Passing-Thought

Biblical Horizons Conference 2006 - a digest

I spent last week at the Biblical Horizons Conference in Valparaiso, FL. Here are some highlights that left a lingering impression upon me. By the way, the Vespers services alone were worth the trip.

The conference theme was "The Beginning of the Apostolic Age". Speakers proposed fresh readings for New Testament books of Acts, Matthew, and James that draw a closer connection to the early Jewish context. James Jordan showed how the narrative of Acts closely parallel's the narrative of Luke. Advances in the scope of Jesus' mission to the world, come through patterns of death-and-resurrection, first in himself, and then through His apostles. Each kind of "death and resurrection" brings in more of the new world and advances the glory of God's kingdom. Jordan asks whether we can see this pattern of death-and-resurrection in the process of the structuring of creation itself; not something that's simply the result of the fall (e.g. the alternating cycles of day and night in the creation week, and Adam's death-like sleep from which Eve is made). The fall gave death "sting": sin/separation from God. Jesus therefore had to die two kinds of deaths, the first to deal with sin; the second to bring creation into the new creation. Jordan had much more to say, but as Rich Bledsoe says, "Summarizing Jim Jordan is like summarizing War and Peace."

Peter Leithart furthered his thesis that Matthew is the first written Gospel, published shortly after Pentecost, for Jewish believers. He gave evidence to his thesis that from beginning to end Matthew shows how Jesus is true Israel, and fulfills Israel's entire history through successive stages of his ministry. Baptism through Sermon on the Mount represents the Mosaic phase. Chapters 8 through the giving of his authority over demons to his 12 apostles is the Joshua phase (12 apostles representing 12 tribes engaging in holy war). Matthew 12 and the parables of Jesus (ch. 13) represent King Jesus as the new David and greater Solomon, respectively. The Elijah/Elisha phase follows, largely to do with feeding and other kingdom signs showing Jesus to be a "leadership prophet". Then comes the apocalyptic phase (his presence and preaching against the Temple). Followed by Exile and Restoration (his death and resurrection). Dr. Leithart also suggests a parallel between Matthew and Chronicles (the last book in the Hebrew canon). Both begin with genealogies and end with the commission of the King who has received authority from God. Both are summaries of Isreal's history.

Jeff Meyers expounded the implications of reading James as written by James the Son of Zebeddee to the Jewish Christians after the first major persecution of the church (the death of Stephen). One thing that I had never considered is taking the address to the "brothers" as a way of speaking primarily to the Christians leaders (e.g. 3.1 literally "let not many become teachers, my brothers, for we who teach..."). That added a dimension to the text with other plausible implications (e.g. 3.2 "bridle the whole body" could have reference to the whole church, not just to an individual's body).

Bill DeJong and Rich Bledsoe also gave lectures. Bill expounded the last chapters of 1 Samuel, how David must trust God to bring in the kingdom, and not give in to the temptation to take the kingdom for himself by killing Saul (or Saul-like Nabal). In the end, Saul represents Israel as a nation as a whole, who rejects true Messiahship, and dies like the Philistine nation they fight against. Christ's death likewise, dies the death of God's enemy, but in sacrificial love, and not as a means to hold on to his own authority.

Rich Bledsoe spoke on how the new creation brought by Jesus is the real reason why no one seems to know how to relate to each other any more. He has "messed everything up" so that all relationships in the world can no longer be organized around the creation, but must now be organized around Himself for the glory of God. The point of creation, even before the fall, was to allow for man to mature in communion with the Trinity, who has perfect communion within Himself. That suggests that creation expected to receive the incarnation of God's Son, from the beginning. Creation was pouring itself into mankind until Christ. Since Christ, man has begun pouring himself into creation.

Bledsoe suggests, that new reorientation and reorganization for the whole world must begin with "giving thanks for all things", rather than further analysis. The basic nature of analysis is deconstructive, rather than constructive. Church history and gospel emphasis can be roughly divided into Hope (Augustine), Love (Medieval), and Faith (Luther-Reformation) periods. We are at a point where the relationship between globalization and localization most resembles the early Christian church period. This suggests that the world is in fresh need of "hope" today. The gospel of "hope" is the way forward for Christian church. It must triumph especially over the cities of the world, which are the international "nerve centers" of the world. Paul preached not only to barbarians but also to the wise. Europe is the future frontier for missions. Bledsoe exhorts that the church must not only speak to primitive "tribes" but also to the ancient "wise" of the world; until she effectively does so, she will simply be endlessly repeating history and not making the final progress to which we were called.