Explaining Acts 2 with Acts 3 Further Instances of Kingdom and Covenant The preaching of the deacon Philip in Acts 8 is described as relating to “the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,” (Acts 8:12), which resulted in many baptisms. There is no reason to deny that Philip preached about the coming eschatological kingdom. Christ has come and the kingdom of Christ will come. The mix of telos and eschatos furnishes a strong worldview …
Author: Hunter Hays
The Kingdom in the Opening of Acts Peter’s First Sermon and an Interpretive Challenge The commotion caused by this miracle of languages made some present utter disdainful remarks about the disciples being drunk (Acts 2:13). This gave Peter the pretext he needed to speak to the crowd. After dismissing the accusation Peter announced that what was happening was “what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” (Acts 2:16). He then quoted Joel 2:28-32 (Acts 2:17-21). But what was this? Joel …
We have already seen how Luke lays a heavy stress upon the Kingdom of God. Although it does not receive half as much notice as it deserves to, Luke is very interested in the matter of continuity between the OT and the Apostolic writings that would become the NT. This continuity is quickly seen in the opening of the first chapter of Acts. There we see the Risen Lord teaching His disciples over the course of forty days. Luke …
Part Nine “If He is the King of Israel” We have seen that Matthew employs the idea of the kingdom in two basic ways. At the beginning of his Gospel the kingdom is the eschatological Kingdom of OT expectation. In the parables however, the introductory phrase “The kingdom of heaven is like” points to images of the progress of the kingdom program as it wends its way to final fulfillment; only now and then is the age to come …
Part Eight Matthew 25 The Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 The two parables that begin chapter 25 both have lead-ins which state, “The kingdom of heaven is like” (Matt. 25:1, 14). The second of these, the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30)[1], is about stewardship in honoring the King. Glasscock hits the nail on the head: [T]he Lord’s point was that the kingdom…was calling servants to honor and glorify its King. Those who failed to do …
Part Seven False Christ’s and the True Christ Jesus continues His answer to the disciples’ second question by repeating that although there will be many false Christ’s and false prophets, and many attention-grabbing supernatural happenings, one should not be fooled (Matt. 24:23-24). We should take note that contra the scientistic naturalism so prevalent among “intellectuals” in our day, the Tribulation will be charged with spectacular supernatural manifestations and calls to worship. It will be an extremely “spiritual” time, with no …
Part Six The Image and the Great Tribulation It is usual for Dispensationalists to divide the seventieth week of Daniel 9; a week that lasts for seven years, into two halves of three and a half years each. There are good reasons for this which we shall discuss, but this clean division is not as apparent when one concentrates solely on the Olivet Discourse. The passage continues like this: Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel …
A Review of Ken Wilson, The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism, Regula Fidei Press, 2019, 121 pages, paperback. I was sent this book by a former student a while back and I promised that I would review it. The book has and will cause controversy with Calvinists because of its thesis. That thesis is that Augustine’s theological turnabout from the generally accepted views of God and the human will was mainly influenced by the determinist worldviews he had imbibed before he was …
Part Five The Olivet Discourse (Pt. 1) Coming at last to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25, although the main descriptive section comes in Matthew 24 with an addendum at the end of Matthew 25, before which are two parables. Matthew 24:1-2 belong on their own. They provide the setting for the discourse that follows in that they refer to the glories of Herod’s temple.[1] Jesus does not even acknowledge the great work, which by His time was famous …
Part Four The Parables of the Kingdom (Pt. 2) The Parable of the Mustard Seed The other five (or six) parables are shorter. The Parable of the Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31-32) speaks of the “kingdom of heaven” beginning almost imperceptibly like a tiny seed but growing until it becomes a tree that can hold bird’s nests. Does this depict positive or negative growth? The wheat or the tares? It is hard to say, but I side with the majority …
