Transcript Life Together - Fall 2008 Crosspoint, Lynnwood

Life Together - Fall 2008
Crosspoint, Lynnwood
Dusting Off The Good Book:
A Class in Bible Interpretation
by Barry McWilliams
Part 11
The Writing Prophets
The Writing Prophets:
Forth-Telling The Character of God
As “enforcers of the Covenant” – The
Prophets were preachers speaking the word
of God to a contemporary culture that needed
to be challenged to cease its resistance to
the word of God, calling the people back to
obedience. .
The prophetic books teach us much about
God’s character - His Holiness, Justice,
Mercy, Love, Patience and Sovereignty over
the nations; as well as how He responds to
our sin.
“Forth-Telling”
The prophets wrote to upbuild, encourage,
console, edify, rebuke, convert, warn, and
instruct the people of God of their day.
“The prophets boldly rebuked vice, denounced
political corruption, oppression, idolatry and moral
degeneracy. They were preachers of
righteousness, reformers, and revivalists of
spiritual religion, as well as prophets of future
judgment or blessing. They were raised up in
times of crisis to instruct, rebuke, comfort and
warn ISREAL, the nations, and the messianic
kingdom."
Major and Minor
Of the hundreds of prophets which God
raised up in Israel’s history, we have only
written collections of oracles of just sixteen
prophets.
The only difference between “major” and
“minor” prophets is the amount of written
oracles collected.
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hoshea
Joel
Amos
Odediah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Historical Settings:
The Prophets wrote between 760 B.C. and 460 B.C. - just 300 stormy years out of
nearly 1400 years of Israel’s history. The nation was been divided by civil war into
two kingdoms in conflict with each other and with the nations around them - both
their neighbors: Edom, Ammon (Syria), Moab, and Tyre; and caught in the middle
of the struggles of the superpowers: Assyria, Eygpt, Babylon, and Persia.
These years were characterized by :
unprecedented political, military economic and
social upheaval;
an enormous level of religious unfaithfulness
disregard for the original Mosaic covenant
Shifts in populations and national boundaries.
The Divided Kingdoms
The Strong Kingdom of David and
Solomon was fractured into the
Divided Kingdom in 920 BC.

Israel made Samaria its capital and
went through nine Dynasties of
wicked kings before fallin to Assyria
in 722.

The Line of David continued in
Judah through 22 kings. Some were
good but many of them were
unfaithful to God and His Covenant

Despite occaisional periods of
reform, both kingdoms went down
hill spiritually.

The Prophets were called to confront and proclaim God's Word to these Kingdoms.
Neighboring Peoples
Phoenicia:
Tyre and Sidon
Isreal and Judah
found themselves in
either alliances or
wars with each
other and their
nearby neighbors
Philistia:
Eygpt
Assyrians
Syria
and Damasus
Ammon
and the
Arameans
Edom
Moab
The Prophets brought God's Word regarding them as well.
Ninth Century Prophets
Elijah and Elisha were significant prophets, but
neither left us any thing written.
Obediah and Joel were likely 9th Century B.C.
contemporaries of Elijah and Elisha.
Three Crises struck in the
The eighth Century B.C.
• The fall of Samaria to Assyria in 722;
• The invasion of Sennacherib of Assyia in 701 B.C.
• An alliance of Syria and Israel in 734 B.C.
Hosea and Amos were prophets in Isreal in
the North,

Isaiah to Judah in the South,

Micah was at work in both kingdoms;

Jonah met his whale during these times.

Nahum foresaw Assyria’s destruction (with
the rise of Babylon)

The Neo-Assyrian Empire
The Neo-Assyrian Empire was a period
of Mesopotamian history which began
in 934 BC and ended in 609 BC.During
this period, Assyria assumed a position
as a great regional power, vying for
dominance of the region, though not
until the reforms of Tiglath-Pileser III
in the 8th century BC, did it become a
powerful and vast empire with Ninevah
as its capital.
Assyia's kings were engaged in constant and viscious warfare and during the reigns of Sargon
II and Sennacherib both Isreal and Judah involved in wars with their neighbors were caught in
the midst of these power struggle as well. . Isreal was conquered and carried off in 722 BC.
Seventh Century:
The Decline and fall of Judah
Habbakuk, and Zephaniah prepared the way
for reform. Judah experienced a revival under
Josiah in 621 B.C. abruptly ending with his
death in 609.
Jeremiah’s “weeping” ministry began with that
hope, but saw the tragic decline and fall of
Jerusalem in 686 B.C. before being carried off
to Eygpt.
BABYLON
626 – 539 BC
Nabopolassar crowned himself the king of
Babylon and revolted against the Assyrians. An
alliance between the Chaldeans and Medes formed
they captured and torched Nineveh in 626. In 605
B.C..his son, Nebuchadnezzar, was crowned the
king of the Neo-Babylon Empire; earlier that year
his army had defeated the Egyptians
He rebuilt Baylon and its famous Hanging
Gardens. In 586, Judah was defeated and its
population deported beginning the Exile.
Kings after Nebuchadnezzar were generally
weak and short lived, and the once mighty
empire faded into a period of decline. Babyon
fell to the Cyrus and the Persians in 536 BC
The Prophets of the Exile
Ezekiel (carried off to Babylon as a
captive in 597 B.C.) ministered to the
exiles explaining “why?” then
offering hope.in a New Covenant.
Daniel’s 70 years as a prophet saw
Babylon fall to Persia and far beyond
them to Greece and Rome and intertestamental times.
The Persians
Cyrus the Great took over the empire of the Medes, and
conquered much of the Middle East. Cambyses, Cyrus's son.
continued his conquests by conquering Egypt. Darias the
Great was the foe of the classical Greek states at Thermopylae
and Salamis..
Daniel saw Babylon's fall and
Persia's triumph.
It was under the Persians that
Judah's captivity came to its
end as a remnant including
Ezra and Nehemiah returned
to Jerusalem.
Esther became a Queen
during the days of Darias.
The Return to Jerusalem
Prophets to the Remnant
Haggai, Zechariah and
Malachi were prophets
among the remnant that
returned to rebuild
Jerusalem and the Temple
in the times of Ezra and
Nehemiah.
Prophet images from watercolors by James Tissot (1836 -1902)
Preparing for Messiah
The Prophets added much to the
expectation of the Messiah's
coming. The Old Testament, written
over a period of 1000 years and
written several hundred years before
the time of Christ, contains some
three hundred prophecies of the
coming Messiah.
How rich a portrait of Jesus Christ comes to us in Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel, Daniel, Micah, Zechariah, Malachi, and the other prophets.
Organization
The prophetic books were written collections of “Oracles”
Sometimes chronological, sometimes topical.
Sometimes they are dated, often not.
Divisions are not always clear, nor are remarks and transitions always present.
•Unconditional - do not depend for fulfillment on any mortal’s
obedience - typically found in a covenant structure - such as the covenant
with Abraham (Gen15), the Messianic prophecies and God’s plan of
redemption.
•Conditional - consequences that will result from either obedience or
disobedience to God’s Word - each has an “if” or “unless” attached to it.
(example: Jer 18: 7-10). While primarily corporate, they may sometimes
apply to individuals as well (Such as Ahab).
•Sequential - “now... and not yet” prophecies - placing together several
events in one prediction though they are fulfilled in a sequence of events
over perhaps a lengthy period. Sometimes these have both an “already
fulfilled” and “not-yet-fulfilled” aspects. (1 John 1:18, 4:3)
Blessings and Curses
The bulk of the writing prophets’ messages were
concerned with the blessings and curses of
Leviticus 26: 1- 39; Deuteronomy 4: 15- 40; and
28: 1- 32: 42:
Blessings for Covenant faithfulness: life, health,
prosperity, agricultural abundance, respect and
safety.
Curses for Covenant unfaithfulness: death,
decease, drought, dearth, danger, destruction,
defeat, deportation, destitution, and disgrace.
Future Perspectives
Prophetic Fore-Shortening
It is important to realize the prophets have a different
perspective, especially in regard to time. Events are often
compressed, foreshortened, scrambled - neither systematically or chronologically laid out.
They often viewed the “mountain peaks” of God's
revelation without grasping the “valleys” (long periods of
time) between. And sometimes the Prophet would line up
the “gunsights” of similar events, without seeing the
distance between them.
Use of “Prophetic Perfect” Hebrew had no future tense- so
often the tense of completed action would be used,
expressing the certainty this would come to pass, Isa
9:6,11:9, Num 24:17 are good examples: "is" should be
read "will be”.
Prophetic Forms
The prophets received their messages in a
variety of ways: dreams and visions, direct
revelation, at times receiving God's word while
in an ecstatic state. The Scriptures are clear
that there were false prophets and gives the
tests for a true Prophet. The content of their
messages was important.
There were three basic ways they proclaimed
this message from God: They preached the
message, they wrote it, and at times, acted it
out symbolically. In all three, it is the content
that is most important. False prophets
prophesied in similar ways, the difference lies
not in the form it was given, but in the content
contained within it.
Kinds of Oracles
Some of the most common written forms that oracles take
include:
Lawsuit: (God portrayed as plaintiff, prosecutor, judge, bailiff in
a court case against Israel, the defendant) (Isa 3:13-26, Micah)

Woe: (Announcement of distress, the reason, and a prediction
of doom) (Hab 2:6-8; Micah 2:1-5; Zeph 2:5-7), Cf.
Lamentations

War: (Announces judgment as carried out through a battle: call
to alarm, description of attack, prediction of defeat) (Hosea 5:810)

Promise: (Salvation Oracle) (Reference to the future, mention
of radical change, and blessing) (Amos 9:11-15; Hosea 2:16-20;
2:21-23; Isa 45:1-7; Jer 31:1-9)

Kinds of Oracles
Formulas: Some phrases are used so frequently they
became technical terms: “Thus says the Lord ... or the Word of
the Lord to ...”; “In the latter days, ... or in the last days, ...” ;
“The day of the Lord ...”; “The Lord comes ...”; “Restore the
fortunes of my people or return the captivity”; “The remnant
shall return” “The dwelling (or tabernacle) of God is with men”;
and “The kingdom of God” are examples.

Illusions: There are many illusions to daily life & nature; to
past events such as creation, Paradise with its rivers and
trees, the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, the Exodus, the
wilderness experience with the pillar of fire and cloud, the
valley of Achan, etc.; and to historical persons: Elijah, Joshua,
David, etc. (Haggai 2:20-22 cf. Deut 29:23, Exo 15:1,5, Judg
7:22).

OBJECT LESSONS AND SYMBOLIC ACTIONS
Examples:
Hosea’s marriage;
Amos’ five visions ((7-9:8);
Jeremiah’s linen waistband (13), the potter’s jar (18, 19),
baskets of figs (24);
Ezekiel’s “toy soldiers” (4), sleeping habits (4), shave and hair
cut (5), vine allegory (15), whoring sisters allegory (25), valley of
bones (37), New Temple (40ff);
Daniel’s statue (2), 4 beasts (7);
Zechariah’s myrtle trees (1), measuring line (2), gold
lampstand (4), flying scroll (5), chariots (6), Joshua’s crowning
(6)
Predictive Statistics
Compiled by J. Barton Payne
31,124 Verses in the Bible
8,352 Verses with predictive material
(27%)
OT - 6,641 verses out of 23,210 total (28.6 %)
NT - 1,711 verses out of 7,914 total (21.6 %)
The only books without predictive material are:
Ruth, Song of Songs, Philemon and 3 John.
737 Separate Predictive Topics are dealt with.
65% are simple oracles,
9.5% figurative predictions
4.5% symbolical dreams and object lessons
21% “types” (34% of verses)
Predictive Statistics
Compiled by J. Barton Payne
Books with highest percentage of predictive prophecies:


OT Ezekiel (63%), Jeremiah (60 %) and Isaiah (59%)

NT Revelation (63%), Matthew (26%) and Luke (23%)
Less than 2% of OT Prophecies are Messianic


Psalms - 101 verses of 13 Psalms, Isaiah - 59 verses,
Less than 5% describe the New Covenant Age,

Less than 1% - events yet to come.

Biblical Symbolism
One of the richest sources of spiritual
truths in the Scriptures is the use of
symbolism. The concepts and images
conveyed in symbols and types give
unity to the Scriptures and focus our
hearts on the center of the Scriptures,
Jesus Christ, The Alpha and Omega,
The Light of the World, The Lamb of
God. The Bread of Life, The Living
Water, The Way, The Truth and The
Life, The Good Shepherd, etc. They
point us to His person and work - what
He has done and is yet to do.
Biblical Types
Types are pictorial representations of Christ
and redemption. Prophecies that are acted out
rather than spoken.
The word comes from a Greek word meaning
“to strike” as a hammer striking a die and
leaving an impressed image or pattern. The
“type” is the impression, the die would be its
“antitype”.
Scripture’s types are preordained actions or
objects which are “shadows”(Hebr 10:1),
“examples” (1 Cor 10:6), “copies” or “patterns”
i.e. prefiguring (Hebr 8:5) what would come to
fulfillment in Christ and His work of salvation.
A Type can be defined as
a “divine enactment of future redemption”
Types: an action that represents a teaching of double import: its truth was a
reality to its contemporaries (the shadow), and yet it pictures an aspect of
Gods redemption (the reality) at the same time.
Types may be events, objects, persons, things, institutions, or ceremonies.
Most Biblical types have are identified as such by Scripture.

Types must be of divine origin

be redemptive in focus

be pictorial

be future.
TYPES fall in six categories
Persons - like Adam, Melchizedek, or Elijah;
Events like the flood, the Exodus, the raising of the
bronze serpent, or striking water from the rock;

Objects like the Tree of Life, the Tabernacle and its
various furnishings;

Offices like Moses as a Prophet, or the priesthood;

Institutions like the sacrificial system, and the
Sabbath

Ceremonies. like Passover, releasing the
scapegoat, or the feast of Tabernacles.

TYPES
We are encouraged to look for Types in the
Bible by the unity of the Old and New
Testaments and the relationship of them to
each other - since what is latent in the former
becomes patent in the latter.
The Lord himself encourages us by inviting us
to search the Scriptures for they speak of Him.
(Luke 24:25-44; John 5:39-44).
Certainly the identifications of typical elements
in the Old Testament by New Testament
writers, especially the book of Hebrews, but
also Jesus, Peter and Paul, encourages us in
this as well.
SYMBOLS
A symbol in scripture could be described as a fact that
teaches a moral or spiritual truth. It is an image or sign of
something else. A Symbol has basically two elements:
the conceptual idea and the image which represents that
idea.
Symbols may refer to things past, present or future. They
usually come out of the common everyday things of life of
a particular culture, the geography, flora and fauna,
customs, etc. It is because symbolism is so closely tied
to a particular culture that we often have difficulty in
understanding a particular symbol, its significance being
lost with the passage of that culture.
SYMBOLS
Symbols are found in various forms as well: they may be persons like Elijah or Moses. They may be objects like the rainbow, the
bronze serpent, the golden calves, the ark, the tabernacle and its
furnishings, a lamb, a lion, etc. Names are used as symbols- often
being very significant in the Old Testament. Actions may be
symbolic - Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, the humiliation of David,
Jacob's wrestling with the Lord (cf. Gen 32, Hos.l2:2-4) The feeding
of the 5,000, etc. It should be noted that many of Jesus' miracles
were symbolic, they represented the coming blessings of the
kingdom and Jesus' redemptive work.
Interpretation of Types and Symbols
We need ro start with the foundation of those which are
interpreted as our foundation. Where the New Testament
testifies clearly to the proper interpretation we may have
confidence.
If the symbol is not interpreted, we should investigate the
context thoroughly for insights into the interpretation, use a
concordance for other usage, and consider carefully the
nature of the symbol.
Salt is a symbol because of its preservative qualities,
A lion is a symbol because of its power and ferocity,
Pigs are a symbol of filthiness, etc.
Some symbols require the light of archaeology and
comparative studies.
It is best to be silent rather than to speculate.