The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast

In this episode we look at several themes in the book of Numbers that are pushed forward apocalyptically by second-temple literature and the New Testament. Many events in the Book of Numbers–for example, the manna, the snake on the pole, and the wanderings of Israel in the wilderness–are interpreted typologically within a Jewish apocalyptic framework. Though typology has been used throughout churc...

In this episode we look at how Second Temple Jews, Jesus, and the apostles understand and project forward the major themes of Leviticus. Similar to how other themes in the Tanakh are "apocalypticized," offering and sacrifice, the priesthood, and the calendar of feasts and holidays are understood in light of apocalyptic eschatology. For Jesus and the apostles, the major themes in Leviticus reinforc...

In this episode we discuss how Second Temple Jews understood Moses and Mount Sinai. The giving of the Torah accompanied by angels, the revelation of the age to come, and the projection of Sinai eschatologically are all presumed by Jews at the time.  These ideas, for example, are reflected in the account of the Mount of Transfiguration and in encounters with angels throughout the New Testament. Sho...

In this episode we discuss the important figure of Moses, who takes on a unique authority in Second Temple literature, extending the narrative found in the Tanakh. Because of his special relationship with God, he is given unique revelation of the end times and the coming Messiah. Moses is also viewed as something of a precursor to the Messiah, one who will build God's house and restore the kingdom...

 In this episode we look at Isaac, Jacob, and his twelve sons and how Second Temple Jews read and interpreted them. Particularly, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs gives us insight into how Jews framed the election and future of Israel. Jews at the time were not myopic nationalists who were unconcerned and uninformed about the nations, but rather they extended the Tanakh's framework of the r...

Bill, John, and Josh tackle your questions in this fifth Q&A episode.  Topics include realized eschatology, dispensationalism, and supersessionism, the Transfiguration, and the New Covenant.  Show notes: Are we "under" the kingdom of God now? (2:43) What do you think about Paula Fredriksen's understanding of Romans 1 and "the resurrection of the dead"? (12:44) Could you explain more about the "esc...

In this episode we discuss how Jews in the Second Temple period framed Abraham within the apocalyptic narrative of redemptive history. The covenant with and election of Abraham was commonly understood in light of the eschatological judgment and the resurrection of the dead. Additionally, Abraham's faith was also celebrated by Jewish writers of the period, but always in context to Israel's eschatol...

In this episode we interview Rabbi Joshua Berman, professor of Tanakh at Bar-Ilan University in Israel. Rabbi Berman discusses some of his work related to critical scholarship and the Torah as well as some of his thoughts about Jewish election, the covenant, and the purpose of the Tanakh. He explains how through the election of Abraham, God creates a national culture among his descendants to be wa...

In this episode we discuss the election of Abraham and its development in Second Temple Literature and the New Testament. God's choice of Abraham after the Tower of Babel is understood as the antidote for the idolatry and rebellion that had come to define the rest of the world. Rather than modern concepts of election as developed in the Reformation, Second Temple Jews and the apostles of Jesus mai...

In this episode we discuss the rebellion narratives found in early Genesis. In Eden's garden in Genesis 3, in the consensual marriage of the sons of God and the daughters of men in Genesis 6, and at Babel's tower in Genesis 11 we see not only a paradigm for the redemptive narrative, but also of the great judgment on the Last Day. We develop the consistent pattern that binds the narratives and the...

In this episode we discuss creation as a paradigm for redemption. We looked at Genesis and the creation narrative as the seedbed of eschatological expectation in Jewish tradition. The Tanakh, like the later second temple Jewish literature, sees eschatological hope for everlasting life in context to a new heavens and a new earth. By the time of the New Testament writers, conversations related to es...

In this episode we begin our discussion on Genesis and the Torah, highlighting some of the primary themes in the creation narrative of Genesis. While often read differently in our modern context than it would have been in the Ancient Near East as well as in second temple Jewish texts, the creation of the heavens and the earth sets the framework for divine sovereignty and for the future expectation...

In this episode, we interview Dr. Matthew Thiessen, associate professor Religious Studies at McMaster University. We discuss the anti-Jewish bias often brought to the scriptures by traditional Christian readings of the Tanakh, and how this bias radically affects our readings of Jesus and Paul.  Show notes:  How Dr. Thiessen got into New Testament studies (4:00) How Dr. Thiessen's work has been aim...

In this episode we look particularly at the issue of supersessionism, the idea that Israel and the Old Testament has been superseded and replaced by Jesus, the Church, and the New Testament. We dive into R. Kendall Soulen's classic treatment on supersessionism in "The God of Israel and Christian Theology", examining the various aspects of punitive, economic, and structural supersessionism and thei...

In this episode we introduce the themes for season 3 of our show. The Tanakh (a Hebrew acronym for the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings) is the foundation for "the Gospel" as Jesus and the apostles understood it. In season 3, our aim is to work through the books and main themes of the Tanakh to give disciples of Jesus confidence that if all you have is the Tanakh and some of the sayings of Jesu...

Bill, John, and Josh tackle your questions in this fourth Q&A episode. Topics include Messianic Judaism, the New Jerusalem and the heavenly mountain, inaugurated eschatology, and our usual rapid fire round with questions on the pre-tribulation rapture in John 14, the renewal of our minds, and Jewish prayer books. We also briefly give vision for our show's next season. Don't miss it!

In this episode we reflect on some of our favorite points from our last four interviews with Seth Roach and Daniel Jordan, Marc Tuzzolino, Joe and Terrie Wise, and Stephanie Quick and Devon Phillips. We discuss their testimonies and how the Jewish apocalyptic framework for the Gospel has impacted their lives and ministries. We reflected on how each of them imparted incredible wisdom for disciples...

In this episode we interview Stephanie Quick and Devon Phillips, laborers with Frontier Alliance International based in Northern Israel. Stephanie is a writer and producer and cohosts The Better Beautiful Podcast with Jeff Henderson, and Devon is a writer and contributor to FAI's publication, THE WIRE. Stephanie and Devon share their experiences as they minister among Muslims and Israelis in the M...

In this episode we interview Joe and Terrie Wise, currently serving as pastors in California's Central Valley. Joe and Terrie share their experiences as church planters, pastors, and mentors over the last 34 years of ministry. Their mission is to encourage wholehearted love and faithfulness to Jesus in light of the age to come. Despite the challenges they've faced, they continue to be an example o...

In this episode we interview Marc Tuzzolino, founder and leader of the Apocalyptic Accountability Group based in the Chicago area. Marc shares from the heart about his own history and how a season of reworking the Gospel led to deliverance from a life of immorality. Since then, Marc has seen tremendous fruit as he has led other men into fearing God and living a life of obedience and transparency i...

In this episode we interview Seth Roach and Daniel Jordan. Seth and Daniel have been involved with Torben Søndergaard and The Last Reformation movement, and they share about their fresh call to a wholehearted lifestyle of obedience to Jesus in light of the hope of his return. Seth and Daniel's stories are provoking and encouraging to hear as they describe the Spirit's witness to the Gospel with po...

In this episode we reflect on some of our favorite points from our last four interviews with Joel Richardson, Tim Miller, Mark Klafter, and Asher and Zachary. We discuss how Jewish election and eschatology give direction and help navigate the complexities of unfolding world events, as well as how the apocalyptic lens for the Gospel gives a sense of stability in the midst of difficulty and serves a...

In this episode we interview Asher and Zachary, two young adults who have committed their lives to be disciples of Jesus. They share their journey of how they came into an understanding of the Gospel, what challenges they've faced specifically as young adults, and how the election of Israel, the return of Jesus, and the age to come have motivated righteous living among an otherwise self-centered g...

In this episode we interview Mark Klafter, a Jewish believer in Jesus and the son of a Hungarian Holocaust survivor. Mark was born in New York City in 1950 and came to know the Lord in a radical way in 1973. Mark shares his life story and how he came to identify as a Jewish disciple of Yeshua. From his long relationship with Art Katz to his encounter with the God of Israel at the Wailing Wall in J...

In this episode we interview Tim Miller, a missions trainer, Bible teacher, and the founder of the Daniel Training Network, a resource development ministry committed to equipping the church to follow Jesus faithfully until he returns. Tim shares some of his experiences over the last twenty years of ministry serving in various parts of Africa and the US. In addition to telling some dramatic stories...