This is the eleventh in a series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Resurrection Life in the Valley of Dry Bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14)

Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of Dry Bones is a great favorite among Christians, and with good reason: Its evocative symbolism unfailingly calls to mind their own conversion; the happy day when the sovereign Spirit of God lifted them out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death and planted them in Christ, through whom they have now begun to experience the joy of eternal resurrection life (John 11, Rom. 6:1f, Eph. 2:1-12, Col. 1:13).

However, as good NT exegetes we must honestly ask ourselves: Is this really what the Spirit of God had in mind when he gave Ezekiel this mysterious vision and prophecy?

This is the tenth in a series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Because the prophetic texts I deal with are quite long, I have not reproduced them here. You will need to bring an open Bible to each blog. My hope and prayer is that you will enjoy them all.

Ezekiel’s Oracles of Good News (Ezekiel 33-48)

This is the first of several blogs in which we will tackle some of the most challenging OTKP’s prophecies in the entire Old Testament. Because of their great difficulty, we are going to have to dig deep, so brace yourself!

Moreover, when the going gets rough, you have to promise me you won’t give up! Again, I recognize that these texts from Ezekiel are controversial, even among the scholars. However, if you will persevere, I believe you are in for a joyous surprise. That’s because the New Covenant Hermeneutic wonderfully opens up these daunting passages (passages you may have avoided for years), so much so that folks actually begin to catch a glimpse of the shape of biblical eschatology as a whole, and also of the winner in the Great End Time Debate!

My purpose in today’s post is to equip you for the journey ahead. The goal is to give you a feel for the context of the prophecies we will be studying; for their place in the overall flow of Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry. Happily, it turns out that this is relatively easy to do, since the book falls neatly into four well-defined sections.

Commentator Iain Duguid outlines them as follows:

Part I: Ezekiel’s Call and Commission (chapters 1-3)

Part II: Oracles of Doom (i.e., prophecies of coming judgment, spoken against apostate Jerusalem and her homeland, chapters 4-24)

Part III: Oracles Against the Nations (i.e., prophecies of coming judgment and redemptive mercy, spoken over Israel’s hostile neighbors, (chapters 4-24)

Part IV: Oracles of Good News (i.e., prophecies whereby Ezekiel arouses the hope and expectation of God’s people, chapters 33-48)

This is the ninth in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

Since the prophetic texts I deal with are quite long, I have not reproduced them here. You will need to bring an open Bible to each blog. My hope and prayer is that you will enjoy them all

The Holy City Shall Be Built

Jeremiah 30-33 contains a great many OT prophecies of the Kingdom, strung together like the pearls of a beautiful necklace. Owing to its concrete historical imagery, this one is especially difficult. Is it amenable to a spiritual, New Covenant interpretation, or must we look for a literal fulfillment in a future millennium?

The Problem in a Nutshell

On the one hand, we can see from verse 40 that this is indeed an OTKP. God is clearly speaking of his eschatological City, a City that will not be plucked up or overthrown any more forever. In other words, according to the New Covenant Hermeneutic, he is actually speaking of the Church.

On the other hand, because this prophecy specifically mentions a number of geographical landmarks familiar to the Jews of Jeremiah’s day, it hardly seems possible that God could be referring to the Church; that he must instead be predicting a latter day restoration of physical Jerusalem, perhaps along the lines anticipated by premillenarians.

This is the ninth in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

The Righteous Branch of David

The book of Jeremiah contains a great many OT Kingdom prophecies, most of which appear in chapters 30-33. (1) The prophecy before us gives the gist of them all. And since this is a great favorite among our premillennarian brethren, we have all the more reason to examine it briefly here.

Wicked Shepherds to be Removed

In verses 1-2, the great theme of prophecy emerges: The Shepherd(s) of LORD. Here, God begins by warning of coming judgment against Israel’s faithless leaders, both temporal and spiritual. Because of their failure properly to shepherd God’s flock, the sheep will soon be scattered among the nations, and they themselves will be punished (Ezek. 34:1f).

Righteous Shepherds to Come

In verses 3-4, God offers the faithful Israelites hope, promising that he will surely gather a remnant of his flock out of all the countries where he has driven them. In that Day, he will give them godly shepherds, and make them fearless and fruitful in the Promised Land.

Since it is written that they shall fear no more, we know that the reference here is to the ingathering of eschatological “Israel” (v. 4). With the help of the NCH, we can see how this OTKP will be fulfilled.

On the one hand, it will be fulfilled among elect Jews who, in the last days, will turn to Christ, and so inherit all the blessings of the Kingdom. On the other hand, it will also be fulfilled among elect Gentiles, for they too will turn to Christ.

Both people groups are “remnants,” some from Israel, but all from Adam’s fallen race. Both, because of sin, have gone into exile—some from Palestine, but all from Eden. And both, because of God’s sovereign grace, will be gathered into Christ for eternal life in their eschatological Homeland.

This is the eighth in a short series of posts dealing with the proper interpretation of Old Testament Kingdom Prophecy (OTKP). If you’re new to this subject (or to my blog), you’ll want to read the essay with which I introduced the series (just click here).

My goal in these eschatological adventures is two-fold.

First, I want to open up something of the Christ-centered truth and beauty of OTKP to my brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Secondly, I want to reason a little with my premillennial brethren. In particular, I want to make the case that we all will best understand, enjoy, and profit from OTKP when we see that its true sphere of fulfillment is: 1) Christ, 2) the New Covenant he instituted by his blood, 3) the two-staged spiritual Kingdom he has already introduced (and will soon consummate), and, 4) the New Covenant community he is creating out of elect Jews and Gentiles: the Church.

In short, I would like my premillennial brothers to reconsider the amillennial approach to the interpretation of OTKP.

Since the end of the age will soon be upon us, it is important that we stand together as much as possible. Seeing eye to eye on eschatology would definitely help. These essays—and the book in progress from which they are extracted—represent my best effort at contributing to that worthy goal.

A Nation Born in a Day (Isaiah 66)

This is one of the most difficult—and hotly contested—chapters in the entire OT prophetic canon. Not surprisingly, it has therefore proven a fertile field for speculation, especially among our Dispensational brethren, some of whom find here OT predictions of the birth of the modern Israeli state, Jewish evangelism during the (seven year) Tribulation era, a premillennial regathering of Jews to Palestine, and living conditions in the millennial era itself.

Granted, this is a complex and opaque chapter. But is it possible that there is a simpler understanding, one that not only accords with NT eschatology, but also speaks with more power and comfort to Christians? I believe there is, and that the New Covenant Hermeneutic will enable us to see it clearly and savor it richly.

Contrasting Destinies

By way of introduction, we do well to observe that this chapter continues a theme sounded in Isaiah 65: the contrasting destinies of the faithful remnant vs. the apostate multitude. In Isaiah’s day, the former, a minority in Israel, had suffered rejection, mockery, and persecution at the hands of the latter, even as the nation as a whole had grown ripe for judgment (28:9-22, 66:5).

In chapters 65-66, God therefore encourages his saints with rich promises of ultimate justice: Those who forsook the LORD will perish, but those who sought him, mourning for Jerusalem’s deep degradation, will live to see the day when he not only bestows eternal glory upon the City of God, but also brings the Gentiles themselves into her blessed precincts (Isaiah 65:10-11, 13-16, 66:10-11; Luke 6:20-26).