Reading Comprehension |
Read the following selection from George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (ed. Donald A. Hagner; Rev. ed.; Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1993), 58–59, and mark the best answers for the questions that follow.
While the idiom “the Kingdom of God” does not occur in the Old Testament, the idea is found throughout the prophets. There is a twofold emphasis on God’s kingship. He is frequently spoken of as the King, both of Israel (Exod. 15:18; Num. 23:21; Deut. 33:5; Isa. 43:15) and of all the earth (2 Kings 19:15; Isa. 6:5; Jer. 46:18; Ps. 29:10; 99:1–4). Although God is now King, other references speak of a day when he shall become King and shall rule over his people (Isa. 24:23; 33:22; 52:7; Zeph. 3:15; Zech. 14:9ff.). This leads to the conclusion that while God is the King, he must also become King, i.e., he must manifest his kingship in the world of human beings and nations.
The form of the future Kingdom is expressed differently by different prophets. Many scholars see two distinctly different kinds of hope in the Old Testament and Judaism. The truly Hebraic, prophetic hope expects the Kingdom to arise out of history and to be ruled by a descendant of David in an earthly setting (Isa. 9, 11). When this hope faded after the return from exile, the Jews lost hope of a Kingdom in history. In its place, they looked for an apocalyptic inbreaking of God in the person of a heavenly Son of Man with a completely transcendental Kingdom “beyond history” (Dan. 7). The present author has argued elsewhere that while there is considerable diversity in the description of the Kingdom in the Old Testament, it always involves an inbreaking of God into history when God’s redemptive purpose is fully realized. The Kingdom is always an earthly hope, although an earth redeemed from the curse of evil. However, the Old Testament hope is always ethical and not speculative. It lets the light of the future shine on the present, that Israel may be confronted by history in the here and now. For this reason, there is a coalescing of the near and the distant future. God will act in the near future to save or judge Israel, but he will also act in the indeterminate future to bring about the fulfillment of the eschatological hope. The prophets do not sharply distinguish between the near and the distant future, for both will see the act of God for his people.
While the idiom “the Kingdom of God” does not occur in the Old Testament, the idea is found throughout the prophets. There is a twofold emphasis on God’s kingship. He is frequently spoken of as the King, both of Israel (Exod. 15:18; Num. 23:21; Deut. 33:5; Isa. 43:15) and of all the earth (2 Kings 19:15; Isa. 6:5; Jer. 46:18; Ps. 29:10; 99:1–4). Although God is now King, other references speak of a day when he shall become King and shall rule over his people (Isa. 24:23; 33:22; 52:7; Zeph. 3:15; Zech. 14:9ff.). This leads to the conclusion that while God is the King, he must also become King, i.e., he must manifest his kingship in the world of human beings and nations.
The form of the future Kingdom is expressed differently by different prophets. Many scholars see two distinctly different kinds of hope in the Old Testament and Judaism. The truly Hebraic, prophetic hope expects the Kingdom to arise out of history and to be ruled by a descendant of David in an earthly setting (Isa. 9, 11). When this hope faded after the return from exile, the Jews lost hope of a Kingdom in history. In its place, they looked for an apocalyptic inbreaking of God in the person of a heavenly Son of Man with a completely transcendental Kingdom “beyond history” (Dan. 7). The present author has argued elsewhere that while there is considerable diversity in the description of the Kingdom in the Old Testament, it always involves an inbreaking of God into history when God’s redemptive purpose is fully realized. The Kingdom is always an earthly hope, although an earth redeemed from the curse of evil. However, the Old Testament hope is always ethical and not speculative. It lets the light of the future shine on the present, that Israel may be confronted by history in the here and now. For this reason, there is a coalescing of the near and the distant future. God will act in the near future to save or judge Israel, but he will also act in the indeterminate future to bring about the fulfillment of the eschatological hope. The prophets do not sharply distinguish between the near and the distant future, for both will see the act of God for his people.