 56:1

LUKE 17:20–21 (ESV)
20 BEING ASKED BY THE PHARISEES WHEN THE KINGDOM OF GOD
WOULD COME, HE ANSWERED THEM, “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS
NOT COMING IN WAYS THAT CAN BE OBSERVED, 21 NOR WILL THEY
SAY, ‘LOOK, HERE IT IS!’ OR ‘THERE!’ FOR BEHOLD, THE KINGDOM
OF GOD IS IN THE MIDST OF YOU.”
LUKE 17:20–21 (NIV84)
20 ONCE, HAVING BEEN ASKED BY THE PHARISEES WHEN THE
KINGDOM OF GOD WOULD COME, JESUS REPLIED, “THE KINGDOM
OF GOD DOES NOT COME WITH YOUR CAREFUL OBSERVATION, 21
NOR WILL PEOPLE SAY, ‘HERE IT IS,’ OR ‘THERE IT IS,’ BECAUSE
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS WITHIN YOU. (ENTOS HYMŌN ESTIN)”
PROBLEM
REALISED ESCHATOLOGY?

LUKE 11:20 (ESV)/MAT 12:28
20 BUT IF IT IS BY THE FINGER OF GOD THAT
I CAST OUT DEMONS, THEN THE KINGDOM
OF GOD HAS COME UPON YOU.

EXODUS 8:18–19 (ESV)
18 THE MAGICIANS TRIED BY THEIR SECRET ARTS TO PRODUCE GNATS, BUT THEY
COULD NOT. SO THERE WERE GNATS ON MAN AND BEAST. 19 THEN THE MAGICIANS
SAID TO PHARAOH, “THIS IS THE FINGER OF GOD.” BUT PHARAOH’S HEART WAS
HARDENED, AND HE WOULD NOT LISTEN TO THEM, AS THE LORD HAD SAID.
LUKE 11:20 (ESV)/MAT 12:28
20 BUT IF IT IS BY THE FINGER OF GOD THAT
I CAST OUT DEMONS, THEN THE KINGDOM
OF GOD HAS COME UPON YOU.

Matthew 11:2–6 (ESV)
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of
the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to
him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we
look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go
and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind
receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are
cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised
up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Matthew 13:16–17 (ESV)
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your
ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many
prophets and righteous people longed to see what
you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, and did not hear it

Inaugurated Eschatology

Inaugurated Eschatology
• PRESENCE OF THE FUTURE
• PREVIEW OF THE FUTURE IN THE PRESENT
• NOW-NOT YET
• ESCHATOLOGICAL TENSION

In groups of two or three:
•Take turns explaining what you think the term
‘inaugurated eschatology’ means.
•Answer the following: Does inaugurated eschatology
make sense of your own experience?
5 Minute Plenary Task

Session 2: Introduction to Biblical Theology

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