Not Space Travel

"The coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of heaven was never conceived as a primitive form of space travel, but as a symbol for a mighty reversal of fortunes within history and at a national level."

G.B. Caird, Jesus and the Jewish Nation, 20.

Resurrection Via Crucifixion

"For Paul, the death and resurrection of Jesus show beyond a doubt that the defining narrative of the Christian story can no longer be the law that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. But without such a law, what becomes of ethics? Does the story of a holy and righteous people then crumble? These are the questions Paul sets out to answer in Romans 6-8. His answer is that a righteous life is now possible for the first time in human history because the power of sin is defeated through 'resurrection via crucifixion'."

-J.R. Daniel Kirk, Jesus Have I Loved, But Paul?, 87.

Evangellyfish

I love Douglas Wilson's writing. I have read a ton of his stuff and always enjoy it even when I disagree with the content (which is often and significant at points). The last Wilson book I read was Evangellyfish. I wanted to post something about it, but was not quite sure how to approach it. Kevin DeYoung recently read it as well, and I resonated with his comments:

"What can you say about Doug Wilson? The guy can flat out write. And if LOL wasn’t so cliche, I’d also say he’s laugh out loud funny. This book is a satire about Chad Lester, the sex-crazed pastor of a shallow (and also sex-crazed) megachurch called Camel Creek Community Church. The “hero” of the story is a stodgy Reformed Baptist minister John Mitchell whose life gets connected with Chad’s in increasingly complicated ways. Wilson tells a good story that draws you in and keeps you pressing forward to see what happens next. For my tastes, I thought the story was too thoroughly about sex. No lurid descriptions were given, but I’d still rather not read a whole book about the creative permutations of sexual deviancy, even if it is farcical. That complaint notwithstanding, I have to say, after finishing the book, I was surprised to find myself thinking, “You know what, that was really funny, but also strangely and realistically redemptive.” I give Wilson credit for doing what almost no other Christian dares to do, and almost no one does well, and that’s employ the genre of satire for the glory of God."

Jerusalem & Biblical Theology

"Jesus' resurrection was a private vindication of who He was and what He did, but no one saw it take place, and Jesus only appeared to a few disciples. The destruction of the enemy city, Jerusalem, was His public vindication. Fulfilling Jesus' prophecies, it confirmed Him as a true Prophet, and as the last and greatest Prophet. It was the proof that He had indeed ascended to heaven and become King of kings and Lord of lords. Thus, the destruction of the Old Creation is of incalculable importance to Biblical theology. It was not some mere mopping-up operation, but was the great public historical vindication of Jesus by the Father. Those who fail to see this fact generally discount the importance of the destruction of Jerusalem, and thus fail to see why it occupies so much attention in the Gospels, and also fail to see that it is the major concern of the book of Revelation. We might just as well call Revelation 'The Vindication of Jesus Christ'."

--J. Jordan, The Vindication of Jesus Christ, 11.

The "Christification" of the Land

"An underlying principle seems to govern Christ's applications of Israel's promises: the removal of the old ethnic restriction among the new-covenant people entails the removal of the old geographic Middle East center for Christ's Church. Wherever Christ is, there is the holy space. This is the essence of the New Testament application of Israel's holy territory. For the holiness of old Jerusalem, the New Testament substitutes the holiness of Jesus Christ. It "Christifies" the old territorial holiness and thus transcends its limitations. This should not be regarded as the New Testament rejection of Israel's territorial promises, but rather as its fulfillment and confirmation in Christ."

H.K. LaRondelle, The Israel of God in Prophecy, 142.

The Attenuated Christ

The attenuated Christ of recent Christian scepticism could not have built a mouse-trap, let alone a church. We need a Jesus who can explain the Christ of faith: one big enough to account for Jewish hostility and Roman fear; one big enough to explain why he became the subject of such a book as the Gospel of John: one who made such an impression that people easily believed that he had risen from the dead; such a colossus that within a few years of his death those who had known him best were identifying him with Yahweh and laying down their lives rather than refrain from worshipping him; a figure of such universality that his church has had a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural appeal without precedent in the history of religion."

-Donald Macleod in The Person of Christ, 116-117

Revelation & Absurdity

"It would be absurd (not to say cruel) for John to write a letter to persons in such circumstances which not only ignores their difficulties, but reveals numerous details about events supposed to transpire hundreds of years in the future during a seven year tribulation period at the end of the church age. You may be sure he did no such thing. The book is contemporary, not future, in emphasis."

-Jay Adams in The Time is At Hand, 48.