{"id":470,"date":"2007-01-27T16:05:54","date_gmt":"2007-01-27T14:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/2007\/01\/27\/responding-to-another-view-on-ezekiel\/"},"modified":"2007-01-27T16:05:54","modified_gmt":"2007-01-27T14:05:54","slug":"responding-to-another-view-on-ezekiel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/2007\/01\/27\/responding-to-another-view-on-ezekiel\/","title":{"rendered":"Responding to Another View on Ezekiel"},"content":{"rendered":"

My friend P.J. Tibayan has excerpted a section from D. A. Carson in a comment<\/a> on the previous post.  My intent in posting the previous bit about Ezekiel’s temple was to save myself time because I am short; I’m not sure that I succeeded.  But I want to respond to Carson’s comments, and it is easier to do in a regular post than in a comment.  Here it is in full, and then I’ll respond piece by piece:<\/p>\n

The mid – twentieth – century form of dispensationalism argued for a similar literalism, but held that the construction of the temple and the return of blood sacrifices and Levitical and Zadokite priesthood will take place in the millennium. The sacrifices would look back to the sacrifice of Christ in the same way that the Old Testament sacrifices looked forward. But it is very difficult to square this view with the theology of Hebrews. Moreover, there are many hints that these chapters should not be taken literally. The division of land (chaps. 47 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 48) is all but impossible for anyone who has seen the terrain. The impossible source and course of the river (47:1 – 12) strains credulity \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and in any case both the temple and the river of life are given quite different interpretations in Revelation, the last book of the Bible. With the best will in the world it is difficult to see how the prescribed tribal purity of Levitical and Zadokite lines could be restored. Intervening records have been lost, so that no one could prove his descent from Aaron. Presumably a dispensationalist could argue that God could reveal the necessary information. But the point is that the tribes have been so mixed up across the centuries that they cannot be unscrambled. The problem is not one of information, but of mixed lines. Thus this interpretation, precisely because it deals with something at the end of time when the tribal lines are no longer differentiable, is even less credible than the previous one. How, then, shall we interpret these chapters?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The mid – twentieth – century form of dispensationalism argued for a similar literalism<\/strong><\/p>\n

He starts off with a backhand swipe, trying to suggest that this type of interpretation is so esoteric that it was only held in the mid-twentieth century.  In fact, it has been held much earlier than that and is still probably the primary view of evanglical Christians today.  Regardless, there are many highly respected scholars who hold to it (including past presidents of ETS).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

but held that the construction of the temple and the return of blood sacrifices and Levitical and Zadokite priesthood will take place in the millennium. The sacrifices would look back to the sacrifice of Christ in the same way that the Old Testament sacrifices looked forward. But it is very difficult to square this view with the theology of Hebrews. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe difficult, but by no means impossible.  Why is it not possible to have sacrifices that remember<\/em> Christ’s death.  That there could be such a need during the millennium is suggested by the fact that at this time there will be fewer deaths (because of a partial lifting of the curse; cf. Isa 65:20).  Gleason Archer offers an appropriate warning in this regard:<\/p>\n

\n

We in this age are hardly more competent to judge concerning the new requirements and conditions of the future millennial kingdom than were Old Testament believers competent to judge concerning the new forms and conditions which were to be ushered in in the New Testament age after Christ’s advent (1994: 418).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Moreover, there are many hints that these chapters should not be taken literally. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Maybe there are “many,” but he gives only three, and none of them are related to the temple.  One of these is not a “hint” suggesting that it should not be taken literally.  It’s Carson’s suggestion that things have changed so much since Ezekiel that it’s no longer possible for Ezekiel’s prophecy to be fulfilled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The division of land (chaps. 47 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 48) is all but impossible for anyone who has seen the terrain. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve seen the terrain and it is not impossible.  I know secular Israelis who have drawn up maps of Ezekiel’s redistribution of the land.  They may not believe it will one day happen, but it’s not impossible.  Certainly, one should realize that there may well be geographical changes before this time.  For instance, Zechariah predicts that the Mount of Olives will split in two with a great valley running through it (14:4).  So some things that don’t fit now could well fit then.  (Aside: how do you interpret the Zech 14 prediction?  Is that a future literal event?  How do you know?  Once you start to decide on your own<\/em> what is possible and what is not, you can easily start changing major, important theological passages, including ones that describe Christ’s return.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The impossible source and course of the river (47:1 – 12) strains credulity<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is impossible that the land could be so altered so that there’s a spring at the Temple Mount?  If God can’t do that, then for sure he can’t part the Red Sea or raise the dead.  Yes, descriptions that say that the Dead Sea will become fresh water are mind-blowing, but that’s the point.   And Ezekiel’s little note about fisherman spreading their nets at En Gedi does everything to suggest that he means this literally.  You can imagine the “spiritual meaning” of the Dead Sea becoming fresh (God gives new life to his people), but as soon as you got a line and a hook at a specific geographical locale, the “spiritual meaning” doesn’t hold.  Now maybe Ezekiel is wrong, but I don’t know how you take him to mean something else.<\/p>\n

Aside: here’s a prophecy that is more<\/em> mind-blowing: Zech 12:10; cf Rom 11:26.  If “mind-blowing” means it is therefore impossible and unliteral, then we’re fools to believe in the resurrection of the body.  I mean, after a few years, our dust gets scattered to quite a few places.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and in any case both the temple and the river of life are given quite different interpretations in Revelation, the last book of the Bible. <\/strong><\/p>\n

One problem with those who don’t take prophecy seriously is that they don’t study it carefully.  Ezekiel and Revelation are describing different things at different times.  (That is readily obvious from the Dead Sea in Ezekiel 47 and the “no sea” in Rev 21.  Revelation of course distinguishes about the millennium and the eternal state as separate periods of time.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With the best will in the world it is difficult to see how the prescribed tribal purity of Levitical and Zadokite lines could be restored. Intervening records have been lost, so that no one could prove his descent from Aaron. Presumably a dispensationalist could argue that God could reveal the necessary information. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Does Carson disagree with this?  Could God?  If so, then this is not an issue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But the point is that the tribes have been so mixed up across the centuries that they cannot be unscrambled. The problem is not one of information, but of mixed lines. Thus this interpretation, precisely because it deals with something at the end of time when the tribal lines are no longer differentiable, is even less credible than the previous one. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I wonder how Carson knows this.  Does he know that many Jews do know what tribe they belong to?  Does he know that twice a year I stand at the Western Wall while Levites press by to get to the front to do the priestly blessing?  Does he know my friend who is of the tribe of Benjamin?  Now if the question is one of “proving” by means of legal docu
\nments to stand up in a court of law, then the matter will fail because of things like the Holocaust (in which case Satan succeeded; he didn’t have to wipe out the Jews, just their records).  Concerning whether the tribal lines are scrambled, how many dads does a person have?  You have only one.  Whatever tribe your father is in, you are too.  You can marry sixteen times, you can adopt, you can do whatever, but every kid has one father and thus one tribal identity.  Maybe everyone doesn’t know it, but if God knows every hair on the head, then I’m guessing he’s not at a loss for who belongs to which tribe.  Of course, this issue is important in several places in Revelation.  <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There’s a lot of people who deny the literal fulfillment of many biblical prophecies.  I hope they have better reasons than Carson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My friend P.J. Tibayan has excerpted a section from D. A. Carson in a comment on the previous post.  My intent in posting the previous bit about Ezekiel’s temple was to save myself time because I am short; I’m not sure that I succeeded.  But I want to respond to Carson’s comments, and it is\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-faith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toddbolen.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}