Reli 104 1st Edition Lecture 14 Outline of Last Lecture I Introduction II Sources outside the New Testament III Sources within the New Testament IV Criteria for determining Authentic Tradition Outline of Current Lecture II The context III Jesus as an Apocalypticist IV Jesus Apocalyptic message V Conclusion Current Lecture I The Context First Century Jewish Apocalypticism what did Jesus teach and preach argued you have to put something in its context in order to understand it If you take it out of context you change its message context of jesus teachings teaching in first century Palestinian Jewish context Anything he said would have made sense to first century palastinian Jews weren t 21st century americans had different context problem with changing the context is that its easy to take something from one context transplant it in new context and it makes sense in new context important aspect of Jesus context world view that was dominant in his day in Palestine world view called Apocalypticism apocalypticism comes from work apocalypse revealing or unveiling world view that many first century views had that maintained that God had revealed the heavenly secrets that can make sense of our world first century Jewish Apocalypticists maintained that the world that we live in now is controlled by forces of evil You can see why somebody would think that look around you hurricanes tsunamis epidemics war droughts corruption ect But god was going to intervene in course of human affairs and destroy forces of evil to bring in a good kingdom where God himself will rule the earth If you are suffering hold on for a little while longer b c it will happen very soon know about this from range of texts from ancient jews for example the dead sea scrolls tenents of apocalypticism o dualism two fundamental components of reality are good and evil cosmic good and evil are cosmic forces good is under the control of god evil is under control of devil its when Jewish apocalypticists These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute o o o o started developing there ideas that the idea of a devil came about god has angels devil has demons god has power to give life devil has power to give death god has the power or righteousness devil has power of sin Sin and death in apocalyptic point of view aren t just what you do Sin is a cosmic force that is trying and has enslaved you why you cant always do whats right Death is demonic force in the world a power that is trying to enslave you and when it conquers you it enielates you historical history is dualistic historical dualism is contrast between this age that we live in now and the age to come these are two radically different ages of human history this age is controlled by forces of evil but age to come will be ruled by forces of good Not that we will develop into good age pessimism pessimism about the possibilities of life in this age b c forces of evil are in control we are powerless to make things better shouldn t think that you will make the world a better place things are only gonna get worse and worse until at the end of this age all hell breaks out Vindication at the end of this age when things get so bad God will intervene and vindicate himself He created this world and he is going to redeem this world Going to vindicate his own name and his own people People who are suffering now that are going to prosper judgment involves a day of judgment Sends a cosmic judge of the earth who will destroy forces of evil and bring in kingdom everyone will face judgement no neutral territory side of good or side of evil cant sit on fence you have made a decision those who side w forces of good in this world now will suffer b c the forces of evil are in control but when he sends a cosmic judge of the earth son of man he will destroy forces of evil and anyone who sides with him resurrection this judgment day involves resurrection period of time 150 years before jesus that people started talking about future resurrection of the dead At the end of time everyone raised from the dead to face judgment Logic you shouldn t think that in this current age that you can side with forces of evil and become rich and powerful and then die and get away with it b c when the judgment day comes god will rasie you from dead and you will face punishment if you side with forces of evil and cant do anything to stop him If you sided with forces of good and suffered you will be rewarded apocalyptic view that shows why evil dominates now imminence end of this age is imminent it is right around the corner it is almost here Some of you standing here will not taste death before you see that the kindom has come mark Jesus expected imminent appearance of the end of the age many apocalyptisits but all subscribed to these point of view including jesus II Jesus as an Apocalypticist dominant view for over 100 years in scholars How do we know Jesus had this view when you talk about historical jesus need to be methodologically rigorous cant take what he says and think that s what Jesus really said gospels written 30 40 60 years later by people that weren t eye witnesses Review methodology o John and the Synoptics synoptics are better source than John b c John is so much later and portrays such a different Jesus focus on synoptics and sources behind synoptics When you study these sources certain criteria that you need to apply The Criteria o independent attestation found independently in a number of sources Ex jesus tells many parables about seeds o dissimilarity look for passages that pass criterion of dissimilarity if traditions that wouldn t want to make up that are dissimilar of what they would want to say about Jesus Ex jesus baptism o contextual credibility The Character of Jesus Ministry this is a common point of view and arguments behind it are widely held among scholars of the NT o The Apocalyptic beginning earliest words of Jesus are found in Mark Ch 1 vs 15 Jesus begins to proclaim that the time has been fulfilled and the Kingdom of god is almost here repent and believe the good news apocalyptic message Jesus first words need to get ready for it As time goes on jesus sayings become less and less apocalyptic As time goes on message is getting deapocalyptisized because the time never came As the time goes on Jesus messages become less and less apocalyptic Luke does not say the kingdom of God is