For the Church

What is Eschatology?

Editor’s Note: The Theology in the Everyday series seeks to introduce and explain theological concepts in 500 words or less, with a 200-word section helping explain the doctrine to kids. At For The Church, we believe that theology should not be designated to the academy alone but lived out by faith in everyday life. We hope this series will present theology in such a way as to make it enjoyable, connecting theological ideas to everyday experience and encouraging believers to study theology for the glory of God and the good of the Church. This week, eschatology.

Conversations on “eschatology” can go off the rails quick. The word conjures up in many of our minds debates about Israel, or images of books with dark and threatening titles and covers with fire and red moons, and the whole topic can leave us befuddled and tired. Because of this, many of us are tempted to just avoid the topic altogether. This is unfortunate because the hope of God’s climactic conclusion to human history is one of the Bible’s central hopes. If this area of Christian theology gripped the minds and hearts of the biblical authors, we cannot ignore it. However, this does not mean that we have no reason to be skittish. Why? Because the whole conversation has, unfortunately, been boxed into a very narrow set of concerns. For the most part, the sum and substance of our eschatological debates surround questions related to the timing and sequence of the return of Christ and the final events of judgment and restoration. To talk about eschatology, we think, is to talk about Revelation 20 and the thousand years mentioned there. Are they literal or figurative? Are they referring to an earthly kingdom before the final judgment or do they refer to Christ’s reign in heaven right now? If the former, are they describing a golden age of earthly prosperity before or after the return of Christ?

Now, to be clear, these questions are not unimportant. We tend to ride what we might call the “millennium pendulum,” swinging from one excess to another—either we minimize the significance of these questions, or we maximize their significance as something worth dividing over. The truth is, neither extreme is important. On the one hand, an ambivalence is wrong because the way we answer these specific questions about Revelation 20 is determined by our understanding of the whole Bible. The way you relate New Covenant Christians to Old Testament prophecies about “Zion” and “Israel” and “Jacob” is not a small matter—your whole understanding of how to put the Bible together is going to shape the questions and answers generated by your reading of Revelation 20. On the other hand, the topic of eschatology is way more massive than even those important questions.

Eschatology is about God’s ultimate goal—his telos, his purpose, his intended end—of creation. God makes nothing purposelessly—to exist is to have a telos. And the telos of creation is its glorification. Which means, eschatology precedes creation. For you to exist as a human being is for you to be a character within a story that is being written by a sovereign Author who is in the process of bringing his story to its perfect conclusion. This is what all creation was made for, and what all human beings in their fullest realization of God’s purpose for them can hope to experience: God’s glory in their glorification. This means that despite the many differences the divide Christian Eschatologies from one another, the most significant difference regarding eschatology is not a matter of what distinguishes premillennialists from postmillennialist or amillennialists, but rather what distinguishes all Christians from every other portrayal of history.

Regardless of your position on the millennium, then, I think it’s possible to sketch out what we might call a “mere Christian eschatology.” Here’s how I would describe it: Eschatology is the theology of last things. This area of theology encompasses the biblical purpose of creation, the biblical prophetic disclosure of the events and circumstances leading up to final telos of the cosmos, as well as the major elements of this telos’s realization, including (a) the bodily return of Jesus Christ to earth (Acts 17:31; Jn 5:22-27; 1 Thess 4:17; Rev 19:11-16), (b) the bodily resurrection of the dead (Acts 24:32-46; Jn 5:28-29; Phil 3:21; 1 Cor 15:12-49), (c) divine judgment, whereby the unrighteous are condemned to hell and the righteous are glorified to inherit the fullness of eternal life (Matt 12:36; 25:32-46; Is 66:24; Dan 12:1-3; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:11-15), and (d) the glorification of all creation, with the consummation of the New Heavens and the New Earth, where the saints will dwell bodily in perfect communion with God forever (Is 65:17; 66:22-23; Rom 8:22-25; 2 Pet 3:8-13; Rev 21:1-22:5).

How can we be certain these things are actually going to happen? Because, in a very real way, the end has already been inaugurated with the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus! The day he rose from the dead, he guaranteed that all these biblical promises were not just pipe dreams or wishful thinking. The glorification of the heavens and the earth (or, you might say, the resurrection of the heavens and the earth) is no longer a distant, hoped-for dream—it hasn’t been that for over two millennia, because when Jesus busted out of the grave, he was the first fruits—the early spring budding—of all those glorious promises coming to fruition.

We who have trusted in Christ have come to know what Martha learned from Jesus’s own lips: He is the resurrection and the life (cf., Jn 11:17-26). Knowing these things, and believing them, infuses every part of our lives with meaning. Eschatology means that all the atrocities we see, all the pain and natural and moral evil we experience, all have an expiration date. It means that the stakes in evangelism cannot be higher—we are talking about matters of everlasting life and death. It means that no one who has ever been buried will stay that way—all the “garden” graveyards will yield their dead who will inherit either everlasting life or everlasting judgment (1 Cor 15:23). It means that our final hope isn’t to die and go to heaven, but rather for heaven to come to earth. It means that those whom we love who have died trusting in Christ, though they are currently present with him—perfectly joyful—in a (mysteriously) bodiless way (Phil 1:23-24), are waiting for the very thing you are waiting for: resurrection and the glorification of the heavens and the earth. Perfect, ceaseless enjoyment of God in a glorified body in a glorified cosmos—this is our hope and our promise.

For the Kids:

Kids, do you love stories? Of course you do! Everyone does. That’s because God made us to love stories. Do you know why? Well, there’s a lot of reasons, but the main reason is that God also loves stories, and He made us to be like Him in that way. Now, what if I were to tell you that you are in a story? It’s true; you are a character within God’s story—all of us are. You see, God is writing a story called “history”—it began in the beginning (of course) with creation, when He spoke and said, “let the universe exist” and the universe came to exist. It’s the story we read about in the Bible—and this story—the history of our world—is still being written by God. So, you’re here because God decided this story could use a “you” character in it.

Now, you know—if your parents are Christians and have taught you about the Bible—that one of the most important parts of this story is when God the Father’s eternal Son became a man, when He lived, and died, and was buried, and rose again from the dead, and came back to heaven. You also know, I hope, that if you trust in Jesus to take away your sins and give you a heart to love and worship Him, you will get to go to heaven when you die—your soul will get to be with Jesus. But did you know that that’s not the end of the story. No, the end of the story is way better than that!

There’s a lot that we don’t know about what will happen in this story between now and the end, but we know several things about what will happen at the very end. We know, for example, that Jesus will return to this earth in the same body that went up to heaven. We know that Satan and all his followers will be defeated by Jesus—the warrior-King—and that every wrong ever committed in this world will be righted. We know that after He comes back, Jesus is going to heal this world of every hurt and will bind up and mend every broken thing. And we know that when He comes back, we will get new bodies. We don’t know exactly what those new bodies will be like, but we know that they will be unimaginably better than we could even dream of; and they will be matched by a new world that is just as amazing. And, most importantly, we know that we will be with Jesus and will enjoy being with Him forever and ever and ever!

Episode 235: FTC Mailbag

By ddickerson / Nov 1

In this Mailbag installment of the FTC Podcast, Jared and Ross answer your questions. This week’s episode features discussions of devotional resources, whether pastors’ parsonages are a good idea, reasonable vacational policies for pastors, the influence of global evangelicalism, ministering to older saints, unique cautions for churches pursuing gospel-centrality, and more.

07: Should Christians Hope in Old Testament Promises?

By Interactive Supply / Oct 25

“Your Promise Gives Me Life” (Ps 119:50)

To promise is to assure that one will do a particular thing or that a certain thing will happen. God’s promises of blessing and curse play a key role in helping believers grow in sanctification (2 Pet 1:4) and suffer with hope (Ps 119:50). Promises are one of Scripture’s unifying motifs, and some scholars have even argued that divine promise is the theological center of the Christian canon. This post overviews the major divine promises in Scripture and considers the challenge and the need for Christians to claim OT promises.

The Importance of God’s Promises for Christians

God’s promises confront a whole host of sins. For instance, if we are anxious about having enough food, clothing, and shelter, we heed Jesus’s call to “seek first the kingdom of God,” confident that “all these things will be added to [us]” (Matt 6:33). When covetousness rises in our soul, we nurture contentment by recalling promises like, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Heb 13:5). And in our passion for sexual purity, we fight lust by remembering the promise, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt 5:8).

But not only this. When we face suffering, God’s promises in Scripture supply one of our bulwarks of hope. As the psalmist declared, “This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promise gives me life” (Ps 119:50). Christians must recognize the importance of God’s promises for both our pursuit of holiness and our hope in suffering.

God’s Major Promises in Scripture

Addressing the first human, God’s initial promise in Scripture is this: “In the day that you eat of [the forbidden tree] you shall surely die” (Gen 2:17). Following their disobedience, Adam and Eve’s spiritual death and exile from the garden proved Yahweh’s faithfulness (3:22–24). But even prior to punishing them, Yahweh also cursed the serpent and promised that one of the woman’s male descendants would triumph over him (3:15). From this point forward, salvation history discloses a hope in this coming offspring and in the global reconciliation that he would ignite.

Scripture next anticipates the curse’s reversal in God’s promises to the patriarchs, which relate to offspring, land, blessing, and divine presence.

Offspring. God will grow the patriarchs into a great nation (Gen 12:2; 46:3) and raise up kings in their midst who will influence the nations (17:6, 16; 49:10). In time, Abraham’s fatherhood would include the nation of Israel and the nations more broadly (17:4–6, 16). This would occur through the rise of a single male descendant (22:18).
Land. Yahweh committed not only to give the patriarchs the land of Canaan (17:8); he also promised that a royal deliverer would expand it to include the rest of the world (22:17–18; 26:3–4)—realities that are now inaugurated in Christ’s first coming and will be consummated in his second.
Blessing. God promised to bless Abraham and his offspring through Sarah (12:2; 49:25–26). Ultimately, he would use one of Abraham’s descendants to overcome his enemies (22:17; 24:60) and bless the nations (12:3; 28:14).
Presence. From the beginning, God’s blessing is associated with humanity’s ability to represent him rightly in the world (1:28). By contrast, curse brings only tragedy. In such a setting, Yahweh affirmed that he would be present with the patriarchs and their offspring (9:27; 48:21).

Most of these patriarchal promises are initially and partially fulfilled in the Mosaic covenant, but all are only completely fulfilled through Christ and the new covenant.

Some Reflections on Prosperity Preaching

If “all the promises of God find their ‘Yes’ in [Jesus]” (2 Cor 1:20), should we as Christians claim all the Bible’s promises as our own, including the OT’s? Prosperity preachers quickly answer Yes, contending that Christ has already secured every spiritual and physical blessing for us to enjoy today.

Health and Wealth

Consider the words of prosperity author Gordon Lindsay:

In Deuteronomy 28 God lists various diseases that will come upon the Israelites if they do not obey the voice of the LORD…. Some contend … that sickness was spoken of as a curse then, but since today we are under a different covenant, the situation concerning sickness and healing is reversed…. How ridiculous! The New Testament teaches divine health for the believer just as much as the Old Testament does.

Similarly, Joel Osteen stresses that Moses’s charge to “choose life” (Deut 30:19) is “a choice we have to make on a moment-by-moment basis. We must choose to dwell on the positive” and thereby live our best life. Finally, Oral Roberts appeals to passages like 2 Corinthians 9:10 when offering the following financial principle: “If you sow it, God will grow it.”

The principle of sowing and reaping is, of course, biblical. But do these texts indeed promise increases in material wealth or status as the blessing for which we should hope? Importantly, Paul introduces his discussion of sowing and reaping with the words, “Though [Christ] was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). Prosperity teachers assume that riches and poverty here mean material gain and lack, respectively.

However, when Paul speaks of Jesus’s shift from rich to poor, he refers not to a change in Christ’s economic status but to his incarnation and his willingness to die on our behalf (Phil 2:6–7). Second, what Paul means by sowing and reaping is that, as we give to others, God will “make [us] abound in every good work” (2 Cor 9:8). The harvest is not more money or bigger businesses but “righteousness” and “thanksgiving to God” (9:10–11).

The Pain-Free Life

Jesus often healed physical sickness and charged his disciples to do the same (Matt 4:23; 10:6–8). Indeed, after a series of Jesus’s healings, Matthew cites Isaiah 53:4–5: “‘He took our illnesses and bore our diseases’” (Matt 8:17). Reflecting on this passage, Lindsay comments, “If [Christ] paid for our sicknesses, then we do not have to be sick.” Instead, “We must recognize sickness as a curse, the work of Satan and something to be banished from our lives.”

However, Jesus did not right all wrongs or relieve all pains during his first coming (Luke 4:16–21; 7:18–23). For instance, we know of him only raising three people from the dead (Mark 5:35–36, 41–43; Luke 7:12–15; John 11:38–46). There is, then, a tension we must hold in this “already-but-not-yet” period.

Living in the Overlap of the Ages

Believers should boldly claim all of God’s promises in Scripture. Every promise is truly ours already, but those we tangibly experience now are related to God’s presence, power, and pleasure. All promises addressing physical, material provision will be realized fully only at the consummation (Rev 21:4).

In view of his steadfast love (Ps. 30:7), though, God may still bring our future hope into the present by means of a miracle. We must, then, not only pray that God would heal the suffering (Jas 5:13–15) but also help the poor (Deut 10:17–19; 1 John 3:17)—all for his glory and his kingdom’s advance. God will relieve our suffering in his own way, but we can trust that he is working all things for our good (Rom 8:28) and that he will one day restore creation.

The NT’s Application of OT Promises to Christians

In grasping how OT promises relate to us, we must not say, “We are part of the new covenant, and therefore old covenant promises do not apply to us.” In fact, the NT is very quick to cite OT promises—assuming their lasting significance!

For example, Paul charges: “Never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’” (Rom 12:19). The apostle cites Deuteronomy 32:35, which Yahweh declares against all oppressors. Evidently, Paul believes that we can love our enemies when we trust that God will judge in the future. And we believe this because of an OT promise.

Similarly, the author of Hebrews says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Heb 13:5). Christians should not look to money for security because God has promised to be with us always! He draws on the pledge that Moses gave to Joshua and that Yahweh reaffirmed to Joshua just before Israel’s conquest of Canaan (Deut 31:8; Josh 1:5). Somehow, Christians can and should legitimately use this promise to help us battle giants like covetousness in our own lives.

Conclusion

God’s promises of provision and protection, including those from the OT, are vital for helping us in our pursuit of godliness. Yet Christians need a framework for benefiting from OT promises in a way that does not produce abuses, like those seen in prosperity teaching. The next post will consider five principles that inform how Christians relate to OT promises.

¹See, e.g., Walter C. Kaiser Jr., The Promise-Plan of God: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008).

²Gordon Lindsay, The Bible Secret of Divine Health (Santa Ana, CA: Trinity Broadcasting Network, 1987), 19–20, 21–22.

³Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential (New York: Warner Faith, 2004), 115.

⁴Oral Roberts, If You Need to Be Blessed Financially Do These Things (Tulsa, OK: Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association, 1982), 5.

⁵Lindsay, Bible Secret of Divine Health, 12.

⁶Lindsay, Bible Secret of Divine Health, 5–6.

This blog series summarizes Jason S. DeRouchie’s forthcoming book, Delighting in the Old Testament: Through Christ and for Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024). You can pre-order your copy here.

Episode 234: Can We “Do Life Together?”

By ddickerson / Oct 25

How can church members foster a greater sense of community with each other? What does it mean to “do life together,” and is it even possible in our Western culture? Jared and Ross talk about the possibilities and the pitfalls of experiencing community with other believers.

What is the Afterlife?

By Brett Fredenberg / Oct 18

Is there life after death? Will I live on in a state of eternal bliss or in a state of eternal torment? Or will I simply cease to exist? These questions have intrigued and haunted human beings from our origins. Every world religion and philosophy has had some answer or other to these most pressing questions, from the ancient Egyptians, who mummified the dead and gave them provisions for the netherworld, to modern atheists who reject any notion of personal existence after death. The answers to these questions shape not only a one’s hope for the future, but they also give purpose and meaning to life in the present. From a Christian perspective, the answers to these questions are woven throughout the whole fabric of Christian theology: what we believe about God, the person and work of Christ, the identity, destiny, and constitution of human beings (body and soul), the meaning of salvation, the mission of the Church, and the end of history.

So, what does the Bible say about the afterlife? The best place to begin is not at the end but at the beginning. In the creation account, God formed Adam from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life, constituting our first father as a “living soul” (Gen. 2:7). Likewise, Eve was taken from Adam’s side (Gen. 2:21-22), as a co-equal divine image bearer (Gen. 1:27), and Adam’s posterity share in that same image as well (Gen. 5:3). Thus, all human beings possess dignity and goodness as ensouled bodies (or embodied souls). The tragic sin of our first parents, however, introduces the sentence of death to the human race. Now, after the fall, the unnatural state of death is our common human lot. Death introduces not only a spiritual separation from God, a relational separation from one another, and an existential separation from our own selves; it also introduces a separation of the soul and the body.

Sometimes the Old Testament can speak of death as a definitive end (Psalm 6:5; 30:9; 88:10-12; 115:17; Isa. 38:18), but this is only from the perspective of life on earth. In other places, the Old Testament speaks of some kind of ongoing personal existence after death. The righteous dead are said to “go to [their] fathers in peace” (Gen. 15:15) or to be “gathered to [their] people” in death (Gen. 25:8, 17; 35:29; 49:33; Num. 20:24; 27:13). Echoing the creation language of Genesis 2, the Preacher writes that “the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it” (Ecc. 12:7). For the unrighteous, a more sobering prospect remains after death. Those who participated in Korah’s rebellion were swallowed up by the earth and went “down alive to Sheol,” the place of the dead (Num. 16:30, 32). Elsewhere, the Old Testament speaks about the possibility of “going down to Sheol” in “mourning” (Gen. 37:35). Sheol (the Greek term was Hades) was the abode for all of the dead in the Old Testament, but it appears that there were at least two possible outcomes in that netherworld: the righteous dead experience the peace of being gathered to their people and the unrighteous dead experience Sheol as judgment. The calling up of Samuel from the dead by the medium at En-Dor, though an illicit attempt to communicate with the dead, is further evidence of this teaching in the Old Testament (1 Sam. 28).

But the Old Testament also points to another, more glorious state of life after death: the resurrection of the body. There are hints of this teaching in multiple places in the Old Testament. After all of his suffering, Job waxes poetic about the prospect of an embodied afterlife: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God” (Job 19:25–26). Ezekiel’s vision of the valley of dry bones being restored to life also points in this direction (Ezek. 37). But the clearest teaching on the resurrection of the body in the Old Testament comes in Daniel 12 in his vision of the end of history:

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever (Dan. 12:2-3).

From this teaching, the ancient Hebrews began to see that the afterlife comes in two stages. At death, the soul departs the body and goes to the place of the dead (Sheol/Hades), where the righteous dead are comforted in Abraham’s Bosom/Paradise (Luke 16:22; 23:43) and where the unrighteous dead suffer in torment (Luke 16:23). But this is merely a provisional or intermediate state. The final state of human existence will come at the end of history when all of the dead will be raised bodily, some to everlasting life and some to everlasting judgment. Each person’s body and soul will be reunited in an immortal, resurrected state.

The New Testament writers assume the Old Testament teaching on the afterlife, but they see it as fundamentally altered by the work of Jesus Christ. Death was definitively defeated through the atoning death of Jesus. Furthermore, Jesus himself descended to the place of the dead in his own intermediate state, the time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday (Eph. 4:9). In Sheol/Hades, Jesus proclaimed his victory over death (1 Pet. 3:19), seized the keys to Death and Hades (Rev. 1:18), and liberated the souls of the Old Testament saints in Sheol (for more on Christ’s descent to the dead, see this important work). This is the so-called “harrowing of hell”: Jesus entered into death, that most harrowing (that is, distressing) human prospect, and rather than being himself harrowed by hell, he harrows it! Then, on that glorious Easter morning, Jesus burst the bonds of death and emerged from the tomb as the firstfruits of the general resurrection which will happen at the end of the age. From now on, all who die in the Lord can rest assured that they will also be raised in glory with him (Rom. 6:5; 1 Cor. 15).

Some Christians and sectarian groups have espoused a notion of “soul sleep,” in which the soul at death simply passes from consciousness until the resurrection of the body at the second coming of Christ. Others have argued that believers are immediately resurrected upon death—that they are somehow translated in time to the eschaton (that is, the end of history). But the New Testament seems to teach the same two-stage afterlife as the Old Testament, only reoriented by the work of Christ. After death comes the judgment. So, when unbelievers die, their souls go to hell, where they await the resurrection of their bodies, at which point they will experience the final judgment: the “lake of fire” (Rev. 20). Until the second coming, believers too must experience the painful separation of death. In this intermediate state between death and resurrection, the souls of believers are “away from the body” but are consciously “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). They “depart” the “flesh” in order to “be with Christ” (Phil. 1:23-24). But this disembodied state is not the final word. The martyred souls under the throne in heaven await their final vindication: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’ Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been” (Rev. 6:10-11). The final vindication, not only for the martyrs but for all the believing dead, will come at the return of Christ when “the dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thess. 4:16). Then, those who are alive at the second coming will be immediately translated into their resurrected state.

There are several important lessons that we can draw from this rich biblical teaching on the afterlife.

First, be prepared for death. No one knows the time of his departure from this life. We should order our affairs each day with our death in view. The Christian faith is as much about learning to die well as it is about learning to live well (though it is about both and they are intimately related). The most important thing that we can do to prepare for death is to repent of our sins and to trust in the guilt-removing, death-destroying gospel of Jesus Christ.

Second, help others prepare for death. The mission is urgent. Share the gospel with your unbelieving family members and friends. Support global missions by going or sending. Recognize that unbelievers are not our ultimate enemy. They too have an enemy who seeks to enslave them to fear and unbelief (Heb. 2:14-15).

Third, live in hope. Death is a frightening prospect, to be sure. The death of loved ones leaves a painful scar on our souls. But Christians can face death with confidence in the mercy and power of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the apostle John saw a vision of the Risen Lord, he “fell at his feet as though dead.” The response of the Lord to John’s fear should hearten every believer in the face of death: “But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades’” (Rev. 1:17-18).

For the Kids:

It is sad to think about, but every person will die one day. Maybe you know someone who has died, a grandparent or someone else in your life. It is important to know that this is not the way it is supposed to be! People die because of sin, not necessarily because their own sin but because of the sin of all humanity in Adam and Eve.

Death brings about a separation. Each person is made up of two main parts: a body, which you can see, and a soul, which you cannot see. The soul is that part of you that was made to know and love God and that will live forever. When a person dies, his soul is separated from his body. For those who believe in and follow Jesus, their souls will go to be with Jesus in heaven. For those who do not believe in and follow Jesus, their souls will go to a place of judgment called Hell.

But there is hope in death. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, all who turn from their sins and believe in him can know that they will go to heaven when they die. But there is even better news! When Jesus comes back to earth one day, your body will be raised from the dead and reunited with your soul so that you can spend forever with Jesus in a beautiful and glorious body for ever and ever. So, Christians don’t have to fear death. We can put our hope in him, even when we are afraid.

Episode 233: Rediscovering Prayer

By ddickerson / Oct 18

Find it difficult to pray? Struggle with sluggishness or a wandering mind in your quiet times? You’re not alone. On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared and Ross talk about ways to reinvigorate our approach to prayer.

06: Jesus in Genesis: A Case Study

By Interactive Supply / Oct 11

“He Shall Bruise Your Head”(Gen 3:15)
While Exodus–Deuteronomy details Israel’s calling as a holy nation (Exod 19:5–6), Genesis clarifies the global context of that calling and the hope of a royal Deliverer. Accordingly, it describes the initial two KINGDOM stages: Kickoff and Rebellion (creation, fall, flood) and Instrument of Blessing (the patriarchs). It also details the initial two biblical covenants: the Adamic/Noahic and the Abrahamic covenants.

This post provides a case study in interpreting Genesis through the light and lens of Christ. As summarized in table 6.1, the previous two blog posts overviewed seven possible ways to treasure Christ in the OT.

1. Consider the OT’s salvation-historical trajectories.

2. See the OT’ direct messianic predictions.

3. Recognize similarities and contrasts within salvation history.

4. Identify OT types.

5. Revel in Yahweh’s identity and activity.

6. Observe the OT’s ethical ideals.

7. Use the OT to instruct others.

Table 6.1. Seven Ways to See and Celebrate Christ in the OT

Thought Flow

Genesis opens with a preface in 1:1–2:3. It then comprises ten units headed by the phrase “the generations of,” which are grouped into five larger units, given the fronting of the Hebrew word for “and” (see table 1).

		The Preface and “Generations” Unit	Genre
1		Preface. Biblical worldview foundations (1:1-2:3)
2	i	These are the generations of the heavens and the earth (2:4-4:26)	N(+LG/SG)
3A	ii	This is the book of the generations of Adam (5:1-6:8)	LG(+N)
3A	iii	These are the generations of Noah(6:9-9:29) And these are the generations of Noah’s Sons(10:1-11:9)	N SG(+N)
3B	iv	These are the generations of Shem (11:10-26) And these are the generations of Terah (11:27-25:11) And these are the generations of Ishmael (25:12-18) And these are the generations of Isaac (25:19-35:29) And these are the generations of Esau (36:1-8,9-37:1)	LG N(+SG) SG N SG(+N+SG)
3B	v	These are the generations of Jacob (37:2-50:26)	N(+SG+N)

*KEY: N = Narrative; LG = Linear Genealogy; SG = Segmented Genealogy

Table 6.2. Genesis’s Structure
The first of these “generations” units has the only heading that does not include a human name (2:4); both this and the context suggest that the ensuing section (2:4–4:26) introduces the redemptive story that follows. As table 6.3 shows, this section also clarifies the world’s need for blessing, as it details humanity’s covenantal purpose (2:4–25); humanity’s sin, God’s curse, and its aftermath (3:1–4:26); and Yahweh’s promise of a curse-overcoming offspring (3:15).

After this, two genealogies (5:1–6:8; 11:10–26) introduce two parallel units that develop the world’s hope for blessing (5:1–11:9; 11:10–50:26). Part one reports the kingdom hope from Adam to Noah (5:1–6:8) and then describes how Yahweh protected the promised line and renewed his covenant with creation in the wake of the flood (6:9–11:9). Part two documents the perpetuation of kingdom hope from Shem to Terah and clarifies how God will use Abraham and his offspring to bless the nations (11:10–37:1). It then closes with a recounting of the promised line’s preservation in Egypt, while also developing the hope for a royal Deliverer (37:2–50:26).

Preface – God’s Blessing-Commission (1:1-2:3):God Purposes that Humanity Rule His World as His Image-Bearers

II.

The Need for Blessing (2:4-4:26): Humanity Rebels and God Curses the World Yet Promises a Curse-Overcoming Offspring

III.

The Hope for Blessing (5:1-50:26): God Preserves Humanity and Provides a Way for the World to Enjoy Kingdom Blessing
A. God Reaffirms Humanity’s Blessing-Commission (5:1-11:9)

God Perpetuates Kingdom Hope from Adam to Noah in the Context of Threat (5:1-6:8)
God Protects the Promised Line and Restores Humanity’s Kingdom Puprose in the Context of Punishment (6:9-11:9)

B. God Declares How His Kingdom Blessing Will Reach the World (11:10-50:26)

God Perpetuates Kingdom Hope from Shem to Terah and Elevates Abraham and His Offspring as the Agents for Bringing Kingdom Blessing to the World (11:10-37:1)
God Perserves the Promised Line through Famine in Egypt and Develops Kingdom Hope for a Royal Deliverer from Judah (37:2-50:26)

Table 6.3. Genesis’s Thought Flow

Major Movements

Preface (Gen 1:1-2:3)

At creation’s climax, God shapes humans in his image (1:26–27) and charges them to “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion” (1:28). From the start, God’s covenant with creation stresses the themes of progeny, property, and power, all themes that resurface in Scripture’s covenantal progression culminating in Christ. The narrator characterizes the commission as a blessing, meaning that humankind would only increase and rule as God’s representatives if he empowered them to do so.

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 5: Revel in Yahweh’s Identity and Activity
God’s role as Creator (Gen 1:1) allows us to see and celebrate Christ, who was “in the beginning with God” and without whom “was not anything made that was made” (John 1:2-3; cf. Col 1:16).

The Heavens and the Earth’s Generations (Gen 2:4-4:26)

Yahweh set the first man as head over his creation (2:15–17) and then provided him a wife from his own body (2:21–25). When Adam rebelled (3:1–6), he secured his own death and the death of those he represented (2:17; Rom 5:12). He also transferred the world’s rule to the evil serpent (1 John 5:19). A new “Adam” figure, operating as a new covenantal head, would be the only one to reverse such a curse (Rom 5:18–19).

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 4: Identity OT Types
Paul notes that Adam “was a type of the one to come… For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous”(Rom 5:14,19).

God subjected creation to “futility,” but he did so “in hope” (8:20), for when he cursed the serpent, he promised: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel” (Gen 3:15). The singular pronoun “he” here indicates the “offspring” is a male individual, who would triumph over the evil serpent, thus reversing the curse and bringing new creation.¹

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 2: See the OT’s direct messianic predictions
Genesis 3:15 is direct messianic prophecy anticipating Christ, and Revelation 12:1-6,17 recalls the verse with respect to Jesus.

Adam’s Generations and Those of Noah and His Sons (Gen 5:1–11:9)

The genealogy from Adam to Noah highlights how God was preserving the “living,” whose hope was in the one to come. In typological foreshadowing of Genesis 3:15’s fulfillment, Lamech declared that his son Noah would overcome the curse (5:29). Through Noah, God preserved a remnant (8:14–19) and reaffirmed his blessing-commission and covenant with creation (9:1, 7, 9–17). By substitutionary atonement (8:20–22), which anticipated Christ’s saving work, Yahweh purchased common grace for all (Matt 5:45).

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 4: Identity OT Types
Along with being the “last Adam” (1 Cor 15:45), Christ is the antitypical human, who perfectly images God (2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:15).

Following the flood, evil intentions led humans to rebel again (Gen 11:1–6). So, Yahweh confused their languages and dispersed them throughout the earth (11:7–9). Specifically, those dispersed were the “clans/families” of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, which together became seventy “nations” (10:32; 11:7–9). Yahweh would incorporate a remnant of these “families” (12:3; 28:14) and “nations” (18:18; 22:18; 26:4) into his global purposes.

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 7: Use the OT to instruct others
The “Noah walked with God” and “was a righteous man, blameless in his generation” (Gen 6:8-9) magnifies Christ as the one whose sanctifying power made even Old Testament justified saints holy, thus providing us an example (He 11:7).

The Generations of Shem, Terah, Ishmael, Isaac, and Esau, as well as Jacob (Gen 11:10–50:26)

Shem’s and Terah’s Generations (Gen 11:10–26; 11:27–25:11)
The heading “the generations of Shem” (11:10) recalls Shem’s elevation among his brothers in Yahweh’s kingdom program (9:26–27), and Shem’s genealogy to Terah again highlights how Yahweh preserved people in every generation who hoped in the coming offspring (11:10–26). The progenitor in the next “generations” heading is Terah (11:27), because Moses wanted to devote much of the next section to the story of Abram, later named Abraham.
The plot develops significantly when Yahweh commissions Abram to “go” to Canaan and there “be a blessing.” As table 6.4 shows, these two coordinated commands (12:1b, 2d) are each followed by one or more conditional promises (12:2abc, 3ab), and the second command-promise unit includes the ultimate promissory result: global blessing (12:3c). The two units indicate how God would reverse the punishments of property and progeny promised in Genesis 3:14–19.²

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 1: Consider the OT’s salvation-historical trajectories
Through the two commands “Go!” and “Be a blessing!” in Genesis 12:1-3, Yahweh sets a salvation-historical trajectory that moves through Abraham’s behing a father of one nation ( = old covenant, Gen 17:7-8) to Christ’s saving work that makes Abraham the father of many nations ( = new covenant, 17:4-6).

	And Yahweh said to Abram,	1
Phase 1: Realized in the Mosaic Covenant
	Go from your land and your kindred and your father’s house to the lad that I will show you,”	b
	so that I may make you into a great nation,	2
	and may bless you,	b
	and may make your name great.	c
Phase 2: Realized in the New Covenant
	“Then be a blessing,	d
	so that I may bless those who bless you,	3
	but him who dishonors you I will curse,	b
	with the result that in you all the families of the ground may be blessed.	c

Table 6.4. The Structure of Genesis 12:1–3 (Author’s Translation)

The two units also foresee two major phases in God’s saving drama. Phase one relates to Abraham fathering a nation centered in Canaan. Yahweh would fulfill this through the Mosaic covenant (15:13, 18; 17:8). Phase two would occur when Abraham’s representative blessed the families Yahweh dispersed (12:2d–3). This would happen only when Abraham’s offspring perfectly obeyed (18:18–19)—something realized only through Abraham’s ultimate offspring who blesses the world (Gal 3:14, 16, 29). Jesus does this through his perfect life, culminating in his death and resurrection (Phil 2:8; 1 Pet 2:22).

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 6: Observe the OT’s ethical ideals
“Righteousness” was the ethical goal of law keeping (Deut 6:25). Yet God Cridits righteousness to Abraham by faith apart from works (Gen 15:16), thus justifying the ungodly (Rom 4:5) based on Christ’s perfect righteousness, which leads to “justification and life for all men” (5:18; cf. 3:21-26).

Through Isaac God would affirm his covenant and name the promised offspring (17:19, 21; 21:12). This one would serve as Abraham’s greater “son,” through whom, by his substitutionary sacrifice, “the LORD will provide” pardon for many (22:13–14; cf. Rom 8:32). By becoming numerous, this singular “offspring” will conquer his enemies’ gate (Gen 22:17; 24:60; cf. 26:3) and stand as the one in whom all nations count themselves blessed (22:18; cf. 26:4), thus expanding the patriarch’s fatherhood (17:4). Upon Abraham’s death, Yahweh blessed Isaac (25:11).

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 4: Identity OT Types
Way 2: See the OT’s direct messianic predictions
The account of Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac and Yahweh’s response in Genesis 22:1-19 typologically anticipates God sacrificially giving his own Son for us all (Gen 22:2; Rom 8:32) and directly predicts Abraham’s individual offspring, Christ (Gen 22:17-18), who would possess enemy gates (Matt 16:18) and in whom the nations would regard themselves blessed (Gal 3:8, 16,29; cf. Acts 3:25-26).

Ishmael’s, Isaac’s, and Esau’s Generations (Gen 25:12–18; 25:19–35:29; 36:1–37:1)

At this point, the narrative includes a genealogy devoted to “the generations of Ishmael” (25:12–18), whom Hagar bore to Abraham and whom Yahweh said would become a great nation but not as the agent of his covenant (22:20–21). His descendants represent those living under a curse, in need of the blessing Abraham’s offspring would supply.
With the narrative associated with “the generations of Isaac” (25:19–35:29), Yahweh reaffirmed and developed his patriarchal promises. Rebekah’s twins would be rival nations/peoples, with the older serving the younger (25:23)—something soon realized when the elder Esau sold his birthright to Jacob (25:29–34). Furthermore, in commissioning Isaac to sojourn in the “land” (singular), God promised his presence and blessing, which would include the promised offspring inheriting “lands” (plural; 26:3–4). Quoting this exact promise, Paul identified Christ as the “offspring” that blesses the world (Gal 3:16, 29).

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 3: Recognize similarities and contrasts within salvation history
The continuity and discontinuity between the “land” (singular, Gen 12:1-2; 15:18; cf Joshua 21:43; 1 Kings 4:21) and “lands” (plurar, Gen 26:3-4; Rom 4:13) magnifies Christ as the one in whom this redemptive-historical development happens, culminating in the new heavens and earth.

Lastly, we learn of Rachel and Isaac’s deaths just before two genealogies associated with “the generations of Esau,” the content of which, again, details those surrounding Israel who needed Yahweh’s blessing (36:1–37:1).

Jacob’s Generations (Gen 37:2–50:26)

The book’s final chapters are devoted to “the generations of Jacob” (37:2–50:26), recording the preservation of Jacob’s twelve sons and their descendants, who would become the nation of Israel and through whom the promised Deliverer would rise. While Joseph is the eleventh born son, his father treats him as the firstborn (37:3–4), and the narrative anticipates his rise above his brothers (37:5–11). Yet his brothers sell him into slavery (37:28).
After a brief interlude on Judah’s offspring (chap. 38), the narrative returns to Joseph, who moves from Egyptian prisoner to second in command (39:1–41:40). Yahweh uses him to preserve life during a famine (45:5, 7). Once his family secured refuge in Egypt (47:26–27), Jacob declared Yahweh’s special blessing of Joseph’s offspring (49:22–26). Concerning Judah, though, he also declared that kingship would remain in his line until the promised one comes (49:8–12). Joseph would retain the blessing of the firstborn, then, but Judah would be the one through whom the offspring-Deliverer would rise “in the last days” (49:1).

See and Celebrate Christ in the OT
Way 2: See the OT’s direct messianic predictions
Yahweh’s promis that “the scepter shall not depart from Judah” and that a king would rise to whom “shall be the obedience of the peoples” (Gen 49:10) directly predicts the rise of Jesus Christ, who is “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (Matt 1:1), who will reign on “the throne of his father David,” and whose “kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

Summary

Read within its close, continuing, and complete contexts, Genesis details gospel hope climaxing in Christ. Its main idea is this: Despite humanity’s losing the blessing of eternally reigning over a very good world as God’s image bearers, Yahweh will restore this blessing to all nations when they place their faith in the woman’s royal offspring, who will descend from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, crush the serpent, and claim all lands. In short, Genesis is Christian Scripture in which we can see and celebrate the Messiah and the gospel’s hope. Observing and evaluating other OT books carefully should allow prayerful Christians to enjoy similar results.

¹C. John Collins, “A Syntactical Note (Genesis 3:15): Is the Woman’s Seed Singular or Plural?,” Tyndale Bulletin 48.1 (1997): 139–48.
²James M. Hamilton Jr., “The Seed of the Woman and the Blessing of Abraham,” Tyndale Bulletin 58.2 (2007): 253–73.

This blog series summarizes Jason S. DeRouchie’s forthcoming book, Delighting in the Old Testament: Through Christ and for Christ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2024). You can pre-order your copy here.

Episode 232: Spiritual Warfare

By ddickerson / Oct 11

On this episode of the FTC Podcast, Jared and Ross discuss the biblical portrait of spiritual warfare and what it means for the everyday Christian life. Plus: a BIG announcement!

Start With The End: 3 Reasons You Should Try Writing the Conclusion of Your Sermon First

By Lucas Hahn / Oct 10

Have you ever listened to a sermon and felt like the preacher did not know how to stop talking? “Just land the plane” is an encouragement you may have heard before. Preaching is hard and ending the sermon with a satisfying conclusion is even harder. You can have the most engaging opening story, great exegesis, and helpful application and yet leave the audience exasperated at the end because you keep circling the runway instead of landing the plane. Or even worse, you can take the people on a great exposition that glorifies God and edify the saints and just crash the plane at the end because you didn’t know how to get out of it. How you close a sermon is as important as how you start the sermon.

Quintilian, the classic orator said “The peroration (conclusion) is the most important part of forensic pleading.” The conclusion of the sermon is place where you make a final plea and argument for your people to believe what God’s Word has said and apply it to their lives. Yet the temptation is to haphazardly wrap things up with an application point or closing anecdote. You will serve your people well when you close a sermon with clarity and conviction. If you find that a particular airline has pilots that tend towards uncomfortably, bumpy, and startling landings you will fly with someone else. And as important as it is for a pilot to get you to the ground safely, it is even greater that those of us who labor in the proclamation of God’s Word to his church conclude with clarity and satisfaction. Here are three reasons why you should try writing your conclusion first.

Clarifies the Central Main Point

Any impactful sermon aims to communicate a central truth or main point. (Yes, your sermon should have a main point that you are proving.) Too often, preachers lose sight of this focus during the sermon development process. You found a hilarious illustration, a fascinating detail in the text, or a place to do cultural engagement but what if those great things don’t actually serve your main point. They are your favorite rabbit trails, but going down the rabbit hole is not what a sermon is meant to do. You need to know your main point that you are bringing to your people in order to conclude the sermon. Writing the conclusion first can serve as a powerful antidote to this problem. Your work in the Word will lead to the main point of the passage. If you do your work, starting at the end really isn’t that hard. The conclusion ought to hit that main point home one final and forceful time to stay in the mind of your audience.

By crafting the conclusion upfront, you crystallize the central message you want to leave with your congregation. This focused idea becomes the lighthouse guiding all other parts of your sermon. As you construct the introduction and the body, you are constantly reminded of the primary point you want to make. It enables you to be sure that every element of your sermon—be it scriptural exploration, real-life applications, or illustrations—directly contributes to driving home your main point.

Pulls Together the Movements in the Sermon

A sermon isn’t merely a linear progression of ideas; it’s a journey that the preacher takes the congregation on. This journey has different movements—sometimes through contrasting viewpoints, parts of a story, or your classic three-point sermon. Knowing your conclusion from the get-go offers clarity to these movements. Your subpoints work like turns on the road or rocks in a creek. They get you to your destination. If you don’t know your destination, your conclusion, then your subpoints will take you somewhere else, or perhaps leave your stranded.

When you write the conclusion first, you essentially establish your sermon’s destination. With the end point clear in your mind, you can thoughtfully plot the course you wish to navigate to get there. Each movement in the sermon becomes a strategic step toward that pre-determined conclusion. Whether you are using deductive reasoning, building an argument, or engaging in storytelling, the movements will be more coherent and logical, helping your people understand and remember the message.

Makes People Want to Come Back and Listen Again

A strong, memorable conclusion leaves a lasting impression. It’s the part of the sermon that often resonates most deeply with listeners and gives them something to ponder long after they’ve left the church building. It is the last thing they will likely hear you say. Consequently, the conclusion can be a significant factor in whether people will want to come back and listen again.

Writing the conclusion first allows you to tie up loose ends, identify the key takeaways, and the emotional tone you wish to set. By identifying this emotional and spiritual landing point early in your preparation, you are better prepared to craft a sermon that captures attention from the beginning, holds it throughout, and releases it only after imprinting a compelling message on the hearts of your listeners. That’s something that I would want to come back and hear again

Conclusion

The task of sermon writing is both a privilege and a responsibility, and the approach one takes can make all the difference. Writing the conclusion first might seem counterintuitive, all the more reason to try it. I’m not saying pick a conclusion apart from God’s Word. Do your exegetical work, find your main idea, and when you sit down to write the sermon start at the end. It clarifies your sermon’s central point, gives structure and clarity to its various movements, and most importantly, leaves your congregation eager to return for more. Look, there is nothing magical about when you write your conclusion. But having a good conclusion that reinforces the conclusion is important and too easily passed without thought. So, the next time you sit down to pen a sermon, consider starting at the end.

What is Pure Act?

By Brett Fredenberg / Oct 4

We are creatures torn between being and becoming. In the grand symphony of creation, everything reflects the tension between what is, and what will be. From the tiniest microorganisms to the greatest galaxies swirling in the cosmos, each created entity carries its unique blueprint of potentiality and fulfillment.

The fact that the world around us is full of potential is so common to our everyday experience that we hardly stop to notice. We don’t often pause to look at an oak tree in the park long enough to marvel at the acorns strewn about beneath. But there in those tiny acorns lies the potential to grow, given the right conditions, into a giant oak tree. This is because it is the very nature of an acorn to become an oak. An acorn, we could then say is potentially an oak tree. Looking from the other direction, we could say that a mature oak is a fully actualized acorn. That is, when the true nature of the acorn is fulfilled or actualized, it becomes the tree that it was created to become.

We humans, as part of God’s intricate design, also embody this principle. We are born helpless infants, brimming with the potential for growth and learning as we mature into the adults we are meant to be. Our lives are exercises in becoming, the pursuit of actualizing our dormant abilities and fulfilling our purposes to create and cultivate God’s creation.

All created things reflect this distinction between what they are, and what they can become. We live in a world where being and becoming are built into the very fabric of reality.

Yet, amidst this constant flux and change that characterizes the created world, God stands as the unchanging being. God’s essence is perfect, simple, and pure. He is the eternal “I AM” that knows no shadow or variation due to change. This divine unchangeability (immutability) reminds us of the profound difference between the Creator and His creation.

The world around us pulsates with potential, a testament to the exquisite design of creation, while God remains the epitome of pure being, untouched by the winds of change, and ever radiant in the fullness of His perfect existence. God, being the Creator of all things, is not like us. As pure existence, the One who has life in Himself, He has no need of becoming. To imply that He has need of becoming would be to confuse the Creator with His creation.

We could then say that God is purely actual, only ever and always existing and acting out of the fullness of His perfect, infinite life, never out of lack or need. In short, God has no potential to become anything other than what He already is, because He Himself is the fullness of life.

For the Kids:

As kids, you hope to grow up and be big someday. It’s why you play “grown ups” with your friends and pretend that you are doctors, firefighters, professional athletes, or moms and dads. Growing up is part of what it means to be a kid. It’s why you play and learn new things and why, when the time comes, you will learn to do less fun grown up things like work and chores. But that is a good thing! It means that you are becoming who God created you to be.

God, however, is not growing up and changing like you are. He is, and has always been, perfectly God, so He has no need to grow up or change. This is good news for you because it means that God does not lack anything! Since He lacks nothing, everything God does, He does it out of His abundant love, never out of need. In fact, God is so perfect and complete in himself that he chose to share everything He has with you, in Jesus. This is the good news of the gospel.

So as you grow up in a world full of change, always remember that God cannot be any more because He already is.[1]

[1] Thanks to Thomas Hext for this aphorism about what it means for us to confess that God is pure act.