Covenant Hermeneutics and Biblical Eschatology

Kim summarizes all that has been said in this series by using eight different sets of verses that explain and describe the spiritual hermeneutic of the New Testament. The Bible itself should be the guide and informing our understanding. (NOTE: This will be the last episode for a few weeks as we work on getting all of this material transcribed and put into book form.)

Kim continues expounding the Spiritual worldview of the New Covenant. Abraham was looking for a city whose Builder was God, not a city—or kingdom—made by men. Jesus said it was good that He was going away so that He could send the Spirit to bring all things to their mind. Understanding of the Bible's internal hermeneutic, including the eschatological message, comes through the Spirit. Like Abraham, we also should not be looking or waiting for a physical kingdom.

In this penultimate episode of what he planned to present, Kim shows how the Old Covenant and the New Covenant are related and separate, i.e., their continuity and their discontinuity. Both covenants are pictured in the symbol and the reality of the temple: the holy place and the Holy of Holies. The way into the Holy of Holies was opened and made manifest by Christ's work and ministry. View the chart here: https://americanvision.org/posts/two-covenantal-administrations/

Kim explains his chart further by revealing that the eschatological fulfillment of the New Testament is a Spiritual reality. Most systems of biblical interpretation focus on a renewed version of the physical world, but the biblical reality is Spiritual, not natural. Spiritual are not less "real" than physical things, in fact, they are "more real." God is a Spirit and God's reality is Spiritual.  See the chart here: https://americanvision.org/posts/the-heavenly-and-spiritual-reality/

Kim reveals his paradigm in visual form with a chart called, The Structure of the Covenants. Drawing from the influence of Geerhardus Vos, Kim shows how the covenants unfold and come to pass in history and, ultimately, through the life and work of Jesus Christ. View the chart here: The Covenant Structure Chart https://americanvision.org/posts/the-structure-of-the-covenants/

Kim discusses the difference between covenants and ages in the Bible. We must get our definitions of terms from the Bible itself and not assume we know what is being said. Many have taught that covenants and ages are essentially synonymous, but Kim argues that while related, they are also very distinct. 

Kim discusses a seventh principle that follows on from the first six in the last podcast about our union and being raised with Christ. Is the church living up to its full potential today? Are we reigning with Christ as we should? Many Christians don't believe that the church even has a dominion calling in the physical world. It is a self-imposed exile that keeps them from fulfilling what God expects of His people. One that completely ignores and reinterprets the imminence theme of the New Testament.

Kim addresses the covenantal focus of biblical eschatology, concentrating on our union with Jesus Christ and His life, death, burial, and resurrection. Redemption accomplished and redemption applied comes back into the conversation with a much deeper reality and context. Christ's full mission of bringing in God's Kingdom is Definitive, Progressive, and Final and is worked out in the historical past, present, and future.

In John 3, Jesus asks Nicodemus: "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?" On today's episode, Kim shows the Bible's consistent hermeneutic about the covenantal administrations of God's Kingdom and the difference between them. One is earthy and the other is heavenly, one is physical and the other spiritual, one is temporal and the other eternal. But heavenly, spiritual, and eternal does not mean unreal or gnostic. In fact, it means the exact opposite.

Kim continues explaining Romans 8 and two more key concepts: union with Christ and the first-fruits of the Spirit. What does Paul mean when he says we are "in Christ"? The Kingdom of God is a current reality, but it doesn't come as we expect; it is a spiritual reality, rather than a physical one. Like a mustard seed, it is currently growing and expanding. It will eventually cover the whole earth in its fullness and completeness.