Eschatology and Exhortation in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen Zum Neuen Testament 2.Reihe)

Scott D. Mackie analyzes the interface of eschatology and exhortation in Hebrews, paying special attention to the manner in which the author's eschatological convictions have shaped and empowered his hortatory effort. The author's eschatological thought-world coheres around two organizing principles: (1) Two-age eschatology the Christ event has inaugurated the eschaton (9:26) and the end of the ages is imminent (10:26-39); (2) Heavenly Sanctuary eschatology the Christ event culminates within this heavenly locale (9:11-12, 24; 10:19-21) and it also where the exalted Son reigns (1:3-13; 8:1; 10:12-13). The exhortations appearing in contexts where two-age eschatology is prominent emphasize urgency, immediacy, and existential irrevocability - conditions that naturally evoke calls for steadfast commitment (2:1-3; 3:14; 6:9-12; 10:35-39). Recitations of the community's experience of the eschaton are also prominent in these passages (2:4; 3:14; 6:4-5; 10:26-32). The hortatory agenda accompanying Heavenly Sanctuary eschatology is cultic in nature, focusing on the soteriological benefits of Jesus the high priest's sacrificial self-offering (1:3; 4:16; 5:9; 7:25, 27; 8:6; 9:12, 14-15, 24, 26, 28; 10:10, 12, 14, 18-25, 29). These soteriological benefits are intended to facilitate access to God in the Heavenly Sanctuary. The two exhortations to enter the Heavenly Sanctuary, 4:14-16 and 10:19-23, are then of strategic importance. It is there that the author's ultimate hortatory goal is reached, in the recipients' sacral confession of the Son of God, which forms and solidifies their identity as the family of God (3:1-6, 14; 4:14-16; 10:19-25). Cover Preface Contents Introduction: Eschatology, the Situation of the Recipients, and the Author’s Hortatory Response Prolegomenon Chapter 1. The Eschatology of Hebrews 1. Introduction 2. A Platonic thought-world 3. Jewish apocalyptic two-age eschatology Chapter 2. The Situation of the Recipients 1. Introduction 2. The possibility and propriety of reconstructing the recipients’ situation 3. Threats endangering the community 4. Proposed reconstructions of the recipients’ situation 5. Conclusion Chapter 3. The Author’s Hortatory Response 1. Introduction 2. Terminology: paraenesis or paraklesis? 3. Aspects of the author’s hortatory strategy 4. Conclusion Conclusion to the Introduction Part One: Two-Age Eschatology and Exhortation Chapter 4. Two-Age Belief in Jewish – Christian Apocalyptic Thought and in Hebrews 1. Introduction 2. Is two-age belief the primary characteristic of apocalyptic thought? 3. The origins of two-age eschatology 4. Two-age eschatology in Hebrews Chapter 5. An Exegetical Examination of Two-Age Eschatology in Hebrews 1. “In these last days God has spoken through a Son” (1:1 – 2:4) 1.1. “In these last days” 1.2. “God has spoken through a Son” 1.3. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 1:1 – 2:4 2. The subjugation of the coming world to the Son & his identification with humanity (2:5–18) 2.1. “The coming world” 2.2. Eschatological ambiguity attending Jesus’ rule over the coming world 2.3. “For a short while” 2.4. “Leading many siblings to glory” 2.5. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 2:5–18 3. Entering today and persevering until the end (3:7 – 4:11) 3.1. The rest as a future possession 3.2. The rest as a present possession 3.3. “Partakers of Christ” 3.4. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 3:7 – 4:11 4. “Having tasted the powers of the age to come” (5:11 – 6:12) 4.1. The origins and nature of the phrase “the age to come” 4.2. The temporal orientation of 5:11 – 6:12 4.3. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 5:11 – 6:12 5. An apocalyptic metathesis of the law: an intra-textual reading of 7:11–28 and 12:25–29 5.1. An anticipated objection to Christ’s high priesthood 5.2. The critique and removal of the Jewish religious system 5.3. The Mosaic Law or the laws pertaining to priestly appointment? 5.4. The presence of apocalyptic language 5.5. Is Hebrews 12:25–29 apocalyptic? 5.6. The “shaking” motif in apocalyptic literature 5.7. “Yet once more” 5.8. The “divine fire” motif in apocalyptic literature 5.9. Mετάθεσις 5.10. The background of thought 5.11. The meaning of μετάθεσις in 12:27 5.12. An intra-textual reading of 7:11–28 and 12:25–29 5.13. An eschatological perspective 5.14. The nature and benefits of Jesus’ priesthood 5.15. The interface of eschatology & exhortation in 7:11–28 & 12:25–29 6. An “obsolete” covenant, “close to destruction” (8:1–13) 6.1. The first covenant: fading away or facing imminent destruction? (8:13) 6.2. Possible explanations for the apparent endurance of the first covenant 6.3. Two-age eschatology in 8:1–13 6.4. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 8:1–13 7. “The high priest of the good things that have come” (9:6–12) 7.1. “The present time, during which gifts and sacrifices are being offered” 7.2. The “parable” of the “first” & “second,” “inner” & “outer” 7.3. “The time of reformation” 7.4. The Spirit’s eschatological revelation 7.5. The nature of the Spirit’s eschatological “insight” 7.6. “The good things that have come” 7.7. Christ’s appearance in the Heavenly Sanctuary 7.8. The three διά phrases: the place or means of Jesus’ accomplishment? 7.9. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 9:6–12 8. “Now at the end of the ages he has appeared” (9:23–28) 8.1. “But now . . . at the end of the ages” 8.2. The “manifestation” – on earth and/or in the Heavenly Sanctuary? 8.3. A “manifestation” visible to the eyes of faith 8.4. Soteriology at the “end of the ages” 8.5. The hortatory implications of Hebrews’ soteriology 8.6. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 9:23–28 8.6.1. Eschatological urgency 8.6.2. A “removal of sins” 8.6.3. Patient endurance 9. “For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come” (10:1–18) 9.1. “The good things to come” 9.2. Σκιά, είκών and πράγμα in Platonic and Middle Platonic cosmology 9.2.1. Plato 9.2.2. Philo 9.2.3. Timaeus of Locri, On the Nature of the World and the Soul 9.2.4. Plutarch 9.3. Does the author properly understand Middle Platonic cosmology? 9.4. A deliberate amalgamation of Middle Platonism & Jewish eschatology 9.5. A comprehensive critique of the Mosaic law 9.6. A deliberate critique of the Philonic view of the Mosaic law 9.7. A critique of the Middle Platonic philosophical enterprise: the contemplative ascent of the philosopher into the noetic realm 9.8. “Removing the first to establish the second” (10:9b) 9.9. An unrivaled critique of the Jewish religious economy 9.10. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 10:1–18 10. “The approaching day” and the return, “in a very little while,” of the “coming One” (10:19–39) 10.1. Confident entry into the most holy place 10.2. The “approaching day” 10.3. “Do not draw back” 10.4. Apostasy as portrayed in 10:26–31 10.5. 10:26–31: A warning of Jerusalem’s imminent destruction? 10.6. The “coming one” 10.7. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 10:19–39 11. “The city that is to come” (13:9–16) 11.1. A background of thought for the “lasting” city – Middle Platonism?. 11.2. Jesus as the goal of the call to “go outside the camp” 11.3. The hortatory role of the endurance motif 11.4. Entering the Heavenly Sanctuary and going outside the camp 11.5. A polemic against Judaism? 11.6. Identification with Jesus & solidarity with the twelve disciples and the patriarchs 11.7. A polemic against cities and citizenship? 11.8. The interface of eschatology and exhortation in 13:9–16 Conclusion to Part One: The hortatory program attending two-age eschatology in Hebrews Part Two: The Heavenly Sanctuary: Eschatology and Exhortation Introduction Chapter 6. Cosmology: The Setting of the Sacrifice and Exaltation 1. Cosmology 1.1. The location of the Heavenly Sanctuary 1.2. The ontological nature and creative origin of the Heavenly Sanctuary 2. The Heavenly Sanctuary as cultic location Chapter 7. The High Priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary 1. Introduction 2. A liturgical drama in the Heavenly Sanctuary 3. The sacrifice of the high priest 3.1. The incarnation of the obedient Son 3.2. The sacrificial self-offering of the high priest 3.3. An eschatological Yom Kippur 3.4. The sacral activity of the high priest in the Heavenly Sanctuary 3.5. The origins of Hebrews’ high priest Christology 4. The soteriology of the sacrifice: cultic terminology and exhortation 4.1. An atonement for sins 4.2. Purification, sanctification, and perfection 4.3. Redemption and salvation 4.4. An appeal to experience: “And the Holy Spirit bears witness to us” 5. The access provided by the high priest 5.1. The access provided by Jesus 5.2. The exhortations to enter the Heavenly Sanctuary 5.3. The incompatibility of the exhortation to enter the Heavenly Sanctuary with Hebrews’ alleged depiction of the Christian life as a pilgrimage Chapter 8. The Enthroned Son in the Heavenly Sanctuary 1. The exalted and enthroned Son 2. The confession and identity of the community 2.1. The Father’s declaration of Jesus’ Sonship 2.2. The Son’s confession of the Father and conferral of family membership upon the recipients 2.3. Language of belonging and identification 2.4. The proper response of the community: sacral and public confession of the Son 2.5. The content and nature of the community’s confession 2.6. Conclusion Conclusion to Part Two: The hortatory program attending Heavenly Sanctuary eschatology in Hebrews Conclusion: Eschatology and Exhortation in Hebrews Bibliography Index of Ancient Sources 1. Old Testament 2. Jewish Pseudepigrapha and Apocrypha 3. Dead Sea Scrolls 4. Philo 5. Josephus 6. New Testament 7. Greco-Roman Authors 8. Rabbinic Writings Index of Modern Authors Index of Subjects