The Interpreter Foundation Podcast

 

In this episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Martin Tanner and Robert Boylan. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 47, changes in the Church’s name, tithing, and differences in the understanding of New Testament terms by Protestants and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You can listen to or download the October 22nd broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These audio tracks are also included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast).

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for the Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 47, “Be Ye Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only” on James, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, November 7.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

Original air date: October 22, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 47: “Be Ye Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only” on James

Gospel Advocacy: Changes in the name of the Church

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Gospel Advocacy: Changes in the understanding of tithing and its use

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Discussion: Differences in the understanding of New Testament terms by Protestants and members of the Church

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The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

Abstract: While references to heaven in the Old Testament are sparse, non-explicit, and predominantly cosmological, the New Testament reveals a more complex concept of the afterlife that reflects a rapidly evolving understanding of Heaven. The Jewish apocalyptic literature of the late Second Temple period describes a heaven of multiple degrees that is populated with angels and the righteous dead of varying glories. Those glories also tangibly reflect astral qualities of light and glory comparable to the sun, moon, and stars. Within this worldview of Heaven, several of the Apostle Paul’s writings to Corinth can be read with added insight, including his ascent to the “third heaven.” Paul’s teachings of resurrected bodies assuming astral qualities may reflect the native Corinthians’ metaphysical views of the body and soul, which Paul may have shared himself. While Western Christianity would embrace degrees of glory through the Middle Ages, Reform Theology of the Protestant Reformation would affirm a concept of Heaven that supported only a single habitation. It would take a Restoration-era vision to Joseph Smith to restore the doctrine of degrees of glory original to the Jews and early Christians but lost to those of the modern era.

The current belief in two diametrically opposing post-mortal states — Heaven and Hell — is so ubiquitous within Christendom as to be tacit. However, recent challenges to such a binary conception of the afterlife have sparked debate and discussion in the past few decades.1 While the Old Testament seldom comments on Heaven and the qualities of the afterlife, it does differentiate between the place where [Page 82]God resides (for example, Genesis 28:12; Psalms 11:4) and the physical cosmos around the Earth (Genesis 1:1, 17; Exodus 24:10; Psalms 8:3). New Testament discussions of Heaven, in contrast, show that Heaven is a far more complex idea. As Paul discussed the state of the resurrected in eternity, he taught, “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead” (1 Corinthians 15:41– 42). Paul also observed that after Christ’s resurrection he ascended to his Father “up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:8–10). Paul also wrote that a “man in Christ” — who may be Paul himself — was “caught up to the third heaven” in vision (2 Corinthians 12:2). Additionally, The Savior taught that “in my Father’s house are many mansions” (John 14:2). Several of his parables imply a system of graded rewards among the faithful in Heaven — notably the parables of the Pounds (Luke 19:12–27) and the Sower (Matthew 13:1–9).

The peculiarity of Paul’s symbolism (sun, moon, and stars) to Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:41 leads the inquisitive mind to seek clarification on the associated worldview of first-century Jews and Christians. What was the prevalent view of Heaven in the centuries before and after Jesus? A greater grasp of the afterlife as they understood it would certainly be of value in understanding the frame of reference that underlies several New Testament utterances.

Previous Latter-day scholarship has examined several aspects of the Plan of Salvation, including the three degrees of glory and many aspects of the Latter-day Saint temple, in light of ancient Jewish and Christian literature. Hugh Nibley’s pioneering work on 1 Enoch and the ancient temple opened the door to many fine recent studies.

When the Spaniards arrived on Peruvian shores in 1532, they were mistaken for Wiraqocha, a bearded white god who had sojourned among them in ancient times. This god had travelled through the Andes on a perfect 45 degree angle of the north-south axis of the planet. They called it the Holy Path, and the ancient Andeans built temples to worship him in each of the settlements he visited along the path. In these temples they performed sacrifices, initiation, and endowment ordinances. Some of these are still performed today in their sacred vestments, including their signs and tokens.

Presented at:

2020 Temple on Mount Zion ConferenceSaturday, November 7, 2020https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2020-temple-on-mount-zion-conference/

Conference Proceedings:

The Temple: Past, Present and Future at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/the-temple-past-present-and-future/

Listen to an audio recording of this talk:

  Download audio recording

 

 

Transcript

 

In the October 15th Come, Follow Me segment of the Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts Bruce Webster and Robert Boylan discuss New Testament lesson 46, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come” on Hebrews 7–13.

You can listen to or download the New Testament in Context segment of the October 15 broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. It will also be included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast). The other segments of the October 15 radio show can be accessed at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreter-radio-show-october-15-2023.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

 

Original air date: October 15 , 2023. This recording has been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.

 

 

In this episode of The Interpreter Radio Show, our hosts are Bruce Webster and Robert Boylan. They discuss Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 46, changes in the Church’s name, and a recent article in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship by Brian C. Hales. You can listen to or download the October 15th broadcast of the Interpreter Radio Show below. These audio tracks are also included in our podcast feed (https://interpreterfoundation.org/feeds/podcast).

The “New Testament in Context” portion of this show, for the Come, Follow Me New Testament lesson 46, “An High Priest of Good Things to Come” on Hebrews 7–13, will also be posted separately on Tuesday, October 31.

The Interpreter Radio Show can be heard Sunday evenings from 7 to 9 PM (MDT), on K-TALK, AM 1640, or you can listen live on the Internet at ktalkmedia.com.

Original air date: October 15, 2023. These recording have been edited to remove commercial breaks.

The New Testament in Context Lesson 46: “An High Priest of Good Things to Come” on Hebrews 7–13

Gospel Advocacy: Changes in the name of the Church

Podcast: Download

Discussion: “Joseph Smith’s Education and Intellect as Described in Documentary Sources” by Brian C. Hales in Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship

Podcast: Download

The Interpreter Radio Show is a weekly discussion of matters of interest to the hosts, guests, and callers of the show. The views expressed on the Interpreter Radio Show are those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Interpreter Foundation, nor should statements made on the show be construed as official doctrinal statements of the Church.