Latest / Reformed Thinking / The Israelite Imagery of 1 Peter 2 | W. Edward Glenny

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The Israelite Imagery of 1 Peter 2 | W. Edward Glenny · Reformed Thinking

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Imagine taking the most exclusive, fiercely protected
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titles of an ancient nation, titles that were, you know,
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bought with blood, centuries of history and divine covenants.
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Yeah. And then just giving them away
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to total outsiders. It sounds crazy.
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It does, but that is well, that is what a fisherman named Peter
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did 2000 years ago, and people are still arguing about the
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consequences today. They absolutely are.
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So welcome to a new deep dive on Reformed thinking.
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You might think a letter written in the 1st century has little
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bearing on current events, but how we interpret these specific
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verses dictates how millions of people understand prophecy, the
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church, and the future of ethnic Israel.
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It is a massive topic. It really is.
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Today, our mission is to uncover how the Apostle Peter took
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ancient descriptions of the nation of Israel and applied
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them to a mostly Gentile, Christian audience.
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And we want to see what that means for you, the listener,
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regarding how to read your Bible.
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Our primary source for this discussion is a detailed
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academic essay by W Edward Glenny.
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It's titled The Israelite Imagery of First Peter 2.
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It is a phenomenal piece of scholarship.
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OK, let's unpack this. We cannot grasp the way to
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Peter's letter without understanding the intense
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pressure his original readers were under.
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So can we set the stage and look at what was happening in Asia
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Minor during the 1st century? Yeah, absolutely.
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To understand what Peter is doing in this text, we have to
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recognize who he is addressing and the the crushing realities
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they face every day. Right?
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So first, Peter is directed to a predominant gentile Christian
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audience. They are scattered across
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regions like Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia.
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And we know for sure they are Gentiles, right?
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Yes, we do. We know they are gentiles from
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several distinct clues in the text.
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Peter references their past lives in ignorance, their feudal
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ways inherited from their forefathers, and their previous
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involvement in lawless idolatry. I see those are very specific
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markers. Exactly.
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I mean, those are standard Jewish descriptions of the Pagan
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world. A Jewish writer wouldn't
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describe fellow Jews that way. But here is the critical issue.
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These believers are facing severe social ostracization.
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Because they stepped away from the culture.
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Right in the Greco Roman world, religion and civic life were
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completely intertwined. There was number separation of
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church and state. Right, it was all one big
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system. So if you withdrew from the
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Pagan festivals or the temple sacrifices, or even just the
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local Guild banquets because of your new faith in Christ, you
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were viewed as a subversive threat.
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You were basically a danger to the social order.
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Spot on. You would lose your livelihood,
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your friends, and well often your family.
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This intense daily suffering is likely causing these early
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Christians to really question things.
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Question their faith entirely, I would imagine.
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Yeah, they are asking themselves if their election by God is
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real. They are wondering if the gospel
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message they bank their lives on is actually valid.
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Because everything around them is screaming that they made a
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huge mistake. Yes.
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So to come fight and stabilize them in the midst of this chaos,
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Peter does something fascinating.
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He takes the central concept of Israel's self understanding.
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Which is what specifically? Their unique historical status
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as the elect people of the Creator.
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And he transfers that status directly to these marginalized
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Gentile believers. Yeah.
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He uses Old Testament texts that originally spoke exclusively
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about the physical descendants of Abraham, and he applies them
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to these newly planted churches. This creates a huge theological
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puzzle, doesn't it? It does.
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It has massive implications for how we view redemptive history.
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I have to admit I am struggling to see how Peter gets away with
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this. I mean, if I just take someone
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else's historical title, a title they have held for centuries,
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and claim it for myself and my friends, that is basically
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identity theft. It kind of looks that way on the
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surface. How is Peter not just committing
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theological identity theft here? If you read the Old Testament,
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terms like a chosen people and a holy nation are strictly
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reserved for ethnic Israel. Yes, they are.
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How does Peter justify taking titles given to Israel of Mount
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Sinai under terrifying displays of lightning and smoke and
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handing them over to non Jewish people living hundreds of miles
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away in Asia Minor? It is a staggering theological
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move. It is a massive shift, but
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Glenny argues that Peter's method of interpreting the Old
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Testament provides the answer. OK, he says.
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Peter is not claiming the church has simply replaced Israel, and
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he is not saying these verses were a direct, exclusive
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prophecy that completely bypassed the original Jewish
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audience. So he's not ignoring the
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original context. Not at all.
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Instead, Peter is utilizing a specific, highly structured
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framework. So what is the precise method
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Peter uses to bridge this massive gap?
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How does he connect the ancient nation of Israel and the 1st
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century church without erasing the original meaning?
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The method Glenny identifies is called a typological prophetic
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interpretation. Typological prophetic?
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Yeah. It is a highly specific
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hermeneutical approach. It basically means Peter is
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looking at the broad sweep of history and seeing a recurring
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divine pattern. A pattern that makes sense.
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And we have to clarify typology is very different from allegory.
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Now so. Well, allegorical interpretation
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often searches for hidden, mystical or disconnected
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spiritual meanings behind the text.
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It sometimes ignores what actually happened in history.
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Like treating the text is just a fable or a myth.
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Right typology, on the other hand, relies completely on
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historical facts. It deals with real people, real
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kings, real battles and real institutions.
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It stays grounded in reality. Completely.
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It recognizes that the Creator works in consistent escalating
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patterns throughout salvation history.
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According to Glenny, there are four necessary components to
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this typological prophetic method.
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OK, let's hear them. Understanding these is crucial
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for reading the text correctly. First, as I mentioned, the Old
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Testament type must be rooted in actual historical facts.
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It cannot be a myth. OK, step one is historical
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reality. Got it.
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Second, there must be a clear identifiable scriptural link
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connecting the original Old Testament event, which we call
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the type, to the new New Testament event which is the
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anti type. So the connection has to be in
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the text itself. Yes, the connection must be
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textual, not just a product of our imagination.
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Third, there has to be a clear correspondence existing between
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the two events. What do you mean by
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correspondence? The same divine logic, the same
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mechanism of salvation or judgment must be visibly
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operating in both situations. I see the underlying principle
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has to match. Right and 4th and this is the
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most critical component, there must be an escalation or a
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heightening. From the old to the new.
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Yes, from the lesser Old Testament type to the greater
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New Testament reality. It is never just a flat
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repetition of history. It is an advancement.
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That is a great distinction. The New Testament fulfillment is
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always grander, more expansive, and more spiritually weighty
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than the Old Testament type that preceded it.
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I love how structured that is. Think of it like a renowned
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architect who builds a beautiful, fully functional
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single story house. OK, I like this.
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That house is the Old Testament type.
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It's a real building, people actually live in it, and it
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provides legitimate shelter. Right, it does a real job.
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Years later, that exact same architect uses the exact same
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design language, the same structural patterns, and the
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same aesthetic principles to build a massive, towering
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skyscraper. I see where you're going.
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That skyscraper is the New Testament escalation.
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Now the existence of the skyscraper does not mean the
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original single story house never existed.
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Right, it doesn't invalidate it. It does not mean the original
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house was a mistake. Both are real, both are designed
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by the same mind, but the skyscraper shows the architect's
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pattern operating on a much grander elevated scale.
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That is a brilliant analogy the. Creator is the architect here,
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and He is taking the patterns he established with Israel and
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escalating them in Christ and the Church.
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Yes, that hits the nail on the head.
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So with this typological prophetic blueprint in mind, how
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does Peter actually alley this in the text of his letter?
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Let's look at the first half of the passage in First Peter
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Charter Two. OK, this section focuses heavily
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on these quotations about a stone.
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How does he organize these thoughts for his readers?
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Peter applies this blueprint using a recognized literary and
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exegetical structure. He utilizes A rabbinic method
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known as Gazera Shawa. Gazera Shawa.
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Right. This was a well known rule of
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interpretation in the 1st century, often associated with
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the famous Rabbi Hilla. Oh, Rabbi Hillel, very
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influential figure. Extremely influential.
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The rule essentially states that you can interpret one passage of
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Scripture by another if both passages share a common unique
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keyword. Like linking concepts through a
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specific word. Yes, by placing the text side by
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side based on this shared word, the meaning of 1 illuminates the
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other. In first Peter chapter 2, verses
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6 through 8, the linking keyword is stone.
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Which is lithos in Greek. Correct Lithos Peter gathers 3
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distinct Old Testament verses that use this exact word and
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strings them together to build an argument.
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But he doesn't just list them randomly.
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No, he does not just list them back-to-back like a catalog.
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He includes a running commentary between the quotes.
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So he's explaining as he goes, right?
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This is known as a midrashic style.
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He weaves his own theological explanations directly into the
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sequence of the Old Testament citations.
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Guiding the reader along. Yes, guiding the reader on how
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to connect the ancient texts to their present reality.
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By doing this, he establishes a concrete theological base.
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Where does he start? He starts with Christology,
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focusing entirely on Jesus as the ultimate stone before he
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ever says a word about the church.
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Wait, let me make sure I am grasping this.
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So Rabbi Hill's rule, this Gazzara Shawa is basically like
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using a search engine today. Yeah, that is a great way to put
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it. If I hit CTRL plus F and search
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the word stone across the whole Old Testament, Peter's taking
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the top three search results, putting them on the same page,
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and saying look at the pattern the architect is using here.
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Yes, that makes perfect sense for a 1st century mind.
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That brings up the first quotation in his sequence, which
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is Isaiah 28.16. In this text Isaiah talks about
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a tested stone laid in Zion, Right When you read the original
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context of Isaiah 28, it is quite intense.
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Isaiah is delivering A stern warning to the leaders of Judah.
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Very stern. They're facing a massive
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military threat from the Assyrian war machine.
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The Northern Kingdom is falling. Panic is in the air, and instead
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of trusting the Creator for protection, these leaders are
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panicking. They are completely losing their
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grip. And Isaiah specifically
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describes them as drunken, right?
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They're busy trying to forge political alliances with foreign
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nations like Egypt. Yeah, they think their Clover
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treaties will save them from being wiped out.
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Into that political panic, the prophet says that God is laying
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a stone in Zion, a secure foundation, and whoever believes
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or trusts in it will not be put to shame.
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That is the promise. In that ancient geopolitical
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context, what was that tested stone supposed to be?
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In that original historical context, the tested stone laid
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in Zion referred to the Davidic monarchy.
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The King's lineage. Yes, Zion is Jerusalem, the
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geographical seat of the Davidic throne.
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Isaiah was reprimanding the political leaders for making
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worthless, frantic covenants with Pagan nations.
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Because God had already made a covenant with them.
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Right. God had already established an
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unshakable covenant with King David decades prior.
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God had promised David a secure house or dynasty that would
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endure forever. I see the Davidic monarchy was
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the cornerstone upon which God was building His redemptive
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program for Israel. So the message to the leaders
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was to trust that promise. Exactly.
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The message from Isaiah was that anyone who rightly related to
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God, entrusted in the promises made to the line of David would
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be secure. They would be safe regardless of
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the Assyrian army marching toward their borders.
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OK. So that historical situation is
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the type. Right, but Peter applies the
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typological prophetic escalation.
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He takes Isaiah 28.16 and applies it directly to Jesus.
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Because Jesus is the ultimate Davidic king.
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Yes, Jesus is the ultimate escalated fulfillment of the
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Davidic line. He is the final Davidic King.
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So Peter quotes this to show Jesus is the completion of that
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pattern. Correct.
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By quoting this, Peter is showing that Jesus is the
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completion of that divine prophetic pattern.
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The security that the ancient Judeans were supposed to find in
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the earthly Davidic throne is now found in its highest and
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most absolute form, by trusting in Jesus the Messiah.
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The house has become the skyscraper.
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The house has absolutely become the skyscraper.
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That makes the pattern so vivid. The security is no longer just
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about surviving an ancient siege.
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It is about eternal survival. Right, it is a massive upgrade.
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That leads us right into the second quote Peter pulls from
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his search results which is Psalm 118.22.
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This is the famous verse saying the stone the builders rejected
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has become the cornerstone A. Very famous text.
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When we look at Psalm 118 in its original Old Testament setting,
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we see it as a Psalm of Thanksgiving.
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Yes, it was likely sung by an Israelite king celebrating a
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major military victory after a season of intense vulnerability.
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Right, the king was in serious trouble.
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This king, representing the whole nation, have been deemed
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worthless and cast aside by the superpowers of the day, but God
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delivered him and exalted him. That is the dynamic if you.
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Have this dynamic of total rejection by human powers
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followed by absolute exaltation by God.
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That is right, and the imagery here is striking.
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The Builder in the original context of Psalm 118 were the
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Empire builders of the Ancient Near East.
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Like the massive geopolitical superpowers?
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Yes, we are talking about Egypt, Assyria or Babylon, nations that
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controlled the destinies of lesser nations.
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They were building their empires.
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Right. They looked at the King of
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Israel and considered him insignificant, A flawed stone
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not worth using in their Grand Designs for global dominance.
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They just tossed him aside. But God took that rejected stone
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and made it the cornerstone, most vital structural piece of
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the building that determines the alignment of every other stone.
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And then Peter points out how that pattern repeats.
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The pattern repeats with blinding clarity in the New
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Testament, but with a massive escalation.
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Jesus is the anti type. He was the rejected stone.
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Yes, he was rejected not just by the Roman Empire builders, but
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specifically by the religious builders of his own day, the
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local authorities who were supposed to be constructing the
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spiritual life of the nation. They cast him aside completely.
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He was crucified, cast aside as entirely worthless and shameful.
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Yet God exalted him through the resurrection, making him the
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absolute cornerstone of the new spiritual temple.
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So the pattern of rejection by men and exultation by God is
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identical to the Old Testament type.
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It is identical, but the scale moves from an ancient, localized
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political victory to the eternal salvation of humanity and the
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defeat of death itself. That is a huge escalation.
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It is. Peter uses this to show his
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persecuted readers that Christ's rejection was not an accident or
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a failure. It was the precise fulfillment
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of an established divine pattern.
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And then Peter hits us with a third quote which brings a very
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sober, heavy warning. It does.
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He quotes Isaiah 8.1 team talking about a stone that
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causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.
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In the original setting of Isaiah 8, the prophet Alpha
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tells the people of Israel that Yahweh Almighty is the one they
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should fear. God says He will be a sanctuary
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for some, but for others in Israel He will be a stone that
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causes them to stumble. It is a terrifying image.
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The people of Israel were literally stumbling over God
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himself because of their disbelief and their desire to
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handle things their own way. How does Peter take this image
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of a stumbling stone and escalate it in his letter?
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The escalation here is a breathtaking theological
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elevation. In the Old Testament text, the
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people stumbled over Yahweh himself, right?
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In Peter's letter, the people who disbelieve the Gospel
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stumble over Jesus. Oh wow.
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Yeah, by taking an Old Testament text that explicitly describes
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the actions of Yahweh and applying it directly to Jesus,
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Peter is creating an undeniable link between them.
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He's basically saying Jesus is God.
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He is indicating that Jesus shares the divine identity.
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The stone that says those who believe is the exact same stone
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that crushes those who refuse to believe.
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The stone itself doesn't change. The nature of the stone does not
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change, the difference is entirely in how a person
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approaches it. That is a really sobering
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thought. Furthermore, Peter notes that
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the stumbling is appointed for those who disobey the message.
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This highlights the sovereign purpose of God even in the face
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of human rebellion and unbelief. So it isn't an accident.
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Not at all. The failure of the surrounding
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culture to believe in Jesus does not mean God's plan is falling
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apart. Rather, it is fulfilling the
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very pattern outlined in Isaiah. That would be huge comfort to
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the readers. This was meant to offer immense
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comfort to Peter's readers. They were watching their
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neighbors, their former friends, and their family members mock
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Christ and persecute the church. And Peter's saying this was
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expected. Yes, Peter is reassuring them
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that this hostile reaction is not a surprise to God.
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It is an entirely expected component of the biblical
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pattern. I have to pause here and ask a
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critical question on behalf of the listener.
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Sure, if these Old Testament verses were originally talking
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about ancient kings, National Defense, and historical battles
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from centuries past, how on earth did Peter's 1st century
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readers know he was talking about Jesus?
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That is a great question. Did Peter just invent this stone
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equals Messiah connection on the spot, or was there some
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precedent in the ancient world for reading these specific
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passages this way? It seems like a massive leap to
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assume a gentile audience would track with this heavily Jewish
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method of argument. That is a highly perceptive
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question, and it gets to the heart of how the early church
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understood their own scriptures. Peter did not invent this
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connection out of thin air. OK, so it was already
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established. Yes, he was building on a robust
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tradition where these specific verses were already understood
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as Messianic within Judaism. Do we have proof of?
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That we do. We have evidence from ancient
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Jewish writings such as the Targums.
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What are the Targums? They were Aramaic paraphrases of
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the Hebrew Scriptures read aloud in the synagogues, and they
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clearly interpret these passages through a messianic lens.
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Oh, so the average synagogue goer would have known this.
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Right. Similarly, documents discovered
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at Qumran the Dead Sea Scrolls, show that the stone imagery was
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widely accepted as a reference to the coming deliverer. 1st
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century Jews were already looking for a stone.
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That is fascinating context. Furthermore, and most
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importantly, Jesus himself explicitly quoted Psalm 118
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during his earthly ministry. Really.
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When did he do that? During the final week of his
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life, he applied the concept of the rejected stone directly to
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his own impending death at the hands of the religious leaders
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and his subsequent vindication. So Jesus gave them the
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interpretive key. Yes.
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So Peter is utilizing an interpretive tradition that was
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established by Christ and recognized by anyone familiar
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with the Jewish roots of the faith.
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Even the Gentile tiles in his audience would have been taught
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this. Right.
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He is taking the established Messianic hope, a hope his
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readers have been taught when they first heard the Gospel, and
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firmly anchoring it in the historical reality of Jesus.
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Here is where it gets really interesting.
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We have just walked through this dense, rich Christology.
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Yeah, this heavy stuff. Peter has established Jesus as
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the tested stone from Isaiah 28, the rejected but exalted
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cornerstone from Psalm 118, and the stumbling stone from Isaiah
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8. The foundation is set.
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He has built the foundation. But then Peter makes a massive
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theological pivot. He shifts from talking about
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Jesus, which we call Christology.
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To talking about the listener, which we call ecclesiology.
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He turns it right to the audience.
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He turns his attention from the invincible cornerstone to the
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actual people sitting in those house churches in Asia Minor.
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How does he bridge that gap? It is a brilliant move.
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How do we get from a discussion about the eternal Messiah to a
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discussion about the status of a persecuted peasant reading a
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letter? The bridge connecting the stone,
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which is Jesus, and the people, which is the Church, is a single
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vital theological concept election.
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Election OK. Throughout this entire passage,
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Peter emphasizes that Jesus is the elect stone chosen by God
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before the foundation of the world.
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Right. Because believers are united
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with Christ through faith, they share completely in his status.
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They become an elect people. So his status becomes their
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status. There is a direct, unbreakable
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transfer of attributes from Christ to the believer.
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Because Jesus is elect, you are elect.
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Because Jesus is holy, you are called to be holy.
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Because Jesus is an acceptable sacrifice, you are granted the
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ability to offer acceptable spiritual sacrifices.
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Exactly. The connection is rooted
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entirely in the believers corporate union with the Savior.
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That union is the key. This concept of election is the
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engine driving the entire passage.
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It guarantees that the privileges, the security and the
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status granted to the Messiah flowed downward continuously to
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those who belong to Him. That transfer of status brings
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up a fascinating translation insight from Glennie's essay
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regarding verse 7. Yeah, this is a crucial detail.
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In many modern English Bibles, first Peter 2.7 is translated to
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say something like to you who believe this stone is precious.
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Right, that is how most of us hear it.
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When we hear that in modern English, it sounds like an
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expression that our subjective feelings toward Jesus.
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It sounds like a hymn stating that we find him dear to our
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hearts or that we have warm emotions about Him.
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It sounds very internal. But Glenny points out that the
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Greek word used there, tira, carries a very different weight
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in the ancient world. It really does.
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He argues it translates far better to the concept of honor
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or privilege. Yes, that is a highly
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significant nuance that changes the entire tone of the verse.
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Translating time as precious in a subjective, emotional sense
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misses Peter's primary objective.
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So Peter isn't talking about their feelings.
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Peter is not describing the internal affections of the
22:23
believers. He is stating an objective
22:25
theological fact about their status in the universe.
22:29
OK, tell me more about that. In the ancient Mediterranean
22:31
world, society was built entirely on a shame and honor
22:35
culture. Your worth was determined by how
22:38
the community viewed you and. The community viewed these
22:40
Christians as shameful. Peter's readers were drowning in
22:44
public shame. They were disgraced outcasts.
22:47
Therefore, the text is actually saying.
22:49
Therefore the honor and privilege belongs to you who
22:52
believe. Wow, that flips it entirely.
22:55
Think about the flow of the argument.
22:57
The stone Christ is chosen by God and highly honored in the
23:01
heavenly places, despite being publicly shamed and rejected by
23:04
men on earth. Therefore, the believers will
23:06
align themselves with this stone, share in that exact same
23:08
objective honor. Even if the world thinks
23:11
otherwise. Even though they are currently
23:13
despised, mocked and rejected by their Pagan neighbors, in the
23:17
eyes of God, God the Supreme Judge, they possess the highest
23:20
possible honor. That is a total game changer.
23:23
It is a declaration of their unshakable standing before the
23:26
Creator, not just a description of their feelings.
23:30
If you are listening to this and you have ever felt completely
23:33
alienated, maybe you've been pushed out of your workplace for
23:36
your convictions, or you feel like an outcast in your own
23:38
family. Peter's use of this word is
23:41
aimed right at your chest. It is so relevant.
23:44
When society treats you like garbage, it is very easy to
23:48
start questioning your own value and your status before God.
23:52
The natural human reaction is to think, if God favors me, why is
23:56
my life so hard? Why is the culture so against
23:59
me? We all ask those questions.
24:02
Peter writes this letter to assure those 1st century
24:04
believers and to assure you that your union with Christ grants
24:08
you supreme honor right now, regardless of the hostility
24:11
around you. Your status is not determined by
24:14
the shifting opinions of the culture.
24:15
It is determined by how God treats the stone Jesus Christ.
24:19
Because He is permanently honored, you are permanently
24:21
honored. That is a radically stabilizing
24:24
truth for anyone going through the fire.
24:25
It provides absolute security. It gives them a place to stand
24:28
when the cultural ground is giving way.
24:30
And having established that believers share in the honor and
24:33
election of Christ, Peter is now ready to explain exactly what
24:37
that looks like in practice. Yes, he was right into
24:39
application. This leads him to the second
24:41
group of Old Testament texts in verses 9 and 10.
24:45
Just as he used the Gazera Showa method to link verses about a
24:50
stone, he uses the exact same search engine method again, but
24:54
this time the Lincoln keyword is people, which is Laos in Greek.
25:00
He pulls together 3 distinct Old Testament passages that use the
25:03
word people to describe the nation of Israel, and he applies
25:06
them directly to his Christian audience.
25:09
Let's examine the first text he pulls in for the second section,
25:12
which is from Exodus 19.5 to six.
25:14
OK, this is the monumental moment at Mount Sinai.
25:17
God has just brought Israel out of 400 years of slavery in
25:20
Egypt. They are gathered at the base of
25:21
the mountain and He offers them a covenant.
25:24
A huge moment in history. He give them these famous
25:27
weighty titles, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
25:32
But when we look at the original Old Testament context, there is
25:36
a very specific, terrifying condition attached to those
25:40
titles. They didn't just get them
25:41
automatically. Indeed, the context of Exodus 19
25:44
is highly conditional. It is based on a suzerain vassal
25:48
treaty structure which was common in the ancient world.
25:51
How did that treaty? Work.
25:52
God tells the Israelites that if they obey His voice and keep His
25:56
covenant, then they will be His treasured possession out of all
25:59
the nations. They will be a Kingdom of
26:01
priests and a holy nation. So it depended entirely on them.
26:05
It is a future potential based entirely on their ongoing
26:08
obedience to the law given at Sinai.
26:11
But Peter changes something when he writes to the church.
26:13
Yes. When Peter takes this ancient
26:15
text and applies it to the church, he makes a massive
26:17
structural alteration. He changes the future
26:21
conditional tense to a present absolute reality.
26:24
He drops the if. He drops it completely.
26:26
He writes to these struggling believers.
26:28
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation.
26:32
He completely removes the if and the will be.
26:34
Why does he have the authority to do that?
26:36
Because believers already possessed this status through
26:40
the New Covenant, and that covenant was sealed not by their
26:43
own perfect obedience to the law, but by Christ's blood.
26:48
The perfect obedience required by the Sinai covenant was
26:51
fulfilled by Jesus, and that fulfillment is legally credited
26:54
to the believer. So the condition has been met by
26:57
Jesus. Exactly.
26:58
Therefore, the conditional titles of the Old Testament
27:01
become the guaranteed present reality for the Church.
27:04
I want to look closer at one specific phrase from that Exodus
27:07
quote, Royal Priesthood. OK, let's dive into that.
27:11
In English, we read that as an adjective modifying a noun.
27:15
We picture a priesthood that just happens to be royal.
27:18
Right, like priests who wear crowns or something.
27:20
But Glenny's analysis of the Greek phrase besley and Hiratuma
27:24
suggests something much more specific.
27:27
He argues it's better understood as two distinct nouns joined
27:30
together. Yes, that is a huge point.
27:32
Which paints a totally different picture for the reader.
27:34
What does Glenny say about this? Based on the Septuagint, which
27:38
is the Greek translation of the Old Testament that Peter and his
27:41
readers used, and the broader usage of these terms in
27:44
antiquity, Glenny argues that bazillion hiratuma should be
27:47
understood as a royal residence and a body of priests.
27:52
A royal residence and a body of priests.
27:55
This is a crucial distinction that expands the theology of the
27:58
passage. The term royal residence
28:00
connects back to verse 5 where Peter calls believers a
28:03
spiritual house. So the believers themselves are
28:07
the structure. Yes, the Church itself is the
28:09
actual dwelling place of the King.
28:11
It is where God resides on earth via the Holy Spirit.
28:14
And what about the body of priests?
28:16
The phrase body of priests indicates that every single
28:19
individual believer acts as a functioning priest within that
28:23
residence. That was not the case in the Old
28:25
Testament, was it? No.
28:26
In the Old Testament system, the priesthood was strictly
28:29
restricted. It was limited to one specific
28:31
tribe, the Levites. And even then it was limited.
28:34
Right within that tribe, only the High Priest could enter the
28:37
Holy of Holies once a year. The access was heavily guarded.
28:41
But Peter's saying that has changed.
28:43
But in the New Testament escalation, the entire community
28:46
of believers constitutes the priesthood.
28:49
Every Christian has direct, unhindered access to God and is
28:53
called to offer spiritual sacrifices.
28:56
That is just incredible. The architectural and tribal
28:58
restrictions of the Old Covenant have been completely shattered.
29:01
That means there is no need for a specialized human mediator
29:04
anymore. You, the listener, have direct
29:06
access to the throne room of the universe.
29:08
It is a massive privilege. That is the privilege of being
29:11
part of this new body of priests.
29:14
Moving to the next quote in Peter's sequence, he brings in
29:17
Isaiah 43.3021. Right here we find the concept
29:22
of a chosen people whose specific task is to declare
29:25
God's praises. In Isaiah, God is speaking to a
29:28
nation in exile in Babylon. A very dark time for Israel.
29:31
They've lost their temple, their city, and their freedom, and God
29:34
is promising them a second exodus.
29:36
Isaiah 43 is a magnificent promise of redemption out of a
29:40
seemingly hopeless situation. God promises, rescue them again.
29:43
God is prophesying that He will deliver Israel from their bitter
29:47
captivity in Babylon, just as He miraculously delivered them from
29:50
Egypt centuries before. He calls it a new thing, right?
29:53
He says he is doing a new thing, making away in the wilderness
29:58
and bringing water to the desert so that his chosen people can
30:01
declare his praise. And how does Peter use that for
30:04
the church? Peter takes this vivid imagery
30:08
of physical geographical deliverance from Babylon and
30:12
escalates it to describe the Christian's spiritual
30:14
deliverance. So they have been rescued from
30:17
something worse. Christians have been rescued out
30:19
of the ultimate exile, moral and spiritual darkness, and the
30:23
purpose of this deliverance is identical to the pattern in
30:26
Isaiah. To declare his praise.
30:28
To proclaim God's excellencies. But Peter specifies what this
30:31
means in the context of the New Covenant.
30:34
The Church's task is to verbally and practically broadcast the
30:37
saving acts of God to the surrounding Pagan world.
30:40
It's an outward focus. It is an active, ongoing
30:43
witness. The community exists to make
30:45
known the mercy they have received from the King.
30:48
And that concept of receiving mercy leads right into the most
30:52
dramatic, scandalous imagery in the entire section.
30:56
It really is scandalous. Peter alludes to the opening
30:59
chapters of the Prophet Hosea. For those who don't know the
31:01
story, it is shocking. God commands Hosea to marry a
31:05
woman named Gomer, knowing she will become unfaithful to him.
31:08
He literally tells him to marry a prostitute.
31:11
Yes, Hosea's painful, humiliating marriage is used as
31:15
a living, breathing metaphor for God's relationship with the
31:18
nation of Israel. Israel has been spiritually
31:21
unfaithful, chasing after false gods and foreign alliances.
31:25
So God tells disobedient Israel through the names of Hosea's
31:29
children. You are not my people, and I am
31:31
not your God. He.
31:32
Literally names one of the children Loami.
31:35
Which translates to not my people.
31:36
It is a devastating covenantal divorce.
31:39
The relationship is severed. It feels like the absolute.
31:42
End. But the story doesn't end in
31:43
that Dark Place doesn't. It No, it does not, and that is
31:45
the glory of the text. The central theme of the book of
31:48
Hosea is God's fierce, relentless, pursuing love.
31:52
God doesn't give up on them. Despite Israel's gross
31:55
unfaithfulness, God promises a future day of incredible,
31:59
unmerited mercy. He promises that in the very
32:02
place where it was said to them, You are not my people.
32:05
They will be called children of the living God.
32:07
It is a complete reversal. He will take those who had not
32:10
received mercy and shower them with mercy.
32:13
It is a trajectory moving from total alienation and judgement
32:17
to complete reconciliation and restoration.
32:20
And Peter applies this to his Gentile readers.
32:23
Peter takes this deeply Jewish narrative of covenantal judgment
32:27
and restoration and applies it directly to the Gentiles in his
32:30
audience. That is brilliant.
32:32
This is brilliant because these Gentiles were literally never
32:35
part of God's covenant people. They were historically outside
32:39
the promises, dead in their trespasses.
32:41
They were truly not a people. Yet through the work of Christ,
32:43
they have been brought inside. The application fits them
32:46
perfectly. That brings up a concept Glenny
32:48
focuses on, which he calls the skeptological now.
32:51
Ah. Yes, yes, skeptological now.
32:54
Peter sets up this massive contrast for his readers.
32:58
Once you are not a people, but now you are God's people.
33:02
Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy,
33:06
right? He is stressing the absolute
33:08
night and day difference between the listeners past darkness and
33:13
their present reality. The arrival of Jesus Christ has
33:16
triggered a new age. The now is heavily emphasized by
33:20
Peter. It is not just a chronological
33:22
shift on a calendar, it is a fundamental change in their very
33:25
nature and their legal standing before the Creator.
33:29
The term eschatological now signifies that the long-awaited
33:32
promises of salvation, the events that the prophets thought
33:35
would happen at the very end of time, have broken into the
33:38
present moment. The end times have started
33:40
early. The future aid has arrived in
33:42
the person and work of Jesus, and believers are currently
33:45
experiencing the spiritual realities of that new age.
33:48
They don't have to wait. They do not have to wait for the
33:50
final day of history to become God's people.
33:53
They possess that status fully and completely in the present.
33:56
That brings immense comfort. This brings immense comfort to a
33:59
suffering church. Their external circumstances
34:02
might look bleak, they might be facing trial poverty and
34:05
isolation, but their internal covenantal reality is completely
34:09
secure. Their identity is locked in.
34:11
They have received mercy, and that mercy defines their
34:14
existence, not the oppression of the Roman world.
34:17
So what does this all mean? We have reached the most
34:20
controversial part of our deep dive.
34:22
Yes, we have. We have laid out all the data,
34:25
and now we have to address the central question of Glenny's
34:27
essay. If the Church is now called a
34:30
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and God's own
34:35
people, all titles originally given to ethnic Israel at Sinai,
34:39
has God permanently cast aside the Jewish people?
34:42
This is the big debate. Does the Christian Church
34:44
entirely replace the physical nation of Israel in God's
34:47
redemptive plan? This view is often called
34:49
supersessionism or replacement theology, and it is a massive
34:53
debate that affects everything from theology to modern
34:55
geopolitics. It touches everything.
34:57
Based on Glenny's careful analysis of how Peter is using
35:00
the Old Testament, what is the conclusion?
35:03
The conclusion, based firmly on Glennie's typological prophetic
35:06
analysis, is that the church does not replace Israel.
35:10
OK, that is a vital distinction. This is a vital distinction to
35:13
maintain. Peter is using Israel's history
35:17
as a pattern, a blueprint for understanding the church's
35:20
spiritual relationship with God. But using a blueprint doesn't
35:23
destroy the original building. But utilizing a pattern does not
35:26
mean you obliterate the original subject of that pattern.
35:30
We have to look closely at how the concept of fulfillment
35:33
operates in Peter's logic, right?
35:35
Glenny points out a crucial difference between the
35:37
fulfillment we see with the stone passages and the
35:39
fulfillment we see with the people passages.
35:41
OK, let's break that down because that sounds like the key
35:44
to solving the puzzle, right? What is the fundamental
35:47
difference between the stone fulfillment and the people
35:50
fulfillment? With the stone passages, Jesus
35:53
is the final and exhaustive fulfillment of those prophecies.
35:56
There's nothing left to fulfill. There will never be another
35:59
Messiah. There will never be another
36:01
cornerstone laid in Zion. The divine pattern reaches its
36:04
absolute terminal peak in Him. But the people prophecies are
36:08
different. However, the Church's
36:10
fulfillment of the people prophecies is different.
36:13
The Church is the initial fulfillment of these promises,
36:17
but it is not the exhaustive final fulfillment.
36:20
Initial versus final. Right.
36:22
The Church is experiencing the spiritual blessings of the New
36:25
Covenant right now, having been grafted in, but that does not
36:28
cancel out the specific literal promises God made to the
36:32
physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
36:36
That is a weighty claim. What evidence does Glenny
36:39
provide from the text or from Peter's broader theology, to
36:43
prove that there is still a future restoration for ethnic
36:46
Israel? He gives some very solid
36:48
evidence. Why can't we just say the church
36:49
is the new Israel, the old promises are spiritualized, and
36:52
call it a day? Glenny provides 2 very strong
36:55
lines of evidence to counter that idea.
36:57
The 1st is a logical argument based on the concept of
37:00
election. Which we discussed earlier.
37:02
Which, as we discussed, is the very hinge of Peter's entire
37:05
passage. If God's election of Israel
37:07
could be permanently revoked, if God could simply change his mind
37:11
and throw away the people he swore an eternal covenant to,
37:14
then Peter's argument in this letter completely collapses.
37:18
Oh, I see where this is going. Remember Peter's writing to
37:20
comfort a persecuted church by telling them their election is
37:23
secure? He is essentially saying, look
37:26
at Israel. See how God chose them.
37:27
You are chosen like that, right? But if God's choice of Israel
37:31
was temporary and voidable, then the church's election is also
37:34
temporary and voidable. That destroys the comfort.
37:37
A revoked promise offers 0 comfort to someone facing the
37:40
lions. For the church to have
37:42
unshakeable confidence in God's promises, God must remain
37:45
faithful to His original promises to ethnic Israel.
37:48
The gifts and calling of God must be irrevocable or the
37:51
entire system falls apart. Wow.
37:54
If God can break his promise to Israel, he can break his promise
37:57
to you. Yeah, that logic is unshakeable.
38:00
It really is. If the pattern is God chooses a
38:03
people and keeps them despite their rebellion, you need the
38:07
original people to actually be kept in the end.
38:10
Otherwise, the pattern is just a theory.
38:12
Exactly. I mean that is the whole point
38:13
of election. What is the second piece of
38:15
evidence Glenny brings to the table to support a future for
38:19
Israel? The second piece of evidence
38:21
comes from Peter's own words recorded in the book of Acts.
38:24
OK, looking outside the letter. In Acts chapter 3, verses 19
38:27
through 21, Peter is preaching A sermon to a Jewish audience in
38:31
Jerusalem. Right after a miraculous healing
38:34
right, He tells them to repent and turn to God, and he speaks
38:37
about a future time when Jesus will return from heaven.
38:40
Peter says that heaven must receive Jesus until the time
38:43
comes for God to restore everything as He promised long
38:47
ago through His holy prophets. Restore everything.
38:50
The Greek word used for restore is a pocket test stasis.
38:55
This specific term is heavily loaded with Jewish expectations
38:58
regarding the future physical restoration of the Davidic
39:01
Kingdom and the gathering of the nation of Israel back to their
39:04
land. Oh, this is a very specific
39:06
phrase. Peter is explicitly stating
39:08
after the birth of the Church at Pentecost that there is still a
39:11
future comprehensive restoration coming that will fulfill the
39:15
ancient prophecies made to Israel.
39:17
The story isn't over. The Church Age is a glorious
39:20
reality, but it has not exhausted the prophetic timeline
39:24
laid out in the Old Testament. So to summarize this typological
39:27
view, God operates in recurring, escalating patterns throughout
39:31
human history. Yes, the church right now is
39:34
experiencing the spiritual realities of the new covenant.
39:38
We have the Holy Spirit. We have direct access to the
39:40
throne room. We are a holy nation and a royal
39:44
priesthood. But this current spiritual
39:46
reality does not erase the literal, geographic and national
39:51
promises God made to ethnic Israel for the future.
39:54
The single story house is still part of the master plan, even
39:59
while the skyscraper is dominating the skyline.
40:01
That is the big idea right there.
40:03
The typological prophetic method protects the integrity of the
40:06
Old Testament text. It doesn't spiritualize
40:08
everything away. It respects the historical
40:11
reality of Israel and the literal promises made to them,
40:14
while simultaneously celebrating the massive escalated inclusion
40:19
of the Gentiles into the spiritual blessings of the
40:21
covenant. So it's a both hand situation.
40:23
It is a both hand scenario, not an either replacement.
40:27
Peter's brilliance is in showing these marginalized, suffering
40:31
Gentile believers that they have been grafted into a massive,
40:35
ancient story of redemption. Without pushing the original
40:38
actors off the stage. Right, without needing to claim
40:40
that the original participants in that story have been
40:42
permanently discarded. That brings us to our closing
40:46
thoughts. For this deep dive, let's recap
40:48
the main takeaways. It's been a lot of ground to
40:50
cover. It has Peter brilliantly layered
40:53
Old Testament texts using rabbinic methods like Gazera
40:56
Shawa to speak to a hurting, persecuted group of Gentile
41:00
believers. He showed them that their status
41:02
is eternally secure. They are built on the ultimate
41:05
tested stone, Jesus Christ. Because they are united with
41:09
him, they have stepped into the historical pattern of God's
41:12
chosen people. They share in all of it.
41:14
They hold supreme honor, they are a royal priesthood with
41:17
direct access to God, and they are tasked with verbally
41:20
proclaiming the mercy they have received out of darkness.
41:24
And they possess all of this right now.
41:26
They possess it right now in the eschatological now, even while
41:30
the Roman world rejects. Them, and critically, this
41:32
incredible transfer of spiritual privilege to the church relies
41:36
entirely on the faithfulness of God.
41:38
Because his promises are good. His refusal to abandon his
41:41
covenant promises to ethnic Israel is the very bedrock that
41:45
guarantees he will never abandoned his church.
41:48
The patterns hold true because the architect's character does
41:51
not change. Which leaves us with a final
41:53
idea to ponder. We have seen how God takes a
41:56
pattern and escalates it. We have seen how the Church is
42:00
the initial fulfillment of these ancient promises.
42:02
A global preview of God's mercy and spiritual restoration.
42:05
Just a preview. But if what we are experiencing
42:08
right now in the worldwide church is just the initial
42:10
fulfillment, what will the world look like when the final
42:13
fulfillment arrives? What will it be like when the
42:16
pattern reaches its absolute peak for all people?
42:19
When the King physically returns and restores everything as
42:22
promised by the prophets. That is something to think
42:25
about. If the preview is this glorious,
42:27
the finale will be unimaginable. Thank you for joining us for
42:31
this deep dive on reformed thinking.
42:33
Keep seeking the patterns in the text and we will see you next
42:36
time.