Topic 16 The Consolidating Church: Pastorals, General Letters, Revelation

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Topic 16 The Consolidating Church
Pastorals, General Letters, Revelation

• New Issues Confronting the Settling Churches
• Growing hostility of Roman Empire
• Earlier period (before 64) benign neglect
• Later NT period increasing hostility
• Growth separation from Judaism peculiar
  practices.
• Refusal to worship emperor and Roman gods.
• Suspected of disloyalty ostracized episodes of
  persecution.
• Nero (54-68)
• Fire in Rome (64) needed to shift blame.
• Persecution of Christians in Rome (64-65).
• Early traditions that Peter and Paul were
  executed by Nero.
• Domitian (81-96)
• Demanded divine honors.
• Persecution in Asia Minor (c. 95-96)
• Trajan (98-117)
• Christianity illegal not systematically hunted
  down.
• When accused, given chance to renounce the faith
  otherwise, punished.
• Ignatius of Antioch (c. 110).

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• New Issues cont.
• Christian complacency and apathy
• Delay of the Parousia
• Combatting heresy and defining orthodoxy
• Heresy (false teaching) reaching new proportions.
• Three criteria of orthodoxy (right teaching)
• Scripture
• Apostolic tradition
• Church order
• Development of organizational structure
• Early period had been free, charismatic.
• Later, more definitive structures emerge.
• Ignatius of Antioch describes 3 offices in a
  graded hierarchy
• Bishop overseer
• Presbyter elder
• Deacon servant

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• Pastorals 1 2 Timothy and Titus
• Authorship highly disputed
• Pauls name in salutation.
• Probably pseudonymous
• Different vocabulary/style 306 words not in
  undisputed letters.
• Theological differences.
• Opponents reflect well developed Gnosticism.
• Church organization is advanced.
• Do not fit known life of Paul.
• Date c. 100-110
• Purpose
• Opposes Gnostic heresy with ascetic practices.
• Perhaps early form of Marcionism (1 Tim. 41-5
  620).
• Writer appeals to
• Scripture (1 Tim. 41-5 2 Tim. 316).
• Apostolic tradition (2 Tim. 21-2).
• Church order (1 Tim. 31-13 517-19 Tit. 15-8).

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• General Letters
• Hebrews
• Authorship anonymous (no salutation) unknown
• Date c. 80-90
• Purpose Written for Jewish Christian church
  complacent in the faith under threat of
  persecution was in danger of apostasy.
• Complacency Persecution Apostasy
• Highlights Calls the church to faithfulness
• By demonstrating superiority of Christianity.
• 31-6 Christ superior to Moses.
• 723-28 Christ superior to priests.
• 101-4, 11-14 Christ superior to sacrifices.
• By warning against consequences of apostasy.
• 64-6 No second repentance.
• By pointing to example of biblical heroes of
  faith.
• ch. 11 Roll call of the faithful.
• 121-3 Appeal for faithful endurance.

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• James
• Authorship
• Salutation James, a servant of God
• Tradition James, brother of Jesus (cf. Mk. 63
  Gal. 119).
• Possibilities Jesus brother another James
  pseudonym.
• Date before 62 or c. 90-100.
• Purpose Collection of moral exhortations
  emphasizes importance of moral action.
• Highlights
• 122 Be doers of the word
• 127 True religion moral purity and readiness
  to help the needy.
• 214-26 Corrects abuse of justification by
  faith.
• James justified by works, not by faith alone (v.
  24).
• Paul justified by faith in Christ, not by works
  of law.
• Luther took offense at James right strawy
  epistle.
• James opposes not Paul but a misunderstanding of
  Paul
• Paul faith trusting God with
  dependence/obedience.
• James faith believing the right doctrine.

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• General Letters cont.
• 1 Peter
• Authorship
• Salutation Apostle Peter
• Debated genuine or pseudonym?
• Date
• If Peter c. 64
• If not Peter c. 95 or 98-117
• Purpose
• To encourage persecuted Christians in Asia Minor.
• Portions may be borrowed from baptismal sermon on
  confidence in the hope of salvation.
• Highlights
• 212-17 Obey civil authorities in spite of
  persecution.
• 313-17 Accept suffering with clear conscience.
• 412-19 Persecution is not shameful.

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• General Letters cont.
• Jude
• Authorship
• Salutation Jude, brother of James.
• Tradition Jude, brother of Jesus (cf. Mk. 63).
• Possibilities Jesus brother Jude pseudonym
  unknown Jude.
• Date c. 100-125
• Purpose
• Opposes a libertine heresy involving sexual
  immorality.
• Denounces opponents lifestyle (v. 12-13).
• 2 Peter
• Authorship
• Salutation Simeon Peterapostle
• Probably pseudonymous
• Date c. 100-150
• Uses Jude (cf. 2 Pet. 21-18 31-3 with Jude
  4-18).
• Probably latest book of NT.
• Purpose Opposes false teachers who denied
  Parousia.
• 33-4 Hope of Parousia doubted, scoffed at.

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• Revelation Gods Final Victory over Evil
• Authorship
• Christian prophet named John (11)
• Tradition Apostle John probably not.
• Place island of Patmos
• Date c. 95-96 (near end of Domitians reign)
• Purpose To strengthen/encourage churches in
  Asia Minor facing persecution for refusing to
  worship emperor.
• Genre Apocalyptic literature
• Apocalypses were written in times of
  persecution/crisis.
• Gave symbolic visions of heavenly world and end
  of world.
• Looked for imminent intervention of God to end
  Evil Age and establish New Age of justice.
• Gave hope to oppressed communities trying to be
  faithful.
• Rev. is an apocalypse (title apocalypsis
  revelation).

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• 6. Comments on Revelation
• Addressed to churches c. 95 AD encourages them
  with what God is about to do soon (11, 3
  226, 7, 10, 12).
• Interpret in ways relevant/meaningful to first
  readers.
• Apocalyptic symbols give eschatological
  significance to current crisis.
• Beast from Sea (131) Roman Empire
• Beast from Earth (1311) Imperial cult
• 666 (1318) number of the beast Who is the
  beast?
• Gematria numerical symbolism add up value of
  letters in a word or name. Whose name adds up
  to 666?
• Probably refers to Neron Caesar (Nero).
• Babylon (175 182 etc.) Rome
• Two main parts
• ch. 1-3 Letters to seven churches of Asia
  (Minor)
• ch. 4-22 Visions of Gods victory over evil
• Conflict has two levels
• Earthly Church vs. Empire
• Cosmic God vs. Satan
• Message Gives assurance that, despite
  appearances, God is in control and ultimately
  will be victorious calls church to faithful
  endurance on that basis.

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• Four Ways Revelation Has Been Interpreted
• Continuous historical Visions predict all of
  history from 1st century to end of the world.
• Futurist Visions predict events in the last few
  years of history before the end of the world.
• Preterist Visions refer to events of Johns day
  and shortly after interpret in context of John
  and his readers.
• Idealist - Visions do not refer to specific
  historical events but express timeless truth that
  good ultimately triumphs over evil.

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Outline of Revelation

• Letters to the Seven Churches (ch. 1-3)
• Prologue (11-8) frames apocalypse in form of a
  letter
• Commissioning (19-20) call of John on Patmos
• Letters (ch. 2-3) seven churches called to
  repentance and endurance
• Visions of the Future (ch. 4-22)
• Gods judgment of Babylon (ch. 4-18)
• Heavenly throne room (ch. 4-5) vision of God
  and the Lamb
• Seven seals (ch. 6-7) four horsemen (61-8)
• Seven trumpets (ch. 8-11) more calamities (cf.
  1115)
• Great conflict (ch. 12-14) revolt of the
  Dragon and his 2 Beasts
• Seven bowls (ch. 15-16) final calamities
  Armageddon (cf. 1616)
• Fall of Babylon (17-18) lament over fallen
  city (cf. 182)
• Gods redemption of the Holy City (ch. 19-22)
• Final victory (ch. 19-20) defeat of Beasts and
  Dragon millennium final judgment (cf. 196)
• New Jerusalem (ch. 21-22) renewal of Creation
  (cf. 211-2)
• Epilogue (226-20) do not seal the book for the
  time is near (v. 10)

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Seven Churches of Revelation