5.

The Hope of the Christ

Immediately upon his conversion, Paul began to preach in the synagogues of Damascus that Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 9:22, NIV) Everywhere he went, the cutting edge of his message was, This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ. (17:3) For he often devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. (18:5, NIV) Likewise, Apollos powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (18:28) In fact this was the general theme of the apostolic witness (cf. 2:36; 3:20; 8:5; 10:36; etc.), for every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (5:42) The presentation of Jesus as the Christ (Mt. 1:17; Lk. 3:15; Jn. 4:29), i.e. the one who is called Christ (Mt. 1:16), is the primary purpose of the recorded Gospels. So John says, these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (Jn. 20:31) As the angel told the shepherds, Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Lk. 2:11, NIV) Accordingly, Peters confession is, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. (Mt. 16:16) So also Martha declares, I believe you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. (Jn. 11:27) Even the demons knew that he was the Christ. (Lk. 4:41) However, Jesus warned them and his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Mt. 16:20) Many questioned if John the Baptist might be the Christ (Lk. 3:15), but he confessed freely, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him. (Jn. 3:28; cf. 1:20) Likewise, the ministry of Jesus was marked by the controversy of the people asking, Can this be the Christ? (Jn. 4:29) Some said, This is the Christ (7:41), because they reasoned, When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done? (7:31) However, many wondered, Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ? (7:26, NIV) And they were afraid because anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ would be put out of the synagogue. (9:22, NIV)

On occasion the Jews confronted Jesus directly, If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. (Jn. 10:24) To which Jesus responded, I told you, and you do not believe. (v. 25) Likewise, at his trial they demanded, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God. (Mt. 26:63) To which he replied, Yes, it is as you say. (v. 64, NIV) Pilate later asked the crowd, Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? (Mt. 27:17) Even on the Cross, people passed by and hurled insults saying, He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One! (Lk. 23:35) So also the criminals being crucified with him questioned, Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us! (v. 39) These are examples of the spirit of the antichrist, which denies that Jesus is the Christ (1 Jn. 2:22). Conversely, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God (1 Jn. 5:1). The purpose for listing all of these interactions is this: no one questioned the meaning of Christ. No one stopped and asked, What are we expecting of the Christ? It was generally common knowledge who the Expected One (Mt. 11:3; Lk. 7:19f, NASB) was and what he was going to doa Jewish Zeitgeist, more or less.1 Unfortunately, in the modern church the term Christ means little more than a sort of last name for Jesus (his proper name actually being Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth [Jn. 1:45, NRSV; cf. Mt. 26:71; Lk. 24:19; Jn. 19:19]). When his followers ascribed to him the name Jesus Christ, or Jesus the Messiah (Mt. 1:1, 18; Mk. 1:1, NLT), they had in mind a whole host of things which are almost completely absent from todays consciousness.2
For an overview of first-century Jewish messianism, see James H. Charlesworth, From Jewish Messianology to Christian Christology: Some Caveats and Perspectives, in Judaisms and Their Messiahs at the Turn of the Christian Era, ed. J. Neusner, W. S. Green, and E. Frerichs (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 225-64 (Jewish Zeitgeist, p. 251).
1

For an introduction to the arduous debate in recent scholarship concerning Christology (the study of Christ) and Messianology (the study of Messiah), see Joseph Klausner, The Messianic Idea in Israel, trans. W. F. Stinespring (New York: Macmillan, 1955); Sigmund Mowinckel, He That Cometh: The Messiah Concept in the Old Testament and Later Judaism, trans. by G. W. Anderson (New York: Abingdon Press, 1956); Oscar Cullmann, The Christology of the New Testament, trans. by S. C. Guthrie and C. A. M. Hall (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1963); R. H. Fuller, Foundations of New Testament Christology (New York: Scribner, 1965); Richard N. Longenecker, The Christology of Early Jewish Christianity (London: SCM, 1970); I. Howard Marshall, The Origins of New Testament Christology (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1976); J. H. Charlesworth, ed., The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992); Martin Hengel, Studies in Early Christology (London: T. & T. Clark, 1995); Hans Schwarz, Christology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998); and Richard N. Longenecker, ed., Contours of Christology in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005).
2

The English words Messiah and Christ are derived from the Hebrew mashiach, which is translated into the Greek christos. Both words simply mean anointed one or consecrated one.3 Thus there are various messiahs or christs in the Old Testament anointed for different roles and functions, e.g. prophets (1 Ki. 19:16), priests (Ex. 29:7; Lev. 4:3ff), and kings (1 Sam. 10:1; 1 Ki. 1:39; 2 Ki. 9:6). In this way there is an etymological overlap between anointing and appointing (cf. Num. 1:50; 3:10; 27:16; 1 Sam. 8:1; Ps. 89:27; etc.). In context to a biblical worldview, and the subsequent theology of a new heavens and new earth, the Scriptures describe a unique and singular Messiah who is anointed as the ultimate agent of salvation (cf. Acts 3:20f; 1 Cor. 15:20-26; Heb. 9:28). If biblical salvation is the restoration of all things, then the Messiah is understood as the Restorer of all things, so to speak (see Fig. 5.1).4 As the agent of salvation, he is simply referred to as Savior (Lk. 2:11; Jn. 4:42; Acts 13:23; Phil. 3:20; 1 Tim. 4:10; 2 Tim. 1:10; 1 Jn. 4:14).

3 4

See V. P. Hamilton, 1255 ( ma), TWOT, 530-32; and , BDAG, 1091.

We have seen that it is characteristic of New Testament Christology that Christ is connected with the total history of revelation and salvation, beginning with creation. There can be no Heilsgeschichte without Christology; no Christology without a Heilsgeschichte which unfolds in time. Christology is the doctrine of an event, not a doctrine of natures. (Cullmann, Christology of the New Testament, 9)

Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out<

20

that

he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. (Acts 3:19-21) And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. (Heb. 9:27-28, NASB)5

Thus, Jesus declares himself as the agent of the resurrection to Martha, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? (Jn. 11:25-26) To which Martha affirms, Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world. (v. 27). And to the crowds who followed him after the miraculous feeding of five thousand, Jesus declared, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. (Jn. 6:44) Of course God would raise the dead on the last day, but here is seen the assumed mediatorial role of the Messiah on that day. Likewise Jesus would have been understood when he said,
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life< For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (Jn. 5:22-29)

Since the new heavens and new earth were believed to be initiated at the Day of the Lord, then the Messiah was also understood as the agent of divine justice (see Fig. 5.2). He is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living
Note the logic of the authorjust as there is a two-part appointment (Gk. apokeimai) for sinful man (death and judgment), so also is there a corresponding two-part appointment for the Righteous Man (sacrifice and salvation). Moreover, both appointments are equally emphasized, the first appointment being in reference to bearing sin and the second appointment being without reference to sin.
5

and the dead (Acts 10:42, NASB), which will happen on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ (Rom. 2:16, NIV). For God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. (Acts 17:31, NIV) Thus, divine judgment and messianic expectation are conflated, so that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due (2 Cor. 5:10), for it is Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead (2 Tim. 4:1). This conflation is also inherently evident in the phraseology of the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 1:8), the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6), and the day of Christ (Phil. 1:10; 2:16).

Not only is the Messiah the general means by which righteousness is established at the Day of the Lord, but also the Messiah carries out the specific functions of that day. Gods royal honor is vindicated, and his wrath spent upon the wicked by means of the Messiah (cf. Ps. 2:5; 110:5; Rom. 2:5-16; Rev. 19:5).6 Thus, the day of wrath is mediated through the Messiah.

In response to the announcement of the birth of Jesus as Christ the Lord (Lk. 2:11), the declaration of the heavenly host is stunning: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased! (v. 14) The terrifying assumption is that there is no peace for the wicked (Is. 48:22; 57:21; cf. Rev. 14:11), and thus the host is prophesying the future destiny of the child to execute divine vengeance, i.e. glory (doxa) to God in highest, and that of the eschatological peace on earth are nothing but a summary of the future bliss that will be realized in and by the coming of the
6

The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One [Hb. mashiach+< The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill< [He] will rule them with an iron scepter; [he] will dash them to pieces like pottery. (Ps. 2:2-9, NIV) The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet. < The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth. (Ps. 110:1-6, NIV) Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war< From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. (Rev. 19:11-15)

So also are the judgment of God (cf. day of judgment) and retribution of God (cf. day of vengeance) administered by his Anointed One (cf. Is. 61:2; 63:4; Mt. 16:27; 2 Thess. 1:6-9). It is Gods messianic Lord and King who mediates his vengeance toward the wicked (cf. Mal. 3:1-4:5; Mt. 25:31-46).
Say to the Daughter of Zion, See, your Savior comes! See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. < I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. (Is. 62:11-63:4, NIV) When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say the Son of Man is? < Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon
kingdom. *Herman N. Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, trans. H. de Jongste (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1962), 28] Moreover, the context of the song assumes military imagery, as Verbrugge has noted, the song sung on the fields of Bethlehem is not being sung by a heavenly choir, complete with long robes, arranged in neat rows with sopranos, altos, tenors, and basses and singing a song of victoryor even a song of simple praise and glory to God. This is rather an army of angelsa multitude of the heavenly army (we can infer from Matthew 26:53 that there may be as many as twelve legions)and they are singing their song in full battle array, and the words that they sing are, in essence, a celestial version of Hail to the Chief. *Verlyn D. Verbrugge, The Heavenly Army on the Fields of Bethlehem (Luke 2:13-14), Calvin Theological Journal 43 (2008): 301-311]

son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven< For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done." (Mt. 16:13-27, NIV) When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats< Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. < Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed [cf. by my Father], into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. (Mt. 25:31-41)

Thus the messianic background is clearly understood when Jesus announces, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay everyone for what he has done. (Rev. 22:12) As such Jesus declares himself the divine arbitrator of redemptive history, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. (v. 13)7 Throughout the Scriptures, creation and redemptive history are described as the work(s) of God.8 Thus, the Messiah is also pictured as the agent of divine work (cf. Jn. 5:17-37; 6:30-40; 10:25-38; 14:8-14; 15:23f; 17:4). The Messiah is the one

Note the correspondence of the pseudepigraphic Testament of Levi, And then the Lord will raise up a new priest to whom all the words of the Lord will be revealed. He shall effect the judgment of truth over the earth for many days. And his star shall rise in heaven like a king; kindling the light of knowledge as day is illumined by the sun. And he shall be extolled by the whole inhabited world. This one will shine forth like the sun in the earth; he shall take away all darkness from under heaven, and there shall be peace in all the earth. The heavens shall greatly rejoice in his days and the earth shall be glad; the clouds will be filled with joy and the knowledge of the Lord will be poured out on the earth like the water of the seas. And the angels of glory of the Lords presence will be made glad by him. The heavens will be opened, and from the temple of glory sanctification will come upon him, with a fatherly voice, as from Abraham to Isaac. And the glory of the Most High shall burst forth upon him. And the spirit of understanding and sanctification shall rest upon him< And he shall open the gates of paradise; he shall remove the sword that has threatened since Adam, and he will grant to the saints to eat of the tree of life. The spirit of holiness shall be upon them. And Beliar shall be bound by him. And he shall grant to his children the authority to trample on wicked spirits. (18.212; OTP, 1:794-95)
7

Cf. Gen. 2:2f; Ex. 34:10; Deut. 11:7; Jdg. 2:7; 1 Sam. 14:6; Ps. 19:1; 28:5; 33:4; 92:4; 102:25; 145:4f; Prov. 8:21; Is. 5:12; 10:12; 19:25; 28:1; 45:11; 64:8; Jer. 50:25; 51:10; Dan. 4:37; 9:14; Hab. 1:5; 3:2; Mt. 11:20ff; Jn. 4:34; 5:17, 36; 9:3f; 10:37f; 14:10; Rom. 14:20; Phil. 2:13; Col. 2:12; Heb. 4:3f; 13:21.
8

that does and accomplishes the will of God. Thus Jesus messianic claim would have been clearly heard,
My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working< I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. (Jn. 5:17-19,
NIV)

Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. (Jn. 14:10-11)

In the ancient world, a man would strip for work (cf. Jn. 21:7) by taking off his outer garment, thus baring his arms (cf. Is. 52:10; Eze. 4:7). Since God is the archetypal Worker, then his Messiah is the functional extension of himself, pictured as the arm of the Lord (Is. 51:9; 53:1; Jn. 12:38), as seen in the Suffering Servant passage:
Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices, together they sing for joy; for in plain sight they see the return of the LORD to Zion< The LORD has bared his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God< See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. Just as there were many who were astonished at himso marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortalsso he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate. Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. (Is. 52:8-53:2,
NRSV)

In this passage we see the equation of the Day of the Lord (the return of the Lord to Zion, cf. vv. 1-7), the resurrection (see the salvation of our God), and the Messiah (my servant), who is understood to be the arm of the Lordhe came up like a young plant, out of dry ground, without form or majesty, etc. Thus, referencing Jesus, John quotes the same passage,

Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? < Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus' glory and spoke about him. (Jn. 12:37-42, NIV)

It is the miraculous signs done through Jesus that are understood to be the work of God, and thus he is the arm of the Lord, i.e. the Christ (v. 34). As such, Jesus cries out in response to the unbelief of the Jews, Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. (12:44-45) Jesus is simply referencing the Old Testament passages that portray God and his messianic Arm functioning together as one (cf. Is. 30:30; 40:10; 52:10; 59:16; 63:5).9
The LORD will cause men to hear his majestic voice and will make them see his arm coming down with raging anger and consuming fire, with cloudburst, thunderstorm and hail< Every stroke the LORD lays on them with his punishing rod will be to the music of tambourines and harps, as he fights them in battle with the blows of his arm. (Is. 30:30-32, NIV) You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, Here is your God! See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. (Is. 40:9-10, NIV) The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him. (Is. 59:15-16, NIV)

Thus we have the broad theological framework for understanding the messianic mediation of divine redemption. God could have simply come in power and restored creation directly, but he chose to do it through a man, his chosen one, the Messiah. This is the golden thread woven through the Scriptures. But how specifically did this thread of messianic expectation develop? Did the prophets, being carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21), speak arbitrarily
Because of the temporal nature of the Scriptures, the historical working of the arm of the Lord in divine sovereignty, which is not directly messianic (cf. Ex. 6:6; Deut. 4:34; 1 Ki. 8:42; Ps. 44:3; 77:15; 89:10; Is. 63:12), points to the eschatological working of the messianic Arm of the Lord. In this way the activity of divine sovereignty in the Exodus, and similar events, inform the activity of divine sovereignty at the end of the age (cf. esp. Is. 51:9ff; 63:12ff).
9

of an anointed man whom God would use to fix everything? Or was there a more intuitive and organic process to this expectation? Indeed it is the latter, based upon the inherent nature and relationship between God and manand the covenants made between themthrough which the hope of the Messiah develops.

THE GENESIS OF MESSIANIC HOPE The hope of salvation and a restored heavens and earth in the Scriptures begins immediately after the sin of Adam and Eve. 10 Speaking to the serpent in the Garden later explicitly identified as Satan (cf. 2 Cor. 11:14; Rev. 12:9; 20:2),11 God says,
Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring [Hb. zera] and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. (Gen. 3:14-15,
NIV)

Unfortunately, a large contingent of modern scholarship believes Jewish messianism simply arose as a response to social oppression out of the post-exilic milieu, hoping for the restoration of the former glory of the Davidic kingdom. However, Davids own confession of Israel being aliens and strangers< as were all our forefathers (2 Chr. 29:15) and the numerous Psalms written by David himself being anchored in a coming Messiah (e.g. 2, 21, 37, etc.) argue for a pervasive messianic hope to the Scriptures, even protologically. Moreover, to relegate messianism as such is to violate the very nature of the Scriptures, viz., Messianic prophecy was thus not a product of a human yearning for a better life, but the result of a supernatural revelation. *John H. Sailhamer, The Messiah and the Hebrew Bible, JETS 44/1 (March 2001): 6.] Messianism is the whole reason the Scriptures exist, as Sailhamer summarizes, What I have tried to suggest is that it can be argued that the books of the OT are messianic in the full NT sense of the word. The OT is the light that points the way to the NT. The NT is not only to cast its light back on the Old, but more importantly, the light of the OT is to be cast on the New. The books of the OT were written as the embodiment of a real, messianic hopea hope in a future miraculous work of God in sending a promised Redeemer. This was not an afterthought in the Hebrew Bible. This was not the work of final redactors. I believe the messianic thrust of the OT was the whole reason the books of the Hebrew Bible were written. In other words, the Hebrew Bible was not written as the national literature of Israel. It probably also was not written to the nation of Israel as such. It was rather written, in my opinion, as the expression of the deep-seated messianic hope of a small group of faithful prophets and their followers. (ibid., 23)
10

Intertestamental literature clearly identifies the Edenic serpent as Satan (cf. Jub. 3:17ff; 4 Macc. 18:8; Ps. Sol. 4:11). Apoc. Moses 16:4-5 also relates the serpent as the vessel of Satan: The devil said to him *the serpent+, Do not fear; only become my vessel, and I will speak a word through your mouth by which you will be able to deceive him [Adam]. (OTP 2:277)
11

10

Here God makes an indirect promise to Adam and Eve, and their progeny, concerning the crushing of Satans head. This passage is often referred to as the mother promise from which all future messianic promises proceed.12 It is also called the proto-evangelium, or first-gospel, since it is the first reference of good news to man in his fallen state. 13 A singular, masculine pronoun, he, is used to describe the offspring or seed (Hb. zera) of the woman.14 This Seed of the woman will crush the head (Hb. rosh) of the serpent.15 In this way, we have the birth of the basic messianic realitya human being will be born who will mediate the wrath of God toward Satan and those who belong to him.16 The messianic hope is thus

12 13

See Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, 5.

The referencing of Genesis 3:15 as the Proto-evangel is attributed to Irenaeus of Lyons (c.135-202), Against Heresies, 3:23.7 and 5:21.1. However, a messianic reading of Gen. 3:15 is seen in the translation of the Septuagint [see R. A. Martin, The Earliest Messianic Interpretation of Gen 3:15. JBL 84 (1965): 425-27) and the earliest Aramaic translations of Genesis, cf. Jewish Targums of Pseudo-Jonathan, Neofiti, and Fragmentary *see John Skinner, The Protevangelium, Genesis, ICC (New York: Scribner, 1910), 80-88] where Satan is defeated in the age of the messianic kingdom [see also M. B. Shepherd, Targums, the New Testament, and Biblical Theology of the Messiah, JETS 51/1 (Mar. 2008): 45-58]. These early readings suggest a common messianic interpretation of the Old Testament stemming from Genesis. Since the word zera is always in singular form in the Hebrew Bible, Gen. 3:15 also introduces us to the idea of corporate solidarity, i.e. the one who represents the group and the many who are represented are equally a part of the same single meaning intended by the author. *Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., The Messiah in the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), 25.] In other words, many offspring can be represented by the single Offspring of Adam and Eve, which is then carried through the rest of the OT covenants (cf. Gen. 17:7; 2 Sam. 7:12; Gal. 3:16, 29). Thus, the English word offspring, being a collective singular noun, is an adequate translation for zera *vs. descendant(s)+. Unfortunately, offspring is the best translation of the Greek genos, which is also used as a messianic title, i.e. Offspring of David (Rev. 22:16). In my opinion, the translation of Hb. zera and Gk. sperma is best left as seed, leaving the interpretation of its quality and quantity unrestricted. Seed also carries with it cosmogenical associations (cf. Gen. 1:11, 12, 29) which were assumed in the mind of the ancient reader.
14

The Hebrew language does not have a word specifically for head, but rather rosh refers to the upper part, cf. the heads of the mountains (Gen. 8:5), the head of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:4), the heads of the clans of Israel (Num. 1:16); the head of the tribes of Israel (1 Sam. 15:17), etc. Thus, the head of the serpent could naturally be interpreted governmentally (see W. White, 2097 ( r ), TWOT, 825-26).
15

See Sailhamers insightful discussion of this passage in The Pentateuch as Narrative (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992), 106-109; Consequently, more is at stake in this brief passage than the reader is at first aware. A program is set forth. A plot is established that will take the author far beyond this or that snake and his seed. (p. 107)
16

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fundamentally genealogical in nature, which creates a baseline of expectation for future covenants and prophetic oracles.17 The relationship of the satanic head to the messianic heel also portrays an image of military conquest commonly used in the Old Testament (cf. Josh. 10:24; 2 Sam. 22:38f; Ps. 47:2f; 89:23).18 Thus, we have a vision for the rebellion of Satan being brought into forceful submission.19
And when they brought those kings out to Joshua, Joshua summoned all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near; put your feet on the necks of these kings. (Jos. 10:24) I pursued my enemies and crushed them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them completely, and they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. (2 Sam. 22:38-39, NIV)

With a clear reference to that ancient serpent (Rev. 20:2), the Scriptures prophesy the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 in the age to come and more specifically in Gehenna (cf. Rev. 20:1-10). As the Christ (Rev. 20:4, 6), Jesus will bring Satan into forceful submission by binding him in Hades for a thousand years and then throwing him, with the wicked, into the Lake of Fire forever (cf. Rev. 20:10, 14f; 21:8; 22:15). This is the ultimate head-crushing of Satan.

Thus messianism is characterized by Walter Kaiser as epigenetical, a biological term meaning the progressive development of an embryo from an undifferentiated egg cell *Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), s.v. epigenesis+; so, The unity that Scripture exhibited was not statica flat-Bible type of uniformity; it had an organic or epigenetical aspect to it that defied an easy categorization or simplification. Even in its earliest OT statements, that divine word< had within it seminal ideas that only later amplifications would unfold from the germs of thought that were just barely visible when first announced. That is why the metaphor from biology is an apt one: prophetic truth had an organic, epigenetical nature. The fixed core of ideas connected with the promise-plan of God and the representative of that promise remained constant. But as time went on, the content of that given word of blessing, promise, or judgment grew in accordance with seed thoughts that were contained within its earliest statements, much as a seed is uniquely related to the plant that it will become if it has life at all. (Kaiser, Messiah in the Old Testament, 27)
17

See also the fuller discussion of OT language that references Genesis 3:15including head crushing, broken enemies, stricken serpents, and those who lick the dust and are trampled underfootin James Hamilton, The Skull Crushing Seed of the Woman: Inner-Biblical Interpretation of Genesis 3:15, Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 10/2 (Summer 2006): 30-54.
18

For more on the hermeneutical issues surrounding Gen. 3:15, see T. D. Alexander, Messianic Ideology in the Book of Genesis, in The Lords Anointed: Interpretation of the Old Testament Messianic Texts, eds. P. E. Satterthwaite, R. S. Hess and G. J. Wenham (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 19-39.
19

12

And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years< And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Rev. 20:1-10, NIV)

Moreover, Jesus identifies himself cosmogenically as the alpha (22:13) and the offspring (Rev. 22:16) who will give to everyone according to what he has done (22:12). Thus, we see the germ of Genesis 3:15 progress to maturity in the Day of the Lord, Gehenna, and the resurrection.20 It is the messianic Seed of Adam and Eve that will be the agent of divine justice and restoration (see Fig. 5.3).21

As Jewish theologian Adolph Saphir summarized, The Protoevangelion; the first promise is justly so called, because it contains the Gospel in germ. Scripture, or rather the Revelation, of which it is a record, is an organic growth; not an aggregate of successive teaching, added in a mechanical way, but a development of living seed. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world; especially His central work of Redemption. Hence every part of Gods revelation is complete, containing the seed< And so far from our having fully comprehended it, only the end will explain the beginning; only the Millennial age will disclose Genesis. When Satan is finally bruised under our feet we shall understand the Protoevangelion. *Christ Crucified: Lectures on I Corinthians II (London: James Nisbet, 1873), 2-3]
20

See also the timeless exposition of Gen. 3:15 by E. W. Hengstenberg, Christology of the Old Testament, trans. T. Meyer and J. Martin, vol. 1 (orig. 1872; Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1956), 14-29.
21

13

The Old Testament is rife with messianic imagery which references and builds upon Genesis 3:15. Balaam prophesies concerning Israel, A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. (Num. 24:17, NIV) Likewise, Habakkuk prophesies, You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of your anointed. You crushed the head of the house of the wicked, laying him bare from thigh to neck. (3:13) Jeremiah warns, Behold, the storm of the LORD! Wrath has gone forth, a whirling tempest; it will burst upon the head of the wicked. (23:19) And David forsees the messianic Lord who will crush kings on the day of his wrath (Ps. 110:5, NIV), and he will shatter heads over the whole earth. (v. 6, NLT) Thus, the Messiah will be the means by which God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins. (Ps. 68:21, NIV) And according to the cursing language of Gen. 3:14 (dust you shall eat), Solomon says of the Messiah, He will rule from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth. The desert tribes will bow before him and his enemies will lick the dust. (Ps. 72:8-9, NIV) This Edenic metaphor is reiterated in Isaiahs vision of the new heavens and new earth (65:17-25) when, The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. (v. 25) Likewise, Micah prophesies the Day of the Lord,

14

The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the result of their deeds< Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will lay their hands on their mouths and their ears will become deaf. They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the LORD our God and will be afraid of you. (7:13-17, NIV; cf. Is. 49:23)

Moreover, the heel-to-head imagery is seen when the Messiah treads the winepress of the nations on the day of vengeance, saying, In my anger I have trampled my enemies as if they were grapes. In my fury I have trampled my foes. (Is. 63:3, NLT) Similarly, it is through the messianic Sun of Righteousness that the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw, for the Lord says to the righteous, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet. (Mal. 4:1-3, NLT) References and allusions to Genesis 3:15 also abound in the New Testament. Jesus tells his disciples, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. (Luke 10:18-19). And no one would have missed the implications of Johns imprecatory preaching, You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Mt. 3:7; Lk. 3:7, NASB). Jesus reiterates this accusation against the Pharisees (cf. Mt. 12:34) and relates their common destiny with the Devil in Gehenna: You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? (Mt. 23:33). Likewise, the Pharisees are condemned as sons of the evil one (Mt. 13:38), cf. children of the devil (1 Jn. 3:10), whom Jesus exposes as descendents of the lying Serpent in the Garden:
You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (Jn. 8:44)

Moreover, Revelation 12-13 is an apocalyptic recapitulation of Genesis 3:15, with a woman giving birth (12:2) to a male child (12:5) and a great dragon (12:3), i.e. that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan (12:9, cf. v.

15

14f), seeking to devour the child (12:4).22 However, the beast (13:1) who is given authority by the dragon/serpent (13:4) receives a fatal head wound (13:3) as a sign of the ultimate and final head-crushing pictured in 14:9ff:23
If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. (Rev. 14:9-11, NIV)24

Paul also exhorts the Roman church to resist wicked deceiversakin to the smooth talk and flattery (16:18) of Satan in the Gardenand to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil (v. 19), an obvious reference to the

Here it seems that drakn megas (Rev. 12:3) draws from use in the LXX where drakn translates Hb. tannin, i.e. serpent (Ex. 7:9ff; Deut. 32:33; Job 7:12 [cf. 20:16; 26:13]; Ps. 74:13; 91:13; Amos 9:3; Jer. 51:34). See the discussion of Old Testament usage in W. Foerster, , TDNT, 2:281-83.
22

As Beale notes, God must be the unmentioned agent of the beasts wound< Such a wound on the head of the grand nemesis of Gods people reflects Gen. 3:15, especially when seen together with Rev. 12:17. *Gregory K. Beale, The Book of Revelation: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 687-88].
23

Note that the worship of the Serpent (13:4), and vicarious worship of the Beast (13:4, 8, 12, 15; 14:9, 11), is the culmination of sin, which reinforces the account of original satanic sin in The Life of Adam and Eve, 12-16: And the devil sighed and said, O Adam, all my enmity and envy and sorrow concern you, since because of you I am expelled and deprived of my glory which I had in the heavens in the midst of angels, and because of you I was cast out onto the earth. 2 Adam answered, What have I done to you, and what is my blame with you? Since you are neither harmed nor hurt by us, why do you pursue us? 13:1 The devil replied, Adam, what are you telling me? It is because of you that I have been thrown out of there. 2 When you were created, I was cast out from the presence of God and was sent out from the fellowship of the angels. 3 When God blew into you the breath of life and your countenance and likeness were made in the image of God, Michael brought you and made (us) worship you in the sight of God, and the LORD God said, Behold Adam! I have made you in our image and likeness. 14:1 And Michael went out and called all the angels, saying, Worship the image of the LORD God, as the LORD God has instructed. 2 And Michael himself worshiped first, and called me and said, Worship the image of God, Yahweh. 3 And I answered, I do not worship Adam. And when Michael kept forcing me to worship, I said to him, Why do you compel me? I will not worship one inferior and subsequent to me. I am prior to him in creation; before he was made, I was already made. He ought to worship me. 15:1 When they heard this, other angels who were under me refused to worship him. 2 And Michael asserted, Worship the image of God. But if now you will not worship, the LORD God will be wrathful with you. 3 And I said, If he be wrathful with me, I will set my throne above the stars of heaven and will be like the Most High. 16:1 And the LORD God was angry with me and sent me with my angels out from our glory; and because of you, we were expelled into this world from our dwellings and have been cast onto the earth. 2 And immediately we were made to grieve, since we had been deprived of so great glory. And we were pained to see you in such bliss of delights. 3 So with deceit I assailed your wife and made you to be expelled through her from the joys of your bliss, as I have been expelled from my glory. (OTP, 2:262)
24

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forbidden tree, for the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (v. 20) Here the God of peace is understood in light of the messianic passages wherein peace is proclaimed and established upon the earth under the Messiahs rule (cf. Ps. 37:11; Is. 9:6f; 26:12; 52:7; 54:10; 60:17; 66:12; Hag. 2:9; Zech. 9:10), and the wicked are tormented forever without peace (cf. Is. 48:22; 57:21; 66:24). Similarly, Paul asserts that in Adam death came through a man (1 Cor. 15:21), and its reversal in the resurrection of the dead will come in Christ (v. 22). This will initiate the destroying of all dominion, authority and power (v. 24), as Christ will reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet (v. 25), a clear reference (in light of the discussion of Adam and the entrance of sin) to the heel of Gen. 3:15. Paul then goes on (v. 27) to quote Psalm 8:6, which is poetic commentary on Genesis 1:
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas. (Ps. 8:3-8)

The reference to Psalm 8 here assumes a redemptive logic of sorts. If God created everything with perfection and righteousness under Adam, then he will restore all things to perfection and righteousness under the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45). Adam then is a type of Him who was to comeand viz., For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. (Rom. 5:14, 17, NASB) It is the reigning in life that constitutes the crushing of the head of Satan by bringing all the enemies of God under the heel of the Christ. Psalm 8:4-6 is also quoted redemptively in Hebrews 2:6-8. It is clear that putting everything in subjection under his feet (v. 8) references Gods subjection of the world to come (v. 5) by the Messiah. The bringing many sons to glory (v. 10) and the forceful submission of Satan under the heel of the Christ will surely come to pass, even though at present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him (v. 8). 17

Genesis 3:15 is also the backdrop to another well known passage in the New Testament. In Ephesians 1:9-10, Paul summarizes the hope of the believer in the headship of Christ:
He made known to us the mystery of His will according to his kind intention which he purposed in Christ, that in the fullness of the times of the household administration, all things in the heavens and on the earth would again be brought together under headship in Christ. (Eph. 1:10, AT)

The household administration, Gk. oikonomia,25 is clearly in reference to God (since he is the agent of vv. 3-8) ruling over the heavens and the earth, which are elsewhere inferred as Gods house (cf. 1 Ki. 8:27; 2 Chr. 2:6; Is. 66:1; Acts 7:48).26 The fullness of the times, Gk. kairos, are understood in terms of the appointed times of redemptive history, climaxing in the Day of the Lord (cf. Ps. 102:13; Dan. 8:19; Hab. 2:3; Acts 1:7; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rev. 11:18). 27 The all things in the heavens and on the earth is a direct reference to Creation, within which the bringing together under the head of ChristGk. anakephalaio (the root of which is kephal, i.e. head)clearly invokes the imagery of Genesis 3:15, since the world in this age is under the usurpative headship of Satan (cf. Eph. 2:2; 1 Jn. 5:19; Rev. 12:9).28 All of this is rearticulated in Pauls following prayer, wherein the church would know Christ and the hope of her calling (vv. 17-18), know the power of the resurrection of Christ as a firstfruits (vv. 19-20), and know the enduring dominance of Christ over all creation, i.e. far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only

Sadly the translation of the ESV/NRSV/NLT, plan, provides little contextual meaning, and the logic of the NIV does not follow: The NIV put into effect represents a Greek word that depicts the wise governing or administration over a household. *Kenneth L. Boles, Galatians & Ephesians, The College Press NIV Commentary (Joplin: College Press, 1993), s.v.]
25

So, In the Greek world was regularly used for Gods ordering and administration of the universe. Here in 1:10 it also appears to have that active force (cf. also 3:9). (A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians, WBC, 42:31-32) Note also the same logic in 3:14-15, For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven [Gk: dat. masc. pl.+ and on earth derives its name. (NIV)
26

See esp. John H. P. Reumann, Oikonomia = Covenant: Terms for Heilsgeschichte in Early Christian Usage, Novum Testamentum 3 (1959): 282-92.
27

The translation of this passage has a long history of debate (see H. Schlier, , TDNT 3:681-82), though within a biblical worldview and theology its meaning is simple. The NASB, administration, most accurately translates the governmental reality of oikonomia, while the NIV is the only prominent translation that emphasizes the root of head in anakephalaio (though the NLT does incorporate authority).
28

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in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things (vv. 21-22). Psalm 8:4f also provides a simple cosmogenical context for the common New Testament phrase Son of Man, used messianically some 80 times in the Gospels by Jesus to refer to himself.29 Since the Hebrew word for man and Adam are the same, the literal phrase was Son of Adam (Hb. ben adam).30 Thus Psalm 8 gives us a clear and simple approach to this messianic title which cuts through all the academic debate and confusion.31 The phrase is commonly used in relation to cosmogenical restoration (cf. Mt. 19:28; 25:31; Jn. 1:51; 5:25) and eschatological judgment (cf. Mt. 9:6; 12:32; 13:41; 16:27; 24:30, 37; Lk. 17:24; Jn. 5:27).32 Thus, it is the righteous Son of Adami.e. the Last Adam or Second Man (1 Cor. 15:45, 47)33who will be appointed the heir of all things (Heb. 1:2), that which was originally allotted to Adam, 34 and who will be anointed judge of the living

The cosmogenical context also explains its varied usage in the OT, both messianic (cf. Dan. 7:13; Ps. 80:17; 144:3) and non-messianic (cf. Num. 23:19; Job 25:6; Dan. 8:17; and some 90 references in Ezekiel). Just as the OT prophet is a son of Adam, so also is the Messiah the Son of Adam.
29

E.g., the phrase ben dm can be understood not only as a human being but also as son of Adam (D. E. Aune, Son of Man, ISBE, 4:578).
30

Debate over the origin and meaning of this phrase is part and parcel with the debate over Christology itself; see e.g. Ladd, Theology of the New Testament, 143-57; C. Colpe, , TDNT 8:400-477; and Adela Yarbro Collins, Cosmology and Eschatology in Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism (Leiden: Brill Academic, 1996), 139-197.
31

Thus resolves the seeming contradiction of usage between Old and New Testaments, We have already seen that son of man is not an uncommon idiom in the Old Testament, simply designating humanity. This usage has frequently been appealed to, to explain some of the gospel idioms< However, this quite fails to explain the eschatological use of Son of Man in the Gospels. (Ladd, Theology of the New Testament, 145-46).
32

See esp. Cullmanns discussion on Pauls contrast of Adam and Christ as related to the son of man concept in Judaism (Christology of the New Testament, 166-181)e.g., his whole theology and Christology is so completely embedded in eschatology that he calls the Second Adam the Last Adam ( , I Cor. 15.45) or the coming Adam ( , Rom. 5.14). Even if Paul does not directly refer to Dan. 7 in connection with statements about the Man, he does share the view that Christ will come on the clouds of heaven. He writes in I Thess. 4.17 that we (together with those who have fallen asleep) shall be caught up . . . in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This expectation must go back to Daniels picture of the Son of Man coming on the clouds. (p. 166) See also the little known but useful commentary (though debatable concerning his approach to original sin) of Karl Barth, Christ and Adam: Man and Humanity in Romans 5, trans. T. A. Smail (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1956).
33

Note also the typological substratum of the Son of Man sayings which is rooted in Christ as the Second Adam in Leonhard Goppelt, Typos: The Typological Interpretation of the Old Testament in the New, trans. Donald Madvig (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1982), 90-100 (p. 97 quoted).
34

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and the dead (Acts 10:42), i.e. all Adamic progeny.35 Moreover, this genealogical approach falls in line with the other messianic titles of son of Abraham (Mt. 1:1; cf. Lk. 19:9; Gal. 3:16) and son of David (Mt. 1:1; 9:27; 12:23; etc.).
I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones< and will inherit eternal life. (Mt. 19:28-29, NIV) For as the Father has life in himself [cf. Creation], so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. (Jn. 5:26-29)

This rendering of son of Adam in light of cosmogenical messianic expectation is further reinforced by the functional equation of son and seed in the Old Testament (e.g. Gen. 4:25; 21:13; 1 Chr. 17:11; Is. 57:3; Dan. 9:1). Thus, the use of son of Abraham (Mt. 1:1; Lk. 19:9; Gal. 3:7) would logically be equated with the promised seed of Abraham (cf. Gen. 17:7f; Rom. 4:13; Gal. 3:29), and the son of David (Mt. 1:1; 12:23; Mk. 12:35) would be seen in light of the covenanted seed to come (cf. 2 Sam. 7:12; Ps. 89:4; Jn. 7:42; Rom. 1:3). Likewise, the son of Man would have been understood primarily in context to the promised seed of humanitys Parents. The New Testament genealogies (Mt. 1:1-17; Lk. 3:21-38), which are by nature designed to prove messianic descent, further confirm this.
And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son (Hb. ben) and named him Seth, "For God has appointed another seed (Hb. zera) for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed." (Gen. 4:25, NKJV)

Conversely, we see in Gen. 3:15 a cosmogenical foundation for the theology of the Antichrist, the seed of the Serpent and the huios ts apleias, i.e. son of destruction (2 Thess. 2:3)a phrase akin to son of man, being applied to historical antichrists (cf. Judas, Jn. 17:12) as well as the eschatological culmination. They are all children of destruction because the Devil and his Seed are destined for the day of destruction (Deut. 32:35; Job 21:30; Ob. 1:13; cf. go to destruction Rev. 17:8)thus, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. (1 Jn. 2:18) Without a cosmogenical base of expectation for the Christ, we have no basic framework for the culmination of sin in Antichrist, i.e. the man of sin (2 Thess. 2:3), who typifies the Edenic deception by speaking like a serpent (Rev. 13:11).
35

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And it shall be, when your days are fulfilled, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will set up your seed (Hb. zera) after you, who will be of your sons (Hb. ben); and I will establish his kingdom. (1 Chr. 17:11, NKJV) An account of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Mt. 1:1, NRSV)

The genealogies in Matthew and Luke also give us interpretive insight concerning the basic nature and design of the Old Testament (note the same Greek phrase, biblos geneses, used in Mt. 1:1; Gen. 2:4; and 5:1, LXX). It is not a random assortment of stories and writings. It is a systematic, genealogical presentation that is inherently messianic. The legal materials, prophetic oracles, wisdom literature, etc. all build on the basic genealogical narratives, which start in the Garden, run through Israel, and end in a new heavens and new earth.

THE ABRAHAMIC MESSIANIC HOPE The genealogical orientation of Genesis 4-11 is self-evident. It is not a story with genealogies in it, but rather genealogies comprise the story itself. The hope of Adam and Eve rests in the birth of a righteous child. Thus, Adam names his wife Eve (meaning life) immediately after the curse of death, cf. return to the ground (v. 19), in faith that she would become the mother of all living (v. 20), so reversing the effects of the serpents deceit. 36 Likewise, when Cain is found unrighteous in murdering his brother, the hope is transferred to Seth, for God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel (Gen. 4:25, NKJV). The subsequent genealogy is a reflection of their hope in the imminent Childbearing, as seen in Lamech naming Noah, saying, This one will give us rest from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the LORD has cursed. (Gen. 5:29, NASB) Seth and Noah are the only children in the genealogy whose naming is given commentary, and this
In light of the immediate context, the triumph of the womans seed would suggest a return to the Edenic state, before the serpent had wrought its damage< Thus should be understood as the first echo of the penalty, in which the woman is given a personal name by Adam. For the first words after the divine judgment are words of hope. Adam names his wife Eve, for she is the mother of all the living (Gen. 3:20)< in the context it shows Adam reclaiming dominion in faith through naming his wife the mother, which cannot help but allude to the more specific role she will have as the one who will provide a seed who will strike the serpent. *Stephen G. Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Biblical Theology of the Hebrew Bible, New Studies in Biblical Theology 15 (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 68-69]
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commentary is most clearly and simply understood as messianic.37 Moreover, the imminence of this genealogical-messianic hope is tied to the broader framework of the Day of the Lord.38 So Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied,
See, the Lord is coming with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all, and to convict everyone of all the deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him. (Jude 1:14-15, NRSV)

Following the genealogy (Gen. 10:1, NKJV) and dispersion of the nations, we have the genealogy (Gen. 11:10, NKJV) from Shem to Abram. The calling of Abram in Gen. 12:1-3 is not a narrative break. It is simply a continuation of the genealogical narrative involving a genealogical calling. The messianic Seed would be born through the line of Abraham (see Fig. 5.4). While the nations have given birth to continued wickedness unto divine condemnation, God calls Abram to faith in the birth of the Seed, which will lead to the divine blessing of all nations in the resurrection (cf. Gen. 12:3; 17:7; 22:18).

See also Richard S. Hess, Studies in the Personal Names of Genesis 1-11 (Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1993); and T. D. Alexander, From Paradise to the Promised Land: An Introduction to the Pentateuch, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), 101-113.
37 38 See

esp. Sailhamer, A central purpose of the eschatological framework of the Pentateuch is to bring the whole of Genesis 1-11 into the realm of Israels own history and thus prepare the way for an understanding of concepts such as the Kingdom of God in terms of the concrete realities of creation. *Creation, Genesis 1-11, and the Canon, BBR 10/1 (2000): 89]

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I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice. (Gen. 22:16-18)

Like his forefathers, Abraham sought the restoration of all things through the birth of the messianic Seed. As previously discussed, Abram would have no other context for divine blessing and cursing than Gen. 1-3. And this is the way the New Testament writers understood it, as seen in Peter quoting Gen. 22:18 in Acts 3:
Repent, then, and turn to God< that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-- even Jesus. He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets< And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed. When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways. (Acts 3:19-26, NIV)

The blessing of all nations is here twofold and chronological. They are blessed by the suffering of the Seed for the forgiveness of sins (v. 26) before they are blessed by the glory of the Seed in the restoration of all things (v. 21). Peter also clearly 23

interprets your offspring (v. 25) messianically and individually by paralleling it in the next verse with his servant. Paul likewise interprets the Abrahamic covenant in his discussion of the purpose of the institution of the Mosaic Law, stating, the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, and to seeds, as referring to many, but rather to one, and to your seed, that is, Christ. (Gal. 3:16, NIV)39 The promises of course were understood to be eschatological, cf. eternal life (6:8) and the kingdom of God (5:21). Thus, the Messiah and those who belong to Christ (3:29, NASB), through faith in Christ (3:26, NASB), will inherit the earth at Christs coming. It is the protologically-based worldview and its assumptions which ultimately dictate messianic expectation and underlie such an interpretation of the Abrahamic Covenant, within which Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world (Rom. 4:13,
NIV).

The Abrahamic sign of circumcision is likewise interpreted (cf. Gen. 17:914). Circumcision is instituted after Abram is renamed Abraham, prophesying his becoming the father of a multitude of nations (17:5) and calling things that are not as though they were (Rom. 4:17, NIV). It is the consecration of the biological means of the messianic birth through the severing of the foreskin that constitutes the sign of the covenant (Gen. 17:11). How prophetically apropos. It was not a cultural ritual. It was an act of faith by which the Seed was expected to come, and through which the promise of the Seed was indeed carried forth (cf. Gen. 21:2; 26:4; etc), since the Seed was literally in the loins of his ancestor (Heb. 7:10).

THE DAVIDIC MESSIANIC HOPE The genealogical-messianic expectation continues to dominate the biblical narrative from Abraham to David. Though there is much to be said concerning
Jack Collins has made a strong case that Paul is not stretching the text and its messianic orientation, since verb inflections, adjectives, and pronouns are used differently when zera is meant to be interpreted as singular versus collective (see C. John Collins, A Syntactical Note (Genesis 3:15): Is the Womans Seed Singular or Plural? TynB 48/1 (1997): 139-48; and idem, Galatians 3:16: What Kind of an Exegete Was Paul? TynB 54/1 (2003): 75-86). In the latter, Collins argues that the referent in Gen. 22:17 switches from collective (v. 17a) to singular (v. 17b-18), and thus Paul interprets the text quite accurately in Gal. 3:16 *see also T. D. Alexander, Further Observations on the Term Seed in Genesis, TynB 48/2 (1997): 363-67].
39

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messianic prediction and promise between the two, the Christ is summarily known as the son of David, the son of Abraham (Mt. 1:1).40 Indeed, much narrative time and energy is devoted to Sinai and the Law. However, this was given simply because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. (Gal. 3:19, NIV) Because the story gets right into the thick of the trees, so to speak, some people think the larger messianic forest-view gets lost. This is not the case at all. The larger redemptive narrative remains in the background of common consciousness, giving context to the tarrying purposes of the Law, Land, Monarchy, Temple, etc. These things are simply designed to tutor (cf. Gal. 3:24f) and cultivate (cf. Rom. 11:24) righteousness and faith in the age to come. The formation and development of the Israelite nation was fundamentally based upon and oriented around the coming of the Messiah, the rallying of the nations for judgment, and the divine glory that would ensue. The Davidic Covenant simply extends the cosmogenically-based, messianic hope into its historical context. The hope of the Righteous Seed moves through the righteous lineage of Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Judah, and Boazunto David (cf. Ruth 4:18-22; 1 Chr. 1-2). The broad expectation of the resurrection and a new heavens and earth do not change. It is simply the means and context within which these things happen that develops. Thus, not only is it an Adamic and Abrahamic Seed, but it is also a Judaic and Davidic Seed (see Fig. 5.5).

For commentary on the commonly referenced messianic predictions between Abraham and Davide.g. the Judaic Prediction (Gen. 49:8-12), Balaamic Prediction (Num. 24:15-19), Mosaic Prediction (Deut. 18:15-18), and Hannaic Prediction (1 Sam. 2:1-10)see Hengstenberg, Christology of the Old Testament, 1:57-130; Franz Delitzsch, Messianic Prophecies in Historical Succession, trans. by S. I. Curtiss (New York: Scribners Sons, 1891), 47-79; and Kaiser, Messiah in the Old Testament, 50-76.
40

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Though not initially referenced as a covenant, 2 Samuel 7 forms a prophetic pathway upon which the rest of the Scriptures run. The interaction between God, Nathan, and David is later called a covenant by David himself (2 Sam. 23:5), by the Solomonic Temple musician, Ethan (Ps. 89:3), and by the prophet Jeremiah (33:21). Following Genesis 3 and 12, 2 Samuel 7 (par. 1 Chr. 17) is arguably the most important chapter in the Bible concerning messianic expectation:41
When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring [Hb. zera; seed,
KJV/NKJV]

after you, who shall come from

your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. (2 Sam. 7:12-14)

The question immediately arises: What kind of everlasting kingdom is this? Who does it involve? Where is it located? These are questions that were commonly understood based upon a common worldview which dictated the

Third in importance only to the protoevangelium of Genesis 3:15 and the Abrahamic promise of Genesis 12:2-3 is 2 Samuel 7 (see also 1 Ch 17; Ps. 89), Gods promise to David. This chapter sets the tone for the promise-plan of God throughout the rest of the OT. (Kaiser, Messiah in the Old Testament, 78)
41

26

grand scope of redemptive history. However, various ensuing passages make these assumptions plain. Psalm 89 provides the most direct and comprehensive commentary about how the words of 2 Samuel 7 were understood by David and his successors:
I have made a covenant with My chosen; I have sworn to David My servant, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations< I shall crush his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him. My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, and in My name his horn will be exalted. I shall also set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers. He will cry to Me, You are my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation. I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. (Ps. 89:3-27, NASB)

The establishment of the everlasting kingdom inherently involves the messianic Seed being exalted as the highest of the kings of the earth. Of course his adversaries and those who hate him would thus be assumed to be the unrighteous kings of the earth, imposters and usurpers who hate God and the truth. This is the basic thrust of the renowned messianic Psalm 2:
The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One (Hb. mashiyach)< Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill. I will proclaim the decree of the LORD: He said to me, You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. (2:2-9,
NIV)

Here again we see the assumption of the Davidic King and his inheritance of the nations. The anointing of the Davidic Seed happens within the predetermined theological framework of the Day of the Lord, unto a new earth. The Messiah simply functions as the conduit of divine justice and governance, as Isaiah relates,
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. (Is. 9:6-7, NIV)

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This governmental mediation happens by means of the Spirit of God anointing the chosen Seed. Thus, God rules through the Messiah by means of his Spirit, as Isaiah repeatedly prophesies:
There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD< with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. (Is. 11:1-4) Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. (Is. 42:1-4,
NIV)

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God< (Is. 61:1-2)

The Holy Spirit is thus understood as the ultimate causative agent of the Day of the Lord, the new heavens and new earth, the resurrection, and the messianic institution and administrationall of which is assumed in light of the Spirits original agency in Creation. This messianic interpretation of the anointing of the Holy Spirit is undoubtedly how the Spirit descending on him like a dove (Mk. 1:10) was understood at Jesus baptism (cf. Mt. 3:16; Lk. 3:22; Jn. 1:32). This must be the Messiah, since God called him Son and anointed him with his Spirit. As the mediator of divine governance, the Messiah is ultimately concerned with the conveyance of divine character. Thus, since the Lord himself is just and righteous, so also In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on itone from the house of Davidone who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness. (Is. 16:5, NIV) Moreover, the Lord declares, I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and

28

execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. (Jer. 23:5, NKJV)42 The parallel of this passage in Jer. 33:15-16 is also followed by a reference to the overarching covenant with creation as a whole (a passage undoubtedly in Pauls mind in Rom. 8:19-22), securing the hope of a restored heavens and the earth under the governance of the Davidic Messiah:
For thus says the LORD: David shall never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel< If you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that day and night will not come at their appointed time, then also my covenant with David my servant may be broken, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne< Thus says the LORD: If I have not established my covenant with day and night and the fixed order of heaven and earth, then I will reject the offspring of Jacob and David my servant and will not choose one of his offspring to rule over the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (Jer. 33:17-26)43

Since the Davidic Covenant is genealogically based, subsequent prophecy often refers to David and his Seed as one and the same (cf. Ps. 18:49f; Is. 55:3ff; Jer. 30:9; Eze. 34:23f; Hos. 3:5). Though David himself may indeed rule over Israel forever in the resurrectionas Abraham himself will indeed inherit the land of Canaan (cf. Gen. 13:15; 15:8)it will be under the universal governance of the Seed which comes from his own body.
My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall walk in my rules and be careful to obey my statutes. They shall dwell in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children's children shall dwell there forever, and David my servant shall be their prince forever. (Eze. 37:24-25)

Since the context of this passage, both before and after, is the restoring of the Jews out of all the countries (v. 3, 8) of their banishment, the governance of the righteous Branch is assumedly over those countries. Thus, the KJV/NKJV translation of Hb. erets (v. 5) as earth instead of land (NASB/ESV/NRSV/NIV/NLT) is preferred.
42

The relating of the righteous Branch being raised up to David (v. 15) to the establishing of the day and the night (v. 20, cf. Gen. 1:5) should not be overlooked. Here we have a glimpse into the assumed cosmogenically-based worldview of the Bible. As such, the relating of the Davidic Covenant to the covenant with the day and < the night is not a random, unrelated analogy. The two are inherently tied together under the sovereignty of God. As surely as there will be an eternal new heavens and new earth (their redemption being implied in covenant), so also will there surely be a Davidic Branch representing and mediating the divine character, cf. the LORD our Righteousness (v. 16), throughout the earth.
43

29

For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or idol. Afterward the Israelites will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the LORD and to his blessings in the last days. (Hos. 3:4-5, NIV)

At the heart of the Davidic Covenant is also the concept of the divine sonship of the Messiah. Note the centrality and repetition of the Messiah being the son of God: I will be his father, and he will be my son. (2 Sam. 7:14, NIV)
The LORD said to me, You are my Son; today I have begotten you. (Ps. 2:7) He shall cry to me, You are my Father, my God< (Ps. 89:26)

The Davidic association of divine sonship is likewise seen in the angelic declaration concerning Jesus birth, He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end. (Lk. 1:32-33) Thus, the messianic title Son of God is primarily derived from the Davidic Covenant. He is the descendant of David, of whom God approves and deems righteous to rule as his vicar over the earth.44 As such, the phrase Son of God is essentially a messianic phrase associated with Davidic governance, rather than an ontological phrase concerned with divinity versus humanity. 45 Of course there is overwhelming evidence for the divinity of Jesus and his ontological identification with YHVH.46 However, this is not the point of the phrase, nor is it
Note esp. the correspondence with 4 Ezra, the only intertestamental work that uses son in reference to God (7:28f; 13:32, 37, 52; 14:9). Cf. Mt. 24; Mk. 13; Lk. 21: The days are coming when the Most High will deliver those who are on the earth. And bewilderment of mind shall come over those who inhabit the earth. They shall plan to make war against one another, city against city, place against place, people against people, and kingdom against kingdom. When these things take place and the signs occur that I showed you before, then my Son will be revealed< And Zion shall come and be made manifest to all people, prepared and built, as you saw the mountain carved out without hands. Then he, my Son, will reprove the assembled nations for their ungodliness< Therefore when he destroys the multitude of the nations that are gathered together, he will defend the people who remain. And then he will show them very many wonders< Just as no one can explore or know what is in the depths of the sea, so no one on earth can see my Son or those who are with him, except in the time of his day. (4 Ezra 13:29-52, NRSV)
44 45 46

See e.g. Ladd, The Son of God, Theology of the New Testament, 158-69.

Of the many lines of evidence, there is 1) the self-declaration of Jesus, identifying with the divine name, before Abraham was, I am (Jn. 8:58; cf. Ex. 3:14); 2) the declaration of the Jews, you, a mere man, claim to be God (Jn. 10:33), in response to Jesus saying, I and the Father are one (10:30; cf.

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what people thought of when the heavens opened at Jesus baptism, and the voice spoke from heaven, This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. (Mt. 3:17, NIV; cf. Mk. 1:11; Lk. 3:22) This declaration is repeated on the Mount of Transfiguration (Mt. 17:5), which was later rehearsed by Peter (2 Pet. 1:16-18) and interpreted as we have the prophetic word made more sure (2 Pet. 1:19, NASB). The prophetic oracles are primarily concerned with redemptive history; so also are the messianic titles Son of God, son of man, etc. Thus, we see the linguistic equation of the titles Messiah and Son of God in Peters declaration, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16:16, NLT), likewise echoed by Martha, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God (Jn. 11:27, NRSV). The high priest also charged Jesus, tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God. (Mt. 26:63, NRSV) Demons even came out of people shouting, You are the Son of God, because they knew he was the Messiah (Lk. 4:41, NLT). The Gospels themselves were indeed written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God (Jn. 20:31,
NRSV),

and are designed to communicate the Good News about Jesus the

Messiah, the Son of God (Mk. 1:1, NLT). Paul also clearly uses the phrase Son of God functionally, in tandem with Messiah (cf. Rom. 1:4; 2 Cor. 1:19; Gal. 2:20; Eph. 4:13).

14:6-9); 3) the declaration of Thomas directed to Jesus, My Lord and my God (Jn. 20:28); 4) Jesus common acceptance of worship (cf. Jn. 5:23; 9:38; 20:28; Mt. 14:33; 28:9, 17; Lk. 24:52), note the radical devotion of early church as to the divine (e.g. 1 Cor. 1:1-3; 1 Thess. 1:1-3; Tit. 1:1-4), so Pliny the Younger wrote to the emperor Trajan that Christians chant antiphonally a hymn to Christ as to a god (Epistles, 10.96); 5) Who can forgive sins but God alone? (Mk. 2:7; Lk. 5:21); 6) I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior (Is.43:11, ESV; cf. Is. 45:21), cf. our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 3:20; cf. Lk. 2:11; 1 Jn. 4:14); 7) the invocation of the divine name in healings and exorcisms (cf. Acts 3:6; 16:18; 19:13; Mt. 7:22); 8) the Pauline reference to the shema, there is no God but one (1 Cor. 8:4; cf. Deut. 6:4), followed by there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist (v. 6; cf. Is. 42:5); 9) the Pauline declaration of Jesus being, in the form of God (Phil. 2:6), followed by, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow (v. 10; cf. Is. 45:23), and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of the Father (v. 11; cf. Is. 42:8); 10) the identification of wisdom as the divine consort (cf. Prov. 3:19; 8:22ff; Wis. 6:12; 7:25f; 9:10f) with Jesus in John 1:1-18, see also equivalence of word and wisdom in intertestamental Jewish Wisdom Tradition, cf. by the word of the LORD were the heavens made (Ps. 33:6). See discussions of divinity and Christology in Richard Bauckham, God Crucified: Monotheism and Christology in the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999); idem, Jesus and the God of Israel: God Crucified and Other Studies on the New Testament's Christology of Divine Identity (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008); and Larry W. Hurtado, How on Earth Did Jesus Become a God? Historical Questions about Earliest Devotion to Jesus (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005).

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Moreover, the consistent use of Messiah, Son of God, and Son of Man together in the same passage (cf. Mt. 16:13-17; 26:63f; Jn. 1:49-51; 3:14-18; 5:22-27) argues strongly for a simple, commonly assumed messianic expectation that incorporated various linguistic expressionsincluding, for example, Son of David (Mt. 9:27; 21:9), Root of David (Rev. 5:5; 22:16), Root of Jesse (Rom. 15:12; cf. Is. 11:10;), Morning Star (2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 22:16), Expected One (Mt. 11:3; Lk. 7:19f, NASB), Firstborn (Ps. 89:27; Col. 1:15; Heb. 1:6), Prophet (Deut. 18:15; Jn. 6:14; 7:40), Arm of the Lord (Is. 51:9; 53:1; Jn. 12:38), Chosen One (Is. 42:1; Lk. 9:35; 23:35), My Servant (Is. 42:1; 52:13; Mt. 12:18), Holy One (Ps. 16:10; Mk. 1:24; Jn. 6:69; Acts 2:27), and Righteous One (Is. 53:11; Acts 3:14; 7:52; 22:14). All of these messianic titles draw from the Old Testament oracles, which also include other messianic titles that are not mentioned in the New Testament, e.g. Shiloh (Gen. 49:10), Star (Num. 24:17), Branch (Is. 4:2; 11:1; Zech. 6:12), etc. The abundance of messianic descriptions is based on the underlying genealogical expectation of the Seed of Adam, Abraham, and David (see Fig. 5.6). The many messianic titles are not mysterious Gnostic revelations attained by the spiritually elite. They are simple descriptors of a simple genealogical-messianic expectation concerning the divine agent of salvation.

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THE APOSTOLIC HOPE Based on the messianic nature of the covenants, we thus see the centrality of messianic expectation and proclamation in the New Testament (as noted at the beginning of the chapter). The hope of Israel (Acts 28:20) is driven by the hope of the one to redeem Israel (Lk. 24:21), for the hope of the consolation of Israel (Lk. 2:25) is found in having seen the Lords Christ (v. 26). It is through the Messiahs coming and his ruling over Israel and the nations that righteousness is finally established on the earth, and viz., the wicked are punished; the righteous are rewarded; creation is restored; and God is honored. These were the hopes and expectations placed upon the shoulders of Jesus by the early church when they called him Christ. The coming of the Christ the first time to turn us from our wickedness (Acts 3:26) and to bear the sin of man (Heb. 9:28) in no way negates these expectations. In fact, it only enhances them. The God who hates sin and loves his creation demonstrated it all the more at the Cross. Indeed, he will bring salvation, and he will punish the wicked with fire, because he did offer himself as a sacrifice for their sin. A cursory survey of the New Testament, especially the Epistles, reveals that the heart of the apostolic hope still lies in the coming of the Messiah. Far from diminishing it, the Cross amplified it. In light of this messianic expectation, the subject of hope (Gk. elpis), generally arises in context to the sufferings and persecutions of this age (cf. Rom. 5:2ff; 8:20-25; 2 Cor. 1:7-11; Col. 1:23f; 1 Thess. 1:3; 4:13; Heb. 10:23; 1 Pet. 1:3-13). Because God is longsuffering with the wicked (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 Tim. 1:16) and Jesus is sitting at his right hand waiting to make his enemies his footstool (Acts 2:35; Heb. 10:13), then the wicked are allowed a measure of freedom in this age to continue in their sin, which in turn has adverse effects, both on the righteous and creation as a whole. Thus, rather than praying for persecution and suffering to end, the apostolic church prayed according to redemptive history and the Day of the Lord. They prayed for grace to endure (cf. Heb. 10:36; Jam. 1:12). They prayed for faith to arise (cf. 2 Thess. 1:4, 11; 1 Pet. 1:7). They prayed for love to abound (cf. Phil. 1:9; 1 Thess. 3:12). They prayed for knowledge to sustain (cf. Eph. 1:17f; Col. 1:9f). They prayed for peace to comfort (cf. Rom. 15:13; 2 Cor. 1:2-7). They prayed for 33

boldness to preach (cf. Acts 4:29; Eph. 6:19; Col. 4:3f). They prayed for kindness to overcome evil (cf. Rom. 12:21; 1 Pet. 3:9). And they prayed for gifts of the Holy Spirit to strengthen the Body (cf. 1 Cor. 1:7f; Eph. 3:16). All of this found its anchor in the imminent return of Jesus Christ and the hope therein. So Paul declares, If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the

firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Cor. 15:19-20) Thus, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings< (Rom. 5:2-3). These sufferings happen to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead, for on him we have set our hope that he will yet deliver us (2 Cor. 1:9-10, AT). In light of the promise that the root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope (Rom. 15:12), Paul prays, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (v. 13, NIV) Paul also prays that, the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints (Eph. 1:18, NIV). Moreover, it is in context to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him (2 Thess. 2:1) that Paul prays, May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (vv. 16-17, NIV) For it is those who are foreigners to the covenants of the promise who are without hope and without God in the world (Eph. 2:12, NIV). Therefore, we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thess. 4:13-14) For it is the truth that leads to godlinessa faith and knowledge resting on the hope of eternal life (Tit. 1:1-2, NIV), which we will attain, if indeed [we] continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel (Col. 1:23)so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Tit. 3:7) And according to the pattern of discipleship congruent with design and destiny: since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5:8-9) Similarly, 34

Peter exhorts, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Pet. 1:13, NIV) And John says, we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. (1 Jn. 3:2-3, NASB) For God has called us to live upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hopethe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ (Tit. 2:12-13, NIV). Thus, Paul commends the Thessalonian Church for their work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 1:3), which involved turning to God from idols and looking forward to the coming of God's Son from heaven< who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment. (v. 10,
NLT)

Concerning the rich of this age, Paul exhorts,

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (1 Tim. 6:17-19, NIV)

But to the downtrodden and discouraged who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us, we have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure (Heb. 6:18-19, NIV). Therefore,
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb. 10:23-25)

This brings us to the biblical relationship between hope and faith (cf. Heb. 11:1). In light of the Day approaching (Heb. 10:25)i.e. the raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (v. 27), our receiving better and lasting possessions (v. 34) and being richly rewarded (v. 35) with what he has promised (v. 36)we seek to be of those who believe and are saved (v.39), for He who is coming will come and will not delay (v. 37). This eschatological buildup sets the context for the biblical definition of faith: 35

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Heb. 11:1, NIV)

This is the kind of faith for which the ancients received their commendation (v. 2, cf. v. 39). A cursory reading of Hebrews 11 shows this faith to be historical, rather than metaphysical. They looked forward to the age to come, rather than upward to immateriality. They believed in God according to redemptive history, rather than according to ontological arguments or abstract ideas. Thus, Noahs faith condemned the world because he responded in holy fear when warned about things not yet seen (v. 7, NIV). Abraham too was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God. (v. 10) Likewise, Moses considered abuse suffered for the Christ to be greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to the reward. (v. 26, NRSV) Others were tortured, refusing to accept release, in order to obtain a better resurrection. (v. 35, NRSV) In this way, faith is pictured as the race that is set before us (12:1), since like hope, it involves a simple linear movement from Point A (Creation) to Point B (Consummation). Notice how Peter likewise articulates the historical nature of faith and hope:
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fadekept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faithof greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by firemay be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (1 Pet. 1:3-9, NIV)

Here we see the living hope of an imperishable body, akin to Jesus resurrected body, kept in heaven for us by faith (i.e. if we lose faith in Jesus, our future inheritance is forfeited) until the return of Jesus. Though we do not see him now and though our faith is presently tested by sufferings, we believe and hope in his revelation which will result in the salvation of our souls. Here we also see the connection between seeing and revealing. 36 The language of faith in

seeing God and his eschatological glory is drawn from the prophets (cf. Job. 19:26; Ps. 97:6; Is. 33:17; 52:8; 65:14), who frequently refer to the appearing of God (cf. Ps. 21:9; 102:16; Is. 60:1; Zech. 9:14; Mal. 3:2). Our faith will become sight when we actually see Jesus (Rev. 1:7; 1 Jn. 3:2; 1 Cor. 13:12; Mt. 5:8) at his appearing (Col. 3:4; 1 Tim. 6:14; Tit. 2:13; 1 Pet. 5:4; 1 Jn. 2:28). Thus Paul exhorts us, in light of our coming resurrected body (cf. 2 Cor. 5:15) and the judgment seat of Christ (v. 10ff), to walk by faith, not by sight. (v. 7). Likewise, he details the same chronological approach to faith in Romans 8:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us< For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. (Rom. 8:18-25)

Again, it is the messianic expectation of the future coming of Christ and our eternal inheritance with him (v. 17) that is contrasted with the sufferings of this present time. Though we groan inwardly and wait eagerly for the redemption of our bodies, this hope is not seen. Hope is future oriented. Hope inherently lacksi.e. hope that is seen is not hope. Who hopes for what he sees? The apostolic hope is thus based upon messianic faith, which is fundamentally historical in nature.47 Unlike its metaphysical Christoplatonic counterpart, biblical faith hopes in the unseen future rather than an unseen immateriality (see Fig. 5.7). Thus, it eagerly waits for the coming of Christ (cf. 1

Though frightfully inaugurationalist in his conclusion, Greidanus articulates well the historical sense of messianic hope, Accordingly, the way of redemptive-historical progression sees every Old Testament text and its addressees in the context of Gods dynamic history, which progresses steadily and reaches its climax in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and ultimately in the new creation. The whole Old Testament throbs with a strong eschatological beat. Every passage in some way or in some degree voices or echoes the message: God is acting! God is coming! God is faithful to his covenant promises! His mercy indeed endures forever! God will not cast off His chosen people! God is preparing salvation. From our position later in redemptive history, we should not only hear this eschatological beat but also recognize its fulfillment in the First and Second Coming of Jesus. *Sidney Greidanus, Preaching Christ from the Old Testament: A Contemporary Hermeneutical Method (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1999), 237]
47

37

Cor. 1:7; Gal. 5:5; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thess. 1:10; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 9:28; Jam. 5:7f; 2 Pet. 3:12ff; Jude 1:21).48

For in him you have been enriched in every way-- in all your speaking and in all your knowledgebecause our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. (1 Cor. 1:5-7, NIV) Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. (Jam. 5:7-8, NASB) Since all these things will thus be destroyed, what kind of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, waiting for and eagerly desiring [Gk. speud] the coming of the day of God< But according to his promise we are looking forward to a new heavens and a new earth, the home of righteousness.

The language of waiting in the New Testament is drawn from the prophetic writings in context to the Day of the Lord (cf. Is. 25:9; 26:8; 30:18; 40:31; 49:23; 64:4; Lam. 3:25f; Hos. 12:6; Mic. 7:7; Zeph. 3:8; Ps. 25:3ff; 27:14; 31:24; 37:7ff; 40:1; 62:1ff; etc.). Thus, concerning the wickedness of this age, the Church is repeatedly exhorted to patience, endurance, and perseverance, trusting that God will soon execute the righteous judgments of Day of the Lord at the return of Jesus (cf. Rom. 5:2-4; Col. 1:11-12; 2 Thess. 1:4-7; Heb. 10:35-37; Jam. 1:12; Rev. 2:2-7; 13:7-10).
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38

Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these things, be diligent to be found by him in peace, without spot or blemish. (2 Pet. 3:11-14, AT)49

Few appreciate the calls to be patient, to wait, and to look forward to the Day of God, because few have such a context of messianic expectation within which to place them. Because Jesus waits in eager expectation for his enemies to be made his footstool (Heb. 10:13), so also do we correspondingly wait for his coming with all patience, endurance and perseverance. 50 For this reason we cry out with the martyrs, How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? (Rev. 6:10, NIV) Those who have no righteousness of their own, no strength of the flesh in which to glory, and no kingdom to build in this age put their hope in God alonethat he will fix what is broken, that he will make the wrongs of this world right, and that he will do it by sending his appointed Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. The bottom line of this exposition is that the messianic hope and expectation of the early church was clearly future oriented and bound to the return of Jesus.51 This is because it was based on the messianic hope of the Old Testamentthat a

The Greek speud (v. 12) is commonly translated hastening (NASB/ESV/NRSV/NKJV) or speed (NIV). However, in light of the general tenor of the oracles of God concerning the coming of the Day of the Lord, and in light of the specific declarations of Acts 1:7; Mt. 24:36; and esp. 1 Tim. 6:15, this translation is theologically and biblically untenable. Men do not determine the Day of God. The NIV notes for v. 12, Or as you wait eagerly for the day of God to come, which is based on the alternative meaning for speud, seek eagerly, strive after... press or urge on... to be eager to... show eagerness for (LSJ, 1627) or be zealous, exert oneself, be industrious (BDAG, 938). Indeed, speud exhorts us to zeal and participation. However, this exertion is done by faith in the coming of God (as our role is reflected in v. 14, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him). The biblical narrative as a whole judges this translation superior, and the context of the passage itself prefers it (note esp. v. 8f which expressly speaks of Gods determined slowness in coming, and the parallel usage in v. 12 with prosdoka, to await, expect, look forward to, also repeated in v. 13 and 14). To interpret speud as hasten can only lead to theological zealotry, passive or forceful, akin to the Jewish Zealots of Jesus dayThe Zealots were Jewish radicals who were not content to wait quietly for God to bring his Kingdom but wished to hasten its coming with the sword. (Ladd, Theology of the New Testament, 60)
49

brings out the meaning of . It implies, not passive waiting, but eager expectation of the kind which the author recommends to his readers (cf. 11:10; , 7:28); already the transition from teaching to paraenesis (vv. 19ff.) is anticipated. *Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text, NIGTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 510] Note also the assumed remaining time of t (cf. BDAG, 602), referencing the time until the Day of the Lord and the subjection of the enemies of God.
50

So Carroll contends that the faith of the apostolic church was irreducibly eschatological, being anchored in the parousia of Jesus [John T. Carroll, The Return of Jesus in Early Christianity (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, 2000), 4].
51

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genealogical Seed would come forth to crush the head of Satan, restoring the heavens and earth to their primal condition, vindicating the holiness of God through judgment, blessing the righteous in the resurrection, and punishing the wicked with eternal fire. This messianic expectation falls simply and organically within the larger framework of a biblical theology involving a new heavens and new earth, within which the righteous and wicked are raised bodily and judged at the Day of the Lord. When perversion is introduced into the larger narrative, so also is Christology distorted, complicated and perverted.

CHRISTOPLATONIC CHRISTOLOGY As previously mentioned, the term Christ in the popular mind is little more than a proper name of Jesus. However, in the early church, your identity as a believer was dictated by your faith and confession of Jesus being the Christ, as John says, everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God (1 Jn. 5:1). The perversion of messianic expectation robs people of their very identity as children of God. Moreover, it robs people of their boldness in bearing the name of Jesus. So Peter says, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. (1 Pet. 4:16, NIV) The name that we bear as followers of Jesus inherently confesses our messianic expectation. Unfortunately, Christians are often like Rothschild children, who know nothing of their financier heritage, often associating their name with streetsweepers and the like. The nobility and confidence in our heritage as Christians is rooted in our understanding of Jesus as the Christ. Though in modern times the term Christ has generally been marginalized to Christian jargon, this does not mean Christians have lost all sense of messianic expectation. Rather, their hope has simply become perverted. All human beings whether Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or Naturalisthold to some form of an agent of salvation. This can be generalized to humanity as a whole as in Naturalism (or at least its higher intellectual echelon), or to various incarnated avatars as in Hinduism, or to historical awakened ones as in Buddhism, or to a single eschatological messianic figure as in Islam, i.e. the Mahdi. As Christianity merged with Hellenistic thought, its messianic expectation began to conform to the worldly hopes of salvation within Greek mythology and philosophy. Since salvation is primarily interpreted as escaping materiality unto 40

eternal immateriality, the Christ became the grand Agent of Escapism, so to speak. Jesus was understood as the incorporeal means to incorporeality, which is the defining mark of Gnosticism. Ladd outlines well the relationship between Platonism and Gnostic Christology,
The view found in Plato and in later thinkers, influenced by him, is essentially the same cosmological dualism as is found in later Gnosticism. Like Gnosticism, Platonism is a dualism of two worlds, one the visible world and the other an invisible spiritual world. As in Gnosticism, man stands between these two worlds, related to both. Like Gnosticism, Platonism sees the origin of mans truest self (his soul) in the invisible world, whence his soul has fallen into the visible world of matter. Like Gnosticism, it sees the physical body as a hindrance, a burden, sometimes even as a tomb of the soul. Like Gnosticism, it conceives of salvation as the freeing of the soul from its entanglement in the physical world that it may wing its way back to the heavenly world. Two further elements found in Gnosticism do not appear in the Platonic philosophers: that matter is ipso facto the source of evil, and that redemption is accomplished by a heavenly redeemer who descends to the earth to deliver the fallen souls and lead them back to heaven.52

Conversely,

as

Christoplatonism

developed

during

and

after

the

Constantinian Era, salvation began to include manifest sovereignty before eternal immateriality. Thus, Jesus was related to as the grand Agent of Dominionism (see Fig. 5:8). These basic roles have varied little over the last millennium and a half.53 Though often quite sincere, Christians blindly follow a perverted Agent of Salvation, which in turn fosters a perverted Christian identity and mission.

George E. Ladd, The Pattern of New Testament Truth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1968) 13-14; emphasis added.
52

E.g., Jesus in his own person is the embodied sovereignty of God. He lives out that sovereignty in the flesh. He manifests the kingdom of God by enthroning the creation-will of God and demonstrating his lordship over Satan. *Carl F. H. Henry, Reflections on the Kingdom of God, JETS 35/1 (March 1992): 42]
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Though Gnosticism was infantile during New Testament times, its emergence was met with severe opposition. At the end of his life, Paul wrote Timothy, Avoid the irreverent babble and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge, [Gk. gnsis+ for by professing it some have swerved from the faith. (1 Tim. 6:20-21) Concerning its application to Christology, John calls Gnosticism, the spirit of the Antichrist, warning, every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. (1 Jn. 4:3, NKJV) Because of its utterly destructive nature on the faith, identity, and behavior of the believer, Jesus himself gives the gravest condemnation of Gnosticism when addressing the Nicolaitans (Rev. 2:6, 15), of which he hates both the works and teachings, threatening, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth (v. 16).54 According to Irenaeus (c. 130-200), the early churchs expert on Gnosticism, the Nicolaitans were followers of Nicolas of Antioch (cf. Acts 6:5),55 who strayed from the faith and became an offset of that

The destructive nature of Gnosticism expresses itself in two seemingly contradictory ways, extreme asceticism and extreme indulgence. However, they are congruent in their devaluation of the body and materiality in general.
54 55

Against Heresies, 1.26.3 (ANF, 1:352).

42

knowledge falsely so called.56 The church of Thyatira is also generally believed to have harbored Gnostics, having learned *Gk. ginsk] what some call the deep things of Satan (Rev. 2:24).57 It is this gnostic, revelatory approach to the Scriptures, later propagated en masse by the Alexandrian School, that perverted the simple messianic faith in Jesus for centuries ensuing. Though Gnostics genuinely believe they hold a superior truth, their faith has actually been ruined (cf. 1 Cor. 15:33; 2 Tim. 2:14), and for this reason Jesus and those who follow him hate it. Though gnostic Christology is enticing on the front end, its end is painfully predictable. As the Agent of Escapism, Jesus Gnostic finalizes redemptive history at his return by taking everyone to immaterial heaven and annihilating materiality. Moreover, he calls his followers to gnostic martyrdom by forsaking the world, i.e. materiality and the body, unto death. So Clement of Alexandriathe first to equate asceticism and martyrdomsaid,
Whence, as is reasonable, the [true Christian] gnostic, when Called, obeys easily, and gives up his body to him who asks; and, previously divesting himself of the affections of this carcase< he, in truth, bears witness to himself that he is faithful and loyal towards God< If the confession to God is martyrdom, each soul which has lived purely in the knowledge of God, which has obeyed the commandments, is a witness both by life and word, in whatever way it may be released from the body,shedding faith as blood along its whole life till its departure< he is blessed; not indicating simple martyrdom, but the gnostic martyrdom, as of the man who has conducted himself according to the rule of the Gospel, in love to the Lord (for the knowledge of the Name and the understanding of the Gospel point out the gnosis, but not the bare appellation), so as to leave his worldly kindred, and wealth, and every possession, in order to lead a life free from passion< In living, then, living well

Against Heresies, 3.11.1 (ANF, 1:426). The same testimony is corroborated by Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies, 7.24 (ANF, 5:115) and Eusebius, Church History, 3.29 (NPNF2, 1:161).
56

Since in the message to Thyatira the prophetess Jezebel, who teaches within the community (2:20), is accused of teaching the same vices, viz., eating meat offered to idols and practicing fornication, it is generally assumed that she and her friends and followers belong to the same group as the Nicolaitans. But whereas the false apostles, who spread the teaching of the Nicolaitans in Ephesus were migrant missionaries, Jezebel and the adherents to the teaching of Balaam belong to the communities of Thyatira and Pergamum. Thus the Nicolaitans seem to be an integral part of these churches. *E. Schssler Fiorenza, Apocalyptic and Gnosis in the Book of Revelation and Paul, JBL 92/4 (1973): 568; see also D. F. Watson, Nicolaitans, ABD, 4:1106-07.]
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is secured. And he who in the body has devoted himself to a good life, is being sent on to the state of immortality.58

It is this gnostic call based upon gnostic Christology that gave birth to the monastic movement in Egypt, which spread throughout the church, dominated its life for over a thousand years, and continues to entice people to this very day. It is an enemy of the Cross and the true Gospel, and it ruins the movement of the Holy Spirit upon the human heart. Instead of calling men and women to lay down their lives in the midst of an ungodly world in love for the salvation of the lost, it calls them to separate from an ungodly world, thus abandoning and forsaking the lost to eternal damnation. Conversely, as the Agent of Dominionism, Jesus Gnostic calls his followers to become agents of divine sovereignty upon the earth. Thus, the church becomes the kingdom, and its leaders become little christs, who function as secondary agents of salvation.59 This side of gnostic Christology gave birth to Christendom during the Constantinian Era, as Eusebius of Caesarea (court theologian of Constantine and radical Origenist60) chronicled,

Stromata, 4.4 (ANF, 2:411-12); emphasis added. See also Origens secret martyrdom in Exhortation to Martyrdom, 21.
58

Sometimes the messianic agency is functionally merged so that the ecclesiastical leaders become the primary agents, as Eusebius frames Constantine in his Oration in Praise of Constantine (esp. 16-18), e.g. Not one of those whose words once were heard with awe and wonder, had announced the glorious advent of the Saviour of mankind, or that new revelation of divine knowledge which he came to give. Not Pythius himself, nor any of those mighty gods, could apprehend the prospect of their approaching desolation; nor could their oracles point at him who was to be their conqueror and destroyer. What prophet or diviner could foretell that their rites would vanish at the presence of a new Deity in the world, and that the knowledge and worship of the Almighty Sovereign should be freely given to all mankind? Which of them foreknew the august and pious reign of our victorious Emperor, or his triumphant conquests everywhere over the false demons, or the overthrow of their high places? (9.4-5; NPNF2, 1:592-93; emphasis added)
59

As a radical Origenist, he rejected the apocalyptic idea of a future millennial kingdom of Christ on earth in favor of a more Platonic concept of immortal life in some supercosmic realm. But he also believed that this present cosmos would come to a cataclysmic end at some point several generations (or at most several centuries) after his own time. In a kind of expanded eschatology the events of the apocalyptic end times were spread out over hundreds of years. The Pax Romana which began under the emperor Augustus was identified by Eusebius with the eschatological kingdom of peace (Isa 2:14; Mic 4:1-4), while the emperor Constantine and his descendants were the saints of the Most High (Dan 7:18), the eschatological rulers who were to govern Rome, the fourth kingdom (Dan 2:3145), until the final tribulation, when the world would be destroyed and the last judgment held. (G. F. Chesnut, Eusebius of Caesarea, ABD, 2:675)
60

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Thus, as he was the first to proclaim to all the sole sovereignty of God, so he himself, as sole sovereign of the Roman world, extended his authority over the whole human race. Every apprehension of those evils under the pressure of which all had suffered was now removed; men whose heads had drooped in sorrow now regarded each other with smiling countenances, and looks expressive of their inward joy. With processions and hymns of praise they first of all, as they were told, ascribed the supreme sovereignty to God, as in truth the King of kings; and then with continued acclamations rendered honor to the victorious Emperor, and the Caesars, his most discreet and pious sons. 61

The church readily welcomed Constantine when he came to power, because it had already been primed by the end of the third century through the spread of Christoplatonism.62 to date. Though few would label themselves Gnostic, multitudes of Christians function as did Marcion (c. 85-160)rejecting the god of the Old Testament and subsequently rejecting the biblical Christ, i.e. the righteous Judge (2 Tim. 4:8) who will judge the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1; 1 Pet. 4:5) and render to every man according to what he has done (Rev. 22:12, NASB).63
Life of Constantine, 2.19 (NPNF2, 1:505); emphasis added; cf. similar presentation of Constantine as divine salvific agent in 1.5f; 1.24; esp. 1.43; 1.46; 2.12 *as Mosaic type+; 2.28; and 2.42. The Caesars refer to Constantines three sonsConstantinus, Constantius, Constanswhom Eusebius goes on to describe, In the course of this period, his three sons had been admitted at different times as his colleagues in the empire< Having thus reared a threefold offspring, a Trinity, as it were, of pious sons, and having received them severally at each decennial period to a participation in his imperial authority, he judged the festival of his Tricennalia [30th anniversary of his reign] to be a fit occasion for thanksgiving to the Sovereign Lord of all< (4.40; NPNF2, 1:550; emphasis added).
61

Of

course

monastic-Christians

looked

with

great

condescension upon Christendom-Christians, and vice-versa, a pattern common

Though lacking the theological background, this point is well demonstrated by Timothy D. Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius (Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 1981), 191-207.
62

This rejection has generally taken the form of reinterpreting messianism in the Old Testament, or as of late stripping the Old Testament of its messianic character almost entirely, based upon authorial intent and historical context *see the historical progression of this hermeneutic in Kaiser, Messiah in the Old Testament, 13-23; much of which is based upon Ronald E. Clements, Messianic Prophecy or Messianic History? Horizons of Biblical Theology 1 (1979): 87]. Accordingly, New Testament authors are often implicitly or explicitly condemned for imposing a dogmatic messianic interpretation upon the Old Testament [see discussion in Gregory K. Beale, ed., The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the New (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1994)]. Ironically, the two things that ultimately define biblical authorial intent and historical contexti.e. Jewish worldview and Jewish protologyare rarely considered with any degree of sincerity. What messianism is left in the Old Testament is generally confined to limited portions of late prophetical, post-exilic and intertestamental apocryphal and pseudepigraphic
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Consequently, we are robbed of the cornerstone of our Christian hopethe return of Jesus. We are left with a tawdry hope in the strength of depraved men who walk in the delusion of a self-imposed messianic complex. Yet even this hope wanes in light of the 20th centurys two World Wars, its host of diabolical dictators, various genocides, rampant multinational-corporate greed (forgetting not the criminal usury of its financiers), the threat of famine, overpopulation and nuclear warnot to mention energy crises, financial crises, health crises, ecological crises and a burgeoning global breakdown of the family unit. Having lost our messianic hope, we have no real answers for a world wallowing in confusion and despair. Moreover, having put our hope in this life, we have thrown in our lot with a pie-eyed world and have fallen under the curse of the apostle Paul: If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. O Lord, come! (1 Cor. 16:22, NKJV)64

writings. Thus, messianic expectation is explained primarily as a response to the crises of the Babylonian exile, foreign domination, or disillusionment with the Hasmonean dynasty *e.g. , TDNT 9:493-527; Messiah, ABD, 4:777-88; Messiah, Harpers Bible Dictionary, 630-31; etc.]. It is assumed Paul is here referencing those who reject the resurrection of the dead (cf. 15:12ff, 32ff), which rests upon a biblical messianic hope (cf. 15:20ff, 45ff). Thus, it is implied that those who do not love the Lord do not cry, Maranatha! Akin to the close of the New Testament, i.e. Come, Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20), the Aramaic expression references longing for the age to come, cf. Didache 10.6, May grace come, and may this world pass away. Hosanna to the God of David. If anyone is holy, let him come; if anyone is not, let him repent. Maranatha! Amen. *Michael W. Holmes, ed., The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Updated ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999), 263]
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