The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast

In this episode we develop the quote of Amos 9:11-12 in Acts 15.  Rather than a redefinition of the prophets' words about the Gentiles flowing to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel, James quotes Amos 9 to affirm that the Gentiles turning to God in his time accords with the vision of the "eschatological pilgrimage" of the nations to Zion in the age to come. Like the cross and the Spirit, the no...

In this episode, we take a deeper dive into Acts 15 to understand the primary question that is being asked and the answer that is being offered.  We analyze three particular points in the passage that often create confusion: circumcision (v. 1, 5), "conversion" (v. 3), and the "yoke" (v. 10).  Rather than being an anti-Judaism or anti-Torah council, the apostles answer the question of what to do w...

In this episode we give an overview of Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council where the apostles gather to discuss the issues brought up recently by many Gentiles turning to the God of Israel. Rather than redefining the hope of Israel, the apostles conclude that the Gentiles can be saved from the wrath to come and inherit eternal life without becoming Jews. We work through an overview of the major them...

In this episode we explore Peter's vision of the "great sheet" filled with unclean animals and the events which followed. Peter's interpretation of the vision and the first sermon towards a Gentile audience are often interpreted within a redefined narrative of redemptive history which sees God establishing a 'new people'. We revisit the events and the how they are described in Acts 10-11 to show t...

Bill, John, and Josh tackle your questions in this second Q&A episode.  Topics include cross-cultural discipleship, why some solid Old Testament scholars reject first century Jewish eschatology, and how Jews perceived the destruction of the temple in light of Jesus' words.  Don't miss the "rapid fire" round at the end!

In this week's episode we discuss the language that the apostles used to describe the effects of the crucifixion of the Messiah. Terms like justification, redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation were understood within the context of first-century Jewish apocalyptic thought, rather than in contrast to it or disconnected from it. Passages like 2 Cor. 5 and Romans 5 illustrate clearly that Paul...

The apostles understood the cross within a first century Jewish apocalyptic worldview. As seen in 1 Cor. 15:3, the interpretation of the Messiah's death was handed down by the apostles and revolved around Isaiah 53 and the Levitical sacrificial tradition. Thus Paul's gospel centered on Jesus Christ, "who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age" (Gal. 1:4).

In this episode, we talk through Peter's use of Scripture in Acts 2. Rather than redefining or realizing Psalm 16 and Psalm 110, Peter employs an apocalyptic hermeneutic (i.e. approach to interpretation), which simply seeks to understand the Torah, Writings, and Prophets in light of their ultimate end. The Messiah was crucified, but God raised him up and seated him at his right hand, where he wait...

In this episode, we dive into the beginning of Peter's explanation of the events of Acts 2. Rather than a redefinition of the 'last days', Peter affirms that their expectations were in accordance with the apocalyptic tradition. God promised, expressed in the citation of Joel 2, to pour out his Spirit before the coming Day of God and that all who repent will be saved from the wrath to come.

Common ideas in the church today associate Acts 2 and the giving of the Spirit as "the birth of the church" or a break from legalistic Judaism, but the apostles viewed the events of the day of Pentecost as a strong affirmation of Jewish apocalyptic expectations.  In this episode, we begin to look at Acts 2 and what it meant for the early followers of the Messiah. 

In this episode, we discuss the Jewish apocalyptic context of Acts 1:1-11. Instead of correcting the apostles' expectations concerning the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, Jesus simply corrects the timing. The witness to the nations in verse 8 is understood within the presupposed Jewish apocalyptic narrative. God is the one driving history, and God is the one who has fixed the day of its conc...

Bill, John, and Josh tackle your questions in this first of many Q&A episodes.  Topics include Acts 15, how Calvinism and Arminianism relate to Jewish apocalypticism, understanding "all Israel will be saved" from Romans 11, and tips on practical day-to-day discipleship.

In this episode, we discuss the issue of Jewish election in Paul's thought. Continuing in his letter to the Romans, we look at a few passages that relate to Jewish priority and God's enduring covenant with the Jewish people and how that relates to the discipleship of the Gentiles.

Romans 1:1-6 provides a unique glimpse into how Paul understood his own mission to the Gentiles. As discussed in last week's episode on the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), Paul understood his calling within the commonly presupposed Jewish apocalyptic narrative of redemptive history. Jesus' resurrection confirmed his Davidic messiahship, and Paul sought to disciple the Gentiles into "the obedien...

In this episode, we discuss the Jewish apocalyptic context of the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Messianic authority in Jewish literature is tied to divine judgment on the day of the Lord, and Jesus assumes the two-age framework of redemptive history in verse 20. In this light the discipleship of the Gentiles is into (rather than out of) the Jewish apocalyptic hope.

Acts 17 offers a unique picture into the Gospel that the Apostle to the Gentiles believed and proclaimed throughout the Jewish diaspora. In this episode, we see Paul offering a survey of history in order to explain the coming Day of the Lord as a means of calling Gentiles to repentance and faith. We survey the concept of the Day of the Lord briefly in the Jewish prophets and then follow the idea t...

As we briefly survey 'the Gospel' in the New Testament writings, we find that the phrase imports a body of pre-existing Jewish ideas. We touch on its origins in the prophetic writings and in later Jewish apocalyptic literature to highlight how a Jew in the first century would have heard John the Baptist, Jesus, or one of the Apostles using this Jewish term to refer to their own message.

In this first episode of The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast, Bill, John, and Josh introduce themselves, give some background and vision for the topics to be discussed in future episodes, and explain the podcast's somewhat odd title.

The first episode of The Apocalyptic Gospel Podcast with Bill Scofield, John Harrigan, and Josh Hawkins will release on July 1, 2020! For more on our podcast, visit us on our website at apocalypticgospel.com or follow us on Twitter at @ApocGospel.