NT Wright has sparked controversy for saying that Jesus announces the kingdom as the end of exile. It’s hardly a new thought.
In his discussion of the “particular and general” in his Tyconius: The Book of Rules , Tyconius observes an alternating movement in the prophets. Prophets speak of the restoration from Babylon, or the fall of Babylon to the Medes, both historical events within Old Testament history. But then they will move to “general” prophecy about the fall of the city of man or the deliverance from sin and death.
In Ezekiel 36, for instance, the prophet ‘links the coming of the gentiles to the return of the captives who had been taken from Jerusalem and scattered abroad; and he uses the land which our fathers had possessed to represent the world. For the seven nations promised to Abraham are a figure for all the nations.”
Prophets that are, in particular, about the end of exile are, in general, about the gathering of the nations.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…