tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12279811.post3762124829581770790..comments2024-01-23T22:32:07.088+02:00Comments on Initial Explorations: Acts 1:20 - Prophecy?Seanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15155789202261126090noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12279811.post-55528893842956182542009-01-24T05:49:00.000+02:002009-01-24T05:49:00.000+02:00Perhaps as the Jesus movement took on more and mor...Perhaps as the Jesus movement took on more and more gentiles, the symbolism lost its importance and resonance???Eddiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00236115781570052603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12279811.post-65232499071821829532009-01-23T16:31:00.000+02:002009-01-23T16:31:00.000+02:00Does the early church insist on keeping "the Twelv...Does the early church insist on keeping "the Twelve" intact because of its symbolic value? In my <A HREF="http://www.oldinthenew.org/pdf/darlack_2007.pdf" REL="nofollow">thesis (pp 55-56)</A> I wrote:<BR/><BR/>Early Christians also viewed themselves as the eschatological twelve tribes of Israel.[1] This is evidenced particularly in Revelation and particularly in the Gospels, where Jesus appointed twelve disciples, to whom he stated:<BR/><BR/><I>You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28–30 || Matt 19:28).</I>[2]<BR/><BR/>Here, not only does Jesus allude to the renewal of the twelve tribes of Israel; he also refers to the Twelve as “those who have stood by me in my trials.” In the Apocalypse, the number twelve designates the people of God (Rev 7:4-8; 12:1; 14:1; 21:12, 14). Bauckham notes that this number is “squared for completeness” and “multiplied by a thousand to suggest vast numbers (7:4–8; 14:1; 21:17).”[3] The 144,000 (Rev 14:4) are identified with saints who endure, “those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus” (14:12). E. P. Sanders states that “the expectation of the reassembly of Israel was so widespread, and the memory of the twelve tribes remained so acute, that <I>‘twelve’ would necessarily mean ‘restoration’</I>.”[4]<BR/>__________________________<BR/>[1] For a brief overview, see Shlomo Pines, “Notes on the Twelve Tribes in Qumran, Early Christianity and Jewish Tradition,” in <I>Messiah and Christos</I> (ed. I. Gruenwald; TSAJ 32; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1992), 151-154.<BR/><BR/>[2] See W. Horbury, “The Twelve and the Phylarchs,” <I>NTS</I> 32 (1986): 503–527; Richard Bauckham, “The Restoration of Israel in Luke-Acts,” in <I>Restoration: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Perspectives</I> (ed. James M. Scott; JSJSup 72; Leiden: Brill, 2001), 457–459, 469–477; E. P. Sanders, <I>Jesus and Judaism</I> (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1985), 98–106.<BR/><BR/>[3] Richard Bauckham, <I>The Climax of Prophecy: Studies on the Book of Revelation</I> (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993), 36. Bauckham designates the Apocalypse as “a Christian War Scroll,” noting its similarity with 1QM (210–237).<BR/><BR/>[4] E. P. Sanders, <I>Jesus and Judaism</I>, 98; author’s emphasis.jdarlackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09003751370433298250noreply@blogger.com