Introduction by Kirk R. MacGregor - James Clarke and Co Ltd

Introduction
only makes sense within a soteriological context. When analyzing the relevant
Pauline passages, Plasger discloses that, for believers, the Day of the
Lord serves as the vehicle for deliverance from divine wrath and expands
the reconciliation implemented through Jesus’ death and resurrection to
the entire created order. Intriguingly, Plasger finds in Ephesians 5:6 and
Colossians 3:6 an admonition against believers placing salvific confidence
in their own act of belief rather than perceiving that belief is simply the
means for appropriating salvation, a helpful corrective of new religious
movements which teach people to “have faith in their faith.” According
to Plasger, Paul views divine wrath as separation or alienation from God;
however, God, in obedience to his covenant, takes such alienation upon
himself in the person of Christ to forever set believing sinners free, a
model best approximated by the thought of Barth.
Chapter twelve bridges anthropology with philosophy of history, as
James W. Bryant illuminates the uniqueness of the Hebraic view of human
nature within the spectrum of ancient and modern views and then
unfolds the significance of its time-space implementation. Unlike metaphysical
dualisms between a good soul and evil body or vice versa, the
Hebraic model was notable for its unitary quality, predicated upon the
spiritual value of the material world. Since the Hebrews perceived God
alone as infinite, humans were taken as finite and therefore mortal in and
of themselves; however, everlasting human life followed from the divine
attributes of justice and relationality. Employing empirico-logical thought
and intuition, the Hebrews surmised that justice demanded the ultimate
vindication of righteousness and ultimate retribution against wickedness,
which is typically not accomplished during the pre-mortem state.
Moreover, they sensed the intrinsic constancy of relationship with God
and its character as a link or channel supplying finite beings with the supernatural
vitality that could permanently sustain them. Like Holmyard,
Bryant finds anticipations of the general resurrection model of the afterlife
sprinkled throughout the Hebrew Bible and not simply in later
books such as Ezekiel and Daniel. Through his miracle-working ministry
consummated at the resurrection, Jesus both validated the reality of, and
proved his control over, the general resurrection, marking a new center of
history as the start of the transfigured creation to be continually renewed
by a Spirit-empowered church until the Day of the Lord. Bryant delineates
how the resurrection stands as the pinnacle of a long line of disclosure
situations, or historical revelations of God’s superintendence over history,
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