Eschatological Discourse Research Articles

Palestinian Christianity and the Caligula Crisis. Part Ii. the Markan Eschatological Discourse

In ordering that his statue be erected in the Temple in Jerusalem (39/40 CE) the emperor Caligula precipitated the first potentially cataclysmic events in Palestine since the inception of Christianity. The impact of this episode on the development of Christianity therefore requires treatment such as it has not hitherto received. The silence of Christian and non-Christian Jewish, as well as pagan, sources on the effect of the crisis on Palestinian Christianity require that our reconstruction depend on analogous situations and inference from what is known of the events and of the nature of primitive Christianity. In Part I Taylor argues that the crisis would have seemed the probable occasion of the fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the Temple, which would be followed by his eschatological return and the estab lishment of God's kingdom. If the desecration of the Temple was the necessary pre cursor to this, the Christians would not have sought to impede it. Furthermore, the popular movements ranged against the Roman forces would have required leader ship whose activities challenged Christian professions about Jesus, and whose authority the Christians could not have acknowledged. The crisis would therefore have alienated the Christians within Palestinian Judaism, and exposed their beliefs to falsification. In Part II Taylor examines the eschatological discourse in Mark 13, and argues that it is substantially a Christian response to the Caligula crisis. The expecta tion of idolatrous desecration of the Temple before its destruction, and the experience of alienation and persecution, and of heightened eschatological anticipation, reflect the period when the Roman advance was awaited. The recognition that the end was not yet, with consequent separation of the profanation of the Temple from the eschato logical return of Christ, reflects the aftermath when the Palestinian Christians were adjusting to the delay in the parousia of Christ.

Palestinian Christianity and the Caligula Crisis. Part I. Social and Historical Reconstruction

In ordering that his statue be erected in the Temple in Jerusalem (39/40 CE) the emperor Caligula precipitated the first potentially cataclysmic events in Palestine since the inception of Christianity. The impact of this episode on the development of Christianity therefore requires treatment such as it has not hitherto received. The silence of Christian and non-Christian Jewish, as well as pagan, sources on the effect of the crisis on Palestinian Christianity require that our reconstruction depend on analogous situations and inference from what is known of the events and of the nature of primitive Christianity. In Part I Taylor argues that the crisis would have seemed the probable occasion of the fulfilment of Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the Temple, which would be followed by his eschatological return and the estab lishment of God's kingdom. If the desecration of the Temple was the necessary pre cursor to this, the Christians would not have sought to impede it. Furthermore, the popular movements ranged against the Roman forces would have required leadership whose activities challenged Christian professions about Jesus, and whose authority the Christians could not have acknowledged. The crisis would therefore have alien ated the Christians within Palestinian Judaism, and exposed their beliefs to falsification. In Part II Taylor examines the eschatological discourse in Mark 13, and argues that it is substantially a Christian response to the Caligula crisis. The expecta tion of idolatrous desecration of the Temple before its destruction, and the experience of alienation and persecution, and of heightened eschatological anticipation, reflect the period when the Roman advance was awaited. The recognition that the end was not yet, with consequent separation of the profanation of the Temple from the escha tological return of Christ, reflects the aftermath when the Palestinian Christians were adjusting to the delay in the parousia of Christ.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article: Ezekiel 2: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48. By Walther Zimmerli. The Prophets, Vol. II: The Babylonian and Persian Periods. By Klaus Koch. Intertestamental Literature by Martin McNamara. Palestinian Judaism and the New Testament by Martin McNamara. Jesus and the World of Judaism. By Geza Vermes. The Rediscovery of Jesus's Eschatological Discourse. By David Wenham. Sexism and God Talk: Towards a Feminist Theology. By Rosemary Ruether. In Memory of Her: A Feminíst Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins. By Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza. Equal Woman: A Christian Feminist Perspective. By Myrtle Langley. Sexual Desire and Love, Origins and History of the Christian Ethic of Sexuality and Marriage. By Eric Fuchs. What Are They Saying about Peace and War? By Thomas A. Shannon. The Dangers of Deterrence: Philosophers on Nuclear Strategy Edited by Nigel Blake and K. Pole. The Cross and the Bomb: Christian Ethics and the Nuclear Debate. Edited by Francis Bridger. Foundations of Ethics. Edited by Leroy S. Rouner. Freud and Human Nature. By Ilham Dilman. What is a Law of Nature By D.M. Armstrong. Bentham. By Ross Harrison. Locke. By John Dunn. Leibniz. By G. Macdonald Ross. Berkeley. By J.O. Urmson. Kant. By Roger Scruton. Marx's Social Critique of Culture. By Louis Dupré. The Hermeneutical Theory of Paul Ricoeur: A Constructive Analysis. By David E. Klemm. Science, Folklore and Ideology: Studies in the Life Sciences in Ancient Greece. By G.E.R. Lloyd. Averroes' Middle Commentaries on Aristotle's ‘Categories’ and ‘De Interpretatione’. Translated, with Notes and Introductions, by Charles E. Butterworth. Miracle in the Early Christian World: A Study in Sociohistorical Method. By Howard Clark Kee. Pagan‐Christian Conflict over Miracle in the 2nd Century. By Harold Remus. Frame of the Universe: A History of Physical Cosmology. By Frank Durham and Robert D. Purrington. The Changing of the Gods. By Frank E. Manuel. English Romanticism: The Grounds of Belief. By John Clubbe and Ernest J. Lovell, Jr. A Short History of the Catholic Church. By J. Derek Holmes and Bernard W, Bickers. The Life and Writings of the Historical Saint Patrick. By R.P.C. Hanson. Rupert of Deutz. By John H. Van Engen. Thomas More. By Anthony Kenny. Luther in Mid‐Career 1521–30. By Heinrich Bornkamm. The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarian Cults in the 16th & 17th Century. By Carlo Ginzburg. Piety and Politics: Religion and the Rise of Absolutism in England, Württemberg, and Prussia. By Mary Fulbrook. Doctor Russell of Maynooth. By Ambrose Macaulay. Paul Cardinal Cullen and the Shape of Modern Irish Catholicism. By Desmond Bowen. The 1980 Synod of Bishops ‘On the Role of the Family’. By Jan Grootaers and Joseph Selling. The Godly Order: Texts and Studies relating to the Book of Common Prayer. By Geoffrey Cuming.

The Messianic Secret in Markan Research, 1901–1976. By James L. Blevins. 1981. Pp. iv+227. $9.75. - Authority and the Church. By Gregory G. Bouch. 1982. Pp. viii+219. $10.25. - The Testament of Jesus-Sophia: A Redaction-Critical Study of the Eschatological Discourse in Matthew. By Fred W. Burnett. 1979. Pp. xxiii+467. $16.75. - Creation and Method: Critical Essays on Christocentric Theology. Edited

The Messianic Secret in Markan Research, 1901–1976. By James L. Blevins. 1981. Pp. iv+227. 13.25. All in paperback and published by University Press of America, Inc., Washington, D.C. - Loaves and Fishes: The Function of the Feeding Stories in the Gospel of Mark. By Robert M. Fowler. S.B.L. Dissertation Series 54. 1981. Pp. 258. - Hellenistic Greek Grammar and Noam Chomsky: Nominating Transformations. By Daryl Dean Schmidt. S.B.L. Dissertation Series 62. 1981. Pp. x+115. - Volume 37 Issue 2

Metaphysical Finalism or Christian Eschatology?

METAPHYSICAL FINALISM OR CHRISTIAN ESCHATOLOGY? 'lJHE TITLE of this essay expresses a disjunction in the orm of a question. But is that disjunction a complete ne? Does it exclude any third possibility? A number of respected scholars seem to think so. What is more, they present Thomas Aquinas as one who opted for metaphysical finalism. His choice is described as having unduly restricted the eschatological dimension in his own theologizing and that of his followers. The fact is, however, that such an assessment is by no means self-evident or apodictically demonstrated. A contrary position is possible logically and better grounded historically. Some questions which seem at first sight to allow an answer only in the form of " either ... or," permit a reply of "both ... and." The one posed in the title of this essay is a good example. In addition, careful textual analysis indicates that Thomas Aquinas was not impaled on either horn of the dilemma under consideration. He strove repeatedly to show that the infraterrestrial finalism of Aristotle and a Christian eschatology minimizing grace in the present are not the only options. There is another, which includes the truths each of these world-views brings into focus. His conviction and the efforts it inspired led him to develop a theory of participated eternity in the beatific vision. This essay has a number of purposes. It will seek to elaborate on the two positions that have already been alluded to. In so doing it will argue in favor of the second. It will likewise try to show that the view of Thomas Aquinas regarding the relation of the present to the future deserves a fair hearing from practitioners of Christian eschatology in 1974. 125 126 CARL J. PETER Part I Thomas and Theologians of Hope Is it really true? Are serious scholars of the opinion that the disjunction expressed in the title of this essay is an iron-clad one, working to the theological discredit of Aquinas? The facts can speak for themselves. In what is his major work to date, Jiirgen Moltmann observes that Martin Luther once had a flash of inspiration regarding the pursuit of knowledge from the standpoint of eschatological hope.1 Saint Paul had written of the earnest expectation of the creature (Romans 8: 19) . The Reformer said that phrase provided an important perspective, and he proceeded to describe it by way of contrast. Philosophers and metaphysicians focus attention on the present qualities and quiddities of things; the Apostle on the other hand invites us to fix our gaze on their future. But to accept that invitation, Moltmann notes, one must have recourse to a kind of understanding and discourse that rely very much on hope and that may be called "expectation thinking." 2 For creative action springing from faith is impossible without new thinking and planning that spring from hope.3 The sort of thought he is referring to is conditioned and inspired by the New Testament; he will later describe it as radically different from the mind-set of Thomas Aquinas. But he makes this point in his own way. His reference to Luther does not indicate that he regards the Reformer as offering a ready-made solution to the central problem of eschatology today, namely, the relation of the present to the future. Furthermore, he says that Protestant philosophy did not grasp the importance of the distinction Luther had made in this scholion on Romans.4 But the fact remains. 1 Ji.irgen Moltmann, Theology of Hope (New York: Harper and Row, 1967), p. 35. In Luther's works the text referred to can be found in Romerbrief, Weimar, t. 56, p. 371. 2 Moltmann, ibid. • Ibid. •Ibid. FINALISM OR CHRISTIAN ESCHATOLOGY? 127 Moltmann does think Luther suggested a contrast between eschatological discourse and another type, one more concerned with essence, operation, actio, passio, and movement. Luther's remarks in the 16th century are a precedent Moltmann invokes to clarify his own position in the 20th. Luther thought Paul was espousing a future-oriented mode of thought. Moltmann thinks that same approach is badly needed in contemporary theology. To put it in somewhat different terms, he says Luther reflected on Paul's...

Book Review: Prophecy Interpreted: The Formation of Some Jewish Apocalyptic Texts and of the Eschatological Discourse Mark 13 Par.

Book Review: Prophecy Interpreted: The Formation of Some Jewish Apocalyptic Texts and of the Eschatological Discourse Mark 13 Par.

The Great Eschatological Discourse

The great eschatological discourse of Matthew xxiv is a thorn in the flesh of the interpreter. The divergence of opinion can be seen in examining G. R. BEASLEY-MURRAY's work Jesus and the Future 1). After reviewing the many courageous attempts to deal with the passage as BEASLEY-MURRAY treats them, one can sympathize with the words of A. B. BRUCE who said, What is said thereon is so perplexing as to attempt a modern expositor to wish it had not been there, or to have recourse to critical expedients to eliminate it from the text 2). One of the problems in Mt. 24 centers around the words of verses 32-34 with special reference to v. 34: Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass away until all these things be accomplished. The verse seems to imply that all of the preceding 31 verses must come to pass in that generation or the lifetime of the auditors.

The Cryptology of Parables in St. Mark's Gospel

According to St. Mark's fundamental doctrine, the Messiahship of Jesus is a fact, yet a fact which may not be openly proclaimed to the world until the Son of Man has risen again from the dead. It is evidently for this reason that the demons are enjoined to silence, since they with their powers of supernatural insight are able to perceive the truth which is veiled from mortal eyes. And it is for the same reason, as we learn from iv Io ff., that Jesus addresses the multitude in parables. For in the evangelist's interpretation (and contrary to normal expectations) the parables of Jesus are not meant to make plain the essential content of the message of salvation, but to obscure it; they are a means of guarding the mystery or secret of the kingdom of God. Such is the most natural meaning of the text as it stands in iv Io ff., and the various attempts which have been made to obtain a different interpretation arise from a failure to appreciate the evangelist's doctrinal point of view. One may conjecture that behind the present text there is a saying of Jesus which had a different import and which was worked over by the evangelist for theological reasons; but of the meaning of the passage as it now exists there can be no reasonable doubt, and it is with the significance of the gospel as it is, not as he thinks it ought to be, that the exegete is primarily concerned. Apart from the eschatological discourse in xiii 3-37, the section in which St. Mark expounds his theory of the function of the parables (iv 1-34) is the longest section in the gospel that is entirely concerned with the Lord's teaching. The three parables it contains the sower (vv. 3-8), the seed growing secretly (vv. 26-29) and the mustard seed (vv. 30-32) are not intended to give an exhaustive account of the teaching, but are presented as particular illustrations of its general character; vv. 2 and 33 imply that the evangelist has selected them from a larger collection. All three deal with the phenomenon of growth in nature and suggest that the great spiritual

Book Review: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. By M. de Jonge. Van Gorcum and Manchester University Press. 18s; Jesus and the Future. An Examination of the Criticism of the Eschatological Discourse Mark 13 with special reference to the Little Apocalypse Theory. By G. R. Beasley-Murray. Macmillan. 25s

Book Review: <scp>The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs</scp>. By M. de Jonge. Van Gorcum and Manchester University Press. 18s; <scp>Jesus and the Future</scp>. An Examination of the Criticism of the Eschatological Discourse Mark 13 with special reference to the Little Apocalypse Theory. By G. R. Beasley-Murray. Macmillan. 25s

The Idea underlying the Eschatological Discourses of our Lord

The Idea underlying the Eschatological Discourses of our Lord