Exam 3 - Review Guide Flashcards
Features of Ancient Letters
- Greeting
- Intro
- Body
- Conclusion
- Audience
“Occasional” Letter
- A letter that is sent to multiple churches for different occaisions
How to Read and Apply Epistles
- Look at them in the context of the culture that they were written in
Galatians
i. Paul mad
ii. To Galatia
iii. Divisions, paganism, and Judaizers Jews saying that they have to take on certain practices in order to be saved
iv. Jerusalem Council
v. Issues with Simon Peter hangs with Gentiles until Jews arrive
vi. Type of letter: rebuke
1 and 2 Thessalonians
i. Author: Paul
ii. Written to Thessalonica
iii. Issue: the destiny of the dead in Christ and the Day of the Lord
iv. Suffering and Day of the Lord
v. False teachers are saying that Jesus already came back
vi. Type of letter: encouragement
1 and 2 Corinthians
i. Written by Paul
ii. To Corinth
iii. Type of letter: rebuke
Ephesians
i. Written by Paul
ii. Written to Christians in Asia Minor
iii. Meant to be sent to multiple churches circular letter
iv. Letter of instruction and encouragement
Colossians
i. Saints in Colossian
ii. Letter of instruction and encouragement
Romans
i. Systematic theology
ii. Written by Paul
iii. Written to the saints in Rome
iv. The congregation both a Jewish and Gentile audience
v. Hadn’t been there before he wrote it
vi. “Apostle to the Gentiles”
Philippians
i. Writing to Paul in Phillipi
ii. Stood strong in suffering
iii. Love and gratefulness to Paul
iv. Do not give up the faith
Philemon
i. Written to Philemon
ii. Written by Paul
iii. Runaway slave
James
i. Uses diatribe
ii. Wisdom literature mainly in Proverbs
iii. Written by brothers of Jesus: James and Jude
iv. Written to: the 12 tribes of the Dispersion
v. Your faith cannot be works only
vi. Showing partiality
vii. Works of righteousness
viii. Paul wrote against the works of the law
ix. James care for your brother and sister in Christ looking for righteousness
1 Peter
i. Written by Peter
ii. Written to several cities in Asia Minor
iii. Written to a predominately Gentile audience they are being cut out from society
2 Peter
i. False teachers have come in
ii. Peter is pushing against their teachings
iii. “See, Jesus hasn’t come back yet”
Jude
i. OT: Judgement is coming for the wicked
ii. Quotes from 1 Enoch
iii. Written to any Christian
Letters that Paul Wrote from Prison
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- Philemon
Main Issue in Galatians
- Division in the church
Paul’s tone in Galatians
- Anger
Paul’s reason for his response
- The church should be treating everyone fairly
Jerusalem Council
i. What they were going to require Gentiles to do in order to become a part of this church.
ii. They do not have to adopt all of the Jewish practices
1 Thessalonians main issue
- Death and heaven
2 Thessalonian main issue
- Suffering and persecution
Paul’s theology of suffering
i. Something necessary it is going to happen
ii. Endurance = eventual blessing
iii. Christ suffered for us we should expect to suffer
iv. Suffering shows faith
v. Glorify God the end goal
vi. Temporary will not last forever
1 and 2 Corinthians main issues
i. Sexual immorality
ii. Division
iii. Meat sacrifices
iv. Power gifts
v. Discrimination
1 Corinthians 13 main point
i. Speaks to the issue of lavish lifestyles
1. Popular in Corinth
ii. Tongues, prophecy what are these if there is not love
1 Corinthians 15 main point
i. Did Christ actually rise from the dead?
ii. Will people actually rise from the dead?
Why Paul wrote Romans
i. Apostle to the Gentiles
ii. Expand his ministry to Spain
iii. Roman church that he was writing to was secretly divided
iv. Knows that he may die in Jerusalem
Rhetorical devices used in Romans
i. Diatribe Romans and James
1. Setting up an imaginary opponent
ii. Trees
iii. OT References
iv. Biblical Interpretation
v. Stoic Philosophy
Main points in Romans
i. The mixed church of Jews and Gentiles
ii. Jews say that they are the church
iii. Paul wants them to know that they have all sinned
False doctrines being corrected in Ephesians and Colossians
a. False doctrines being corrected in Ephesians and Colossians:
i. Very similar
ii. Both are predominantly Gentile
iii. They are coming out of Pagan cultures
1. Used to doing things in a certain way
2. Still in that mode of thinking in some way
3. Trying to apply these practices into their relationship with Jesus
4. Do not want to anger the Pagan gods
iv. Paul talks about who Christ is shows them that God is more powerful than the gods
v. The worship of Christ should be different
Tone in Philippians
- Encouragement
Why Philippians was written
- Gratitude and affection for the Phillipian church, his strongest church
Why Philippians 2 was included
i. Qualities of God
ii. Raised to the right hand of the Father
Points made in Philippians 2
- Humble
- Exalted
Occasion for Philemon
- Sending Onesimus back to Philemon
What Paul is asking in Philemon
- He is asking Philemon to reconcile himself to Onesimus
Why Philemon was written
- Paul wanted Philemon to receive Onesimus with open arms
Who James was written to
- The 12 tribes of the Dispersion
Theories of James
i. Obey all of the law, not just part of it
ii. No favoritism
iii. Do not treat the rich and the poor different from each other
iv. Faith and works go hand in hand
Writing style of James
- Wisdom literature
James’ writing vs. Paul’s writing
i. James: works are the result of faith
ii. Paul: faith vs. works
Type of letter of Hebrews
i. Deals with apostacy
ii. Letter of Warning
1. They are experiencing suffering
iii. Jesus is greater than everything
How Hebrews differs from other letters
i. Does not seem like a letter
ii. Missing a greeting
iii. OT references
iv. Missing an address to someone
v. No indication of author
What the author of Hebrews is addressing
- Apostacy: someone who has followed the Lord but now decides to walk away
Who was Hebrews written to
i. We are not really sure
ii. Probably to a predominantly Jewish audience
1. Talks about the OT quite a bit
Why 1 Peter was written
i. Affirming prophets and salvation
ii. Holy living and submission to authority
How the author of 1 Peter made his point
- Encouraging the Gentiles that Jesus still had yet to come back
Why 2 Peter was written
i. False prophets/teachers
ii. Encourage them, spiritual maturity
iii. Reminder of the Day of the Lord
Who Jude was
- Judas
- The half-brother of Jesus
Why Jude was written
- Realizing the significance and importance of repentance
What Pseudepigrapha does Jude quote
- 1 Enoch
Who 1, 2, and 3 John were written to:
i. 1 John: false teachers
ii. 2 John: false leaders and the elect lady
iii. 3 John: Gaius
Issues addressed in 1 John
- False teachings
- Separate yourself from false teachers
Issues addressed in 2 John
- False authors and teachers
Issues addressed in 3 John
- Commanding certain people
- Diotrephes: loves to be first
- Demetrius: has a good report from everyone
“The Elect Lady”
- The church in the location
How to Read Revelation
i. Letter addressed to 7 actual churches
1. Who was it sent to?
2. What was the cultural context?
3. How would they have understood this?
ii. Prophecy called this in the first few verses; a word from God to people; made in order to move people towards a response; God speaking to man through someone; warning or exhortation
1. Warning do not compromise with the evil world (the Roman Empire)
2. Exhortation God promises that He will defeat evil; totally and completely
iii. Apocalyptic always highly symbolic; can never be read literally; meaning is never on the surface; dualistic; good and evil; reveals something about the world that is hidden
1. Strong lines between good and evil
2. Cosmic significance
3. The defeat of evil
4. The vindication of the righteous
Literary Devices in Revelation
- Letter
- Prophecy
- Apocalyptic
Main points of Revelation
i. Warning against the evil world
ii. God will dwell with his people
iii. God controls the future
iv. Worship
v. Encouragement that God will not let evil and oppression rule the world; we are promised the total defeat of evil, sin, and death; God will actually dwell with us
Revelation’s connection to apocryphal literature
i. Symbolic
ii. Claims to unveil the truth about the world
iii. Dualistic
iv. Deals with themes of cosmic significance, the end of the world, the defeat of evil, and the vindication of the righteous
Judaizers
- Christians who teach it is necessary to adopt Jewish customs and practices, especially those found in the Law of Moses, to be saved
Eschatology
the part of theology concerned with death, judgement and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind
Diatribe
a forceful and bitter verbal attack against someone or something
Household Codes
a list of rules for how the households should be run
Wisdom Literature
deal with everyday, common-knowledge stuff
Apostacy
people who were Christians but then walked away from the faith
Pseud-epigraphy
spurious or pseudonymous writings, especially Jewish writings ascribed to various biblical patriarchs and prophets but composed within 200 years of the birth of Jesus
Similie
a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another think of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid
Metaphor
a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable
Personification
the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form
Apocalyptic Literature
a genre of heavily symbolic literature that displays distinctive literary characteristics and claims to unveil the truth about the world
