Genesis, Deuteronomy and Acts - too similar to ignore
Please note: Acts 14 is written to people worshipping Zeus. People not familiar with "covenantal" language.
Acts 14
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
We find this same thing mentioned in Deuteronomy 4. How the sun, moon and stars were made for all nations rather than just Israel. Side note: This is another great "common grace" verse in Acts 14:16-18.
Deuteronomy 4
15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Now look at the Genesis language - we find the exact same language here in Genesis 1 as we find in Deuteronomy 4. Even Tim Martin admits in the quote below that there are times in Acts and the law when it is impossible to make it mean "covenantal" language rather than actiual creation. Deuteronomy 4 and Genesis 1 are just too similar to ignore (especially considering all of the hermeneutic issues that we have brought up in previous articles).
Here they are (sections of Acts, Dueteronomy, and Genesis) side by side - to show the similarities.
Acts 14 (Martin admits can not be Covenantal) - to Gentile worshippers of Zeus
15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
Deuteronomy 4 (In regards to all nations just like above)
15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Genesis 1 (combines the exact same language in Acts 14 and Deuteronomy 4 - which were about all nations)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Even Tim Martin admitted that there are issues with reading everything in a "covenantal" manner. He mentions Acts and the law. Yet now - without these problems being solved - people are being dogmatic about this new reading. See the quote below - what changed? I don't recall any of these "real problems" being adressed.
Tim Martin:
"So long as preterists are committed to a covenantal rather than cosmological reading of "heavens and earth" in biblical redemptive history the idea of a covenantal, rather than cosmological reading of the original creation of the "heavens and earth" in Genesis 1:1 is a legitimate possibility. The only way to rule it out as impossible is to consistently read all "heavens and earth" language cosmologically which would make preterism impossible. While the theory does have a logical consistency to it there are some real textual challenges with rendering the creation account as the creation of Israel. First of all, even preterists recognize that not every use of the phrase "heavens and earth" in Scripture must be covenantally based. A good example where a covenantal reading would be exceedingly difficult to maintain is Paul’s gospel presentation to the Gentiles at Lystra: Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. Acts 14:15. It seems clear in that passage that Paul is referencing God’s physical creation of the "heavens and earth and sea and everything in them" as an apologetic for the truth of the gospel. The Gentiles, who were strangers to the covenant, could never have heard Paul in a Hebraic covenant context. The subject at least includes the cosmological creation. Another example of a clear creational use of the "heavens and earth" language is in the Law. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Exodus 20:4. Clearly, a physical, creational reading is the right one. These examples of a creational, cosmological reading of "heavens and earth" could be multiplied in the Psalms and prophets and wisdom literature of Scripture. This demonstrates that, while the language of "heavens and earth" often can and should be read in reference to covenant, there are many examples of "heavens and earth" which are primarily creational based in the physical "heavens and earth." A Local Creation interpretation is possible once we understand the covenant use of "heavens and earth" but it is not textually required in Genesis 1 by the covenantal reading of "heavens and earth" language elsewhere in Scripture. The great textual difficulty with the Local Creation View does not appear in Genesis 1. Indeed, the language in the Genesis account does uniformly use "erets" which leaves the door open to regional events in connection with the covenant history of Israel. The textual problem is that there is a passage in the Old Testament which is an inspired commentary on creation which uses the Hebrew word "tebel" rather than "erets" in reference to creation. "Tebel" is very different than "erets" in that it does denote universal scope and extent. Speaking of personified wisdom’s role in the creation of the "heavens and earth," Solomon writes: I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountain of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world [tebel] and delighting in mankind. Proverbs 8:27-31. Proverbs 8 seems to makes a local creation interpretation in Genesis 1 highly doubtful"
Acts 14
11When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" 12Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. 14But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." 18Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.
We find this same thing mentioned in Deuteronomy 4. How the sun, moon and stars were made for all nations rather than just Israel. Side note: This is another great "common grace" verse in Acts 14:16-18.
Deuteronomy 4
15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Now look at the Genesis language - we find the exact same language here in Genesis 1 as we find in Deuteronomy 4. Even Tim Martin admits in the quote below that there are times in Acts and the law when it is impossible to make it mean "covenantal" language rather than actiual creation. Deuteronomy 4 and Genesis 1 are just too similar to ignore (especially considering all of the hermeneutic issues that we have brought up in previous articles).
Here they are (sections of Acts, Dueteronomy, and Genesis) side by side - to show the similarities.
Acts 14 (Martin admits can not be Covenantal) - to Gentile worshippers of Zeus
15"Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. 16In the past, he let all nations go their own way.
Deuteronomy 4 (In regards to all nations just like above)
15 You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully, 16 so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman, 17 or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air, 18 or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below. 19 And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars—all the heavenly array—do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
Genesis 1 (combines the exact same language in Acts 14 and Deuteronomy 4 - which were about all nations)
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Even Tim Martin admitted that there are issues with reading everything in a "covenantal" manner. He mentions Acts and the law. Yet now - without these problems being solved - people are being dogmatic about this new reading. See the quote below - what changed? I don't recall any of these "real problems" being adressed.
Tim Martin:
"So long as preterists are committed to a covenantal rather than cosmological reading of "heavens and earth" in biblical redemptive history the idea of a covenantal, rather than cosmological reading of the original creation of the "heavens and earth" in Genesis 1:1 is a legitimate possibility. The only way to rule it out as impossible is to consistently read all "heavens and earth" language cosmologically which would make preterism impossible. While the theory does have a logical consistency to it there are some real textual challenges with rendering the creation account as the creation of Israel. First of all, even preterists recognize that not every use of the phrase "heavens and earth" in Scripture must be covenantally based. A good example where a covenantal reading would be exceedingly difficult to maintain is Paul’s gospel presentation to the Gentiles at Lystra: Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. Acts 14:15. It seems clear in that passage that Paul is referencing God’s physical creation of the "heavens and earth and sea and everything in them" as an apologetic for the truth of the gospel. The Gentiles, who were strangers to the covenant, could never have heard Paul in a Hebraic covenant context. The subject at least includes the cosmological creation. Another example of a clear creational use of the "heavens and earth" language is in the Law. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. Exodus 20:4. Clearly, a physical, creational reading is the right one. These examples of a creational, cosmological reading of "heavens and earth" could be multiplied in the Psalms and prophets and wisdom literature of Scripture. This demonstrates that, while the language of "heavens and earth" often can and should be read in reference to covenant, there are many examples of "heavens and earth" which are primarily creational based in the physical "heavens and earth." A Local Creation interpretation is possible once we understand the covenant use of "heavens and earth" but it is not textually required in Genesis 1 by the covenantal reading of "heavens and earth" language elsewhere in Scripture. The great textual difficulty with the Local Creation View does not appear in Genesis 1. Indeed, the language in the Genesis account does uniformly use "erets" which leaves the door open to regional events in connection with the covenant history of Israel. The textual problem is that there is a passage in the Old Testament which is an inspired commentary on creation which uses the Hebrew word "tebel" rather than "erets" in reference to creation. "Tebel" is very different than "erets" in that it does denote universal scope and extent. Speaking of personified wisdom’s role in the creation of the "heavens and earth," Solomon writes: I was there when he set the heavens in place, when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep, when he established the clouds above and fixed securely the fountain of the deep, when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command, and when he marked out the foundations of the earth. Then I was the craftsman at his side. I was filled with delight day after day, rejoicing always in his presence, rejoicing in his whole world [tebel] and delighting in mankind. Proverbs 8:27-31. Proverbs 8 seems to makes a local creation interpretation in Genesis 1 highly doubtful"
Comment
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Comment by Michael Bennett on October 6, 2008 at 7:21pm - Thanks Chris - I am all for questions etc. But when people throw all hermeneutics out the window to make it say what they want - a line has to be drawn somewhere. We are not against exploring other ideas here - but they should not blatantly contradict solid hermeneutic rules. So many problems arise from the "get go" when trying to interpret Genesis 1 and 2 in a "covenantal" manner such as "covenantal shrubs plants and trees" whatever that means - or the infamous - let's make the animals = people on the Ark - when we read later that Noah is told to sacrifice and eat them etc.
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Comment by chris winn on October 6, 2008 at 6:56pm - Good stuff Mike. Love the way you use the analogy of faith hermeneutic so effectively. I have a feeling as these covenantal creation guys continue to study God's Word and grow in their faith, that most of them will abandon these unwarranted interpretations. Hopefully they will anyway:)
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