The Eschatology of the Old Testament
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
In this previously unpublished material, a pioneer in Reformed biblical theology examines the hopes, expectations, and understanding of Old Testament saints regarding the future. Compiled from several manuscripts relating to Geerhardus Vos’ course on Old Testament eschatology, this volume weaves together the most complete text of his study on the subject. Vos addresses a wide range of questions surrounding both individual and collective eschatology from key passages throughout the Old Testament. Whether he is discussing the intermediate state or the meaning of Sheol, Messaniac expectations or the Day of the Lord, Vos’ supernaturalism contrasts with the hopelessness of naturalistic views.
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- Compiles previously unpublished material from renowned theologian Geerhardus Vos
- Provides inisght into the Old Testament’s understanding of eschatology
- Offers biblical response to skeptical views on this biblical topic
Top Highlights
“With few exceptions, the English Bible reads, in the Old Testament, ‘the latter days,’ whereas in the New Testament, the translation is regularly ‘the last days.’” (Pages 4–5)
“twofold sense: (1) the concluding days of the present order; (2) the days of the subsequent order of things.” (Page 2)
“‘a doctrine of the last things.’ Eschatology deals with the expectation of beliefs characteristic of some religions that: (a) the world or part of the world moves to a definite goal (telos); (b) there is a new final order of affairs beyond the present. It is the doctrine of the consummation of the world-process in a supreme crisis leading on into a permanent state. As such, it is composed of two characteristic elements: (1) the limited duration of the present order of things; (2) the eternal character of the subsequent state. The correlate of eschatology is creation.” (Page 1)
“In the New Testament, eschatai hemerai is restricted and never means the future era. Rather, it refers to the closing era of the first world-period (i.e., present development). This is due to the fact that the Old Testament writers described the final era in terms of time, i.e., a series of days. In the New Testament, it is spoken of as an eternity in distinction from time.” (Page 4)
“For redemption is a divine procedure taking place in the form of time, in the form of history. Therefore, as such, it cannot be thought of without the implied idea of a terminus, a point of arrival.” (Page 6)
This is one of the most helpful theological works ever written. Vos’ chapter on the Mosaic Theocracy is essential for understanding the eschatological dimension to the Old Covenant era. I cannot recommend this work enough.
—Nick Bratzig, ThM, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary
About Geerhardus J. Vos
Geerhardus J. Vos (1862–1949) was a Dutch-American theologian. He was the first alumnus of Calvin College (then Theological School) to earn a doctoral degree. Vos studied Old Testament at Princeton Seminary and graduated with honors. He then went on to do doctoral work in Semitics at the University of Berlin for one year, followed by two years at the University of Strasburg. He returned to teach at Calvin in 1888, but accepted an invitation to hold Princeton’s new chair of biblical theology in 1892. He held the chair until his retirement in 1932. During his time at Princeton, he taught some of the great Reformed minds of the twentieth century, including John Gresham Machen and Ned Bernard Stonehouse. Vos was also an essential catalyst in the establishment of Biblical Theology as a discipline. He passed away in 1949. Vos’ thinking and scholarship in theology has influenced Cornelius Van Til, John Murray, Richard B. Gaffin Jr., and Herman Ridderbos.
About James T. Dennison Jr.
James T. Dennison Jr. received his BS from Geneva College, and his BD, MDiv, and ThM from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He was ordained in the UPCUSA, the PCA, and then the OPC. He served as librarian and lecturer in church history at Westminster Theological Seminary from 1980 to 2000. He currently serves as academic dean and professor of church history and biblical theology at Northwest Theological Seminary. He is the editor of the biblical-theological preaching journal, Kerux, and the author of The Market-Day of the Soul: The Puritan Doctrine of the Sabbath in England, 1532–1700.
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