Category Archives: Old Testament

UNHITCHING JESUS FROM THE OT?

Christ, Law, Old Testament June 19, 2018 Leave a comment

PMW 2018-049 by Stephen Altrogge (The Blazing Center)

Gentry note: One of the evangelical tragedies of our times is the dismissal of the Old Testament, as if it were God’s word emeritus. Too many in the contemporary church are preaching a truncated gospel based on a truncated Bible. Andy Stanley, son of famous Baptist pastor Charles Stanley, became a tragic case-in-point when he recently declared himself unhitched from the Old Testament. Stephen Altrogge demonstrates the faulty logic of such a declaration in his amusing expose of Stanley’s error.

Following the advice of pastor Andy Stanley, I just unhitched Jesus from the Old Testament. Boy does it ever feel good to be rid of that old thing. It totally cluttered up the first 2/3 of my Bible. And really, it was so irrelevant to modern Christians, am I right?

Plus, have you ever tried to find the book of Habakkuk? It’s like trying to find a needle in a stack of needles, which I can tell you from experience is extraordinarily painful. Continue reading →

JOHN’S USE OF EZEKIEL

Old Testament, Revelation June 15, 2015 Comments: 5

EzekielPMT 2015-072 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Though John saw his visions, we do not. Consequently, he has to relate them to us through verbal communication. And John is so absorbed with the Old Testament Scriptures that he presents his visions in Old Testament language. John intentionally takes up the prophetic mantle, even mimicking the Old Testament grammar, as well as alluding to their writings.

H. Charles observes that “our author makes most use of the prophetical books.” Colin Hemer agrees: “the influence of the prophets on John’s mind is especially strong.” More precisely, H. B. Swete argues that John’s favorite OT books are in the following order: Daniel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, and the Psalms. I would qualify this by noting regarding the Psalms that John is especially interested in the prophetic and Messianic psalms. Charles Hill adds Zechariah to the list. G. K. Beale and D. A . Carson disagree with Swete’s ranking, pointing out that “Ezekiel exerts greater influence in Revelation than does Daniel.” Continue reading →

JAMES WHITE’S AND 2 TIMOTHY 3 (4)

Amillennialism, Old Testament, Pessimism December 17, 2014 Comments: 2

PMT 2014-151 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.White James Ken EDIT

This is my fourth article in my reply to Dr. James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries. On his October 16 webcast, he challenged my analysis of 2 Timothy 3 in my PostmillennialismToday article titled: “Perilous Times.” Please see my preceding articles in this series by way of introduction. Unless you are weary. And if you are weary, try “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest” (Prov 6:10), for this is biblical.

White countered my observation that 2 Tim 3 is written to Timothy and was speaking only of his own day. I pointed out in my original article that we should note the occasional nature of most of the NT epistles. That is, we must understand that they were written to deal with specific occasions within in the first century. I illustrated this by pointing to 1 Cor 5:1. But White rejects my paralleling 1 Cor 5:1 to Paul’s statement to Timothy. Nevertheless: Continue reading →

WHAT IS THE GOAL OF DANIEL 9:24?

Daniel, Dispensationalism, Old Testament November 15, 2013 Leave a comment

PMT 2013-027 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

SealIn studying Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophecy, it is important that we carefully consider Daniel 9:24. This verse provides the ultimate goal of the prophecy: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” Let me briefly sketch the events in verse 24 within the context of the whole prophecy.

The Significance of Verse 24

The six infinitival phrases of verse 24 form three couplets, which serve as the main point of the prophecy and as the heading to the explication that follows. “Know therefore and understand” (9:25) introduces that explication. Correspondences should exist, then, between the events of verse 24 and the prophecy of verses 25-27.

Among non-dispensational evangelicals the general view of Daniel 9:24 holds that these six elements are the goal of the whole prophecy and that they occurred during the first advent 2000 years ago. Contrary to this view, Culver puts the matter into bold dispensational relief: these events are “not to be found in any event near the earthly lifetime of our Lord.” Ryrie points to this verse and applies it to our future: “God will once again turn His attention in a special way to His people the Jews and to His holy city Jerusalem, as outlined in Daniel 9:24.” Clearly then, the dispensationalist adopts a decidedly futurist approach to the prophecy — when he gets past the first sixty-nine weeks. Continue reading →

WHEN DO DANIEL’S WEEKS BEGIN?

Daniel, Dispensationalism, Old Testament November 13, 2013 Leave a comment

PMT 2013-026 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Start dateAn initial problem faces the interpreter of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophecy. We must determine the identity of the “command” in Daniel 9:25: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem. . . .”

Decrees to Consider
At first we might suspect Cyrus’s decree in 538 B.C., which is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and in Ezra 1:1-4; 5:13, 17, 6:3. Certainly Cyrus gives a command to rebuild the city (Isa. 44:28): yet the bulk of the references to his decree deal with the Temple’s rebuilding. Daniel, however, specifically speaks of the command to “restore and build Jerusalem,” which is an important qualification as E. W. Hengstenberg so capably shows. Though the Jews make half-hearted efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after Cyrus’s decree, the city long remains little more than a sparsely populated, unwalled village.

Yet Daniel speaks of the command to “restore” (root: shub, “return”) Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25). This requires a return to its original integrity and grandeur as per Jeremiah’s prophecy: “I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first” (Jer. 33:7). This must involve the restoring of the city complete with its streets and protective wall: “the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times” (Dan. 9:25). Continue reading →

STRUCTURE AND CHRONOLOGY OF DANIEL’S 70 WEEKS

Daniel, Dispensationalism, Old Testament November 11, 2013 Comments: 7

PMT 2013-025 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

DecreeDaniel’s seventy weeks prophecy in Dan 9:24-27 is a famous and intriguing passage of Scripture. It’s eschatological character and time-frame provide important information for biblical eschatology. Unfortunately, this is a difficult passage to interpret, though it is thought by the majority of laymen to be quite simple.

I am beginning a brief series on Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks. As we begin I would like first to consider two issues: the structure and the chronology of the seventy weeks.

Covenantal Structure

If we are to understand Daniel’s prophecy, it is extremely helpful to recognize the crucial structure of this unique prophecy. Meredith Kline provides a thorough presentation of the strongly covenantal cast of the prophecy. He meticulously demonstrates that Daniel’s prayer (Dan. 9:3-19) leading up to the prophecy is “saturated with formulaic expressions drawn from the Mosaic treaties, particularly from the Deuteronomic treaty.”

We see that the covenant is a key concern for Daniel. We see this in both Daniel’s prayer and the Lord’s answer to it. Let me explain. Continue reading →