Hi there. I have been reading the new testament commentary on Romans and am finding the more historical approach eye opening as it is such a revision of the way i have always read Romans (i used to universalize most of the statements on salvation and judgment). But my question is about the ’the day of wrath’ for Jews and then the Greek. I can clearly see the day of wrath for the Jews as manisfested as the Great Jewish War that destroyed Jerusalem but i struggle to see the judgment on the Greek-Roman World. From my understanding persecution continued till Constantine became emperor and christianity was accepted as a religion of the empire. But how is this judgment on the Roman world? I havent done much historical research so asking this to learn cus i struggle to see the ‘day of wrath’ for the Greek-Roma World.
Thanks.
Re: Day of wrath for Jews and Gentiles
Ryan, there’s been a lot of debate (mainly between Peter Wilkinson and myself) on this site about this issue. This is a brief summary of my side of that debate.
The authors, including Jesus, carried over from the Old Testament the conviction that God would eventually overthrow the enemies of Israel - not least the enemy that was used to bring judgment on a sinful nation. More particularly, they adopted the apocalyptic hope that God would eventually overthrow the type of enemy exemplified by Antiochus Epiphanes, whom Daniel describes as one who would exalt himself above the God of Israel (cf. Dan. 11:36). It seems to me that a repeat of this conflict is envisaged in the New Testament, especially in Paul and Revelation; and as in the Old Testament, it culminates in the defeat of this blasphemous pagan oppressor of Israel.
Paul focuses on the individual opponent in 2 Thessalonians 2 - the man of lawlessness, an aggressor like Antiochus Epiphanes. Perhaps he has Nero in mind, though I’m not sure the specific identification is necessary. Revelation predicts the overthrow of Rome as an imperial power that is ideologically at war with the confession that Christ is Lord, though the symbolism also highlights the role of the divinized emperor in this political-religious conflict. It is this ideologically defined ‘Rome’ that will be defeated through the faithful suffering of the community of the Son of man - and with it the whole religious and moral infrastructure of paganism that characterized the Greek-Roman world.
To identify this defeat with the transition from pagan Rome to Christendom is problematic and in many ways ironic - the New Testament is prophetic, but it was not written with the benefit of hindsight. But from the perspective of the early church, the concrete victory for which they prayed would consist in the ending of persecution and the public vindication of those who confessed Christ as Lord. That’s effectively what happened.
Re: Day of wrath for Jews and Gentiles
Thanks Andrew, i was reading the "Lord’s prayer and eschatology" post last night and saw the whole debate, so thanks for rehashing the debate. What really struck home for me was the comment you made about trying to interpret new testament views of the future from the 21st century looking back vs from the 1st century looking forward. For me that summed up a lot of the interpretive problems we have. Thanks.
Shalom.