Study Chapter · XXI

Other Hard Questions Still to Develop

A running list. These deserve their own sections eventually; collecting them here so they're not lost.

A running list. These deserve their own sections eventually; collecting them here so they're not lost.

1. The two ages. Jesus, Paul, and the rabbis all assumed a "present age" and a "coming age." We live in the overlap — the kingdom has come (Mark 1:15) and is still coming (Lord's prayer). Most confusion about "already / not yet" comes from missing this.

2. What did Jesus look like for 30 years? What did Joseph's house sound like? What was His relationship with His siblings — James, Joses, Judas, Simon, sisters (Mark 6:3)? Why does Mark assume we know who they are? Why is John 7:5 — "neither did His brothers believe in Him" — placed where it is?

3. The land promise. Why does God promise Abraham land, and what does it mean in the NT (Heb 11:13–16, "they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly")? Was the land always a type of the new creation, or was it literal and the NT spiritualizes it? Real disagreement among orthodox scholars; worth working through carefully.