New Testament Texts

Even though half of the occurrences of “μέγας” are in Revelation, the importance of this adjective is often overlooked by dictionaries and lexicons. There are only a limited number of studies that seem to notice the broad range of meaning of “μέγας” and take it into consideration when interpreting the text. This presentation intends to fill this gap in the scholarship, conducting a semantic analysis of the word in order to study its multiple uses and evaluate its importance in the interpretation of Revelation 12.

The quest for wealth and possession is a very absorbing human activity in contemporary society, even amongst Christians. This compulsion seems so dominant that little attention is given to its eschatological dimension. Yet, Jesus’ teachings in Luke 12:13–21 suggest there is a strong link between eschatology and the attitude of wealth acquisition. Therefore, this presentation explores Jesus’ teachings on wealth acquisition, possession, and management as well as their eschatological implications. It concludes that wealth is no substitute for goodness and character and is not a guarantee for the real essence of life, accountability towards God. Conclusively, the divine pronouncement on the rich but foolish farmer constitutes an invitation to readers to evaluate their attitude towards wealth in view of eschatology.

This presentation examines the six instances of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” that appear in the Gospel of Matthew, with the purpose of understanding its literary and theological meaning. These six phrases are read as symbolic descriptions, functioning as eschatological metaphoric images of exclusion and condemnation. Each phrase is investigated in its own literary context, establishing thematic connections between these pericopes and the Gospel of Matthew as a whole.

With the disillusionment in some circles regarding the prophetic day-year metric, it is time to reconsider the biblical data and turn away from the uninformed gossip that has fueled the uncertainties. This paper assumes an intimate connection between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel, and rather than dwelling on the specifics of Daniel 8:14, examines the impact of Daniel 9:24–27 in the NT corpus. If it can be demonstrated that Daniel 9 legitimately employs the year-day principle, then that provides solid evidence for the traditional chronology of the vision of Daniel 8. Not only is the vision of Daniel 9 key to the understanding of the mission of Messiah, but it also outlines a series of specific markers that include the appearance, mission, and death of Messiah. The writers of the New Testament recognized some of these chronological pointers as evidenced by a string of (20+) references, throughout the NT, that speak of “the fullness of time.” The obvious question is, “What time?” This paper demonstrates that the time they spoke of was Daniel’s prophecy found in Daniel 9.

The second coming of Jesus Christ is usually described with cosmic language: cosmic signs in the heavens or earth-shattering events on this planet. This apocalyptic dimension seems to have a counter argument in 2 Peter 3:12—the believer is to look for and hasten the coming of the day of the Lord. On the basis of the translation of the participle speudontas some have taken this passage to mean that human beings can influence the timing of the second coming, while others have opposed this view—arguing instead that the participle should be translated as “eagerly awaiting” instead of “hasten.” Additionally, scholars have had different opinions about who and how people can influence the Parousia. Additional questions have been raised: Is this passage referring to the believer as an individual or the church as a body of believers? And is orthopraxy or social concern the criteria for the “hastening”? This presentation briefly examines various models of explanation for 2 Peter 3:12 and then resolves the passage by examining it in its larger context.

James 2:10 is declaration rather than demonstration. Acknowledging that truth, this presentation employs, and elaborates on, the explanatory power of Christ’s crucifixion to clarify the association between murder and lying, criminal violations whose common origins Jesus attributes to the devil. And whereas divine intervention in holy war is the historical manifestation of the cosmic conflict, this presentation seeks to show how the historical event of the crucifixion of the Warrior God who is Prince of Peace constitutes ultimate proof for Jesus’ linkage between murder and lying: implicating the devil as originator of both, identifying the devil as the original and unscrupulous aggressor in cosmic war, and discussing the pacific and restorative nature of God’s involvement with cosmic conflict.

Biblical depictions of eschatological events presuppose a manner of divine intervention potentially in conflict with the principles of uniformitarianism adopted in the practice of science. 2 Peter 3 contrasts a uniformitarianist argument with an interventionist view of God’s action in history, referring to three specific events: the creation, the flood, and the day of judgment. This view of history affirms God’s commitment to love and rescue His creation, while at the same time attesting the superiority of the Creator over His creation. Eschatology does not need to represent a threat to science, provided that our understanding of the relation of the present to the past and future acknowledges: 1) the reality of God the Creator as preexisting and distinct from His creation; 2) there have been divinely caused processes in the past, when God intervened in nature; and 3) these past divine interventions warrant the possibility of a future one.

From its first verse to its very last, Revelation is replete with the language of imminence. Its temporal emphasis poses a problem in light of the almost two millennia-long wait for the soon coming of Christ. This presentation identifies and analyses seven expressions of imminence in Revelation and makes an attempt to interpret the book’s temporal perspective, paying attention to the matter of genre and the salvation-historical thought framework of the biblical author, particularly to the Christ-event as the center of human history.

Although many prophecies in the Old Testament concerning Israel have had no obvious fulfillment, New Testament writers consistently speak of prophecies fulfilled. This paper shows how a sifting within Israel in response to the proclamations of John the Baptist and Jesus results in Israel’s “restoration” in relation to Jesus as its messianic King. Examination of the relevant terminology, together with a detailed consideration of crucial New Testament passages concerning Israel (Acts 15, Romans 9-11, and in Revelation), reveals the inadequacy of a strictly ethnic definition of Israel in light of God’s intention that “all Israel” be saved.

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The term “love” in its substantive form occurs only once in the book of Matthew (24:12). Traditionally, love in this text has been interpreted as “Christian agape,” the law of Christ—as opposed to the Mosaic law and persecuting hatred against Christians. However, the verbal form also occurs in Matthew and is directly connected to the Old Testament, suggesting that the understanding of Matthew 24:12 relies upon the comprehension of the use of the term “love” in Hebrew scripture. Finally, the eschatological meaning of this text is evaluated in the context of the definition of the remnant and of his work in verses 13 and 14.