Status Updates From Jesus and the Future: Under...

The theophanic vocabulary of judgment and disaster in the Hebrew prophets is primarily figurative of the destruction caused by physical armies and human warfare. This conclusion is amply supported by the texts. Earthquakes, storms, darkness, and fire are prophesied in historic contexts where the fulfillment is clearly at the hands of human armies apart from literal theophanic help.

Jesus doesn’t explicitly teach about a personal anti-Christ, a rapture, a seven-year period of tribulation, a millennium, or the restoration of the Jewish nation after the events of the year 70. Interpreters may point to hints of these things but they are nowhere explicit. We aren’t claiming that these ideas are absent from the entire Bible but that one will not find explicit references to them in Jesus’ teaching.

Several elements are conspicuously absent from Jesus’ teaching about the future. He doesn’t teach about the rebuilding of the temple following the destruction of the year 70. From Jesus’ perspective, the destruction of the temple would be final; the earliest Christians recognized this and relatively quickly made the shift to speaking about God’s people as the temple for the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the Johannine drama of the glorified Christ plays out in cosmic proportions, while at the same time encompassing the salvation-historical dimension of the Messiah coming to Israel whose rejection of Christ opens the way for believing Gentiles to be incorporated into the new messianic community.

Jesus is the new and true Israel (the “vine,” 15:1), while his “own” are the believing remnant, who place their faith in him as Messiah (13:1; cf. 1:11).

Against a cosmic backdrop, John shows that Jesus epitomized true Israel and fulfilled the symbolism underlying the nation’s religious observances. This comprises the Law—including the Sabbath—as well as the temple, and festivals such as Passover, Tabernacles, and Dedication.

It’s clear from John’s Gospel that Jesus came to complete his Father’s work (see esp. 5:17). In fact, as noted, Jesus performed several of his “signs” on the Sabbath (e.g., 5:9b, 17; 9:3–4, 14). While per Genesis 2:2, God rested from all his work on the seventh day, now Jesus, on the eighth day, resumed and completed God’s work. Thus, following the cross, God’s eternal Sabbath can begin (19:31; 20:1).

Jesus presents allegiance to himself as the necessary requirement: Ethnic Jews who rejected Jesus lost their place in Jesus’ renewed Israel while non-Jews who embraced him through faith were included. The fact that the twelve disciples—representing renewed Israel—would function at the end time in a judging relationship toward those who rejected Jesus makes sense of Jesus’ words and paves the way... in Paul and John.

He [Jesus] intentionally called twelve to make a significant point about how he was inaugurating the renewal of Israel. Jesus was reconstituting and renewing the Old Testament people of God, but instead of ethnicity he put himself forward as the determining factor for who would be included or excluded.

Here [1 Cor 6:2] Paul has likely expanded and applied Jesus’ statement. The original disciples are representative of all God’s people, and the twelve tribes of Israel are representative of the whole world. In Revelation 3:21, all who overcome are promised the right to sit with Jesus on his throne.

Jesus is describing his enthronement “in the new world” (literally, “at the renewal or regeneration”); this points to his second coming and the full physical establishment of his kingdom.
Most uniquely, in this passage [Mtt 19:28] Jesus indicates that his disciples will share his rule in some measure, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus spoke of the coming of the Son of Man in two distinct ways. Sometimes he referred to his coming to the Father to receive a kingdom; this was fulfilled with his ascension and enthronement at God’s right hand. At other times, he described his future glorious coming to earth accompanied by angels. Through parables, Jesus prepared his followers for a long period between his departure and return.