The latest book by Dr. Kaiser is a re-working of his previous Toward An Old Testament Theology, plus the addition of welcome comments on the New Testament side of Biblical Theology. Overall, it succeeds in simplifying the sometimes intense complexity of Toward An Old Testament Theology.
Dr. Kaiser proposes that there is indeed a unifying center to the theology and message of the Bible that is indicated and affirmed by Scripture itself. That center is the promise of God. It is one all-encompassing promise of life through the Messiah that winds itself throughout salvation history in both the Old and New Testaments, giving cohesiveness and unity to the various parts of Scripture.
After laying out his proposal, Kaiser works chronologically through the books of both testaments, demonstrating how the promise is seen throughout, how the various sub-themes of each book relate to the promise, and how God’s plan to fulfill the promise progressively unfolds. Here is a rich and illuminating biblical theology that will stir the emotion and the
intellect.
The Promise-Plan of God
Glad you are reworking this important study! Easily the most neglected “new covenant” passage in scholarship is Peter’s citation of Isa 59:21 in the “punchline” or action point of his Pentecost sermon–the definitive statement of the new church. Paul also loosely cites this passage in Rom 11:26-29. Both of the new covenant promises (Jer 31 and Isa 59) share a common theme: immediate revelation from God to the individual–not a popular theme in traditional Protestantism, especially paragraph 1 in the Westminster Confession! See Ruthven, “This Is My Covenant with Them,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology, 18:1 & 2 (2008). The paper argues that while Acts 2 quotes more clearly and extensively from Joel 2 and Ps 16, it is the Isa 59:19-21 passage that provides the thematic structure for Acts 2 and beyond.
God bless you in your great work. You were a great influence in my life.