Appendix 3
Vectors in Theology
The word vector has several meanings. As a noun, ‘vector’ means having some direction and magnitude, or it can relate to an organism that transmits a disease to another organism; as a verb it can refer to a change in direction and magnitude to get to a desired point. If we incorrectly interpret God’ Word, we can ultimately ‘vector’ away from God and, like the disease carried by an organism, we can suffer serious consequences. Sadly, Christianity is not without vectors, there are a number of vectors in Biblical interpretation, especially regarding yet-to-be-fulfilled prophecy. Some are the result of difficult passages that have been interpreted by theologians in the past and often never get reexamined, while other interpretations are based on either a presupposition or invalid thinking (such as limiting God). Here are just a few vectors that relate to Biblical interpretation and prophecy:
Replacement Theology
One of the most grievous vectors one can make in Biblical interpretation is believing that Israel and the Jews are no longer relevant to God, as that would require Him to break an unconditional promise. Many who believe that the Jews have forfeited their favor as being God’s chosen people due to their rejection of Jesus as their Messiah, try to recategorize the Abrahamic Covenant as being conditional, but it clearly is not.[1] As reviewed and discussed several times in this book, the restoration of Israel is extremely important to God.
A Thousand Years
Also discussed several times in this book, there are several Christians and denominations that do not believe in a literal thousand-year period after the Tribulation. One of the primary reasons for this error is due to the misunderstanding of Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8, as both compare one day to being equivalent to a thousand years from God’s perspective. In these verses the authors are comparing God’s eternal existence to that of man’s limited existence. Neither one of these verses provide any connection to the millennial period as presented in Revelation chapter twenty. Let’s take a look at the text of both writings to investigate.
Psalm 90 is attributed to Moses, and is often called “A Prayer of Moses.” He begins his prayer by recognizing God’s eternal nature, “1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Then Moses contrasts God’s eternal existence with man’s brief time on earth, “3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. 5 You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: 6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. 7 For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. 8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9 For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. 10 The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. 11 Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?” Here Moses uses several ‘fleeting-moment’ metaphors such as a dream, the life-cycle of grass, and a person’s sigh, to emphasize the contrast of man’s short lifespan with God’s everlasting nature. Moses then pleads with God to be patient, understanding and merciful with His people, he asks for guidance and special blessings. “12 So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. 13 Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! 14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. 16 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. 17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” Moses’ prayer recognizes the truly vast ‘gap’ between God and mankind, as found in other prayers recorded in the Bible, it is important for anyone praying to begin with an acknowledgment of God’s greatness (puts everything in perspective). He then offers his petition before God, seeking wisdom, forgiveness, blessings, fellowship (His presence to return), and love. The context of this psalm is that of a humble prayer seeking divine restoration.
Peter, in the first thirteen verses of the third chapter of his second epistle, strongly urges his readers to remember that prophecy will indeed be fulfilled just as Jesus, the apostles, and the prophets of the Old Testament foretold. In this plea to remember he also offers several prophetic insights that have already come true. He begins with, “1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles,” (2 Peter 3:1-2) Peter assumes that his readers were already familiar with God’s Word, including unfulfilled prophecy. It is interesting that he wants to “stir up” the reader’s sincere mind, essentially desiring to encourage the sincere (not a casual or lazy) reader to listen carefully, examine closely (implies studying), and learn that God’s timing to fulfill prophecy is always perfect, even when others might think differently. He begins with those who scoff at God’s Word: “3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.” (2 Peter 3:3-8) Just as Peter predicted, many have questioned why Jesus is taking so long to return, essentially stating that He will never return. They use the same lie that geologists and evolutionists promote, that all processes in life continue at the same rate when they were created to this day and will continue beyond today. We know that this is contrary to nearly every other science as this line of thinking is contrary to the well-accepted laws of entropy.[2] Peter then notes that some will use this excuse to disqualify the worldwide flood during Noah’s time as being an actual event, and that is exactly the prevalent thinking today among most geologists.
Peter then warns his readers that this line of reasoning severely limits our understanding of God. Just because He hasn’t done something doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. Our idea of a ‘long time’ is meaningless when our existence is compared to eternity. “8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.” (2 Peter 3:8-10) Verse nine reveals something that many miss, or due to a presupposition embedded in one’s theology it is rejected, that God does not want anyone to be condemned, but wants them to seek salvation through Jesus, and is waiting patiently until the last one who will accept Jesus has done just that. But Peter warns that the offer for salvation will not last forever as the “day of the Lord,” will indeed come. Peter then appeals to the reader’s ‘logic’, “11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:11-13) Peter reminds his readers that all believers are destined to live in a new heaven and a new earth, understanding that while this life is temporary, the next life is not. Like Psalm 90, this passage only uses the thousand-year period as an example to demonstrate that God is outside of time and therefore not bound by time. Peter could have written instead, “that with the Lord one day is as a million years.”
Some like to point out that both the Hebrew and Greek word for ’thousand’ often refers to an arbitrarily high number and as such doesn’t necessarily refer to a thousand. When we look at both the Old and New Testaments, we see that the word ‘thousand’ is a common term in the Bible[3], but is only used to express an arbitrarily large number a little over twenty times (for example, see Genesis 24:60; Exodus 20:6; 34:7; Numbers 10:36; Deuteronomy 1:11; 5:10; 7:9; 33:2, 17; 1 Samuel 23:23; 1 Chronicles 16:15; Job 9:3; Psalm 3:6; 50:10; 68:17; 105:8; 119:72; 144:13; Jeremiah 32:18; Daniel 7:10; 11:12, 41; Revelation 5:11).
It is interesting to note that the word is only used in conjunction with the counting of years only nine times in the Bible (see Psalm 90:4; Ecclesiastes 6:6; 2 Peter 3:8; Revelation 20:2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7). While the hermeneutical concept of expositional constancy[4] notes that words are consistently used in Scripture allowing for the definition of the word to also remain consistent there is no Biblical-based hermeneutical practice that uses analogies (like the comparisons in both Psalm 90:4 “are but as” and 2 Peter 3:8 “is as a”) to be used to decode another otherwise unrelated passage. In the book of Revelation chapter twenty the text tells us six times that there will be a thousand-year period, and as such should be interpreted as being a literal thousand years, not a symbolic non-defined arbitrary period.
Jesus as King
There is no dispute, Jesus is a king, in fact He is the King of kings! But with that said, the Bible points to a specific time frame when His kingdom will come, a time when His “will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (See Matthew 6:10) Before continuing, we must first acknowledge that God is in control of all things, there is nothing that happens or can happen without His knowledge and consent. But for the moment the Bible also teaches that the “ruler of this world” is Satan.[5] This all changes when Jesus returns and His millennial kingdom begins. “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.” (Revelation 11:17) A reign that will be shared on earth for one thousand years (see Revelation 5:10; 20:4, 6).
Gates of Hell
The text of Matthew 16:13-20 that records the visit of Jesus and His disciples to the district of Caesarea Philippi has become the source of several theological vectors. This is the location where Jesus asked “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (verse 13) Peter’s response and what Jesus said regarding that response has become highly controversial among Christian theologians.[6] In Matthew 16:18 we read, “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” Even though the word translated in this verse as ‘hell’ is actually ‘hadou’ (Hades), most English Bible versions use hell.[7] Which is still appropriate as the term is to represent Satan’s realm, those that oppose God. Here Jesus states that the gates (Greek ‘pylai’,[8] a large door or gate) of hell will not ‘prevail against’ (Greek ‘katischysousin’,[9] to get the upper hand, to vanquish) the church. This is a promise that as long as the church is on earth, the enemies of God will not be able to fully conquer and eliminate the church.
Some believe that since Jesus said during His Olivet Discourse, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14) that the world will be ‘won over’ by the gospel message and everyone alive will become believers, at which time Jesus will return. This is not what Jesus is teaching. The church will indeed endure Satan’s influence and will proceed to proclaim the gospel to the whole world but we also know that when the “fullness of the Gentiles comes in,”[10] that Jesus will gather the church before the judgment of the Tribulation begins.
Persecution Versus Wrath
There is no question that Christians will face persecution, as Jesus Himself warned of coming persecution (see Matthew 5:10-12; Luke 21:12; John 15:20; 16:33), and Paul warned that it was inevitable (see 1 Corinthians 4:12; 2 Corinthians 4:9; 2 Timothy 3:12, see also Acts 14:22). The Greek noun ‘diōgmos’[11] and verb ‘diōkō’[12] are the primary words most often translated as ‘persecution’ in the New Testament, they imply the application of pressure, to pursue. In like manner, the Greek words, ’thlipsis’[13] (noun) and ’thlibō’[14] (verb) are their synonyms as they also imply pressure, to compress, squeeze, crush, etc. These are most often translated as ‘tribulation’ and ‘affliction’. Many believe that whenever ’thlipsis’ is used that the writer is referring to the affliction or tribulation a Christian faces due to persecution as a believer. But often fail to see that the difference in the affliction and tribulation due to judgment of non-believers (namely, God’s wrath, like that sent by God during the Tribulation period), which is not to be shared with believers. We see that there are a number of examples from the Bible that show God removing His people before His wrath (for example, Job’s family out of Sodom, and Noah’s family protected on the ark). God has not destined His believers for His wrath and will remove them in the coming rapture before the Tribulation begins.[15]
Limiting God
Perhaps the cause for the greatest number of vectors in Biblical interpretation is man’s inability to relate to God. After all, nearly everything about humanity is finite, limited lifespan, limited knowledge, limited strength, and limited ability, while God is not limited in any way. But since mankind cannot relate to omniscience, omnipresence, or omnipotence, many theologians have been known to carry over some of their own ’limitations’ and applied them to God. For example, when God wanted to teach Jonah a lesson, He created a unique fish to swallow him, He did not need to use a whale or any other animal that existed at the time. God says what He means, and means what He says!
Never Read Just One Verse
In any form of communication, be it written or stated out loud, the context (the circumstances that form the communication's setting), needs to be fully understood, otherwise the message of the communication may be misunderstood. As discussed earlier, God is the ultimate author, and would not offer vague or easily misunderstood language open for interpretation in His Word, therefore it is vital to determine both the meaning of the words and the context of the message being conveyed. The best way to do that when reading the Bible is to read the appropriate number of verses before and after any verse you are exploring or studying (the actual number of verses will depend on the text). If you read only one verse, or isolate one verse (separating it from other verses), the context may be lost, rendering the interpretation potentially wrong. If the verse’s context cannot be determined, reading related verses elsewhere in the Bible may provide insight to the verse in question (many Bibles offer cross-references).
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[1] See "Replacement Theology" in "A People Group Known as the Hebrews" and "Replacement Theology Revisited" in the Considerations under Revelation chapter twelve commentary for more information regarding this erroneous concept.
[2] See commentaries for Noah as a prophet and Second Peter regarding the concept of uniformitarianism.
[3] Found in either its singular or plural form 192 times in the ESV.
[4] See "In Search of the Proper Interpretation of Prophecy" in the Introduction for more information regarding expositional constancy.
[5] See "Kingdom of the World" in the Considerations under the commentary for Revelation 11:15-18.
[6] See "Jesus at Caesarea Philippi" in the Considerations under the commentary for Revelation chapter nine.
[7] See “Hell By Any Other Name is Still Hell or Is it?” in the following Appendix.
[8] Strong’s Greek 4439.
[9] Strong’s Greek 2729.
[10] See "Fullness of the Gentiles" in "An Examination of the End Times."
[11] Strong’s Greek 1375.
[12] Strong’s Greek 1377.
[13] Strong’s Greek 2347.
[14] Strong’s Greek 2346.
[15] See "Wars and Persecution" in the "Olivet Discourse" and "The Problem of Suffering" in the Considerations under the commentary for Revelation 2:11.