A pentecostal Biblical theology : turning points in the story of redemption

253 Pages·2016·1.491 MB·English

by  Stronstad, Roger

A P
ENTECOSTAL
B T
IBLICAL HEOLOGY
Turning Points in the Story of Redemption

Roger Stronstad

CPT Press
Cleveland, Tennessee

Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Introduction 1
Part One: Old Testament Theology
Cycles One through Five
Chapter 1
Cycle One:
From Creation to the Flood (Genesis 1.1–8.22) 7
Chapter 2
Cycle Two:
From Noah to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 9.1–11.9) 19
Chapter 3
Cycle Three:
From Abraham to Israel’s Wilderness Wanderings
(Genesis 12–Deuteronomy 34) 27
Chapter 4
Cycle Four:
From Joshua to Exile (Joshua 1–2 Chronicles 36) 55
Chapter 5
Cycle Five:
From Joshua and Zerubbabel to the Jewish Revolt 87
Part Two: New Testament Theology
Cycles Six and Seven
Transition and Introduction 105
Chapter 6
Cycle 6:
The New Covenant 109
Chapter 7
Cycle 6, Continued:
The New Start According to John the Evangelist 133
Chapter 8
Cycle 6, Continued:
The Growth and Spread of Christianity 153
Chapter 9
Cycle 6, Continued:
Paul – Apostle and Prophet-Teacher to God’s New People 187
Chapter 10
Cycle 6, Continued:
Judgment – The Climax of History 207
Chapter 11
Cycle 7:
From the Second Coming of Jesus to Everlasting Blessedness 223
Bibliography 229
Index of Biblical (and other Ancient) References 233
Index of Authors 248
Copyright Page
I
NTRODUCTION
This introduction will discuss general introductory issues to the book’s approach
to biblical theology. It will prepare the reader for the first of the seven cycles of
‘turning points’ in biblical history and theology. The first cycle takes the reader
from the biblical creation narrative to the judgment by flood waters in the time
of Noah.
A wise man in ancient times once observed: there is no end to the making of
books. Such has come to be the case in biblical studies, generally, and in biblical
theology, in particular. So, one might ask, why another book in the field of
biblical theology. As an instructor of biblical theology courses at the
undergraduate level, I have often struggled to find good, user friendly textbooks.
Two primary factors underlie my dissatisfaction with many contemporary
biblical theologies: 1) They are too lengthy. No undergraduate needs a 600-800
page Old or New Testament theology. 2) They (properly) engage the critical
issues; but, at the undergraduate level, students need the opportunity to grapple
with the text.
This study of turning points in the biblical story of redemption addresses the
above issues. It discusses the entire scope of the Bible – from Genesis 1 to
Revelation 22 – but I have kept it to a modest length. Also, of the two
approaches to doing theology – search or statement – I have minimized the
discussion of critical academic issues, the theology of search, in favor of
emphasizing faith issues, the theology of statement.
From the beginning, Bible readers have sought to discover the unifying
theme(s) of the Bible. This attempt has defeated the best minds because the
Bible was written book by book in different historical settings over a period of,
perhaps, 1500 years. Proposals for the unifying theme include: 1) the presence of
God, himself, 2) the history of salvation, 3) the formation of the people of God
(Israel; the Church), 4) the covenants (Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic,
Jesuanic), and 5) the Continuation Narrative (Old Testament promise; New
Testament fulfillment). Each of these, and other approaches for finding a
unifying theme has its own combination of strengths and weaknesses. This
theology finds its unifying theme in recurring cycles of turning points in biblical
history and theology, an approach that also has its own combination of strengths
and weaknesses.
This study will develop the unifying theme of ‘turning points’. These turning
points are the seven cycles of the complex pattern: 1) start/new start, 2) the
spread of sin, 3) divine judgment, and 4) a subsequent new start. This pattern is
most easily seen in the early chapters of Genesis, but it continues to appear,
historically and prophetically, throughout biblical history. The following chart
illustrates the structure or pattern of the cycle.

Pattern First Cycle Second Cycle Third Cycle
Start Adam and Eve Noah and sons Abraham and
Sarah
Command Be fruitful and Be fruitful and I will multiply
multiply (1.28) multiply (9.1) you (17.2)
Spread of Earth was filled City building Israel grumbles
sin with violence and false against the
worship LORD
Judgment Flood Confusion of First generation
languages of exodus dies
The pattern or structure of these first three cycles continues to appear
throughout the biblical narrative, not ending until history itself ends. This is
illustrated by the following graphic:
Key to Schematic:
Timeline: The history of humankind and/or God’s people from creation (Genesis
1–2) to New Creation (Revelation 21, 22).
Left facing arrowhead:
Point identifies the start/new start
Names (top) identify the agents for the start/new start
The prone ‘V’ lines illustrate the numerical growth and spread of the
population
The closing vertical line identifies the divine judgment upon a sinful
population
Circle: identifies each complete cycle in the sequence of turning points
Cross: Identifies the penultimate turning point in the sequence.

As illustrated (above) the first five turning points are reported as the Old
Testament narrative advances; the sixth cycle is the subject of the New
Testament (Matthew 1 to Revelation 20), and the seventh cycle is transformed
into eternal bliss (Revelation 21, 22).
This unifying theme of seven ‘turning points’, despite its obvious limitations,
commends itself for several reasons:
1. It focuses on key turning points in human/biblical history.
2. It focuses on key biblical characters, such as Adam, Noah, Abraham,
Moses, Joshua … John the Baptist, Jesus, the Twelve, Paul, et al.
3. It discusses every covenant which God makes with humankind, such as
the Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic and Jesuanic.
4. The fact that there are seven cycles of start/new start speaks of the
completeness or fullness of God’s grace.
5. The fact that the agents of the new start of the last four cycles have the
name Joshua (Hebrew) = Jesus (Greek), which means ‘God saves’,
illustrates the repetitive triumph of Redemption over human cosmic and
global sinfulness.
PART 1
––––––––––––––––––
OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY
C 1
HAPTER
C O : F C F (G
YCLE NE ROM REATION TO THE LOOD ENESIS
1.1–8.22)
Some of the most sublime words ever to be penned are found in Genesis 1: ‘In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth’ (1.1). These words of
creation might be rivaled by the visionary words of re-creation, namely, ‘For I
saw’, John writes, ‘a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the
first earth passed away’ (Rev. 21.1). But these words of re-creation fall short of
the word about creation in the same way that every ‘announcement’ falls short of
the established reality. Perhaps the most sublime words of all are the agonized
last words of Jesus from the cross: ‘It is finished’ (Jn 19.30). In the big picture,
creation is finished in ‘redemption’ (compare the complementary visions of God
as Creator and Redeemer in Revelation 4.1–5.14). Therefore, by any eternal
standard, God’s complementary words about creation/re-creation and redemption
stand supreme. Therefore, in a manner of speaking, whereas creation is God’s
‘good, good’ work, redemption through his Son is his most sublime work.
The first cycle of turning points in biblical history and theology is, obviously,
about first things. Moses’ narrative is not a complete record about what
happened; it is selective. The first cycle of turning points focuses upon the
following four points. One, God creates the heavens and the earth … and all
their hosts (Gen. 2.1). Two, God creates and commissions human agents to
function as his sub-creators (1.26-30). Third, Moses reports about the growth
and spread of the descendants of the first human, their fall into disobedience, and
the spread of sin (3.1–6.7). Four, God judges humankind by destructive flood
waters (6.8–8.22). These aspects of the ‘start’ cycle become the pattern of the
entirety of the biblical report of human history. The following schematic
illustrates the place of the first cycle of turning points in relationship to the six
cycles which make up human history.